The Perfect Run

Mars and Venus’ home embodied everything wrong about their organization: rot festering beneath a nice veneer.

Oh, at first glance their manor looked like the height of casual opulence. Venus had tastefully decorated her home with luxuries such as English furniture, hardwood cabinets from Spain, Turkish carpets and Tunisian tapestries. The manor also housed billiard tables, private poker rooms, and even a Roman-themed art gallery. Ryan guessed they couldn’t help but pucker up to Lightning Butt’s obsessions.

But everything came from the pre-war era. The chairs were old, the rugs were worn flat, the stone foyers wrinkled. Even the main room’s TV was outdated. And while the staff had numerous employees, they were nowhere near enough to take good care of the estate. Most rooms felt empty and lifeless.

This place reeked of past obsessions and lost glory.

“Ugh, I can smell the dust,” Ryan said as he visited an empty ballroom, Livia holding his arm. “Wait, is that asbestos?”

“All the non-Genomes in the staff will get illnesses,” Livia confirmed with a sigh. “I warned Fortuna’s parents, but they wouldn’t listen.”

Huh, not only did the Verans deal in drugs and prostitutes, but they also knowingly gave their staff lung disease. They were truly irredeemable. Most worryingly, Ryan noticed Cancel and Mortimer shadowing him and Livia. While it was ostensibly to ‘protect’ the couple, when the courier tested his time-stop, it didn’t activate.

This immediately put him on high alert. Something was up.

“Can I shout, ‘it’s a trap?’” Ryan candidly asked his girlfriend, whispering in her ear.

“Maybe later,” she replied in the same hushed tone, resting her head against his shoulders while he put his arm around her shoulders. To outsiders, they looked like they were about to kiss. “Do you have weapons on yourself?”

“Yes, but not my best ones.” Though he came dressed casually, he always kept hidden knives beneath his clothes. “I can always drop my pants, that should blind them.”

Livia gave him a dirty look. “It didn’t blind me when I looked closely.”

“Because I put the safety on.”

“Keep your pants up, and your other weapons closer,” she replied, careful that Cancel and Mortimer couldn’t hear them. Thankfully, while they remained at close distance, the two hitmen gave the couple enough space for privacy. “And have Len be ready to evacuate you. You might need to go to Antarctica quicker than expected.”

“So this is a trap?”

“Yes,” Livia admitted with a dark look. “But not for us.”

“You could have warned me beforehand.” Then again, Ryan did interfere with her power. She probably had a hard time adjusting to his actions. “I like surprises, but not when our favorite power-canceler is nearby.”

The threat of dying permanently or worse still frightened the courier.

“I wasn’t sure until we entered the building,” Livia admitted, as they left the ballroom for a mirrored hallway. It reminded Ryan of the ruins of Versailles, which he had visited in a previous loop. There wasn’t a Genome assassin hidden in his reflection this time around though, much to his disappointment. “I foresaw some worrying possibilities, and Greta’s presence only confirms my worries.”

“Doesn’t our cheery sociopath prevent you from seeing anything in her vicinity?” Ryan asked, taking his cellphone and sending a text message to Len, the Panda, Shroud, and everyone else who would listen.

“She does, which is why Father sent her,” Livia replied darkly as her boyfriend put his phone back in his pocket, “but I saw all the ways this dinner could end before coming here. Except those where you interfere, of course.”

“Do some end with explosions?” Ryan asked hopefully, “because I can help with those.”

“I know you can,” Livia replied mirthfully, as they reached the dining room’s entrance. “But please don’t burn the carpets. I like some of those.”

A single guard stood watch over the doors, a man in an all-black bodysuit covering his entire body. Ryan wondered how he could see without holes in his mask. The guard flinched upon seeing the couple, while the time-traveler gave him a sadistic smile worthy of Jack Nicholson.

“Ryan, this is Night Terror of the Killer Seven,” Livia introduced them to each other. “Night Terror, this is Ryan Romano, my boyfriend.”

“We met,” the mansaid, spitting each word. “With all due respect, Lady Livia, your companion is a home-breaking asshole.”

“Wait, this is the guy who punched you in the face for no reason?” Mortimer asked from behind the group, suddenly interested. “Oh, that’s awkward.”

“For no reason at all!” Night Terror complained while raising an accusing finger at Ryan’s face. “I don’t even know him!”

“I’m sure my companion had his reasons,” Livia said, before glancing at her boyfriend. “Right, Ryan?”

The courier didn’t answer. Instead, he kept staring at Night Terror, the way a mongoose glared at a snake. He didn’t say a word. He just waited.

“Maybe he punches everyone?” Mortimer asked, trying to fill the silence while Livia raised an eyebrow.

“He didn’t punch me,” Cancel said. “I would have killed him if he had tried, sure, but he didn’t.” She sounded a little disappointed about that.

“Did you use your powers on my boyfriend?” Livia asked Night Terror with a falsely innocent smile.

The Darkling impersonator crossed his arms. He was trying to look strong, but Ryan could tell that the silent glare was slowly startling to unsettle him. “Maybe? I don’t keep track.”

“That’s why poor ol’ Mortimer kills his victims,” the wall-phasing hitman said. “When they come back to haunt him, at least he knows why.”

nothing, causing Night Terror to start losing his nerve. “Don’t you have anything to

at the man’s mask, until Night Terrorized started looking away. But he couldn’t escape Ryan’s stare inside a mirror gallery. “Stop

silence stretched on, more

probably exchanged glances behind Ryan, and Livia clearly struggled not to laugh, but he only had eyes for the gaping darkness in front of

Night Terrorized tried to

his prey’s

There was no escape.

“Okay, okay, I get it,” he said, walking away from the doors. “Vamp will

it,” Cancel said, while Mortimer chuckled like a

him. His

hold her laughter

better at

floor, with a sprawling table capable of housing two dozen persons. An unused fireplace faced three windows giving an impeccable view of the gardens outside, with Cancel positioning herself to look through the central one while Mortimer protected the entrance. Adorable, they expected an attack from the outside,

stayed at his girlfriend’s side, having traded his transparent costume for tasteful blue jeans and a shirt. Considering how

Ryan a sharp nod. He looked

you waiting,” Livia said, the very picture of courtesy. “Mercury, Chitter,

hadn’t seen this caring bear of a man much lately, but he had made some effort to dress well for this dinner, wearing a suit and a tie. His Korean girlfriend Ki-jung fidgeted in her seat, clearly uncomfortable with either the situation or her sleeveless black dress. She had given up her glasses for contact lenses, but would rather stare at the table than at the other guests. The pressure weighed

will come with time,” Mars reassured him. The older man shared his junior’s paternal aura, and Ryan had the feeling the two men were the same, a generation apart. But when the courier examined them both, he noticed a predatory glint in Mars’ gaze that wasn’t present in Jamie’s. “Though it’s a shame you took the job on the day we lost our Bliss production center. Darn

long nap. “Oh?” her boyfriend said, holding her hand to comfort her. “Oh, yes, that’s

Ryan could see his true feelings in his eyes. Ischia Island’s destruction clearly came as an enormous

Narcinia complained, arms crossed. “I know he wanted to die,

already dead?” Ki-jung finally found the courage

at once,” Ryan said from experience. “Hopefully, eventually

further. “It won’t feel the same without him, even if we

Ischia island weighs heavily on all of our minds,” Livia said as she sat between Fortuna and Ryan himself. The courier’s chair let out a worrying sound, if it threatened to crumble beneath him. “But this should be a joyful reunion,

couldn’t agree more!” Fortuna said with a bright smile. “We should savor the champagne! Jamie,

exchanged a sheepish glance.

proposed,” Ki-jung

with genuine joy, though he already learned the news in a

made Jamie laugh. “We’ll wait a few

have married couples around this table,” Mars said while

when his mouth did. Unlike Jamie’s, his easy-going friendliness was all a sham. A mask that hid something

protested. “That’s not something you

for tomorrow,” Mathias

were a videogame designer?” Mars continued to fish for information. “Is that working out well

still looking for sponsors,”

you tried GoatVPN?” Ryan asked

an eyebrow, skeptical.

age, it is key to protect your data from Dynamis and other heartless Dynanet providers,” Ryan said with a telemarketer’s voice. Which was to say, like someone who sold his soul for money. “With more than ten billion users, GoatVPN creates a wall of goats to shield your emails from unwanted ads, except

Ki-jung

sure their marketing budget is bigger than most third-world countries,” Ryan said. “Which, to

that sponsor issue,” Mars

soul wasn’t for sale. “I

has something better

any more than in the previous loops; she probably sensed he

Narcinia to her adoptive father. “Then I decided to give him another

of it, you could make

with crystal balls,” Livia replied with a giggle, “or when I open sheep entrails to

“You’re kidding

course,” Livia reassured the young teen.

case, keep your sheep safely penned in at night,” Ryan said with a

how they met. With the guests distracted and the Killer Seven focused on the windows and doors, Ryan started whispering into his

that others wouldn’t hear. “But he makes her happy in most futures where they end up together. Or at least, the possibilities where I can reform

eyebrow. “There are futures where things go

Livia chuckled while rolling her eyes. “They’re rare, but if Dad fully retires and Enrique Manada takes over Dynamis, I get to reform my organization peacefully. No more drugs, forced prostitution, intimidation, or money laundering. My family goes legit. I

to see that one

I have my

smile, Livia glanced at the fireplace anxiously. The courier followed her gaze, noticing

“Livia?”

said you trusted me,” she whispered back, so low he could

was definitely wrong here. “Livia,

could go, and… it seems like this possibility might come to pass. If it does… if it does, someone will fall down the chimney’s shaft. Mars will make a call to my father, and when the call finishes, that person will die. Unless

past the guards, climb over