The Perfect Run

For the first time in centuries, Ryan woke up at peace with himself.

Certainly, he had had good mornings in the past. Waking up next to Jasmine would remain one of his most cherished memories. But nothing could compare to this beautiful moment. His body was numb from the endorphins; the tension in his muscles had long vanished. He could have stayed in his bed all day, smiling at the ceiling.

Ryan Romano was happy.

It took a herculean effort of will to rise up and put on his presidential costume, for he still had work to do. As he dressed, the courier glanced at the hole a robot made in his bowler hat. One loop ago, the cruel sight would have triggered an epic, city-destroying rampage.

But not today.

Ryan emerged from his room smiling behind his mask, and found Frank keeping watch in front of the doors. The giant immediately welcomed him with a military salute. “Good morning, Mr. President. Nothing to report.”

Ryan smiled at the poor, deluded creature, his heart full of warmth and compassion. “Agent Frank,” he said while putting a hand on the man’s back, though he had to stand on his toes. “You are the greatest hero this nation’s ever had. You are everything an American citizen should be.”

His kind words shook the titan to the core. Frank would have cried, if he wasn’t made of metal. “Thank you, Mr. President. Everything I do is to honor my father. He died from a KFC overdose while hanging Nazis with a lasso.”

“A most American way to die. He would be so proud of you, son.”

Though Ryan would have to make sure Frank and Len never ended up in the same room. He had the intuition it would backfire.

Leaving his favorite guard to his watch, Ryan moved into the recreational area while whistling to himself. He didn’t care about the hanged gremlins dangling from the ceiling, or how Rakshasa struggled to clean up a blood puddle on the floor.

Everything just felt… right.

“Oh, you’re awake, boss?” Ryan glanced at the speaker, noticing Sarin playing pool with Mosquito. The bugman had bandages all over his shoulders and wings. “We’ve got a problem. The rabbits kept pestering the kids to play outside, and they moved into the Junkyard after killing all the gremlins.”

“They flogged me when I tried to stop them,” Mosquito complained, pointing at the bandages. “They flogged me.”

“That too.”

“It’s okay,” Ryan replied calmly. If the plushies didn’t destroy the world today, it would be something else, like an asteroid or a plague. No biggie.

Hazmat Girl didn’t look convinced. “Didn’t you stress that your rabbits shouldn’t go outside under any circumsta—”

“My dear lovely Sarin.” Ryan put his hands on his VP’s shoulders. “Everything is going to be fine. I promise you, darling.”

“Are you high?” she asked while abandoning her cue, sounding disgusted with her superior. “I know we have a juice production facility, but… what’s the saying…”

“Don’t get high on your own product. I know, I ran a drug cartel.” Which turned out great! “Sarin, I have something to say. You’re not the best sidekick I had, that would be the but I like you. I like you very much.”

Sarin pushed Ryan back and raised a vibrating fist in his direction. He had opened his heart to her, and that was how she reacted? “Okay, what’s wrong with you? You’re weirder than usual.”

“I feel like being nice today,” Ryan said, letting out a sigh of pure bliss. “No cruel joke, no sarcasm, no mean remarks. Just pure kindness.”

“Well get back to normal, you’re creeping the shit out of me.”

“I prefer him this way,” Mosquito said, immediately trying to exploit the situation. “Does that mean we get free juice today, since you’re in a good mood?”

“Of course, dear leech,” Ryan said, the bugman loudly rejoicing. “Enjoy your day off, my friends. For tomorrow, we’ll go to war.”

Manada’s ultimatum expired the day after, and while Ryan had a plan to get rid of him, it would involve a clash with Il Migliore. Perhaps even the Carnival, if the two groups already made contact during this loop.

Now that the president had secured his white house and electoral base, he would take the city by storm.

The elevator to the lower levels opened before Ryan could explain his plan to his trusty minions. Mongrel stepped out first, followed by a blonde woman with bloodshot eyes. She kept her head down and avoided others’ gazes, as if afraid of overstepping.

It took Ryan a split second to recognize Acid Rain.

Her behavior, her posture, the way she moved… everything but her appearance had changed. She gave off an entirely different vibe than the murderous madwoman the courier had grown used to. Her posture screamed meek.

“Rain?” Mosquito asked, probably expecting the violent maniac to flip out and murder them. “Rain, is that you?”

“I’m, uh… I’m Helen.” Even her voice wasn’t the same, now that she didn’t scream all the time. “That’s my real name. Helen.”

“Who let you out?” Sarin asked, pointing her hands at her.

“The Doc. He said I… that the treatment worked.” Acid Rain scratched the back of her head as everyone looked at her in shock, before smiling sheepishly at Ryan. “Sorry I tried to kill you before. I… I wasn’t thinking straight.”

and Sarin lowered her gauntlets. “I’m just happy you still have

me too,” Mongrel spoke, his voice surprising

in his

his hand. “I think my grey matter slowly fills

I’m waking up from a long nightmare,” Acid Rain said, smiling at

forever, from what

wouldn’t. Genomes’ enhanced metabolisms meant they developed a tolerance to chemical products much quicker than normal humans. Eventually,

scenario, and Ryan knew he would make it right. “We have the tools to figure out a permanent solution,” he

don’t wanna

plight. “You were already barely better than a dog when Adam

power to work. So I figured, hey, there’s gotta be faulty Elixirs lying around, and I drew the short end of the stick. I already planned on buying a knockoff before

down his spine. “You drank a knockoff since you believed yourself powerless, and

By itself, it did nothing. Much like how Casper the ghost only transformed post-mortem, some

touching an Elixir for the rest of my life. Years as a maddened animal

to stab us in the back either?” Mosquito asked Acid Rain. “You gutted our previous teleporter in a

her horror. “I… that wasn’t me. I…

of the doubt. “Something has been bugging me,” the courier said, seizing the opportunity to interrogate her. “In your insane state, you kept rambling about how I barred the gates, and that something called

at reliving her days as a madwoman. “Well, I don’t remember everything. It’s all a haze. But… I think it’s because

frowned behind his

my raindrops it’s… it’s not instantaneous. It looks like it from the

as a shortcut through space.” It explained why their

Helen took a deep breath. “I hear voices too. I’m not sure if it’s talking to me, or something else, but… I hear people speaking. When I look at you in this state, I can see a pathway I can’t access. A

“Thing is, I have been able to open a gate to the Purple World in the past, but only with

up in hope. “You could… you could go back in time with that place. I know you

was careful enough not to reveal the truth. Especially not now, when things were finally

her fingers and looking down. “That’s why I looked

Violet Elixir, in

her head, her face turning ghastly, her fingers shaking. “I found one, but… I thought I could give it to a friend. That maybe they would luck out. But Adam... Adam caught

him of a traumatized victim having a PTSD

that If I really wanted to go back, I… I should do it myself. So he… opened the bottle and...” Her voice died down her throat, her breathing shortening. “And

that Hannifat Lecter’s obsession with force-feeding him an Elixir wasn’t a one-time

It was a habit.

murderous bastard shattered people into broken shells of their former selves, until they had no other option but to follow

apologized, crushing her hopes. Even if he managed to access the Purple World, according to Darkling, the

made Ryan feel sorry for Acid Rain, of all people.

an ember of humanity? “I heard Mercury could raise the dead, and we made peace with

mindless zombies, you stupid jackass,” Sarin said, before returning to the pool game. She wasn’t one for emotional moments. “Anyone else wanna

before looking at the dead gremlins dangling from the ceiling. “Also, why are there dead hanged animals above the

said, as she sent

rushing at Acid Rain’s feet. “Hey, blondie,” the toaster

in absolute confusion, and then at Ryan.

His game was atrocious, but then again, he was a toaster. “Sweet, soft

you get butter when you don’t have arms?” Ryan pointed

are you putting me inside

“Tomorrow, my friend. Tomorrow.”

destroyed robots and

had never

his devilish

up a modest Genius workshop in one of the underground chambers close to the holographic dome. Ryan had

of some sort. A holographic projector at the chamber’s center showed a map of planet Earth, with half a dozen glowing red points around Eurasia. Perhaps they indicated Mechron’s remaining facilities. Ryan would have to track them down after

her working on the brain-copying machine. She had repurposed a desk into an

not today. She looked as well-rested as

a warm, kind smile. “Yes, I… I feel good. Alchemo gave me pills, and they work much better than my previous antidepressants. I can think clearly even when I’m not

could do a great deal of good when he wanted to. If the courier learned how to reproduce his miracle drugs, he could provide Len with treatment across loops. In time, she might regain the

any progress on the machine?” Ryan asked, looking at this device with reverence. It had saved him from centuries of loneliness. “Now we proved it works and Psyshock won’t follow us again, we can

would probably end with another

time-traveled,” Len admitted. “When I looked at Sarah, and how she had never seen my sanctuary, I… I understood how you felt.

before,” Ryan said, as he sat on the workbench. “Now we can bring more people into the

“The machine can only send one brain map back in time at once. Maybe I can improve it and raise that number, but for now… we’re limited to

the method’s limits. “And we’ll need to rebuild the machine and send you back each time in an unbroken chain.

can store