The Perfect Run

Lightning Butts burns ached on Ryan's chest, as he parked the Plymouth Fury
west of New Rome.
Triton’s Resort was a large complex on a small hill, built between the infamous
Colosseum Maximus and Little Lilith, the city’s red-light district. Glass domes and
tall white spires coexisted with elevated pleasure gardens, tennis courts, and
thermal pools, while the wealthiest clients could enjoy an unbeatable view of New
Rome’s coast. Like almost all properties owned by the August, it embraced a
Roman architectural style. Statues of Venus and Mars— the gods, not the
Genomes—made love on a fountain, right next to the parking lot. Clients walked
in through different entrances, based on their status; most of the clientele walked
through a large yet elegant stone archway, while VIPs used a glass elevator to
skip straight to the higher floors.
Ryan had traded his bathrobe for his usual clothes, though he wore no mask or
hat for once. Livia sat at his side, wearing a blue skirt dress that left her legs and
back exposed. A silver necklace glittered around her neck, and a white rose
ribbon kept her hair bound. She looked great, but Ryan thought she could wear
anything and still dazzle him.
“I should come over to your place from now on,” she said out of the blue.
No kidding. “I could get used to the shock treatment,” Ryan mused, but it didn't
make her smile. “Or how about we rent something and move in?”
“We should wait a few months to go down that step, yes?” She giggled. “Ryan, if
you think you have seen my father angry, then imagine him with empty nest
syndrome. It's better I go home after our dates from now on.”
“What was your dad even doing standing motionless in the kitchen? Asserting his
dominance over the pastries?”
Her gaze turned distant. “Dad is... not well. Sometimes he doesn’t move for
hours.”
“Because of his tumor?” She nodded sadly. “That's why he rarely leaves his
house anymore, am I right?”
“I... I would rather not talk about this right now. I would rather talk about us.” Livia
sheepishly joined her fingers, hesitating a few seconds before asking a question.
“What will we be, Ryan?”
“Someone asked me that before,” he replied, thinking of Jasmine with nostalgia.
“Back then, I answered a summer fling.”
Livia frowned at him. “I don’t want us to be a summer fling.”
“Me neither.”
Once, Ryan had been afraid of intimate romantic relationships, and the
commitment that came with them. The pain that followed their destruction each
time he reset cut deep. But for the first time since he had gained his power, he
had a partner that would remember him. Someone with whom he could build a
relationship lasting through several loops. It was... exhilarating in its newness.
Frightening, even.
He carefully took her hand into his own, and lost himself in her beautiful blue
eyes. “Livia, do you want to be my girlfriend, until time tears us apart?”
A pinkish blush spread below her eyes. “You should have asked me that before
we slept together, no? You skipped a lot of steps.”
“And now I'm doing things by the book.”
It pleased the princess, he could tell, but her response wasn’t what he had
expected. “My answer is no, Ryan.”
The courier opened his mouth in shock. “Come again?”
“I want to be your girlfriend until we decide to break up, if we ever choose to,”
Livia declared, her face turning stubborn even though her words were music to
Ryan's ears. “Not until your power resets everything. I want a serious
relationship.”
“Livia, you know I will have to reset again? What if I die early, or we can't transfer
your mind back easily?” Ryan cleared his throat. “I want something that lasts too,
but... well, there's always the possibility an unforeseen death ruins it all.”
“People risk dying all the time, and yet they still make plans for the future, Ryan.
Our relationship might need more work, logistics-wise, but we will find a way to
strengthen it. I am sure of it.”
Ryan could tell that she wouldn't budge on the matter, so he did it right this time.
“Livia Augusti, do you want to be my girlfriend?”
“There, you have it,” she said with a beautiful, heartwarming smile. “Yes I do,
Ryan.”
And so, Quicksave was no longer single.
“This changes everything,” Ryan said, breaking the hand contact to search for a
notebook and a pen he hid in his coat.
“What is this?" Livia asked, as he opened the notebook.
“My to-do list of objectives before I achieve my Perfect Run. After my last
presidential mandate, I thought I should write down all my campaign promises to
keep track of them.” Ryan scratched the “Fuck the Sun’ line, right between the
“Kill Psypsy’ and “Marry Yuki’ ones. “I'm updating the list to account for my
newfound monogamy.”
Curious like a cat, Livia tried to look at the content, but her boyfriend kept the
notebook out of reach. “Give it to me, I want to know!”
“No, that’s private!”
“Give it to me, Ryan,” she insisted.
“No!” He felt a chill going down his spine. “No, no don't you dar—"
Livia skipped time forward, and when Ryan regained consciousness, she had
stolen the list and his pen. “So that's how it feels when I mess with people in
frozen time, uh,” he complained. “Are you happy now?”
“A good boyfriend doesn't keep anything from his partner,” she replied, before
frowning at what she read. “Marry Jamie and Ki-jung'?”
“I only planned to marry Jamie at first, but since he’s going to propose to Ki-jung
soon, I thought bigamy was the only sensible solution.”
It seemed to make sense to her, but then the next item on the list made Livia
glare at him. “Fuck the Vamp and live through it"? Seriously?”
“I have a revenge to take.”
“She isn’t that good.” Livia was at her cutest when she was jealous.
“How do you know that?” Ryan asked while squinting.
“Because I do,” his girlfriend replied before removing that plan from the list, the
way a dictator signed an execution order. In fact, she barred all the “Fuck’ and
“Marry’ goals of the list, except those involving her. A couple's life was made of
sacrifices.
“You truly made a plan for your final loop,” Livia said, as she kept reading.
“Though I'm a bit worried by the “Kill’ list.”
“Well, at first I only wanted to find Len, but I kept adding new objectives,” Ryan
admitted. “It's not my fault if this city crawls with assholes who need to be put
down.”
“Mmm... “Bully Luigi,’ “Save New Rome,’ “Take over the Meta-gang,’ “Cure the
Psycho condition,’ “Blow up the Bliss Factory’...” She frowned. “Prevent the
Leporimachia?’ Is that even a real word?”
“I'm working on that one.”
Livia waited for him to elaborate, but skipped to the next objective when he didn't.
She grinned ear to ear. “Reconcile Wyvern and Vulcan?’ Now, you're asking for
the impossible.”
“It happened once, though it took the city’s destruction for it.” Ryan thought that
though he couldn't date Vulcan due to his promise to Jasmine, he could at least
help the Genius turn her life around.
“We can't let things progress that far,” Livia replied. “I'm kidding, they can
reconcile.”
“You've seen it happen?”
“All it takes is Wyvern approaching Vulcan and “apologizing’ to her former partner.
She does so after rethinking her choices, usually after Dynamis collapses.”
“So, we can steal two cashmere suits with one gun?”
She frowned at him, suddenly interested. “Does Dynamis have a red suit in
storage?”
“You will look great in it.”
“I think so too.” Livia skimmed through the list, from the “Free Len from her
father’s shadow’ to “Bury my daddy issues,’ before frowning. “Find the
Alchemist's base in Antarctica'?”
“I saw it in the Purple World, but I don't know where exactly,” Ryan said. Truth be
told, he had wondered if this vision had been a coincidence. The Violet Ultimate
One had left hints to help the courier, so perhaps it wanted the time-traveler to
visit this base for some unknown purpose. “Some kind of fortress buried in snow
and ice.”
Livia considered the matter thoughtfully. “Now that I think of it...” she whispered
to herself. “Could it be Station Orpheon?”
“Station Orpheon?”
“A story Bacchus told me about the Alchemist,” Livia replied, before dropping a
bomb. “He was investigating her before Last Easter, and she twisted him.”
“Her?” The Alchemist was a girl? And here Ryan thought she might have been a
lizardman, or a grey martian! “You know a guy who met the Alchemist, and you
never told me?”
“I didn’t think it was important?” she replied, a little embarrassed. “Thing is, Ryan,
my power cannot look into the Alchemist. I've tried before, but I can't find a world
where I have interacted with her... if she’s even a human woman at all.”
“She could have a power similar to mine.”
“Maybe. I'm sorry, I'm blind here. Dad wanted to track her down too, but
eventually abandoned that plan after years of fruitless investigation. Bacchus
himself wasn't much help either. All he cares about is Bliss and contacting his
“God’... whose nature I now understand better, thanks to you.”
“An Ultimate One?” Ryan had reached the same conclusion after his talk with
Darkling. Bacchus had called God “it’ and thought psychotropics capable of
affecting even Genomes could help make contact with it. It didn't take a Genius
to figure it out. “What do you mean by “she twisted him?”
“He wasn't always...” Livia struggled to find the word.
“Obsessive?” Ryan suggested.
“Deranged, though he hides it well. According to Dad, he used to be well-
adjusted before the Alchemist got to him. Afterward, hallucinogens and later Bliss
became his life.” His girlfriend shook her head. “Even the tales he says are quite
confusing.”
“Will he tell them to me too, if I confess my sins? For my heart is full of wicked
deeds.”
“No, I don't think so, but you could compare notes and find out.” Livia smiled. “I
have never been to Antarctica. It must be a beautiful place.”
“Wanna make it our next stop for our winter vacations?”
“Now you think like a true boyfriend.” She flipped the notebook’s page, before
blushing upon finding the last objective on the to-do list.
“Make Livia happy.’
Livia looked at Ryan with a pleased face, adjusting her hair. “What, are you
surprised?” the courier asked his girlfriend, his fingers brushing against her red
cheek. “You're part of my Perfect Run too.”
“It's a good list, Ryan,” she said, before hastily scribbling a new line. “But you
forgot one task.”
Ryan frowned, as she gave him back the notebook and the pen with a new
objective.
Be happy too.
“I thought it would come naturally,” he said while putting his items back inside his
trench coat.
“Ryan, almost all the objectives in the list are about helping other people, but
never yourself,” Livia said. “That's very noble of you, but you have to take your
happiness into account too. No more suicides will be a start.”
“What? But a glorious death is half the fun of a loop!” Ryan protested. “Do you
realize how many people fail their lives, but make a success of their death?”
“If you reload by dying, then it makes you value your life less. We'll find a better,
painless way for you to turn back time. Also, no more drugs. I've seen the stuff
you keep in your car, and it has to go.”
“But
“No more drugs,” his girlfriend insisted. “I'm going to clean up your life, whether
you want it or not. You will embrace a healthier lifestyle.”
“If you try to make me a vegetarian, I'm dumping you.”
She raised an eyebrow in a way that Ryan found positively obscene. “You are
welcome to taste my flesh anytime.”
“I don't taste,” he answered, breathing on her neck. “I bite.”
She turned scarlet at his insolence. “You have gone too far, Ryan,” Livia said,
unable to hide her embarrassment. “I have to punish you.”
“Mistress is welcome to whip me anytime.”
“I had something else in mind.”
Her lips shyly brushed against his own, the contact so brief it might have been a
dream. It tasted of strawberry, of her perfume and summer. She quickly pulled
back, red as if she had never kissed a boy before.
“You stole my first kiss!” Ryan responded with false shock. “I was saving myself
for Felix!”
She exploded into laughter, and Ryan had never heard a more wonderful sound.
He put his hand in her hair, and the other on her waist as he pulled her closer.
He let Livia steal his second kiss, and then his third and fourth. Afterward, the
burn on his chest ached, and she put a finger on his lips. “We will take a bath
together after patching you up,” she said, her forehead against his own. “I have a
private spot in the resort. You will love it.”
“Braindead should arrive today,” Ryan pointed out. The plan was to torch the
Junkyard and bury the bunker’s open entrance after the Genius arrived, to make
itlook as if the Meta-Gang had fled the city.
“He will, but in the evening,” Livia said, her voice soft and soothing. “Until then,
you are mine.”
He couldn't tell his lady no.
Ryan offered Livia his arm as they exited the car, his girlfriend squeezed it tight.
The mafia princess liked it very much when he played the gentleman. They
bypassed the bouncers and took the elevator, Livia resting her head on her
boyfriend's shoulder as they moved up the floors.
After passing by marble corridors, the couple made their way into a mix between
a parlor and a doctor's waiting room. Overstuffed, comfy leather chairs allowed
one to rest while watching colorful tapestries and portraits of celebrities new and
old. In fact, the staff included copies of Scarlett Johansson, Brad Pitt, and
Leonardo DiCaprio, but though they had the actors’ faces, they had none of the
natural, easy charm.
Atall man greeted them, an Italian George Clooney with familiar blue eyes and a
white beard. “Livia,” he said, wearing a black suit more expensive than most
houses. Ryan immediately identified his voice as Mars’, Atom Kitty and Fortuna’s
father. “Who is this young, gallant man with you?”
“Luca, this is my boyfriend, Ryan,” Livia paraded the courier. “Ryan, this is Luca
Veran, Fortuna's father.”
“My condolences,” the courier said. “I admire your bravery, to have raised her
without going mad.”
“My wife bears the lion's share of the blame, as far as her education goes.” If
Mars was bothered to see his son's ex-girlfriend with another man, he didn’t
show it. In fact, he warmly shook Ryan's hand as if he were an old friend. “Does
Janus know?”
Instead of answering, Ryan lifted his shirt to show the burns beneath, causing
Mars to explode into laughter. “That's what I expected,” he said. “I assume you
came to see my wife to remove the scars?”
“Her, and Fortuna, if she’s here,” Livia said.
“No, she said she’s spending time with that mystery boyfriend of hers.” Mars
frowned at the couple. “Do you know if he has powers?”
He didn’t sound so friendly anymore. “He can disappear at will,” Ryan said.
“Though pigeons are his kryptonite.”
“Oh, good,” Mars said, sounding greatly relieved. “Fortuna seems to be taking
this relationship seriously, and I was worried that she might frequent the wrong
kind of person.”
Livia answered with a forced smile. “Il am not sure if he is the right person for her,
but you know Fortuna, she does as she wills.”
“Like her brother,” Mars said with a chuckle. “Il wonder how Narcinia managed to
turn out so dutiful with such unruly siblings.”
Because you murdered her parents and abducted her as a babe, Ryan thought,
Livia's arm tightening around his own. She had sensed his unease. “When is
Narcinia returning from Ischia island?” the princess asked Mars with courtesy.
She probably already knew the answer with her power, but pretended not to for
the sake of conversation. “It has been a long time since I met her.”
“She will return on the fourteenth, to attend the meeting scheduled on the
fifteenth.” Mars glanced at Ryan, frowning upon realizing he knew what they
were talking about. “Are you... you know, one of us?"
“I cut horse heads for a living,” the courier said, and to his joy Mars seemed to
understand the reference. “They never run fast enough.”
“Will you make me an offer I cannot refuse?” Mars replied with a warm smile.
“Perhaps we could invite you two for dinner, when Narcinia returns? She needs
new friends closer to her age, and I think she will become fond of you, Ryan.”
“With pleasure,” Livia replied with a smile, though her grip on Ryan's arm
tightened.
Mars took his leave afterward, pretending that he needed to attend to other
business. Ryan on the comfy chair, and Livia on his lap. “Is this place bugged?”
he whispered into his girlfriend's ear.
“Yes, but not my suite,” she replied with the same low tone. “Wait a little.”
Andrea Julani-Veran, alias Venus, received them afterward in an immaculate
surgery room. She was a beautiful woman in her early forties, and a grown-up
version of her daughter Fortuna. Clad in a regal white dress and keeping her
golden hair braided, she wouldn't have looked out of place on a Playboy
Magazine's cover.
Ryan noticed that she didn't have an operation table, simply a warm bed where
the courier laid while the fashion model raised his shirt. Venus touched his chest
with her thumb, and the burns vanished as if they had never existed in a green
flash of light.
“Done,” Venus said with a professional smile.
“I have a scar on my left butt cheek, can you remove it too?” Ryan asked.
“No, I like it,” Livia said coyly, “I like the noise you make when I pinch it.”
Venus looked between the two of them, and unlike her husband, didn’t hide her
displeasure. “Do you have news of Felix?” she asked Livia, emphasizing the
name.
“No,” Livia replied dryly, as Ryan put his shirt back on and returned to her side.
“He will not come back.”
“Maybe he will,” Venus said, eyeing Ryan warily. He could tell she would have
preferred to have her own blood date Augustus’ heir, but she had no second son
to offer. “Or if not, we will take him back. When will your father give the order to
destroy the Manada clan once and for all?”
“I do not know,” Livia replied evasively, though Ryan knew she meant: never, if I
have my way. “But we can discuss that on the fifteenth.”
“Certainly,” Venus replied with a smile Ryan found rather disturbing. “Will you
take the lovers’ suite, as usual?”
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I Tr 5
Yes, of course,” Livia said, to the
i 5
older woman's displeasure. Venus
gave them a keycard, and watched
them leave the paix fasilénce. Ryan
cbuld fo (or glare on his back, and
no doubt she already plotted to have
: “ : , )
him removed for “usurping’ her son's
position. Clearly, she was deadlier
than her husband, but the courier had
survived far worse. The content is on
Novelxo.org! Read the latest
chapter there!
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Livia led him to a VIP suite on the
fifth floor of the resort, a tastefully
decorated apartment with its own
private Jacuzzi bag 1p floandnd
"ER wejemidde 6 wood, but sleek,
odern appliances were cleverly
hidden in sliding compartments.
Stained glass picture windows
provided a marvelous view of New
,
Rome's beaches and the sea beyond,
: Sey san
while some of Livia's paintings
adorned the walls. The content is on
Novelxo.org! Read the latest
chapter there!
Though Livia insisted the place was safe, Ryan still took a moment to check the
room for traps and bugs, but didn’t find any. The Jacuzzi's waters were warm
when he slid naked inside them, his partner joining afterward.
“I have the feeling we will end up glued together,” Ryan said, when she sat
between his legs, her back against his chest. She had kept the silver necklace
on, which glittered with the sunlight outside. “Is it safe though? Venus might have
infected me with a plague or something.”
“That's not how her power works,” Livia replied while bubbles rose to the water
surface. Ryan had to admit it worked wonders to ease his sore muscles, after the
beating he took from Augustus. “She is limited to superficial, aesthetic surgery
modifications. She can reshape the skin, the eye colors, the hair, but not
scramble your organs.”
“But she could transform my lips and nose into a patch of skin, and asphyxiate
me.”
“She could,” she admitted, grinning at him. “But only if she maintains physical
contact.”
“Good to know.”
“I don’t want to go to that dinner,” Livia admitted, her head resting on Ryan's
shoulder. “I adore Fortuna and Narcinia, don’t get me wrong, but Venus will try to
break us up and Mars will make racist remarks towards normies. You'll see.”
“Why accept the offer then? You don't need the parents.” Fortuna couldn't stand
her mother in particular, and Narcinia would probably follow suit upon learning
the truth of her parentage. “Il mean, we could organize a party at Jamie's place
and invite the Veran sisters there.”
“I have to keep up appearances, if I am to inherit the organization and reform it,”
Livia replied. “Mars and Venus are my father’s followers, but I fear I pushed him
hard enough as it is. A few smiles will buy us peace of mind.”
Ryan looked at her closely, and put his arms around her waist. He could tell she
was thankful for the comfort.
“Is this place a brothel, besides a luxury resort?” he asked her.
Ryan had noticed copycats of actors chatting with clients in a way that seemed...
dubious.
“This is the epicenter of New Rome's prostitution business, yes,” Livia said with a
saddened frown. “Venus uses her powers to reshape faces and bodies, to cater
to all tastes. Some people are willing to pay fortunes to sleep with their favorite
actors... or heroes. I heard the Wyvern double is very popular.”
“Does Vulcan visit her often?” Livia chuckled in response, but didn’t answer. “Do
you want me to destroy this place, like the Bliss Factory?”
Her fingers brushed against her silver necklace, her face thoughtful. “Would you
do it, if I asked?”
“Yes.” He nuzzled her cheek gently. “Livia, I don’t want you to wear a mask, not
even at dinner. If this place and the people that run it make you unhappy, I can
tear it down and free you from them.”
“Could you do that bloodlessly?” she asked, her gaze distant.
“I can do anything, given time.”
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« ra
But not without sacrifices from your
P
part, and as I told you before... I won't
have you martyr yourself for my
fe > i
sake.” Livia played UE
1" I j
ft belt0id In h sure what to do
about this place. Evil things happen
’
here, but most of the resort's
activities are legitimate. What am I to
do with the employees that work in
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the resort for an honest living? I don't
want innocent people to lose their
3 5 » 2
livelihood, Ryan.” The content is on
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“And what blood sacrifices take place behind closed doors?”
“I know Venus and her husband use the place to get clients addicted to Bliss, for
a start,” Livia said grimly. “Or produce dirt and blackmail material.”
“I have a cure for Bliss addiction.” Ryan had been considering introducing it to Ki-
jung, since she seemed to still struggle with the temptation.
“You do?” Livia asked, her eyes widening.
“Endorphin blockers,” Ryan said with a shrug. It was the solution he had found
back when he ended up addicted to the stuff, back in an old loop. “It's pretty easy
to manufacture with the right equipment. You could create a rehab clinic.”
“That's an interesting idea, but one that my father won't like one bit,” Livia said
with a frown. “But I will keep it in mind. For now, we can focus on Narcinia’'s
future.”
In the end, much like with Len, it all came down to her father.
No matter the good Livia wanted to do, as long as Augustus lived, her family’s
honest activities would only be a smokescreen for Lightning Butt's insidious,
insane goals. Much like how Bloodstream’s embers of humanity had only served
to hide the monster he had transformed into.
There would come a time where Ryan would drag Mob Zeus and his so-called
Olympians down from their mountain, to make sure they could no longer threaten
anyone.
For her sake.