Beyond The Impossible

New York City

Noriko Null has lived most of her life in Manhattan, but she can’t recognize this version of the city.

All the landmarks are there, but the streets have never been this empty. There’s people, sure, but she doesn’t bump into anyone. Not even once.

She checks the address on her phone multiple times. She does remember living here when she was a child, but it was wildly different. A dingy and cramped one-room apartment that shouldn’t have been sufficient for a grown man but that by necessity had to be a home to both her and her father.

This apartment building, on the other hand, looks like it’s straight out of a 90s sitcom: by any logic it should cost a fortune, but for some reason it’s affordable to anyone.

The man who opens the door looks like her father, but she knows it has to be the fake version created by Heaven. For two reasons: first, like any other person she’s met in this reality, he’s not even an inch taller than her. Second, he’s wearing a suit and tie.

As far back as she can remember, Bob Null has never worn a tie once in his entire life.

<Hey, kiddo! What a surprise. Why did you ring the bell, have you lost the keys?>

<Nevermind that. I just wanted to know how you were doing, dad.> Noriko replies, realizing she didn’t call him “father” after the word escape her mouth.

She wonders if that’s because the Nexus isn’t active, or if Heaven’s reality is beginning to mess with how her mind works.

<I’m doing great. Listen, can you just text me later? I was about to drop your sister to school before going to work.>

<Sister? Work?> she repeats, confused by the state of events.

<Hi Nori! Can you hang out once I’m back from school? Remember you promised me how to play guitar!> is the excited reply from half-Hawaiian teenage girl running towards her father.

<Nalani? You’ve… grown since I last saw you.> Noriko acknowledges: her half-sister should be 7 years old, but she looks at the very least twice that.

<What do you mean, we see each other all the time! Like this afternoon, ‘kay?>

<Come on Nalani, you don’t want to be late. Remember to text me, Noriko!> Bob repeats, leaving his apartment with his younger daughter.

Still confused, Noriko takes a moment to compose herself by sitting down on the living room’s sofa. Next to her, she can see the ghostly image of Teraph.

<Your don’t seem to enjoy Heaven’s version of your family.> he tells her.

<It’s so weird. You said Heaven is shaped by my subconscious desires?>

<That’s right.> the former Nexus host answers.

<I kind of get why I’d want my father to have a normal job, living in a nice house. And I suppose I do struggle to connect with Nalani… perhaps I do wish she were older. Although it’s impossible for her to be this old in real life, my father didn’t even know Catherine at the time.>

<Who’s Catherine? Who are you talking to?>

The question comes from the last person Noriko expected to meet here. She stands up and practically jumps at the woman, pushing her towards the nearest wall with the full intent to cause her harm.

<What are YOU doing here!?>

<It’s my house.> Leiko Tanaka answers sincerely. And despite her daughter’s best effort, she’s not hurt in the slightest.

<I should’ve known you’d find a way to ruin this place, just like you ruin everything! I don’t know what you’re trying to accomplish but don’t try any… tricks…> Noriko say, her anger subsiding when she notices something that convinces her to let Leiko go.

<You’re old.>

<I’d rather say “gracefully aged”.> she corrects her, smiling and doing a little pose: she carries them extraordinarily well, but she has the body of a 44 year old instead of being physically younger than Noriko.

<You’re not the real one. You’re Heaven’s version of my mother.> Noriko realizes.

<That’s sweet of you to say!>

<No, that can’t be. If this is supposed to be my idea of the best reality, you shouldn’t be in it!!!>

Leiko’s vacuous smile fades, replaced by a sad and confused expression.

<I thought the same thing the moment I saw you. What kind of terrible mother am I?>

That’s the first time Noriko has seen someone in Heaven showing a genuine emotion.

<Leiko… “mom”… I want you to think carefully about this. What were you doing before I rang the bell?> Noriko asks, working on a hunch.

<I… I’m not sure.> Leiko answers truthfully, and now it’s her time to sit on the couch to collect her thoughts next to the ghost of Teraph.

<Fascinating.> is his only comment. Noriko doesn’t acknowledge it, and Leiko can’t hear it.

<Bob said he was going to work, but… I don’t remember what he does for a living. For that matter, what do I do for a living? God, I can’t even remember when we met Nalani. And why am I speaking English instead of Japanese?> she wonders.

<You’re not a creation of Heaven. You’re the real Leiko.> Noriko realizes.

<Almost, but not quite.> Teraph corrects her.

<What do you mean?> she asks him.

<I didn’t say anything.> Leiko says.

<I wasn’t talking to you.>

<But we’re the only ones here! Why is it so difficult to think?> Leiko wonders, bringing her hands to her temples as she develops a migraine.

<Because she’s not a full person.> Teraph explains.

<Are you sure?>

<Null, among us who is A) the smartest Nexus host who ever lived, and B) the one who has thousands of years of experience living in Heaven?>

<Get to the point.> Noriko reacts, rolling her eyes.

<You’re in your personal corner of Heaven, modelled on your desires. Your mother should also be in her own corner, far away from here. But, perhaps because she shares a personal link to the Heart Of The Universe that brough you here, her connection to Heaven seems to be stronger: she’s not limited to a single corner. So it’s possible a fragment of her can exist within your Heaven, if even a tiny part of her shares your wishes.> he elaborates.

<That’s impossible! Why would my mother ever wish THIS?> Noriko asks, gesturing towards the apartment in general.

<I don’t know what’s going on anymore.> Leiko admits.

Noriko sighs. She’s hating every second of this, but apparently not enough to disrupt Heaven.

<It’s a long shot, but I’m desperate. I don’t have my technology and without the Nexus I’m not smart enough to rebuild it, and the Vanguard… the real one… must be stuck somewhere in Heaven where I can’t reach them. I only have one trick left.> Noriko admits, placing her hands on Leiko’s temples and looking at her straight in the eye.

<What are you doing?>

<SOUL RESONANCE!> Noriko shouts, and for a few seconds their minds become intertwined.

It’s an extremely painful process: without the Nexus to fortify her nervous system, a human shouldn’t be able to easily survive this means of communications, but that’s not a problem in Heaven. The real pain is sensory overload.

Noriko witnesses Leiko’s childhood, compressed in less than ten seconds. But she can still feel the emotional impact of years of loneliness and isolation, alternated by years of emotional and physical abuse by her father. Wishing to escape an endless cycle of violence and thirst for power in the arms of a handsome man living an honest bland life.

At the same time, Leiko witnesses what it feels like growing up with a single father who struggles to make ends meet, fantasizing about having a normal healthy couple as parents.

When they disconnect, both women need to catch their breath.

<I… I almost forgot you’re a human being.> Noriko admits.

<I was… she is… a terrible mother. I’m so sorry.> Leiko apologizes.

<So you remember who you are?>

<I am Leiko Null, loving mother to an amazing daughter. But I’m also Leiko Tanaka, the Ice Queen of the Winter Kingdom, the Empress of the Empire of Shadows… and a complete monster. The real her is somewhere in Heaven. I must be what’s left of her humanity.>

<I guess Shinobu’s little speech about giving you a chance must’ve hit me harder than I thought.>

<Heaven’s not going to like this.> Teraph comments, shaking his head.

<Whoa! Who is this!?> Leiko exclaims, recoiling in fear from the Lar sitting next to her.

<You can see him now?>

<You mean to tell me he’s been here the whole time!?>

<Heaven should keep you separated. The fact that it’s not is troubling. Perhaps something went wrong with your method of arrival.> Teraph hypothesizes.

<I’ll say. From what you said, there’s never been so many people in Heaven, and Leiko was connected to one of the Hearts.>

<No, that can’t be it. I assume she wasn’t connected to all seven Hearts.>

<Three.>

<She was connected to three Hearts? Your mother sure gets around.

<No, just one. But three Hearts were used to open the Gate of Heaven, not seven.>

<Oh. That’s bad. That’s very, very bad.>

<How so?>

<You said the Gate was closed from this side, and you forced it open?>

<Roxiana forced it open, but yes. Why does it matter?>

<Because it shouldn’t have worked. When I created the Key of Heaven to access this place, it was unlocked and it still required a truly astronomical amount of energy to open. To open a locked Gate… it would require more energy than I could possibly explain to you.>

<Try.>

<Heaven is an artificial universe that holds as much potential energy as our own. A locked Gate draws power directly from Heaven itself to stay closed; seven Hearts would be the absolute minimum required to maybe slightly budge it. Just three Hearts? Forget it.>

<And yet it’s exactly what happened.>

<Sorry to interrupt: I don’t pretend to understand all you two are saying, but I have a question. You said there’s never been so many people in Heaven before us… how many people were here?> Leiko asks, voicing the same question Noriko had.

<I was the last person to access Heaven, a million years ago.> Teraph answers.

<Then if Heaven was empty… who locked the Gate from this side? You?> Noriko asks.

<I said I was the last person. I didn’t say Heaven is empty.>

Mother and daughter exchange a worried look. Noriko then says:

<We need help getting out of here. If there’s someone in Heaven to help us, I need to know.>

<No, you don’t. Even if it was capable of acknowledging your existence, something I doubt, it wouldn’t want to have anything to do with something from outside Heaven.>

<I think it’s exactly the opposite, Teraph. Think about it: if it’s impossible to open the Gate the way we did, like you said… perhaps someone from this side opened it for us?> Noriko suggests.

<Hm. I didn’t think of that. I guess that, since I’m only a shadow of the original Teraph, I am not as smart as the real one was, if a lower lifeform such as yourself can outsmart me.>

<Have you ever been told you have a massive superiority complex?>

<By inferior intellects, yes. Your theory is terrifying, Null, but untestable. Unless you have access to someone who has a more direct link to the Heart of the Universe than…> Teraph begins to explain, when something gets everyone’s attention: a portal opening up in the living room.

It’s unlike any other portal that Noriko has ever seen, made up of crackling dots of energy.

Someone steps out of it: a man wearing a red costume with a large Q symbol on his chest, and a cape. Someone who Noriko almost recognizes.

<Good morning, Mrs. Null! Would you mind if I borrow your daughter to save my world?>

<Max?> Noriko says.

<You know it’s Captain Quantum when I’m in costume. Suit up, Doctor Null, I need your help on Earth-Q: the evil Ice Empress has gathered her Evil Brotherhood of Villains and is unleashing her evil hordes on Super City!>

<That’s a lot of evil.> Noriko deadpans.

<I know. Isn’t it awesome? I mean terrible. But come on, you want to save the world, don’t you?>