Beyond The Impossible

Null Tower, New York City

Doctor Catherine Kalama crosses her arms, disapprovingly watching Noriko Null zipping up on her trademark green leather jacket. She’s learned that trying to convince her patient to stay out of trouble is a lost battle, but rushing back into action soon after suffering an aneurysm is ridiculous.

<So let me get this straight.> Noriko says, holstering one of her Genius Guns <While Nephthys is busy fighting Hera and Apollo, I’m supposed to pull a… dead… snake god… out of her head?> she says, stressing out how ridiculous it sounds.

<Nephthys draws much of her power from the body of Apophis she absorbed. According to Eris, it should be possible to separate the two long enough to defeat them individually.> Torn explains.

<Oh, great, we’re basing this on intelligence from Eris. What could possibly go wrong by trusting the literal manifestation of plans going wrong!?>

<Adrestia vouches for her.> Kari adds.

<The goddess of revenge, yes, a very trustworthy source of information. Give me the Key of Heaven.> Noriko orders; she’s more aggressive than usual, but Kari is willing to give her a pass.

<And how exactly am I supposed to take Apophis out of Nephthys?>

<We were thinking about your golden eyes.> Torn says. Noriko turns towards the doctor, who gives her a look that she interprets as “don’t think for a second that you can do that and survive”.

<That… could work… but we could do things a little differently.>

<You have a better idea?> Kari asks, knowing fully well what the response is going to be.

<Always.> Noriko answers, activating the Key and teleporting the three members of the Vanguard.

 

The Gorgon’s Veil, 390 light years from the galactic center

Very little of the nebula that gives the name to this sector remains. The fight with Nephthys has escalated way beyond mortal understanding, with every blow unleashing untold destruction across several light-years. Most of it is collateral damage: Nephthys is keeping up with the barrage of solar flares thrown by Apollo, summoning snakes to devour every single spark of light before she can reach her. Hera is having even less success: the initial rage that she felt when Nephthys destroyed her precious ship has already been eroded into frustration for the prolonged fight. And the slaughter of her loyal troops isn’t really something that can get Hera all that upset.

<Fall, two-tongued harlot, fall! You may be the goddess of death, but your power pales in comparison to mine!!!> Hera shouts.

<You know Hera I’m really, really fed up with your hubris.> Nephthys tells her, pushing aside Apollo and grabbing Hera by the throat. The goddess may not need to breath, but the titanic strength of Nephthys is really hurting her.

<I am Death itself. My existence defines mortals and evolution, but you? You’re just the goddess of a meaningless concept. What’s so important about marriage anyway? You’re the only one who thinks it’s a big deal. If you were a better goddess, maybe you wouldn’t be such a failure as a wife.>

<WHAT?> Hera says, her voice loud and clear despite her position.

<Perhaps, after I kill you, Zeus will take me as his next…> Nephthys stops when Hera’s blue hair catches fire, rising up at the same time when her eye shine with blue anger.

<Get your filthy hands away from my husband!> Hera yells, throwing a solid right hook. Nephthys is caught completely off-guard: this arrogant nobody actually managed to hurt her.

The time for speeches is over. When Nephthys hits Hera back, for once she’s not holding back.

 

The Middle Galaxy, 163,000 light-years away

The galaxy is known as the location of Hell, which was its only notable planet until Lampyria was recently teleported here. Of course, like any decently sized galaxy, there are billions of planets here.

Luckily, there are no spectators when something traveling a hundred million times faster than light hits one of the planets. Or rather when the planet is completely obliterated by the impact.

If anyone were somehow able to survive this annihilation, they would see a path of destruction originating from the Olympian Galaxy and cutting straight through several nebulas. At the edge of the solar system that was unfortunate enough to be at the end of that line, there’s a body laying on one of the rocks that survived. The body of a woman with blue hair, her body badly bruised and her face a bloody mess, completely knocked out by an unstoppable force of cosmic proportions.

 

Bridge of the N01-Ragnarok

With the ship rapidly speeding towards Nephthys, most of the Vanguard’s attention is on the two unwelcomed guests rather than on their declared foe.

Adrestia is standing in front of the ship’s viewscreen, with her arms extended and a determined expression on her face: she’s the one moving the ship, thanks to her divine control over gravity.

The Ice Queen is leaning against the captain’s chair, which is currently empty. Quantum and Vesta have their eyes on her, and they’re ready to attack her at any sign of trouble.

<You can relax, I’m not your enemy today. And it’s not like your powers are going to do anything to me anyway: in case you’ve forgotten, I still have the Vial of Destiny underneath this armor, and that protects me from any kind of Drylon or divine power.> she reminds them.

<You sure do love the sound of your own voice.> Vesta tells her.

<It runs in the family. Speaking of which, I can’t help but notice you’re missing a leader. If you ever get tired of Earth, the Winter Kingdom would appreciate your talents.>

<I’d rather take my chances with the snake goddess.> Quantum replies.

The now familiar sight of a halo of light appearing out of nowhere announces the arrival of the missing Vanguard members, with Noriko Null standing in the middle between Torn and Kari.

<L.O.K.I, gimme a full report. Direct interface.> she orders, and the ship creates a tiny holographic screen just a few inches from her eyes, flashing a huge amount of information too rapidly for anyone else to understand.

<Okay. Wow. I won’t lie to you, guys, this looks pretty bad. Nephthys is five minutes away from blowing up the galaxy, maybe ten minutes, tops.> Noriko informs them.

<There is a way we can survive. Let me-> the Ice Queen intervenes, before being teleported away by a halo of light: Noriko doesn’t even give her the satisfaction to look at her as she vanishes.

<What did you just do?> Quantum asks her; given her history, every time she does something drastic he takes it as a warning sign.

<Relax, I just took her back to the Winter Palace. I can’t afford her distracting me.>

<Oh. Okay, that makes sense. For a moment, I was worried you teleported her into a black hole.>

<Don’t be ridiculous, that’s… uh. Would that even work?> Noriko asks herself, looking away as her silver eyes shine. Vesta guess what she’s thinking and comments:

<Against Nephthys? A goddess of her caliber would easily resist being teleported against her will.>

<Well we’ve got to do something!> Kari shouts, pointing at the viewscreen: the fight between Nephthys and Apollo is coming to a close: their energies are clashing against each other creating a beautiful kaleidoscope of destruction. Null then starts giving orders:

<Adrestia. On my signal, increase our gravitational acceleration towards them by 90,000%.>

<At that speed we will definitely crash!> Kari notes.

<Is this a suicide attack?> Torn asks.

<I’ll tell you if we survive. Switching to manual control.> Noriko answers. A holographic helmet appears around her head, as the Ragnarok becomes an extension of her body.

<Let’s teach Death not to mess with the Vanguard. Adrestia, ready in three, two, one… GO!>

The goddess reluctantly obeys: the ship accelerates towards Nephthys at blazing speed.

In Noriko’s eyes, everything is moving in slow motion as her brain goes into overdrive. The Ragnarok’s main engine is still off-line, but the navigational thrusters still work. With the ship traveling at nearly the speed of light they don’t affect the trajectory by much, but they do keep the Ragnarok aimed at Nephthys. Noriko has to time her blinks: if they miss, they will overshoot Nephthys in an instant. Holding her breath, with Key in her hand, she activates her Survival Field.

<What do you need that for?> Quantum asks, transforming his body into photons for safety.

 

At the center of the former nebula

Nephthys is towering over Apollo, holding him by his wrists as he’s forced to kneel before her: the light coming out of his hands has faded as her power has completely eclipsed his own.

<You sun gods are so predictable, always thinking everything revolves around you. In truth, you are as harmless to me as those idiotic mortals.> she mocks him, looking towards the Ragnarok rapidly approaching her at the speed of light. She has nothing to worry about: brute force won’t stop her.

She smiles, waiting for the ship to crash… a smile that vanishes when the Ragnarok disappears.

<What the…?> she wonders, as a short mortal in a green leather jacket, protected against the vacuum of space by a Survival Field, appears in front of the goddess with a halo of light.

<Try killing this!> Null tells her, jamming the Iron Key of Heaven into the forehead of the goddess.

Nephthys screams: it’s been a million years since the last time she has felt pain, but nothing compares to the torture she’s suffering now. Apollo looks at her with his jaw dropped, watching Nephthys contort herself and failing to remove the key struck in her forehead.

<What is happening!? I hit her with enough power to annihilate a quadrant, how can an insignificant weapon do her any harm!?> he protests.

<I programmed the Key to teleport her atoms light-years away from each other. She’s literally pulling herself back together a thousand times every second.> she explains via radio.

<That wouldn’t even kill me! Why doesn’t she allow her body to be destroyed and then re-form!?>

<Apophis is still inside her; she can’t risk losing it. Which would happen if something astronomically destructive hit her from the inside. Something like, say…>

<A supernova.> Apollo understands, looking at his hands: they’re shining again.

<You owe me one, sunny boy. See ya.> Noriko says, snapping her fingers: one of her ships flies by and teleports her on board, before speeding away. Apollo watches her disappear into the distance.

<Hm. I might learn to tolerate this mortal.> he comments.

<Please… make it… stop…> Nephthys pleads: her body appears to flicker out of existence for intermittent moments, and her black armor is shedding its scales.

<Lady Nephthys. You have angered the one true Sun God.> Apollo tells her, his body now burning with the full glory of a thousand suns.

<I yield! I yield! Lord Apollo, show mercy!>

<Mercy is for lesser gods, Egyptian scum.> he tells her, picking her up by her throat and holding her in the same way she previously humiliated him.

<This is for the Slayer of Gods. HYPERNOVA!!!>

 

The Throne of Nephthys

If the crew of the Ragnarok was confused when they found themselves stranded on this weird planetoid, they are absolutely dumbfounded when the sky explodes.

<Again!? This is getting old!> Quantum complains, being the only one who doesn’t have to cover his eyes. The planet would be vaporized by the explosion if Adrestia didn’t shield it; judging by the way the veins on her forehead are building, it’s not an easy task.

<What happened? Did Nori kill her?> Kari asks.

<Where the heck are we?> Vesta asks, floating a few inches above the ground made of snakes.

<After this I hope I never, ever see a snake again.> Quantum comments, finding a spot that isn’t covered in scales. He finds it, only to discover it’s because the snakes are coming alive and writhing all over the place… including a giant one the size of a building that lurks behind the Vanguard.

<Well, at least we’re done fighting the Egyptians.> Kari comments.

<Don’t be so sure.> Torn notes, watching the halo effect announcing the arrival of a squadron of well-armed Egyptian soldiers… led by Ilithyia, who still has the Silver Key of Heaven.

<You had to say something, didn’t you?> Quantum complains.