The Perfect Run

He found Livia waiting for him at the Deadland motel.

Ryan drove to the meeting spot in his Plymouth Fury, having repaired his car after the Land wrecked it; though he had to drown it with perfume to hide the Junkyard’s stench. The courier himself had switched from his normal clothes to an elegant black jacket with a purple polo shirt underneath, with no bright color to be seen; Darkling would have loved it.

A pity he couldn’t raid Dynamis’ cashmere factory without putting the company on high alert or starting a war with the Augusti. Neither could he use Mechron’s matter replicator without Alchemo jailbreaking the mainframe first.

Of course, Ryan could have always spent money, but a cashmere suit wasn’t bought. It was taken, by either strength or wits.

Livia had put a lot of effort into her appearance too, more than Ryan had ever seen her do. She wore an elegant sleeveless dress and golden bracelets, but also black stockings, red high heels, and golden earrings. She had put a lovely crimson rose in her hair, black linings around her eyes; it contrasted well with her sapphire eyes and the silver hair flowing on her back. Though she couldn’t compare with her best friend Fortuna in the beauty department, Ryan found Livia quite lovely. A true princess.

She hadn’t seen him yet due to the ambient darkness, so he watched her from afar for a short while. Livia waited in the parking lot, with her hands joined. She fidgeted in place, and let out a long, heavy breath as if to calm herself.

She hadn’t seen how the date would end, and it made her nervous.

Ryan drove to her side, ending her silent agony. Livia immediately corrected her expression upon noticing him, smiling warmly at his arrival. “Did you order a pumpkin carriage, princess?” the courier asked, upon stopping in front of her.

“Will your car turn into a vegetable at midnight?” she teased him, while sitting at his side. Her perfume smelled of rose and strawberry. “This only leaves three hours.”

“Livia, I can time travel. I can make three hours last a lifetime.”

“I don’t doubt that,” she said, closing the car’s door behind her. “But I would prefer it if you could bring me home before two in the morning, or my father might get upset.”

“You’ve never had a sleepless night out in town?” Ryan asked, amused, as he drove away through New Rome’s streets. “My, it was about time I came into your life.”

Livia blushed a little, embarrassed. “I wasn’t that sheltered,” she protested. “With my power, I could experience wild moments by proxy, with none of the hangovers, drowsiness, and side-effects that came with it.”

“Watching is not the same as living.”

“No, but I don’t enjoy parties that much,” she admitted. “I prefer simpler moments with just a few friends. The more people surround me, the more my power goes into overdrive. Too many interactions at once.”

“Cancel blocks your visions?” Ryan asked, his date answering with a short nod. “You could always hang out with her then.”

Livia shook her head. “I don’t like Greta. That woman is capable of anything. She could be just as hideously violent as Adam the Ogre, if she had any motivation.” Lightning Butt’s daughter frowned, as they approached the highway where Ryan and Felix once engaged her aunt Pluto in a car chase. “Where are we going?”

“Away,” Ryan replied.

She blinked in surprise. “Away from the city?”

“Well, I figured you probably visited all of New Rome’s restaurants, either directly or with your power. But there is one place I’m sure you’ve never been to before.”

“Within an hour’s drive of New Rome?” Livia asked with skepticism, before grinning wickedly. “I doubt so. Unless… unless, you intend to take me out of the city to ravish me in the wilderness?”

“Did you bring a chastity belt? It has been a while since I unlocked one.”

Livia’s smile turned coy and playful. The young woman wasn’t as innocent as she let it seem. “If my father heard you, he would have you struck down.”

“I have a lightning rod in the car boot. Does your father even know you’re in a car with a dashing courier?” His date’s mischievous smile was an answer in itself. “Would he let you date anyone?”

“Only an Augusti. My father mistrusts anyone outside of our clan. He wouldn’t let Felix anywhere near me again, even if…” Her bashful smile turned sour.

“So you’re disobeying him even as we speak?” Ryan mused, trying to distract her from her bad memories. “You live a dangerous life.”

His date chuckled in response, which Ryan took as a good sign. “Not as much as yours. To be fair, you’re the first who dared to ask me out at all. Most men are simply too frightened to try.” She looked at him warmly. “That’s one of the things I like about you, Ryan. You dare it all.”

“You haven’t seen anything yet,” he replied, a foot on the accelerator. “Is your seatbelt tightly on?”

“Yes, it i—”

She gasped in surprise, as the Plymouth Fury raced on the highway. One hundred kph turned into one hundred and fifty, while Ryan switched the Chronoradio to Mad Max 2’s main theme. They passed by two cars, violating all road safety laws as they went.

“Stop!” Livia pleaded as the speed kept climbing, a hand on his arm. She screamed as they passed by a car so closely that they nearly brushed against it; though she could sense the cars coming, she couldn’t foresee how Ryan would react to them, if he did. “Stop, you madman!”

“Don’t try this at home, kids!” The courier said, using brief bursts of time-stop to avoid colliding with other vehicles.

Livia’s scream of fear transformed into laughter, as the adrenaline pumped through her veins and the Plymouth Fury reached its maximum velocity. Ryan had modified his car to reach over three hundred kph, and at this speed, the world around them turned into a blur. Other cars became spots of color, the highway ahead became a tunnel of light.

If only Ryan could have driven his Plymouth Fury rather than the Pandamobile when Pluto came for his head. Cruella would never have come within an inch of his car.

Once he sensed they were close to their destination, Ryan activated a hidden button. The car hood opened to reveal a Genius device, the tip of a particle accelerator. Tiny light spheres came out of it, stretching reality apart.

“Have you watched Back to the Future?” Ryan grinned at Livia.

She answered with a panicked, exhilarated scream, as particles swallowed the Plymouth Fury. The stars above fell down in a rain of light, reality itself shifting around them.

shattered, and the car emerged

from a particle cloud to

adrenaline rush. Only then did Ryan notice that her left hand held his right tightly; she must have seized it

fingers, and Livia squeezed tighter

Instead of answering, she broke the

laugh, as the tension went down. “That

do it again, on the way

her breath. “Did you ever get a

ask too

and glanced outside her window. Her eyes widened upon seeing the

auroras had taken over the night sky above them. The northern lights shone with the brilliance of stars, and within them one could glimpse images of strange places. Seas of

for the Plymouth Fury, and seemed to stretch on forever. The land around the road had turned into a red desert, though one could see another highway in the distance. Even the temperature had increased, from chilly to warm and

asked as they

if you will.” Ryan moved to the car boot, where he kept the dinner. “I nicknamed

pointing at

Ryan raised his hand, and the silhouette

had tears at the edge of her eyes. “No, I can’t

wasn’t talking about

sat at the highway’s edge, their feet dangling about the desert. Ryan offered Livia a sushi box, and chopsticks to go with it. “Space folds back?” his

mouth full of fish. “The highway stretches for thirty kilometers, and then loops back.

asked, tasting a Futomaki with a curious

tech to access it. The colored dimensions are above our realities, beyond space and time as most humans understand it, but

this is

cave inside a mountain, except the mountain is Earth’s reality. A place where space-time folds due to gravitational or electromagnetic anomalies.” Ryan glanced at the purple auroras above their heads. “I think this place is close to the Purple World. Like a border realm between

observe anything within the colors dimensions, except the Blue one,” Livia guessed. “That is why

his date didn’t seem enthusiastic about finishing her plate. “You don’t like the

sorry…” She made an embarrassed smile.

heart skipped a beat. “You hate Japanese

like sushi, no.” Livia sheepishly shook her head.

should have picked French food! Nobody disliked French

Livia immediately reassured him, when

will have to reload now,” Ryan grumbled. “The date is

Livia protested, instantly serious. She put a hand on his arm and squeezed it tight. “No,

index finger brushing against her cheek. She blushed so much that a scarlet streak had formed beneath her

her food. The sound of her voice warmed Ryan’s old, weary heart. “Does that pick-up line ever

“More than you think.”

said, as he removed his hand.

I invented lines so powerful, that a few countries

dared to put his boast to the test. “Then prove me

Ryan put the sushi plates aside, and grabbed Livia by the waist. His date let out a squeal of surprise as he

laughed, so red the courier wondered if she might faint from the embarrassment. “You’re going too far

arms around Livia and held her tight, her head resting against his shoulder. “Unless Your Majesty would

your insolence, but

be

heartbeat beneath her skin. Though the scarlet streak across Livia’s face had transformed into a light blush,

at the alien mirages in the skies, pictures

“Others I

she all but ordered him, sounding like a true queen.

I commit crime after crime?” he teased

to the touch, like

of them while researching particle physics

show me. I heard nobody that goes

darkly. Even now both gave him PTSD.

Livia frowned, sensing his unease. “Something happened in this place.

instinct was to deny the truth, but her firm gaze dissuaded him. “I…” the courier trailed off, having lived with this secret like a boulder around his ankle like a ball and chain. He had never told anyone, carrying that cross

But she would.

it in her eyes. Livia had watched whole lifetimes through her power, from what she had told

there a full life,” Ryan unburdened himself. “I meant

expression shifted into one of horror, as she

away at the otherworldly desert beneath

that why you always say you’re immortal?” Livia’s eyes softened in compassion. “Does Len

Shortie already had enough burdens on her frail shoulders, and ghosts of her own.

if afraid to go on. At that moment, Livia reminded Ryan of Len

I never dared to,” he confessed. “If… if my timing was even slightly off during the conception, then a

her hand touched his chin to make him look

find the right words to comfort him, until she