Beyond The Impossible

New York City, Earth

The day began like any other recent one: under the faint red glow of the force field covering the sky. When the field appeared months ago, without any warning, the entire world went into panic.

Scientists were quick to say that the warmth of the Sun was still reaching the planet, but that didn’t really do much to reassure people when every day and night was uniformly blanketed by the ominous red glow.

Eventually people reacted the way they always do: turn the unknown into background noise. It made no sense to waste time and energy into worrying why the stars and the Moon were no longer visible if it had no impact on everyday life.

But now that the barrier disappears in the same manner it originally manifested, suddenly and without explanation, it’s a sharp reminder of how unpredictable things can be.

The rays of the Sun now shine again on the city that never sleeps. Millions of people stop whatever they are doing and look up at the blue sky, a sight that they were sure they would never see again.

This results in the single greatest number of car accidents in the last century and is probably why nobody pays attention at the lightning bolt that strikes Null Tower.

Max Black a.k.a. Quantum is standing on the roof of the skyscraper; he has seen Noriko Null absorb the planet’s information plenty of times, but this is different.

Instead of flowing directly into her brain, the electricity from the lightning bold seems stuck in mid-air. Guided by her hands it takes the shape of the symbol for infinity.

<Everything okay? I’ve never seen you do that.> he asks Noriko.

<I don’t typically need this. But I’ve been away from Earth for so long that absorbing all of this at once would be too distracting; I’m picking the topics I’m interested in.> she explains.

Tiny streaks of electricity flow from the infinity symbol into her fingertips, as if she was touching an invisible plasma lamp. With a wave of her hand, she dissipates the rest.

<I didn’t know you could do that.> he admits.

<Neither did I. I’ve barely started experimenting with the abilities I’ve unlocked now that I have full access to the Nexus.>

<Just be careful, okay? Don’t accidentally electrocute the entire planet.>

<Come on, Max, when am I not careful?>

<…>

<On second thought, don’t answer that. How are your powers? Feeling better now?>

<I dunno. Let me try something.> Quantum answers. His body disappears in a flash of light; Noriko can barely see a laser disappearing into the distance. It bounces against a window, turns into a radio wave to pass through a building, and then reappears next to her in the form of an overly enthusiastic Quantum throwing both hands in the air.

<Wo-hoo! I’m back, baby!!!>

<Interesting. It seems my theory was correct.> Noriko comments, stroking her chin pensively.

<What theory?>

<That Drylon technology only works in its native universe. Your powers derive from the Heart Of The Universe, which currently resides inside Earth’s core. When Earth was phased between dimensions, you were unable to access all of its functions.>

<But my powers still work in the Null Zone; isn’t that another dimension?>

<That’s a pocket dimension, Max. You’re not thinking hyperdimensionally.>

<Is that even a word?>

<It is now. Listen, I have a zillion things to do, why don’t you take some time off? You deserve it.>

<You don’t have to ask me twice. I need to talk to some friends and get up to speed on so many shows and comic books… or maybe the other way around, I don’t want spoilers!>

Quantum disappears once more, with no less enthusiasm than before. When he does, Noriko can feel the presence of Roxiana behind her.

<What an interesting fellow. I hope you actually did have this conversation and didn’t imagine the whole thing.> the ghost of the former Nexus host comments.

<I’m glad that the voice inside my head is worried about my mental health, but why exactly are you here, Roxiana?>

<I wanted to have a close look at your planet. It sure has changed from the last time I saw it.>

<Wait a second, you’ve been on Earth before!?>

<Once.>

<Care to elaborate on that?>

<Sure. As soon as you undo the blocks that prevent me from learning what you just absorbed from the planet’s collective consciousness.>

<Keep dreaming. Any comments on my theory on Drylon tech?>

<It’s correct, of course. You’re a little late to claim the discovery, though: the Lar figured it out three million years ago. Well, a Lar host did, anyway.>

<And let me guess, they didn’t actually do anything with that discovery.>

<If they did, it’s off the books.>

<Of course. Come on, let’s see how much people screwed up managing the latest crisis and come up with a solution.> Noriko proposes, walking towards the entrance to the building.

<I didn’t figure you for such a pessimist. Why are you so certain that the global experience of a shared threat didn’t push the people of this planet to come together?>

Noriko stops, turns towards Roxiana’s apparition and raises an eyebrow.

<Are you sure you’ve been to Earth before?>

 

Boreas, 3,000 light-years from Earth

Tyche doesn’t have many good memories of the Winter Kingdom: it’s been years, but she can’t forget how the Ice Queen stole her sector by trapping her in a block of ice.

Leiko Tanaka’s possession of the Vial of Destiny might make her a blind spot for Tyche’s precognitive abilities, but the goddess of luck and destiny didn’t need her powers to know that one day she would get her revenge.

<Allowing mortals to challenge the authority of the gods. Unforgivable.> Harmonia comments.

Tyche looks at her half-sister, now sitting on the Winter Throne. She can’t be trusted… in her own way she’s just as dangerous as her father Ares… but she can be useful.

<I couldn’t agree more. Does this mean you’re going to recognize me as the legitimate ruler?>

<That depends. Did you reach your status by employing violence?>

<Of course not, I’m probably the weakest member of the pantheon. Mortals hailed me as their ruler because they knew I could keep them safe… until the Ice Queen usurped my position. With the consent of Hera, of course. The same Hera that is not recognizing you as the true heir of the throne of Ares, I might add.>

<I shall pay visit to my grandmother shortly. But fear not, Tyche, I hereby recognize your legitimate position as the queen consort of this sector.>

<Thank you, Harmonia, I knew I could… wait, “queen consort”?> Tyche replies, as the doors to the throne room open to allow entrance to Lar guards. They are pushing a platform holding a block of ice containing a god: Dionysus, god of debauchery and Tyche’s husband.

<Of course. You and I might share Aphrodite as our mother, but your father is only Hermes. My grandson Dionysus is the offspring of my daughter Semele and of almighty Zeus… it would not be proper for him to hold a lesser position than you.>

<But… I’m the one who took control of this sector! Dionysus hasn’t done a thing his whole life!>

<Child, you are barely seven thousand years old. You were but a sucking infant when my father deemed me dangerous enough to imprison me. Is it really wise to show your age?> Harmonia asks.

Tyche can feel she’s ready to use her mind control powers on her: the only strategy to escape turning into a brain dead slave is to continue appeasing her.

<My apologies, Harmonia. I defer to your wise judgment.> Tyche says, bowing to her half-sister.

“At least as long as you’re useful to me” the goddess of luck also thinks.

 

Null Tower, New York City

Noriko Null is standing at the center of the living room of her private quarters. She’s surrounded by so many holographic screens that she had the Nullbots move the couches out the way.

Her trademark green leather jacket and her boots are laying on the floor, next to a couple of empty ramen noodle cups. As she sips from her twelfth cup of coffee of the day, Roxiana walks impatiently around her.

<This place is so boring. Do only robots live here? Where are all the people?>

<Everyone left after the building was searched by the F.B.I. At least O.D.I.N. was able to get my personal belongings to a safe place before they could start looking through my underwear drawer.>

<<Do you require my services, mistress?>> the Tower’s artificial intelligence asks, activated automatically by her mentioning its name.

<Not at the moment, O.D.I.N. Get into standby mode until further notice and delete everything you’ve heard from me today, thanks.>

<<Acknowledged. Welcome back, mistress. Standby mode active.>> the AI replies.

<As much as I’d like to know why you bother being polite to a program or why is underwear your first priority, Noriko, you really have to elaborate in this “FBI” thing.> Roxiana says.

<Here. Have a look at this.> Noriko says, moving a particular screen to the foreground: it’s a graph showing a line indicating stable growth until it suddenly plunges dramatically.

<That’s the value of my stock portfolio. When the planetary shield went into effect and I dropped off the face of the Earth… without my android taking my place like she was supposed to do… my reputation took a nosedive. Apparently everyone blamed me both for the sky disappearing AND for a resurgence of the pandemic I thought I cured after the Eden incident… I can’t believe I’m saying this, but there’s still people refusing to take the vaccine I developed!>

<But Earth is not a spacefaring civilization. Why would the shield bother them?>

<Because it caused panic, and the panic lead to this.> Noriko answers by pointing to another graph: it’s another line showing a catastrophic decline.

<The global economic tanked, hard. Most of my government contracts were terminated and people stopped buying from Null Technologies… I’m no longer the richest person in the world.>

<I’m not familiar with the economics of this world. Does this mean you’ve lost your properties?>

<It’s complicated. It’s not like I can’t afford to keep the lights on… I still have 14 billion dollars in my savings account… but I dropped from being #1 to #150.>

<And this “FBI” wanted to steal your assets to pay for your debts?> Roxiana asks, scratching her head; even for a Nexus host, Earth makes no sense.

<Officially they were investigating my links to the shield’s generator… it’s on Midgard City, but even the C.I.A. knew better than trying to get past its defenses… but I suspect they were looking for something else, possibly on behalf of the Global Defense Organization.> she explains, as another Nullbot enters the room carrying a rather unassuming piece of furniture.

Noriko runs towards it, rushing to open the drawer as soon as the robot puts it down. He silver eyes shine as soon as she realizes that nobody has touched a single piece of underwear.
<You have such basic tastes.> Roxiana comments, peeking at what’s inside the drawer.

<They could’ve taken anything I own, but as long as I have this I have the means to save the world’s economy not just from this crisis, but forever.> Noriko says, emptying the drawer to reveal a secret compartment hidden beneath her underwear.

And when she pulls out a small statuette depicting Athena, Roxiana’s eyes light up like hers.

<Is that Palladium!? You keep the greatest relic of the Trojan War in your underwear drawer!?>

<It’s more than that. This is the device that keeps Earth isolated from the rest of the Galaxy; it’s been the world’s greatest asset for thousands of years, and virtually nobody knows it exists.>

<You’re overselling it. The Palladium might prevent faster than light travel in this solar system, yes, but at this point Earth’s location is known by most of the Galaxy. It’s nearly worthless now.>

<See, that’s where you’re wrong, Roxiana. In fact, everybody has been wrong about the Palladium for much of its existence… I didn’t figure out what this device actually does until I died.>

<Well, I’m intrigued now. Care to elaborate on that?>

<Nope.> Noriko replies, grabbing a pair of new underwear and walking towards her quarters.

<You’re going to keep me in suspense as punishment for making fun of you, isn’t it?>

<The thought has occurred to me. Now return to the Mindscape: I’m going to have a shower and put on some fancy clothes. I have the meeting of my life coming up and I need to look presentable.>

<Why? What exactly are you planning to do with the Palladium, Noriko?>

Noriko pauses. She knows she absolutely cannot trust Roxiana, but keeping her completely in the dark might not be the best strategy.

<I’m going to buy the planet.> she reveals.