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 coming

his surprise, she shook her head in response. “I’m afraid that’s where we part ways. Boss’ orders. I’ll scramble Dynamis’ communications on my way out, which should help a

disappointment. “Don’t let the patriarchy tell you what

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

concerned. “Is it about the

loop’s event might

loop’s apocalypse would

self-replicating killer robot, and currently assaulting our HQ. Augustus asked

knowing look. “You wouldn’t have anything to

to rule the world, not

his robotic antennae, as if they were ears. “I’m a Genius, but I’m also a genius. So don’t fuck with

that. “You

would probably mistake

loath for us to end up on opposing

“Same,” the courier replied.

the shy Genius’ surprise. “Don’t hang out too much with him. You’ve got a great future

keep that in mind,” Len replied sheepishly, Vulcan leaving the room afterward with a

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

they could raid Lab Sixty-Six within a short timeframe and flee before Dynamis could mobilize. “You keep sending

sent the ones you wanted, alongside a copy of Sarin’s molecular structure,” the Genius said, having failed to find a better solution.

Yes, he did.

bluntness caused the cyborg to flinch. “However… I’ve befriended assholes before, and

struggled to find the right words, while

you’re no longer that person. The Alchemo that betrayed me is dead, while you are alive. So, while it feels wrong,

marked a short pause, his lack of facial expressions making his thought

third chance,” the

promised, before excusing himself with a

Riri?” Len asked with

extend a hand and be disappointed, than never do so and stay alone forevermore. Livia has a point, fear and paranoia lead nowhere.” Len looked at her best friend without uttering a word, her face hidden behind

though Ryan didn’t press the issue.

Ryan asked the

not. But I… I can’t delay anymore.

me put on an accessory and I’m ready to go…” Ryan searched the cabin for the last missing part of

thought to be the most wonderful sound in the world. “You

but cute is nice. Besides, with all the plushies running around, I’m

Ryan had to look

again, Riri,” Len said, as they walked out of the cabin and

“You noticed?”

all the time, but not so much

“Although?” he asked.

reach

found it easier to laugh at pain

him

hand that Len smiled warmly behind the helmet, and she raised her pinky.

had helped him live again, and he

submarine and walked on its metal

moved onto small boats. They could hear the noise of gunshots, lasers, and missiles all the way from Rust Town,

robots had been deployed to occupy Dynamis’ forces, while Ryan’s group would ‘sneak’ into the HQ from behind. If all went optimally, everyone would live through the attack; the courier had even made a copy of

flying sun shining in Rust Town’s polluted skies

dealt with Bloodstream, Ryan wondered if they had temporarily allied with the company to deal

to urge people to stay at home… but he

have become tamer

one hand on his arm and pointing the other at the

Augustus, the hill having turned

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

after hunting Acid Rain during the Augusti Loop,

it simply wanted to

Ryan had the foresight to ask Livia to evacuate to a secure location, because there would

They did climb the equivalent

If Mob Zeus prevailed, he would learn of Hargraves’ presence with his blood already up and probably go on a rampage. If the plushies won, they

laughing and glancing away nervously. “It

know, it’s not really

“Riri…”

twelfth time that I destroy the world,” Ryan meekly confessed, Len tensing up in outrage. “But I swear there

taken a small boat due to his enormous weight, his head

yourself,” Mosquito answered, juicing up on a