Chapter 102: Moving On (1/2)
The conquest of Mechron’s mainframe could be summed up in one sentence.
They came, they saw, they lucked out.
“That’s painful to watch,” Bianca said, as Ryan played a movie montage in the recreational area. He had set up a large screen TV near the bar, allowing Sarin, Eugène-Henry, and the orphaned children to watch ‘The Adventures of Lucky Girl’ in high definition. Shroud also talked to Fortuna away from the group, or rather at her; the Augusti scowled while petting a cleaned up Henriette between the ears, and spoke one word for ten of her boyfriend’s.
As Ryan had expected, the living lucky charm had tremendously helped in accessing the bunker’s mainframe. The time-traveler’s presidential coalition had raided it as soon as Alchemo and his daughter arrived, with cameras catching everything. In the end, Ryan compiled the best bits for posterity.
And what a collection it was! From laser guns blowing up in robots’ faces, to friendly fire and the ceiling miraculously collapsing, this movie had it all; the children couldn’t stop laughing.
“And now this is the best part,” Ryan said, zooming at his favorite scene. Two one-eyed robots threatened Fortuna with a cannon weapon larger than they were inside a metal hall, the distance between the machines and the Genome no more than five meters. “This is a Gauss Railgun. Mechron invented them to destroy aircrafts and battleships.”
The scene unfolded in slow motion, an electromagnetically-accelerated 300 mm round surging through the air at a helpless Fortuna.
Mechron’s robots had used a weapon meant for battleships on a human being.
And they missed.
The projectile had curved in the air, and pierced the wall behind Fortuna. Although the impact threw metal splinters in all directions, they miraculously avoided Lucky Girl and turned her attackers to scraps. It had been the high point of Fortuna’s luck streak.
Afterward, though, Mechron’s robots had figured out that one, her power only affected events within a short range—less than a ten meters radius, from what the courier had gathered so far—and two, couldn’t negate other Genomes’ powers. True, it could alter probabilities to make bullets miss, but it couldn’t prevent Atom Cat’s explosions for example.
Ryan figured that Fortuna’s power was the opposite of Pluto, altering this reality’s causality to work in her favor instead of cursing a foe; with the keyword being this reality. Lucky Girl’s divine protection couldn’t interfere with powers from other Colored Worlds, only with their indirect consequences. Long-distance abilities could harm her.
So instead of using submachine guns and normal weapons, the robots sent the telekinetic machine that splattered the Reptilian during Ryan’s first presidential mandate. The creature would have crushed Fortuna into mincemeat from a safe distance had the courier and the Panda not intervened. And as it turned out, Mechron’s bunker had more than one of such machines to throw at invaders.
Though Ryan’s group included heavy hitters such as Livia, Shroud, the Panda, and other allies, it had been a close call in the end.
“This is disgusting,” Sarin said at the scene. “Just disgusting. I’m afraid of scissors, and that girl… she just gets everything handed to her.” She turned to face Fortuna. “How does it feel to have it all so easy?”
“Oh?” Fortuna raised her reddened eyes in confusion. She clearly hadn’t slept in a while. “It’s nice.”
“Fortuna—” her boyfriend tried to speak.
“Don’t say a word to me,” Fortuna’s rebuke made Shroud flinch, which Ryan found very, very wrong. She had been in a foul mood even before the raid, but he had yet to see her truly angry. Henriette licked her hand, as the young woman petted the dog behind the ears. “At least you care…”
It seemed that Fortuna not only gave the cold shoulder to her ‘one true love,’ but also transferred her affection to Henriette instead. She had cleaned the dirty dog and more or less adopted her.
Ryan was tempted to question Livia about this, but his girlfriend had left to return to her father after providing Alchemo with the brain-maps. The Genius had accepted Ryan’s story of time-travel after analyzing his own memory map, and eagerly proceeded to operate on his daughter and Len both. He had said he could even improve the process further, though the courier didn’t see how.
“Could I see you for a minute?” Ryan gestured at Shroud, before grabbing Eugène-Henry. “No invisibility please.”
The vigilante followed with a condemned man’s enthusiasm, as Ryan led him into his bunker bedroom. “So, your luck has run out?” he asked his transparent friend, with Eugène-Henry resting in the courier’s arms.
“We’re having a bad time.”
No kidding, a blind man could see it. “Thankfully, I have a long experience as a relationship counselor,” Ryan said. “In the end, it’s all about mommy issues, you’ll see. Was your mother a blue-eyed blonde too, like your girlfriend?”
The vigilante marked a short pause, before reluctantly answering, “Yes.”
“See, in the end, it’s always about sleeping with your mother.”
“But they’re nothing alike personality-wise.”
“You tried to find the right balance between familiarity and newness, but we can explore the Freudian undertones later.” Ryan introduced his favorite windshield to his bedroom. There was a small hole in the wall where the plushie had opened fire with the gravity gun. The inactive rabbit in question sat on a desk, surrounded by half-empty alcohol bottles and antidepressants; Ryan thought the sight would help with the counseling session. “Take the cat, and lay down on the bed.”
Shroud sounded highly skeptical of Ryan’s credentials. “Why the cat?”
“It’s an integral part of the healing process,” Ryan said before all but shoving Eugène-Henry in his ally’s arms. Shroud looked at the furball, who meowed in response, and couldn’t resist. He laid down on the bed, the cat taking over his chest while Ryan sat on a nearby chair. “So, about that relationship.”
“She…” Shroud marked a short pause while Ryan remained silent. Nobody could resist trying to fill an embarrassing silence. “Promise me you will not crack a joke.”
“No more than three,” Ryan haggled.
“I hate you.” The patient sighed. “Fortuna and I had a date.”
“Uh-huh, uh-huh.”
“She invited me to her apartment. To show me her statue collection.”
“She wanted to sculpt you like her French boys?” A worrying thought crossed Ryan’s mind. “Wait, are you naked beneath your glass costume? Would that mean you are technically flashing my cat right now?”
Shroud marked a short pause, Eugène-Henry sleeping peacefully on his chest. “I wear clothes beneath my costume.”
Ryan sighed. “Disappointing.”
“In any case, Fortuna, how to say this…?”
“She needed a plumber, so you played Super Mario Party?” Ryan asked. “Did you get past the tutorial?”
“No, no, I…” The vigilante’s embarrassment told Ryan that he had nailed it. “We kissed but, when she started removing my clothes, I… I couldn’t. I mean, yes, I was attracted to her, but… not like this.”
“Not by lying?” the courier asked, sympathetic. There was a joke to make here, but he had enough respect for the couple to hold his tongue. Still, Shroud was okay with assassinating people, but not lying to the girl he was sleeping with? Where was the logic in that?
“I…” Mr. Safelite let out a sigh. “I confessed.”
“Everything?”
“No, of course not,” Shroud replied angrily. “That would have been unprofessional.”
“Transparency is key to a successful relationship.”
“I’m sure this cleared things up about where we stood,” the vigilante deadpanned. “I told her that I came to New Rome to strike at the Augusti syndicate, and that… that I was always around to accidentally protect her from dangers because I caused them in the first place.”
Ryan couldn’t fault Fortuna for giving her boyfriend the cold shoulder, after learning he had attempted to assassinate her and others. “She hasn’t blown the whistle on you, though?”
“I told her that I thought she was a merciless killer like her teammates, before seeing her in action changed my mind, and that I put a halt to the sabotage campaign,” Shroud replied. “She started defending the Augusti, and when I listed all the people her father Mars had murdered over his career, she denied everything and told me to storm off. I almost did, but the door and curtains wouldn’t open. In the end, I slept on the couch, and she has given me the cold shoulder ever since.”
“If her power is still trying to set up romantic situations, then this ship hasn’t sunk yet.”
“Shouldn’t it?” Shroud asked with a sigh. “I mean, I’m starting to grow fond of her, against my better judgement, but she’s in complete denial about her organization’s true nature. I should have pushed her away more firmly and focused on the missio—”
“Stop right here, Sasuke, you’re parking in a no-emo zone,” Ryan interrupted him. “If you go on about how you should have ‘dedicated your heart to darkness’ or ‘put the mission above everything’ I’m kicking you off of this team.”
“But what if she tells her parents?” Shroud snapped back. “What if she blows the whistle about this place, about us? I’m not even sure why she hasn’t already.”
“Because her brother told her similar things when he left, and it’s eating away at her.” Ryan suspected that deep down, Fortuna had some doubts about her parents’ true nature and that of her associates; but it would take a shock like Pluto ordering a hit on her brother to wake her up. “Did you tell her the truth about her sister?”
“No. Maybe I should.”
“Too much, too soon,” Ryan said. “I’ll consult Livia.” Lucky Girl would react better to the truth if it came from her best friend’s mouth.
The vigilante sighed in defeat. “I should take the hint and break it off. Her power has a shorter range than mine, it can’t force us to spend time together if I stay away. I knew that from the start, and I shouldn’t have let it progress this far.”
“Livia and I threatened each other the first time we had a heartfelt conversation, and I think we are building something solid now,” Ryan replied with a shrug. “Give Fortuna time to digest the truth and this relationship another chance. Her guardian angel wouldn’t work so hard to keep you two together if it didn’t feel you would make a good couple. And I don’t think you would have stayed with that walking rabbit's foot if a part of you didn’t like her.”
Shroud scoffed, Eugène-Henry snoring on his chest. “I like her, Quicksave, but not enough to let her parents get away with their crimes.”
“There was a loop where she understood their true nature,” Ryan said, though he had no wish to repeat that one. The sight of Fortuna bleeding to death in her brother’s arms still haunted him. “Maybe she will get it this time around too. It’s too early to choose yet my translucent friend. Once things are clearer, you can decide for yourself whether you want to pursue her or call it off.”
Shroud petted the cat. “You aren’t half bad as a therapist.”
“Do you want to talk about your daddy issues while we’re at it? I’m on a streak lately.”
“I’ll pass.”
Getting his feelings off his chest made Shroud relax, so the two Genomes left Eugène-Henry to sleep and moved to the laboratories below. By the time they reached the infirmary, Alchemo had finished Len’s memory transfer. The communist genius was talking with the Doll, while Alchemo and the Panda conversed with Stitch.