The Perfect Run

It was May 12th, and Team Quicksave the Pandas had assembled.

As he drove towards Rust Town, Ryan hoped this battle would go better than Vulcan’s doomed assault against the Meta-Gang. The time-traveler had gathered everyone he could call upon, provided all the necessary intel, and he wore a cashmere suit. Everyone would soon move into position, Shortie included.

The die was cast.

Atom Cat remained silent at the car’s front seat, having outfitted his costume with a dart bandolier. Ryan thought knives were classic for a reason, but the idea of someone getting beaten by explosive darts amused him to no end. The and Wardrobe stayed at the back, the former whispering a song to himself, and the latter examining Ryan with her big, beautiful eyes.

“Yuki, I know you designed my new mask,” Ryan said, “but this is getting a little creepy.”

“You went on a date yesterday,” Wardrobe said with a smile. “I can feel it.”

Did she have a gossip radar or something? Then again, Ryan had returned to his penthouse suspiciously late into the night.

In the end, the ‘ten-minute visit’ lasted half an hour. Lucky Girl had incredible taste, both for interior decoration and her sculpture hobby, to the point the courier would introduce her to Wardrobe. He had the feeling they would get along fantastically well. However, while Ryan had enjoyed the ‘date,’ his master plan had utterly failed. Lucky Girl just sent him a message saying she would ‘allow’ him to invite her again.

“It was nothing serious, Yuki,” said the courier, “so I’m still open to new romantic applications.”

“Sorry, I really like you Ryan, but I’m already in an exclusive contract with someone else.“

“Really? Congratulations!” the time-traveler replied with a warm smile. “That’s wonderful!”

“Thanks, she’s super nice, you will love her,” Yuki said with a grin. “But we’re talking about your love life. Is she in Il Migliore? Is it Len?”

“I will leave you to your endless speculations, watching as you go down the rabbit ho—” Wardrobe’s costume instantly transformed into a cosplay of Sherlock Holmes, hat and pipe included. “Hey, that’s cheating!”

“Hm…” Wardrobe observed Ryan, making deductions in her mind. “If I had to make an elaborate guess… I would say Atom Cat’s sister Fortuna, and it didn’t go farther than a chaste kiss.”

Atom Cat emerged from his silent reverie to look at Ryan in disbelief. “What?” he asked.

“That’s awesome Yuki,” the congratulated Wardrobe. “How did you figure it out?”

“Elementary, my dear Panda!”

“You know Sherlock Holmes never said that in the Conan Doyle novels?” Ryan complained, but Wardrobe ignored him.

“We know she was pestering him for a date, and from his expression, he clearly considered it a chore before being pleasantly surprised,” Yuki explained, her mannerism mimicking Sherlock Holmes’ most famous movie adaptations. “Hence, he accepted out of a sense of obligation, perhaps hoping to subtly discourage her. His hairstyle is also well-groomed and his smell remains the same. Thus, we can assume the absence of physical intimacy.”

“I hate Yellow Genomes,” Ryan said, glowering while ignoring Atom Cat’s baleful glare. “I hate them so much. Also, why didn’t you use this costume before? You could have cracked the whole conspiracy in minutes!”

“I don’t like this costume,” Wardrobe replied, changing back to her normal clothes. “If I wear it for too long, I develop a craving for cocaine, tobacco, and violins. That’s not good for my health.”

“Ryan, I warned you,” Felix said, infuriated. “I asked you man to man, friend to friend.”

The courier looked into his second favorite cat's eyes, and decided to tease him some more. “I just want us to become family, Kitten,” the courier said softly. “Is that so much to ask?”

Instead of turning red as Ryan had hoped, Felix answered with a fiendish smile. “Ryan, your adoptive sister,” he spoke with the same teasing tone as the courier, “she’s single, isn’t she?”

When Felix struck back, he hit hard! “I see the kitten is young, but he has claws."

“I’m just saying, we could become a family, Quickie. But if you take, you have to give back too.”

“That’s great!” Wardrobe said, finding twisted joy in the scene. “You marry each other’s sister, and then your kids will have a teen romance! I can see the drama!”

Ryan looked back at the road. “You discovered my only weakness, Kitten. You are a troll worthy of respect.”

“Thank you, now drive,” Felix replied. “If the Meta don’t kick your ass today, I’ll do it myself afterward.”

“Oh, we’re going to Rust Town?” Wardrobe asked with a frown. “I had the feeling we would go there, but Enrique refused to tell us until we arrived.”

the bag, we could check our intel,” Ryan said, Felix rolling his eyes. This reminded the courier that

out his phone, having

read the report while showing Wardrobe and the a picture of Hannifat Lecter. “The USA issued an international arrest warrant after he was suspected of murdering four people in Brooklyn, but he escaped to Europe

killer before getting his Elixirs?” Ryan asked. Every time he thought Hannifat

strength and tank-like resilience; additionally, his stomach has been turned into a pocket dimension where he can store almost anything.” Felix paused briefly. “Huh, he has almost the

an armory dimension, right?” Wardrobe asked. “I really like his war god costume. Very

a large range,” Felix said gruffly, before quickly changing the subject. This time, he read them the report on Adam’s bodyguard. “Frank the Mad, identity unknown. Suffers from schizophrenic delusions where he identifies as a WWII commando, Vietnam veteran, US secret service agent, and an Area 51 super-soldier experiment. However, his testimonies contradict real events, and he becomes aggressive if called out on the inconsistencies. Orange/Red, his body is made of metal and can

“He can only consume metal? Not

replied, a little confused

Frank’s power

time. However, then he shouldn’t age and a tumor wouldn’t threaten his life. As for the

and Augustus had briefly traded blows, and the Psycho’s power had automatically reacted. It tried to

at all meant Augustus’ body was made of something that registered as metal, albeit one the Psycho couldn’t consume easily. This excluded the spatial stasis hypothesis. But then, how could it explain the immunity to the time-stop, and well, everything? Perhaps Lightning Butt had consumed

thought. The courier had the feeling he had all the pieces of the puzzle, but he needed to assemble

barely listened to the conversation afterward, though much to his amusement, he learned that Psyshock’s real name was Francis Grey of all things. The group passed the Private Security checkpoint without trouble; either they were the first

drove to the north of Rust Town and its industrial district. The plan called for Dynamis to surround the Meta-Gang from all sides, and knowing Psypsy, he must have taken the courier’s prank

minutes,” Atom Cat said while checking the time. Rust Town was eerily silent as they drove, the air suffused with tension. Either Psyshock had already brainwashed the locals, or they could sense a

the skies like a missile, aiming straight for the Junkyard

an abandoned gas station north of the area, vast swathes of concrete covered in oil stains. The place looked like a graveyard, facing a series of abandoned projects and crumbling industrial buildings. A figure stood on one’s roof, hands

Sarin.

air straight at the car. “It’s time, boys and girls!” the driver whistled as his car swerved to avoid Miss Chernobyl’s blast. The attack hit the concrete pavement and blasted it to bits, while Ryan kept his car

dog drones broke through the buildings’ doors, having waited

as his team prepared for battle. “Show them your

his door and jumped out of the car, having fully shapeshifted before he

he was only the vanguard. A swarm of helicopters flew above Rust Town from the

the Junkyard and demolished some of the helicopters; probably the doing of Psyshock’s mech. Immediately afterward, tremors shook all of Rust Town, before turning into a full-blown quake. The weakest buildings collapsed under the strain, forcing Sarin to fly away from her current position. Acidic

for Rust

the car near the gas station. He and his remaining teammates quickly stepped out of it, the whole place smelling of gasoline. With a whistle from the courier, the Plymouth Fury’s autopilot took

and Desert Eagle out of his suit, wielding one in each hand, “who goes

at an impressive speed. She powered through a

at Sarin. Hazmat Girl blasted them midflight, causing the projectiles to violently detonate and throw her back against a crumbling building. Ryan opened fire on

as acidic raindrops fell from the heavens above, Ryan realized he had a date of his

his coil gun behind him and pressed the trigger. Acid Rain had teleported behind him, knives in hands, but had to duck out of the way to dodge the courier’s own projectile. The coil gun’s bullet grazed her cheek and

her

when we meet,” Ryan taunted her, having grown almost accustomed to it. “You

While the courier dodged, Atom Cat attempted to grab the Psycho and blow her

point and landed on the street, opening fire at Ryan and Atom Cat. The courier quickly stopped time, grabbed his Kitten, and moved them out of the way. Hazmat Girl’s blast hit the gas station

collapsed while rusting gas escaped its confines, and shields of glass formed above the various heroes to protect them

acid raindrops turning him visible. Soon, the rain threatened to transform into a downpour. “Her

a warning as he sensed Acid Rain’s

back into sight, two submachine guns in hand. She unleashed a hail of gunfire at Shroud and his companions, the

unable to force

darts. Acid Rain tossed the machine guns away and teleported away before any projectile could hit her. The more he observed her lightning speed in action, the more Ryan grew convinced her teleportation ability came with enhanced spatial awareness; the same way his own power

now the

Kaiju battle!

the line. A shiver went down his spine, as he sensed Acid Rain teleport all around them at

Shit!

as many grenades as he could and tossing them away before they could explode. But ten seconds were far too few, and while he could spare

and the heroes’ rainshields collapsed into dust. Ryan sensed acid raindrops eat at

Acid Rain exploited the cooldown to appear right in front of Felix and stab him in the chest with two knives by surprise. The young man collapsed to his back,

had grown numb to these

away from her fight with the drones, leaving

hand. Thankfully, Yuki’s costume changed

want, blondie!” Ryan challenged Acid Rain, though she teleported out of his bullets’ path. “I’m leaving for the Purple World and