Kythera, 950 light-years from Earth
On the bridge of the Supreme Scorpion, the main screen shows the shuttle leaving the mothership and heading towards the planet. Quantum approaches one of the Kari duplicates; she’s manning all twenty command stations at the same time.
<You’re sure you can drive this thing, right?>
<For the hundredth time, yes. This isn’t going to be different from the time we stole Demeter’s ship.>
<Meaning you’re going to crash it on one of Neptune’s moons?>
<Okay, hopefully it’s going to be a little different. But this time we know we can’t drive faster than light in Earth’s solar system, so we’ll just slow down earlier.>
<Don’t worry, we can take care of ourselves> another duplicate intervenes.
Feeling uncomfortable talking to more than one Kari at a time, Quantum moves towards the three civilians on board… Bob, Tiffany and Todd… all of which are enjoying the view of the planet.
<I kind of wish I could join you guys> Todd says.
<Yeah, but I don’t want that thing anywhere near the bad guys again> Quantum answers, pointing at the Heart of the Universe in Bob’s hands.
<We could try to use it to get home in an instant> Noriko’s father suggests.
<Or we could end up on the other side of the galaxy. Kari says this ship can take you to Earth in about three days, so there’s no point in taking the chance. We’ll see each other in about a week.>
<Assuming nothing else goes wrong in the meantime> Todd adds, grimly.
Beijing, China
Kayla Black’s heart is pounding. The Forbidden City is deserted, devoid of the usual tourists and guards; it’s more than a little spooky. Especially when she hears a little girl’s voice.
Kayla instinctively turns towards her, hands burning with blue energy. The girl says something in Chinese; she looks about ten years old and she’s wearing a simple white dress.
<I’m Blue Star from the United States. Do you understand me?> Kayla asks.
The girl is remarkably calm: Kayla is probably the first black woman she’s ever seen, definitely the first super-hero, and almost fired energy shots at her. The girl didn’t even blink. She says something in Chinese again, takes Kayla’s hand, and leads her further into the Forbidden City.
She’s not the only civilian here: Kayla sees at least a dozen kids of the same age, all of them girls, all of them with the same white dress. All unnaturally calm.
When they finally reach the throne room, Kayla gets her first good look at Artemis, recognizing her from footage taken during the assault on Beijing. She’s an extremely athletic white woman, with very short white hair and a nasty scar over the right eye.
<Are you Artemis?> Kayla asks.
<Goddess of the Hunt and Most Exalted Daughter of Almighty Zeus> one of the little girls says; she’s still speaking Chinese, but now that she’s in the presence of Artemis Kayla understands her.
<“Artemis” is fine. And you are?> the goddess asks.
<I’m Blue Star. I represent the United States of America.>
<That means nothing to me. Are you from this planet?>
Kayla hasn’t made up her mind about Artemis yet, whether she’s a new superhuman that went crazy or if she really is from outer space. In either case, when you’re dealing with a person with enough power to single-handedly declare war on China, you thread carefully.
<I’m here to ask you to cease hostilities and leave China, Artemis.>
<Hostilities? My only war is with Hephaestus, and you don’t look like one of his robots. I have no quarrel with this “China”. Who is she anyway? I thought the local goddess was named Nasa.>
<What?> Kayla asks. She has little doubt now: Artemis is clearly not right in the head.
<I have grown tired of this nonsense. Are you a goddess?>
<Not exactly.>
<Good enough for me> Artemis answers, rising from her throne and reaching for Kayla’s throat too fast for her to react. She effortlessly lifts her using only one hand.
<Any last words?>
<Go to hell> Blue Star retorts, releasing an energy blast on Artemis’ face. At point blank range, it’s enough to vaporize titanium. It just messes up her hair.
<Is that all you’ve got? Here’s how you do it> Artemis replies, snapping her fingers.
The power she unleashes is incredible. Everything is destroyed in its path: the Forbidden City has resisted the test of time, but its walls are annihilated by the blast.
Blue Star can’t really appreciate it, temporarily knocked out as her body absorbs the energy around her. She’s far luckier than the little girls, who are turned to ashes in the blink of an eye.
When Kayla Black comes back to her senses, all she can see is a smoldering crater…and Artemis.
<You know what? If Null can’t be bothered to show up to protect her planet, I guess I’ll take it.>
Tokyo, Japan
The city has recovered remarkably well from the attack of Abyss: only a few blocks have been isolated by a garrison of the Japan Self-Defense Forces.
The building that served as the headquarters of Scion Corporation until its takeover took the blunt of the attack, so it’s where the JSDF is conducting an investigation. It’s also where Overkill lands.
They know him as one of Abyss’ henchmen, as the killer of many of their colleagues. They open fire immediately, even if they know the forcefield of his suit is no match for ordinary firearms.
<I don’t want to hurt you> he says in English, raising his arms in sign of surrender.
<But she does> someone behind him adds, stabbing Overkill in the back with some kind of energy blade. Overkill doesn’t have time to react, because the blade goes right through the forcefield and delivers a massive electric shock.
His attacker is dressed entirely in black, his face hidden by a mask, but he has a golden insignia of a winged sword. He checks Overkill’s vital sign, before communicating through his radio:
<This is the Black Knight. Inform the Empress of Shadows that the bait worked: we have the Overkill suit.>
Nowhere
There’s a boat in the middle of the ocean. There’s no sun in the sky, despite the light of day. Two people are on the boat, facing each other: Noriko Null and a bearded man she doesn’t know.
<So you’re, like, my conscience or what?> she asks.
<I told you, I’m Nobody> he answers, although without saying much.
<Thank you. Do you have any other useless information for me?>
<You may have lost your super-intelligence, but I see your sarcasm is fine> he points out.
<I don’t need to be smart to know I’m in deep s##t now. I have no idea how to get back to my body and I’m not looking forward to pass eternity alone with you…no offense.>
<None taken.>
<You know what bites? Jane was right. I don’t deserve what I have. Can you believe I actually fell for Athena’s bulls##t? That I was the chosen one because I was something special? Well big surprise, it turns out I’m special only because my mother is some kind of supervillain who put an alien device inside my head. And now that my evil twin has it, I’m just an ordinary girl again.>
<So you’re just giving up.>
Noriko looks away from the bearded man, staring into the distance. Lost in her thoughts. There’s only silence for what seems like an eternity.
<I don’t know how> she finally says.
<How to escape?>
<No, how to give up. I just figured out how to beat Abyss> Noriko says, unlacing her shoes.
The bearded man seems puzzled by this, and watches Noriko taking off shoes and socks.
<How? She’s as smart as the entire planet put together and you’re just an ordinary girl trapped in a mental simulation with no means of escape.>
<Because she can’t…you know what? Arguing with a figment of my imagination is what started this whole mess, so I’m just going to ignore you and save the world by myself.>
Noriko then jumps off the boat, diving into the ocean and swimming towards the bottom. She may not remember how to swim, but sinking doesn’t require a lot of thought.
It’s not long before her lungs burn for air. There’s no way she can swim all the way to the bottom before she downs…but this isn’t reality, this is all in her mind.
She can’t die here unless she thinks she can. And she will prove she deserves to be Null.
Leningrad Plasma Reactor Plant, Russia
When Leiko first commercialized Noriko’s plasma reactor technology, Russia was one of the most eager nations to exploit it to its potential. After spending billions of rubles, the Leningrad nuclear power plant was repurposed into the world’s first operational Plasma Reactor.
And now it’s bombarded by the Valkyrie, the ship that Abyss stole from Null. The Valkyrie was supposed to be a spaceship, but while it still lacks a Negative Drive it’s been armed to the teeth.
Since this is not a military installation, it offers very little resistance. The Valkyrie lands on top of the building housing the reactor, blasting a hole in the roof.
Excess leaps inside, her suit protecting her from the fall. A sonic blast renders everyone unconscious; luckily the suit includes many nonlethal weapons, since it was designed by Null. If Abyss had built it herself, things would’ve been much worse.
<You should’ve used the Microwave Pulse. It would’ve melted their faces off> Abyss instructs, sliding down a rope to land inside. Two Voidbots follow her, carrying bags of equipment.
Excess decides to change the subject; she’s here only because disappearing along with her brother would’ve made Abyss suspicious about their intent to betray her.
<What do you need this place for?>
<After I hook up the Reactor to the forcefield projector of the Valkyrie, this facility will be completely isolated from the rest of the world.>
<I don’t think the Russians will like that.>
<I sure hope so. They should be more of a challenge than the Japanese.>
<Is that why we’re here? You just like killing people?>
<Get off your high horse, princess. You’re okay with kidnapping teenage billionaires to ask for a ransom, but you draw the line at mass killing and acts of terrorism?>
<Well…yes> Excess admits.
<Then you’re useless to me> Abyss responds, drawing her Terror Gun and firing.
The Excess suit is impervious to microwaves, so Abyss opts for a kinetic blast. It delivers the equivalent of a head-on collision with a train going a hundred miles per hour.
Excess crashes through the wall, while Abyss begins her work on the reactor.
<Make sure she dies painfully> she orders.
The Voidbots react immediately. They take flight following Excess’ trajectory, which takes them outside the plant. Excess is still disoriented: the suit protected her from the impact, but she wasn’t prepared for the sudden acceleration.
The suit warns her of the incoming threat and shows a list of available options. Her first instinct is to retreat, but there’s no guarantee she can outrun these robots. She selects the other option: massive retaliation. She targets the Voidbots and opts to unleash the full destructive power of the suit.
<REMOTE ACCESS CONFIRMED. INITIATING EMERGENCY SHUTDOWN> – the suit says.
<What!?> Excess protests, but there’s nothing she can do to avoid the suit to power down.
The Voidbots land before her. Entirely black with the exception of the red A spray painted on their chests, they’ve never seemed so big and threatening to her.
<I…I surrender> she says, raising both hands.
<Acknowledged> one of the robot says, before breaking her neck.
Abyss will be very upset about a robot’s loose definition of “painful”.
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