Beyond The Impossible

Null Tower, New York City, Earth

The pentagram of fire appears in the Operations Room, with Noriko Null being the first one to set foot in her own headquarters.

And to immediately hear the deafening sound of its alarm.

<Is it always supposed to be this loud?> Gilgamesh asks, covering his ears. If he were human, his eardrums would have shattered in a second.

<Not quite.> Torn answers, throwing a handful of Blood daggers directly at the sound emitters responsible for the noise.

<This is what I was afraid of… lethal measures are supposed to be deployed only if the Tower is set for a state of emergency, I remember that.> Noriko admits, moving towards the round table at the center of the room to access one of its terminals.

<Well I’m glad you figured that out, since I’m the only one who could’ve been killed here… I may have just one body now, but I’d like to keep it.> Kari Zel comments, being the last one to leave the pentagram before Torn closes the portal.

When Noriko tries to access one of the holographic screens, it shuts down and she’s hit by enough electricity to instantly shut down a human heart. Fortunately for her she’s not currently human.

<Yeah, this is bad. O.D.I.N., what’s the Tower’s status?> she asks.

<Hostiles detected. Deploying countermeasures.> the building’s artificial intelligence declares, introducing the dozen Nullbots that have just been teleported in.

When they open fire, blasting laser fire from their fingertips, Noriko instinctively ducks beneath the table and allows Torn and Gilgamesh to deal with them through a combination of Blood weapons and brute strength.

She definitely feels dumb for having forgotten she’s currently invulnerable, but once another two dozen Nullbots are teleported to replace the smashed ones she decides to blow off some steam.

She flips the large weapon, ripping the wires that connect it to the computer systems, with enough strength to crush the robots as if they were just hit by a speeding truck.

<I had them.> Torn complains.

<Lemme have some fun. It’s my Tower anyway, I’m just breaking my own stuff.> Noriko shrugs.

<Are those really the best defenses you’ve installed? This all feels like small stuff!> Kari notes.

<I agree, something is off. Why would Max want the Tower specifically? None of my best tech is stored here. I was also expecting him to be in the Operations Room, everything can be controlled from this location. Can you find where he is?> Noriko asks.

<I cannot. Strange.> Torn comments, raising an eyebrow.

<Why is it strange? Quantum currently has the Nexus, he should be smart enough to find ways to hide his souls from any Demon.> Gilgamesh says.

<No, Torn is right. When the Nexus switches hosts, the new one doesn’t inherit everything the other had learned: Max should only learn stuff he absorbs from humanity’s global knowledge. And he never managed to learn any real soul manipulation.> Noriko reasons out loud.

While they were talking, Kari was attempting to use her new energy senses to find clues about Quantum’s current location. All she gathered were the telltale signs of teleportation; she saw them when the Nullbots arrived, but now the particles are concentrating somewhere else… around them.

<He’s attempting to teleport us out. I’ll try stopping him.> Kari announces, with her hands glowing as she tries ways to countermeasure it… and it seems to be working.

<How are you doing that?> Noriko wonders.

<I’m trying to generate the opposite of whatever he’s using, does it make any sense to you?>

<Ask me when I’m myself again. So he’s tried sonic attacks and robots, now he’s trying to kick us out… what else?> Noriko asks.

<You really don’t know when to quit, don’t you sister?> Quantum asks, teleporting into the room.

Kari tries to zap him with electricity, but when she points her hands towards him nothing happens.

<Anti-Neutrinos. I’m currently flooding the room with those, and if you remember those completely negate quantum powers.> he explains.

An energy sword is blocked by his personal forcefield, which does the same when Gilgamesh punches it. Although by the second punch, the field flickers as it approaches its limit.

<Cute.> Quantum dismisses him, tossing a coin-sized disk at him. It attaches to Gilgamesh’s bronze skin, lifting him a few inches off the ground: unable to get any grip, the hero is just left floating in a gravity bubble without the means to attack.

<Max! What do you think you’re doing!? We don’t want to hurt you, but…> Noriko tries to warn him, raising her fists in a fighting pose. They emit some fire, but she hasn’t mastered her powers enough to really keep a consistent flame.

<I am. Recall this little beauty?> Quantum asks, pressing a button on his belt.

It’s the beginning of a whole new world of pain for Noriko, because in an instant her mind if overwhelmed by an unbearable amount of suffering: every fiber of her being is screaming, feeling like every single atom of her body is fighting the others.

<The God Eraser. Not enough to kill you without combining it with the Nexus, but close.>

<Leave her alone!> Gilgamesh shouts, moving forward thanks to the Blood javelins that Torn just created: even if the Sumerian is still in zero gravity, he grabs the weapons embedded into the floor to propel himself forward. And when he punches the forcefield, it’s with enough force to make the building wobble and to disable the field itself.

Kari takes advantage of this to make her move: she might have lost her duplication powers, but she’s still the best hand-to-hand fighter in the Galaxy.

Within striking distance from her and Gilgamesh, he should have no way to counteract both.

<Soul Crush!> he shouts instead, and while there are no visible signs for a human, Torn can see something unexpected in Quantum’s soul when it expands rapidly.

It’s powerful enough to immediately knock out both Kari and Gilgamesh; a regular soul shouldn’t have nowhere near that much power behind it.

<Impossible. Quantum never learned to control his soul.> Torn says, throwing a Blood sword right at his head. The human just grabs it before it hits, and even more incredibly the Blood evaporates when he touches it.

<What makes you think I’m Quantum?> he asks, his silver eyes shining… and then completely change color, with the iris becoming bright red and the sclera pitch black.

Torn is taken aback by the sight for a crucial moment, allowing the human to draw a Genius Gun and shoot him with enough sheer kinetic force to throw him across the room, crashing through the window and falling out of the building.

Noriko is not entirely aware of what’s happening around her, still busy fighting through the pain, but she does recognize her team was just easily defeated… and just like Torn, she did instinctively recognize the soul behind the attack.

<Hostile entity has left the building. Should I deploy more Nullbots?> O.D.I.N. asks.

<That won’t be necessary. How’s the satellite realignment going?>

<Elaborating. Processing at 99%. You will have access to every screen on the planet in 2 minutes.>

<Max… this is… not you…> Noriko manages to say through the pain, writhing on the floor.

<Wow, you sure are slow today, aren’t you?> he mockingly tells her, crouching in front of her to look her in the eye.

<Come on. You can’t possibly be that dumb… you know who I am, sister.>

<Abyss.> she finally deduces.

<Took you long enough to figure that out.>

 

Living quarters, four floors below

Over the past hour, all doors of Null Tower have been locked; the one leading to the apartment of the Null family is no exception.

Nalani has tried her best trying to get past the security measures, but even dismantling its electronic controls has been completely useless.

<Still no answer. Something must be serious if we didn’t get an announcement.> Catherine Kalama informs her daughter, after trying to Noriko.

<Must be serious. The TV’s not working either.> Bob Null complains, flipping through channels and finding only static.

Then something bumps against the door with enough force to make standing up difficult; both parents grab Nalani to shield her, just in time for the door to be knocked out of its hinges by a powerful blow.

Vesta stays triumphant at the entrance, staring at Kari’s old Shotgun Bracelets: with them incrementing her punches, it’s almost like having her strength back.

<Vesta, thank goodness! What’s going on?> the doctor asks.

<No idea, but I had to fight my way through a couple of rogue Nullbots.> she explains, creating a couple of duplicates of herself to try fixing the door back together.

<Hey look, the TV’s back on.> Bob calls their attention.

It shows Quantum, wearing his mask, and while the image is zoomed in there are enough details visible on the background to see he’s in the Operations Room.

<This is an important message from the Vanguard. I’m speaking through every single screen on Earth, controlled remotely through the Empire’s satellite network. You are all hearing my words in your native language, because it is vital that you hear what I am about to say. My next three words will change the rest of your lives.> he announces.

The screen then goes bright red, flashing rapidly so many times that Vesta has to look away to avoid hurting her eyes.

<You. Are. Mine.> are the last words before the screen returns to static.

<What the Hades was that about!?> Vesta wonders, looking at the three humans in her presence. All three are still staring at the screen, completely frozen in place. Then they turn their heads towards her, in unison.

<S#it. I thought I’d take you as well.> Nalani says, snapping her fingers to direct her parents to approach Vesta. Which they do, each one holding one of her arms.

<What are you doing? And who taught you that kind of language, little girl?> Vesta asks.

<I see Noriko’s not the only one whose IQ dropped a million points. I’m Abyss, you idiot.>

<You… you took over Nalani’s body!?> Vesta exclaims. She doesn’t want to hurt her parents, so she creates to duplicates for each of them, helping free the original from their grasp.

<You’re all so dumb it’s almost not even worth boasting.> “Bob” says.

<I took over humanity.> “Doctor Kalama” adds.

<Earth’s under new management, Vesta. I’m currently its only leader… and its only citizen.> all three humans say, speaking perfectly in unison.

 

Operations Room

The God Eraser is switched off, finally allowing Noriko a reprieve from pain. It takes her a while to get her bearings back, but she can see Kari and Gilgamesh are still out of commission.

“Quantum” is fidgeting with the Genius Gun, while staying in front of a screen projecting images from all over the world… crowds of people moving into the streets, marching in unison.

<What are you doing in Max’s body?> Noriko asks.

<I suppose I should thank you for the workout. I’ve had so much experience breaking through your mental barriers, that a Nexus novice like your friend had no chance. Being a dude wasn’t my first choice for a body, but I’ll get used to it… roughly 50% of me is male now.>

<You somehow spread your mind inside others?>

<Over the entirety of Earth’s population, please, don’t underplay it. I kind of wish you were still smart enough to appreciate the effort needed to also occupy the minds of all the people on the planet that were asleep during the transmission.>

<This can’t possibly last. You couldn’t keep control over me: Max will eventually get back in control, and when he does…>

<You still don’t get it, don’t you? I evolved past needing the Nexus, you idiot. My mind is spread over eight billion humans: unless you kill every single one, you will never get rid of me.>

<We’ll see about that. The Vanguard has beaten you. We can do it again.> Noriko boasts.

<No, you won’t. When I said I don’t need the Nexus anymore… I meant it.> Abyss replies, putting the gun to Quantum’s head… and pulling the trigger.