Erebus, Stygian Galaxy
The capital planet of the Underworld is perpetually engulfed in darkness, except for the green flames that sporadically illuminate its desolate landscape.
The Swift Messenger is flying blind: no sensor can penetrate the darkness, and the ship’s navigational systems are off-line. The vessel is not moved by its engines, but by the green glow emitted by Persephone.
<If any of you tells other mortals that you made it this far alive, you’re f##ked. And not in the fun way, understand?> the Queen of the Underworld threatens the crew.
She’s standing proudly in front of the main viewscreen; when nobody acknowledges her, she turns her back to face them… only to find the bridge basically empty.
<Am I being IGNORED!?>
<Everyone’s on the lower deck, busy arguing. Believe me, you don’t want to be there.> Shinobu Takana tells her; the former Black Knight of the Empire of Shadow is the only other person still on the bridge.
<What the f#ck do they need to argue about!?>
<You said Hades will resurrect Null only if someone else is willing to die restore her life. Everyone’s volunteering.>
<Except you? What’s so special about you, s##thead?>
<I have no intention to die on this mission, and I’m not entirely sure Null would want me to… even though we’ve tried to kill each other on a couple of occasions.>
<Hmm. I barely noticed you were here, but you might be less of a s##thead than other mortals.>
<I’ll take that as a compliment. Now, while we wait for the others to make a decision, would you mind answering a few questions I have about the rules of the Hades deal?>
On a lower deck
The room is really crowded. Almost everyone has gathered here; only Lily’s children are missing, as the two young Lampyrians are still keeping guard to the ship’s engine.
<Forget it, I’m not going to let you throw away your life!> Dr. Kalama yells, holding back tears.
<If there’s any chance to save my daughter’s life, I have to take it.> Bob Null answers.
<And what about Nalani? Noriko would never forgive you for making her grow up without a father like she did without a mother.> she highlights.
<I should be the one to die. I’m the one with the shortest lifespan.> Lily Elosia intervenes.
<And what about your daughters?> Dr. Kalama asks.
<They’re grown adults. I would’ve died of old age already if Noriko hadn’t increased the lifespan of my entire species, I’m prepared to repay her in any way.>
<Aren’t you the leader of your entire planet? Your death would be a huge deal. Nobody’s going to care if a New York barista dies, I’ll volunteer.> Jane Blake says.
<Why does anybody have to die? Can’t we just ask mister Hades if he can make an exception?> Amaterasu asks, biting her lower lip; all this talk about death is making her uncomfortable.
<Hades never makes an exception for anyone, ever. And before you ask, no, he’s not going to accept the life of an immortal… it would be bad optics.> Asclepius reminds her.
<What if we use Vector?> Kylon asks; so far he’s been the only one to keep quiet.
<The cyborg? I’m still keeping him in a coma.> Asclepius replies.
<But you cured his wounds?>
<I am the god of medicine. Of course I did.>
<What are you suggesting?> Lily asks.
<He’s a criminal who’s never been properly punished for his crimes when serving Ulysses’ Zenith. Two birds with one stone, I believe, is the correct Earth expression.> Kylon answers.
<Are you kidding? I brought him on board to save his life, not to kill him!> Dr. Kalama objects.
<I agree with the sentiment. Besides, it must be a willing sacrifice, and somehow I doubt a follower of Ulysses would be so noble.> Asclepius shuts down the idea.
<Then it’s gonna be me.> Jane declares, taking a deep breath.
<No. I’ll be the one to give up my life.> Kylon disagrees.
<Didn’t you hear what I said? Nobody’s going to care if…>
<It’s not your role, miss Blake. You’re a civilian caught in the crossfire; I am Null’s advisor, and this mission was my idea. It’s going to be me.> Kylon insists.
<Well… it’s not like I want to insist… but…> Jane replies, stumbling on her words; as much as she wants to restore her friends’ life, she also wants to keep her own.
She’s saved from the discussion by the beeping sound coming from the nearest console, which Lily translates:
<We’re landing on the planet. We should get back to the bridge.>
<Go ahead. Just give me a couple of minutes alone.> Kylon says. There isn’t much will to protest: everyone who tried to volunteer was sincere, but they are still mortals.
Kylon makes sure to stay next to Asclepius, discreetly holding his arm until everyone else has left the room and then talking to him, keeping his voice low.
<I want you to revive Vector. I need him to be ready to move by the time we’re inside the palace.>
<I told you he’s never going to volunteer. And I’m a doctor, I’ll have no part in murder.>
<You know the kinds of experiments that Vector carried out, in his twisted vision of science. Don’t tell me you don’t want him to pay just as much as I do.>
<Even if that were true, whatever you’re planning is not going to work.>
<Maybe not. But I have an idea.>
<What happened to your willingness to die for Null?>
<I joined forces with her to make the Galaxy a better place. If it turns out there is no other option, I’m more than willing to die for the cause… but that doesn’t mean I’m not going to try to get out of this alive.>
<What are you planning to do, Kylon, trick the king of the underworld!?>
<Something like that.>
<That sounds like something Null would say. Let’s hope you’re half as smart as she is.>
Themiscyra, 90,000 light-years from Earth
The fight has been going on for so long that none of the mortals involved have any clue how much time has passed. The Amazons are throwing more and more bodies into the battle: their ability to build more androids is keeping pace with the speed at which the Vanguard is destroying them.
Quantum and Torn are doing most of the work: Kari and her husband Kiros have reached their limit by creating ten thousand duplicates each, all concentrating on the task of pushing the Amazons into the line of fire.
<MODEL 82 DISCONTINUED. RELEASING MODEL 83.> is the voice coming from a speaker, anticipating the teleportation on the battlefield of a new and improved warrior.
She cleaves through the mass of Kari and Kiros duplicates; this gives Quantum the chance for a clear shot, which he releases as a massive blast of electricity… that Model 83 absorbs harmlessly.
<Oh come on!!!> the human complains.
<Needle of the eye!> Torn shouts, throwing a javelin of Blood energy straight towards the Amazon’s eye. It doesn’t even reach her, disappearing before touching her personal forcefield.
<We need Vesta. She has to be around here somewhere!> a Kari duplicate says.
<I tried looking for here, but this place is shielded against most particles. The only thing I saw is your weird duplication stuff.> Quantum replies.
<You mean virtual particles? Where did you see them?>
<That way, a couple of miles away.>
<Maybe that’s where they’re keeping my original body and… oh Gaea, my kids! 10K Rise!>
Thousands of Kari duplicates disappear instantaneously, leaving only one surrounded by a glowing pink aura. Who runs away ten thousand times faster than a regular woman, leaving her team behind.
<Oh yeah, just leave us alone, it’s not like we could use the help!> Quantum says sarcastically.
<We do. Without help, she’s going to kill us all.> Torn says, completely missing the point as he charges towards the latest Amazon model.
Kari completely ignores the sound of the battle resuming behind her; with her strength enhanced by the 10K Rise she easily smashes through several walls, until leaves the arena and arrives at what is unmistakably an advanced laboratory.
<What’s going on here?> she asks, looking around while dozens of Amazons stand up from their stations to face her.
The lab’s instruments are spread around several glass containers. One of them holds the unconscious original body of Kari Zel, syphoning the virtual particles used by her powers.
A second one is linked to three smaller containers. The large one holds a woman seemingly made of cyan energy, flickering in and out of existence; every time she disappears, Kari’s daughters appear inside the smaller cylinders.
<What did you do to my kids!?> she shouts. The Amazons attack her, but these are not warrior models: with her enhanced strength she makes short work of them, breaking every model except one. She brutally pulls the last android’s arms out of her body, then holds her against the wall.
<Tell me what you did unless you want to end up like your sisters.>
<We didn’t harm them! We can release your original body, but the others should…>
<I asked what you did!!!> Kari insists, pushing her harder. If the Amazon was a woman, she would’ve broken her skeleton like a twig.
<We’re trying to artificially copy the duplication power. The adult has been supercharged with virtual particles to increase the amount of energy her body can absorb; for the children we’re testing if it’s possible to fuse multiple bodies into a single duplicate.>
<Set them free. NOW.>
<The process is not complete! If we disconnect them now, the fusion won’t be permanent!>
<Do it now or I’ll deactivate you for good.> she orders, letting her go.
Since the Amazon is now missing her hands she can’t try any tricks: she walks towards a particular console and nods towards a particular lever.
<That’s the emergency release. Pull that one.>
She doesn’t have to say it twice. Once she pulls it, her original body automatically re-absorbs her.
Kari expected to feel drained, but it’s exactly the opposite: she feels more energized than ever. She doesn’t inherit any new memories, reasoning the original must’ve been kept unconscious the whole time. But what really shakes her is the voice calling her.
<Mommy? We feel funny.>
The voice is coming from the woman made of cyan energy. She tries to get out of the container, but she stumbles like she wasn’t used to her body proportions. When she begins falling, her body disappears: Kari’s daughters, the older Ariel and the twins Imani and Azure, re-appear next to her.
<Are you girls alright?> she asks, immediately checking on them; despite being understandably scared of finding themselves in a foreign environment, they don’t seem to have been harmed.
<It was a success! Once we claim the power for ourselves, we’ll be able to fuse multiple Amazons into a single undefeatable warrior!> the Amazon scientist proclaims.
<And what did you do to me, exactly? Will I be able to create more than ten thousand duplicates?>
<No, that limitation seems to be programmed into the Drylon device that grants you the ability. But you can tap into far more power than you previously could.>
<Let’s see. 10K Rise!> she shouts once more. It took her a long time to be able to switch that power-up on and off, but it still leaves her very tired. This time, however, it feels like nothing.
<Your strength derives from absorbing enough virtual particles to create ten thousand bodies. We gave you the ability to multiply that power by itself.>
<Good to know.> Kari nods, twisting the android’s head 180 degrees to snap its circuitry. Considering the body leaks a considerable amount of sparks, her daughters don’t have a problem understanding she just broke a robot instead of murdering a human being.
<Don’t worry girls, daddy will be here shortly. Can you stay here for a moment while mommy deals with something?>
<Can we change into the pretty glowing lady again?> Ariel asks.
<I have no clue, aunt Noriko will have to run some tests before you try. Let’s see now, “multiply the power by itself”… can I really stack a 10K Rise upon another 10K? That would be power increase of a hundred million times!>
The laboratory shakes: even if the Vanguard’s battle is still miles away, it must have grown to the point of endangering the entire structure.
<MODEL 83 DISCONTINUED. RELEASING MODEL 84.>
<Well, looks like they’re really gonna need me, so… here goes nothing. Limit Breaker!!!>
Discussion ¬