The Perfect Run

Ryan felt a ping of nostalgia as he drove on the highway.

It had been more than a month worth of loops since he first arrived in New Rome, and he missed driving into the wasteland, Mad Max-style. The world seemed open to him, all roads leading to a different quest. The courier could never anticipate when he would face a random encounter, whether it was a band of road warriors engaging him in a car chase or a mysterious hitchhiker out for blood. As much as he enjoyed civilization, Ryan was a creature of the road through and through.

The Carnival’s rendezvous point was located near the ruins of Pompei, south of New Rome. It had been quite easy for Ryan and Felix to slip away after the Fortuna incident. Nobody blamed her brother for wanting to take a breath of fresh air after their very public argument.

Ryan felt a little bad about lying to Wardrobe though. He could tell she hadn’t been fooled by their excuses, and knew something was up.

“Something has been bothering me,” Atom Cat said on the seat next to Ryan. The Plymouth Fury followed the Neapolitan coast, the sea on one side of the road, and cliffs on the other. “The Psychos have infiltrated Dynamis, right? If so, they probably have access to my DNA-tracker. They can follow us.”

“They could.” And in a past loop, they did. “But now they can’t.”

“How so?”

“Well, I’m not a Genius with a capital ‘G,’” Ryan quoted Jasmine, “but I’m still a genius.”

The time-traveler had wondered how the tracker worked; how could you track a genome by recording their DNA after all? However, after his discussions with Jasmine in the previous loop, the answer became obvious. Dynamis didn’t track Genomes through their genes, but by the Flux radiation they passively released.

So Ryan modified his car to keep the Flux radiation within its confines, using the method Jasmine pioneered. Of course, it was a poor man’s substitute for his ex’s power armor. Staying in the car wouldn’t cause Ryan to open a gate to the Purple World, but it would make the passengers invisible to Dynamis’ radars.

Hopefully, at least. Ryan still looked into his rearview mirror from time to time.

Felix didn’t ask more questions and looked out of the window, his eyes gazing at the Mediterranean Sea. Ryan could tell his friend appreciated the silence. His sister’s visit had put him in a foul mood.

Speaking of Fortuna, she started sending messages to the courier once again. Much to Ryan’s surprise, only half of them called him an ass and other names; the other half included questions about Felix’s wellbeing.

Aww, she cared!

The constant ringing of Ryan’s phone started to bother Atom Cat. “My sister again?“

“She’s very persistent,” Ryan said. “I know I’m smart, funny, and handsome, but my popularity surprises me sometimes.”

“Fortuna’s power causes almost everything that can go well for her, to do so,” Felix replied with a sigh. “She has never paid for anything, she gets gifts out of nowhere, and she always meets men desperate to worship her. After a while, it became a self-reinforcing loop of narcissism… and I think you broke it.”

Wait, that was it! Men threw themselves at Fortuna, so she took them for granted and crushed on the few ones immune to her charms! If Ryan behaved like the perfect gentleman to soothe her narcissistic ego, she would lose interest and leave him be! All he had to do was treat Lucky Girl for dinner, and overwhelm her with affection until she found another distraction. Kill her with kindness.

“Ryan,” Felix said, apparently reading Ryan’s mind as the courier typed a response on his phone. “Can you do me a favor?”

“If it’s about the cat jokes, then you’re asking too much.”

Atom Cat looked at Ryan, their eyes meeting. “Don’t fuck my sister.”

Ryan lost himself in the blue hue of his friend’s irises, as he prepared an appropriate answer. “Which one?”

“I’m serious, Quickie.”

“Don’t worry,” Ryan replied, putting a hand on his kitten’s shoulder. “If I had to fuck the whole family, I would start with you.”

Felix recoiled in surprise, much to the courier’s amusement. “Shut up and drive,” the hero said while looking at the road.

After a short hour’s drive without getting ambushed by the Meta, the duo finally reached their destination. A lookout-point on a rock, providing an unbeatable view of Pompei. Even the world’s end couldn’t damage the ruins more than Vesuvius did, and while they briefly served as a raider gang’s hideout, they had remained untouched by the wars.

Leo the Living Sun was already present, hovering above the lookout’s edge while in his shiny form. What a showoff. Though Ryan's eyes couldn't help but ogle at this perfect fiery form, and that lithe, flaming ass. The courier had slept with men, women, robots, monster girls... but never a sun.

Yet.

A roguish woman with freckles and long auburn hair waited nearby next to an American bike, Ryan recognizing her as Ace, the Carnival’s main teleporter. “Damn, that’s really them,” Atom Cat gasped in admiration, as Ryan parked the Plymouth Fury. “I’m a big fan.”

“Thank you, Felix.” Unlike his favorite kitten, Ryan didn’t flinch as Shroud appeared on the backseat. “Truth be told, we wanted to talk to you for a while.”

“How long have you been here?” Felix asked, spooked.

“Far too long,” Mr. See-Through replied, as he opened the car door. “You drive like a madman, Quicksave.”

“Thanks for the compliment, but there’s only three of you?” Ryan asked as the group exited the car to join the other Carnival members. “You weren’t kidding about the turnover.”

“We’re six, with the others already at work in the city,” Shroud replied, sighing at the courier’s unimpressed silence. “I warned you we needed more time to gather our allies. Mushroom, Radiodead, and the Cossack are in France right now and won’t arrive before a few days.”

“I wish I could open portals that far,” Ace said upon hearing them, before smirking confidently at the newcomers. “But don’t worry, we still pack a punch. What we lack in numbers, we make up in quality.”

“Easy for you to say, you have a freaking sun on your side,” Ryan mused. While the Meta had them greatly outnumbered, they did have greater individual firepower.

The sun incarnate looked at Quicksave with a mix of amusement, and a tiny bit of respect. “Greetings, Ryan,” he said with his sexy, sexy hero voice. “I wanted to thank you for the help you provided to us so far.”

It felt so strange to meet this man again. From his point of view, it had only been four years, but for Ryan, it had been centuries since Bloodstream’s demise. And yet this event remained forever engraved in the courier’s mind.

Ryan couldn’t quite put a word on how he felt about the Carnival as a whole. On one hand, they separated him from Len for countless loops, but on the other hand, they saved him from Bloodstream, and he owed them a life debt. In the end, he leaned towards appreciation. Now that he had reconnected with Len, he would let bygones be bygones.

and the Carnival planned to destroy their organization one way or another. What Livia said about her mother’s death also bothered Ryan, who

the feeling he couldn’t leave the city, even after the Meta-Gang’s destruction. A war was brewing, and

along?” Felix asked his teammate, interrupting

the courier

you aim in the right direction. Honestly, at first I thought you came to

haven’t apologized for what happened with Bloodstream,” Leo said, sounding genuinely apologetic. “I hadn’t

alternative was worse,” Ryan interrupted the humanoid sun. After all, he had lived through it once.

response, but didn’t push the subject

his teammate on the back without a word, for which the courier was thankful. Though paparazzi would probably mistake the scene for something else, if they saw it... “As for you, Atom Cat, I congratulate you for your choice,” Leonard said, nodding at the younger hero. “It must have been hard to leave your family

The scene reminded Ryan of an amateur boxer meeting Mohammed Ali by happenstance. “Don’t tell me you

yes,” Shroud

the lookout for new recruits, and I feel you have great potential.” The Living Sun marked a short pause, as if considering his next words. “There’s… also the matter of

tensed up. “What about

approached the lookout. A black Maserati parked near the

Blackthorn removed the dust off his suit as he walked towards them, Wyvern acting

seem all so happy, as he glared at the Carnival. “You called

arms crossed. “They did. Blackthorn contacted us a

Augustus,” Enrique said, his tone utterly monotone. “Until

all present?”

raising his sleeve to look at a Rolex watch underneath. “Though I hope you understand your mere presence threatens us all, Hargraves. If Augustus learns you are in town, he

my decision long ago. I will not die before Augustus’

about him going after us by association,” Blackthorn replied dryly before raising his eyes. Ryan heard a loud noise approaching from the coast. “But at this point, I guess it

and prepared to land. The Dynamis logo was

A bulky, black power armor protected most of his body, except for the head, which was covered by a glass dome. A skull, though, would have been a better term. The Genome’s flesh seemed to radiate with a crimson glow kept contained by the suit, and leaving the bones visible like X-rays. The armor seemed to have

recognized that colossus for what he was, just by

A warmonger.

Wyvern asked Enrique with a

noticed the rose on his suit shifting,

is this guy?” Felix asked, a little intimidated by

clenched her jaw, her

Fallout… “The butcher of Malta?” Ryan asked, having

Augustus in a failed attempt to kill him,” Shroud confirmed,

in confirmation. “Hector exiled him to Sicily afterward, under the pretext of an ‘oversea assignment.’ I didn’t know

from his helicopter, the ground faintly shaking under his sheer weight. “Brother, Hargraves,” he politely greeted the people present

Atom Cat,”

nickname, but for all the

tensed, but surprisingly, Blackthorn immediately came to the rescue. “He’s the one who provided the recording. I do not trust him, but our goals align

courier waving a hand at the borg in response. The vice-president didn’t

glared at the tincan, while Enrique answered, “I

under his elder’s fiery gaze, Dynamis’ VP shook his skull. “You have always been

Ryan asked, a dangerous edge

of your business,” Alphonse Manada replied

you will agree,” Enrique said hastily. “After her stunt with her bubble prisons, I wondered about hiring her for security purposes. An undersea prison might be the best solution to

heard one, but Leo Hargraves coughed and took over the discussion. “Gentlemen, please. We gathered you to discuss how to deal with the various criminal groups in the city, and we

“Suspicions?” Felix snorted.

the Meta’s second-in-command declares having been hired by our CEO to harass Augustus’ forces,” Enrique explained calmly, Wyvern crossing her arms in quiet fury. “Considering Psyshock showed an intimate knowledge

have scouted the Meta-Gang’s territory, though I could not get close to their headquarters without the

of our technicians have been reported as missing. I believe either our CEO

when he finally spoke, it was with a tone of pure, unrestrained disgust. “Our father has betrayed our trust, and that of all of New Rome. We have nothing to do with

her throat. “Well, it’s bad,

intend to hit the Meta and destroy them, before turning our attention to the Augusti,” Leonard declared. Ryan noticed that he avoided mentioning the bunker to the corpos, which was wise. Perhaps they hoped to destroy the base before the Manada siblings noticed its existence. “Will you

“No,” Enrique replied.

stand by and let someone else clean up our father’s mess. I will personally

Blackthorn guessed. “You

will support us?” Leonard

team,” Alphonse added. “We will surround the Psychos and wipe them all out, even if we must

by the borg’s decisiveness. Though he was clearly a closet supervillain considering his fashion

Sunny Boy said. “If the Meta-Gang has infiltrated your organization all the way to the top, then the more people involved, the greater the risk

will only inform our most reliable heroes and officers,” Enrique argued. Which, when reading between the lines, meant ‘those loyal to us and not to

choice, but you forget a detail,” Shroud argued. “Psyshock will use hostages, and he can

asked with a frown. “I wondered why he killed himself

personally. “He has started transforming homeless people into thralls and giving them weapons. A frontal assault will lead to casualties, while a small strike team can decisively behead

clenched his fist, as he felt an ominous sense of déjà-vu. It was the first Rust

miraculously defeat Psyshock and Adam,” Wyvern pointed out with a grim face. “The latter can barely keep his men under control, and without his unifying

everyone’s attention. “Both strategies are not necessarily exclusive. The Carnival can focus on hitting the Meta’s leadership while our

silent consideration, Leo Hargraves

town,” said his teleporter. “Like during our battle with Mechron. If we coordinate properly, I think we can

on his back. The glass manipulator probably weighed the pros and cons of involving Dynamis directly. On one hand, it would make

getting his hands on orbital weaponrywas too overwhelming to ignore. “When would you be ready?”

“Tomorrow,” Alphonse declared.

way too soon,