The Perfect Run

“I don’t know,” Alchemo said.

Ryan Romano slouched on his chair, the Saturn Armor’s sheer weight making it creak. Vulcan sat at his side, checking a portable computer with a frown on her face. “Well, can you give me more details, oh great keeper of knowledge?”

The cabin’s metal walls thrummed like a great beast’s bowels, as Alchemo transferred data to the Saturn Armor’s computer. Ryan watched a copy of his bioscan appear on his helmet’s lens, his organs and bones as violet as a plum.

He looked in perfect health, even after engaging in a worrying amount of euphoric substances.

“As far as the scanners are concerned, you are an average monocolor Violet Genome, with no genetic anomalies whatsoever,” Alchemo said. “You can only blame yourself for your eccentricity.”

So Ryan wasn’t a Psycho, or at least not a conventional one. The courier considered it good news. “Then how do you explain the chic jet black particles surrounding my body in the frozen time?”

“I know that I do not know,” Alchemo replied with a sarcastic tone.

“Don’t bring Socrates into this.”

“Whenever I develop a theory on powers and Elixirs, meatbag, you invalidate it!” The Genius complained. “I give up!”

“The armor’s scanners record these Black Flux particles, but I don’t know what to make of the readings,” Vulcan admitted, a cute frown of frustration on her face. “They keep changing.”

“So these particles follow quantum superposition?” Ryan asked. “The results change depending on the observation method?”

“No, the data keeps changing after being recorded.”

Vulcan turned her laptop in Ryan’s direction, allowing him to see the screen. Lines of codes and words shifted before his eyes, from binaries to trinaries, from numbers to letters and stranger symbols.

“This substance actively refuses to be categorized, and passively alters reality when I insist.” Vulcan ground her teeth in annoyance. “Either that, or you gained a second power that falsifies my data.”

“A Blue power then,” Alchemo said, jumping to the easy conclusion.

“I’m not yet colorblind, Braindead,” Ryan said. “I can tell black from blue.”

“None of this makes sense,” the cyborg complained, having grown angrier by the minute since they left the bunker. Perhaps the stress was getting to him? Ryan knew from experience that the Genius didn’t have a great mental fortitude. “A Paradox dimension? An energy that actively violates common sense? How do you want me to find logic in a situation that lacks any?”

“If the rest of our theory about Elixirs is correct, then this means you developed a link to this Black World. Perhaps even a secondary power.” Vulcan raised an eyebrow at Ryan. “What are you waiting for? Try it out.”

Ryan froze time, black and violet particles floating around him while his other self appeared in a corner. The poor ghost only advanced a few centimeters per second, desperately catching up to the courier.

Ryan glanced at his hands, and the black spots swirling around them, before raising them at Alchemo.

“UNLIMITED POWAH!” The time-traveler shouted while wagging his fingers like a maniac. “POWAH!”

And…

Nothing happened. No black lightning, no blast of antimatter. Not even the thrill of unlimited cosmic power coursing through his veins.

“Nope, nothing I can figure out,” Ryan said as time resumed. Damn it, why didn’t the dark side come with a manual? “Either I don’t have a second power, or I need to figure out what it does before I can use it.”

“Disappointing,” Vulcan said, though she sounded more playful than angry. “Do you still produce particles without the armor?”

“No more than I generate visible Violet Flux without your wonderful suit.” Ryan only produced Black Flux with the Saturn Armor on. “Neither did my main power mutate, as far as I can tell.”

His time-stop worked perfectly fine, and his ‘violet phantom’ hadn’t changed either. Thus, his save point shouldn’t have moved forward in time, though Ryan could only check by resetting. He was in no hurry to try that out yet.

For all he knew, everything would return to normal on the next save, though his gut told him otherwise. The Ultimate Darkling could apparently violate causality, so Ryan’s condition had a chance to stick.

“Then this Black Flux works on another level than our physical reality,” Vulcan theorized.

“Don’t tell me you believe in souls?” Alchemo grunted. “I thought you were a rational person.”

“A Genome like Geist has no DNA for his Elixir to hang onto, and yet persists as a freaking ghost,” Vulcan pointed out. “A similar thing happened with Ghoul as far as I know. A pity your slime friend killed him on its way out, Ryan. It could have helped us figure it out.”

Ghoul’s remains hadn’t risen up after Darkling threw them up, proving that even immortals could die. Ryan couldn’t help but wonder how Black Flux would react to an inviolable object like Lightning Butt.

The courier needed information that even Mechron’s databases couldn’t provide. Knowledge from the same place where he might find a cure for the Psycho syndrome.

Ryan would take a winter vacation next time around.

Alas, they had other matters to deal with right now, as Shortie reminded him when she opened the cabin’s door in full power armor. “We’re surfacing, Riri,” she said, her voice firm and without any trace of hesitation. “It’s time.”

“Finally,” Vulcan said, as she closed her laptop. “Time to put on my supersuit.”

immense culture is by far your greatest quality,” Ryan congratulated the short Genius, who responded with a smirk. “So, you’re

we part ways. Boss’ orders. I’ll scramble Dynamis’ communications on my way out, which should help a

his disappointment. “Don’t let the patriarchy tell you what to do, come

I like you, but not enough to disobey Augustus for your sake. You’re a Saturday morning cartoon comedian, but that mofo is more lethal

concerned.

last loop’s event

this loop’s apocalypse would be much

cryptid thing on the news?” Vulcan asked, everyone looking away. “Well, it’s apparently a self-replicating killer robot, and currently assaulting

look. “You wouldn’t have anything

he lied. “I want to rule the world,

were ears. “I’m a Genius, but I’m

that. “You should be fine, don’t

the plushies would

sure to skip town afterward. I would be loath for us to end up on opposing sides.” Vulcan rose from her seat

“Same,” the courier replied.

with him. You’ve got a great future ahead of you, but I’m pretty

sheepishly, Vulcan leaving the room

for Ryan’s ex-girlfriend to vanish, before turning at the man himself.

explained. If all went well, they could raid Lab

a copy of Sarin’s molecular structure,” the Genius said, having failed to find a better solution. “Am I

Yes, he did.

“However… I’ve befriended assholes before,

find the right words, while Len watched on without any of

did… It hurt. It hurt more than you can imagine. But as you said it yourself, you’re no longer that person. The Alchemo that betrayed me is dead, while you are alive. So, while it feels wrong, I…” Ryan let out a long, long sigh. “I will give you a second chance. Send your own brain map to

of facial expressions making his thought

won’t get a third chance,” the courier warned. “So

Genius promised, before excusing

so many people with us, Riri?” Len

a point, fear and paranoia lead nowhere.” Len looked at

didn’t press

you?” Ryan asked the

I… I can’t delay anymore. There is no other

and I’m ready to go…” Ryan searched the cabin for the last missing part of his outfit: a black cashmere poncho, which he immediately

to be the most wonderful sound in

nice. Besides, with

to look that

to hear your bad jokes again, Riri,” Len said, as they walked out of the cabin and through

“You noticed?”

you joke all the time, but not so

“Although?” he asked.

reach your eyes

centuries ahead of its time. But... I guess I found it easier to laugh at pain rather than cry at it. My eternal life

though. She had seen him cry for the first

his hand that Len smiled warmly behind the

Shortie,” Ryan pinky swore back. She had helped him

the Mechron submarine and walked

vehicle had risen above the waters south of the blockaded harbor, the remaining Meta-Gangsters having moved onto small boats. They could hear the noise of gunshots, lasers, and missiles all the way from Rust Town, as corpo troops

into the HQ from behind. If all went

sun shining

they dealt with Bloodstream, Ryan wondered if they had temporarily allied with the company to deal with the ‘bigger threat,’ or if something else

though, New Rome looked relatively unscathed. Sure there were fires here and there, and alarms resonated across the street to urge people to stay at home… but he

it have become

of that notion, putting one hand on his arm and pointing the

at Mount Augustus,

summit. Nobody could see the villa at the top clearly, as crimson lightning

the plushie on this course of action. He did remember that the fiendish rabbit had vanished after hunting Acid Rain during the Augusti Loop, whom Augustus had slain. Perhaps the creature wanted

it simply wanted to make a

to evacuate to a secure location, because there would be no turning back.

They did climb the

already up and probably go on a

Ryan laughing and glancing

know, it’s

“Riri…”

Ryan meekly confessed, Len tensing up in

saving Ryan from a highly embarrassing conversation. Only the giant hadn’t taken a small boat due to his enormous weight, his head

up on a bottle of artificial blood. “What are we even