Beyond The Impossible

Null Tower, New York City

Agent Wu feels out of place in this building, especially being escorted by faceless Nullbots.

<Mistress Null will see you now.> one of them informs him, opening the door to the office.

Noriko Null is there, working on the holographic interface of her personal computer.

<Agent Wu. Please sit down, I will be with you in a moment.>

<Being an Empress must keep you busy.>

<You have no idea. Believe it or not, passing those responsibilities to another takes even more work than doing it yourself.>

<It’s probably none of my business, but are you seriously ceding all executive power to Lyra?>

<It is your business: last time I checked, Earth may not be part of the Olympian Empire but it’s still in the same Galaxy.> she says, closing down the holographic interface.

She then continues:

<But yes, Lyra is the elected Prime Minister so she’ll be the one in charge of the day-to-day stuff… I still have some power, though.>

<I see. But I hardly doubt you need to consult the FBI on how to run things, so…>

<Actually, I’m kind of interest on what you think. Not as an FBI agent: I’ve seen how you work and I trust your judgment, mr. Wu.>

<Thanks for the vote of confidence, but I don’t think I’m qualified for this.>

<Join the club.> Noriko sighs.

<Wait, you don’t think that you are qualified to run the Galaxy?>

<I most definitely am not.>

<You’re the smartest woman in the universe!>

<Smartest person, but that’s hardly important. I only took the role of Mortal Co-Empress as an emergency measure, and recent events have shown how my leadership skills are limited to my job with the Vanguard… all the knowledge from the collective consciousness of mankind doesn’t mean squat if your heart’s not into it. Turns out it takes more than an immeasurably high IQ to run a government.>

<I don’t find the notion very reassuring, miss Null.>

<Well that’s reality for you. Knocking out bad guys is a heck of a lot easier than teaching good people to avoid making stupid mistakes.>

<This is all quote interesting, miss Null, but I’m afraid I don’t get why you wanted to talk to me? Is this about your vial thing?>

<No, the Nullbots brought me back the Vial of Destiny once you were no longer in danger from the Ichor users.> Noriko reassures him, lowering the collar of her black T-shirt to show that the vial is still secured to her neck by a choker.

<And I’ve written an extensive apology to the city of New York for ruining one of its cemeteries, helped by a sizeable donation from the Null Foundation. And with Ganos Lal on her way to recovery, you were the last hanging thread of this whole Ichor business.>

<Me? If you are worried about the FBI investigation on the assassination attempt…>

<Please, I’ve had the CIA collect information on every aspect of my life since I was 18, the FBI doesn’t concern me… no offense. But I kind of felt bad for how I treated you.>

<You used me as bait.> he recalls.

<Exactly. No hard feelings?>

<Are you serious? With everything you have to worry about, you care about that? We barely know each other!>

<I try to keep an eye on smaller things. Again, no hard feelings. It’s been so long since I’ve interacted with a normal person.> Noriko says, and behind her jokey tone Wu can hear a sincere sadness in her voice.

<What if I make it up to you? I can treat you to a nice dinner. Anywhere on the planet.>

<Are you… asking me out!?> Agent Wu wonders, not believing his own words.

<No no, nothing like that! I mean, kinda, but not in a romantic way or anything! I just… I really need to talk to a normal person.>

<Miss Null, this is hardly appropriate.> Agent Wu complains, standing up.

<You’re right, you’re right. God I must sound so pathetic…>

<Are you alright, miss Null? Like I said we barely know each other, but… you don’t sound like yourself.>

<You don’t know the half of it.>

<Uh?>

<Nevermind. Can I count on our professionalism and ask you to… uhm, not talk about this to your FBI friends?>

<I won’t. But on one condition.>

<Sure. What is it?>

<Please lose my number. Your world is way too crazy for me, miss Null.> the agent tells her, turning away and leaving the office without adding anything else.

<Join the club, buddy.> she mumbles to herself.

“My God your are pathetic.” a voice says in her head, feeling like claws scratching at her brain.

“Shut up Abyss. You are not getting out” Noriko answers in her thoughts.

“I know. This cage you made for me is quite unbreakable. But you know damn well you can’t silence me forever.”

“Is that your new strategy? Annoy me to death?”

“It’s a start.”

“Too bad for you, because I’ve found a way to shut you up whenever you get uppity.”

As Noriko thinks this, her eyes turn from silver to brown once she turns off her Nexus.

<Nothing to say to that?> Noriko asks.

The only answer is silence.

<Good. Now, what am I gonna do to pass the time?>

 

An apartment in Manhattan

Max Black sits on his couch, reading a comic book, as a voice from the other room tells him:

<You better be ready once I’m done!>

<Jane, we both know it takes me less time to read than it takes you to dress up.>

<You know we both would have more time if you could use your powers to get us both to the restaurant at the speed of light…>

<Sorry. My powers don’t work that way.>

<Couldn’t you ask Noriko to lend us her teleport thingy?>

<I don’t think we should use that kind of technology for stupid stuff.> Max answers, when a bright light illuminates the room.

For a moment he’s preparing to fight, but he then recognizes the particles emitted by Null’s patented Portal Generator. Even more so when Noriko Null appears in the room.

<Hey Max! Thank goodness you’re dressed. Now that I think about it I should’ve teleported into the hallway, this could’ve been awkward.>

<Nori? What are you doing here?> Jane Blake asks, moving into the living room.

Noriko’s eyes move between her high school best friend and her teammate: they’re both wearing formal clothes.

<Scratch that: you’re over-dressed. What’s the occasion?> Noriko asks.

<Don’t you remember? It’s our anniversary.> Jane says, holding Quantum’s arm.

<That’s why I didn’t think of coming here before switching off the Nexus, I would’ve remembered that otherwise.> Noriko tells herself.

<Is there some sort of emergency? Jane was really looking forward to this date.>

<No no, it’s… nothing important. It can wait, don’t worry. Have a nice evening and don’t do anything I wouldn’t!> Noriko awkwardly replies, rushing to take her N-Phone to remote control the Portal Generator.

She vanishes as rapidly and as inexplicably as she arrived.

<Should I check on her? She’s been through a lot lately.> Quantum says.

<It’s Noriko, when is she not going through something?> Jane shrugs.

 

Myridia, 50 light-years from Earth

By some cosmic coincidence, it’s the middle of the night on this side of the planet. Noriko would’ve recalled that if the Nexus was active.

She looks at the Zel household from the outside. She knows she could just wake up Kari and ask to hang out with her duplicate… or even ask O.D.I.N. to look for any duplicate on Earth that is not currently busy.

But then she realizes: would Kari be able to relate? As a Myridian, she’s never been truly alone in a long time. And she’s already asked to sacrifice too much in order to serve as her replacement as leader of the Vanguard… talking about the other job she’s dumping on someone else would probably be too much.

 

Hell, 163.000 light-years from Earth

Torn is sitting cross-legged, balancing on Blood sword that emerge from a pool of lava.

As he’s meditating, he opens one eye when the light of the Portal Generator illuminates him.

He can see Noriko Null standing in front of him, protected from the toxic environment by the Survival Field emitted by her belt.

<Nevermind.> she then says, realizing a Demon would not be the best counsel.

Once she disappears, Torn closes his eye and returns to meditating after uttering a single word.

<Humans.> he sighs.

 

Tranquility Sea, 1 light-second from Earth

If Earth telescopes were pointed at this spot and had a much better resolution, they would see a rather unusual scene.

Two women relaxing on lounge chairs, right behind the Lunar Module of the Apollo 11 mission that brought humans on this satellite for the first time.

<I missed this.> Vesta admits, looking at the Earth shining on the lunar sky.

<Yeah it’s a nice view. What’s stopping you from coming here more often?> Noriko Null asks; she’s protected by the Survival Field, which is generating oxygen for her and is regulating the temperature around her so much that she can open a can of beer without it freezing instantly.

<After mortals landed, it kind of lost its magic. Are you even old enough to drink that?>

<I’m 27.> Noriko reminds her, taking the first sip.

<Oh. Right. Sorry, sometimes it’s easy to forget how fast time flies.>

<It’s alright. So… I’m guessing you weren’t only talking about Earth-watching?>

<No, I missed this. Relaxing with a friend without having to deal with end-of-the-galaxy stuff.>

<I never really thought about it. But you used to hang out with normal people before the Vanguard… sorry I brought you back into this crazy stuff.>

<It’s alright. It’s where I come from, and I’ve neglected my responsibilities as a goddess for far too long. But sometimes you get so caught up in the big picture that you forget to be human. Well, relatively human… you know what I mean.>

<I think I do. Vesta, for a million year old goddess, you might understand humanity better than I ever did. And if anyone knows how it must feel being pressured into a role you don’t want to play, it’s probably you.>

<What’s troubling you, Noriko?>

<Besides my boyfriend being a literal block of ice and having a psychotic monster inside my head? I’m starting to feel like the reason why I can’t get rid of my role of Empress or as Ice Queen is that, deep down, I do want power. That I’m not as different from my mother as I pretend to be.>

<You’re not like her where it counts, Noriko. Don’t be too harsh on yourself for accepting your title: you wouldn’t have done it if you didn’t think it was a good idea at the time… but times and people change, Noriko. Do you really think you’re doing a bad job?>

<Yes. Which is why I decided to just be a figurehead for now. At least until I’ve figured out a few things about the Galaxy… and about myself.>

<And you’re sure you’re not just doing this out of fear of becoming your mother?>

<That definitely plays a part. But let’s not talk about this, okay? At least for a little while longer. I need to feel human now.>

<Every time you need a friend to talk to, Nori, you know where to find me.> Vesta reassures her, taking her own beer and returning to admiring Earth again