The Perfect Run

Ryan loved Genome parties. They always involved a lot of property damage.

He had attended a few elsewhere in Italy, usually when he joined a group. However, this one looked like it would be the biggest yet; and since tomorrow would mark Quicksave’s first week in New Rome, the courier intended to cap it off with a bang.

Well, he had probably spent two months or so in the city across various loops, but still! This party might be something entirely new and surprising.

“How many people will come?” Ryan asked, having traded his usual trench coat, hat, and mask for a classy, dark purple suit. While Ki-jung had insisted he could dress casually, the Genome would settle for nothing less than the best outfit in the room.

You couldn’t half-ass elegance.

“Oh, no more than one-hundred,” Ki-jung replied, her fingers fidgeting in anxiety. She had traded her glasses for contact lenses, and her modest clothes for a sleeveless black dress. Her boyfriend meanwhile wore a simple blue shirt and black pants.

“Do you want more tuna pizzas?” Lanka asked while on the sofa while typing on a phone. That tasteless black sheep alone hadn’t made any effort to dress well. “We still got enough party funds for four more.”

“Add a few vegan ones for Fortuna,” Ki-jung said, before checking the kitchen for the fifth time in the past hour. Jamie had gathered an impressive array of alcohol bottles on the counter. “Will that be enough?”

“They’re the strongest liquors I could find,” Jamie replied, intending to work as the barman and already busy making cocktails. Since Genomes had a more efficient metabolism than normal humans, they needed ten times the usual dose to even feel the effects of alcohol.

“I’ve got Genome-only stuff in my car,” Ryan said. “But you will start shining in the dark and see invisible things.”

“Don’t worry,” Jamie said quickly. “Fortuna is bringing strong stuff, and, I quote, ‘party pills.’”

“No Bliss?” Ki-jung asked, her face tensing up.

“No Bliss,” her boyfriend reassured her, while someone hit the doorbell. “Come in!”

The first guests opened the door, Ki-jung anxiously standing straight next to Ryan while they walked inside. Night had fallen outside, and while the party was scheduled to start at eight, most guests would be fashionably late.

“Hello everyone!” Fortuna entered the house, followed by her boyfriend and a younger girl around fifteen. Lucky Lady wore a golden dress even more scandalously lavish than usual; whereas the teenage girl dressed so tastelessly, that Ryan couldn’t look at her without fighting the urge to drag her to a tailor’s shop.

Fortuna’s date was around Ryan’s physical age, with short well-groomed brown hair, blue eyes, and an elegant all black formal suit. He looked rather plain when compared to his girlfriend, but the courier felt an intense vibe coming from him.

In fact, he seemed vaguely familiar.

The mystery boy immediately singled out the courier, who waved a hand at him. “Hi, I’m Ryan. I would say I’m immortal, but you probably know that already.”

“Mathias,” the man replied, shaking Ryan’s hand with a small smile. “Mathias Martel.”

The way he moved, his aura, the slight inflection in the voice… “I know, we’ve met,” Ryan replied cheerfully, testing the waters.

“You did?” Fortuna asked while Mathias’ smile strained a bit. Since he hadn’t cut that lucky woman’s hair this time around, she seemed a lot more well-disposed towards Ryan. “Matt, why didn’t you tell me?”

“Yeah, you’re usually a very transparent kind of guy, Matt.” Ryan winked at him. “I hope you don’t hide anything else.”

Matt’s poker face remained ironclad while he answered his date’s question. “It didn’t seem important at the time.”

“Fortuna, you brought your sister?” Ki-jung asked the blonde bombshell, although her eyes remained focused on the teenage girl. “Isn’t she too young for this kind of party?”

“I’m almost fifteen!” The younger girl pouted. While she was no top model like her sister, she would probably grow into an attractive woman in time. She had short, light brown hair, ocean blue eyes, and a heart-shaped face.

“Fourteen and a half,” Fortuna teased her, her younger sister pinching her in the arm.

“Hi, I’m Narcinia, Narcinia Veran.” The teen smiled brightly at everyone. “Alias Ceres.”

“I still can’t believe Augustus gave you an Olympian name before me,” Fortuna complained, her boyfriend glancing away. “If only Felix hadn’t gone crazy, we could have become Diana and Apollo.”

“Has he answered your messages?” Ki-jung asked, a look of concern on her face.

“I wish!” Fortuna complained, crossing her arms angrily. “I swear when he comes back—”

“If he comes back,” Narcinia replied with a depressed face.

“Maybe he got hit by a car,” Ryan said, the others glaring at him. “Well, he is a cat. Or was that too soon?”

“He will come back,” Fortuna insisted, though she looked at Jamie and Ki-jung. “Can’t you help? Give him a call?”

The couple exchanged an embarrassed glance, one heavy with regrets. “He didn’t leave the house on the best terms,” Jamie said stoically. “Felix… Felix needs time to figure himself out.”

“But—”

Mathias put a hand on his girlfriend’s arm before she could insist. He seemed more insightful than her, though that wasn’t hard.

Having talked with Atom Cat on the Dynamis path, Ryan quickly put two and two together. He had a pretty good idea of what caused his feline friend to leave the Augusti, namely, Ki-jung's situation.

Something else also bothered Ryan. Felix the Cat said his sister Narcinia was adopted, and she matched a certain description… Could it be?

This party already promised a lot of surprises.

Fortuna asked as she scanned the room.

took a bathroom break,” Jamie replied with a frown. “The attacker also forced Luigi

Ryan asked at the same time a shocked

a sigh. “And yes, a salami. Don’t ask me why. They say the city is safer with the

“Some handsome fellow possessing a strange sense of justice, fighting crime with a hockey stick in one hand and a sausage in

the sofa, too lazy to leave her spot. “Nah, blabbermouth, it’s just petty revenge. If you ask me, the jackass deserved it, always

Killer will get what he deserves,” Jamie said firmly, glancing at Fortuna. “Now that the Meta-Gang has left New Rome,

complained. “Though we cleaned up Rust Town and Sparrow chased those Psychos

had transformed into a pile of molten trash conveniently hiding the bunker’s entrance. Vulcan had tasked the group to patrol the area in case the Meta returned, while she left with Sparrow to hunt them down. Ryan hadn’t received any news since, though he heard both women would attend the

the time-traveler hadn’t yet figured out what to do about Mechron’s bunker, and Len hadn’t contacted him again either. He hoped the party would

this while…” Ki-jung cleared her throat while looking at Mathias. “I’m

seen right through us,” Ryan said with a smirk, delighting at making Martel more and

of you is the Hockey Killer,” the man replied with the same mirthful

Chitter, I vouch for my Mathias,” Fortuna said, putting her head on her

to a second date,” Mathias replied with a

whether you

two of you

had a gas leak last week?” Fortuna asked. “I narrowly avoided death by falling off the window, and

rescued you,” Mathias corrected her with a deadpan face. “I didn’t expect you to fall on me from the third

at first sight,”

when I tried to leave because I had other stuff

chuckled. “The world’s most beautiful woman falls on your lap and asks you to spoil her because she’s distressed, and

he was immune to Fortuna’s charm and she couldn’t stand it.

hint of sarcasm whatsoever. “When I look at boys, they drop at my feet,

a bit shy in the presence of so many older people, but grew more confident as the

showed them the DJ: a brain in a jar hooked to the

cyber-brain as a DJ?” Narcinia asked, though unlike the others she

asked you to take care of the

what they want!” Ryan replied, activating

playing music, and as it did, a light shone from inside its tank. As the liquid protecting the grey matter

nodding to herself

artist,” Ki-jung said, while her rats started breakdancing around

a Grand Theft Auto remix,” Mathias said, much to Ryan’s surprise.

since he was clearly too modest

make indie games on the side,” her date replied with a sheepish grin,

in his eyes. However, he decided to test that man’s knowledge first, before getting his hopes up. “Have you played

prefer Super Metroid,” Mathias replied. “More

“Best Square RPG?”

VII, but VI holds a special place in my

planet!” Ryan was almost brought to tears at finding a soulmate. “I

powers, Nerd 2?” Lanka asked Mathias, raising her head above the sofa

“One of the bedrooms, yours I presume, is painted brown, with thirty beer cans in a corner

finish. “If you tell anyone what’s below the bed, I’m killing

can see anything within a short radius,” Fortuna replied with pride, putting an arm around his. He seemed much more uncomfortable about open displays of affection than his girlfriend. Ryan got the feeling she had more or less dragged him to the

that’s nothing.” Narcinia grabbed a knife from the kitchen and then

her thumb before anyone could react, a drop of blood falling on the parquet. The liquid quickly expanded into a bubble while taking

looked at

in amazement, while Jamie

create life from my blood,” Narcinia boasted, her new pet letting out a cry. “Nothing too complicated or too big, but I can make any kind of

can make any kind of goat?” Ryan asked,

“Of course! Why?”

deep in her big eyes, and then whispered

“Goat fights.”

second goat. A black-furred born-fighter, with golden eyes. “Which one do you take, Ryan?” she asked, as the two goats

“The black one.”

could already see the untapped

guests decided to participate. She granted each of them a different color and held a tournament while the house slowly filled up with people. A few had

cheered up his champion half in French, half in English. She locked horns with her rival, ready to claim her rightful place as the competition’s winner. “You

blabbermouth?” Lanka asked, having bet on a golden goat, and grown strangely invested in the fight. “Kick

The black goat managed to toss her rival to

his black goat, who raised her head with smug confidence. The spectators applauded,

Lanka grumbled while finishing her current smoke. With

accused her, stroking Shub-Niggurath’s ear. Actually, he did cheat once, but only

proved to be a sore loser and left the competition with her beau. The couple had moved to the kitchen-bar, with Fortuna spending her time advertising her boyfriend to everyone who would listen. Jamie, ever the peoples’ person, engaged Mathias in a friendly conversation while mixing cocktails, though the programmer remained guarded.

helped Jamie with the bar by moving drinks around, while

would be disappointed if the party

me of goat racism?” Lanka brought him

had started playing with Ki-jung’s rats, the rodents climbing on top of the larger goats. Most of the guests looked at them with amusement,

them,” Ryan suggested, his goat champion looking up at him. “Only the losers, Shub-Niggurath.

rid of the wolf afterward?” Lanka asked the hard question,