The Perfect Run

Chapter 107

Ryan wondered how many lives Felix ‘Atom Cat’ Veran had left.

He had died at the Meta-Gang’s hands at least twice, once to Fallout’s bombardment of Len’s underwater base, and probably alongside everyone in New Rome when Bloodstream escaped confinement. Which should leave him with five lives out of nine?

“Felix!” Narcinia almost rose from her seat, only for Mars to put a hand on her shoulder and force her back to her seat. The young teen looked at her adoptive brother and father in confusion.

Fortuna’s response was far less subdued. “Felix, you ass!” she complained so loudly that Mathias winced at her shrilling voice. “How dare you come to a family dinner dressed like that! You look like a plumber!”

“Glad to see you too, sis,” Felix replied as he rose up, swiping ashes and dust off his clothes. His eyes wandered to the table, meeting confused looks from the guests. “Jamie, Ki-jung… Dad.”

“You could have used the door,” Mars said, his eyes tense. To Ryan’s surprise, he didn’t immediately go for his son’s throat, perhaps because of his daughters’ presence. “We invited you.”

“And I’m sure the guards outside are for show. You would never have let me close to Narcinia if I went through the entrance.” Felix turned away from his father, before noticing Mathias and Ryan. “Who are you?”

“Your sister’s boyfriend,” Mathias replied with mixed feelings. His tense eyes met Ryan’s, silently waiting for a signal. He too understood that the situation would soon degenerate.

“Which one?” Felix asked, curious.

“The right one,” Fortuna replied.

Her brother rolled his eyes, before looking at Ryan. “And… who are you, a new member of the Killer Seven?”

Ryan considered a dozen ways to introduce himself; as Quicksave, as President of the Free World, conqueror of Monaco, immortal and all. All more dignified and flowery than the last.

But only one sentence came to mind.

“I’m BLEEPING your ex.”

The awkward silence that welcomed his declaration delighted the courier.

“Don’t give me that look,” Ryan said to Felix, as the younger hero looked at him with astonished eyes. “It was your ex or your sister, and she’s almost as pretty as you are!”

“Almost?” Fortuna asked angrily. “He doesn’t even groom his hair!”

“Whatever,” Felix said, though the revelation had clearly shaken him. “Narcinia, come with me.”

“What,” the younger Veran asked, “where?”

“Away. My current bosses are a huge disappointment, but working with them will still be way better than making drugs.” Atom Kitty extended a hand to his sister. “Now that that death factory has been burnt to the ground, you can put an end to this tragedy here and now.”

Narcinia didn’t answer, instead anxiously looking at her father. This frustrated her brother. “Narci…”

“Did you do it?” Mars asked his son, his tone dangerous. “Destroy our production center?”

Felix shrugged. “I had nothing to do with that, though I wish I did. Whoever blew up that toxic dump deserves an award.”

His father frowned, and Ryan felt a chill going down his spine. A mobile phone materialized in a purple flash within Mars’ hand, the Olympian immediately making a call.

Livia’s vision was turning into reality.

annoyance. “And you, Jamie? I heard about your promotion. It’s not enough to close

into his own. “Why are you here, Felix?” Jamie asked, uneasy. Ryan could tell the young hero’s words had struck a nerve. “To

to close them. Bacchus needs chemicals from your division to make his drug. Just by taking that job, you’re enabling the death

a deep breath. “I don’t think now is the time to

sister. Jamie rose from his own seat, perhaps to stop him, while Mathias glanced at

Mars spoke on the phone with a scowl on his face. “He’s here, Janus, but he doesn’t know… he swears he’s not involved… yes, but… please, not before my daughters… some other

the line, he could guess. Mars was trying to convince his boss

Ryan knew the older man was wasting his breath. Lightning Butt was convinced Felix had provided the Carnival with the intel that made the devastating Ischia raid possible, and his organization’s myth of invincibility was

traitor shall survive, not

Butt was a gangster with too much power. When threatened, the answer was always more violence

the tip of a gun’s barrel

sighed, his face dark and sorrowful. He looked at his stubborn son, the phone in his hand. When faced with a choice between disobeying his invincible boss

a revolver’s trigger

seat, and pushed Felix out of

on the wall, Fortuna screaming in surprise while

people in the back,” Ryan said, as he glanced at the fireplace. Mortimer

answered with another pull of the

Jamie hastily grabbed her and dived down below the table. Mortimer missed and retreated back into

struck Mars, only for a Roman-styled centurion armor and mask of steel to materialize over his skin. The Olympian moved his hand over the only part of his body exposed, the eyes, and rose from

the—” Felix said,

grabbing him by the chest like a princess in distress, and jumping through the opened window. The dining room was on the first floor, and so while the time traveler gracefully landed on the grass below, his favorite cat rolled on the ground. The

back to his feet. A storm of glass kept Mars busy on the first floor, but

car’s headlamps emerged from the night’s darkness on their left, just as lightning struck the

looked up in terror, as a man of ivory descended from the night sky, shrouded in a cloud of crimson lightning.

seemed to give up on the spot, Ryan wisely activated his time-stop. Instead of moving within

of Night Terror’s

quickly found the responsible party standing near the mansion’s wall to the courier’s right, his black bodysuit meshing with the darkness. The time-traveler grabbed two knives hidden in his pocket, and threw

him fall to his back, screaming. His illusion collapsed into nothingness, as if it had never been there.

if you want to live,” Ryan said as the car approached. But to his surprise, it wasn’t his Plymouth Fury, but a Mercedes Benz stopping in front of the duo. The right door opened, revealing

them inside. “Quickly! Before

almost took the bait, so perfect was her face and voice, even the clothes… before realizing Cancel wasn’t with his girlfriend. Felix, too confused

always calls me ‘Master Ryan’ when things are

to grab a revolver hidden beneath her clothes. Ryan

Ryan said as time resumed, the impostor dropping her weapon and hissing at the

guessed what was happening.

voice turned into Venus’, as the Augusti regained her true form. Great, she could also alter vocal cords. She attempted to remove the knife with her free hand, her teeth grinding

Felix stood in place,

car was making its way to

I saw you,” Venus hissed. “There’s nowhere

the window’s edge with a cold expression, purple rifts in space opening all around him.

he didn’t. Though it was nighttime, Ryan could have sworn he had seen a flash

noticed his wounded wife, Mars quickly made up

the dozen. From what the courier understood, Mars could pull and summon items from a pocket dimension armory, but he had never imagined the speed at which he could throw them. The spears and swords flew in the air as

initial volley, reaching his car. “Come in!” he ordered Felix as he swiftly took over

noticed Fortuna grabbing her father by the arm, trying to keep him

summoning thick chains and binding his daughter’s hands and legs. They quickly started to fall off her, probably due to her power causing structural damage, but it paralyzed her. “Mathias, Mercury, move my daughters to safety! The

Ryan was driving away from the mansion, moving out of the Olympian’s range. Mortimer phased through the building’s walls, opening fire at the car with his gun, but his bullets only grazed the bodywork. While the Plymouth Fury escaped

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