The Perfect Run

Chapter 32

Ryan woke up on a terrible mattress, with a cat on his chest.

The animal looked at the courier with its big blue eyes, as he emerged from his deep sleep. The Persian cat had a coat of fur of the purest shade of white, and the lazy expression of a creature sleeping eighteen hours a day without shame.

It was...

It was the perfect Bond Villain cat!

Ryan immediately let out a cry of joy, while the cat looked at him with noble curiosity.

“I’m gonna call you…” Ryan briefly raised the feline above ground to check if it was a male or female, and then let his imagination do the rest. “Eugène-Henry von Schrodinger!”

Eugène-Henry meowed in response.

“The name sucks,” someone complained from the ‘room’ right next to his—another animal cage repurposed into a prison cell. Ryan recognized the voice as Sarah’s. “It sucks hard.”

“Much like many geniuses, I’m way ahead of my time,” Ryan replied, scratching Eugène-Henry behind his ears. “You like that name, don’t you? You like it, don’t you?”

“Is that the white cat?” Sarah peeked into Ryan’s private space, finding the courier sitting on his bed sheet, the cat on his lap. The courier promised himself to work on his diabolical mastermind pose, though he needed to get a cashmere suit first. “It has a sixth sense to find suckers willing to feed it. That’s why it’s so fat.”

“Hey, he’s not judging you on your appearance!”

“Once, I showed him a rat, like one meter away from his face, and that lazy furball didn’t even react.”

“Slander!” Ryan defended his new sidekick. “Is there a shower though? I think I caught fleas sleeping on that bed.”

“Yes, but the water is muddy. Ma says she will fix it today after she checks your car.”

Check his—

“Goddammit, I hope she doesn’t find the bodies,” Ryan said, rising up from the bed. Eugène-Henry instantly took over his place and moved below the bed sheet, to better protect the mattress from intruders.

“There’s a spot for that,” Little Sarah said casually. “The druggies call it the Happy Hole.”

As it turned out, Rust Town did have tourist spots.

Ryan started dressing, but immediately noticed something wrong. Namely, his A-bomb was missing, and some of his weapons weren’t at their place. Someone had clearly checked on his belongings while he was asleep.

Shortie may be willing to help, but she didn’t fully trust him yet.

The courier emerged from the orphanage to find Len tinkering with his car, having opened the car hood to look inside. She had put the water gun aside, to her right.

“Comrade Shortie, just because it’s an all-American car doesn’t give you the right to wreck it,” Ryan said. “Find yourself a Lada.”

Len turned her head away from the engine, and Ryan's playful demeanor disappeared instantly when she grabbed the water gun. “Riri, what have you done?”

What did he do?

What didn’t he do?

Ryan glanced inside the car hood, his old friend keeping her weapon aimed at his head. Unfortunately, Len had found the brain and jumped to the wrong conclusions.

“Riri, have you…” Len clearly didn’t want to finish her sentence but forced herself to. “Did you put someone in there?”

“You wouldn’t believe how many tries it took before I found the right person.” He immediately raised his hands while Len made a mortified face. “Relax, I’m kidding, I’m kidding! It’s not even sentient!”

“Riri, don’t, don’t joke about this,” she sputtered, keeping her weapon raised.

“Sorry, sorry,” he apologized. “I default to humor when I’m stressed, and I didn’t have my morning coffee.”

Len remained as stiff and grim as ever. “Riri, where did it come from?”

“It’s vat-grown, a gift from another Genius.” No answer. “Shortie, I’m not a serial killer, and I don’t abduct hobos off the road to experiment on them.”

“Riri, I… I want to believe you’re not crazy. I really want to.” She shook her head. “But you keep a thermo-nuclear device with children nearby.”

God, if only she knew about the plushie. “Len, there

if you’re wrong?” she asked, biting her lower lip. “What if you jump into another universe every time you die, and leave a nuclear

I’m not jumping into an alternate universe whenever I die. I checked. I wouldn’t do like, half the stuff I pull on a

understand his power’s full scope. “If what you say is correct, then you can rewrite the entire space-time continuum almost at will. It’s not mere time-manipulation, but

get water guns for Christmas, while I got a Fat Man,” Ryan said,

about him, but eventually lowered the water gun. “You will behave while you stay here,” Len said. “I… even if there are no consequences from

“Len, they have guns.”

the Genius replied. “But that nuke, Riri, won’t help

it.” He would hand it over to Vulcan, as a sign

for a long, agonizing minute, before searching in her jumpsuit and handing him the bomb. Ryan put a hand on it, their gloves brushing against the other. The courier sensed her reluctance to give

trust him, she wanted

even put your hands on a weapon like that?” she asked, as the courier put the bomb inside one

and Ryan sighed. She wouldn’t like his answer. “Because I was bored, and I thought it would be fun to have a nuke as

with your time-stop? You said it caused you early

restart, I meant an early restart.

on.

of bridges.

pity, sadness, and compassion. “Do you think your

had wanted to die for good, he would have picked a fight with

silence, Len abruptly changed the subject.

places,” the courier replied, before shuddering as he remembered one of his worst deaths. “Whatever you do, Len, don’t sleep

“Monaco? Why?”

future. Don’t go to Monaco.” He glanced at the car, and a flustered Len started putting the engine pieces back in their proper

the Chronoradio and its associated parts.” Only then did Ryan notice that while she had stopped pointing it at his face, Len

Baby steps.

his car, putting a hand on the hood. “You’re the last Genius in a long line to work

I could work with, actually.” Len closed the hood once her work done. “Riri, why did you hook up

was such a long story. Ryan worked many loops

between various dimensions,” the courier explained. “You know some Violet Genomes summon creatures like that monster from

pulling them

own, but some are alternate histories Earth could

“I don’t follow you.”

the water you love so much, ever changing.” Ryan’s experience had taught him as much. “I mean, I just have to

never considered...” Len trailed off with a worried frown, unable to say

when I die? I try not to think about it.” If only because of the horrors involved. It was a rabbit hole of depression, questionable ethics, and self-misery.

went well for us,”

“But I never found a way to reach an alternate Earth, even with a custom particle accelerator. All I can do with the Chronoradio is listen to what could have

would get himself killed? Then again, they were close to the Junkyard. “What about that undead madman in

recruitment offer from Wyvern and then Vulcan, but I’m not sure if she will follow through if I’m in Rust Town. After that, I need to have

Len answered with a deeper frown than

you, so I investigated,” Ryan admitted. “What happened

the citizens of Rust Town as underpaid labor in their factories,” Len said with anger. “They pay them for dangerous work with just enough euros to feed themselves, but provide neither

think Il Migliore supports these practices.” Even the junior heroes he had met during the seminar seemed more self-obsessed than

shook her head. “Not all criminals wear masks. Most

you attacked one

grimmer. “But… they caught me. Somebody ratted me out

you tried to fight for?” Ryan guessed,

“Wyvern didn’t bust me out,

time,” Ryan reassured her. “I see only one way to kill Psyshock permanently,

clearly had no love for her organization. “We could capture him,” she said. “From what you told

world a better place, taking down Psyshock would also prevent him from

any alternative. “I’ve… I need more time, Riri. Time to figure this

out my power, or

Riri. I really do.

genuine warmth. “The fact that you want to help at all means a lot to

“But the thing is Riri, even if we succeed in helping you,

We.

so many restarts, moved past the realm of teenage romance. But every time he looked at his old partner, the courier always

could

can’t forget, Riri,” she admitted. “My father, that

safe around me,” Ryan stated the obvious.

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