The bar is completely ruined. Four out of the five women in green exploded with the force of a small bomb, seemingly without warning or reason.
The force of the explosion shattered everything in the room, yet nothing was burned. Max Black opens his eyes: he looks like he’s been through the dirtiest chimney in history, and the Asian teen with the silver eyes doesn’t look much better.
<How the heck did we survive that!?> he wonders.
<Hello? Goddess of the fire here?> Vesta says; she who doesn’t have a single speck of dust on her clothes or on her red hair.
<That doesn’t even begin to…nevermind. Someone just tried to kill us!>
<But did not succeed. I have an idea> Noriko says, wiping the dirt from her face as best as she can while trying not to trip on the debris.
<Where are you going?> he asks.
<I think I know what is happening here. I must follow that woman.>
<Which one?>
<The one that didn’t explode into my face.>
<But she tried to kill you!>
<I don’t see your point> she cuts him, storming to what’s left of the door.
The cliché goes that people in New York will shrug off anything, but blowing up a building will get their attention. Just outside the bar, Noriko finds people gathered to understand what’s going on.
The explosion should’ve been far worse: the sidewalk is full of shattered glass, but that’s it.
“Could Vesta have contained the blast somehow?” she wonders.
<Are you all right?> a random guy asks. Just with one glance Noriko knows his name, his job, how many kids he has, and so many details that she has to make an effort to stop thinking about them.
As soon as she turns her silver eyes to the next person, a woman asks:
<Is anybody still inside? What happened?>
Noriko doesn’t know what to answer, as her eyes shift from person to person. Every information the world knows about the twelve people in front of her is flowing through her head: birthdays, phone numbers, medical histories, job résumés, social security numbers, everything.
Only now Vesta and Max come out of the bar. They see Noriko in the middle of the crowd, seemingly lost and confused. They’ve known her for less than fifteen minutes, granted, but this is her first human reaction to anything.
<Enough!> Noriko finally shouts. Her silver eyes flash for a second when she says it.
<Where did the woman dressed in green go?> she asks angrily.
<That way> mumbles one of the witnesses, pointing at the street. There’s no need to clarify: if you see a woman walking out of a place before it explodes, you tend to remember it.
Noriko just pushes aside the people in front of her, looking at the street: it would take too long to wait for the streetlight to turn green before crossing. She just makes a step forward.
A motorbike comes to a screeching halt just a second before hitting Noriko. It was a calculated risk, since her brain decided the driver had enough reaction time to avoid her. The driver doesn’t seem to think the same, shouting at the top of his lungs:
<Are you ######## insane!?>
<I am Null> she answers, just grabbing the driver by the shoulder and pushing him out of his seat.
It’s hard to say what’s more impressive, that she just shoved aside a man twice her weight or that she’s stealing a bike in front of a dozen witnesses.
<Vesta, Black, deal with the authorities: I have to save my father> Noriko says before hitting on the accelerator and running out. Driving in the wrong direction.
Rarely has a crowd been made more speechless than now. Only Max has something to say:
<That was freakin’ awesome!!!>
<She’s gonna to get herself killed! Come on!>
A bright flame suddenly appears in front of Vesta, causing enough distraction to sweep Max off his feet and fly away, following Null’s bike.
To recap. Noriko is driving in the wrong direction on a stolen bike, followed by a goddess who his flying ten feet off the ground, carrying a grown man in her arms. And all of them survived an explosion five minutes earlier. In other words, this is Max’s greatest day ever.
<You can fly!?> he asks.
<Oh so now you believe I’m a goddess?>
<You didn’t tell me you could fly!>
<It’s not something you tell to strangers.>
<Why not? I wouldn’t shut up about it!>
<It’s a long story. Let’s save it for when I don’t have to avoid trucks.>
A building several blocks away
Bob Null is late again. It’s not his fault, really: he tried to leave the party earlier, but the girl just wouldn’t let him go. In fact, she’s still clinging to his arm, and they are both right in front of the building where he lives.
<Listen…Tina, right?>
<Deena.>
<Sure. Listen, it’s been a great night but I really have to go home now, okay?>
<Can I come up for a drink?>
<No, because A) you’re already drunk and B) I promised my daughter I would let in only girls ten years older than she is, remember?>
<Riiight, the kid you’ve never let me talk to. You sure she’s not adopted or somethin’? You don’t look old enough to have a kid that age.>
<I’ll send you some pictures of how awesome I was at fifteen. You sure you can make it to your house alone?>
<I’m not drunk! Y’know what I think? I think you don’t really have a daughter and you’re making things up ‘cause you’re seeing other girls.>
<Now, come on, Tina…>
<Deena!>
<Whatever; I’m not seeing anyone else, okay?>
Just then, something smashes right through the walls of the building, five stories up. The wall smashes on the ground along with something else; Bob’s first reaction is to push Deena out of harm’s way. He makes sure she’s okay, despite throwing up on the street, before looking back.
There’s a puddle of green goo in the middle of the wall debris. The puddle grows very quickly, taking a rough human form, before splitting in two equal parts.
In less than five seconds, the puddle has turned into two identical women with long black hair, dressed in green. One of them holds in her hand an object which Bob recognizes immediately: a perfectly round sphere of solid rock.
<Hey, that’s mine!>
<And who the heck is she?> Deena asks.
<We are the Many. The Heart is ours now. All witnesses must be eliminated.>
The second woman makes a step forward. While Bob is still struggling to understand what’s going on, he hears the sound of a very fast motorbike approaching.
The bike then hits he woman, turning her back into goo and smashing against the building.
Someone jumped off the bike at the very last second. She stands up, bruised but completely unfazed. Her silver eyes glow in the night.
<Father. What did I tell you about taking home girls?>
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