The Perfect Run

“You don’t believe me?” Ryan asked Len, his feet dangling from the edge of the orphanage’s roof. The stars shone brightly in New Rome’s polluted skies, their light piercing through the darkness.

“How can I?” Len asked, holding her head with her hands. Her water rifle remained within reach of her hand. “Time-travel? Downloadable memories? This is… this is insane, Riri. Insane. And my father… you’re saying my father is alive, and that Dynamis… that Dynamis turned him into...”

Well, as alive as a virus could be. Wait, could Pluto kill Bloodstream for good if her power registered him? Food for thought.

Ryan raised a hand to comfort Len, but his old friend recoiled. Without her memories, all the trust he managed to build up between them had vanished; it would have hurt once, but not this time. With Livia’s help, forgetfulness would no longer be a curse, but a temporary obstacle.

If he could convince Len to accept the memory transfer procedure. Which considering her trust issues might prove difficult.

Perhaps Ryan should save a few seconds after he began a new loop? If he could only bring back a person at once, this would at least make the memory transfer permanent. They would only remember one loop, so it was an imperfect solution, but it was better than nothing.

“This… this is too much. Too much. I… I need time to process this.” Len joined her hands, hyperventilating. It took her a few minutes to recover, and Ryan waited patiently. “I need to see the tech in question, Riri. If it’s really mine… if it’s really mine, I will recognize it. All the other stuff, you could have invented or learned through other means, but...”

“Sure,” Ryan replied with a warm tone, trying to reassure her. “Anything you need.”

Len took a long deep breath. “Riri. What happened to me?” she asked with a soft, weak voice. “When we reached that lab, assuming I believe your tale… you said I died. But not how. How did I perish?”

“You really want to know?” Ryan asked with a sigh. “It will hurt, Shortie.”

“More than everything else you told me?” She struggled to hold back tears. “He killed me.”

“Yes,” Ryan admitted. She deserved to know the truth, no matter how horrifying. “There’s a piece of him in your blood. Some kind of sleeper agent or tracking device. When you approached your father—”

“I became him.” Warm tears rained down Len’s cheeks, while she pinched her nose not to sob.

Perhaps a part of her always knew it was a possibility, even if she refused to believe it.

She did believe Ryan. Even if the tale sounded outlandish, Shortie still thought her oldest friend wouldn’t lie to her. No matter how horrifying the tale.

“Len, there’s…” Ryan struggled to find the right words, so she wouldn’t panic. “If the blood sample inside you could transform you into a monster, maybe it can do something subtler?”

Len glared at him, her sadness transforming into anger. “You’re saying… you’re saying that my father influenced my thoughts. My feelings… that my feelings for him aren’t my own.”

“Maybe they are, or maybe not. But the doubt remains as long as you carry that infection.” The courier crossed his arms. “Len, we have to remove it. Not only for everyone else’s sake, but yours too.”

“How? It’s inside me, Riri. It’s in my blood like a cancer, and your vaccine won’t work on it.”

“I know a few Geniuses who could help.” He had already sent an email to Dr. Tyrano through the scalie’s secure channel, offering him to cooperate on Knockoff research… and asking for information about his secret ‘Monster Girl’ project, much to the courier’s shame. “One can even help you with your…”

“My depression?” Len frowned. “I’m… I’m not a problem to be solved.”

“No, no.” That was exactly why he had been opposed to interacting with her across many loops. If her experience didn’t carry through, then the courier would treat her less like a person and more like an equation. “It’s… if you want. After recovering your memories.”

“And if I don’t want your transfer?” Len wiped away the tears with her hand. “Will you repeat this conversation until I say yes?”

Ryan paused to consider the question, realizing that his entire plan hinged on Len accepting the memory transfer. If his amnesiac friend wouldn’t, then what could he do? Kidnap her and transfer the memories by force? Find a way to transfer the stored knowledge across time without the current Len’s consent?

“You would rather stay amnesiac?” the courier asked. “It’s not brainwashing. You will remember memories that you forgot, but it won’t erase yours.”

“But it will change me, and I don’t know how. You know, but...”

“You’re afraid of what you will learn,” Ryan guessed. Ignorance was bliss.

“Answer me, Riri.”

“I will respect your choice. Even if it hurts.” In the end, Ryan couldn’t force his decisions upon those he loved. “I can offer my hand, but you have to reach back too.”

Len raised her knees, holding them with her arms in a fetal position. Her expression was thoughtful, undecipherable.

“Psyshock will attack this place in two days,” Ryan reminded her, changing the subject. “We need to prepare for it.”

“This place is rotten,” Len said, glancing at New Rome’s bright neon lights. “The deeper I go, the stronger the stench. The flashy colors only hide the ugliness underneath.”

“I agree with you that most of the locals don’t have fashion sense, but there are quite a few locals overflowing with glamour.” Ryan should introduce Len to Wardrobe at one point. “Where did you go after we split up?”

“The Canary Islands,” Len admitted. “The sub’s autopilot tried to bring me to the USA, but an engine problem halfway redirected it to the closest island. I stayed a few months there before moving on.”

So the Laïka had honored its namesake. “Pretty nice place,” Ryan said. “I’m surprised they managed to establish an independent republic from Dynamis, considering how half of Spain has fallen under their control.”

Len’s head perked up in surprise. “You went there?”

“Yeah, I think it was…” Two hundred years ago? Ryan’s memory was a bit foggy, as his adventures in North Africa hadn’t been memorable. “A while ago. We must have missed each other.”

“It was… it was nice. The islanders are nice.”

“Will you return there?” Ryan asked, his old friend shaking her head.

“They still fight each other sometimes,” she said. “Wherever I went… there were always Genomes who wanted more. I couldn’t make a difference there, and I couldn’t make a difference in New Rome either.”

“You still can.”

“Even if we reveal how the Knockoffs are truly made of, Dynamis will continue to oppress people. If they could do something like that for a few more euros… then they’re capable of anything.” She shook her head. “And the Augusti destroy lives through drugs and blood money. I’ve seen the ruins of Malta below the sea, Riri. Augustus made an underwater tomb for thousands.”

She wasn’t wrong, but again she only saw the darkness and missed the stars. “I think these groups can change,” Ryan said, remembering his Il Migliore loop and his discussions with Livia. “If the right people are in charge.”

“I hope you’re right.”

“But you don’t believe me.” Ryan shrugged, rising up and walking on the roof. “It’s fine, I’ll change your mind.”

“You’re going?” Len bit her lower lip. “You can… you can stay, you know.”

“Thanks,” Ryan said from the bottom of his heart. “I still have another date though.”

before, in any of our conversations.” Ryan peeked over his shoulder, Len still sitting on the roof’s edge. “That day, when I returned to our hideout… you and the sub

looked away, avoiding his gaze. “I waited for you and Dad until the last second, and when you didn’t return, I… I didn’t

family gone, Len had lost all

waited for Ryan

he wouldn’t abandon

only to find the door firmly closed. “Hey, pintsize,” the courier waved a hand at this petulant child, delighting in teasing her. “Have you seen my dog? I’m taking her on a

until I hit puberty, jackass,” the child replied, crossing her arms while

…

moved to his trenchcoat, searching his

A-Bomb? Check.

Guns? Check.

Knives? Check.

Buzzer? Check.

Plushie?

Not check.

“Uh oh.”

to Sarah’s

with a peasant; by trying to ignore her entire existence. Still, Henriette proved too obstinate, or too stupid, to realize that. She kept licking and nuzzling

on its back switched on. The vile,

orphans! Who could have stolen

Unless...

something harmless. But now that he thought of it, the timing of the furred

could always activate,” Ryan guessed in horror. “You were just

All this time.

pentagram, but it could always step over. Ryan’s illusion of control shattered, his

Little Sarah had followed him outside. The courier’s heart skipped a beat, as he

the abyss

both, and gazed at Mount Augustus. It didn’t enter cute mode, didn’t make a sound. No pre-recorded message answered Ryan’s words; neither a laser nor a

plushie didn’t

anyone?” Ryan asked his

No answer.

Alien voices followed in the plushie’s wake, but they had gone silent. The

Little Sarah said.

plushie kept glaring at Mount Augustus with its big blue eyes; the menacing aura within them replaced with sourness. Ryan reached a terrible conclusion, the maddening truth

so thoroughly, Lightning Butt had done the

He gave it depression.

the deal with a free stuffed Ghoul. The Psycho had gone

hour inside Shroud’s hideout, the vigilante silent as a tomb. By the time his guest finished his tale, all windows had cracks

only said

“Fuck.”

said. “I’m pretty sure the Knockoffs also contain carcinogens, though I

have a hard proof that Bloodstream makes up the Knockoffs? We destroyed all

of blood for study, which he offered to the vigilante. “Put this in contact with a Dynamis Knockoff, and you will see. Keep a flamethrower

in a syringe. Even now, Ryan half-expected it to burst out of its container. “If our Genius confirms what you said, then we

me, you will get a lot more than pigeon shit on

moment of hesitation, he removed his helmet, revealing his true face.

days of getting his hands on an orbital superweapon, and Dynamis infected thousands of people with the seeds of a global pandemic,” Mathias Martel said. “Both disasters are only possible because we failed to properly address them. Now, tell me Quicksave.

whichever universe I want,” Ryan lied. “The sun will set on New Rome if Sunshine makes his way here. Lightning Butt will

you say,”

the hero. “How many times has

clenched his fists. “Too many

failed. “Then you know Mob Zeus is a heartless bastard who only cares for power and revenge,” Ryan said. The memory of that madman

“I know that.”

think he will put aside his grievances against a greater threat, or

was an answer in

grace. “You had a plan for New Rome, but it didn’t account for either Adam or

Mathias asked, after pondering

a hand on his

frown. “So you’re just trying

Ryan shrugged his shoulders. “I don’t want this city to burn or the world to end, is that too much to ask? I have friends on both

lives yes,” Shroud replied, hanging back in his chair. “But I want to save them permanently. We tried to deal with Bloodstream in the past, only for Dynamis to lie to us so they could exploit him for profit. We killed Mechron, but his weapons remain available to even worse

like this would happen with Bloodstream.” That was what

vigilante nodded. “My mother, Alice Martel, was

the Carnival’s original line-up. She had left the group by the time

died fighting Mechron, but she’s recovering in Denmark with

in rising

she was wounded in action against Mechron, my mother provided a detailed report of future threats to the world. Though Augustus was ranked high, Bloodstream topped the list. He was expected to cause an extinction event in the case

that bloody headache so relentlessly. Unfortunately, all they did was delay the disaster

had come

seers didn’t decide the march

Ryan did.

said. “But we can still change the future. We can end this nightmare once and for

Mathias asked, skeptical. “We aren’t powerful enough to destroy the bunker without Leo, Mr. Wave, and others

are other heroes in Rome,” Ryan said. “Let me recruit a crack team of rogues and misfits! Who knows, maybe you will find

to prevail on our own, saving lives isn’t enough, Quicksave. Justice must be served. Augustus can’t keep poisoning people, and especially not continue to exploit the Costa’s daughter. He can’t get away with his crimes,

only one capable of doing so. “But you can leave the Augusti to me. If you take care of the Bloodstream vaccine, my transparent

can’t expect Leo and the others to wait things

the Junkyard is one of many, but I recorded their locations. Sunshine

the Bahamut to self-detonate, preventing anyone else

Manadas?” Shroud asked. “Hector is mad, Fallout is madder, and Blackthorn

tell otherwise, I believe our dear gardener is the cleanest

told the courier that the manager was supposed to manage Knockoff Elixirs’ production until he visited Lab Sixty-Six and left in disgust. He must have found his

Smasher was too fanatical to back down, and his father too corrupt. Blackthorn though… Ryan had mistaken the gardener for a closet supervillain, but he had his heart in the

man trying to reform his organization from the inside, but too bound by familial love to take a hard stance. They both needed to inherit for New Rome to