Chapter 10 - Ready for prime time

Bob hates moving. He should be used to it by now: he's never lived in the same place for more than a couple of years, but he's never appreciated it in any way. Maybe that's because this is the first time this happened without anyone kicking him out of the previous house.

Deena doesn't seem to think so: she's admiring the view of the city, and she's been smiling for hours now.

Bob complains, struggling to move the furniture.

he keeps complaining, throwing all of his weight to move the couch.

he points out.

Deena asks, walking towards Bob who is still struggling with the couch.

she says, moving her hands through his hair.

Noriko shouts, slamming the door open.

Despite being ten years older than her, Deena feels like she's just been scolded by her mother. She steps back, raising her hands to surrender:

Noriko asks.

Noriko repeats skeptically.

Max and Vesta enter the room now, both visibly worried.

Max says, pointing at the TV and turning it on.

Deena wants to ask how he did it without a remote, but there's something far more interesting on the screen.

It's footage of a black and white robot walking through the city, ignoring the dozen shots from the police officers that are shouting empty threats. The journalist describing the scene is trying to be professional, but this is something straight from a movie.

The footage changes from an earlier scene: the robot blasting a car with an energy beam coming from its hands, splitting it in half.

Bob, Deena and Max are watching speechless. Noriko has a determined look on her face. Vesta looks like she's going to faint at any moment.

Noriko asks.

<"Nephew"? You mean that thing was built by Hephaestus?>

Noriko answers.

Max shouts, disappearing in a flash of light. Half a second later, he's on the screen wearing a black mask.

Bob says.

Noriko walks away from the screen, but stops when she notices that Vesta isn't moving.

the goddess protests.

The girl and the goddess stare at each other. Noriko has seen her smash to pieces a meteor the size of a stadium, but now she looks scared to death.

Noriko says, her silver eyes flashing briefly.

Noriko answers, picking up a chair and walking towards the window.

Noriko says, throwing the chair and smashing the window.

Noriko says before jumping out the window.

Noriko falls to her death for more than twenty stories; she can even hear Deena's screech.

Vesta asks, rescuing her from certain death and slowing her descent. When they're about ten stories above ground, she just stops mid-air.

Noriko answers.

Deena is looking down from the crashed window, where she can see the goddess flying away carrying her boyfriend's daughter in her arms.

Bob asks.

A moment of silence.

Deena says.