Unknown planet, 25.000 light-years from Earth
Both Torn and Quantum have faced danger countless times, facing off entire armies and fleets. Neither of them ever imagined that their greatest challenge would be an angry forest.
<This is getting ridiculous!> Quantum protests, using a laser to cut through dozens of lianas that tried to ambush him. It’s of little use: the red plants regenerate almost instantly.
<They’re drawing power from the Blood. Unless we cut off the supply they will keep fighting forever.> Torn replies. His body is surrounded by energy swords that rotate around him, a cyclone of blades that reduce the red plants to tiny crumbs. He’s barely able to keep up with the speed at which new vines grow to replace the lost ones.
<And how exactly do we do that?>
<The Blood cannot exist without life. A nuclear explosion might give us some time.>
<You want me to nuke the place!? Can you even survive that!?>
<I can use a pentagram to move to a save space. Just give me a warning.>
<Torn, that sounds a bit extreme…> Quantum complains, before looking up at the shadow that is suddenly blocking the sun. It comes from a tree that is several miles tall, which has just shapeshifted from a green sequoia to a nightmarish red bundle of tentacled spines.
<Okay, maybe it’s time for extreme measures. On my mark, Torn!>
<I don’t know anyone called Mark.>
<Oh for the love of… just GO!!!> the human yells, causing the Demon to roll his eyes and jump inside a hastily created pentagram of fire… leaving Quantum alone against the angry forest.
<Dammit, I hate blowing up, this’ll give me a hangover. MEGATON BLAST!>
Quantum concentrates, and a part of his mass changes from matter to antimatter. If he did this with half of his mass the resulting explosion would be more powerful than the detonation of the entire human nuclear arsenal; instead most of his mass is transformed to harmless neutrinos.
Still, the result is a combination of gamma rays and sheer destruction… even if this mysterious planet is larger than Jupiter, the explosion can easily be seen from orbit.
Asgard Station, Null Zone
Once Todd Slate steps out of the Portal Generator, he can’t believe his eyes: on the other side of a large glass panel he can see just how colossal the station has become, illuminated by the light of artificially constructed stars.
Noriko Null arrived just before him, and once she notices he’s not following her towards the sliding door of the elevator she comments with half a smile on her face:
<If you think that’s impressive, I should give you a full tour of the station sometimes.>
<Where did you get all the material to build this stuff? I thought Null Zone was completely empty!>
<I bought the mining rights of another galaxy and syphoned off a few nebulas build some stars; compared to that hassle, bringing in a few billion tons of metal was nothing.>
<A few… Noriko, how did you pay for all this stuff!? I thought Null Technologies was nearly bankrupt!>
<That’s just dollars. The creation of the Bank of Midgard left me with enough vorons to buy the entire planet twice over.> she replies, practically dragging Todd into the elevator.
He would comment how weird it is that she named the newest galactic currency after her former boyfriend, but he knows it’s a touchy subject for her.
<Thanks for accompanying me, Todd. I didn’t feel like doing this alone.> she reluctantly admits.
<Hey, my job as Secretary of Homeworld Security is making sure Earth is safe, and keeping you safe is a big part of that.>
<You know, it’d be easier if you were angry at me for how I treated you after we split up, but you’re always so… nice to me.> she says, getting closer to him.
<We didn’t split up, Noriko. You dumped me. That doesn’t mean we can’t still be friends.>
<Yeah, sure. Being friends is great.> she hurries to add, backing off and pretending to find the elevator’s buttons extremely interesting.
Fortunately for her, they have reached the destination: the floor that housing the infirmary.
<Do you really want me to be present?> Todd asks.
<My hallucinations have become so severe that I need someone to vouch for my memory, otherwise I risk making up the entire conversation in my head. Plus… well, Asclepius makes me nervous. He’s a little too handsy for a doctor. I’d rather have someone else around to make sure he’s not touching what he’s not supposed to touch.>
<Noriko, you could find another doctor if he makes you uncomfortable.>
<Yeah, right. Know any other gods of medicine?>
<That’s your department, but you could always ask Vesta for ideas on the subject.>
<If I listened to Vesta I would never meet any god… heck, even she doesn’t like meeting them!>
Aquilia, same solar system
Rhea is a simple goddess to please: she’s just content tending to her personal garden, sometimes half-listening to the tales of her attendants about their families.
Vesta never really liked gardening… fire and plants don’t mix… but she hates spending time with her mother. Kari’s presence somewhat alleviates her burden, and the goddess is perfectly content leaving all the socializing to her Myridian friend.
<So, miss Zel… is it miss or mrs? I can never remember how mortal names work!> Rhea says.
<It doesn’t matter: on Myridia, husbands take the wife’s last name. But call me Kari, please.>
<Oh, so you are married. Any children yet?>
<I have three daughters, yes.>
<Splendid! I have three daughters as well, plus three wonderful boys. Your friend is lovely, Hestia, why can’t you be more like her?>
<It’s Vesta.> the daughter points out, knowing well that it’s no use correcting her mother.
<She’s just going through a phase, she’ll get over that ridiculous name in a millennium or two. You know how children can be. You know what, Kari? Your next children should be boys! I can put a good word with my granddaughter to make that happen, she’s the goddess of childbirth you know.>
<You mean Ilithyia. Hasn’t anyone told you she’s dead?> Kari asks.
<Oh, that silly game again. Hera said the same thing! My children really love that nonsense… can you believe all six of them have told me Kronos is dead?>
<Dad has been dead for the last million years, mom.> Vesta comments, rolling her eyes.
<Yes, with all due respect, Rhea, don’t you find it at least a bit concerning?> Kari asks; she can’t fathom someone utterly ignoring reality for a million years.
<Not at all! I’m not a clingy wife: a god is allowed some time alone.>
<It’s no use, Kari: mom is a billion years old. To her, a million years are a couple of weeks at best.>
<Hestia can be a little overactive if she spends too much time with mortals, Kari. Three or four million years on this adorable planet, in the company of her mother, will do her good!>
<I would rather have dad eat me alive again.> Vesta sighs.
<Your father has promised not to do that anymore, Hestia. I know he’s going to honor his word!>
<He ate five of his children. The only reason he didn’t eat Zeus is that you tricked him.>
<She always brings up the eating part. She makes a big deal out of it!> Rhea whispers to Kari.
<I can’t imagine why.> Kari replies, now understanding why Vesta hates spending time with Rhea.
Asgard Station, Null Zone
Noriko Null sits nervously on the edge of the medical bed, while a muscular demigod with a toga and the face of a much older man stares at her in the face, a little too close for comfort.
<Hmm. Very interesting.> Asclepius comments.
<Can’t you give me a little breathing room?> Noriko asks, shifting her position a little farther away.
<I can smell quite a few medications on you. Zolpidem tartrate to treat insomnia, that’s fine, but haloperidol and fluphenazine as antipsychotics? Who prescribed those?>
<I don’t need prescriptions. I know more about medicine than…>
<We’re definitely getting you off those. I’m also sensing estrogen and progestin drospirenone, as a contraceptive measure I suppose? You know, once we are done I can easily perform a vasectomy on your lover if he wants one.>
<I’m just here as moral support.> Todd replies, amused at seeing how Noriko blushes so much she could be mistaken for a Demon.
<Those are for my period, which I am not discussing with you, ever.> she tells Asclepius, whispering with an angry voice.
<That’s disappointing, oxytocin would do wonders for your health: I’ll have to prescribe manual stimulation of your…>
<Can we PLEASE go back to the reason I came here!?> Noriko protests, her silver eyes shining.
<Sure, sure. How long have you been experiencing these hallucinations?>
<A few weeks. Aren’t you going to run some scans or…>
<Please go into more detail. Are these hallucinations just visual? Or also auditory, olfactory, tactile…>
<Just visual and auditory, I guess? Sometime I don’t figure out I’m not interacting with someone real until much later, so I don’t really remember.>
<I thought you had a perfect memory.> Todd interjects; he’s keeping a respectable distance from the patient, but he’s here at her request.
<Okay maybe I do remember those hallucinations but I don’t like to dwell on them, okay!?>
<I see you are also quite irritable. Have you also experienced other symptoms such as frequent alteration of focus and concentration?>
<I guess.> Noriko shrugs.
<Is there any chance you might convince her to be honest with me?> Asclepius asks Todd.
<Your bedside manners are weird, are you sure you’re a doctor?>
<Sir, I will let you know that I am the God of Medicine: the human body holds no secret for me, and even the Slayer of Gods should remember that she is still human.>
<Ugh, I don’t know why I ever thought having you as a physician was a good idea.> Noriko sighs.
<Because the lovely Dr. Kalama is too emotionally attached, Lady Null, plus she is not qualify to treat someone with B.C.H.S.>
<With what?> Todd asks.
<Benign Cerebral Hypergrowth Syndrome. It’s how he likes to describe this.> Noriko explains, tapping on her temple to indicate.
<You may not take your condition seriously, Lady Null, but I will have you know that 100% of B.C.H.S. cases have resulted in death.>
<That’s just because its only cause is being a Nexus host and only mortals can be hosts!>
<That’s beside the point. Your brain has been radically altered on a cellular level; cerebral activity is not only constantly high, but it’s increasing.>
<So? I’ve never had any serious health problem!> Noriko objects.
<Ehm.> Todd clears his throat.
<What?>
<You have literally died, Noriko.>
<That doesn’t count! Okay, sure, I’ve had some minor problems…>
<…multiple heart attacks and heart arrests, multiple organ replacements, including two heart transplants, multiple nervous system shutdowns, multiple bone fractures, addiction to antipsychotics, addiction to sedatives…> Asclepius recites.
<Okay, okay, I live a dangerous life. But nothing’s wrong with my brain, right? I mean you did remove the tumor.>
<You had a brain tumor!?> Todd exclaims.
<I removed it, yes, but that doesn’t erase the cumulative effects of years of insomnia, psychotic dissociation, psychotic depression, psychomotor retardation, anhedonia, night terrors…>
<I get the picture: I’m a basket case. What does that have to do with these new hallucinations!?>
<Your brain has become addicted to the power of the Nexus. It refuses to lower its activity, stimulating your mind with new scenarios and hallucinations to force you to think.>
<That doesn’t seem too bad. I don’t mind thinking.>
<Null… your brain is not human and it might be the most advanced electrochemical computer in the universe… but it’s still a fleshy organ. It won’t keep up with the Nexus forever: unless this addiction is treated, it will kill you. And there is no guarantee you can be resurrected a second time.>
<What do you prescribe?> Noriko asks, without missing a beat.
<Disconnect from the Nexus. Start with a few hours a day to acclimate yourself.>
<That doesn’t seem so bad. There’s a catch, right?>
<I can’t guarantee it will work: the Nexus may force itself on your brain, worsening the condition. Or it might detect the disconnection as your death and shut itself off, permanently.>
Unknown planet, 25.000 light-years from Earth
Quantum’s body reappears in the middle of a vast crater, and the first thing he feels is a colossal headache. The second one is the worst earthquake he has ever experienced: he can almost sense the shift in the tectonic plates.
<That doesn’t sound good.> he tells himself.
<WHO HARMED MY CHILDREN?>
The voice shakes the world almost as much as the earthquakes. As Quantum looks up, he realizes what is happening: the planet is affected by a gravitational force so massive it risks breaking it.
Reasoning it has something to do with he green object that is completely covering the entire sky, he changes into a beam of light and rushes for the orbit… and much to his terror, he realizes there is something around the planet. It’s the hand of a green skinned woman.
But that’s far from the thing worrying him the most. Because the greater the distance from the planet, the more he can picture what he’s facing… and its size is just incomprehensible.
The planet was larger than Jupiter. He needs to get to a considerable distance to appreciate the astronomical size of the woman who is holding it on the palm of her hand.
The green-skinned goddess looks at his direction with her planet-sized blue eyes. He can feel reality bending around her buxom figure and, for a second, the superhero remembers what terror feels like.
<YOU BETTER HAVE A GOOD REASON FOR INVOKING THE WRATH OF GAEA, PRIMORDIAL GODDESS OF LIFE.>
Discussion ¬