Beyond The Impossible

Athens, Greece, Earth

Thousands of people visit the Acropolis each day. Few tourists pay much attention to the woman dressed in an elegant yellow office suit that has been staring at the Parthenon for several minutes, although some find her choice of wardrobe almost as weird as the fact that she seems to be the only one not interested in taking pictures of the building.

<I had a hunch I’d find you here.> a woman says, approaching her. She keeps her voice low; anyone listening would notice she’s not speaking Greek, but a form of Old Olympian older than the construction of this ancient building.

<Vesta. I wasn’t informed that you were back on the planet.> Athena replies, giving a look at her aunt. Vesta is wearing her usual combination of an orange tube top and red pants, but she’s also sporting sunglasses and she’s tied her hair.

<Is that supposed to be a disguise?> Athena asks, raising an eyebrow.

<I’ve been seen with the Vanguard so many times I’m practically a public figure now; I have to take steps if I don’t want people to identify me.>

<And mortals don’t recognize you when you cover your eyes?>

<You’d be surprised by how few of them look at me in the face. Why do you think I wear this?> Vesta asks, adjusting her top.

<Fair enough. I am surprised to see you’re back, Vesta: considering you were exiled to this planet for over twenty-seven hundred years, I imagined you were sick of it.>

<Don’t sell this planet short, Athena. Its inhabitants are capable of amazing things.>

 

<Competent preservation of history doesn’t seem to be one of them.> Athena snarks, going back to staring at the Parthenon.

<You should’ve seen it when it was newly built. You would’ve been proud! I knew one of the architects, Callicrates. He was particularly devoted to you.> Vesta says.

<It must have been passable. Did you tell him who you were?>

<Obviously no, I didn’t want him to build a temple to me. Now it’s my turn to ask questions: why are you still on Earth, Athena? Noriko told me you refused to continue the investigation into the Ichor assassins.>

<She can always order me to do so. As her vassal, I would have little choice but obey a direct order from the Co-Empress.>

<You and your mind games… Noriko is too proud to admit she needs you on this, Athena. And I know you’re not afraid: this Ichor stuff is quite dangerous from what she told me, but there’s no way it can intimidate you. So what’s going on, really?>

<The Ichor is not the issue. Noriko is resilient enough to weather the storm. It’s what it represents. You never paid much attention to our foreign policy when you were part of my father’s government, but there are things in this universe that should be left alone… even by gods.>

<I’ve never heard you talk like this, Athena. It’s almost like you’re afraid.>

<Only madmen and fools are truly fearless, Vesta. Do you know why Zeus ruled Olympus for a million years? It certainly wasn’t for his brains. It’s because my father is among the most powerful gods in existence: even some Primordials would think twice before attacking him. But now that Noriko and Hebe rule in his place, powerful forces are conspiring for the fall of Olympus.>

<Ereshkigal.> Vesta nods.

<She is, without question, the most dangerous of the Nine Gods. Every bit as powerful as my father but over four thousand times older… and almost as wise as me.>

<That’s why you’re trying to stay neutral? You’re trying to keep your distance in case Ereshkigal succeeds in her plans? I hoped we ended that kind of intrigue behind when we helped found the Empire, Athena. You can’t play both sides forever.>

<I know. The situation requires a more complex approach than what the Vanguard is accustomed to; Noriko can’t simply charge at Ereshkigal and execute her. Will you tell her to let me work at this in my own way?>

Vesta doesn’t answer immediately. She stares at the Pantheon for a few seconds, recalling conversations she had thousands of years ago with mortals who are long gone.

<You can’t ask me to trust you blindly, Athena. I’ve seen what happens to those who put their faith in you. If you want me, and Noriko, to truly trust you again, we need something concrete.>

<Hmm. Perhaps your exile has made you a little wiser after all, aunt. I do have one suggestion for where you should start looking for the remaining Ichor assassin.>

<A start is better than nothing, I guess. What is it?>

<Ereshkigal is the Goddess of Death. The mortals she recruited are just her way to gather her real army. You should look for the dead.>

 

Null Tower, New York City

Kari Zel takes the first opportunity to hug Vesta; not only because she genuinely missed her friend, but she knows the goddess can easily forget how strong she is.

<It’s great to have you back! It feels like ages since we’ve had a chance to hang out.>

<Yeah, sorry Kari. I’ve been busy.> the goddess excuses herself, floating next to her teammate as they walk towards the Operations Room.

<Doing what? I’ve asked Noriko, but she’s not very cooperative.>

<I feel like I’ve been all over the Galaxy, honestly. Sort as a goodwill ambassador towards lots of minor gods and their quasi-kingdoms.>

<That hardly sounds like a job she needs you to do.>

<Well, it took some effort to convince them Noriko isn’t going to execute them on a whim. But I don’t think we’ll have to worry about a coup attempt from any of them.>

<Except Athena.> Kari adds, her distaste for the name apparent from just the tone she used.

<I did say minor gods, didn’t I? Athena’s another story… I could never really read her. Noriko assures me she knows how to handle her.>

<And you believe her?>

<We’ll see. It’s our job to keep an eye on Noriko, after all.>

<Speaking of jobs: I’m still the current leader of the Vanguard, Vesta. I should know if I can still count on you as an active member of the team, and sorry if I’m being harsh but frankly you haven’t been pulling your weight lately.>

<I guess I deserve that. It’s kind of weird: I used to be the one able to put more time into the team than anyone else, and now I have other responsibilities. But don’t worry Kari: the Vanguard is more family to me than my actual family. I’m not going anywhere.>

<Good to hear, Vesta. I was a bit worried when Noriko told me she wanted to investigate the lead you provided without taking you in the mission.>

<She said something about “only wanting targets”, which sounded a bit weird…>

 

Calvary Cemetery, Queens, New York City

Agent Wu is not exactly happy about his arrangement. Not only his superiors at the FBI are going to give him a hard time for getting involved with Null, but he doesn’t like lurking in a cemetery late at night.

<I appreciate your willingness to cooperate, Agent Wu.> Noriko Null tells him, as they both walk next to the long line of tombstones together with Quantum, Shaina and a duplicate of Ganos Lal.

<We never caught the guy who tried to murder miss Lal. Even if you’re going to extradite him, this is still my case.> the agent says.

<I still object. This is a matter of galactic security and the local law enforcement is completely useless in this situation.> Shaina complains.

<You sure keep interesting company. What happened to your Demon friend?> Agent Wu asks.

<Back to Hell to make sure his rescue of Lyra didn’t contaminate him with Ichor.> Noriko explains.

<His faith in you would certainly keep that monstrous force away, as it has protected my soul from its corruption.> Ganos Lal adds.

<I’ll stick to Quantum and Shaina’s powers being able to damage Ichor.> Noriko replies.

<I will keep an eye on the Myridian to make sure she won’t be possessed; am I authorized to take her out if she becomes a threat?> Shaina asks.

<Man, you just can’t stop being insufferable, can’t you?> Quantum complains.

<By all means, if this duplicate causes any trouble to Lady Null, you may terminate it.> Lal offers.

<Guys, less talking, more investigating okay? According to Athena, Ereshkigal’s minions plan to use Ichor on dead people. We know one of them has been to New York, and this is the largest cemetery in the city. Must be a tempting target, especially with us here.> Noriko says.

<Wait, are we here as bait!?> Quantum realizes.

<More like an incentive to show up.>

<Sounds like a bait to me!>

<Fine by me. It’s time we eradicate this vermin.> Shaina says with utter disdain for the Ichor, as the light emitted by her hands illuminates the tombstones like strange flashlights.

Then something makes a sound. Like fingernails scratching on stone.

<Okay everyone felt that, right?> Agent Wu asks, instinctively going for his gun; he’s stopped when Null hands him a small metallic bracelet.

<Put this on. Now.> she says with the utmost seriousness in her tone, as her silver eyes ominously shine in the darkness. The sound is getting louder, and coming from every direction.

<What is it?> Agent Wu asks, realizing the answer when a barely visible forcefield surrounds his body as soon as the bracelet is on his wrist.

<Quantum. Full radar sweep.> Noriko adds, as a Genius Gun appears in her hand.

<This is super creepy.> he complains, looking around: his body emits radio waves, which bounce off the coffins buried underground; once they reach his eyes again, he can see them moving.

Not that he needs it: illuminated by the light created by Shaina, it’s clear to see that the something is struggling to get to the surface.

<It appears the bait has worked.> Ganos Lal says, surprised when Null passes her a second Genius Gun, expecting her to take it.

<I couldn’t, Lady Null. I am no warrior!>

<You’ve beaten the possession; I don’t think they’ll try again. That makes you useful.>

<I am grateful for your trust but…>

Something finally manages to break trough the ground: a hand, which pulls against the nearest tombstone to allow the corpse to crawl back to the surface. And it’s not the only one: one by one, decayed flesh and bones now animated by oozing Ichor is deploying its army of the dead.

Shaina reacts by blowing off the zombie’s head with a laser blast.

<Was that really necessary? That must’ve been someone’s grandpa!> Quantum complains.

<How did you manage to survive this long with that attitude, I’ll never understand.> Shaina replies, shooting more lasers. And she’s not the only one eager to fight back: Agent Wu also shoots one of the zombies, with far less success since by definition there aren’t vital organs to target.

<Maybe we would call for reinforcements.> he suggests.

<This is just a distraction: these things don’t seem to be able to create their own weapons. The real Ichor user must be somewhere nearby, and he’s trying to stop us from finding him.> Noriko hypothesizes, preparing to shoot some zombies… but then she notices the tombs around them are not the only ones that are already deploying their former occupants.

<It’s reanimating the entire cemetery. That may be a problem.> she admits.

<Really? These things are slow as hell, and they don’t seem very tough.> Quantum says, only for him to witness the zombies that were already hit continue walking, thanks to the Ichor reconstructing their missing limbs.

<There are over three million graves in this cemetery.> Noriko informs him, starting to shoot one zombie after the other; Ganos Lal does the same, discovering the Genius Gun is aiming itself and not missing a single target.

<Uhm. We may need some backup after all.> Quantum concedes.