Asgard Station, Null Zone
Vesta and a few Kari duplicates are watching over the unconscious body of Enyo, certain that the forcefield isolating the infirmary wouldn’t be enough to stop the war goddess.
<I don’t get it. Not to be insensitive or anything, but why is she still alive?> Kari wonders.
<I find that offensive.> Hermes interjects, suddenly appearing between the two Vanguard girls.
<That applies to you as well!> Kari exclaims, attempting to grab him; the god of speed is right behind her in the blink of an eye.
<Come on, sweetie, I though we were past such petty hostilities.>
<You tried to murder all of us! Several times!> Kari objects.
<Water under the bridge.> Hermes shrugs.
<I disagree!!!>
<Mortals, am I right? They get hung up on the silliest things.> Hermes tells Vesta, leaning against her shoulder. And them immediately regretting it when the goddess increases her own temperature to a painful level.
<Ouch! What was that for, auntie!?>
<I’m keeping my eye on you, Hermes. I don’t know what sort of deal you stuck with Noriko, but I don’t trust you.>
<After all my soul-searching and personal growth? You’re hurting my feelings.>
<Go after my friends again and I’ll hurt much more than that. Trust me, the only reason you’re not currently on fire is that Noriko needs you for some reason.>
<Oh, wow. I was told your power had increased, Vesta, but I wasn’t aware that after a literal million years you managed to grow a spine. Good for you!>
<Are you sure we can’t set him on fire? Even a little bit?> Kari asks, as annoyed as Vesta at the god’s antics. The discussion however is cut short when Noriko Null enters the room, accompanied by the god of medicine Asclepius and carrying on her hands a metallic canister.
<I have to say, lady Null, that I strongly object to this plan of yours.>
<That’s always your reaction to everything I say, Asclepius.>
<Because you are the most reckless mortal I have ever met!>
<On that we can all agree.> Vesta comments.
<So how are you unnecessarily going to risk your life this time, Noriko?> Kari asks.
<Do we have an update on Harmonia’s E.T.A.?> Noriko asks back.
<That doesn’t answer my…>
<The Talaria will be here in a little over six hours.> Hermes answers.
<Can you be more specific?>
<Six hours and eight minutes before she reaches the edge of this system, then it depends on whether she actually wants to set foot on the planet or not.>
<After my attack? She definitely will. What about her fleet? Any numbers about that?>
<It’s hard to tell. The few reports we got from the Mortal Republic indicated that over six thousand ships crossed the border, but that’s just from the preliminary sensor sweeps: as soon as Harmonia gets close to a system, all communications drop. But seriously, Noriko, what are you planning to…> Kari says, but she’s interrupted by Hermes:
<I wouldn’t worry about those ships, they will reach this system significantly later. The Talaria is, after all, the fastest ship in the Galaxy.>
<The fastest ship in the Galaxy not built by me.> Noriko corrects him.
<Why would a pacifist like Harmonia bring a fleet anyway?> Vesta wonders.
<Ah, that is certainly my daughter’s idea. Tyche wants to petition Harmonia for control over Earth and perhaps even the Mortal Republic. She must’ve argued that the purpose of the fleet is just to help dismantle all military ships and installations.> Hermes explains.
<You sound pretty sure about that.> Vesta notes, raising an eyebrow.
<That’s what I would do. And I’ve taught Tyche everything she knows about diplomacy.>
<You mean how to lie, deceit and cheat.>
<It’s a gift.>
<Does your “gift” tell you whether Tyche herself and more importantly Dionysus are with the fleet itself?> Noriko asks.
<Tyche is undoubtedly right at Harmonia’s side on the bridge of the Talaria. I highly doubt Dionysus is with them… he would make it harder to influence Harmonia.>
<That’s helpful. Vesta, take the Vanguard and do anything you can to separate Dionysus from the fleet; I need him to stay as far away from Earth as possible.>
<That’s not going to be easy. We definitely underestimated what he’s capable of.> Vesta replies, looking at the unconscious and seriously hurt Enyo.
<I know. But if everything goes according to plan…> Noriko says, but before she can finish the sentence this time it’s Kari’s turn to interrupt.
<WHAT PLAN!? You keep changing the subject!>
<You’re not going to like it.>
<Is it something incredibly dangerous that will doom us all if anything goes slightly wrong?>
<It is something incredibly dangerous that will doom us all if anything goes slightly wrong.>
<Why am I not surprised?> Kari rolls her eyes.
<I assume it has to do with the necrobots we recovered from Anubis.> Vesta says.
<With great personal cost.> Hermes nods.
<What cost? Anubis gave us his permission!>
<Exactly! I’m the god of thieves, do you realize what would happen to my reputation if it became known that I had to ask if I could rob someone!?>
<Oh, I see, you’re going to infect Harmonia to take away her powers. Like Anubis did with Hermes, right?> Kari hypothesizes.
<No, that wouldn’t work. Getting close to Harmonia is hard enough, plus I can’t program the necrobots with the same precision of Anubis. Not yet, at least.>
<Then what are you going to do with them?>
<Are you sure you want to know? It’s not vital to the plan, and you are not going to like it.>
<Come on Nori, we’ve been through a lot together. Nothing you want to do with those things can possibly be worse than what we’ve already dealt with.> Vesta reassures her.
<I’m going to cure Enyo with them.>
<What?>
<I’m going to use the necrobots to cure Enyo’s wounds. I can probably restore her voice too.>
<…>
<I did say you weren’t going to like it.>
<ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR MIND!?> Kari shouts to her face.
<Yeah, I have to agree with Kari on this one, Noriko. This sounds… crazy, even for you.> Vesta adds, scratching her head.
<Enyo is a wild animal! You can’t reason with her, she’s going to attack you the moment she wakes up!> Kari protests.
<I begrudgingly agree with your friend, Sunshine. Enyo is not, how can say it, entirely there.> Hermes adds, mockingly tapping his finger against his temple.
<I know what I’m doing. You guys trust me, right?> Noriko asks.
Vesta and Kari exchange looks in a couple of uncomfortably long seconds of silence.
<Of course we do. We just don’t want to see you die a second time.> Vesta admits.
<I have definitely no intention of repeating the experience. Now go and take the others with you; Kari, you’re with me. Help me move Enyo outside the station.>
<And how can I be of assistance?> Hermes asks, moving next to Noriko and placing his arm around her shoulders. She squirms away immediately.
<You’re taking the Vanguard to the fleet and assist them in the fight against Dionysus.>
<Sunshine, I think you’re seriously underestimating my…>
<If he tries anything funny, set him on fire without hesitation.> Noriko orders Vesta.
<You’re breaking my heart, Sunshine.> Hermes complains.
<That’s not the only thing we’ll break if you don’t behave. Come on, let’s go.> Vesta threatens him, grabbing the god by his ear and forcing him to leave the room with her.
<Well what do you know. She has grown a spine.> Kari comments, crossing her arms and nodding with genuine pride.
<She’s stronger than she realizes.> Noriko adds.
<Kinda scary since she can already bench press a planet.>
<I better stock on medical supplies in case one of you dies again. Let us hope Hades is in a good mood.> Asclepius says, leaving Noriko and Kari alone with Enyo’s body.
<Soooo… what exactly are we going to do with this one?> Kari asks, knocking on Enyo’s forehead.
<I’m going to use the necrobots to reach her nervous system and connect us to the CBN.>
<CBN?>
<Cosmic Background Network. It’s a universal field of trans-dimensionally entangled particles that allows transfer of information throughout the entire cosmos.>
<Ah. Cosmic Internet. Gotcha.>
<That’s not what… nevermind. Just help me move her, okay?>
<Shouldn’t we take off her clothes first?> Kari wonders, moving her hand over Enyo’s skintight armor.
<No, we’re… why would we want to do that?>
<You said you have to use the necrobots on her, right? If he have to spread those things all over her body, won’t the armor get in the way?>
<And I thought I wouldn’t have to deal with this kind of crap by kicking out Hermes. We’re just going to have her ingest the bots, Kari, so get your mind out of the gutter.>
<Bummer. For a psychotic rage monster, she’s kinda hot.>
Later, a million miles away from Asgard Station
The light from the artificial suns that power the station is enough to obscure the main feature of the Null Zone: the constant barrage of lightning bolts, far larger and far more powerful than anything that could be seen on Earth.
Even with the knowledge that the station serves as a lightning rod to absorb any potential strike, it’s still an uncomfortable place to be.
Especially when Kari and Noriko are floating in the empty space, protected from the deadly void by a Survival Field emitted from their belts and a breathing mask. And that’s not even considering the fact that they have taken with them a war goddess and a sample of nanites created by a god of death to turn the dead into his personal army of zombies.
<I hope this is worth it. Those things give me the creeps.> Kari admits, opening the metal container she’s taken with her; one of her duplicates extracts a small transparent vial, which contains what looks like a grey liquid in a very agitated state.
<Then get away once I’ve activated them. Things are gonna be… weird.> Noriko warns her.
<I’m afraid to ask what you consider “weird”.> Kari replies; she places the vial inside Enyo’s mouth, and with a radio signal a seal is opened to release the necrobots.
Enyo begins to convulse, and Kari wastes no time to use the controls on her belt to float away.
<Alright, here goes nothing. Connection established.> Noriko says, her eyes turning golden.
<Not those things again! Don’t they drain your life!?>
<Not as long as I stay connected. This is perfectly safe.> she reassures her. Just when Enyo opens her eyes and reaches for Noriko, placing her hands on her throat.
<I freaking knew it!!!> Kari exclaims, ready to rescue her friend… except Enyo is not squeezing.
<I told you not to worry. I’m connecting us both to the Cosmic Background Network.>
<We. One.> Enyo echoes the sentiment.
<Show me your soul.> Noriko says, and her golden eye shine so much Kari has to look away.
<I hope you know what you’re doing, Noriko.>
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