同章对照

And the whole thing started so well!

Right after Ryan punched Psyshock’s jaw out, Shroud revealed his ‘presence’ and unleashed glass shards in all directions. The situation quickly devolved into a chaotic melee, while the pets in the animal shelter howled as one.

Shortie immediately fired at Psyshock with her water rifle, the liquid forming a three-meters wide bubble around the Meta. The malevolent telepath struggled inside, unable to escape the liquid prison. Meanwhile, Rakshasa had summoned a dozen gremlins, Atom Cat attempted to engage Mongrel in close combat only to be repelled by a blast of compressed air, and Wardrobe’s costume transformed into a cosplay of Che Guevara. As for the Panda…

Mosquito instantly flew at him when the melee started, singling the bear out as easy prey whose blood he could drink. Except he forgot that Ryan’s disciple was a seven hundred kilos juggernaut bigger than a polar bear, and who hit just as hard.

So the Panda caught Mosquito’s sting mid-flight, pivoted on himself, and tossed the surprised Psycho against one of the black minibuses. The bugman hit it with enough force to trigger the alarm, but the Panda immediately closed the gap before he could recover.

“Bear Smash!” The Panda roared while he lunged at the Meta, hitting him so hard he bent the minibus’ metal doors; he then started beating the tar out of Mosquito with his bestial strength.

He was…

He was good!

The Panda was good!

He was ridiculous, but he was good!

Unfortunately, Ryan didn’t have the time to observe the animal brawl. The lizardman among the Meta lunged at an empty spot and slammed something against the ground, the blown dust revealing the invisible Shroud’s position. Ryan guessed the lizardman had managed to sense the glass Genome through sound or scent. The Carnival vigilante retaliated with shards, but they couldn’t cut through the Meta lizard’s tough scales.

Stopping time, Ryan rushed to Shroud’s rescue and punched the lizard with Fisty in the frozen time. When the clock struck again, the blow sent the reptile flying to the side, allowing Shroud to fly away. The glass genome switched targets to support Atom Cat with shards before Mongrel could incinerate him with pyrokinesis.

“Use pebbles!” Ryan shouted at Atom Cat, who still attempted to engage Mongrel in close-combat. “Use pebbles!”

“Oh, good idea!” Felix quickly caught on and threw a small stone at Mongrel, the projectile blasting the Psycho against the orphanage’s walls. Len managed to exploit his temporary incapacitation to trap him in another bubble, the rabid Psycho gasping for air.

Unfortunately, it turned out, Len’s bubble wasn’t powerful enough to fully immobilize Psyshock. When he realized all was lost, the malevolent mindjacker managed to raise a tentacle at his head and shattered his own skull. His grey matter flowed into the water, the Psycho abandoning his men to their fate.

“Damn, not again!” Ryan complained, as he pummeled the reptile Psycho into unconsciousness with Fisty. Shroud started shredding gremlins with shards while Atom Cat tossed explosive stones at them, but Rakshasa kept summoning more. By now, hundreds of the critters threatened to swarm the shelter.

At least, until they noticed Ryan and abruptly stopped.

“Huh?” the time-traveler asked, as the critters seemed to panic. One of the gremlins put two raised fingers behind his head, as if mimicking a rabbit’s ears, and then pointed at Ryan.

The creatures’ anxious expression turned into stark raving terror.

“Wait, you remember me?!” Ryan asked, the gremlins immediately running away as he approached them. They seemed to recognize him, even with a new costume.

Wait, of course they did! Rakshasa probably summoned these creatures from another universe and the genome’s ability only affected this one! “Come back,” Ryan pleaded. “Rabbits are friendly!”

The gremlins frantically escaped into Rust Town, much to Rakshasa’s shock and surprise. “Hey, come back here!” the jaguar-man ordered, even as Wardrobe rushed at him. “Come back, you cowards!”

Che Wardrobe tackled the jaguar to the ground, Rambo-style, and started manhandling him. Perhaps the costume gave her superhuman fighting skills or increased strength, but she quickly restrained the mook summoner with a chokehold. The vicious catman attempted to claw at her flesh, but Shroud nailed his palms to the ground with glass spikes.

“Back off!” Shortie warned, raising her rifle. Wardrobe released the chokehold and rolled away, just as Rakshasa became trapped inside a bubble of his own.

“You have the right to remain silent!” The Panda forced Mosquito’s bloody face against the minibus’ car hood, while holding him in a wristlock. “Perp!”

Ryan pitied the Mosquito. To be beaten by that bear must have hurt, physically and emotionally. A few seconds later, both the bug and the reptile Psycho joined their brethren in bubble confinement.

“I caught one, Sifu!” the Panda said, his bear face the very picture of happiness. “I caught one! We won!”

“No,” Len said, the only one crestfallen with the result. “Psyshock, he escaped.”

“I wouldn’t call that escaped,” Atom Cat said, pointing at the floating corpse in Shortie’s watery prison.

“Actually, can they survive inside these bubbles?” Wardrobe asked, as Mongrel and Rakshasa had both passed out inside their prison, while the wounded Mosquito gasped for breath. “They’re monsters, but killing them… it makes me feel uneasy.”

“They will survive,” Len nodded. “The special water provides them with enough oxygen to survive through direct skin contact... but not enough to stay conscious. Their body falls into suspended animation to preserve biological functions.”

All in all, the ‘fight’ had been a crushing victory, but unfortunately, Shortie had a point. They only caught mooks and Psyshock lived to fight another day. Which meant that the Meta could not only keep their enslaved thralls, but also operate Mechron’s mech.

While the Dynamis heroes rejoiced, Len’s face remained bitter. “I… I should have put more pressure,” she said, blaming herself for Psyshock’s escape. “If I had increased the oxygen ratio, I could have… I could have made him pass out quicker.”

“Shortie, it’s okay,” Ryan consoled her. “We’ll get that squid eventually.”

“You owe us an explanation,” Atom Cat scolded Ryan. “Who was that invisible guy?”

“That guy?” Ryan turned around, and realized Shroud had vanished. He must have turned invisible and left before the others could ask embarrassing questions. “That sneaky bastard, I hate it when he does that!”

“What was that for?” Atom Cat kept asking, suspicious. “That stuff about Hector? Because I assume it is the Hector?”

“Haven’t you heard?” Len snapped at him, her anger at Dynamis stronger than her social anxiety. “Your employer bankrolls the Meta.”

“Oooh, a conspiracy?” the Panda asked, clearly excited. “The Panda is all ears.”

“I heard, but that’s not possible,” Wardrobe argued, her quirkiness replaced with a skeptical frown. Even her costume changed from a South American icon to normal. “Why would he do that? Help monsters like these Psychos? It doesn’t make sense.”

“You just have to listen to Psypsy’s recording,” Ryan said, opening his suit to reveal the wiretap inside. “Our very own CEO hired him to attack the Augusti.”

To prove his point, he activated the recording. Atom Cat brimmed with rage, the Panda sat on his ass without a word, and Shortie…

When she heard Psyshock talk about the children, she looked positively murderous. In all his years knowing her, Ryan had never seen her like that.

“But it doesn’t make sense, if it were known, it would be disastrous for the company’s image,” Wardrobe argued, focusing on the marketing side of things. ”It could be an impersonator trying to ruin Mr. Manada’s reputation, or the Meta could lie to tarnish it. I mean, that’s what PR will say.”

“Who else could deliver crates of knockoff Elixirs to the Meta-Gang?” Felix replied with irritation, fists clenched. “I knew they were snakes, and I still let them bite me.”

“But, uh, if that’s true,” the Panda cleared his throat, a bit afraid. “Does that mean that we know too much? That’s what happens in movies, right? We know too much, so we’re all gonna die!”

“Nobody is going to die!” Wardrobe protested, hands on her waist. “We will do things by the book, and take that recording to our manager.”

“But what happens if he’s in on the conspiracy too?”

“You knew it would happen, when you brought us here,” Atom Cat accused Ryan. “That was your plan from the start. And who was that invisible guy?”

“He’s a friend,” Ryan said. “He’s very shy and not as transparent as he seems, but he’s a good one. A vigilante.”

“Was it why the Panda was recruited?” The Panda asked Ryan, his eyes widening in hope. “You couldn’t trust anyone else?”

It…

It was technically true, in a weird way. Ryan was absolutely sure the Panda had nothing to do with any conspiracy whatsoever, because no illuminati in their right mind would hire him. “Exactly, young disciple,” he replied, raising a finger at the animal’s heart. “I chose you because of this.”

“M-my liver?”

“No, your pure heart!” Ryan lightly slapped him in the back of the head. “You still have so much to learn!”

“Okay, okay, this is way above my pay grade,” Wardrobe replied after taking a deep breath, glancing at the Meta-Gang. “First thing first, what do we do about these guys? How long will these bubbles hold?”

“Hours,” Len replied laconically.

“Okay, good, that's more than enough time to bring them back to Optimates Tower,” Wardrobe declared with a nod. “Everyone loves a by-the-book arrest!”

“What, haven’t you heard?” Felix the Cat said with a tone filled with anger. He had left his family for Dynamis to do good, and the company had disappointed him. “They’ll be back on the street within hours if we do that!”

“So what, we kill them?” Wardrobe snapped back. “We can’t do that, we aren’t vigilantes. We stand for something. There are due processes to follow.”

“You would rather stick to your contract and risk letting these guys go? They tried to kidnap children to turn them into soldiers!”

“Hey, hey, everyone calm down!” Ryan said, before the argument could grow more intense. “Look, here’s my proposal. We call our beloved manager, he sends help to bring the perps into custody, and we give him the recording. That’s why I took it in the first place.”

“I can get behind that,” Wardrobe said with a nod. “I’m sure Enrique will clear this up.”

Atom Cat crossed his arms, glaring at Ryan suspiciously. “You’re both in on it. You and Blackthorn.”

“Sorry kitten, it’s top secret.”

“You’re both in on it, trying to expose Hector.” He marked a short pause. “Good.”

“And obviously, about what you heard today,” Ryan glanced at everyone, putting a finger on his mask where the lips should have been. “Shush…”

“The Panda will be as silent as a tomb,” his disciple promised, before rising back on his feet. “Can I make the arrest before the cameras? Bring the perps out of the car and into the tower?”

“Oh right, that will be your first arrest!” Wardrobe replied with a cheery grin. “You will see, you never forget your first. And with your new costume, I’m sure you will shoot up the popularity charts!”

“About costumes, why Che Guevara?” Ryan asked, the question had bothered him for a while.

“Because PR never lets me wear it, or Fidel Castro’s,” she admitted, a little embarrassed. “They say it’s too subversive, even if I can survive anything when I wear his uniform!”

Len’s head perked up, her communist radar triggered. “Are you a Marxist?”

“Uh, I would say I’m more of a social democrat,” Wardrobe admitted, leaving Len disappointed. The fashion designer immediately tried to cheer her up. “But I sympathize! I sympathize!”

Ryan heard his cell phone bleep, and he realized someone had sent him a message. “I have to go.”

“What? But you will miss the photo session!” Wardrobe complained, glaring at him. “Quicksave, it would be perfect to introduce your new costume to the world!”

“Sorry, Shortie and I need to bring the kids home,” Ryan said, while Len frowned at him. Though Psyshock’s temporary demise had not warranted a response from Big Fat Adam, the Meta would probably hit the orphanage again with heavy hitters unless evacuated. “And after that, I have a date.”

The unknown caller had sent him an invitation.

---

That evening, Ryan drove the Plymouth Fury south of New Rome, with Len sitting in the other seat. They made their way past the strip and into a place that could only be called a slum.

Well, maybe he was exaggerating. The place was terribly dirty, the ground littered with used drug paraphernalia, spent condoms, and even bullet casings, but it wasn’t as bad as Rust Town. Ryan didn’t see any feral dogs scavenging trash cans, and people walked around without the sense of paranoia that characterized the northern neighborhoods. The place was a dump, but somebody kept order.

Ryan parked the Plymouth Fury at the parking lot of a particularly uninviting motel, its wall paint peeling away and its neon sign flickering. The courier noticed the remnants of a pool nearby, long drained away. Only one of the rooms had the lights on, located on the first floor.

Cancel guarded the door. At least it confirmed his suspicions.

“It’s here,” Ryan said, checking the address sent by the mystery caller.

“I… I know this place,” Len frowned anxiously. “They call it Deadland Motel.”

“Yeah, it looks pretty dead to me too.”

“Riri,” she said, looking at him with concern. “They call it this way because… because a lot of people disappear there.”

It didn’t surprise him. The place was close to Mount Augustus, and isolated enough that the Private Security wouldn’t interfere. What surprised him was that Shortie had insisted on coming with him, after she evacuated the children to her underwater hideout. It warmed his heart. “If they wanted to kill me, they wouldn’t have sent me an invitation.”

“Are you, are you sure you want to do this?”

Ryan glanced at Cancel. “It’s the only way to be sure,” he replied, before smiling at his partner. “And with you as my backup, I have nothing to fear.”

“D-Don’t joke about it, please.”

“Yeah, but I gotta admit,” he smiled beneath his mask, “it’s nice to have someone watching my back.”

“Yes... I feel that way too.” She glanced away. “Please, be careful, alright?”

“I swear.”

And after these emotional words, Ryan exited the car, climbed the stairs to the motel’s first floor, and made his way towards Cancel. “Hi Greta,” the time-traveler waved a hand at her. “Is Mortimer nearby?”

“Oh, hi!” she replied, waving a hand at him with the same cute friendliness as always. “He’s hiding in a corner.”

“Judas,” Mortimer’s voice answered, though Ryan wasn’t sure if it came from the walls or the ground. “Judas!”

“But have we met?” Cancel asked Ryan with a friendly expression. The courier had never seen her change it, no matter the loops. “I always remember masks and faces.”

“Well, you didn’t try to kill me yet,” Ryan joked.

“Oh, good, I would feel bad if I had missed you!”

“But if you’re here to kill me, could we pick something more dignified than a motel?” Ryan asked, pointed north. “I think there are some public toilets two streets away.”

“It’s fine, we’re here for security,” Greta reassured him, pointing at the door. “Someone wants to meet you.”

As he assumed. With one last glance at a worried Len waiting for him, Ryan opened the bedroom door and walked inside.

To his surprise, the inside looked far cozier and larger than the outside. It was a pretty normal room, actually, including a king-sized bed and various amenities, though Ryan couldn’t help but diss the blue wall paint. Someone had set a dining table, including coffee cups, a chessboard, and even cookies.

His host sat on the other side, waiting for him.

“Thank you for coming, Quicksave,” Livia Augusti said, as he closed the door behind him. “Or should I call you Ryan?”

Ryan frowned, a bit confused. “You do not know?”

“Not quite,” the mafia princess admitted. “But this is not the first time we meet, is it? How did I call you, before you turned back the hand of time?”

She knew.

Goddammit, she knew, and Cancel was three meters away. “You called me Ryan,” he replied, trying not to show his fear. “We were casual acquaintances.”

“As I thought,” she replied, her face thoughtful. “The orange is in the hen house… I was confused about the meaning of this phrase, but now I understand. It was a message in a bottle. A distress signal thrown into the sea, hoping it would find its way to the right person.”

The Augusti princess poured Ryan a cup of coffee, and invited him to sit.

“Well, your bottle found its way to me,” Livia said with a smile. “Let’s open it together.”

明明一开始一切都那么顺利！

瑞恩刚把心震的下巴一拳打飞，裹尸布便显露了自己的“存在”，向四面八方射出玻璃碎片。局面迅速演变成一场混乱的群殴，动物收容所里的宠物们也齐声嚎叫起来。

小矮个立刻举起水步枪朝心震开火，液体形成一个直径三米的水泡，把那名超能帮成员罩在里面。这个恶毒的心灵感应者在水中挣扎，却逃不出这座液体牢笼。与此同时，罗刹召唤出了十二只小魔怪；原子猫试图贴身与杂种交战，却被一股压缩空气轰退；衣橱的服装则变成了切·格瓦拉的装扮。至于熊猫……

混战刚开始，蚊子就径直朝他飞了过去，认准这头熊是个容易得手的猎物，可以吸他的血。可他忘了，瑞恩的徒弟是个重达七百公斤的庞然大物，比北极熊还大，打起人来也一样狠。

于是，熊猫一把抓住飞扑而来的蚊子的口器，原地转身，把这个猝不及防的疯魔甩向一辆黑色小巴。虫人撞上车身，力道大得触发了警报。还没等他缓过劲，熊猫就冲到了跟前。

“巨熊重击！”熊猫怒吼着扑向那名超能帮成员，打得他身后的小巴金属车门都凹了进去；随后便凭着野兽般的力量，把蚊子往死里揍。

他还……

他还挺能打！

熊猫居然挺能打！

滑稽是滑稽，可他真能打！

可惜瑞恩没时间观赏这场动物斗殴。超能帮里的蜥蜴人扑向一处空地，抓住什么东西狠狠摔在地上，扬起的尘土暴露了隐形中的裹尸布。瑞恩猜，蜥蜴人是靠声音或气味察觉到这位玻璃基因者的。嘉年华的义警用玻璃碎片反击，却割不穿那只超能帮蜥蜴的坚硬鳞片。

瑞恩暂停时间，冲过去救援裹尸布，在凝固的时间里用拳拳给了蜥蜴人一拳。时钟重新走动时，这一拳把那只爬行动物打得横飞出去，裹尸布得以飞身脱离。他随即转换目标，用玻璃碎片支援原子猫，免得杂种用控火能力把他烧成灰。

“用小石子！”瑞恩朝原子猫喊道，那小子还在试图跟杂种近身搏斗。“用小石子！”

“哦，好主意！”菲利克斯迅速领会，朝杂种扔出一颗小石子，飞石炸得那个疯魔倒飞出去，撞在孤儿院的墙上。趁他暂时失去行动能力，蕾恩又用一个水泡把他困住。这个狂暴的疯魔在里面拼命喘气。

可惜事实证明，蕾恩的水泡还不足以让心震彻底动弹不得。意识到大势已去后，那个恶毒的夺脑者设法抬起一条触手，伸向头部，打碎了自己的头骨。脑浆流进水里，这个疯魔就这样抛下手下，任他们自生自灭。

“妈的，又来！”瑞恩一边抱怨，一边用拳拳把那个爬行动物疯魔揍晕。裹尸布开始用玻璃碎片绞杀小魔怪，原子猫则朝它们投掷爆炸石子，但罗刹还在不停召唤更多。这时，已有数百只小怪物眼看就要涌进收容所。

至少，在它们注意到瑞恩、突然刹住脚步之前，情况是这样的。

“嗯？”见小怪物们似乎慌了神，时间旅行者不禁出声。一只小魔怪把两根竖起的手指举到脑后，像是在模仿兔耳朵，然后指向瑞恩。

小怪物们脸上的不安变成了近乎疯狂的恐惧。

“等等，你们记得我？！”瑞恩问道。他刚一靠近，小魔怪们便立刻掉头逃跑。即使换了新服装，它们似乎还是认出了他。

等等，它们当然记得！罗刹召唤来的这些生物，多半来自另一个宇宙，而瑞恩的能力只会影响当前这个宇宙！“回来啊，”瑞恩恳求道，“兔子很友善的！”

小魔怪们发疯似的逃进锈镇，罗刹看得目瞪口呆。“喂，都给我回来！”美洲豹人命令道，此时衣橱已经朝他冲了过去。“回来，你们这群胆小鬼！”

切·衣橱以兰博的架势将美洲豹扑倒在地，开始狠揍他。也许这身装扮赋予了她超人的格斗技巧，或是增强了她的力量，总之她很快便用一记锁喉制服了这个杂兵召唤者。凶恶的猫人试图抓挠她的皮肉，裹尸布却用玻璃尖刺把他的手掌钉在了地上。

“退开！”小矮个举枪警告。衣橱松开锁喉，翻滚躲到一边，下一刻，罗刹也被关进了专属于他的水泡。

“你有权保持沉默！”熊猫反扣着蚊子的手腕，把他血淋淋的脸按在小巴的引擎盖上。“嫌犯！”

瑞恩都有点同情蚊子了。被那头熊打败，身心肯定都受伤不轻。几秒钟后，虫人和爬行动物疯魔也加入了同伙的行列，享受水泡禁闭。

“我抓到一个，师父！”熊猫说道，一张熊脸幸福得无以复加。“我抓到一个！我们赢了！”

“没有，”蕾恩说道，只有她对这个结果垂头丧气。“心震，他逃了。”

“我可不会管那样叫逃了。”原子猫指着小矮个水牢里漂浮的尸体说道。

“话说，他们在这些水泡里能活下来吗？”衣橱问道。杂种和罗刹都已经在牢笼里昏了过去，受伤的蚊子则还在拼命喘气。“他们是怪物没错，可要杀了他们……我心里还是不太舒服。”

“他们死不了。”蕾恩点点头。“这种特殊的水通过直接接触皮肤，提供足够维持生命的氧气……但不足以让他们保持清醒。他们的身体会进入假死状态，以维持生理机能。”

总的来说，这场“战斗”是一场压倒性的胜利，可惜小矮个说得有道理。他们抓到的全是杂兵，心震却留得性命，改天还能再战。这意味着超能帮不但可以继续奴役那些傀儡，还能操纵梅克隆的机甲。

迪纳米斯的英雄们欢欣鼓舞，蕾恩却依然满脸苦涩。“我……我应该再加大压力的，”她说道，把心震逃脱的责任都归到了自己头上。“要是我提高氧气比例，就能……就能让他更快昏过去。”

“小矮个，没事的。”瑞恩安慰她。“我们迟早会逮到那只鱿鱼。”

“你欠我们一个解释，”原子猫责问瑞恩，“那个隐形的家伙是谁？”

“那家伙？”瑞恩转过身，才发现裹尸布已经不见了。他肯定是赶在其他人问出尴尬问题之前，就隐形离开了。“这个鬼鬼祟祟的混蛋，我最讨厌他来这套！”

“刚才那一出是干什么？”原子猫满腹狐疑，继续追问。“关于埃克托的那些话？我想你说的是那位埃克托吧？”

“你没听见吗？”蕾恩没好气地回道，对迪纳米斯的愤怒压过了她的社交焦虑。“你的雇主在给超能帮出钱。”

“哦——有阴谋？”熊猫问道，显然很兴奋。“熊猫洗耳恭听。”

“我听见了，可那不可能。”衣橱反驳道。她收起了古灵精怪的神情，怀疑地皱起眉，连身上的装扮都从南美偶像变回了平常那套。“他为什么要这么做？帮助这些疯魔一样的怪物？说不通啊。”

“听听心心的录音就知道了。”瑞恩敞开外套，露出里面的窃听器。“咱们自家的首席执行官雇他去袭击奥古斯蒂。”

为了证明自己的话，他播放了录音。原子猫满腔怒火，熊猫一声不吭地一屁股坐在地上，至于小矮个……

听到心震谈起孩子们时，她的神情简直像要杀人。认识她这么多年，瑞恩从未见过她这副模样。

“可这说不通，要是传出去，对公司形象会是毁灭性的打击。”衣橱争辩道，关注点仍在营销上。“可能是有人冒充马纳达先生，想毁掉他的名声，也可能是超能帮在撒谎，想抹黑他。我是说，公关部肯定会这么解释。”

“还有谁能给超能帮送去一箱箱仿制灵药？”菲利克斯攥紧拳头，恼怒地反问。“我明知道他们是毒蛇，却还是让他们咬了我一口。”

“不过，呃，要是真的……”熊猫清了清嗓子，有些害怕。“那是不是意味着我们知道得太多了？电影里不都这么演的吗？我们知道得太多，所以我们全都要死了！”

“谁都不会死！”衣橱双手叉腰，抗议道。“我们按规矩办，把这份录音交给经理。”

“可万一他也参与了阴谋呢？”

“带我们来的时候，你就知道会发生这些。”原子猫指责瑞恩。“你从一开始就是这么打算的。还有，那个隐形的家伙到底是谁？”

“他是个朋友。”瑞恩说。“他很害羞，也不像看起来那么透明，不过人挺好。是个义警。”

“所以你才招募了熊猫？”熊猫满怀期待地睁大眼睛，问瑞恩。“因为你信不过其他人？”

这……

从某种奇怪的角度说，这话严格来讲还真没错。瑞恩百分之百确定，熊猫跟任何阴谋都毫无瓜葛，因为脑子正常的光照会都不会雇他。“没错，小徒弟。”他回答，抬起一根手指，指向这头动物的心脏。“我选中你，就是因为这个。”

“我、我的肝？”

“不，是你纯洁的心！”瑞恩轻轻拍了一下他的后脑勺。“你要学的还多着呢！”

“好吧，好吧，这事可远远超出了我这份薪水该管的范围。”衣橱深吸一口气，看向超能帮那几人。“先办要紧的，这些家伙怎么处理？水泡能维持多久？”

“几个小时。”蕾恩简短地答道。

“好，很好，足够把他们带回贵族派大厦了。”衣橱点头宣布。“谁都喜欢合规的逮捕行动！”

“什么，你刚才没听见吗？”菲利克斯猫怒气冲冲地说。他为了做好事，离开家人加入了迪纳米斯，公司却让他失望了。“真这么干，不出几个小时，他们就又回到街上了！”

“那怎么办，杀了他们？”衣橱厉声反驳。“我们不能这么做，我们不是义警。我们是有原则的。有正当程序要遵守。”

“你宁可冒着放跑这些家伙的风险，也要守着合同？他们可是想绑架孩子，把他们变成士兵！”

“喂，喂，大家冷静！”瑞恩赶在争吵进一步升级前开口。“听着，我提个建议。我们给亲爱的经理打电话，让他派人帮忙把嫌犯收押，再把录音交给他。我录下来本来就是为这个。”

“这我赞成。”衣橱点头。“我相信恩里克会把事情查清楚的。”

原子猫抱起胳膊，怀疑地瞪着瑞恩。“你俩是一伙的。你跟黑棘。”

“抱歉，小猫咪，这是绝密。”

“你俩是一伙的，想联手揭发埃克托。”他略一停顿。“很好。”

“当然，今天听到的这些事……”瑞恩扫了众人一眼，将一根手指竖在面具的嘴唇位置。“嘘……”

“熊猫会像坟墓一样安静。”徒弟保证道，随后重新站起身。“能让我在镜头前逮捕他们吗？把嫌犯押下车，再押进大厦？”

“哦，对，这可是你的首次逮捕！”衣橱开心地笑了。“到时候你就知道了，第一次总是终生难忘。再配上这身新服装，我敢说你在人气榜上的名次一定会蹿升！”

“说到服装，为什么选切·格瓦拉？”瑞恩问。这个问题已经困扰他好一会儿了。

“因为公关部从来不让我穿这套，菲德尔·卡斯特罗那套也不行。”她有点不好意思地承认。“他们说太有颠覆性了，哪怕我穿上他的军装就怎么都死不了！”

蕾恩立刻抬起头，共产主义雷达被触动了。“你是马克思主义者？”

“呃，我觉得自己更接近社会民主主义者。”衣橱承认道，让蕾恩失望了。服装设计师立刻试图让她高兴起来。“不过我还是支持你们的！支持的！”

瑞恩听见手机响了一声，意识到有人给自己发了消息。“我得走了。”

“什么？那你就赶不上拍照了！”衣橱瞪着他抱怨。“快存，这可是向全世界展示新服装的绝佳机会！”

“抱歉，小矮个和我得送孩子们回家。”瑞恩说道，蕾恩朝他皱起了眉。虽然心震暂时的死亡还没引来大胖亚当的反应，但如果不撤离，超能帮很可能会派出强力打手，再次袭击孤儿院。“而且那之后，我还有个约会。”

那个身份不明的联系人给他发来了邀请。

---

当晚，瑞恩开着普利茅斯“狂怒”驶往新罗马以南，蕾恩坐在副驾驶座上。他们驶过商业街区，进入一片只能称作贫民窟的地方。

好吧，也许他说得夸张了点。这里脏得要命，地上到处是用过的吸毒工具、避孕套，甚至还有弹壳，但还不至于像锈镇那么糟。瑞恩没看见野狗翻捡垃圾桶，街上行人也不像北部那些街区的人，处处透着疑神疑鬼。这地方是个垃圾堆，但有人在维持秩序。

瑞恩把普利茅斯“狂怒”停进一家格外让人不想踏足的汽车旅馆停车场。旅馆墙漆剥落，霓虹招牌闪烁不定。信使注意到附近还有一座游泳池的残迹，池水早已排空。只有二楼的一个房间亮着灯。

消除者守在门口。至少，这证实了他的猜测。

“就是这里。”瑞恩核对着神秘联系人发来的地址，说道。

“我……我知道这地方。”蕾恩不安地皱起眉。“他们叫这里死地汽车旅馆。”

“是啊，我看着也挺死气沉沉的。”

“瑞瑞，”她担忧地望着他，“他们这么叫，是因为……因为有很多人在这里失踪。”

他并不意外。这里离奥古斯都山很近，又足够偏僻，私人安保队不会来干涉。真正让他意外的是，小矮个把孩子们疏散到水下藏身处后，坚持要陪他过来。这让他心里暖暖的。“如果他们想杀我，就不会给我发邀请了。”

“你，你确定要这么做吗？”

瑞恩瞥了一眼消除者。“只有这样才能确定。”他答道，随后朝同伴笑了笑。“再说，有你给我撑腰，我什么都不怕。”

“别、别拿这事开玩笑，求你了。”

“好吧，不过我得承认，”他在面具下微笑，“有人在背后照应的感觉，真不错。”

“嗯……我也这么觉得。”她移开目光。“拜托，小心一点，好吗？”

“我保证。”

说完这番动情的话，瑞恩下了车，沿楼梯登上汽车旅馆二楼，走向消除者。“嗨，格蕾塔。”时间旅行者朝她挥了挥手。“莫蒂默在附近吗？”

“哦，嗨！”她也朝他挥手，一如既往地可爱友善。“他躲在一个角落里。”

“犹大。”莫蒂默的声音传来，瑞恩却不确定声音来自墙壁还是地面。“犹大！”

“不过，我们见过吗？”消除者神情友好地问瑞恩。无论哪一轮循环，信使从没见她换过表情。“面具也好，脸也好，我见过都会记得。”

“嗯，你还没试过杀我。”瑞恩开玩笑道。

“哦，那就好，要是在你身上失了手，我会很过意不去的！”

“不过，要是你们是来杀我的，能不能挑个比汽车旅馆更体面的地方？”瑞恩指向北边，问道。“我记得隔两条街就有公共厕所。”

“没事，我们是来负责安保的。”格蕾塔安慰道，指了指门。“有人想见你。”

果然不出他所料。瑞恩最后看了一眼正忧心忡忡等着他的蕾恩，便推开客房的门，走了进去。

出乎意料，房间里面远比外表看起来宽敞舒适。其实就是个挺普通的客房，有一张特大号床，各种设施也齐全，不过瑞恩还是忍不住嫌弃那蓝色的墙漆。有人已经摆好了一张餐桌，上面放着咖啡杯、棋盘，甚至还有饼干。

邀他来的人坐在桌子另一头，正等着他。

“谢谢你能来，快存。”瑞恩在身后关上门时，莉维娅·奥古斯蒂开口说道。“还是说，我该叫你瑞恩？”

瑞恩皱起眉，有些困惑。“你不知道？”

“不完全知道。”黑手党公主承认。“但这不是我们第一次见面，对吗？在你拨回时间的指针之前，我是怎么称呼你的？”

她知道。

他妈的，她知道，而消除者就在三米开外。“你叫我瑞恩。”他回答，努力不让恐惧流露出来。“我们只是泛泛之交。”

“果然和我想的一样。”她若有所思地答道。“橙子在鸡舍里……我一直不明白这句话的意思，但现在我懂了。那是一封装在瓶子里的信。一个投入大海的求救信号，希望它能漂到对的人手中。”

奥古斯蒂家的公主给瑞恩倒了一杯咖啡，请他坐下。

“现在，你的漂流瓶漂到我这里来了。”莉维娅微笑着说。“我们一起打开吧。”