Beyond The Impossible

The White House, Washington D.C.

The fire spread rapidly from the Red Room, despite the futile attempts to extinguish it.

No amount of training could have prepared the Secret Service agents for the scene before them.

There’s a woman inside the ball of fire occupying the center of the room, and President Devane is on the other side of that while Torn holds him up from his collar, using only one hand.

<Let the President go! Or we will open fire!> one agent threatens.

<You won’t.> the Demon simply declares, and a bunch of daggers made of red Blood energy cut every gun individually.

<Are you crazy!? We’re about to burn alive!> the President responds, trying with everything he can to break free but coming up short against Demon strength.

<He is not wrong. Vesta, deal with the flames.> Quantum orders, unconcerned by the chaos and instead looking for something that fell on the floor.

<I… can’t.> Vesta admits, moving away from the fire.

<Somebody do something!!!> Noriko Null shouts: she’s the one creating the fire that envelops her, and the faster her heart beats the hotter it becomes.

<This won’t do. We need an exit, Torn, right now.> Quantum commands, now holding up the object Noriko discarded right before she caught fire: a mirror with an elaborate stone frame.

<On it.> Torn acknowledges, creating a pentagram of fire on the wall next to him and walking right through it, while carrying President Devane with him.

Quantum, Vesta and Noriko disappear by dropping through similar pentagrams located beneath their feet, leaving the Secret Service to deal with the fire.

 

Hell, 163,000 light-years from Earth

Throughout his political career, President William Devane has always presented himself as a strong man not afraid to face any challenge.

Probably his voters would think otherwise if they saw him wet himself after walking out of the portal, even if he does have the excuse of Torn holding him over a cliff that oversees an ocean of magma while the sky above them is literally on fire.

<Don’t kill me! Please oh God, I’ll do anything you want!> he whimpers.

<You’re in Hell now. No god has power here.> Torn replies, holding him closer to his face.

The high sulfur content in the atmosphere was already making it hard to breathe, but Devane nearly has a heart attack once he’s inches away from the intense stare of a Demon.

 

<What did you do to my friends?> Torn questions him.

<I don’t know! I don’t know! I swear I don’t…> Devane answers, but his voice turns into a terrified scream once Torn lets him go.

He screams all the way through a fifty feet fall, until a second portal brings him back at the top of the cliff where Torn catches him… after which he holds a Blood sword to his throat.

<It’s the mirror! Marduk said it would give me Null’s powers! He didn’t say anything else! I swear I’m telling the truth!>

<What did he ask in return?> Torn pressures him.

<He wanted Earth to stay away from the Empire!>

<Last question. How do I undo the changes?>

<I don’t know! The mirror, I guess? Marduk didn’t tell me how it works, only that I had to get all of you people in the same room and have her touch the thing!>

<Not enough. Be more specific.> Torn insists; now there are four swords suspended above Devane’s head, and he can actually feel the heat of the Blood blade inching closer to his throat.

<I don’t know anything! Please don’t hurt me, I’m begging you!> Devane pleads, now crying and sobbing uncontrollably.

<Torn. Just send him back, he’s clearly just a pawn and we don’t want a new target on our backs.> Quantum tells him through the Soul Relay.

Torn makes the weapons disappear, but he has one last message to President Devane:

<Your soul is marked. Displease me and no force in the universe will keep you away from Hell.> he threatens him, before pushing him off one final pentagram.

 

The White House, Washington D.C.

Even if the fire broke out just a few minutes ago, the building is already under lockdown and the guests have been evacuated.

The Secret Service is sweeping all rooms, so there are two agents present in the Oval Office to see the President coming out of a pentagram of fire to collapse on the floor.

<Mister President! Are you alright?> one of them asks, trying to ignore the smell of the Commander-In-Chief having soiled himself.

<It was Hell… I’m going to Hell…> President Devane says, clearly in a state of shock.

<Sir, please follow me. There’s been an attack from the Vanguard, they might still be…>

<NO! No no no, the Vanguard didn’t do anything!> Devane contradicts him.

<But sir…>

<It was… it was a terrorist attack, and the Vanguard saved my life. Yes, that’s what happened.> the President says, more to rehearse a future speech than to talk to the agent.

 

Null Tower, New York City

Catherine Kalama thought that her days being thrown into an unprecedented crisis were over when she stepped down from being Noriko Null’s personal physician.

But now she’s been dragged from looking at confusing breaking news regarding the White House into the tower’s infirmary, where she can’t believe her eyes… or the eyes before her.

<This is entirely unnecessary, Doctor, I assure you I’m perfectly capable of diagnosing myself right now.> Quantum tells her, staring at her with his new silver eyes.

<Tell me everything that happened.> she insists.

<My working theory is that the President used a Drylon device to scramble our powers. I have clearly received Null’s abilities, and if you were to do a scan of my brain you would most likely see the Nexus is currently lodged inside my head.>

<That’s not possible.> Vesta says, before starting a rather loud coughing fit.

<Well, clearly it is. Has everyone always been so dumb and I never realized it?> Quantum wonders.

<What happened to you?> Doctor Kalama asks Vesta, examining her right hand: there’s a slight burn on her skin. And she wonders if this is the first time she’s ever seen her sweat.

<Torn took us to Hell before dropping us here. It’s quite evident that he didn’t bother protecting Vesta from its toxic atmosphere with a Blood aura.> Quantum answers for her.

<And where are Noriko and Kari now?> the doctor asks.

<We haven’t seen Kari since the mirror was activated. As for Null, I advised Torn against bringing her here before she cools down: I suppose you don’t want this building to be burned to the ground.>

 

Hell, 163,000 light-years from Earth

Noriko Null still hasn’t adjusted to the situation. The shock of her IQ being dropped to human levels was already traumatizing, but now she’s no longer in full control of herself.

She’s floating a few inches off the ground; not that there would be much left to stand on, since the rocks beneath her have been molten into slag.

She almost panicked once she couldn’t breathe anymore, since the heat she generates has burned away the oxygen, until she realized she didn’t need to breathe anymore.

And if that wasn’t enough, she’s also finding it difficult to see anything: her vision has expanded to include infrared, and given both Hell’s temperature and the sphere of flame surrounding her everything is just too bright to distinguish.

Even Demons can’t safely approach her. A cage made of pure Blood energy has been erected around her, but it won’t be long before the heat becomes unbearable even for Hell’s citizens.

<Noriko, please calm down. There’s literally nothing on this planet that can hurt you, other than yourself.> a familiar voice tries to reassure her, as a man walks unscathed through the fire… or rather, a demigod.

<Gilgamesh? Stay back, I don’t want to hurt you.> she warns him.

<It takes a lot more to hurt me. Just focus on me and relax.> he tells her, coming close enough to hug her. His bronze skin glows when heated by her touch, and he has to hide the fact that it’s starting to hurt, but he holds the embrace for her sake.

She calms down, the fire slowly dying down and eventually disappearing leaving them standing a shallow pool of lava that can’t hurt either. But even as she realizes it’s safe, she doesn’t let go.

<We’re both naked.> she states the obvious, having vaporized the clothes of both.

<Should I ask the Demons to fetch you some clothes?> Gilgamesh suggests.

<Please. And take me back to Earth… I need to figure out what’s going on.>

 

Operations Room, Null Tower, New York City

Once Torn leads Noriko back to a pentagram portal, they join a meeting of the Vanguard… which is very different from all their previous ones.

There are three Vestas, all exactly identical but wearing different clothes. One of them is chatting with Kari, one with Hebe, and one with Quantum… and the latter is also scrolling through a holographic tablet that is loading a hundred pages per second.

<Anyone care to explain what the hell happened!?> she asks.

<It’s quite simple, really, if one bothers to think about it.> Quantum replies, using the tablet to project a hologram of the mirror they received from President Devane.

<Since when can those tablets do that?> Noriko asks.

<I modified it five minutes ago. Try to keep up, okay? This mirror is clearly a Drylon device; the President has admitted receiving it from Marduk, no doubt with the intent of disrupting our operations by switching our abilities.> Quantum explains.

<Then let’s just use it to switch back.> Noriko replies.

<That’s the first thing we tried once I managed to recreate myself. It didn’t work.> Kari answers.

<Recreate?> Noriko asks.

<I turned into radio waves at the White House. If Hebe hadn’t picked up my presence, I would still be bouncing off antennas.> Kari admits.

<Radio waves are cumbersome for fast travel. You should stick to photons.> Quantum suggests.

<So this mirror is able to… switch Drylon powers?> Noriko says, finding it hard to concentrate. She’s lost access to the Nexus before, but she’s never found it this difficult to think.

<And more. It was able to make me mortal.> Vesta points out.

<Yet it did not affect me. Curious.> Torn adds, stroking his chin pensively.

<I can’t believe Marduk would relinquish such a powerful weapon.> Hebe comments.

<I’m positive this was not what he expected to happen. Just think about it: if Marduk had a Drylon device capable of turning gods into mortals, wouldn’t he have already used it? At the very least, Vesta was not expected to be affected.> Quantum deduces.

<Your President expected he would receive Null’s powers.> Torn adds.

<That is undoubtedly a lie he told him to ensure Devane would cooperate.> Quantum says.

<How can you be sure of that?> Noriko asks.

<Because I’m literally the smartest being in the universe right now?>

<Wow. Did I also become such a jerk when I was super-smart?> Noriko wonders out loud.

<Almost.> Torn answers sincerely.

<So if I have this right… Noriko’s powers went to Quantum, his powers went to Kari, her powers went to Vesta, and Vesta’s powers went to Noriko?> Hebe clarifies.

<Exactly. Our first priority now should be minimizing the damage done to our public image, discover Marduk’s true goals and…> Quantum begins organizing.

<I’m sorry, shouldn’t our goal be finding out how to turn back?> Noriko asks.

<It’s on the table, but we shouldn’t dismiss exploring the advantages of this change.> Quantum answers, and for the first time Noriko realizes how unsettling it is to see his silver eyes shine.