The Perfect Run

It had been a while since Ryan drove a group in his Plymouth Fury.
He often transported one or two people, especially when on a drunken bender or
working as a getaway driver, but rarely a group like this one. Jamie wore his
power armor in the back, while Ki-jung dressed with a green hoodie at his side.
Her rats had taken over every corner of the car, hiding behind and beneath the
seats.
Unfortunately, Lanka complained all the way at the front. “You cheated,
blabbermouth,” she accused Ryan. She would have gone to the meeting with her
bike too, had Jamie not insisted they all travel in the same vehicle for team-
building. "I know you did."
“Someone is a sore loser here,” Ryan replied, having left yesterday's table a few
hundred bucks richer. Also, blabbermouth? He'd had way better nicknames! Like
Lil’ Granny Destroyer.
“I counted cards,” Lanka said. “But you changed them. I'm never wrong about
that.”
“So you accuse him of cheating, by admitting that you cheated yourself?” Jamie
asked, unsympathetic.
“Of course I cheated,” Ryan admitted openly, much to Jamie and Ki-jung's
surprise. “And instead of condemning me, you should learn from it, my young
Padawan. Failure is an experience.”
“Then you must be very experienced by now,” Lanka shrugged. Clearly, she
could give as much as she took.
“There is nothing more human than cheating. You know who else accused the
human race of cheating? Mammoths. They said, “hey, these humans they attack
us with bows and spears instead of tusks, it's not fair.” Ryan looked at the sore
loser. “Have you met any mammoths lately, Lanka?”
Jamie sighed at their bickering. “We'll try tabletop games next time.”
The group parked near Little Maghreb, next to a fortress of stone and steel. The
building had been some kind of foundry before the war until Vulcan took it over a
few years back. This crimson castle of metal walls, pipes, and reservoirs seemed
closer to an old army base to Ryan though; a lot of grunts patrolled the area,
wielding shotguns, grenade launchers, and miniguns. He also noticed a few
snipers on the roof, watching every corner of the streets around the foundry.
Apparently, it was an open secret that Vulcan's weapon division operated there,
but nobody was stupid enough to attack them. Not even the Private Security and
Il Migliore. New Rome truly lived in a Cold War-like era.
It was also quite close to the hotel Ryan had used in a previous loop. No wonder
Vulcan attacked Wyvern when she moved so close to their headquarters.
“Also, I want to say I am disappointed in you, ladies,” Ryan told Lanka and Ki-
Jung. “Only Zanbato and I have costumes! You don’t even wear masks!"
“Why would we wear masks when the Private Security has files on us?” Ki-jung
asked in confusion, leaving her rats in the car to keep an eye on it. “They even
know where we live.”
“And there aren't that many advanced armors to go around,” Lanka replied,
although she had the common sense to supplement her outfit with a belt holster.
“And what kind of a costume, a cape? Do you know how hard it is not to trip with
it?”
“It's not about practicality, it's about looking stylish,” Ryan replied, hands on his
trenchcoat, “Without a bright and colorful style, what are we? Mere animals!
Culture is what elevates—"
“Aha, villains!”
Ryan paused and looked at a strange newcomer.
A person climbed down from a bicycle near the car, dressed like Rambo... except
without the gun, and half the muscles. He had painted his face and dyed his hair
white, with black spots for the eyes.
It looked ridiculous, truth be told.
The rest of the group seemed to recognize him, but instead of attacking, they all
looked embarrassed.
“You have come farther than you should have, but you found your sworn
destroyer!” the fool declared, trying desperately to look badass, but coming
desperately short. “Prepare to face the wrath of...”
“Oh God, not this again,” Lanka sighed, the rest of the group eerily silent.
“THE PANDA!”
“The what?” Ryan asked, unsure whether to condemn this man’s terrible fashion
sense or applaud his efforts. At least someone in this city understood the
importance of costumes! “Is your power only getting laid every ten years?”
“Pandas are picky!” the ridiculous man answered, but something in his tone
made Ryan dubious. He didn't even look Chinese!
“He's a “vigilante.” Somehow, Lanka made the word sound ridiculous, rolling her
eyes while she said it. Clearly, she didn’t take him seriously. “He can transform
intoa”
“... and?” Ryan asked, expecting something else.
“And that's it.”
“But a very big ” Ki-jung added with a chuckle as if to soften the blow.
Man, some Genomes were just unlucky.
“Has the fear of the petrified you, villains?” The hero put his hands on his waist,
mistaking the awkward silence for fear.
Did he seriously come all the way here to pick a fight? Ryan could respect that,
although he should work on his introduction.
“Just ignore him, and he will go away,” Jamie replied, leaving for the Armory
without sparing the poor would-be hero a glance. Ki-jung followed soon
afterward, although she gave a pitiful glance at the poor animal. Even the
foundry’s guards seemed to joke about the newcomer, not making any effort to
intercept him.
“You will not escape me!”
Frustrated by this lack of respect, the underwent a terrible transformation. Black
and white fur grew on his skin, his body gaining mass and muscle. He grew
claws and fangs, shedding his pants and jacket like a magnificent butterfly. The
man was gone, leaving only... the
It was a pretty big though, even larger than a polar bear. Yet when he let out a
scream, Ryan found it cute, rather than terrifying.
With a heavy sigh, Lanka joined her index and middle fingers together to form a
“gun,’ and fired an orange sphere of energy with it. The projectile flew towards the
at an arrow's speed, and hit him in the nose. The poor animal instantly fell to the
left side, paralyzed.
Ryan understood now why they called her Sphere.
“Alright,” Lanka said, drawing a Beretta 76 from her pocket. “I call dibs on his
corpse.”
“You're going to kill a panda?” Ryan asked, horrified. “They're extinct!”
“Yeah, that means we can sell his fur to a collector.” She pointed her gun at the
poor beast.
“I'm stopping you right there, Cruella!” Ryan moved in the barrel's way, unable to
stand animal cruelty. “I won't let you kill the last You could get the death penalty
for this!”
“He's not a blabbermouth, he's an idiot! It's like being already dead, except you
lost your mind while alive!”
“I can't allow you to anger PETA! You don’t know what those guys are capable
of!” Or what they could do, before the Wars.
“Who the hell is PETA, a Genome?” she asked, confused, before lowering her
gun in annoyance. “You know he’s going to come back and get killed by the
guards later, blabbermouth? The way I see it, it's survival of the fittest. At least I
will make it quick.”
“I'll take full responsibility for saving this disciple of style,” Ryan replied, his
female companion rolling her eyes and putting her gun back in its holster. “I
believe there is still hope for him, my marauding friend.”
She raised an eyebrow. “How do you know that?”
That she was an ex-bandit? “The snake tattoo on your arm, which you tried to
cover up beneath other ones,” Ryan replied, having noticed that detail during the
poker night. “I already met people with it. Very unkind people.”
“I hope you killed them,” she replied, the guards letting them inside the foundry’s
perimeter, “I belonged to a real band of savages back in the day.”
Oh yes he did.
Ryan and Lanka walked towards the metal gates, finding Jamie and Ki-jung
discussing with another duo. Or rather, a woman was talking, and everyone else
listened with occasional nods.
She was obviously a Genome; her skin was deathly pale, unnaturally so, and her
long hair bright blue. This mature lady carried herself with an eerie sort of
elegance, that of an otherworldly fairy among men. Unlike Ryan's team, she had
style aplenty, wearing a black Greek chiton dress as her costume, alongside
sandals, a shark tooth necklace, and skull-shaped earrings.
Ryan couldn't explain why, but he had a bad feeling about her. Mostly because
Jamie and Ki-jung seemed stiff as hell when she spoke, and even Lanka tensed
at her sight.
The courier also recognized her bodyguard as the woman who tried to flirt with
him at the Bakuto, back when he had messed up with the chain of events.
Although this time, she had traded her dress for a black uniform and an assault
rifle. Since they hadn’t met in this restart, she didn’t recognize him.
The blue-haired woman and her bodyguard passed by Ryan and Lanka on their
way to the parking lot, before stopping abruptly when she noticed the courier.
“You,” the blue-haired woman said, her voice deep like someone used to being
obeyed.
“Moi?” Ryan pointed a finger at himself.
“How old are you?” she asked, her sharp grey eyes examining him closely.
Somehow, it felt like locking eyes with a hungry crocodile peeking out of the
water.
“What a question.” Ryan made a mock bow. “I'm immortal, but don't tell anyone.”
“No one is immortal,” she responded, vaguely amused. “I hope to reach your age
one day though.”
Then she stopped paying him any mind and walked away with her escort.
“Shit,” Lanka whispered. “That's not good.”
“Who is she?” Ryan asked, curious.
“Pluto, Augustus’ sister, and underboss,” Jamie said upon regrouping, clearly
worried, “When he sends her, heads fall.”
“Isn't Pluto a guy in Roman mythology?” Ryan asked. “I support gender equality,
but wouldn't Plutonia have been more appropriate?”
“I believe they had a theme naming thing in the family,” Lanka replied, relaxing
once the underboss was out of sight. “The third member of the sibling trio,
Neptune, serves as Augustus’ consigliere.”
At least they tried to respect the spirit of the names. Ryan appreciated the
cultural reference. “What's her power exactly?”
“If she wants you to die,” Jamie said, his eyes darkening, “you die.”
“As in what, she vaporizes you with lightning—"
“No, you just die,” Jamie interrupted Ryan, a hint of fear and wariness in his
voice. Perhaps he worried—rightfully—that Quicksave would try to put this power
to the test. “There is no warning, no protection, no counter. If she wants you
dead, you die. The end.”
“Since we still have enemies alive, her power must have limits,” Ki-jung said. “But
we don’t know them.”
This only made Ryan even more interested. He would check it one loop. Lanka,
however, wanted more information. “Why was she here?” she asked Jamie.
“Five of our Made Men have died under mysterious circumstances lately,” Ki-jung
replied instead.
“The Meta-trash?”
Jamie shook his head. “No, they would have loudly claimed these murders, and
they aren't their style. Poison powerful enough to affect Genomes, explosives,
drowning and suffocation... The boss believes this is a new vigilante. Pluto and
the Killer Seven hit squad will take care of this, and if they ask for anything, we
are to assist them with the task.”
Explosives he said?
“My invisible nemesis struck again,” Ryan said, happy to have solved the
mystery.
“Yeah, I thought the same,” Jamie said. “But unless the one responsible knocks
at our door itching for a fight, we're leaving the higher-ups to deal with this. Once
the hit squad is after someone, it's only a matter of time before the matter is
solved.”
Ryan guessed it would be rude to say murdered.
“Alright, a few rules about how to address Vulcan,” Jamie told Ryan, as they
stood before the metal gates. “Don’t make jokes about her height, and for the
love of God, don't mention Wyvern unless she mentions her first.”
Ryan nodded dutifully, the doors opening to let them walk inside.
Jamie led them on to a guided tour of the foundry, although it quickly became
clear the name didn’t fully illustrate the truth. The building housed a whole
weapon production operation, from the metal processing to the assembly line.
The group walked through searing hot rooms full of furnaces and automated
assembly lines; they produced guns, bullets, and rockets. Some of the guards
even wore variants of Jamie’s own armor, albeit bulkier and far more intimidating.
Eventually, they reached Vulcan's workshop. It was the quintessential Geniuses
lair, full of bulky devices, glass bulbs providing light, and strange contraptions
centuries ahead of modern times.
It also had a big, big robot on standby.
Scratch that, it turned out to be an enormous set of power armor, albeit nearly
five meters tall and with the wideness to match. While humanoid, the suit was so
bulky it might as well be called a tank with legs. However, considering the
number of miniature turbo reactors, and the multi-joint design of the limbs, Ryan
guessed the machine could move surprisingly fast in the field. And of course, it
had enough weapons to rival a battleship, including a massive rocket launcher on
the right arm, cannons, and even beam weaponry.
The courier also noticed multiple eye-shaped cameras dispatched all over the
machine, perhaps to allow the user to see in all directions. Finally, the machine
was plated with gold, probably to show-off as much as possible.
The builder was waiting for them, drawing plans on a large table. Much like Pluto,
in spite of her codename, Vulcan turned out to be a girl.
And to Ryan's surprise, she seemed a little bit younger than him, biologically.
Eighteen, nineteen? In any case, she was petite, barely one meter sixty tall, with
olive skin, sharp black eyes, and dark hair bound into a bun by a pencil of all
things. She dressed rather casually for her station, a mere black shirt, dirtied
pants, and unlaced shoes.
But when she looked at him, Ryan could see the fierceness in her gaze.
“I expected someone taller,” Ryan told her innocently. “Like Wyvern.”
The room grew incredibly tense, Everyone looked at him as if he were insane,
except Vulcan, who gave him a murderous glare. Ryan looked away at the giant
mech, whistling.
“We'll see who is taller when I blow off your legs, jackass,” the capo said with a
face that reminded Ryan of Len. She must have had the same height complex.
“Because right now, you just stepped on a landmine.”
Here comes Napoleon!
“Quicksave, please, a little respect,” Jamie coughed, he and the rest of the team
nodding at Vulcan. “I'm sorry, chief. He doesn’t know what he says.”
“Oh no, he does,” Vulcan replied angrily, glaring at Ryan. “The bitch is my
personal N-word. When someone speaks it, they suffer.”
“Do you have any survival instinct?” Lanka hissed at Ryan.
“Of course not, I'm immortal. Survival instincts are for people who can die.” The
courier glanced at the giant armor, noticing the enormous reactor on the
machine's back. “Is that a miniaturized fusion reactor?”
Vulcan's face betrayed some surprise, although she remained clearly furious with
him. “I'm surprised you could tell.”
“I worked on one once, albeit nothing this advanced,” Ryan replied, examining
the rest of the suit. “And plasma beams for offense too. Clever, clever.”
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“ . :
Maybe I should give you a live
3: »
demonstration.” As Vulcan spoke
these words, the Sitges on'its
nm athsr Genbimes took a step
back, and Jamie in particular looked
ready to summon an energy sword.
I . , :
Though since you've got a brain, I
. ”
guess I will only destroy the legs.
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Read the latest chapter there!
Ryan simply kept observing this marvel of technology, even as it pointed its
weapons at his lower half.
“Mmm.” Vulcan frowned, her anger replaced with astonishment. “You are awfully
close to death, and yet neither your heartbeat nor blood pressure changed at all.
No abnormal neural activity either. You give absolutely zero fucks.”
Wait, how could she know that? Did she have a telepathic link to her suit's
sensors?
Though he should feel thankful that her anger had left the building, replaced with
curiosity. She probably thought he had some ace up his sleeve.
“I heard you carried advanced tech with you, Quicksave,” Vulcan said, the others
too happy to see her calm down to say anything. “Are you a Genius?”
“Sort of.” He didn’t have enhanced intelligence, but he had spent so many loops
tinkering with advanced technology, he might as well be a de facto Genius. Ryan
looked into his trenchcoat and handed Vulcan the A-bomb.
“What a beautiful, elegant design,” Vulcan whistled, examining it under all its
forms. “You made that?”
“Everyone should have a bomb on themselves for dissuasion!” Ryan avoided a
straightforward answer, full of excitement in the presence of a fellow bomb-
maker. “Bombs save lives!”
“Exactly,” Vulcan replied with the same enthusiasm, unable to restrain her geeky
passion for explosions. “You know why the Cold War never went hot? Because
everyone had A-bombs! Absolute destructive power is the key to peace!”
“Oh God, there are two of them now,” Ryan heard Lanka whisper to Jamie, who
ground his teeth in uneasiness. Still, Ryan could see everyone relax a bit.
“What about Mechron?” Ki-jung asked mirthfully, a thin smile on her lips. “Bombs
didn't help against him.”
“An unforeseen variable, Chitter, like the Alchemist,” Vulcan brushed it off, before
waving the A-bomb under Ryan's nose. “You see this?”
“Uh, yes?"
“If you say Wyvern again, I'll shove it down your throat. Since you've got precious
skills, I'll spare your life, but only this time. Don’t push your luck again, unless you
want a one-way ticket to Killville.”
Nice place, he had been there a lot of times. “So, you're not giving me back the
bomb?”
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« , ” :
No, that's your respect tax,” she said
before brazenly stealing his device
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and putting it in Pps iEyoul
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ind. I've got a lot of workers, but
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tame you. The content is on
Novelxo.org! Read the latest
chapter there!
Ryan also noticed that her suit kept its weapons pointed at him, even if she
sounded friendlier.
“I thought he might do well with Mercury's.” Jamie cleared up his throat,
defending his own division.
“I'm the one who looked him up first, Zanbato,” Vulcan replied. “If Mercury wants
to find good men, he should get out of his house once in a while.”
“I'm very happy for the attention, but I'm not the person for long-term
employment,” said Ryan. “I'm looking for Len, black hair, blue eyes, Marxist-
Leninist.”
“Underdiver,” Vulcan replied, smirking when Ryan gave her his full attention. “But
I don't see how I benefit from introducing you to my subcontractor, especially if
you aren't with us long-term.”
Subcontractor? Finally, he could almost taste the reunion! “How much for the
privilege?"
Vulcan replied with a laugh, sitting on her workshop table. “You think I'm a crook
who works for money?”
“Then I have only my body left to sell.”
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Ki-jung couldn't help but chuckle at
his joke, before quickly correcting her
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insane,” she said. “But as a matter of
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content is on Novelxo.org! Read
the latest chapter there!
“The Meta-gang?” Jamie cleared his throat. “You want us to take them down?”
“My crew will take care of the Meta problem,” Vulcan brushed him off. “The big
boss gave us the go order. Just protect the shipments, and we'll take care of
Rust Town. No. What I have in mind involves fighting the “law.™
“The best kind of mission,” Ryan delighted. “Are we going to do tax evasion?
There's nothing more excitingly dangerous! Even Al Capone couldn't do it!"
“Nobody pays taxes, blabbermouth,” Lanka pointed out.
“The Private Security and Il Migliore have been a bit overeager lately,” Vulcan
said with a sneer. “Nothing too damaging, but they're testing us. They believe the
Meta made our organization weak. We must remind them not to underestimate
the Augusti.”
“You want us to attack Dynamis’ operations?” Jamie asked, Lanka frowning at
the “us.’
Vulcan nodded. “Dynamis is currently filming a new Il Migliore movie. I want you
to trash the studio, send them a message.”
“Isn't the newest movie under work there..." Jamie trailed off, without finishing his
sentence.
“Wyvern's Flight Il,” Vulcan finished a vengeful glint in her eyes.
Yeah, totally business as usual.
“Do you want your personal vendetta crispy,” Ryan asked, “or extra crispy?”