The Perfect Run

And so, Vulcan’s biblical judgment was passed upon the heathens at Dynamis. Wyvern’s movie ended in rats and pestilence, like the previous Augusti loop.

It saddened Ryan to ruin Atom Cat’s first movie appearance, especially after befriending him earlier. His adorable feline sidekick hated these commercial ventures though, so no harm done. They would make up later.

When the Made Men returned to the house in his beautiful car, the courier almost expected Shroud to blow up the place again. Ryan had never gone farther than this moment, so he couldn’t tell what would happen next. Ki-jung didn’t seem agitated in the Plymouth Fury’s back, so her rat sentries should be fine.

The courier almost wished for an unforeseen disaster, to spice things up.

When Ryan noticed Vulcan’s enormous armor parked in the garden right next to a black Lamborghini, and girls waiting at the front door, he realized someone upstairs had granted his prayer.

Instead of summoning them to her lair, Pluto had decided to visit her employees herself.

Besides her usual bodyguard and Vulcan, the Underboss also enjoyed the company of a young woman Ryan hadn’t seen before; a petite, smiling blonde with pale blue eyes, who kept her hair in two braids. She wore a white sweater and pants, and Ryan guessed she probably had Slavic origins from her facial features.

“She brought two of the Killer Seven,” Chitter said, uneasy at the sight.

“You’re ready for this?” Jamie asked Ryan, as the courier parked the car.

“Well, it feels like I’ll have to pass hard speech checks or fight a difficult boss,” Ryan replied. “But that means I’m close to the end.”

“You aren’t going to beat that one, I can already tell you,” Lanka said at the back, everyone getting out of the car.

The group approached Pluto’s own, with everyone tensing up as the Underboss looked at them. Even Ryan remained quiet at first, mostly because he knew his long-awaited reunion with Len was just around that corner.

“Boss,” Jamie cleared his throat, “I didn’t expect to see you here.”

“That’s the purpose of a surprise inspection,” Pluto replied dryly, her eyes settling on Ryan. “Our business is with him only, Zanbato. Your team can do as they wish.”

“If you don’t mind, I would like to be present,” the Made Man replied calmly. “If only as moral support to the new recruit.”

“I’ll stay too,” Lanka said.

“Aw, I knew you cared,” Ryan taunted her.

“If she kills you, blabbermouth, I’ll be the one saddled with corpse disposal,” she replied. “I would rather do less work.”

“I guess I will stay too then,” Ki-jung replied, although she clearly didn’t want to. A rat climbed on her shoulder, like a Pikachu. “Just don’t mind me.”

Pluto shrugged it off, and then immediately started barking orders. “Sparrow, search his person; Vulcan, check for any Genius tech he might have. Cancel, you know the drill.”

“I’m already on it,” the blonde said with a Bulgarian accent, before grinning at Ryan. “Hey! I’m Cancel, but you can call me Greta! Nice to meet you, Ryan!”

“Oh hi, Greta.” The courier waved a hand at her, surprised by her niceness. “I’m immortal, but don’t tell anyone.”

Pluto’s female bodyguard, ‘Sparrow,’ immediately started feeling up Ryan with her big hands, searching everywhere. She removed his mask, his hat, his jacket, and then started to look into places better left unexplored.

“You know, lady, if you wanted to look at my underwear,” the courier said as she checked a... private place… “You could just ask. I’m young, easy, and available.”

“I might take you up on that,” Sparrow replied with an amused smile. Over time, a pile of weapons grew next to Ryan, Vulcan swiftly examining them one at a time like hors-d’oeuvres, until she hit the plat de resistance.

“How did you pack so many lasers inside such a tiny space?” Vulcan asked, examining the rabbit plushie with astonished eyes. “Even my armor doesn’t have that many.”

“One at a time,” Ryan shrugged it off.

“What is this?” Pluto asked, curious. “Some toy?”

“It’s quite cute,” Ki-jung said.

“A toy with enough firepower to wipe out a small city,” Vulcan said, more and more fascinated by the plushie’s dark power. “Can I—”

“No,” the courier denied her.

“But—”

“No!” Ryan said firmly. “I’m not loaning it!”

A-bombs, fine, but something this dangerous? No way in Hell. It couldn’t end in anything but tragedy.

push the issue. “It’s exceptionally lethal,” she told Pluto, putting the plushie back on the weapon pile. “But it doesn’t cause memory alteration. None of his weapons can

Cancel said. “Or at least I don’t think so.

a White?” Ryan asked,

of the mightiest.” Pluto smiled at Ryan. “Cancel can negate the powers of everyone within a

“Ah, that’s funny.”

don’t you check for yourself

Challenge accepted.

no world freezing with the power of his mind, not even an itching

on his face because a smug, victorious smile appeared

Well, that wasn’t good.

good at all! His save point shouldn’t be affected, but if Cancel negated the automatic

you I find you extraordinarily

but thank you,” Pluto replied with false affability, before turning to Cancel.

I should have purged the effect,” the girl replied.

pocket inside her dress and grabbed a smoke; Sparrow brought a lighter and set it

metaphysical concept of death, the end of life. While I cannot count them, I can sense the weight of a person’s years. And if I’m not

a cloud of smoke

in the triple digits, and closer to

had lost count

frowned. “That doesn't

with

a blade. She didn’t raise her tone, but it silenced all

Ryan knew that Pluto would either spare or kill him

No choice then.

this day

glanced at the courier, who did his best ‘guilty culprit

long sigh. “I lied. I

could stop time and still be able to act. You

lied about the nature of your power to keep an ace in the hole?” Pluto asked, playing with her cancer stick. “A sensible thing to do, especially with strangers. I applaud your

as you look,” Lanka teased him, Jamie

does it actually work then?” Pluto

into another parallel universe, usually to avoid death,” Ryan lied through his teeth. “One alternate world very close to mine. I ‘overlap’ with the ‘me’ of that world and we become

to his surprise, nothing of the

Like fuse with an alternate version of you that is a girl? How does

three months Chinese,” Ryan lied, the bigger

cheated at cards!” Lanka immediately focused on the important tidbit.

arms. “That puts some of your comments at the casino in a new

explains the Chronoradio too,” Ki-jung

Vulcan frowned. “A radio

“Multiple pasts,” Ryan corrected.

more than one past,” Lanka grunted in the

observed his technology, the more Vulcan seemed fascinated with it. “How does

“It’s really complicated but—”

a Genius,” she interrupted Ryan.

Ryan replied with a shrug, unwilling to elaborate much. “The observed state

events?” Vulcan’s eyes widened, as

was undecipherable. Finally, she uttered a single

you guys took it a lot better than I thought,” Ryan admitted. “People usually think I’m

be interesting...” The Underboss examined the courier with a whole new look, trying to puzzle it out. “So the abnormal number of years I sense,

that you marked an alternate version of him,” Sparrow said. “And your power followed him through

I marked him at

meet,” Vulcan pointed

the jab and observed Ryan closely, who gave her a smile in return. “Search his car for any devices,” she ordered her cronies next, “I’m

under the seats, the trunk, and the hidden compartments. She

she opened the car hood and looked inside, Sparrow’s bored face turned

rat on her shoulder was so startled, it fell to the ground. Jamie immediately rushed to his girlfriend’s side, taking her

peek inside, much to Ryan’s confusion. Why such a reaction? Even the unflappable

“Ryan.”

courier

a

peeked beneath the car hood and understood what they