Chapter 74


    President Ryan browsed through Hannifat Lecter’s files, with Eugene-Henry sleeping on hisp.


    He had inherited his own oval office from histe predecessor, though it was square-shaped. Mechron had built living quarters in


    the bunkers to host Genomes in his employ; each studio was around twenty meters squared in size, including a kitchte,


    washroom, beds, and shelves.


    Most importantly, each room also had aputer with ess to the base’s system. While the bunker used several different


    independentworks to run its operations, Adam and Psyshock hadpiled a lot of useful data. It took Ryan hours to crack


    the firewalls, but it had been worth it.


    Besides a map of the bunker, the time-traveler had gotten his hands on several of Mechron’s unssified files. Most were


    android schematics, but some delved into truly revolutionary technology, such as spaceships to lifesaving cybeic


    enhancements. Such a shame that Mechron had used his talent for destruction, instead of serving humanity. Ryan had the


    feeling the world would be a far better ce if someone else had inherited his power.


    This data was but a taste of what the central mainframe held, and Ryan shuddered at the mere thought of someone like


    Augustus getting his hands on it; anyone unlocking the bunker’s full capabilities would have a credible shot at world domination.


    The ce could produce robots, weapons of mass destruction, and of course, grant control of the Bahamut.


    Most importantly, Ryan now knew how the Meta-Gang learned of the bunker’s existence. Big Fat Adam and Psyshock had been


    studying leftover tech in the Old Rome’s ruins, and captured a still active research probe reporting to the bunker’s central Al.


    They tracked the source of its directional signal to New Rome, hoping to plunder its technology.


    And now, it was Ryan’s turn to crack this metal vault.


    After reviewing the files, the President used the bunker’sputer system to contact a few Blue Genomes. The first was Livia,


    whom he texted asking for a neutral meeting to clear things out. The second was the Architect, Yuki’s girlfriend, whom he


    anonymously contacted through an encrypted call.


    “So, let me get this straight,” Nora’s voice came out of theputer. “You''re building a Genius tech-based bunker, and you want


    me to see if | can crack it open as a stress test?”


    “Yes, we are constructing a safe space to protect our clients from a second Genome apocalypse,” Ryan lied while scratching his


    cat’s ears, causing him to wake up and purr. “We would like to hire you to review the ns. See if you can find any structural


    weakness we could deal with. Of course, this job will stay strictly confidential.”


    Nora would get a strongly edited version of the ns, so she doesn’t blow the whistle on the operation. At least, until Ryan had


    unlocked its full capabilities.


    “| guessed that already,” the Architect replied with a chuckle. “Especially since your image feed is all dark, mister...”


    “President,” Ryan replied, having already settled on his superviin name. “Mr. President.”


    She shrugged. “That’s an odd name, but I’ve heard worse. However, | must warn you that my consultancy doesn’te cheap,


    and | already have work to do for Dynamis. | don’t think | can deal with your project in the following weeks.”


    “Which is why you will work exclusively for our government from now on.”


    “lm not sure | foll—”


    “Check your bank ount for the down payment.”


    After a short silence where Nora actually followed through, Ryan heard a gasp from the other side. “That''s... that’s a lot of


    zeroes.”


    Thankfully, Ryan’s hidden second superpower was money.“Enough to temporarily set aside your previous obligations, Miss


    Moore?”


    “| think it could be arranged!”


    “Goooood,” Ryan said, his cat rejoicing at the ning together. “I will forward you the data and have you start immediately.


    Also, | have been informed you are on good terms with the superheroine Wardrobe?”


    “We are close friends, yes,” Nora lied. Perhaps she tried to minimize public knowledge of her private life. “Why so?”


    “Well, | was wondering if she made costumes on the side, besides superheroing? I’m in dire need of a presidential costume, but |


    don’t want to be stonewalled by her agent.”


    “Wise, it would take weeks before you can talk to her directly. The PR managers are worse gatekeepers than Cerberus. But sure,


    | could ask her to contact you. What kind of costume are you looking for?”


    “A cashmere one.”


    Was there ever any doubt?


    After recruiting his first Genius, Ryan called his favorite one after Len. He dreaded to have this conversation, especially since it


    would mean interacting closely with her for weeks. Time may have passed, but the wound remained fresh.


    “Who is this?” Her surprised voice came out of theputer. “How did you get this number?”


    Hearing Jasm—Vulcan’s voice made Ryan bristle, but he stayed in character. “Do you like weapons, Miss Sharif?”


    “Are we ying twenty questions, or you''re just being a creep?”


    “| love weapons, Miss Sharif,” the POTUS ranted while ignoring his ex-girlfriend. “I love building a big cannon, charging it, and


    unloading the payload. | love nes, tanks, and submarines. | love ordering drone strikes in the morning. | believe bullets are the


    best foreign policy.”


    “I''m hacking your location. You''re going to regret prank calling me.” Her confident tone turned into a bark of frustration. “Damn it,


    you''re using proxy servers?”


    “How would you feel about supplying an assault on Dynamis HQ?” Ryan inflicted the first strike. “Humiliating Wyvern, and


    crushing the corpos with an unstoppable technological advantage?”


    Of course, he knew how to please her in all the ways that mattered. “I’m listening.”


    “My name is Mr. President, and I’m going full Teddy ‘Trustbuster’ Roosevelt on Dynamis. Too long have corporations thought


    themselves above thew. Myw.”


    Since the deal with Manada needed Psyshock’splicity and Ryan would get rid of him soon, the alliance would inevitably


    copse. Besides, the POTUS needed to get his hands on Dr. Tyrano, and he doubted Dynamis would open the doors of Lab


    Sixty-Six even to their ‘allies.’ Big Fat Adam had confirmed in a previous run that the bunker had the infrastructure to produce


    Elixirs, so the courier could manufacture his own supply.


    Ryan forwarded a few android schematics to Vulcan. “That''s Mechron tech,” she said, half-worried, half excited. “Where did you


    get this?”


    “There’s more where | am. As for how, well, that will depend if we can...” Ryan let the sentence hang as he channeled his inner


    evil mastermind, “help each other out. Genius to genius.”


    “Okay, now this smells really fishy. You sound like one of those Saturday morning cartoon superviins with delusions of


    grandeur.”


    “Of course | do,” Ryan replied bluntly. “But | have a vision, not delusions.”


    “Right,” Vulcan chuckled on the other side. “I admit you have my curiosity, and if you really intend to hit Wyvern where it hurts,


    then we''ll get along great. But you need more than just tech to bribe me. You said it yourself. You help me, | help you.”


    Ah, Ryan loved a good Faustian bargain. He had a good idea what she would ask. “And how could | help you, Miss Sharif?”


    “Dynamis is currently filming a new Wyvern movie at Star Studio,” she said, “Trash it, then we''ll talk.”


    She never changed. "Give me time to buy myself the right costume, and I''ll set the stage on fire. Don’t forget to turn on your TV


    when | do.”


    “Sure, | will. Impress me.”


    And so, Ryan’s evil n started taking shape.


    Now... was the time to contact thest Genius on his list.


    Ryan had long considered whether or not he should even call him. He didn’t trust that man, as their previous partnership had


    ended in betrayal and disaster. They hadn''t even spoken in years; centuries from the courier’s point of view.


    But to safely transfer Len’s memory map, he needed someone capable of removing Psyshock’s sabotage. A Genius specialized


    in brain-altering tech, who could perfect the machine and perhaps improve on its design. If it were for Ryan alone, the courier


    wouldn''t have gone through with it.


    But it was no longer about him.


    Now, he had to save Len too.


    In the end, the courier used a channel long unused, a gruff male voiceing from the other end. “What?”


    “Alchemo,” Ryan said, his fists clenching and startling his cat. “It''s Quicksave.”


    The news shocked Braindead. “Romano?” he asked, as if still unsure of himself. His confusion quickly turned to anger though.


    “Damn it, you cursed fool! It''s been two years, two years since you vanished without a word, and you’re calling me back as if


    nothing happened?”


    Well yes, but only after the Genius had tried to put Ryan’s brain in a jar. Though Alchemo didn’t remember his failed attempt, the


    courier never forgot. Especially since it took ce right after Ryan had confessed his deepest secret.


    “You broke the Doll''s heart, you selfish brat!” the old Geniusined. “I don’t even know why I’m talking to you right now!


    What, you feel lonely and decided to ca—”


    “I''m calling in my favor,” Ryan interrupted the rambling.


    This sent the older Genius reeling back. “Where?” he asked, his tone turning from angry to slightly worried.


    “New Rome. I''ll send you the coordinates.”


    “You better have a good exnation, Romano, because | will bring the Doll with me. She won''t take no for an answer.”


    “Sure,” Ryan replied before abruptly hanging up and sending the Junkyard coordinates by text. As he did, the President received


    another, delightful message.


    Livia had epted his invitation.


    Someone knocked on the oval office’s door. Probably an intern wanting to y Bill and Monica. “You may enter,” Ryan said, a


    hand on Eugéne-Henry’s back as the doors opened. Sarin and Mosquito walked into the room, much to the President''s


    disappointment. “Yes, my dear Cancer Ad?”


    “The Land reported an invisible Genome snooping around town, though it kept fleeing whenever we tried to intercept,“ Sarin


    answered, missing the joke. Ryan guessed it was Mr. Safelite checking up on the Meta-Gang''s activities. “Everything else is


    under control otherwise. What''s the n of action now?”


    “In order, we''re getting rid of Psyshock, curing his victims,ying low, and conquering the bunker,” the courier exined. “We''ll


    hold Rust Town for now, but no more attacks outside.”


    “What about the Augusti, Boss?” Mosquito asked. “I mean, we already hit their people hard. They aren’t going to forget it, even if


    we stop targeting them.”


    “Funny you should ask, because | just received an answer from Minerva.” She even agreed to his ‘special request.’ “We''re going


    to make a live peace offering to the Augusti, and then prepare for war with Dynamis.”


    Though Sarin couldn’t care less, Mosquito seemed a bit worried about the new foreign policy. “War with Dynamis?”


    “Yes, we are at war with Dynamis,” the time-traveler pointed out. “We have always been at war with Dynamis.”


    “Boss, | don’t think that’s a good idea. Psyshock said we should avoid—”


    “Am | dreaming, or you''re bing a vocal minority?” Ryan asked, scratching Eugéne-Henry’s ears. “Are you leaving the silent


    majority, Mosquito?”


    The bugman lowered his head. “No, Mr. President.”


    “| love democracy,” Ryan replied, as Eugene-Henry leaped out of his hands and took over the studio’s bed. “Empowering people


    to do as | want.”


    “That wasn’t what | asked,” Sarin said, slightly annoyed. “I meant about the cure.”


    “Well, | have an idea,” Ryan said, having considered it thoughtfully. “You see Mongrel?”


    “Yeah, he’s eating rats in the Junkyard. What about him?”


    “His power allows him to drink multiple Elixirs and use multiple powers, though it doesn’t make him immune to mutations,” Ryan


    exined. “And | also know someone who consumed two colored juices without going Psycho.”


    Sarin’s head perked up in interest. “Like Augustus?”


    “Yes, and | have the gut feeling these two will help us figure out a cure for the Psycho condition.“ Especially since Dr. Tyrano had


    seemed confident he could make one, if someone like Livia cooperated. “Finally, we have one other piece of the puzzle


    avable.”


    “Which one, boss?” Mosquito asked, having rediscovered his inner patriotism.


    “Well, my bedbug friend,” the president said as he rose up from his chair, “the talking Elixir among us, of course.”


    And a discussion was long overdue.


    Leaving his staff and cat behind, the President walked into the recreational area. The Psychos had cleaned up the ce, with


    Frank recing the broken Street Fighters arcade game with a Donkey Kong one. The strange, faceless mutant called Incognito


    upied a repaired bar counter, offering refreshments to whoever asked.


    The children and their respective plushies had taken over most of the atrium, the orphans ying some kind of tabletop game


    around arge table. Gremlins brought them juice and snacks, with the plushies poking the creatures with sticks when they


    provedte or clumsy. Sometimes, these terrible influences even encouraged their children to do it themselves.


    To his surprise, Ryan noticed the original abominationbing Little Sarah''s hair with a hairbrush. However, the handle looked


    like it was made of a carved femur on a closer look, with human teeth in ce of bristles.


    The plushie was learning.


    The courier hastily left, and moved towards the Elixir reserve. The ck Elixir had been granted his own empty studio near the


    recreational areas, with Ryan granting it the task of surveying the knockoffs. The President knew better than to give that task to


    any Psycho in his employ, even Frank and Sarin.


    “You came,” the ck Elixir said with its booming alien voice, as the courier walked into itsir. The studio had been emptied of


    all amenities, except the knockoff crates. All that remained were cold, barren metal walls. “I helped... you help.”


    “Yes, | will, but | need to understand how, my Lovecraftian friend. Truthfully, | don’t even understand what you are.” Ryan closed


    the door and rested his back against it. “You are an Elixir, right? One from an eighth color?”


    “Yes... | am ck... the paradox... the negation... the freedom of all rules... distilled chaos...” The creature struggled to find a


    way to exin it. “It is why... the others were taught... to fulfill their duty, but I... | cannot be bound... | do not want to bond... with


    anyone.”


    So it was a natural rebel? The very nature of its powers made it unstable and reluctant to bond with a human? “Is that why the


    Alchemist didn’t produce ck Elixirs?”


    “We are paradoxes... we undo the rules by our nature... the rules which bind your universe together... if youck anything by


    which you are defined... you are nothing...”


    Giving Ryan the ability to rewrite time had been eptable.


    Turning Augustus into an unstoppable juggernaut had been eptable.


    Mechron had been eptable.


    But ck Elixirs had been considered off-limits.


    That should say everything. “You said | should send you back to the ck. You mean the ck dimension? There is one for


    each color?”


    “Yes... the ck World... send me back... this lower reality... it is maddening... your gravity constrains me... your causes have


    an effect, and your effects must have causes... | am forced into a molecule-shaped prison...”


    “Things make sense in our dimension?” Ryan summed the problem up.


    “Yes!” The interdimensional entity answered with a burst of emotion. “I am... | am not free... to take any shape | wish... unlike the


    other Elixirs... | was never meant... to be here... | want to return... home.”


    Ryan felt a ping of pity for the creature. Of course, this universe was as terrifying to this entity, as the slime was to human beings.


    “Thing is, even if | find a way to send you back, you understand that | keep turning back time? You might be yanked back to our


    dimension by ident, like the gremlins.”


    “No,” it rasped. “Once | am on the other side, |... | will ask the Ultimate One for help.”


    That term again. “The Ultimate One?”


    “The ck Ultimate One... the undoer... the breaker of rules... even causality.”


    “So there are more than one? One for each colored dimension?”


    “They are... the embodiment of their color... the supreme beings that oversee the higher realms... we are...” The ck Elixir


    searched for the right term. “We are their attendants... their emissaries...”


    “Their priests?” Ryan suggested.


    “Yes. We are conduits... between the lower realms and the higher ones... we connect the profane to the divine... so that one day


    lesser beings may ascend.”


    So that was the Alchemist’s true goal? To eventually elevate humanity to the level of the Ultimate Ones? To transform men into


    gods? Well, one just had to look at Augustus to see where that went wrong. “Does that mean you are all sentient? All Elixirs?”


    “The real ones, yes... but they are... submissive. They have no purpose but to help... to bond... the one called the Alchemist... it


    taught them to bond with humans... | do not know how. The metal ones tried to teach me... but I... | refused to behave.”


    “The metal ones?”


    “The Blue one that... made this metal ce is long gone... but its creations carry on with their task.”


    Mechron was dead, but his Al still researched Elixirs on his behalf. That exined the creatures in the vats, and Big Adam’s


    words about a knockoff production system inside the bunker. The facility was meant to discover new technology which the


    Genius could use to rule the world, and it would continue to do so until disabled.


    “There is a portal in this bunker,” Ryan guessed. “The one Mechron’s Al used to summon you from your home dimension.”


    “Yes. Once | have crossed it, the Ultimate One... will undo the cause that brought me here... remove me from the flow of


    causality, and reality will restructure itself... when you reshape time, | will never have been here... only you will remember.”


    If such a creature could casually rewrite reality, and even erase someone from the timestream, could it work in reverse too?


    Ryan’s mind immediately turned to Jasmine. “Could it do more? If it controls paradoxes, could your Ultimate One bring


    someone? Someone that never existed?”Content ? copyrighted by N?velDrama.Org.


    “You wish to bring back... someone you erased...” The ck Elixir meditated on its answer. “Nothing is impossible for the


    Ultimate Ones, so long as itis... within the bounds of their color... but there will be... a price.”


    “| will happily pay for it.”


    “Not for you... not just you...” the ck Elixir corrected him. “Your reality cannot handle us... it won''t matter if | am removed,


    since | am... a glitch... but your friend...”


    “She will damage reality itself with her mere existence.” Ryan’s mood deted. “I see.”


    “Do you... still want me to ask... the Ultimate One? It may listen.”


    “We''ll see when we cross that bridge,” the courier said, crossing his arms. “There''s no point in discussing it until | have opened


    the portal. Why did you contact me of all people?”


    “You remember, and you... you have a strong connection... to the Violet One... the one that oversees the flow of causality... you


    see things with its eye...”


    Ryan froze. “What do you mean?”


    “You are the observer of this timeline... you decide if this moment is real or not... you possess that power by the will... of the


    Violet One.”


    The courier considered the words carefully. He had already suspected it, but to have it confirmed...


    “| wondered how my power interacted with things like dimensional travel,” the time-traveler said, remembering the gremlins. They


    remembered him, but existed in another realm beyond his power’s reach. It should have caused temporal paradoxes, and yet it


    didn’t. “It works because a higher power smooths things along and makes sure to avoid contradictions.”


    The ck Elixir’s countless eyes and mouths shifted, Ryan taking this as the equivalent of a nod. “The Violet Ultimate One is...


    the gate and the key... of all of space and time... it is the supreme overseer of causality... | could see its will at work in the


    previous timeline.”


    The pyramid creature.


    “Did it set up this meeting?” Ryan asked, feeling some existential dread. “Am | even in control of my actions, or does it decide


    everything early?”


    Much to his surprise, the ck Elixir’s answer reeked of optimism. “You are free... you were simply... guided. The Violet One


    only interferes to maintain this reality’s coherence, but... you are so small... your universe is norger than a molecule to the


    Ultimate Ones...”


    “God doesn’t micromanage?”


    “No,” the ck Elixir confirmed. “It does not control, it nudges... a path has been shown to you, but... it is your choice to follow it


    or not. The Ultimate One does not interfere in this timeline... not anymore.”


    So Ryan was on his own this time around? The entity offered him a way out of his previous conundrum and loneliness, but then


    decided to focus on other matters. The courier was free to take the provided option, find another way, or mess it all up. It was


    liberating, in a sense.


    “Alright, we''ll find that portal and send you back home,” Ryan said, the ck Elixir wriggling in relief. It was almost cute to watch,


    in a disturbing way. “What should | call you in the meantime?”


    “I have no need for names...” the entity answered. “Words cannot describe...”


    “| will call you Darkling then,” Ryan settled on a name.


    “| exist beyond time... beyond reason... | cannot be defined by a single-”


    “I''m President. Your name is Darkling now.”


    The ck Elixir stayed silent a moment, its countless eyes focusing on Ryan. The President suddenly wondered if he had vexed


    the entity. “Whatever...” Darkling said, but the tone implied otherwise.


    As it turned out, even aliens could sulk.