The Perfect Run

Weeds had overtaken the ship like an abandoned garden.

As Ryan’s group advanced into the metal bowels of the Alchemist’s base, they ran into more and more alien plant life. Greenish slime leaked from the walls, while snakelike red roots and fanged purple flowers dug holes into the floor. Eventually, the corridors became so overwhelmed by vegetation that Sunshine moved at the front to torch a path ahead.

Often, they would find the broken remains of armored aliens, their helmets melted by lasers, their shielding pierced by powerful rounded projectiles. Yet they never found any trace of what killed them.

Their slayers didn’t leave corpses behind when they died.

“So if I follow correctly,” Shroud said, after Ryan had finished briefing his team. “This is an alien spaceship from a long-lost imperialistic civilization, and the creature we fought was one of its soldiers. The Alchemist pillaged their technology, but accidentally woke up the remaining troops left in stasis and now they’re fighting her for control of the facility. And an alien deity gave you a divine mandate to destroy this place before the prisoners can escape.”

“Pretty much, yeah,” Ryan replied, while Len checked out the data the had harvested from the Alchemist’s computers. The manbear himself advanced on all fours, an ear against the walls.

Mr. See-Through snickered, unconvinced. “Should I call you Joan of Arc? You did hear voices.”

“God loves the reptilians too,” Ryan preached, “so long as they stay in reptiland.”

“Why?” Unlike Shroudy Matty, who remained in denial, Sarin had listened to the explanations with solemn silence. “Why?”

Why did Eva Fabre make Genomes and Psychos possible? “I guess… I guess she wanted to protect us?” the suggested, trying to be charitable. “To give us powers, so we could defend ourselves?”

“What good could have come from empowering people like Mechron and Augustus?” Leo Hargraves asked at the front, skeptical. “The former alone killed more people than both world wars combined.”

“Though Mr. Wave is thankful that she graced the universe with the brilliance of… Mr. Wave.” The boastful Genome paused briefly. “Mr. Wave didn’t find a way to avoid the repetition. Still, he agrees with the rising sun. The walk doesn’t match the talk.”

“The aliens aren’t coming either.” Ryan shrugged, as his armor picked up vibrations. “Well, except those inside this place.”

“And how do you figure we destroy this ship in the first place?” Shroud kept nagging him.

“I thought we might have a last minute desperate escape, with a digital countdown. Maybe a round number.”

“I would rather avoid that,” Shroud replied dryly, arms crossed. “Besides our own lives, if Elixirs are truly sapient, helpful beings, then blowing up the ship would kill them too.”

“Human life isn’t the only kind with value,” Sunshine agreed, having now destroyed the plant growth with his shining light. “I agree we cannot let the horrors of this ship escape into the wider world, Quicksave, but blowing it up should be a last resort.”

Truth be told, Ryan kinda hoped that reaching the ship’s control center would provide an alternative solution too. Nice Guy might have been grating, but Shroud was correct that it deserved to live.

However, the courier suspected his mere presence might cause the ship to collapse anyway.

Ryan’s Black power was a paradox, destabilizing reality with its very existence. The courier guessed that Earth’s dimension was ‘solid’ enough to absorb the damage, but the spaceship’s thin place was a small, artificial construct. Ryan degraded it a little further with each time-stop. Eventually, it might even collapse on itself.

Had the Violet Ultimate One foreseen this possibility? That Illuminati creature could control all of space and time, if Darkling was to be believed. It might very well be omniscient.

The raised a paw. “Sifu, I’m hearing something through the metal!”

“My armor is picking up vibrations too,” Ryan said, analyzing the readings. “Where do they come from, my young pandawan?”

“The left,” his sidekick replied, using his sensitive bear ears to pick up sound. “Explosions.”

“They must be pretty powerful for their noise to go through the ship’s shielding,” Leo Hargraves said. “Considering the increasing number of corpses, we must be approaching the site of a battle. Can you offer more details?”

“I-I, I will try!” The took a deep breath, intimidated by Sunshine. “I hear… I hear something big and heavy moving, and impacts.”

“From the form of the ship, and the way we moved inside so far, the left should lead us to the front,” Shroud pointed out. “If the architecture is anything like Earth’s aircrafts—”

“Then it should be where the command center is located,” Leo Hargraves guessed with a nod. “Timmy, can you bring us as close to the sound’s source as possible?”

“Yes, sir!” the raised a paw to his forehead in a military salute. “Of course, sir!”

“The rest of you, stay on guard,” Sunshine said. “Neither side of this war is an ally.”

And so the took the lead, an ear against the ground. As they took twists and turns, Ryan’s armor picked up more and more vibrations and other Flux energy activities. The very fabric of reality seemed to weaken the further they progressed.

“Riri, I finished analyzing the data,” Len said, as the group left the cramped corridor for the remains of a large hangar the size of an airport. The metal walls had been melted away, and Ryan could see the scrapped remains of robots and vehicles everywhere he looked. Clearly, a battle had taken place here. “It’s… it’s all we need.”

Sarin’s head snapped in her direction. “For me? You could make a cure?”

“Yes,” Len replied, before hesitating and avoiding Miss Chernobyl’s gaze.

She wouldn’t like what came next.

The Psycho in the group clenched her fists. “Go on, Nemo. Don’t sugarcoat it.”

“The Alchemist…” Len took a long deep breath. “The Alchemist already has a cure. Had it from the start.”

in place, causing Shroud to bump into her

had clenched so tightly, that Ryan worried she might break

understand the data collected… Elixirs come from the White World, but can naturally move from

they use this ‘Flux’ to communicate?” Shroud asked, trying

and with it, she can... how to say that… ‘educate’ them? Tell them how to recognize

the Elixirs to patch out

it could even work for you,” Len explained to Sarin. “Or Frank. It’s all about

a decade and a half as a cloud trapped in a suit. The possibility of becoming human again was a dream come true, and her previous self had been willing to consider murdering

Sarin had picked up on a worrying

and furious. “That bitch

bug, but

Mr. Wave had turned serious. “Why would

sterile due to their

“I only know a few who were born after one or both parents consumed an

earned their power from an Elixir. Even Fortuna and Felix had

of Psychos was intentional, do children of Genomes risk mutating too?” Sunshine asked, clearly worried for

them turned out fine,” Ryan said. “Also, in cases of one parent having powers and the other

“Like jellyfish. But they can also

“Wait, so if I had a child

the other is not... the Elixir

he had taken precautions against having a descendance. His power in itself was both a blessing and

would make for

Len cleared her throat. “If both parents are Genomes, the Elixirs communicate during conception to avoid the pitfalls of the Psycho condition. Instead of competing for a host, only one of the Elixirs duplicates, but takes some information from the other. Since the child doesn't yet have dreams

Green Genome, but with her power also being influenced by

cut through anything,” Shroud said. “She can

were always stable Genomes, no matter the parents’

phase out Homo Sapiens, the way they did with

what if Psychos were meant to kill as many normal people as possible? If the Alchemist’s plan is to

first, Matty,” Ryan reminded him. And the random nature of powers meant

northwestern corner of the hangar. “Sifu, we’re close!” He

we might have to take a detour,” Leo Hargraves said, not finding any door.

raised a fist at the wall, and

dark dust as the attack revealed a path into a new, gigantic corridor. The courier heard the sound of lasers,

Ryan glared at Sarin, hands on

stepping through the hole, her hands shaking in anger. Now she didn’t want answers, but

group cautiously following her. The courier closed the march with Len. “Shortie, would that cure work on

metal floor. “Past a certain point, if a Psycho couldn’t stabilize their genetic code… the damage becomes so extensive that not even Elixirs can correct it.

The more he learned about this place, the more Ryan was convinced it had to go

to a spotless, well-lit chamber deeper into the complex. All blast doors on the way had been torn

improvised barricades of

features, and a determined

creature step halfway through. The entity

gate behind them. The survivors with rods used them to unleash violet projectiles tearing space apart. Ryan identified these weapons as focused Violet Flux, and unlike

through its body as if it were made of clay. The barrage pushed the creature through

for now, the troops peeked over the improvised fortifications to observe the newcomers. Ryan’s group moved between the barricade and

asked. “You have

clones,”

Ryan guessed that the Alchemist’s power followed the same rules as

Fabre said, recognizing Ryan.

his team took a fighting formation. Len and Ryan stayed at the back,

us?” Leo Hargraves asked, while keeping an eye on the portal as if expecting the creature to crawl

watching you for a while, ever since you defeated Case-BiH-006 in Sarajevo,” a trooper

BiH. Bosnia-Herzegovina.

talking about

said, looking at Ryan. “Your time anomaly’s ability to affect our entire reality

safeguard your genetic data for future storekeeping,

security cameras, but

to discuss that, after reasserting direct control,” a clone finished. “Will

no!” Sarin took a

raised an eyebrow at the same time, some exchanging glances. “Why should you help us?” one of them asked.

the fuck?!” Sarin snarled, hands raised at the doubles.

one Eva

with Case-USA-3682,” another trooper answered.

yes, I remember. But I don’t think

“Don’t think so either.”

restrain herself from murdering them all where they stood. “You don’t even

to,” an

is your question,” another had the gall to say. “If you experience discomfort, blame