The Perfect Run

Len put her hand on the aquarium, and Bloodstream’s putrid eyes looked at her. The sight filled Ryan with scorn and disgust.

“How?” the courier asked, his own breath shortening, a sharp pain around his neck. Even after all these years… even after all these years, he still remembered his adoptive father’s hands tightening around his throat. It was true what they said. You never forgot your first. “How…”

“Uncontrolled Psycho mutations,” Dr. Tyrano answered with a shrug, misunderstanding the question. “The vice-president refused to feed him Genomes, so his genetic code kept degrading into something utterly alien. The human part simply couldn’t keep up with the powers after a while.”

A thought crossed Ryan’s mind: that this was the fate that awaited all Psychos, if they couldn’t stave off the decay. The Elixirs reshaped their bodies into something inhuman. Something better suited to contain the unlimited energies of the colored dimensions.

Was Bloodstream even sentient anymore? Did an ember of humanity remain, or were only the Elixirs left? Did he recognize his daughter, or the smell of her blood?

“Is he…” Shortie’s voice sounded so shaken, so weak, that Ryan could barely hear her words. “Is my father… is my father in there?”

“We chemically neutered the creature years ago, and he stopped all attempts at communication afterward,” Dr. Tyrano replied with no tact whatsoever. He might have been a Genius, but social relationships clearly weren’t his specialty.

“How could you… how could you do this?” Len hissed, looking at the mad scientist. “There… there was a man inside!”

“Not quite, management flagged him as a company asset,” Tyrano said, completely missing the point.

Ryan moved towards the computer panel hooked to the aquarium, his Saturn armor easily hacking into the closed system. Data showed up on his lenses, from biological analyses, to reports of Knockoff testing. The courier quickly confirmed that Dynamis had Bloodstream in custody since 2016; Tyrano cloned him from samples taken after the Psycho raided a company warehouse.

Ryan also noticed a folder called ‘Monster Girl Project’, which he refused to open. He had the feeling it would traumatize him for all loops to come.

Most importantly though, Ryan learned that Dr. Tyrano used an encrypted email system to discuss with others, mainly his lawyers. The courier memorized the access codes, so he could directly contact the deranged Genius in a future loop.

“Why… why did you want me?” Len asked, pointing her water rifle at Tyrano. The dino maniac raised his hands in surrender. “What was the point?”

“Because your father implanted a foreign agent inside your blood cells, and it causes the Knockoff to react violently on contact,” Tyrano confessed. “Since the old agent inside your blood precedes the chemical neutering, synthesis creates a new substance capable of resisting it. Our consumers inevitably… reverse.”

A polite way to say they transformed into Bloodstream clones.

“I petitioned management to study you in-depth and reduce risks of reversion, but Mr. Enrique kept vetoing my proposal,” the scientist complained. It made the courier respect Blackthorn a bit more than before.

“Here’s the million-dollar question then,” Ryan said, glancing at the bloody shoggoth floating in its aquarium. “How do we kill this thing?”

Len flinched. “Riri…”

“Len, your father is gone,” Ryan argued, waving a gloved hand at the Psycho-in-a-can. “He’s not even human anymore.”

“You said… you said you could find a cure for Psychos!” she protested.

“I think we can cure humans of their mutations, not turn tomato juice into a Homo Sapien.” Ryan watched, as Len’s weapon shook from her trembling hands. “I’m reading the analysis reports right now, and he shares less than fifty percent of his DNA with humans now. Bananas are closer to us than he is.”

Even with all the time in the world, which Ryan had, they would need a Genome with a miracle solution power. Besides, the courier had no intention of wasting so much time on helping that irredeemable monster. He had raided this lab to confirm Bloodstream’s survival, but the boogeyman that haunted his childhood appeared long gone.

Ryan would have given all his money to see Len’s reaction beneath her helmet. She stood still for a moment, before lowering her head and weapon both. She didn’t say a word, as she registered her friend’s words. Perhaps she always knew it would end like this, remaining in denial until she had the facts laid before her eyes.

The father she loved died years ago.

“I don’t suppose you have a cure for Knockoffs?” Ryan asked Tyrano.

“Of course we have a cure,“ the mad Genius protested, much to the courier’s surprise. “Do you think we’re criminally negligent?”

“You turned a monster into a drink!” Ryan replied bluntly. “You’re worse than Pepsi!”

“But the risks of reversion and health issues approach zero, as long as only one dose is used!”

“Which is exactly why I’m nationalizing this place and confiscating all its assets. Including you.”

“You can’t nationalize a perso—”

“I’m President of the United States of America, which is basically the world,” Ryan interrupted him. “We’re nationalizing you, and your cure. How does it work?”

The scientist opened his mouth to protest further, until Ryan pointed at his chest weapon. Ah, the perks of a monopoly on force...

“I developed an injection-based neutralizing agent, which attacks the Bloodstream cells and repairs the target’s genetic code back to its pre-consumption state,” Dr. Scalie admitted. “A stronger variant of the formula can be injected inside the aquarium in case of a containment breach. It destroys the Knockoffs entirely.”

“But not Alchemist-made Elixirs?” Ryan asked for confirmation, the Genius shaking his head. It made sense. Bloodstream-based Knockoffs remained mutated Psycho cells in the end, while true Elixirs were alien entities beyond conventional biology. “If your cure only works through injections, then what happens if multiple Knockoff-users revert at the same time? Even if you destroy the original source, it won’t erase the substance inside all your customers.”

“The risk of a mass-reversion is nonexistent,” Tyrano replied with a shrug, tempting fate.

These guys had no plan at all. Dynamis’ criminal negligence defied comprehension. “Alright, in that case, you’re surrendering that cure, and coming with us to Area 51.”

The dinosaur squinted. “Area 51?”

“A Mechron base, if you want to be technical.” Since Ryan knew the location of others, they could always retreat there to research a cure for the Psycho condition. He had made a promise to Sa—Bianca, and would keep it. “We can make safer Knockoffs than the bottled slimes you harvest here. Elixirs that follow health-safety protocols.”

“A Mechron base?” The Genius’ eyes lit up in interest. He couldn’t resist the lure of a Mechron-made lab. “You know what? I am under contract not to work for the competition, but if you abduct me I won’t resist too much. I think kidnapping counts as force majeure?"

“In my case? It’s an Act of God.” Ryan defended religious tolerance, but only for his own cult. “Now, where is your Bloodstream vaccine? We’re euthanizing him on our way out.”

Len didn’t even respond, much to Ryan’s surprise. He had expected her to fight back his decision, but finding the truth had shaken her to the core.

Ryan downloaded the Bloodstream vaccine’s data, to use in a future loop. Now, they had to figure out a way to leave the building with Tyrano, if possible. Since Ryan knew about the encrypted emails and confirmed Bloodstream’s survival, he could always contact the scientist in the future and optimize the Lab Sixty-Six raid.

His armor’s sensors suddenly noticed a sharp increase in temperature.

down!” Ryan shouted, but his friend didn’t listen. She gazed at

the room’s walls melted in a

outside. Ryan covered his helmet with his hand, as a

living incarnation of nuclear flames. But he wasn’t alone. A small troop of men in power armor followed him, led by none other than his brother Blackthorn. Vines and moss covered the Il Migliore manager’s armor like a second protective layer, and he alone carried no firearm. Still, he didn’t look happy to be there, glancing

his men raised their weapons at Len and Ryan. The courier prepared to

all work out in the end, you’ll see,” his brother replied, lying to himself. “As for father… he will be out of the picture after

the aquarium was too great. “All your men are dead,

“I’ve still got the A-bomb in my backpack. If you want

calling the bluff. “I don’t understand what

He couldn’t take Fallout head-on, but they could bypass him if they

his friend didn’t

“Shortie?”

raised her water rifle at the

had opened fire at Len while Enrique vainly raised a hand to tell them to stop; their lasers were

couldn’t finish his sentence, as he took a good look

only see thick black blood

putrid eyes staring at his daughter with sinister intensity. While the creature

angry roar. Len’s visor exploded, blood tendrils coming out of it and forcing Ryan to leap back. The courier could only watch as blood leaked from his friend’s scaphandre armor, the substance having consumed her from within.

and shed

the time to take a few steps as Len’s tendrils joined with the slime trapped inside the

as wide as TV screens, and porous holes unleashing geysers of Green Flux particles. A strange, alien

could erase his memory at will, as he watched Len’s armor absorbed into the ooze she once called a father.

to keep the monster at bay. The ooze took a stream of nuclear fire to the face, but instantly regenerated. Bloodstream’s monstrous form kept expanding, filling the room with its vile

had consumed Len, the monster turned its attention to Ryan. Those glistening alien eyes showed neither intelligence nor

become

started screaming, blood flowing out of their armor and shattering their visors. The Knockoffs in their circulatory system had started

Ryan muttered to himself, a

a white substance in the room, probably Tyrano’s vaccine. But the liquid failed to affect the empowered Bloodstream, the mutated horror turning

cooldown period ended, and fled as fast as he

and himself, repelling both the tidal wave of blood and his own men. Ryan glanced at Tyrano, but the man had already drowned inside the

courier fled through the hole in the wall, leaving the Manadas to fend off for themselves. Ryan couldn’t take the risk of Bloodstream getting past his armor. If

return to Livia to finish the memory transfer. “I gotta get back,” he whispered to himself, as he reached what remained of the

collapsed on the cloning factory, burying the room and Ryan’s dead allies beneath tons of rubble: though Alphonse Manada had successfully melted a path. With the ceiling gone, acid raindrops were falling on the

factory an instant later, spreading through the building. Ryan managed to escape the flood, flying in the skies above the Dynamis HQ. If Bloodstream could generate mass from nowhere, then

Ryan didn’t understand how much, until he

city had

into monsters,

had spread everywhere, with even the acid downpour unable to drench them. Mount Augustus had turned into a fiery

his first loop. “The whole world. He will spread

This…

This was a nightmare.

Ryan shouted. The acid downpour continued to fall somehow.

sight of her on the ground. A bloody monster, switching places with raindrops as it fell down on the uninfected like a hawk on

If he infected Ryan…

infected Ryan, Bloodstream would

called the rest of his team in frantic panic, only

But nobody answered.

her father’s silence… it made his

was the third apocalypse taking place in New Rome

The building below him turned red, as the ever-growing Bloodstream shattered the window and flowed down the steel walls like a waterfall. A long tendril thirty meters in size attempted to capture the courier, who

to her

soft, reassuring voice

out a breath of relief.

breath hastening in panic. “Ryan, what’s going

made it to the Cheyenne Mountains. “Barricade yourself and prepare for the memory transfer. I’m sending you the data I gathered.

Dynamis, isn’t it?” she guessed, coughing. “Is it…

replied bluntly, his fists clenching in rage. “But not for the

end of the line. “Don’t die on the way,” Livia pleaded. “I will be waiting

and Shroud oversaw the devastation in shaken silence; though the latter created a cloud of

crossing his arms.

snarled. “This is

of his trance and raised a hand to stop his comrade. He understood that at this point, they couldn’t afford to fight. Not even a dashing supervillain. “Is your

looked away, his silence a confirmation in itself. “I’m…” Leo the Living Sun looked down in complete

muttered to himself, his voice breaking in sadness and

Ryan asked, more disappointed with himself than

so we… we tried to destroy Bloodstream, but...” Leonard

said, before glancing at his teammate. “Leo, you

full power, everyone in the city will burn,” Leo warned.

if a single bird gets away, the whole world will follow.” Shroud let out

whole world is affected,” Ryan said. Even though he would reload soon, he didn’t think Leonard deserved to have

will delay the virus’ spread,” Shroud insisted. “We can gain enough

echoed above

cooking his flesh within his own glass armor. The bolt formed a hole in his chest, vaporizing organs and sending the vigilante falling down to a burning street below. Leo let out a shout of horror and surprise, while Ryan looked up

lightning like a shining angel cast down to earth. “I should have known you

His right hand carried

gods had won the

his flames now

in,” Mob Zeus replied with his fist