The Perfect Run

Psychos had been a fact of life for fifteen years.

Ryan had visited hundreds, if not thousands of communities through his long existence, and almost all of them shared the same tales. Maddened monsters attacking them at night, mutants hiding in sewers, raiders attacking their Genome defenders, or fools trying to imitate Augustus only to come up short.

Psychos had collectively killed the courier many times, coming in as a close second behind traffic accidents. His adoptive father Bloodstream had caused his very first death, and it still gave Ryan headaches to remember it.

Nobody could imagine a world without Psychos...

Until today.

The refurbished laboratory of Station Orpheon was far lighter and warmer than the Alchemist’s, with white walls, glowing bars in the ceiling casting a pleasing light, and the sweet, sweet smell of morning coffee permeating the air. Ryan’s host of Geniuses, namely Shortie, Alchemo, and Stitch, had gathered behind control panels and thrumming computers. Meanwhile, the Panda happily cleaned up a large vat in the northern corner of the room with a sanitizer.

All were gearing up for an experiment that might change the world’s face forever, though their patient lacked their enthusiasm.

“I don’t want to go inside,” sweet Sarin grumbled at Ryan’s side, arms crossed. “Find another way, nerd.”

“There isn’t,” Ryan replied. Truth be told, nothing guaranteed that the operation would work at all. Even though they had copied the Alchemist’s research data before destroying her base, the group didn’t have her wealth of alien technology. “Come on, you fought aliens and you’re afraid of a glass tube?”

Instead of blasting him where he stood, Sarin let out a grunt. “It’s not the vat,” she said. “It’s…”

“Getting out of that suit?” Ryan guessed, avoiding any joke or jab. The woman had suffered for years from her condition, never feeling anything nor experiencing joy. Taunting her on that front, especially now, would feel like kicking a cancer patient.

Sarin shook her head. “Doesn’t matter.”

“You wouldn’t bring this up if it didn’t,” Ryan replied. “You know, I’m a certified therapist and I’ve seen everything. I’m here if you need an ear.”

“I ain’t like your princess,” Sarin scoffed. “I don’t need a white knight. You think I’m that weak?”

“I don’t think you’re weak, just alone.” Though the Psycho didn’t answer, Ryan could tell from her posture that he had nailed it. “And even that is a thing of the past. I mean, we had a good time raiding drug churches, exploring new continents, freeing the government from both the reptilians and the Illuminati...”

“It was nice,” the Psycho agreed, looking away at the Geniuses toiling away behind their computers. “And you’re following up with your promise, which is more I can say from Adam. You ain’t a fink.”

“See?” Ryan decided to share some wisdom accumulated over centuries of time travel. “If you keep all your feelings for yourself, you’re never going to get over your fears and neuroses. Either you become more open with others, or you need to blow off steam. If you want to follow the latter path, I would suggest bullying Ghoul.”

“I would rather hit Adam,” Sarin replied, before raising her hands and moving her fingers. The movements were unnatural, gas pushing cloth from the inside. “Every time I get out of my suit, I fear getting scattered to the winds. Stretching for miles, feeling my mind slip away with the distance. You can’t imagine how it feels, nerd.”

“No, I can’t,” the courier admitted. “Though you already left your suit behind once, when we made an FBI raid on Ischia.”

“I know that the experiment is as safe as it can be around you.” Sarin sighed. “But I still feel weak, and I hate it.”

Ryan crossed his arms, meditated on what to say next, and then uttered a single word.

“Bianca?”

Sarin bristled at her true name being spoken, as if she had forgotten it.

“Being vulnerable is... never easy,” Ryan said, trying to find the right words. “Especially not with others. After building strong and thick walls around ourselves, it’s difficult to tear them down.”

Sarin snickered. “Easy for you to say, Mr. Time-Traveler.”

“It’s not as perfect a crutch as it seems.”

At this point, Ryan had decided to fully come clean to everyone not in the know yet among his group. Sarin had been the first, but the courier hoped to have a discussion with Felix and especially Mr. Wave. The former already suspected something was up, and the latter…

Ryan owed him much more than his love of cashmere.

“You know, when Livia and I…” Ryan took a deep breath, before speaking his mind. “I was scared of her, at first. Very few things scared me since I got my power, but she topped all of them. She could remember.”

“She could kill you for good,” Sarin guessed. “Throw her daddy at you?”

“That and worse.” Ryan shuddered at what Livia could have done, if she had taken more after her thunderous father. “For the first time in many, many years, I had to be honest with someone that wasn’t my best friend. Like a bear cornered in his cave. It was… it was difficult. I mean, yeah, now she’s my First Lady, but she could have easily been my Lee Harvey Oswald too.”

“Who?” Sarin asked, showing an absolute lack of culture.

That inane question was proof that anyone could become Ryan’s vice-president these days, which he took as a badge of honor. The courier prided himself on his government’s inclusivity.

it took me a while to trust Livia, and even longer to feel at ease around her,” the courier explained his point. “We struggled to

“No.”

you’re

is going to make all the efforts and struggle worth it. Maybe

diabetes,” Ryan

almost taste the bitterness in his ally’s voice. “Even before Adam. Each time I hope it will change, and I’m

might sound hard, but

because part of me hoped that the Alchemist had a plan for us. That

and we are

spent so much time looking for a cure, I’m not sure what I will do with my

start with community service. You worked with Adam for years, so you’ve got a lot to answer

leave the Circus to the explosion brat.” Sarin glanced at the vat, seeing her gas mask’s reflection in the glass. “What will you do after you’re done

not sure yet.” Like Sarin, Ryan hadn’t planned anything beyond completing his Perfect Run. “At first, I thought I would drive into the sunset towards new

you leave New Rome, would there be room for one more? Your car ain’t that

replied. “But only if you call

amusement, while the Panda emerged from

up, Doc?” Ryan asked his

a raised paw. “I removed all the

faith. She opened her hazmat suit, and let her gaseous body leak out. A cloud of alien chemicals emerged from the suit, and

he and the Panda closed

vaguely humanoid shape, before turning

the computer panel. “You made us work day

to keep this up for weeks,” Dr. Stitch replied.

are ready to begin, Riri,” Len said, barely staying in place. No doubt a

giving his assent. Cables linking the computers to the vat activated, while a plastic lamp projected a blue light above Sarin’s

Elixirs’ Flux language based on the Alchemist’s notes. The process would be simple, in theory. The group would use a system based on the

body on such a deep level

remember,” Alchemo

fact, she would remember

wishes, and translate them into Flux,” Ryan whispered, remembering what he had read from the Alchemist’s

at once. Two brains separated

explain cases like Mr. Wave, Sunshine, Geist, and Sarin in particular. And in time, that ethereal consciousness grew in power, in wisdom, and strength, eventually becoming something

into a greater

from his Meta-Gang loop, then they could ask her Elixirs to reshape her current self while taking this information into account. Sarin would regain her lost

as the lamp changed color, from blue to red, from orange to yellow. “The Elixirs

you put on the loudspeaker?” Ryan asked,

discussed inside their host. Perhaps they were trying and failing to repair the damage they had caused to their host, unable to understand what they were dealing with. Maybe they casually divulged

loudspeakers, and an alien gargle quickly transformed into

say more hydrogen!” Ryan winced at the words, though the voice sounded inhuman, the tone reminded of a hyperactive

to vibrate!” Another answered, and didn’t sound any more mature. “How can our Homo Sapien defend herself otherwise if she cannot project energy?

you! She wouldn’t need your shockwaves if you let

you act without supervision, you would have turned

of the gaseous

feelings! She wanted to be strong to defend herself, to shake down everyone who

all you care about! Never us! I’m the one trying to make

difficult, awkward silence settled among the researchers, as the Elixirs’ debate grew more heated and

all, and you are ruining

take that back, you heartless battery! I was here first! We were happy before you came into

wish! She would

Panda is having a tough family

Len said, biting her

Hanlon’s razor.

attribute to malice, what can

Elixirs should get a divorce,” Ryan told Sarin. The cloud inside the vat briefly took a humanoid shape, hand

connecting to the control panel with neural links embedded in his syringe-finger. The light show inside the vat

said, the Red one from what Ryan had understood. “We’re

Eva? I hope

an instruction,” the Red Elixir said, sounding astonished. “Oh,

one flesh vessel? And we…”

other, like any good partner, immediately blamed its fellow. “No way,

notice because you distracted me!” The Orange Elixir fell silent an instant, before speaking up again. “Aww, we favored our main host so much, that we completely forgot about the