Beyond The Impossible

Mortal Liberation Front Headquarters

Hermes rises from the rubble that used to be one of the walls of the Conference Room, struggling to keep his balance: his head feels heavier than a planet.

<What an amateur. I didn’t even hit you with the good stuff> Dionysus mocks him, before returning to drinking the wine bottle he’s holding.

Noriko Null approaches, pointing the Genius Gun at Hermes and ready to shoot him in the head.

<I recommend you stay down, Hermes. I hit much harder than Dionysus does.>

<I feel betrayed, sunshine. I thought there was something between us.>

<The only thing between us is a bullet> she objects, pulling the trigger.

The Genius Gun works by converting electricity into pure kinetic energy. It’s set at maximum power, delivering twenty times the kinetic impact of an anti-tank missile.

Even at point blank range, it’s not enough to make Hermes blink.

<I abhor violence, sunshine, but if you insist…>

Before Null can pull the trigger again, Hermes grabs her gun and crushes it with his bare hand. He moves too fast for her to react, so she doesn’t have time to prepare for his punch.

Her brain understands instantly what’s happened, but her body is so slow that she has to crash through six walls before she can do anything.

<Looks like I’m not the only one who underestimated the enemy, sunshine> Hermes mocks her, crushing the second Genius Gun. She tries to punch him, but Hermes is behind her in the blink of an eye; he holds her by the shoulder and slams her head against the wall, repeatedly, five times against one wall and seven against another.

The light armor she’s wearing under her leather jacket emits a few sparkles: the force field is absorbing the impacts, but it’s showing its limits. The armor covers her bruises, but she feels them.

<You like playing rough, sunshine? You should’ve told me earlier.>

As a response, Noriko spits in his face.

<Is that your best? Without your speed, you are pathetic.>

Few people have seen Hermes angry. He is the God of Tricksters, always one step ahead of everybody else: losing his temper means losing control, something he absolutely hates.

<You think we’re equals? You’re just a girl. I am a GOD.>

When he hits her again, he doesn’t hold back. Noriko’s body is like a leaf caught in a tornado: she doesn’t have any control over what happens to her. She’s barely aware of her trajectory, which leads her to the now empty shipyard.

Losing consciousness is a wonderful temptation, but she resists it. The force field fizzles out, overwhelmed by its unfair duty. When she tries to stand up on her own, her legs disagree.

<Tell me again why you had to fight this guy alone> Quantum asks, offering his hand.

<Don’t ask me. It was her idea> Noriko answers, accepting her teammate’s help to get up.

<“Her”? You mean you’re not Void anymore?> Quantum asks, leaning in to examine her eyes: they’ve gone back to their usual silver color. She seems embarrassed by this and partially covers her face with a hand, although it could be just to wipe the blood off a cut on her forehead.

<I guess she wanted to prove herself better than me by defeating Hermes alone, but it’s not that easy. He can’t leave this planet and he can’t move faster than light, but he has other powers.>

Just to prove her point, Hermes arrives not by teleporting but by kicking a titanium door so hard it’s launched in the air like a football.

<Well, what do you know. You brought one of your slaves with you, sunshine?>

An angry Quantum is just as rare as an angry Hermes, but his eyes widen with astonishment.

<Did he just seriously say what I think he said!?>

<He’s too powerful for a direct attack. Remember what Torn taught you?>

<Not a single word.>

<Whatever. Just kick his ass, Max.>

<Finally> Quantum rejoices, transforming his body into a laser beam and launching himself against Hermes. The god isn’t accustomed to fighting anyone who can match his speed and ends up being hit in the face a few thousand times per second.

<Haven’t you learned by now? I’m invulnerable!> Hermes boasts, catching Quantum’s fist.

He throws a punch, but he can’t hit Quantum in his radio wave form. They continue for a few rounds: Quantum attacking with one kind of energy, then transforming into another one to protect himself from Hermes. They could go on forever, since nothing so far has really hurt Hermes.

<Is that your best? You will need to hit me harder if you want me to feel anything.>

<Well, I could use the Antimatter Punch, but it would destroy the entire base. Instead, I think I’ll go along with the plan for once.>

Quantum concentrates, trying to become one with the universe or whatever Torn was trying to tell him. He can’t access the Blood, but he can shed a few pounds from his own mass and use them to build a cage made of lasers.

<Seriously? How long do you think this prison can hold me?> Hermes asks, demonstrating his power by touching one of the lasers. Much to his surprise, it’s offering some resistance.

<Oh, just long enough. Whenever you want, Nori.>

<God…> a woman says, pausing to fill her lungs.

Hermes turns around, and his jaw drops. He was too busy fighting Quantum to notice that the shipyard isn’t empty anymore: a large device has been teleported in. Its shape is different from the models Hermes has seen before, a jumbled mess of mismatched parts with a satellite dish on it, but he knows what it is.

<Well played, sunshine> he concedes.

<…ERASER!!!>

Null screams, focusing the energy emitted by the God Eraser into an immensely powerful stream of electricity. It’s only the second time that Noriko is forced to use it, and this time she doesn’t have the luxury of a direct access to the Myridian collective consciousness: she can only rely on herself.

The God Eraser works by overloading the mind with too much information to process, effectively lobotomizing the target. Noriko pours herself into it, giving everything she has.

All the suffering and humiliation she had to endure thanks to Hermes, all the hatred and self-doubt, all her determination and hopes and dreams and conflicts and laughs and tears, everything hits Hermes at once with the intensity of seven billion atomic bombs inside his mind.

The pain is beyond comprehension. But he is resisting, leaving his cage and slowly, painfully crawling toward her, pushing against the flow of information.

<Can’t… do this…> Noriko says through her teeth: she’s giving everything she has, and it’s not enough. Hermes keeps coming, her heart beating so fast she can feel it won’t last for long; her legs no longer have enough strength to support her, and she gives up.

Someone catches her before she falls. She turns towards him, surprised to see Quantum has jumped inside the God Eraser’s energy stream; judging by his expression, this is very painful for him too.

<C’mon… show him what you’re made of> he struggles to say.

The God Eraser wasn’t designed to run for this much time, and its power is diminishing rapidly. Hermes is now right in front of her, and he’s ready to attack her when she’s most vulnerable.

<Too proud to know your place, uh? Just like your mother> Hermes taunts her, throwing his punch.

Something snaps.

Noriko blocks the punch with her hand, then stands up dramatically. The energy output from the God Eraser rises again, and Hermes finds out he can’t break his hand free.

<I am… NOT…> – Noriko says, her voice seething with barely contained rage.

<Noriko?> Quantum calls her; he could swear the energy is now coming directly from her.

<I AM NOT MY MOTHER!!!>

The amount of energy doubles, then it doubles again, then again, and the last time Quantum can see before he’s forced to protect his eyes is the God Eraser exploding violently.

Hermes is hit the hardest, literally: Noriko jumps on him, and when they’re both on the floor she starts punching him in the face, again and again.

<I! AM! NOT! MY! MOTHER! I! AM! NOT! MY! MOTHER!> she repeats, every word accompanied by a punch. She stops only because Quantum holds her.

<That’s enough. I think you’ve got him.>

Noriko calms enough to look at Hermes: his face is covered in blood, as are her hands. But he didn’t suffer any visible injury: she just punched hard enough to lacerate her knuckles.

<He’s still… breathing> she says, finally backing off: she’s visibly beyond exhausted.

The explosion of the God Eraser must have damaged something important, because several detonations in the lower floors are making the entire building shake.

<We should probably get out of here> Quantum suggests.

<No… must kill… Hermes… first> Noriko tries to object, but she doesn’t go very far: exhaustion finally catches up with her and she faints.

Quantum watches Hermes disappear in a flashy show of light, something that he recognizes as the work of a teleportation device. Noriko will not be happy to hear that.

<We should probably get out of here> Dionysus says too, punctuating his sentence with a belch and throwing away an empty bottle. Another explosion in the background underlines the idea.

<Did you teleport him away?> Quantum asks, taking Noriko in his arms.

<No, I don’t use that kind of stuff. It upsets my stomach. Do you have a ship?>

<Unfortunately we do…>

 

The Dark Pyramid

By this time, Max Black a.k.a. Quantum has seen Noriko in a hospital bed so many times it’s almost a routine. Watching the Guild’s medical robots taking care of her is something new, but a necessity now that they’re using one of their mobile bases. At least this time it’s nothing life-threatening, but seeing her covered in bruises and with both hands inside surgical casts is heart-breaking for him. She looks so vulnerable when she’s like this… then he remembers he was there when she punched a god into submission.

He’s not the only one overseeing the Guild’s treatment of the patient: Ulysses is also there.

<That was brave, ingenious and unnecessarily dangerous> he comments.

<Well, that’s Noriko in a nutshell. Did you figure out how Hermes survived the God Eraser?>

<The Scribe believes that his mind was partially shielded by the interference caused by Dionysus.>

<And you believe him? They could be working together.>

<I never trust anyone, but Dionysus wouldn’t do such a thing on purpose and the Scribe has nothing to gain by saving Hermes. I wonder who saved him, but we’ll think about it later.>

<Did the rest of the plan work? We won, right?>

<Absolutely: the Alliance now controls all former Hermes and Persephone territories. When Null regains consciousness, we’ll be ready to attack Diana with everything we have.>

<Can’t we wait a few days? She’s gone through a lot> Max says, touching the glass separating him from Noriko’s room. She’s sleeping peacefully.

<She’s stronger than she knows, and so are you> Ulysses says.

<You seem to know a lot about us, for a guy who disappeared for thousands of years…>

<I have to. The game I play… you can’t even begin to understand how high the stakes are. But one day, she will… if she survives what’s coming.>

 

Somewhere in the dark

Hermes is strapped to a bed, with a machine reading his vital signs. If he were human, he could only be described in a coma.

A woman is watching him sleep, but unlike Max she doesn’t display any emotion.

<Let this be a lesson to you, Hermes: I am not my daughter. One day, you will prove useful again.>

Leiko Tanaka could smile for her small victory, if only she still had a soul.