Beyond The Impossible

Holy Palace of Megalopolis, 52.000 light-years from Earth

Vesta is an extremely positive goddess: it takes a lot to get her to dislike anyone. But if there’s one mortal she’s come to hate, it’s Leiko Tanaka. The current Ice Queen of the Winter Kingdom and mother of Noriko Null is wearing her Winter Armor, and she’s kneeling in front of her.

<I am honored to be a vassal to your son Zeus, Queen Mother Rhea.> Leiko says, her voice distorted by the armor. Leiko has not recognized that she’s speaking with Vesta, since she’s impersonating Rhea, but the goddess knows very well what the icy tyrant is capable of.

<Why is there a mortal here?> Vesta asks to her sister Hera, who is presiding over this assembly.

<Mother, please, be kind to this lovely woman. She has come to us with very important news.> Hera says, coming closer to Leiko and signaling her to get back on her feet.

Whereas “Rhea” doesn’t do much to hide her distaste for the mortal, another goddess seems to have quickly bonded with Leiko: Hebe, Goddess of Youth and Hera’s youngest daughter.

<It’s nice to see you again, Ice Queen. This is our other guest, Circe, mistress of magic and…>

<What are you doing!?> Hera shouts at Hebe. She towers over her daughter: Hera is 6’5″ like Vesta, while Hebe is slightly below six feet.

<I’m… I’m just introducing Circe…> Hebe explains.

<Nobody cares! She’s almost as useless as you are, so just shut up and don’t interrupt!>

<Y-yes Mother.> Hebe sheepishly answers, looking down at her feet. Vesta glances at Circe, evidently annoyed by being disparaged by Hera but too fearful of her wrath to say anything.

Leiko’s face, entirely covered by the armor, keeps her reaction a mystery.

<Now, Ice Queen, you were telling me you know where I can find my other daughter?>

<Indeed I do, Lady Hera.> Leiko answers, moving her hands to weave a picture by freezing the water particles in the air: the effect is similar to a blue hologram, representing a galaxy.

<Your daughter Ilithyia is in the Naqada Galaxy, where she was brought by an ancient Lar device called the Silver Key of Heaven.>

<How do you know that?> “Rhea” asks.

<Before his tragic death, my late and beloved husband, the Winter King, obtained at great risk a device known as the Black Box. It contains an extensive database of Lar technology, including descriptions of the Key and details about its energy signature. There is no doubt in my mind that someone used the Key to kidnap Ilithyia.>

<Where did he find the Black Box, exactly?> “Rhea” asks. She knows the story: Noriko found the Black Box on Earth, the Winter King stole it, and Leiko stole it back after marrying and assassinating him. But of course, none of this matters to Hera.

<I don’t care! Ilithyia carries my only legitimate grandchild in her womb. The only thing that matters is rescuing her, right now!> Hera shouts. Hebe and Circe are too intimidated by her to say anything, but Adrestia voices her doubt:

<Why would Nephthys want to kidnap Ilithyia? I’m reasonably sure the Egyptians already have a goddess of childbirth.>

<They have several ones, actually: Meskhenet, Tawaret and Bes. It is much more likely that Nephthys kidnapped Ilithyia as a personal attack at Hera herself.> Leiko argues.

“Since when is she an expert on Egyptian gods? Is she involved in this?” Vesta thinks.

<If that snake-tongued slovenly harlot wants to ignite my holy wrath, that is EXACTLY what she’s going to get! I will storm her palace myself and set her kingdom ablaze if I have to!!!> Hera shouts.

<Don’t be stupid, you’d never win against her!> Vesta protests.

Even with the Ice Queen present, the room didn’t feel cold until her remark made the place fall completely silent in anticipation of Hera’s anger.

<What. Did. You. Just. Say?> she says, her blue eyes new shining with the power of a million nuclear meltdowns.

<Sorry, I was just, uhm, what was the question?> Vesta asks nervously, trying to gain some time to think of a way to get out of the situation. The Ice Queen takes the opportunity to get closer and puts her hand on her bare shoulder, beginning her sweet talk:

<I’m sure your mother meant no disrespect, Lady Hera. In fact, Rhea was just… Rhea?> the Ice Queen asks: her touch is messing up the heat signature that the goddess is giving off.

<What an interesting twist.> she then adds, touching the bracelet on Vesta’s arm and lowering its temperature well below what the circuitry inside it can withstand.

To human eyes, nothing changes. But in the eye of a goddess her heat signature… her “divine aura”… is now completely different. And well known by all the women present.

<Vesta!!! You DARE to impersonate our mother and infiltrate this SACRED room!? That’s TREASON !!!> Hera shouts, shooting a bolt of blue energy at her sister.

 

Cape Town, South Africa

Noriko Null and Daren Bekker have parked the motorbike on the road, and are now sitting on the grass of Signal Hill to watch the sun set over the ocean.

<That’s quite a view.> she says, looking at the scenery.

<Yes, it is.> he answers, looking at her.

<You know, I needed this. Sometimes I get so wrapped up in the big picture that I need something to ground me, remind me what I’m fighting for.>

<You’re talking about the alien invasions?>

<Yeah. Something like that.> she answers, changing her position to clutch her knees; it’s easy to see that she’s lost in her own thoughts.

<Something’s wrong?> Daren asks her.

<I don’t know if I should talk about it.>

<Noriko, if I said or did anything…>

<I’m analyzing my past dates through backward induction to determine the optimal strategy for my sentimental life.>

<I think I’d need a couple of PhDs to understand what you just said.> Daren admits.

<I’ve only dated four guys before. The first one dumped me because of what I shared about my work with him. The third one did it because I didn’t share the worst parts. And things didn’t go anywhere with the fourth one because I didn’t share anything at all. So I’m stuck between two options, talking and not talking about my work with you, and both options have been disastrous in previous occasions.>

<You skipped the second guy.>

<Yong-Su? That had nothing to do with work. He was dating me because he wanted to kill me.>

<Seriously? What happened to him?>

<I threw him off a spaceship.>

<Wow. And I thought I had some bad dates. Look, Noriko, you’re overthinking this.>

<I get that a lot.>

<Try to just enjoy the moment.> he tells her, coming closer with the clear intention to kiss her.

She hesitates longer than she anticipated; Daren notices, and he gives her a puzzled look.

<Is you arm blinking?> he asks, pointing at her left forearm: the tattoo of a snake twisted in the symbol for infinity is indeed blinking red.

<I, ehm, I really need to take this.> she answers, turning away from him: the tattoo emits the hologram of a raven perched on her arm.

<This better be damn important, O.D.I.N.>

<Mistress, there is a Priority-1 call on the Covenant channel: Vesta is asking for an extraction.>

<Already? How long until the N13-Vanth can reach her without exposing its position?>

<Twenty-seven hours and sixteen minutes.>

<She wouldn’t send a Priority-1 if she had all that time. What’s the closest ship we have?>

<The N05-Kali Yuga is eighteen minutes away at cloaked speed.>

<That’s the ship I gave to Athena. It’s a risky move, but I see no alternatives. Do it.>

<Acknowledged. Have a nice evening, mistress Null.> the holographic bird says before disappearing; then Noriko looks at Daren, who is beyond confused right now.

<Should I even ask?> he wonders.

<Just enjoy the moment.> she answers, pulling him closer to kiss him.

 

Deshret, Naqada Galaxy

In a dimly lit room with stone walls, the scorpion goddess Serket looks at the three bodies covered by white funerary sheets that have been laid on the tables usually reserved for the mummification process of her subjects.

<Thank you for this satisfying gift, Hermes. It’s been centuries since the last time I had mummies from another galaxy.> she tells the Greek god standing next to her.

<Is it satisfying enough to earn an audience with Lady Nephthys?> he asks.

<Let us discuss this separately. It is not something mortals should hear.> she answers, casually glancing at the humans kneeling behind her before walking towards to exit.

<Maybe you should deal with my gift first? In my personal experience, it’s never a good idea to let these specific mortals out of sight for even a short amount of time.> he warns her.

<Would you prefer to oversee the mummification process?>

<On second thought, I’m sure they’re in good hands.> he says, following Serket to a different part of the planet. The mortals let out a sigh of relief and go back to the three unconscious bodies.

One of them is a male with dark skin, not much different from theirs. Another is a woman with pinkish skin, like a foreign goddess, but with purple hair. The last one is a man with red skin.

The priests pull down the linen white sheets, uncovering the torso of these aliens: their clothes were been removed as soon as they were brought here.

One of the priests, an Egyptian man wearing a white pleated dress and a surgical mask, is examining the red-skinned alien; he’s been told the alien was covered in dead scorpions when he was captured.

When the priest notices that he doesn’t have a single wound on his body, the alien opens his eyes.

He moves frighteningly fast: the priest is punched so hard he’s thrown against the nearest wall, which is eight feet away, and hits his head immediately losing consciousness. The other two priests, who were about to examine the other two aliens, are hit by energy daggers: the glowing red blades dig into their hearts, somehow without drawing blood but making them instantly drop to the ground.

The only other Egyptian present is a priestess, ready to scream. The red skinned alien covers her mouth with one hand, while the other presses a red energy dagger against her throat.

<Make any sound and you die. Understand?> Torn asks her.

The priestess looks at him in utter terror, which the Demon interprets as a yes. He takes his hands off her, although the dagger remains there, still touching her throat. Then Torn approaches the unconscious bodies of Quantum and Kari, puts his hands on their foreheads, and extracts from their brains two tiny scimitars vaguely shaped like scorpion tails.

<Living raiser.> he says, fighting the urge to raise his voice as he does it.

The priestess wants to scream when she sees Quantum and Kari wake up and sit on the table, with the former seeming quite displeased as he makes sure his body is still covered from the waist down.

<I thought this kind of thing only happened to Noriko! What did they… whoa, dude!> Quantum complains, covering his eyes.

<The locals are just unconscious. I did not kill them.> Torn explains.

<I mean put some clothes on, man! I never wanted to see a naked Demon.>

<I did and now I’m scarred for life. How do Demon women even survive?> Kari wonders.

<Better question: how did we survive?> Quantum asks, desperately changing the conversation.

<I killed the scorpions Serket created and used a surgical strike against our souls to make her think she successfully poisoned us.> Torn explains.

<You can do that!?> Quantum exclaims.

<Nice thinking. Now we just need to figure out why Hermes betrayed us and what Serket really wants from us.> Kari says, walking towards the priestess.

The Egyptian woman is clearly terrified; Kari gestures towards Torn, who miraculously understands her intentions and makes the dagger held against her throat disappear.

<We won’t harm you, we just want to ask you a few questions. Will you help us?> Kari asks.

<י האואֶ נע ידאֶא שהאת yעט אראֶ סאyינג, pלאֶאסאֶ דע נעת הטרת מאֶ!> the priestess answers, almost crying.

<Well that’s just perfect. I’m gonna go out on a limb and say none of you speaks Alien Egyptian either.> Quantum says.

<I don’t. And you don’t need to remove your limbs.> Torn answers.