The Perfect Run

It ended as well as expected.

With Ryan naked and shackled to a bed, a maniacal Vulcan in a black nightgown on one side, and the plushie on another.

“It was all a trap,” the courier accused the mad Genius, straining against the shackles. “You only cared about the plushie!”

“Very good, Ryan,” Jasmine said, playing with her knife. The inactive plushie looked on while sitting on a chair. “Now, tell me everything you know about it.”

“I would, but I look down on short people.”

“If you won’t talk,” Jasmine put the knife against his chin, and her free hand on his chest, “I will make you squeal.”

“Don’t look,” Ryan told the inactive plushie, trying to avert its gaze. “Please don’t look!”

A phone called in the other room, interrupting the roleplay.

Jasmine let out a heavy sigh. “Gimme a sec,” she said, stepping over an empty condom box before searching for her cellphone among their clothes on the ground. Ryan whistled while she moved out of the bedroom to answer the call.

As it turned out, Vulcan didn’t live in a luxurious villa, but inside her own foundry. She had repurposed the upper echelons of the area into a spacious, soundproof apartment in an elegant steampunk style. Brass pipes and tin gears formed the main decoration, although Vulcan had also embedded a plasma TV in the bedroom’s wall facing the bed. It was rather cozy and she even included a litter for Eugène-Henry, although Vulcan clearly didn’t clean up the place often.

Jasmine eventually returned, rolling her eyes. “Was it Mr. Monsanto again?” Ryan asked.

“Neptune. He’s pissed about last night and wants to call a meeting because he’s a pussy.” She let her nightgown fall on the ground, raised the bedsheet, and slipped below. Her naked skin brushed against the courier’s own, though she didn’t undo his shackles. “Ryan.”

“Yes?”

“Don’t ever call me short again.”

“Come on, Jasmine, be the bigger person.”

Her knife hit the wall behind the bed, a few inches away from the courier’s face. Ryan didn’t even blink; by now, he had learned that her bark was worse than her bite. Though bite him she did…

“You’re lucky to be good in the sack, so you get to live another day,” Vulcan said, resting her head against his shoulder. “How many women have you had?”

“I lost count,” he replied. Practice made perfect.

“I figured as much. I didn’t know you could do that with a tongue.” Jasmine glanced at the rabbit watching them. “Actually, what is that plushie? Some pieces just don’t make sense, and I don’t know what to make of the energy readings.”

“I tried to use it as a probe to explore a higher dimension,” Ryan admitted.

“And?” Jasmine asked, not even questioning the sanity of it. “It worked?”

“Not really. All it did was allow something from the other side tohitch a free ride to our dimension. Now it won’t leave.”

“Wait, you’re saying that your rabbit is haunted?” Ryan nodded, and much to his horror, it made Jasmine even more curious. “That dimension, can you describe it?”

“It’s an area beyond space and time, but I haven’t been able to observe it much.” He frowned. “Why?”

“You know that Red Genomes can manipulate energy? From lightning to wavelengths?” Ryan nodded. “Well, Red Genomes, real Red Genomes, actually emit an energy field around them. Like radiation. This ambient energy, this ‘Red Flux’ can be captured, stockpiled, and then refined to make batteries. That’s how Dynamis makes laser weapons.”

“And you think this energy comes from another dimension?” Ryan asked, suddenly very curious.

“I think so, and Dynamis does too,” she replied with a nod. “The Firebrand knockoff Elixir alters genes so a Genome could perform pyrokinesis, but doesn’t create a link to the Red Dimension. So the body only uses the energy available, that of the human body.”

“That’s how your Fireman armor enhances their pyrokinesis,” Ryan guessed. “You take the batteries meant for laser weapons, and you transfer this Red Flux energy to the Genome’s body.”

“They become just as powerful as the original pyrokinetic Genome the knockoffs are based on, at least as long as the battery juice keeps flowing,” Jasmine said with pride. “Dynamis has been wasting fortunes in an attempt to create a bridge towards that hypothetical Red Dimension, though they haven’t managed to do so yet.”

“That Flux, do you think Genomes with other colors produce variants?”

“I suppose, but I haven’t been able to observe them. Red is energy, so it’s easy to measure it, and since almost all Red Genomes have offensive applications, my power has an easy time with them. But how do you measure life, like with Green Genomes?” She gave him a knowing smile. “Though, if you told me the truth about your power, we could work on it together.”

Ryan let out a shocked gasp. “You know about my true, true power?”

“Look, that bullshit you told Pluto? About how your power really works?” She looked into his eyes. “You were just pulling our legs.”

She chuckled. “Why didn’t you call my

his cheek. “You’re smart, funny, and

help a friend

something else. It’s fine, I’m not particularly loyal to Augustus either. But I’m pretty

shrugged it off. “I think it’s a bit too

chest, one leg on each side. “Then

Meta-Gang, in more ways than one. “I don’t want

that.” Vulcan stroked the courier’s cheek. If only she knew. “I’m fine

I would appreciate it.” She lightly slapped him

put both her hands on his ears and ferociously kissed him on the lips,

“Yep.”

for

out. “I was supposed to help them clean up

higher in the hierarchy, so that’s an order. Entertain

time in

the one shackled to the bed, the two having switched positions. “Fuck,” she said. “You can actually stop

tell me everything about Ischia Island, Miss Sharif,” Ryan said, his body towering above her. “We have ways

smirked at him. “She’s too old

will have to

keep a straight face, but ended up bursting out

kinda cute that

Mount Augustus with her mech. Obviously, Ryan

Located atop a heavily-defended hill, the complex included a vast amount of monuments, the most impressive being a copy of the Parthenon to the east. An enormous, multi-floor Roman-themed villa covered roughly a third of the area, a marble palace

the land, however, had been repurposed into a vast park, including Roman-theme sculptures, flower gardens,

luxury of the place awed even

ended up landing near a swimming pool close to the villa, though a private sea might have been

one-piece swimsuit next to Narcinia. Augustus’ daughter immediately raised her eyes at Ryan and Vulcan when they emerged from the mech, welcoming

novel on a folding beach chair near her niece, keeping a mummified head on a small table nearby. She

the villa, drinks in hands. One was a priest in his fifties, with a receding grey hairline and a gaunt face. He was so lanky Ryan could see the bones below the skin, but his black

whom Ryan suspected to be Bacchus, was talking with a man entirely covered in thick armor. His equipment was heavily inspired by a Roman centurion’s dress, though it covered every part of the body and included a crimson cloak. The helmet included a metal

she kept her hair in a bun and wore an ancient Rome-styled dress adorned with gemstones. Though he could see only the lower part of her face and sapphire eyes due to a gold-plated masquerade mask, Ryan noted a family resemblance with Fortuna in that woman’s jawline. She was probably the lucky girl’s mother, keeping her

oldest, somewhere in his sixties. He had dyed his hair and thick long beard blue, which complemented his

Ryan and Vulcan upon seeing them, leaving the table with a dark look on his face; much like Pluto and Minerva, the

Neptune,” Jasmine pointed out the

could tell,” Ryan replied, waves starting to form out of nowhere in the swimming pool. Clearly, he was jealous of the courier’s better suit. “Can he drain the

Orange, so organic matter interferes with his power. Besides, he is a macro hydrokinetic. The bigger

“I imagined him taller.”

a paranoid loon who doesn’t leave his home,” Vulcan snickered. “He can reanimate corpses and command

Vulcan!” Narcinia waved a hand at the

Mount Augustus,” Livia said, though she didn’t rise up from her longchair. A true queen. “We were just discussing yesterday’s events. I admit you were right, I couldn’t

prize?” Ryan asked. “Personally, I would settle

replied with a wink, examining his

few flowers if you

weed killer on Blackthorn,” Ryan said,

snarled, pointing a finger at

in Coca-Cola?” Ryan asked innocently. Much to his surprise, Vulcan didn’t smash his foot

in acid,”

my death

any idea what you did?” Neptune thundered. “Vulcan, you and your soldier could have sparked an all-out

did it on my orders,” Livia spoke up calmly. “I will take full responsibility for

snarled. “Blackthorn labeled your prank as a

have suppressed the part where I undressed and put on

who had listened to the conversation, clearly struggled to contain her laughter, much to Ryan’s shock. Neptune glared at her. “Am I the

young too, Silvio,” Pluto replied, more amused than anything. “What’s wrong with letting them indulge

the Meta-Gang to harass us,” Livia said,

with

you summon us to bitch about it?” Jasmine asked with a shrug.

is also the matter of Mercury’s replacement,”

discussed in our previous meeting, I stand by my decision to retire,” the mummified head spoke with an old, weary voice, startling Ryan. “I’ve grown too old

cosplayer had risen from his table to meet the