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.

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

Jamie asked, uneasy. Ryan could tell the young hero’s words had struck a nerve.

his drug. Just by taking

breath. “I don’t think

adoptive sister. Jamie rose from his own seat, perhaps to stop him,

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 end of the line, he could guess. Mars was trying to convince his boss one last time not to execute his godson, or

provided the Carnival with the intel that made the devastating Ischia raid possible, and his organization’s myth of invincibility was in jeopardy.

shall survive,

gangster with too much power. When threatened,

looked at the fireplace behind Atom Kitten, noticing the tip of

When faced with a choice between disobeying his invincible boss and paying the price, or offering a sacrificial

click of a revolver’s trigger echoed in the

froze time, leapt from his seat, and pushed Felix

the projectile impacted on the wall, Fortuna screaming

the fireplace. Mortimer had phased halfway through the stone, a gun in hand. “It’s

another pull of the trigger, and the room erupted into

down below the table.

centurion armor and mask of steel to materialize over his skin. The Olympian moved his hand over the only part of

Felix

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

Ryan ordered Felix, helping him back to his feet. A storm of glass kept

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

night sky, shrouded in a cloud of crimson lightning. Lightning

to give up on the spot, Ryan wisely activated his time-stop. Instead of moving within the frozen time, Augustus vanished from his sight, alongside his red

of Night

standing near the mansion’s wall to the courier’s right, his black bodysuit meshing with the darkness. The time-traveler

Night Terrorized in the eye and made him fall to his back, screaming. His illusion collapsed into nothingness, as if it had never been there. Felix blinked

surprise, it wasn’t his Plymouth

inviting them inside. “Quickly!

the bait, so perfect was her face and voice, even the clothes… before realizing Cancel wasn’t with his girlfriend. Felix, too confused to think straight, took a step forward;

me ‘Master Ryan’ when things are heating up,” the courier

in shock and surprise, before trying to grab a revolver hidden beneath her clothes. Ryan froze time and nailed

weapon

guessed what was

turned into Venus’, as the Augusti regained her true form. Great, she could also alter vocal cords. She attempted to

me?” Felix stood in place, too horrified by the realization to

Ryan said, and to his relief, his self-driven car

knew you were a traitor the moment I saw you,”

group, the glass storm had ended, either because Mathias had been caught, killed, or something else. Mars stood at the window’s edge with a cold expression, purple rifts in space opening all around him. The tips of swords, arrows, spears, tridents, and other weapons peeked through

below and skewered them, but he didn’t. Though it was nighttime, Ryan could have sworn he had

he noticed his wounded wife, Mars quickly made up

summon items from a pocket dimension armory, but he had never imagined the speed at which he could throw them.

“Come in!” he ordered Felix as he swiftly took over the driving wheel, the superhero taking

grabbing her father by the arm, trying to keep him away

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 car with his gun, but his bullets only grazed the bodywork. While the Plymouth Fury escaped the property, Mars leaped

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