同章对照

Well, Ryan had to admit it. No matter how savage the attack, it had been a perfect sneak headshot. Wardrobe probably didn’t feel any pain.

“Wardrobe!” Reload shouted in panic, dropping everything to try and treat his teammate’s wound. It was in vain though; the courier had seen the bullet go from one side of the head to the other, and unless she had regeneration, the shot had slain her instantly. The Yellow Genome’s blood was flowing out of her skull and onto the ground, while flowers burned around them.

“Mortimer thought she would never shut up,” the hitman said without any remorse, keeping his rifle pointed at Reload’s head without pressing the trigger. In all likelihood, he had grown wise to his rewinding power.

“You…” While Ryan wasn’t surprised, Len struggled to find her words. “You killed her. You killed her.”

“You could have shot her in the knee!” Ryan said, quite pissed himself. While he didn’t know the girl until a few hours earlier, she seemed quite the theatrical superhero; she was long-term rivalry material! “She was fun, goddammit! Fun!”

“She would have recovered from a knee shot,” Mortimer replied with a shrug. For a second, Ryan had forgotten he was a brutal mob hitman beneath all the silliness. “With one exception, Mortimer hasn’t seen anyone recover from deat—”

“Murderer!” Reload snarled suddenly, charging at Mortimer with his weapon raised. The hitman quickly took a step backward to dodge. “You’ll pay for this!”

Len raised her water weapon at the Dynamis hero, hitting him with a stream of liquid; he dropped his laser blade in surprise, perhaps having been blinded by anger. Instead of propelling Reload backward though or cutting him in half, the water shifted around the hero and formed a dense, three meters-wide bubble around his body. When Shortie closed her water pump, the bubble stabilized and kept Reload immobilized.

“Thanks,” Mortimer said, before grabbing Reload’s laser blade as a trophy. “How long will it last?”

Shortie didn’t answer. She didn’t want to.

“She can’t talk?” Mortimer asked Ryan, who deactivated the laser blade and put it in a belt pocket.

“Yes she can, but not to you,” the courier said. “Also, you’re a jackass.”

“Hey, she was a corpo, why do you care?”

“She was my new archenemy, Mortimer!” Ryan said, raising a finger at the man’s mask. “You don’t kill a man’s archenemy! It’s like stealing his wife!”

“Oh, really? Sorry, poor old Mortimer is quite the ladykiller.”

Mortimer liked his comedy pitch black, like his soul.

Unfortunately for him, Len didn’t find the joke funny, and instantly raised her weapon at his face. “Hey, calm down!” the hitman protested, pointing his rifle back at Shortie. “What’s up with you?”

“I should have let him kill you,” Len said, clearly struggling against her instinct not to bubble the hitman to death. “You’re just as bad as the Meta.”

“Len.” Ryan turned serious, putting a hand on his friend’s shoulder. “It’s not worth the hassle.”

If she attacked him, then they would have the entire Augusti family after them. Ryan could handle them, but Len… didn’t need that trouble right now.

The aquatic Genius remained still for a few seconds, before lowering her weapon.

“Anyway, you’re the Underdiver, right?” Mortimer asked while appraising Len warily; unlike her, he hadn’t lowered his rifle. “Miss Livia said you were in charge of the evacuation effort.”

“I called bathyspheres already,” Len finally spoke up, her tone icy. Vulcan must have paid her to keep a few in standby as escape pods.

“Good, I was in charge of clearing the way and then getting our VIPs out,” Mortimer said, slowly sinking back into the ground. “I will be back soon.”

“You want to evacuate?” Ryan asked, pointing at Neptune repelling Dynamis’ air forces. “We’re sort of winning.”

“Bite me, Miss Livia’s orders,” Mortimer said while disappearing, “and you don’t argue with the money.”

Once he was gone, Ryan glanced at Reload’s watery prison, the Violet Genome trapped in a bubble he couldn’t escape from. His power restored him to his physical prime whenever he ran out of breath but never granted him the strength to escape. “Does it pop out if I stick a nail in it?”

“That’s all you have to say, Riri?” Len looked at Wardrobe’s body, and though Ryan couldn’t see the face beneath her helmet, he didn’t have to be a precog to sense his friend’s sorrow. “He murdered her.”

“Yeah…” Ryan moved towards Wardrobe’s body, closing the eyes. She deserved at least as much. “That happens.”

“She wasn’t a Meta, Riri. She was... she didn’t even use lethal force on you. How can you be so casual about it?”

“I told you,” Ryan replied with a sigh. “You get used to everything.”

“That’s the saddest thing I heard you say yet,” Len said. “Riri, you can’t… you can’t become numb to this.”

“If you let it stick to you, it just gets overwhelming after a while.”

She had no good answer to this. “I’m… I’m doing this for you, Riri. To pay you back. But that’s it. When this is over, I’m done with these drug dealers.”

Yeah. It reminded Ryan of that previous loop where he watched Jamie and co all perish before him. “I can make it right,” he said, almost absent-mindedly. “It’s just temporary.”

“At what cost?” Len asked him, shaking her helmet. “Don’t.”

“Don’t what, save people?”

“You don’t owe these people anything. That mindset of yours, it’s destroying you!” she protested, before looking at Wardrobe’s remains. “I tried to save everyone who deserved to, but… I couldn’t. I could only help a few.”

But the difference between them was, Ryan could save everyone who deserved it. If he tried enough times.

Len must have telepathy because she seemed to have guessed his trail of thoughts. “When this is over, let’s go away.”

“Away from what?”

“Away from this cursed city,” she said, all but pleading. “It will destroy us both. Maybe even kill us.”

“Wait, Shortie, does that mean you want me back in your life after all?” Ryan teased her. “No more radio exchanges?”

She remained silent for a moment, with the courier wondering if he had been too bold, too soon.

“Yes,” Len finally said, after some hesitations. “I… it won’t be easy, but… yes. I… I don’t think I ever wanted you out of my life.”

Ryan remained silent, as his oldest friend struggled to find her words.

“I don’t think I would have checked up on you for years, if… it was truly over between us,” Len admitted, flinching as an explosion echoed nearby. Neptune had knocked out one of the last helicopters from the skies. “I’m sorry. I’m not good at this.”

“I… it’s okay.” They would have time to get comfortable in each other’s presence once again. If anything, this loop had been worth it just to reach this point. “It means the world to me, but you know I can’t go right now. What about Rust Town?”

Ryan needed to use vaguer terms, in case anyone listened.

“Tremors,” Len said. “I think they are digging below it.”

Ryan had seen enough bad endings through his long life to tell where this was going. He grabbed his phone and tried to call Vulcan, unable to see her in the skies. “Jas? Jasmine?” Nothing but static. “Shortie, do you have good phone coverage?”

“Someone is scrambling vocal communications,” Len said, while five bathyspheres emerged from the seawater nearby, their doors opening automatically. “Dynamis, I think.”

As if on cue, Mortimer emerged from the ground, holding both Livia and Narcinia with his naked hands. It seemed he could apply his intangibility to others as long as they remained in physical contact.

While Narcinia was clearly shaken, folding her arms and looking at the ground the second Mortimer released her, Livia managed to keep her composure. At least, until she noticed Wardrobe’s remains. “You killed her, Mortimer?”

“I shouldn’t have?” the hitman asked.

“Now it will be a total war,” Livia replied, shaking her head. “Hector cannot back down after this. Maybe… maybe that’s why. Maybe it’s the spark.”

“My garden…” Narcinia lamented, looking at flames consuming her flowers. “I… I wanted to show it to everyone.”

“You will make another,” Livia told the younger girl, before barking orders at Len. “Underdiver, we start evacuating immediately. Mortimer, you will go back inside, bring Bacchus and Sparrow.”

“Should we evacuate at all?” Mortimer asked, glancing at the fortress behind them. Geist had managed to close the hole, and the Dynamis Genomes seemed to have started bailing out. “I mean, it’s crappy, but it’s our turf.”

“I keep dying,” Livia replied, a look of brief concern breaking through her tranquil expression. “My alternate selves. Their life is snuffed out in an instant, and I can barely see the cause. I assume Dynamis has a secret weapon, and they will likely unleash it on the island. Perhaps a nuke.”

Len looked at Ryan. “Not me,” he protested, before adding a caveat, “this time.”

Mortimer immediately phased through the ground once more, while Len assigned a bathysphere to everyone. “Riri, you go first,” she said, all but shoving him inside.

“Riri?” Narcinia frowned at Len. “Are you two…”

“It’s complicated,” Ryan said, sitting inside the bathysphere. It was a larger variant of the one Shortie used for delivery runs, optimized to hold multiple people inside. He sat on a crimson, semicircular bench, and immediately noticed seat belts. The bathysphere was equipped with multiple screens and buttons and even included what appeared to be an infirmary stock for emergencies. “I’m disappointed by the absence of sickles and hammers.”

“Narcinia, move in,” Livia said with a rush, pushing the younger girl to move inside. The Augusti Princess stopped midway, a strained frown on her face. “I… I don’t understand…”

“Livia?” Narcinia asked, stopping with one foot inside the bathysphere, and another out. “Livia, you’re alright?”

“I don’t get it,” the Augusti princess said. “It’s all bright and then dark…”

Livia suddenly took a step back, a sharp, translucent blade grazing her cheek and drawing blood.

Narcinia let out a scream as an invisible force pulled her backward and out of the bathysphere. Almost on instinct, Ryan froze time and peeked outside the bathysphere.

Narcinia floated six meters above the ground, held by an invisible force; Ryan could see the hint of a hand covering her mouth, and he immediately guessed who was responsible. He had probably stalked the courier and watched the battle from afar, waiting for an opportunity to strike.

When time resumed, Len raised her water weapon at the skies, trying to locate the invisible Genome; glass shards emerged from the sea, surrounding the group and bathyspheres like a flock of flying knives.

“So it’s true.” A voice came out of nowhere, but Ryan instantly recognized it as Shroud’s. “Assassination attempts will always fail.”

“Did Felix send you, Mathias?” Livia asked, her face unreadable while she looked up at Narcinia. Clearly, she could see Mr. Windshield perfectly fine. “You appear together a lot when I look at you.”

“Let’s just say we share a few moral sensibilities, especially as far as fighting vermin is concerned.” Shroud dropped the invisibility, carrying Narcinia above the ground while keeping a hand on her mouth. If she couldn’t draw blood, the Green Genome couldn’t use her ability. “A power that could have helped the world, as her mother wished… and your father uses it to poison innocent people. You disgust me.”

Livia’s iron glare faltered briefly, a brief look of remorse flashing on her face. “Start by giving me back my mother,” the Augusti princess said as she regained her composure, her face harshening again. “Then we will talk about morality. Now, tell your master to show himself.”

“Leo isn’t here,” Shroud replied, glass shards threateningly raised at everyone present, Ryan included. Though the Carnival assassin and handsome courier worked on the same team, he seemed determined to pretend otherwise. “But he will settle the score.”

“Lies,” Livia replied, her frown deepening. “If it’s not Hargraves, then…”

Was…

Did the skies clear up lately? The sun seemed to shine brighter for a second.

Ryan raised his eyes at the heavens, watching in amazement as a pillar of bright light fell from the skies, like judgment from above. He almost didn’t notice Len’s hand pushing him back into the bathysphere on instinct, while Livia looked at the skies with panic.

Ryan felt something in the back of his skull, and—

---

Fishes looked at him from outside the window.

Ryan blinked, glancing around in confusion. He was sitting alone on the bathysphere’s bench, seatbelt on and laser blade deactivated. The escape pod had clearly fled under the sea, and all he could see through the porthole were dark waters and swimming sea animals.

His enhanced sense of timing told Ryan time had moved forward without him noticing, but he couldn’t explain why. Livia’s doing? He didn’t know her power’s limits, but this feeling… It reminded him of Acid Rain triggering her power. A Violet power, not a Blue.

Wait.

Vulcan said that Augustus gained two powers with no side-effects through a genetic quirk. How could they know that? Unless…

Questions for later.

“Shortie?” Ryan asked, trying to make sense out of the bathysphere’s buttons. “Len? Len? Len, answer me!”

“Warning: fallback point compromised,” Len’s pre-recorded message came out of the intercom. “Bathysphere rerouted to Rust Town. Please sit until the door opens.”

No answer. That device probably used an automatic pilot of some kind. Still, the screens showed a GPS map of New Rome, alongside the bathysphere’s rough position; he would reach Rust Town quite soon.

However, a large part of the map had turned red, including Ischia Island.

A chill moving through his spine, Ryan undid the seatbelt and looked through the porthole as the bathysphere ascended towards the surface. But as the escape pod emerged from the Mediterranean Sea’s depths, the courier saw a vision straight out of Dante’s Inferno.

New Rome was on fire.

Flames consumed the city, devastating the harbor, the strip, the entire coast; buildings had collapsed or been incinerated. A firestorm had taken over the highway leading into New Rome itself, with columns of smoke reaching as far as the clouds. Mount Augustus had crumbled, the proud hill now a fuming crater.

“What the...” Ryan muttered to himself, at a loss of words.

The skies brightened again, and a pillar of light fell upon New Rome.

Ryan had to put a hand on his eyes to protect himself from the radiance, but he saw it hit Dynamis’ HQ and Il Migliore’s tower in the distance. The following shockwave made the bathysphere shake, even if the device was kilometers away from the impact point.

When at long last the bright light subsided, nothing remained of Dynamis’ twin towers. Nothing but flames and ashes.

“Len,” Ryan turned to the control panel, desperately trying to find anyone to speak to. “Len, answer me? Len?! Len! Jasmine, anyone? Is anyone listening?”

No answers.

How could it be? Had Leo the Living Sun hit the city earlier than expected and gone completely mad? Augustus could probably do that much damage too, but why attack his own seat of power?

Ryan’s eyes widened, as it all fell into place.

“Orbital Communications Center.”

One of the rooms inside the bunker.

Mechron had designed orbital weapons. If one of his toys remained in the dark reaches of space, a Damocles sword waiting for someone foolish enough to make it fall…

As he looked at the devastation, Ryan couldn’t help but wonder how many. How many people did it take? Without Psyshock to supply them with cannon fodder and with Dynamis turning on him, Adam must have thrown his own men into the meat-grinder. And through sheer desperation, he had succeeded.

Ryan had waited too long.

The Meta had unlocked Mechron’s bunker.

好吧，瑞恩得承认。不管这一枪有多残忍，那都是一次完美的偷袭爆头。衣橱大概连痛都没感觉到。

“衣橱！”读档惊慌地大喊，抛下一切，试图救治队友的伤口。然而都是徒劳；快递员亲眼看着子弹从她脑袋的一侧穿到了另一侧，除非她有再生能力，否则那一枪当场就要了她的命。鲜血正从这位黄系基因者的头颅中流出，淌到地上，周围的花朵仍在燃烧。

“莫蒂默还以为她永远都不会闭嘴呢。”杀手毫无悔意地说，步枪始终指着读档的脑袋，却没有扣下扳机。他多半已经摸清了对方的回溯能力。

“你……”瑞恩并不意外，蕾恩却半天找不到话说。“你杀了她。你杀了她。”

“你明明可以打她的膝盖！”瑞恩也相当恼火。虽然几个小时前才认识这个姑娘，可她显然是个十足爱演的超级英雄；绝对是发展长期宿敌关系的好材料！“她多有意思啊，妈的！有意思！”

“打膝盖，她能恢复过来。”莫蒂默耸耸肩。刚才有那么一瞬，瑞恩忘了，在那副插科打诨的模样底下，这人其实是个残暴的黑帮杀手。“除了一个例外，莫蒂默还没见过谁能死而复——”

“杀人犯！”读档突然怒吼，举起武器冲向莫蒂默。杀手连忙后退一步躲开。“你会付出代价的！”

蕾恩抬起水流武器，对准这位迪纳米斯英雄，一道水流击中了他。他猝不及防，激光剑脱手掉落，或许是被愤怒冲昏了头。可水流既没有将读档向后打飞，也没有把他切成两半，而是绕着他的身体流转，凝成一个宽三米的厚实水泡。小矮个关闭水泵后，水泡便稳定下来，将读档死死困在里面。

“谢了。”莫蒂默说着，捡起读档的激光剑当战利品。“能撑多久？”

小矮个没有回答。她不想回答。

“她不会说话？”莫蒂默问瑞恩。瑞恩关掉自己的激光剑，将它收进腰带上的小袋里。

“会，只是不跟你说。”快递员说，“还有，你是个混蛋。”

“喂，她可是公司那边的人，你在乎个什么？”

“她是我新认的宿敌，莫蒂默！”瑞恩伸出一根手指，指着那人的面具。“别人的宿敌是不能杀的！这跟抢人老婆一样！”

“哦，真的？抱歉，可怜的老莫蒂默可是不折不扣的女人杀手。”

莫蒂默就好这一口漆黑的幽默，黑得和他的灵魂一个样。

可惜，蕾恩一点也不觉得好笑，立刻抬起武器对准了他的脸。“喂，冷静点！”杀手抗议道，也举起步枪指向小矮个。“你怎么回事？”

“我就该让他杀了你。”蕾恩说，显然正拼命压住冲动，才没用水泡把这个杀手弄死。“你跟超能帮一样坏。”

“蕾恩。”瑞恩认真起来，一只手搭上朋友的肩膀。“不值得惹这个麻烦。”

她要是动手，整个奥古斯蒂家族都会来追杀他们。瑞恩应付得了，可蕾恩……现在不需要这种麻烦。

这位水下天才静立了几秒，终于放下武器。

“不说这个了，你就是深潜者，对吧？”莫蒂默警惕地打量着蕾恩，问道。和她不同，他并没有放下步枪。“莉维娅小姐说，撤离的事由你负责。”

“我已经叫深潜球过来了。”蕾恩终于开口，语气冰冷。伏尔甘一定付了她钱，让她备着几艘，随时用作逃生舱。

“好，我负责清理道路，然后把咱们的贵宾接出来。”莫蒂默说着，慢慢沉回地面之下。“我很快回来。”

“你们要撤？”瑞恩指了指正在击退迪纳米斯空中部队的尼普顿。“我们这也算快赢了吧。”

“少啰唆，莉维娅小姐的命令。”莫蒂默一边消失，一边说道，“谁付钱，就得听谁的。”

他走后，瑞恩看向读档的水牢。那位紫系基因者困在水泡里，无法脱身。每当他耗尽空气，能力就会将他的身体恢复到最佳状态，却从来没赋予他挣脱出去的力量。“我拿根钉子戳它，会不会破？”

“你就只想说这个，瑞瑞？”蕾恩望着衣橱的尸体。虽然瑞恩看不见头盔下的脸，但用不着预知能力，也能感受到朋友的悲伤。“他杀了她。”

“是啊……”瑞恩走到衣橱的尸体旁，替她合上双眼。至少该为她做这点事。“这种事总会发生。”

“她不是超能帮的人，瑞瑞。她是……她甚至都没有对你下杀手。你怎么能这么满不在乎？”

“我说过了。”瑞恩叹了口气，“什么都会习惯的。”

“这是我听你说过的最难过的话。”蕾恩说，“瑞瑞，你不能……你不能对这种事变得麻木。”

“要是一直放不下，过不了多久，就会被压垮。”

她找不到什么话来反驳。“我……我是为了你才做这些的，瑞瑞。为了报答你。但也就到此为止了。等这事结束，我跟这些毒贩就再没有瓜葛了。”

是啊。这让瑞恩想起了之前某一轮循环，他眼看着杰米他们全都死在自己面前。“我能纠正这一切。”他几乎是心不在焉地说，“这只是暂时的。”

“代价呢？”蕾恩问他，戴着头盔摇了摇头。“别这样。”

“别怎样，别救人？”

“你不欠这些人任何东西。你这种想法正在毁掉你！”她反驳道，随后望向衣橱的遗体。“我试过救下所有值得救的人，可是……我做不到。能帮到的只有几个。”

可他们的区别就在于，瑞恩能救下所有值得救的人。只要他试的次数足够多。

蕾恩一定会读心术，因为她似乎猜到了他在想什么。“等这事结束，我们走吧。”

“离开什么？”

“离开这座受诅咒的城市。”她几乎是在哀求，“它会毁了我们两个。甚至可能杀死我们。”

“等等，小矮个，这是不是说，你终究还是想让我回到你的生活里？”瑞恩逗她道，“不再只靠无线电联系了？”

她沉默了片刻，快递员不禁怀疑，自己是不是太冒进、太着急了。

“是的。”犹豫一番后，蕾恩终于说道，“我……这不会容易，但是……是的。我……我想，我从来就没想过要你离开我的生活。”

瑞恩没有出声，听这位相识最久的朋友艰难地寻找着措辞。

“如果……我们之间真的已经结束了，我想我就不会那么多年一直留意你的近况。”蕾恩承认道，附近传来一声爆炸，让她瑟缩了一下。尼普顿又击落了一架直升机，空中只剩寥寥几架了。“对不起。我不擅长说这些。”

“我……没关系的。”他们会有时间，重新习惯彼此的陪伴。哪怕只为走到这一步，这一轮循环就已经值得了。“这对我无比重要，可你知道，我现在还不能走。锈镇怎么样了？”

为了防着有人偷听，瑞恩得把话说得含糊一些。

“有震动。”蕾恩说，“我觉得他们在镇子底下挖掘。”

瑞恩在漫长的人生里见过太多坏结局，已经看得出事情会往哪儿发展。他在天上找不到伏尔甘的身影，便掏出手机，试着打电话给她。“贾丝？贾丝敏？”只有沙沙的杂音。“小矮个，你的手机信号好吗？”

“有人在干扰语音通信。”蕾恩说。五艘深潜球从附近的海水中浮出，舱门自动打开。“我猜是迪纳米斯。”

仿佛收到了信号一般，莫蒂默从地里冒了出来，两只光着的手分别拉着莉维娅和纳尔西妮娅。看来，只要保持身体接触，他就能将自己的虚化能力作用到别人身上。

纳尔西妮娅显然受了惊，莫蒂默刚一松手，她便抱起双臂，低头看着地面；莉维娅则仍能保持镇定。至少，在她注意到衣橱的遗体之前是如此。“你杀了她，莫蒂默？”

“我不该杀？”杀手问。

“现在要变成全面战争了。”莉维娅摇着头说，“出了这种事，埃克托不可能退让。也许……也许原因就在这里。也许这就是导火索。”

“我的花园……”纳尔西妮娅看着火焰吞噬自己的花朵，哀声道，“我……我还想给大家看看呢。”

“你会再造一座的。”莉维娅对年纪较小的女孩说，随后厉声向蕾恩下令，“深潜者，我们立刻开始撤离。莫蒂默，你回里面去，把巴克斯和麻雀带来。”

“我们真有必要撤吗？”莫蒂默瞥了一眼身后的堡垒，问道。幽魂已经堵住了缺口，迪纳米斯的基因者似乎也开始撤退了。“我的意思是，这地方虽然破了点，可也是咱们的地盘。”

“我一直在死。”莉维娅答道，平静的脸上短暂地浮出一丝忧虑。“其他可能性里的我。她们的生命一瞬间就被掐灭了，我几乎看不清原因。我猜迪纳米斯有件秘密武器，而且很可能会拿它对付这座岛。也许是核弹。”

蕾恩看向瑞恩。“不是我。”他抗议道，随后补上一个限定条件，“这一次不是。”

莫蒂默立刻又穿进了地里，蕾恩则给众人分配起深潜球来。“瑞瑞，你先上。”她说，几乎是把他推进了舱内。

“瑞瑞？”纳尔西妮娅皱眉看向蕾恩。“你们两个是……”

“说来话长。”瑞恩说，在深潜球里坐下。这是小矮个送货时用的那种深潜球的加大型，经过优化，可以容纳多人。他坐在一条深红色的半圆形长凳上，立刻注意到了安全带。深潜球里装有多块屏幕和许多按钮，甚至还备着一些看来是急救用的医疗物资。“居然没有镰刀和锤子，真让我失望。”

“纳尔西妮娅，进去。”莉维娅急促地说着，推着年纪较小的女孩往里走。这位奥古斯蒂公主却在半路停了下来，眉头紧锁，神色吃力。“我……我不明白……”

“莉维娅？”纳尔西妮娅停了下来，一只脚在深潜球里，另一只脚还在外面。“莉维娅，你没事吧？”

“我弄不懂。”奥古斯蒂家的公主说，“到处都亮了，然后就一片漆黑……”

莉维娅突然向后退了一步，一柄半透明的锋利刀刃擦过她的脸颊，划出了血。

纳尔西妮娅尖叫起来，一股无形的力量将她向后拽出了深潜球。瑞恩几乎本能地暂停时间，向深潜球外探头望去。

纳尔西妮娅浮在离地六米的半空，被一股看不见的力量挟持着。瑞恩隐约看见，有只手捂着她的嘴，立刻猜到了是谁干的。那人多半一路跟踪快递员，又在远处观看战斗，等待出手的机会。

时间恢复流动，蕾恩抬起水流武器对准天空，试图找出那个隐形的基因者。玻璃碎片从海中升起，犹如成群的飞刀，将众人和深潜球团团围住。

“原来是真的。”一个声音凭空传来，瑞恩立刻认出那是裹尸布。“暗杀总会失败。”

“是菲利克斯派你来的，马蒂亚斯？”莉维娅仰望着纳尔西妮娅，脸上的表情让人捉摸不透。显然，她看挡风玻璃先生看得一清二楚。“我看你的时候，你们俩经常一起出现。”

“就当我们在道德观上有几分相近吧，尤其是对付害虫的时候。”裹尸布解除了隐身，挟着纳尔西妮娅浮在半空，一只手仍捂着她的嘴。只要弄不出血，这位绿系基因者就无法使用能力。“这种能力本来可以像她母亲所希望的那样，帮助这个世界……你父亲却拿它来荼毒无辜。你真让我恶心。”

莉维娅铁一般冷硬的目光短暂地动摇了，脸上闪过一丝悔意。“先把我母亲还给我。”奥古斯蒂公主恢复镇定，神情再次冷硬起来。“然后我们再谈道德。现在，叫你的主人现身。”

“利奥不在这里。”裹尸布答道，玻璃碎片威胁性地指着在场所有人，瑞恩也不例外。虽然这个嘉年华刺客和英俊的快递员是一伙的，他似乎打定了主意，要装作并非如此。“但他会来清算这笔账的。”

“撒谎。”莉维娅眉头皱得更深了。“如果不是哈格雷夫斯，那……”

是不是……

天刚刚是不是放晴了？有那么一瞬，太阳好像更亮了。

瑞恩抬头望向天际，惊愕地看着一道明亮的光柱从天而降，如同上苍降下的审判。他几乎没有注意到，蕾恩本能地伸手将他推回了深潜球，而莉维娅正惊恐地望着天空。

瑞恩的后脑传来一丝异样的感觉，接着——

---

有鱼在窗外看着他。

瑞恩眨了眨眼，茫然地环顾四周。他独自坐在深潜球的长凳上，系着安全带，激光剑没有启动。逃生舱显然已经潜入海中逃走，透过舷窗，他只能看见幽暗的海水和游动的海洋生物。

瑞恩那强化过的时间感告诉他，时间在他毫无察觉的情况下向前走了一段，可他解释不了为什么。是莉维娅干的？他不知道她的能力极限在哪里，可这种感觉……让他想起了酸雨发动能力的时候。这是紫系能力，而不是蓝系。

等等。

伏尔甘说过，奥古斯都因为基因上的特殊之处，获得了两种能力，却没有任何副作用。他们怎么能知道这一点？除非……

这些问题留到以后再想。

“小矮个？”瑞恩试着弄明白深潜球上的按钮，开口喊道，“蕾恩？蕾恩？蕾恩，回答我！”

“警告：撤退点已不再安全。”对讲机里传出蕾恩预先录制的声音。“深潜球已改道前往锈镇。舱门开启前，请保持就座。”

没有回应。这装置大概装着某种自动驾驶系统。不过，屏幕上显示着新罗马的GPS地图，以及深潜球的大致位置；他很快就会到锈镇了。

然而，地图上有一大片区域已经变成了红色，其中就包括伊斯基亚岛。

一股寒意顺着脊背爬了上来。深潜球正向海面上浮，瑞恩解开安全带，透过舷窗往外看。可当逃生舱从地中海深处浮上海面时，快递员看到的，却是一幅仿佛直接从但丁《地狱篇》中搬出来的景象。

新罗马正在燃烧。

火焰吞噬着城市，摧毁了港口、商业街、整片海岸；一栋栋建筑或是倒塌，或是被烧成灰烬。一场火风暴席卷了通往新罗马市区的高速公路，烟柱直抵云层。奥古斯都山已经崩塌，那座曾经傲然耸立的山丘，如今成了一个冒着浓烟的巨坑。

“这到底……”瑞恩喃喃自语，说不出话来。

天空再次亮起，一道光柱落在了新罗马上。

瑞恩不得不抬手遮住眼睛，挡住刺目的光芒，可他还是看见了光柱击中远处的迪纳米斯总部和至优者大厦。冲击波随之而来，深潜球即使距离落点足有数公里，依然被震得晃动起来。

等到那耀眼的光芒终于消退，迪纳米斯的双子塔已荡然无存。只剩火焰与灰烬。

“蕾恩。”瑞恩转向控制面板，拼命想找到一个能说话的人。“蕾恩，能回答我吗？蕾恩？！蕾恩！贾丝敏，有人在吗？有人听见吗？”

没有任何回应。

怎么会这样？难道活体太阳利奥比预期更早袭击了这座城市，还彻底发了疯？奥古斯都大概也能造成这么大的破坏，可他为什么要攻击自己的权力中心？

瑞恩猛地睁大双眼，所有线索都串了起来。

“轨道通信中心。”

地堡里的一个房间。

梅克隆设计过轨道武器。假如他有一件玩具仍留在太空深处的黑暗里，像一把达摩克利斯之剑，就等着某个足够愚蠢的人让它落下……

望着眼前的毁灭景象，瑞恩忍不住想，到底有多少。究竟搭进去多少人，才做到了这一步？没了心震替他们供应炮灰，加上迪纳米斯翻脸与他为敌，亚当一定把自己人扔进了绞肉机。而绝望之下的拼死一搏，竟让他成功了。

瑞恩等得太久了。

超能帮已经解锁了梅克隆的地堡。