同章对照

Back when he played open world games, Ryan always loved to set the AI against itself. To lead one monster on the path of a settlement, and then watch NPCs fight computer-generated enemies for his entertainment. The courier always found it relaxing.

The real-life sight was a lot more stressful.

Dynamis’ aerial force had unleashed a rain of missiles, which Jasmine’s anti-aerial defense had mostly detonated mid-flight. Geist, now a howling specter the size of a building, also redirected some of the projectiles with telekinetic force, blowing up two of the helicopters.

Unfortunately, the Augusti had less luck with the enemy Genomes. The invulnerable Wyvern had smashed through the fortress’ outer wall, sending stones flying in all directions; the pyrokinetic Devilry had started bombarding the superlab’s defenses from above, targeting the turrets, and the aeromancer Windsweep had summoned a miniature tornado to try to repel Geist.

“Hey, Quicksave, want to bet with poor old Mortimer?“ Mortimer said, shooting at the helicopters without taking cover. Bullets and projectiles phased through his body harmlessly. “The one who kills the most corpos wins!”

“Do non-lethal takedowns count?” Ryan asked. The courier was still sitting on his chair with a gun in hand, using a mix of timestops and accurate shots to blow up missiles before they could actually hit the fortress. “Because I left my best, anti-war helicopter stuff at home.”

A projectile aimed for his location, so the courier stopped time, moved the chair away, and let time resume once he had reached safety.

“Showoff,” Mortimer said, unimpressed. “You’re worse than Fortuna.”

“Hey, I resent that remark,” Ryan protested, tossing his gun away when he ran out of bullets. “I work on looking perfect, while her power does all the work.”

Truthfully, Ryan was starting to become a little worried. While the fortress’ human and automated defenses resisted well, Dynamis was making progress, and the courier wondered how Augustus would react to a very public assault on his drug factory. Ryan suspected reinforcements would be on their way soon and turn the already chaotic situation into a massive brawl.

In short, he couldn’t wait.

With some of the defensive turrets down, helicopters managed to land atop the outer wall. Soldiers in riot gear or advanced power armor engaged the Augusti defenders in a firefight on foot, while Wyvern kept hitting the fort in an attempt to make a hole into the facility. The ground shook with every blow of the giant dragon, although it seemed Vulcan had reinforced the old stone walls.

Eventually, Ryan noticed another helicopter landing in the garden nearby. A group of eight riot gear troopers stepped out of it, escorting two Genomes. One was a man with long black hair wearing a stylized, Mad Max-like mix of rusted steel armor and cloak. Most of his face was covered by a red scarf and black goggles, and worryingly, he carried an explosive belt around his waist.

The other, more colorful one, was a young woman Ryan’s age, perhaps of Chinese or Japanese descent. She reminded the courier of these pre-war K-pop idols, dyed hair, lovely face, and cute brown eyes. She wore a strange dress whose colors and length seemed to shift as the courier looked. Her bright, shy smile contrasted with the chaos around her.

“Reload and Wardrobe,” Mortimer said while opening fire at the newcomers, the riot troops forming a plexiglass shield wall to protect themselves. The Dynamis Genomes hid behind them, listening to orders thanks to earplugs. “Just great, I can’t stand Reload!”

“Why, because of his terrible fashion sense?” Ryan asked, rising to his feet and grabbing his chair as an improvised weapon. Seriously, Dynamis’ marketing department should be eradicated; how could they advertise such a fashion disaster?

“Because he just won’t die!” Mortimer snarled, reloading his rifle. “He’s the worst kind of Violet!”

That made Ryan quite curious. He looked at the apocalypse punk disaster behind the shield wall, but couldn’t figure out his power from how he looked. “Last warning, Romano!” one of the troopers said, readying his own firearm behind the shield wall. “Surrender now, or we open fire back! We’re allowed to use lethal force!”

“Didn’t anyone tell you, I’m immortal!” Ryan shouted back, raising his chair threateningly while explosions resonated in the background. “I’ll come back to haunt you!”

“Oh, you’re a Yellow too?” Wardrobe asked from behind the wall, more curious than anything.

“He’s distracted, shoot him!” one of the troopers shouted, pointing a rifle over the plexiglass wall. Mortimer immediately opened fire, disarming the man with a well-placed bullet while Ryan threw the chair at the corporate police.

The projectile bounced off the shields, while Wardrobe’s clothes literally changed shape. Her strange dress transformed into a wolf mascot suit, and she leaped over the garden with the strength and agility of a werewolf. Ryan had to stop time to prevent her from pouncing on him like a mouse, using the brief time window to put the Fisty Brothers on.

“Oh my, here I go dying again!” Reload said gregariously, as he leaped over the troopers’ shield wall, and rushed at Mortimer’s cover like a suicide bomber. In a scene straight out of an action movie, the hitman shot the hero in the chest, but he continued his charge. Reload jumped at Mortimer, who quickly phased through the ground below. The hero’s belt detonated and blew Mortimer’s stone cover to smithereens.

Ryan sensed a vague, familiar sensation at the back of his skull. At first, he thought it was Acid Rain’s doing, until Reload’s body reformed at the spot where he died in a flash of violet light, completely unharmed. His intact suicide belt was still around his waist.

“You copycat, I was wearing suicide belts before they went mainstream!” Ryan pointed an accusing finger at Reload, running in circles to escape Wardrobe’s claws. “If you stop time, I’ll sue!”

Why didn’t Dynamis call him Timelord?

When Mortimer didn’t reappear, the troopers turned to Ryan and started providing Wardrobe with suppressing fire. The happy courier stopped the clock to avoid the bullets and closed the gap with the mooks, punching the closest one with Fisty when time resumed. Much like the cannon fodder they were, they went down in one hit.

While her boyfriend was busy brawling with the troopers, a fully armored Vulcan emerged from the fortress, tackling Wyvern rugby-style. The mech pushed the surprised dragon back against Ischia Island’s reefs, the transformed hero responding by unleashing a stream of aurora-like light with her maw. Crimson beams came out of the fortress to shoot the helicopters, probably Sparrow’s doing,

As Ryan single-handedly demolished the trooper corp and Wardrobe remained at a distance, trying to figure out her approach, Reload entered the melee. He looked under his armor and brought out a tiny metal rod.

A sword of violet light came out.

Ryan interrupted his one-sided beating of a trooper to look at the divine weapon, mesmerized by its perfection; a pure, timeless design, and the purest shade of violet he had ever seen. It would match his suit perfectly.

It was love at first sight.

Ryan instantly activated his power, stole the blade, and kicked Reload in the frozen time.

When time resumed and the hero fell on his back among the flowers, Ryan raised his trophy up to the skies. It was as weightless as a feather, but much to his disappointment, it made no sound.

“Schvrmmmmmmm!” the courier said, trying to imitate a real lightsaber’s noise. “Schvrmmmmmmm!”

He would never let it go.

“Hey, my laser blade!” Reload complained, rising back to his feet while Ryan returned to beating on the troopers.

“A lightsaber!” Ryan shouted back at this ignorant fool, absentmindedly slicing a Dynamis mook’s shield and rifle with it like butter. “Search your feelings. You know it to be true.”

At this point, his quips wrote themselves.

“Thankfully,” Reload said while drawing a second, crimson laser blade, “I got a spare!”

Wrong color though.

By now, Ryan had kicked the ass of every mook present or disarmed them, leaving only the two heroes to challenge him. The troopers fled back to the helicopter and quickly retreated from the island entirely, the Genomes facing each other in a Mexican standoff. The courier briefly glanced at Jasmine, but his girlfriend seemed to have the situation well in hand. The Genius and Wyvern were engaged in a long-range aerial firefight, with Vulcan repelling her ex-partner from the island’s perimeter.

“Hey, Quicksave!” Wardrobe’s werewolf suit transformed into a Jack O’Lantern Halloween costume. A pumpkin mask covered her head, the lips moving as if they belonged to a living being. “Is it true you can stop time?”

“Yes, I can!” Ryan replied with the same friendly tone, pointing his lightsaber at her like a fencer. Reload raised his own weapon, trying to find an opening; or perhaps to look cool. “Is Felix the Cat with you?”

“Oh, he wanted to come, but Enrique said no!” Wardrobe replied, manifesting a yellow facsimile of a fiery lantern in her hands and throwing it at Ryan like a stone. “I’m Wardrobe by the way! Nice to meet you!”

Well, she took the battle as seriously as Ryan himself did. A shame they were fighting on opposing sides, the courier was pretty sure they would get along great.

Using his pilfered lightsaber, Ryan cut the lantern projectile in half, the strange device collapsing into harmless yellow dust, before parrying Darth Reload’s blade as he attempted to flank him. The two laser swords met without one going through the other, and Ryan used a timestop to dodge a new fire lantern from Wardrobe. This time the projectile exploded into ghostly fire upon hitting the ground.

Her power was weird.

Unfortunately for him, Reload was an amateur with a fancy weapon, while the courier had mastered every style of swordsmanship known to mankind. While the setup was epic, the lightsaber duel left Ryan wanting.

“Seriously, at this point, you force me to use only one hand,” the courier said, putting an arm behind his back and parrying all of the hero’s strikes with the other. “And it still feels unfair.”

“I’ll show you unfair!” Infuriated by the taunt, Reload attempted to detonate his suicide belt, but Ryan used his timestop to move out of range. The hero exploded into dust, before reforming.

“Use your anger!” Ryan mocked him, absentmindedly cutting a fiery lantern from the side. “Use your pain! I’m sure you have a lot to draw upon!”

“You can spam time-stop?” Reload snarled with anger, wildly striking the rival Violet Genome with his blade the moment he recovered. His poor attempt at breaking past Ryan’s defense didn’t work, but it only frustrated him further. “You overpowered cheat!”

“Unlimited power!” Ryan replied. With a swift move, the courier cut the hero’s arm off… only for it to reattach itself to the body. Limited time-rewind, except applied to the body and objects in close contact. He refused to go down, no matter the amount of failed tries.

Ryan felt some spiritual kinship for this guy. Not enough to take him seriously of course, but he would probably invite him for a drink once the dust had settled.

“Why don’t you transform into Supergirl though?” Ryan asked Wardrobe while dodging a strike from Reload. He stopped time, grabbed the hero by his scarf with his free hand, and used the momentum to throw him at his teammate. “You could wrap up this battle in seconds if you did!”

“I can’t, that’s copyrighted content!” the Yellow Genome replied as time resumed, her costume transforming into a bedsheet. Reload went through her body as if she wasn’t even there. “I can only use public domain stuff!”

“What, intellectual property is your Kryptonite?” Ryan asked, immensely disappointed. “How does that even work?”

“I don’t make my power’s rules, alright!” Wardrobe replied with a scowl, wounded by his comment. Her costume changed once more into that of a witch, and she shot a lightning bolt at Ryan with her fingertips.

“Sorry, sorry,” Ryan told Wardrobe, blocking the lightning with his beam saber, Star Wars-style. “Honestly, I would totally hit on you under normal circumstances. You’re completely my type, but I have an exclusive contract right now.”

“Oh, thanks, but I have an exclusive contract too!” she said cheerfully while Reload rose back up. If anything, Ryan admired his perseverance. “Do you want to be my archenemy? I have none, and marketing says it boosts the ratings!”

Well, Psyshock was dead in this loop, so… “Sure, I’m free every weekend!”

“Thanks!” Wardrobe’s costume changed again, this time turning into a mummy cosplay. The flowers around her immediately turned to dust, and her bandages transformed into tattered leashes flying towards Ryan. The courier hastily cut them with his laser blade, while Reload attempted to flank him from the left.

It confused Ryan why Wardrobe didn’t change into another Genome, or stick to one form instead of switching constantly. Perhaps it was her fighting style, or her ability, however versatile, had a time limit.

Still, it was one of the best fights he had since he arrived in New Rome! Completely worth the trip!

“His power is completely busted!” Reload complained, as Ryan briefly stopped time to dodge one of his strikes. “Wardrobe, you got anything that can resist it?”

“I think I do, but Enrique won’t like it!” she replied, her costume shifted. Ryan stopped moving, observing the scene unfolding. Wardrobe’s costume transformed into the guise of an ancient Greek god, including a toga, sandals, and a laurel crown of gold. The costume seemed to cover her skin, turning it into an unnatural shade of white.

It made her look like an ivory statue of—

…

Shit.

Ryan immediately stopped time, turning the world purple.

All movement, all noise stopped. The raging battle in the background became nothing more than a prop, a moment frozen in time.

“Oh, so that’s how it looks,” Wardrobe said, looking around in amazement at her frozen teammate. Her fingers shone with yellow electricity, almost golden. “It’s so pretty!”

Chitter had warned him in a past loop, but he hadn’t listened.

Shit, shit, shit!

“Shit!” Ryan shouted while Wardrobe blasted him with a lightning bolt inside the frozen time. The blast hit him in the chest, propelling him backward.

It hurt, and it looked like a bolt… but having died from electrocution more times than he could count, Ryan immediately recognized the attack as a pale imitation of lightning. The real thing would have killed him on the spot, but this yellow imitation only inflicted minor damage; it ran on movie logic rather than real thunderbolts.

Ryan ended his unwilling flight at the edge of the garden, where the flowers reached the Mediterranean seawater. Time resumed, Reload immediately shouting in happiness. “It worked!”

“I can’t hold it…” Wardrobe said, her clothes shifting uncontrollably. One second, she was dressed like Augustus, and the next, she wore a tyrannosaur mascot costume. “Damn it, the persona isn’t stable enough!”

At least she can’t use the original’s full power, Ryan thought, as he rose back to his feet. Or else he would have been vaporized.

His chest still hurt like hell though!

“It’s over, Quicksave!” Wardrobe said with a smirk as she embraced her new saurian form, while Ryan stood tall once more, lightsaber in hand. “We have the high ground!”

Ryan wanted to groan, but her delivery was just perfect.

Though they had underestimated the power of friendship.

Ryan sensed something emerging from the waters behind him, the clinks and clanks of heavy robotic armor stepping on the land music to his ears. Dynamis’ heroes blinked in surprise, before taking a torrent of pressurized water to the face.

Ryan looked over his shoulder, as his oldest friend moved to his side, her water weapon unleashing everything it had at the Il Migliore duo. “Shortie!”

“Sorry, sorry!” Len pleaded, her voice distorted by her underwater armor. “I came as fast as I could!”

She maintained the water pressure, but much to Ryan’s astonishment, the liquid started splitting into two halves. Wardrobe and Reload stood unharmed in the middle, the Yellow Genome’s costume having once more changed to some sort of wizened old man cosplay, white beard included.

“You can even copy Moses?” Ryan asked his newfound rival, astonished by her power’s sheer flexibility. “What else, you can dress as Jesus Christ and turn water to wine?”

“I do that at parties sometimes!” she replied, while Len stopped using her water pumps. The duo watched the other for a few seconds, trying to think of a way out.

A series of explosions interrupted the standoff though, as a Dynamis helicopter crashed nearby in the garden, going down in flames and setting the flowers ablaze.

Ryan looked at the Mediterranean Sea. Colossal water arms the size of skyscrapers had sprouted from the waves, pursuing the helicopters like snakes.

Devilry stopped bombarding the fort to focus on these strange phenomenons, blasting the water tentacles with mighty fireballs. Yet, even as they turned to steam from the heat, more appendages rose from the waters in an attempt to crush the flyer. Far away, Ryan noticed multiple jet skis making their way towards the island; among the drivers, he recognized a few familiar faces, such as Greta.

Reinforcements.

Meanwhile, Wyvern and Vulcan had become spots in the skies, the duo continuing their battle above the clouds far out of sight. And though the outer wall had mostly crumbled from the bombardment, the Augusti’s fortress remained mostly intact. Geist shielded the hole Wyvern had made in the structure, telekinetically raising stones in an attempt to cover it back up.

“Neptune,” Reload said while looking at the watery arms, before turning to his teammate. “Wardrobe, bring out the Apocalypse Suit!”

“But it’s too dangerous!” Wardrobe protested.

“If you don’t use it, he will sink us all!”

Wardrobe inhaled, her costume shifting while Ryan and Len prepared to make their final stand, back-to-back.

The sound of a gunshot echoed across the battlefield, and Wardrobe collapsed.

For a second, time seemed to freeze, and Ryan had nothing to do with it. The heroine’s body hit the ground while a shocked Reload watched, a figure having phased out of the ground right behind them.

“Good grief,” Mortimer said without any remorse, the tip of his rifle still fuming. “Looks like Mortimer won the bet.”

以前玩开放世界游戏时，瑞恩最喜欢让AI自相残杀。把怪物引向聚居地，再看NPC跟电脑生成的敌人打个你死我活，供自己取乐。快递员一直觉得这样很解压。

换成现实中的场面，压力可就大多了。

迪纳米斯的空中部队倾泻出一阵导弹雨，贾丝敏的防空系统将其中大部分凌空引爆。幽魂如今化作了一栋楼那么高的嚎叫恶灵，也用念力让一部分导弹转了向，炸毁了两架直升机。

可惜，对上敌方基因者，奥古斯蒂这边就没那么顺利了。刀枪不入的双足飞龙撞破了堡垒外墙，碎石四处飞溅；控火的邪魔开始从上空轰炸超级实验室的防御设施，专挑炮塔下手；驾驭气流的风卷则召出一股小型龙卷风，试图逼退幽魂。

“喂，快存，要不要跟可怜的老莫蒂默打个赌？”莫蒂默一边说，一边毫不躲闪地朝直升机开火。子弹和炮弹穿过他的身体，伤不了他分毫。“谁杀的公司佬最多，谁就赢！”

“只放倒、不杀人算不算？”瑞恩问。他依旧坐在椅子上，手里拿着枪，配合时间暂停和精准射击，在导弹击中堡垒前将它们打爆。“我对付武装直升机最拿手的那些家伙，可都留在家里了。”

一枚炮弹冲着他的位置飞来，快递员便暂停时间，搬开椅子，到了安全地带才让时间继续流动。

“显摆。”莫蒂默丝毫不觉得了不起。“你比福尔图娜还过分。”

“喂，这话我可不爱听。”瑞恩抗议道，打光子弹后随手扔掉了枪。“我这副完美的样子是靠自己努力维持的，她可全靠能力代劳。”

说实话，瑞恩开始有点担心了。堡垒的守军和自动防御系统虽然抵抗得很顽强，迪纳米斯却仍在不断推进。有人如此公然地袭击自己的制毒工厂，奥古斯都会作何反应？快递员不禁琢磨起来。他怀疑援军很快就会赶来，把已经混乱不堪的局面变成一场大混战。

总之，他已经等不及了。

部分防御炮塔被摧毁后，直升机终于得以降落在外墙顶上。身穿防暴装备或先进动力装甲的士兵徒步出击，与奥古斯蒂守军展开交火。双足飞龙则继续猛撞堡垒，试图在建筑上打出一个洞来。巨龙每撞一下，地面都随之震颤，不过伏尔甘似乎加固过那些古老的石墙。

不久，瑞恩注意到另一架直升机降落在附近的花园里。八名身穿防暴装备的士兵从机舱出来，护送着两名基因者。其中一个是留着黑色长发的男人，一身锈钢铠甲搭配斗篷，风格鲜明，活像从《疯狂的麦克斯》里走出来的。他大半张脸都被红围巾和黑色护目镜遮住，更让人担心的是，腰间还缠着一条炸弹腰带。

另一个打扮要鲜艳得多，是个和瑞恩年纪相仿的年轻姑娘，或许有中国或日本血统。她让快递员想起了战前那些韩流偶像：染过的头发，漂亮的脸蛋，还有一双可爱的棕色眼睛。她穿着一条奇怪的裙子，瑞恩看着看着，裙子的颜色和长短似乎都在变化。她明朗而羞涩的笑容，与周围的混乱形成了鲜明反差。

“读档和衣橱。”莫蒂默一边说，一边朝新来的人开火。防暴士兵用有机玻璃盾牌组成盾墙，挡在身前。迪纳米斯的两名基因者躲在他们后面，通过耳机接收命令。“好极了，我最受不了读档！”

“为什么？因为他那惨不忍睹的穿衣品位？”瑞恩问着，站起身，抓起椅子充作武器。说真的，迪纳米斯的营销部就该被彻底铲除；这种时尚灾难，他们到底怎么宣传得出口？

“因为他就是死不了！”莫蒂默咆哮着，给步枪换弹。“最烦的就是他这种紫系！”

这倒勾起了瑞恩的好奇心。他打量着盾墙后那个末日朋克风的灾难，却没法从外表判断对方有什么能力。“最后警告，罗马诺！”一名士兵躲在盾墙后，端好了枪。“立刻投降，否则我们就开火还击！我们获准使用致命武力！”

“没人告诉过你吗？我是不死之身！”瑞恩大声回敬，示威般举起椅子，身后爆炸声此起彼伏。“我会变成鬼回来缠着你们！”

“哦，你也是黄系？”衣橱从盾墙后问道，语气里更多的是好奇。

“他分心了，开枪！”一名士兵大喊，将步枪探出有机玻璃盾墙。莫蒂默当即开火，精准的一枪打飞了那人的武器，与此同时，瑞恩将椅子砸向了这帮公司警察。

椅子被盾牌弹开，衣橱的衣服则实实在在地变了形。那条古怪裙子变成一套狼形吉祥物服装，她以狼人的力量和敏捷跃过花园。瑞恩不得不暂停时间，免得自己像只老鼠一样被她扑倒，并趁这短暂的空当戴上了拳头兄弟。

“哎呀，我又要死一回啦！”读档热情洋溢地嚷着，跃过士兵们的盾墙，像个人肉炸弹似的冲向莫蒂默的藏身处。接下来的一幕简直是动作电影的翻版：杀手一枪击中了英雄的胸膛，英雄却仍冲锋不止。读档朝莫蒂默扑了过去，后者迅速穿入脚下地面。英雄的腰带轰然引爆，将莫蒂默藏身的石头掩体炸得粉碎。

瑞恩脑后隐约泛起一阵熟悉的感觉。起初，他以为是酸雨在搞鬼，直到紫光一闪，读档的身体在死去的位置重新成形，毫发无损。他那条完好如初的自爆腰带，也依然缠在腰上。

“你这个跟风的，自爆腰带还没流行起来的时候，我就在戴了！”瑞恩一边绕着圈躲避衣橱的利爪，一边指着读档控诉。“你要是还会暂停时间，我就告你！”

迪纳米斯怎么不把他叫作时间领主？

见莫蒂默没有再出现，士兵们便转向瑞恩，为衣橱提供压制火力。兴高采烈的快递员暂停时间，避开子弹，拉近了与杂兵们的距离。时间一恢复，他就用拳拳揍向最近的一个。炮灰不愧是炮灰，一拳就倒。

男朋友正忙着跟士兵们肉搏，全副武装的伏尔甘则从堡垒里冲出，像打橄榄球一样猛扑向双足飞龙。机甲将猝不及防的巨龙一路推向伊斯基亚岛的礁石，变身后的女英雄随即张开巨口，喷出一道极光般的光流还击。数道猩红光束从堡垒里射出，击向直升机，多半是麻雀的手笔。

瑞恩独力痛揍整队士兵，衣橱留在远处，琢磨着该如何出手。读档也加入了混战。他低头往铠甲里找了找，掏出一根小小的金属短棒。

一道紫色光刃从中伸出。

瑞恩停下了对一名士兵的单方面殴打，望向那件神兵，被它的完美深深迷住了：纯粹而永不过时的设计，再配上他见过的最纯正的紫色。它跟自己的西装简直是绝配。

这就是一见钟情。

瑞恩立刻发动能力，在凝固的时间里偷走光剑，踹了读档一脚。

时间恢复，英雄仰面摔进花丛，瑞恩则把战利品高举向天。它轻得像根羽毛，可让他大失所望的是，它一点声音都没有。

“咻嗡嗡嗡嗡！”快递员努力模仿着真正光剑的声音。“咻嗡嗡嗡嗡！”

他这辈子都不会放手了。

“喂，我的激光刃！”读档抗议着爬起身，而瑞恩已经回去继续揍那些士兵了。

“是光剑！”瑞恩朝这个无知的蠢货吼了回去，随手一挥，便像切黄油一样切开了一名迪纳米斯杂兵的盾牌和步枪。“探寻你的内心。你知道这是真的。”

到了这份上，俏皮话根本不用他费心去想。

“幸好，”读档抽出第二把猩红色的激光刃，“我还有一把备用的！”

可惜颜色不对。

此时，在场的杂兵要么挨了瑞恩一顿揍，要么被他缴了械，只剩两名英雄还能跟他较量。士兵们逃回直升机，很快便彻底撤离了岛屿，留下几名基因者剑拔弩张地对峙。快递员抽空朝贾丝敏那边瞥了一眼，女朋友似乎完全应付得来。这位天才正与双足飞龙在空中远程对轰，把自己的前搭档逼离岛屿周边。

“喂，快存！”衣橱的狼人服变成了一套万圣节南瓜灯装扮。南瓜面具罩住她的头，嘴唇却像活物一样一张一合。“你真的能暂停时间吗？”

“没错，我能！”瑞恩以同样友好的语气回应，像个击剑手一样用光剑指向她。读档举起自己的武器，试图寻找破绽；也可能只是想摆个帅气的姿势。“菲利克斯猫跟你们一起来了吗？”

“哦，他倒是想来，可恩里克不让！”衣橱答道，双手凭空变出一盏仿造的黄色火焰灯笼，像扔石头一样朝瑞恩扔了过去。“对了，我叫衣橱！很高兴认识你！”

好吧，她对这场战斗的认真程度，跟瑞恩本人不相上下。可惜两人站在对立阵营，快递员十分确定，他们一定能相处得很愉快。

瑞恩用偷来的光剑将飞来的灯笼一分为二，那古怪玩意儿顿时散成了无害的黄色尘埃。紧接着，他架住了试图从侧面包抄的达斯·读档挥来的剑。两把激光剑撞在一起，谁也没穿透谁。瑞恩又暂停时间，躲过衣橱扔来的新一盏火灯笼。这次，灯笼撞上地面，爆成一团幽幽的鬼火。

她的能力可真古怪。

可惜对读档来说，他不过是个拿着华丽武器的外行，而快递员却已经精通了人类所知的所有剑术流派。尽管这场对决的架势堪称史诗级，实际打起来，却让瑞恩颇为失望。

“说真的，你这样子，简直逼得我只能用一只手。”快递员说着，把一只手背到身后，仅凭另一只手便挡下了英雄的所有攻击。“可我还是觉得不公平。”

“我让你见识见识什么叫不公平！”读档被激得怒火中烧，试图引爆自爆腰带，可瑞恩暂停时间，跑出了爆炸范围。英雄炸成飞灰，随后又重新成形。

“释放你的愤怒！”瑞恩嘲弄道，随手劈开从旁边飞来的一盏火灯笼。“释放你的痛苦！我相信你存货肯定不少！”

“你能没完没了地暂停时间？”读档怒吼着，刚一恢复，就挥剑朝同为紫系基因者的对手疯狂劈砍。他那拙劣的攻势根本突破不了瑞恩的防御，只让他更加恼火。“你个强得离谱的作弊狂！”

“无限的力量！”瑞恩回敬。快递员手起剑落，斩断了英雄的一条胳膊……结果断臂又自行接回了身体。有限的时间回溯，只作用于身体及与身体紧密接触的物品。不管失败多少次，这家伙就是不肯倒下。

瑞恩对这家伙生出了一点精神上的共鸣。当然，还不至于因此认真对待他，不过等尘埃落定，倒是可以请他喝上一杯。

“不过，你为什么不变成超级少女？”瑞恩一边躲开读档的斩击，一边问衣橱。他暂停时间，空着的那只手抓住英雄的围巾，借势将他甩向队友。“要是那么变，你几秒钟就能结束战斗了！”

“我变不了，那是有版权的！”时间恢复时，黄系基因者回答道，身上的服装变成了一张床单。读档径直穿过了她的身体，仿佛她根本不存在。“我只能用公有领域里的东西！”

“什么，知识产权就是你的氪石？”瑞恩失望透顶地问道。“这到底是什么原理？”

“能力的规矩又不是我定的，好不好！”衣橱被他这话刺伤，没好气地答道。她的装束再次变化，成了一身女巫打扮，指尖射出一道闪电，直击瑞恩。

“抱歉，抱歉。”瑞恩说，用手中的光剑挡住闪电，颇有《星球大战》的风范。“老实说，要是平常，我绝对会追你。你完全是我喜欢的类型，可惜我现在签了独家合约。”

“哦，谢谢，不过我也签了独家合约！”她欢快地说，读档又从地上爬了起来。别的不说，瑞恩真佩服他的毅力。“你愿意当我的宿敌吗？我还没有呢，营销部说这样能提高收视率！”

嗯，这一轮心震已经死了，那么……“行啊，我每个周末都有空！”

“谢谢！”衣橱再次换装，这次变成了一身木乃伊扮相。她周围的花朵立刻化作尘埃，身上的绷带变成破烂的长索，朝瑞恩飞去。快递员赶紧用激光刃将它们斩断，读档则试图从左侧包抄。

瑞恩不明白，衣橱为什么不变成另一个基因者，或者固定使用一种形态，而是不断地换来换去。也许这就是她的战斗风格，又或者，她的能力虽然变化多端，却有时间限制。

不过，这依然是他来到新罗马以后，打得最过瘾的几场架之一！完全不虚此行！

“他的能力强得太不讲理了！”瑞恩短暂地暂停时间，躲过一记攻击，读档不禁抱怨。“衣橱，你有没有什么能扛住这一招的？”

“我想是有，可恩里克不会高兴的！”她回答，身上的服装随之改变。瑞恩停下动作，看着眼前这一幕。衣橱换上了一身古希腊神祇的装束，托加长袍、凉鞋、黄金月桂冠，一样不缺。这套装束似乎还覆盖了她的皮肤，将其变成一种不自然的白色。

这让她看上去活像一尊象牙雕像，雕的是——

……

操。

瑞恩立刻暂停时间，整个世界染上紫色。

一切动作、一切声音都停了下来。背景里那场激战只剩一片布景，一个凝固于时间中的瞬间。

“哦，原来是这样的。”衣橱惊叹着四下张望，又看看定住的队友。她的手指闪烁着黄色电光，近乎金色。“真漂亮！”

之前一轮里，吱喳警告过他，可他没听进去。

操，操，操！

“操！”瑞恩喊出声来。衣橱在凝固的时间里朝他劈出一道闪电，正中胸口，将他轰得向后飞去。

很疼，看着也确实像道闪电……但瑞恩触电而死的次数已经数不清了，当即就认出这攻击不过是闪电的拙劣仿品。真货会当场要了他的命，这道黄色的仿品却只造成了轻伤；它遵循的是电影逻辑，而不是真正雷电的规律。

瑞恩这趟非自愿飞行终于在花园边缘结束，花丛在此一直延伸到地中海的水边。时间恢复，读档立刻兴奋地喊了起来：“奏效了！”

“我维持不住……”衣橱说着，身上的服装不受控制地变来变去。上一秒她还是奥古斯都的模样，下一秒就穿上了霸王龙吉祥物服。“该死，这个角色形态还不够稳定！”

至少她使不出原版的全部力量。瑞恩一边爬起来，一边想。不然他已经被汽化了。

可胸口还是疼得要死！

“结束了，快存！”衣橱欣然接受了新的恐龙形态，得意地笑道。瑞恩则再次挺直身子，手握光剑。“我们占据高地！”

瑞恩很想哀叹一声，可她这句台词念得实在无可挑剔。

不过，他们低估了友情的力量。

瑞恩察觉身后的水里有什么东西浮了上来。沉重机甲踏上陆地的铿锵声，在他耳中宛如天籁。迪纳米斯的两位英雄惊讶地眨了眨眼，下一刻便被一道高压水流迎面喷中。

瑞恩回过头，看着与自己相识最久的朋友走到身边。她的水流武器火力全开，将水柱倾泻向至优者二人组。“小矮个！”

“对不起，对不起！”蕾恩连声道歉，声音透过水下装甲传出，有些失真。“我已经尽快赶来了！”

她持续维持着水压，可让瑞恩大为吃惊的是，水流竟开始一分为二。衣橱和读档站在中间，毫发无损。那位黄系基因者又换了装束，这回扮成了某种枯瘦老人的模样，连白胡子都有。

“你连摩西都能模仿？”瑞恩问这位新结识的宿敌，惊叹于她的能力竟能灵活到这种地步。“还能怎样？扮成耶稣基督，把水变成酒？”

“我有时候在派对上会这么干！”她回答。蕾恩停下了水泵，两组人马对视了几秒，各自琢磨着破解僵局的办法。

然而，一连串爆炸打断了这场对峙。一架迪纳米斯直升机拖着火焰坠落，砸进附近的花园，点燃了花丛。

瑞恩望向地中海。摩天大楼般高大的巨型水臂从海浪中伸出，像蛇一样追逐着直升机。

邪魔停止轰炸堡垒，转而应对这些异象，用威力巨大的火球轰击水触手。然而，即使触手在高温下化作蒸汽，也总有更多从海中升起，试图将空中的她碾碎。远处，瑞恩注意到数辆摩托艇正朝岛屿驶来；他在驾驶者中认出了几张熟面孔，其中就有格蕾塔。

援军。

与此同时，双足飞龙和伏尔甘已变成天际的小点，仍在云层之上缠斗，远得几乎看不见。外墙虽然已被轰塌了大半，奥古斯蒂的堡垒却基本完好。幽魂守在双足飞龙撞出的缺口前，用念力抬起石块，试图重新将洞口封住。

“尼普顿。”读档望着那些水臂说道，随后转向队友。“衣橱，拿出末日套装！”

“可那太危险了！”衣橱抗议。

“你不用，他就要把我们全沉进海里了！”

衣橱吸了一口气，服装开始变换。瑞恩和蕾恩背靠着背，准备作最后一搏。

一声枪响回荡在战场上，衣橱倒了下去。

有那么一秒，时间仿佛凝固了，却与瑞恩毫无关系。在读档震惊的注视下，女英雄的身体摔落地面，一个身影已从他们身后的地底穿了出来。

“哎呀呀。”莫蒂默毫无悔意地说道，步枪枪口仍冒着硝烟。“看来莫蒂默赢了赌局。”