The Perfect Run

The Pandamobile was… well, everything Ryan had expected.

A Dynamis-made copy of a second-generation Fiat covered in white and black fur to mimic an actual It was comfy and cute, with a doll dangling from the rear-view mirror. A complete lack of imagination packaged by a corporation too lazy to make a custom car.

If the hadn’t given him the keys beforehand, Ryan wouldn’t have touched the thing with a nine-foot pole. And even then, just putting his hands on the driving wheel felt wrong.

“I feel like I'm cheating on my long-suffering wife with a dirty whore,” Ryan said, thinking fondly of his Plymouth Fury. “I’m filled with regrets! Regrets and anguish!”

“Shut up and keep driving,” Atom Cat said from the front seat, repeatedly looking in the rear-view mirror for any sign of Pluto. The duo had reached the city’s suburbs, and would soon approach an overpass.

Great pillars of concrete lifted the highway out of New Rome above the road like a bridge, and loomed over shacks inhabited by the city’s poorest residents. While Dynamis had put some effort into keeping the highway functional, they clearly didn’t look below it.

Still, the sun was starting to set, and no sign of the Augusti yet. If all went well, the duo should reach the rendezvous point with Len near the Amalfi Coast at nightfall.

“Hey, you’re the one who prevented us from taking a better car!” Upon seeing the abomination, Ryan had immediately tried to ‘borrow’ the nearest sports car, but no, Kitten was too nice to allow it. “It’s your life on the line. One of them anyway.”

“Yours too now. Augustus will target anyone who helps me.” Felix sighed. “Sorry to be snappy, Ryan. I appreciate the help.”

“Have you fallen for me yet?” the courier teased him, just as his phone started ringing. Lucky Girl. “Because your sister has, in spite of my best efforts.”

“You shouldn’t be calling while driving,” Atom Cat said gruffly, as Ryan picked up the phone while driving towards a traffic light.

“Fortuna, darling, how can I make you even happier today?”

“Ryan?” Much to his surprise, she seemed confused to have the handsome courier on the phone. “How can it be, I was trying to call Felix! My power is never wrong!”

“Well your wish has come true,” Ryan said, while Felix shook his head like a maniac, “he is right next to me, begging me for protection.”

“He is?” Fortuna asked while her brother glared at the courier. “Oh my Ryan, you truly are the perfect gentleman, anticipating my wishes before I even think of them! Now, hand him the phone!”

“I don’t want it,” Felix said, as Ryan dangled the cellphone right in front of his partner’s head.

“Come on, don’t be a bab—”

The traffic light above them separated from the pole holding it above the ground, and threatened to fall on the Pandamobile.

Ryan activated his power, looked out of the window, and then skillfully drove out of the object’s way when time resumed. The traffic light crashed on the ground and shattered into pieces. “Sheesh, what happened to public service?” the Violet Genome asked, before shoving the phone against Felix’s ear.

“Stop…” the hero complained, until he heard Fortuna berating him on the other end. “Yes, Fortuna, I’m alive. No, I can’t tell you where I am.”

Ryan tried to relax, but didn’t have the time to as he noticed a car coming from his right. The courier had to veer at the last second to dodge the incoming maniac. “Does everyone in this town drive like crazy?” Ryan complained. New Rome’s traffic killed him twice on his first day. “At least I can stop time!”

Atom Cat tensed up. “It wasn’t an accident,” he said, pushing the phone away. “Can you feel it? The cold?”

What cold?

“It’s her?” Ryan looked at the rearview mirror, but didn’t notice anything extraordinary. “How far does her range extend?”

“I don’t know, but if I can feel the effects, then she can track me.”

Damn it. “Milady,” the courier said, as he recovered the phone, “I’ll call you back.”

“Don’t you dare hang up on me again, Ryan—” The courier hung up on Fortuna, putting his phone back under his suit, and took a turn towards the highway.

Soon, the Pandamobile climbed on the giant highway and left New Rome entirely. The enormous road, lifted by pillars, oversaw the lush countryside around the city. The urban jungle was replaced with woods, country roads, and isolated houses. Besides a few diesel vehicles, Ryan had the road to himself.

Pluto didn’t notice that she had marked Ryan until they met in

link between them. And the closer she is to her

her, and if she

his window,

time, and looked through Atom

familiar black Lamborghini moved on the road below the highway, between

dressed in a black bodysuit covering him from head to

followed led back to the highway, at a junction roughly

put on your belt, we’re gonna rock,“ Ryan warned as time resumed. The courier smashed the accelerator, and the Pandamobile moved faster and

as it climbed to one hundred twenty and kept rising.

could go twice as fast as the Pandamobile. That Dynamis abomination could reach

know what his

the Killer Seven used appropriate names themed after their

send the one Genome I couldn’t blow up through direct contact.” Atom Cat looked through the window and ground his teeth. “They’re accelerating. They know we noticed

road junction first, and had now reached its maximum speed. However, when Ryan looked into

in a highway car

no idea who she was

at their pursuers with insane dexterity. Though Night Terror’s motorcycle dodged the attack, the

of its wheels breaking down. Thanks to skills honed through countless stunts across his loops and selective use of his time-stop, the courier managed

though he immediately had to avoid a pickup next. From what he saw, it suffered from the same

Pandamobile. He quickly realized their car hadn’t

gets,” Felix warned, as Pluto’s Lamborghini emerged from the dust cloud unharmed. The Vamp, meanwhile, raised her submachine gun

shattered the windows at the back of the Pandamobile and impacted the windshield. One of the glass shards deviated from its natural course and aimed straight at Atom Cat’s throat. The courier stopped time, grabbed

the road ahead. The sun was starting to

Night Terror’s motorcycle. The assassin skillfully dodged the projectile, though at least it prevented his

power at Atom Cat. Which would have been a great asset to counterattack,

a new dart from his bandoleer, “so

happens if she gets within say, ten meters of

Felix scowled. “Heart attack.”

it would take more

Yellow Genomes had weird limits. They warped reality, transforming an imaginary concept or narrative into a physical law of the universe. They

Ryan muttered out

World belonged to the Violet Genome. Like how he ignored Fortuna’s luck, the courier could break Pluto’s hold on causality by stopping time selectively. Neither did Ryan think Pluto actually controlled

Fortuna’s

She was…

final destination,”

while Night Terror attempted to bridge the gap between their two vehicles and the Vamp prepared a

never watched that movie?” Ryan veered off to dodge a deer before it could hit the Pandamobile. A deer. On a highway! “Spoiler alert,

in the sequel. He'd better not

avoid getting blown

was bound to

of the pillars holding the highway two dozen meters above the ground in front of the Pandamobile collapsed, causing cars to fall to their doom. A large hole had formed between both halves of

tight!” Ryan said, the Pandamobile now an unstoppable missile. The side of the road was located

sure?!” Atom Cat panicked, as he

slow down even if I

few seconds to calculate the right angle, and

Pandamobile soared through the air with grace and dignity. The vehicle crossed the hole at full speed, Ryan adjusting its movements slightly to make the perfect landing. He then took a strong, confident pose, because when you made such a brave jump, you

the moment

landed with a loud thump, Felix almost jumping from his seat as the vehicle continued its course. Ryan

that coward, chickened out and abruptly stopped his motorcycle within a few inches of the hole, much to the Vamp’s

the air like the Pandamobile and made the jump, while Night