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.”

plushie. “Len, there are no permanent consequences around

lower lip. “What if you jump into another universe every time you die, and leave a

works,” Ryan reassured her. “I guarantee you 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 weekly

scope. “If what you say is correct, then you can

a Fat Man,” Ryan said, putting a finger on the

trusting him and her own fears 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 your point of view, I don’t want

“Len, they have guns.”

defend themselves in this shithole,” the Genius replied. “But that nuke, Riri, won’t help anyone. It’s just death

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

and handing him the bomb. Ryan put a hand on

she wanted

why did you even put your hands on a weapon like that?” she asked, as the courier

and Ryan sighed. She wouldn’t like his answer. “Because I

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

restart, I meant an early restart. Have you never

on. "That's

burnt a lot of bridges. "And since I need to commit suicide

him with a mix of pity, sadness, and

living." If he had wanted to die for good, he would have picked a fight with someone like Cancel long ago. “As long as I exist, there’s always a chance things will

uncomfortable silence, Len abruptly changed the subject.

as he remembered one of

“Monaco? Why?”

at the car, and a flustered Len started putting the engine pieces back in their proper place. “Should

associated parts.” Only then did Ryan notice that while she had stopped pointing

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 a miniature

that was such a long story. Ryan worked many loops

but between various dimensions,” the courier

them from these

histories Earth could have taken. Usually, these histories aren’t stable and

“I don’t follow you.”

water you love

a

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. He preferred to think of it as a universal memory-wipe. “Anyway, I thought the Chronoradio could help me locate a specific reality,

went well for us,” Len

never found a way to reach an alternate Earth,

going?” she asked with a worried frown. Did she think he would get himself killed? Then again, they were close to the Junkyard. “What about that undead madman in the

if she will follow through if I’m in Rust Town. After that, I need to have

with a deeper

Dynamis jailed you, so I investigated,” Ryan admitted. “What

for dangerous work with just enough euros

supports these practices.” Even the junior heroes he had met during the seminar seemed

the real problems.” Len shook her head. “Not all criminals wear masks. Most

attacked one of Dynamis'

gave more details, her face turning grimmer. “But… they caught me. Somebody ratted

tried to fight for?” Ryan

out, Vulcan did. And even then, it wasn’t for free. I had to help the Augusti transport their drug, take their

reassured her. “I see only one way to kill Psyshock permanently, and it’s an Augusti-exclusive option as far as I

with Vulcan, she clearly had no love for her organization. “We could capture him,” she said. “From

better place, taking down Psyshock would also prevent him from piloting that Mechron

any alternative. “I’ve… I need more time,

out my

Len replied while looking away. “I want to help you, Riri. I really do.

fact that you want

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

We.

a future together. He thought his feelings for Len had changed after so many restarts, moved past the realm of teenage romance. But every time he looked at his old partner,

what could never

Riri,” she admitted. “My father, that stuff with

feel safe around me,” Ryan

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