同章对照

Ryan had to give it to Dynamis. The company spoiled its heroes rotten.

Enrique had granted the courier a full penthouse suite, located on the Optimates Tower’s twenty-fifth floor. Ryan slept in an apartment-sized bedroom, with a plasma screen TV and an unbeatable picturesque window view of the city. The suite was fully stocked with amenities and tastefully decorated, with no inch of ground left without a carpet; each piece of furniture had been carefully selected to create an atmosphere of opulent relaxation. The bathroom included a private pool with a Jacuzzi included, and even a bar.

The suite itself was only part of the package though. Ryan had a dedicated staff available at all times to fulfill all his whims, from the mundane to the truly bizarre. The courier had tested the waters and learned almost nothing was off-the-table for him, from drugs to prostitutes; so long as none of his excesses made their way to the media anyway. And the cherry on top of the cake, the walls and windows were soundproof.

Of course, the suite was filled with cameras spying on him, but Ryan hacked them five minutes after taking over.

On the morning of May 11th, the courier finished dressing in his new costume, when he heard someone ring the bell. “Somebody call security, the poor are at the gates!” he declared through the intercom, though a camera system showed him Wardrobe and Atom Cat waiting on the other side. “I can’t stand the stench of the middle-class!”

“Does Your Majesty want cake for his morning breakfast?” For once Felix didn’t wear his face-mask, revealing his true face to the world… and quite the handsome one too! He looked like a masculine version of his gorgeous sister.

“Hi, Ryan!” Wardrobe said, much more politely. “Can we get in? We have a tight schedule today!”

Ryan lowered himself to let these guests inside his lair, even if Atom Cat looked too much like a nouveau riche for his refined patrician tastes. The splendor of his suite immediately floored his teammates.

“How is it that your place is bigger than mine?” Wardrobe asked, green with envy, as they made their way into the main room. Ryan’s sofa was larger than most king-sized beds, and faced a state of the art home cinema. “I thought only Pro Leaguers could get a penthouse suite?”

“I have special needs,” Ryan replied, trying to sound as foppish and pompous as possible. “I fall ill without three hundred square meters to live in.”

“I have a big one too,” Felix said, his dirty, plebeian mind unimpressed by the luxurious penthouse. “I suppose Enrique wanted to make us feel welcome.”

That, and to bribe them. Ryan hadn’t gotten anything like this suite in his previous Dynamis Run, probably because Enrique didn’t feel the need to placate him. “What did Greenhand say when you gave him the recording?”

“He said ‘thank you’, and sent us on our way,” Felix replied with a scoff.

Disappointing, but not surprising. Blackthorn probably needed more time to make a move against his patriarch.

Unfortunately, Ryan wasn’t certain they had it with Psyshock still at large. On one hand, his demise had caused Adam to throw away all caution in his attempt to unlock the satellite, but Psyshock also provided near-limitless cannon fodder to throw at the bunker’s defenses. Though Ryan and Len warned residents like Paulie to escape the district, the courier had no idea if it would slow down the Meta-Gang’s progress.

Ryan remembered that Vulcan’s disastrous assault on Rust Town happened on May 12th, with Psyshock blasting everyone to kingdom come with Mechron’s mech. It meant that even with Psypsy, the Meta shouldn’t unlock the bunker’s full power before that date, or else they would have used the Bahamut on the invaders. After May 12th though, this loop would enter uncharted territories.

And that was without taking Livia into account.

“Though I saw Wyvern go into his office right after us,” Atom Cat added. “She looked rather pleased too. I wonder why.”

“If you want to hear all the hero gossip, you have found your gal,” Wardrobe said with a wide smile. “Do you know Blackthorn and Wyvern are an on-and-off item?”

“No way!” Ryan said with shocked surprise. “But what about Vulcan?!”

“I thought they had a passionate love-hate relationship going on too, but no! Devilry is into girls though, but Wyvern politely let her down when she made a pass at her.” The stylist looked at the two boys with her big, beautiful eyes. “Are you both…?”

“I’m straight,” Felix said quickly, “and not looking for romance.”

“I’m flexible,” Ryan said with a seductive voice, “and available.”

“I thought you were dating the Underdiver?” Wardrobe looked both curious and slightly disappointed. “The romantic tension is palpable between you.”

“It’s…” The courier looked away. “It’s complicated. I’m looking for something new.”

Truth was, when Ryan woke up this morning, his drowsy mind had wondered why Jasmine wasn’t in the bed.

And then he remembered, and he felt the pain of losing her all over again.

Ryan knew he shouldn’t have grown attached to a woman or lowered his guard, but the damage was done. He didn’t want to forget Jasmine, not after she made him promise not to, but the courier only knew one way to numb the emotional pain. Filling the gaping void with distractions; better to keep running forward than sit alone with his regrets.

“Is that a Batman-Catwoman thing where you fight on two different sides of the law, and you want to be together, but the world conspires to keep you apart? We can work with that, you know!”

“Hey, Kitty!” Ryan abruptly changed the subject and asked his second-favorite cat. “Something has been bothering me for a while. Did anybody ask you how Lightning Butt’s invulnerability works?”

“You can’t evade me forever, Ryan,” Wardrobe said, determined to learn everything about his romantic life.

Felix snorted at Mob Zeus’ nickname, though it put him in a bad mood. “Enrique already beat you to it. No idea, and he murdered everybody who could possibly harm him.”

“Do you have a list of them?” Ryan asked. With the information he had gathered from his previous loops, he could perhaps find the true nature of Mob Zeus’ invulnerability. He wanted peace with Livia, but he had the feeling he might have to confront Lightning Butt at one point in order to achieve his Perfect Run.

“I know a few, but the only person with the full list is Mercury, the organization’s spymaster,” Felix replied.

“I thought that talking skull controlled gambling dens and money laundering?” Ryan asked. “Come to think of it, I wonder why they still launder money when there are no taxes to pay.”

“It’s because Mercury’s division is a submarine,” Atom Cat replied.

“He can breathe underwater better than bugs?”

“That’s not funny Ryan,” Wardrobe said as she sat on the sofa, though she forced herself not to smile at his pitch-black joke.

As it turned out, Shortie’s bubbles were an experimental technology, and not that reliable. Mosquito’s water prison ended up malfunctioning, perhaps due to his peculiar biology, and caused him brain damage from a lack of oxygen.

Then again, what did Ryan expect? Communists could never make good products.

“Don’t know, I never tried to drown him,” Felix mused. “Augustus uses the laundered money to infiltrate European communities that oppose him. Mercury funnels dirty money into ‘legitimate’ businesses that then take over companies, institutions, farms, etc… he even managed to infiltrate some of Dynamis’ contractors from what I heard. Don’t kid yourself, every branch of that organization supports a criminal takeover. Every last one.”

Atom Cat then crossed his arms while Wardrobe put on the TV and checked the news. “And… as I told Enrique, I think there’s something wrong with Augustus.”

“You mean besides the sociopathic narcissism?” Ryan asked, though he shared the same intuition.

“He has been strangely lethargic in the last few years. Beforehand, he used to track down some foes himself, to remind the masses that he’s a tough psychopath you don’t want to mess with, but now he lets Pluto do it for him and hasn’t left his villa in years. Dad told me he seems to forget the world exists for minutes at a time, and he keeps an electrical halo around himself whenever he’s in public. When I asked Livia why, she wouldn’t answer.”

“He’s sick?” Wardrobe asked with a frown.

“I dunno, he’s supposed to be invulnerable.” Felix shrugged. “Maybe it’s just age or depression.”

Ryan didn’t think so. The courier must have annoyed Lightning Butt for four years with his time-stops, but it literally took an orbital laser for the mob boss to get out of his house. The courier had seen the signs on the wall; the sick, sullen face Mob Zeus hid beneath his bright halo, the way his family members were uneasy around him...

Something was wrong with New Rome’s Godfather.

“Hey, look!” Wardrobe interrupted their discussion, a finger pointed at the TV. “They’re talking about us!”

Ryan glanced at the plasma screen, as the news showed a recap of yesterday’s events. The main video showed the Panda proudly bringing the Psychos into custody, Wardrobe answering journalist questions while Atom Cat ignored them, and Enrique congratulating everyone for making New Rome a safer place. Someone had also managed to find a photo of Ryan in his old costume, and Dynanet theories proliferated on him.

Truly, the headlines said it all: “The Menagerie: Il Migliore’s newest golden children!” “New hero team deals a heavy blow to Psychos everywhere! “Who is Quicksave?”

“The Menagerie, seriously?” Atom Cat asked with a heavy sigh. “I should have called myself Atom Smasher.”

“Felix, even marketing wouldn’t let you use such a silly name,” Wardrobe said with a smirk. “I heard rumors they want to pitch us as a team, young and hip. I will be the leader, as the senior Pro Hero, and you’ll be my padawans.”

“Yuki, no!” Ryan protested, horrified. “You know what happens to mentor figures in hero stories? Don’t become my Obi-Wan, please!”

“I know, it seems like a bad idea, but think long-term!” Wardrobe insisted. “I can stage my retirement with a Merlin costume, as you are inspired by my demise to become true heroes! And then, I can make a surprise comeback tour dressed as Jesus!”

Felix clearly didn’t understand her evil scheme, but Ryan thought it made perfect sense. “Anyway,” Atom Cat said. “Time to go. We have to go to the Dynamis HQ next door and meet with Dr. Tyrano.”

“The Elixir expert?” Ryan asked, suddenly curious.

“Yeah, he wants to study our powers.” Felix shrugged again. “The Panda is already there for a thorough checkup.”

“And then afterward, we go to Star Studios,” Wardrobe said with a bright smile. “We’re going to appear in the stinger of Wyvern’s Flight II!”

“Before we go.” Ryan looked at Wardrobe. “Yuki, I have something for you.”

“Oh, a gift?” She smiled at him. “I love gifts! I never have enough of them! What kind of gift?”

“Let me tell you of its backstory first. I was about to go to bed, wearing only my boxers, when I was struck by a surge of inspiration. A wild Dionysian spirit possessed my body, and forced me to put on the bowler hat.”

“You should have kept your scarf,” Wardrobe replied, worried for his mental stability. “I warned you. I warned you!”

“Yes, but it’s alright. Because my muse inspired me to repay the debt I owe you. You, who had made this perfect costume! I had to return the favor!” Ryan moved into his bedroom, and returned with his gift. “The media call us the Menagerie because we have an animal theme going on. Timmy is a panda, Felix is a cat, I have a rabbit plushie. I figured that, even if you can turn into an animal mascot, I had to make something for you. I remembered you had a few scandalous magazines in your office, and it clicked.”

Ryan presented her with his newest creation: a homemade costume for his favorite stylist.

His marvelous creation, inspired by his very own rabbit plushie, included a headband with brown rabbit ears, a red necklace with a yellow ribbon, and a black velvet leotard. Pairs of black tights, high heels, and golden bracelets completed the set.

In short, it was a Playboy Bunny Costume.

Felix blinked repeatedly, and then looked at Yukiko with apprehension. This foolish plebeian probably thought the stylish hero would take offense, for this scandalous, 18+ costume left almost nothing up to the imagination.

“A Puff-Puff costume!” Wardrobe squealed in joy. “How did you know I didn’t have one?”

But she was a woman of culture above all else.

“Wait, Yuki, you like that?” Felix asked Wardrobe, astonished, as she examined the costume with a joyful face.

"I love kinky costumes," she replied. "I just never get to wear them."

“Of course you don't, it’s indecent!”

“But it’s made of velvet!” Yuki’s fingers touched the bunny ears, her eyes widening in rapturous surprise. “And the ears, they’re real fur! Mink? Mink.”

“I always keep mink fur in my car trunk,” Ryan replied proudly. “You never know when you might have a clothing emergency.”

Atom Cat looked at him strangely. “There are still wild minks in Italy?”

“There were,” Ryan whistled ominously, before focusing on his new BFF. “I wanted to make the Dragon Ball costume, but then I remembered you couldn’t use anything copyrighted.”

Wait, did copyright still function if the country where it was registered no longer existed? Yuki’s power made no sense.

“Ryan, you are adorable and I love it,” Wardrobe replied before grabbing the costume. “I’ll put it in my room and try it on tonight.”

“No way Dynamis will let you dress like that in public though,” Felix stated the obvious.

“Wyvern wears a leotard just fine,” the stylist pointed out.

“Yes, but it isn’t a playboy bunny costume, and didn’t you complain that Dynamis markets you as a kid-friendly superhero before?”

Wardrobe instantly deflated. “Oh, yes, that’s right, I forgot about it… it will clash with my current branding.”

“Wait, wait, I know a way to market it,” Ryan said, struck by inspiration. He couldn’t let his new BFF down. “Yuki, you are transitioning from the Little League to the Pro Circuit. You are leaving the innocence of childhood behind, for the grim and gritty reality of crime-fighting.”

“A dark age phase...” Wardrobe muttered to herself. “And then when I become too grim and controversial, I emerge from the darkness with something classy and elegant! Like a bodysuit with a cape!”

Ryan summarized her marketing strategy in one sentence. “A seamless transition from kid’s mascot, to adult icon.”

“You know what, I don’t think I’m comfortable wearing this in public yet, but I will totally wear it in private!” Wardrobe kissed Ryan on the cheek. “Thanks. You really shouldn’t have.”

“Wardrobe, there are beautiful things in this world… and you’re one of them,” Ryan admitted, struggling to hold back tears. “I felt so alone before meeting you. The last bastion of culture in a world gone mad.”

“I felt the same way too,” she replied, with tears in her eyes. “When I joined… When I joined, they asked me to wear synthetic fibers. Synthetic fibers! No respect! No respect!”

“It’s okay, Yuki, it’s okay,” Ryan said while hugging Wardrobe, letting her head rest on his shoulder. “Cry on my cashmere suit. Do you feel the softness? Do you feel better?”

Atom Cat watched the scene without a word, his face blank and his eyes squinting. Ryan felt attacked. “Hey Kitten, stop judging us.”

“Please don’t reproduce,” Felix deadpanned. “New Rome won’t survive three of you.”

---

In the previous loop, Ryan had long talked with Vulcan about Lab Sixty-Six, the birthplace of knockoff Elixirs. She particularly disliked the Genius behind the operation, the so-called Dr. Tyrano; so when the courier learned they were supposed to meet him, he hoped to get a free tour of the mystery lab.

But as it turned out, Dynamis afforded their head science honcho two floors for his experiments, and the group had an appointment in Lab Sixty-Five.

Even there, security was tight. Automated cameras monitored everything in the Dynamis HQ building, from the entrance lobby to the parking lot. One needed keycards to access each floor individually, so no thief could access everything even if they had stolen the necessary key. Guards in power armor waited before all elevator doors while drones patrolled the corridors, assisted by infrared and motion-detection systems.

Even Ryan would have a hard time sneaking in undetected, and it would certainly take more than one loop. An open assault or suicide run would be easier.

When they passed through the blast doors leading to Lab Sixty-Five, the time-traveler expected to enter some kind of dimly-lit mad scientist’s lair. He was slightly disappointed. While the lab included mainstay features like liquid-filled tanks containing what appeared to be dinosaur embryos and operation tables, it was well-lit and clean.

Though the scene before them made up for the place’s blandness.

“Sifu, save me!” The naked Panda had retreated to a corner of the lab, putting an operation table between himself and some kind of humanoid dinosaur. A monstrous, horned dog with scales instead of fur barked at the scene. “He wants to cut me open!”

“I only need a lung!” The humanoid dinosaur hybrid reminded Ryan of a two meters tall T-rex, albeit with human-sized arms, black scales, and crimson eyes. The strange mutant wore a white lab coat and tiny glasses optimized for his head shape, but most importantly, he carried a scalpel and a syringe in each hand. “Stop struggling, or I will have to use anesthesia.”

“You’re not vivisecting the Panda!” Ryan instantly froze time and disarmed the dinosaur, tossing his weapons aside. “He’s the last of his kind!”

“Yeah, back off, doc!” Felix warned, hands raised as if willing to use his power inside the lab.

“Oh, hi Mr. Tyrano!” Wardrobe waved a hand at the saurian with a bright smile.

“Oh, hi Yuki!” the scientist replied with a deep reptilian voice, stopping his Panda harassment to look at Ryan. “You, from your power, I assume you must be Cesare Sabino?”

Ryan instantly flinched, his playful mood replaced with frostiness. “How do you know that?”

“Sabino?” Felix asked with a frown. “Isn’t that the Underdiver’s family name?”

Wardrobe gasped in shock. “No way, you are—”

“We’re not blood-related!” Ryan quickly said, raising a finger at his BFF. “Don’t you dare write fanfics about us!”

“What, really? You are adopted?” Dr. Tyrano didn’t hide his disappointment. “Such a shame, I would have loved to compare samples from various Genome relatives. It is a rare opportunity.”

“Wait, you took Len’s DNA?” Ryan asked, squinting suspiciously at the Genius.

“The Private Security takes DNA scans of everyone in their custody,” Felix reminded him.

Dr. Tyrano shrugged it off. “Doesn’t matter, I will still need a sample anyway.”

“I wouldn’t recommend it,” Ryan replied, slightly bothered by this scaled man. The courier loved attention, except when it involved being carved open on an operation table. It happened to him enough times already! “I’m a drug so addictive, you won’t be able to get enough of me.”

“You have a Green power in addition to your Violet one?” Dr. Tyrano asked, completely missing the point. Clearly, humor was a mammal-only feature. “Then, I will need blood or hair, though sperm can work too. Some people prefer ejaculation to extraction.”

“What, Quicksave, you didn’t do a DNA test when you joined?” Wardrobe asked.

“No, it’s against my religion.”

“You should reconsider,” Dr. Tyrano insisted, his strange reptilian dog leaping into his arms. “Violets are the second rarest powers in circulation after White Genomes! Think about science!”

“Yeah, nope,” Ryan replied, while the Panda breathed easy now that he no longer interested the scientist. The courier patted his sidekick on the shoulder, before looking at the dinoman’s strange pet. “What is this?”

“It’s Tricerador, one of my creations,” Dr. Tyrano answered, petting the abomination against nature behind the horns. “Half Labrador, half triceratops.”

“So it’s like the platypus of dinosaurs?” Ryan asked, his mood softening as he scratched the beast’s belly. The animal made a saurian sound, but wagged its tail like a dog. “Can you make a dinocat?”

“I tried to splice a Persian cat and a velociraptor, but the end result died,” the mad scientist replied. “But I, Dr. Tyrano, swear that each household shall have its own dinosaur one day! And I would have already done so, if management didn’t pester me about that T-rex hunting safari!”

“What, they want to create a reserve where rich people can hunt dinosaurs, like lions?” Felix asked.

“Ridiculous, right?” said the man who tried to cut open a Panda one minute ago.

“For a moment, I forgot we lived in a world where everything is for sale.”

In any case, Ryan immediately forgave the doctor for his terrible first impression. Someone wanting to make dinosaur pets couldn’t possibly be a bad person, no matter what Jasmine could have said.

“Felix, don’t blame Dr. Tyrano, he is a misunderstood genius,” Wardrobe declared, with her hands on her waist. “He’s the one who made me my hero costume.”

“A techno-organic symbiote capable of mimicking the shape of pre-recorded costumes,” Dr. Tyrano explained almost absent-mindedly, while his Tricerador escaped his grip to wander around the lab. “Anyway, since you are new I want to test your powers in a controlled environment. See if there are potential interactions, record the energy readings, etc...”

“By dissecting one of our teammates?” Felix mused, while the Panda cowered.

“He fully regenerates whenever he switches from one form to another!” Dr. Tyrano all but shouted. “Even Wyvern needs time to heal naturally, but not this werebear! With his ability, we could have an infinite, renewable source of organs!”

“The Panda… the Panda was abducted by someone like this once.” The poor animal seemed to relive a particularly nasty PTSD-induced episode. “They thought they could make aphrodisiac from his blood. The Panda… the Panda had to flee.”

“Now, I have to figure out where the extra organic material comes from by studying the transformation,” Dr. Tyrano said, completely oblivious to his animal cruelty.

Ryan needed to distract him, before he harmed his sidekick. “Well, there isn’t much to check,” he lied to the scientist. “I can stop time, my pandawan can shapeshift, and my cat can blow up pebbles.”

Wardrobe chuckled. “You can stop time and there is nothing interesting about that?”

“About the pebbles part, after our last battle, I realized I could modulate my explosions.” By now, Felix ignored all of Ryan’s cat jokes, much to the courier’s displeasure. “Charge weapons, delay the blast by a few seconds, and then throw them.”

Dr. Tyrano nodded a few times as he listened to the explanations, as if they confirmed his own observations. “As I thought, you probably charge solid matter with a unique form of energy, causing it to detonate afterward.”

“Red Flux?”

Ryan flinched as Dr. Tyrano’s head abruptly snapped in his direction, so fast it fooled even the Genome’s enhanced sense of timing. “How do you know that?”

“Well, I’ve been studying powers with my last Genius girlfriend,” the time-traveler said. “We kinda figured out Genome powers come from alternate dimensions, one for each Elixir color.”

“Fascinating.” Now the courier had to take a step back as Dr. Tyrano started invading his personal space. “I came to the same conclusions, but to have them confirmed by an outside researcher…”

Goddammit, now Ryan could smell the dinosaur’s warm reptilian breath, and Felix the Cat delighted in his unease. “That’s not so funny when you’re the victim rather than the perpetrator, uh?” Atom Kitten mocked the time-traveler.

“So you suggest the werebear’s extra organs come from an alien green dimension made of organic matter?” Dr. Tyrano focused on Ryan and completely ignored the jab. “I would be delighted to pick your brain open and compare notes.”

“I do have a question of my own actually,” Ryan said, pointing a finger at the dinoman’s tail. “Aren’t you a Blue, rather than a Green?”

“I am a Genius specialized in cloning, splicing, and gene therapy. My current appearance is the result of an experimental transformation serum. It’s purely temporary.”

Felix hesitated, as if afraid to ask his question. “Why, Doc? What was the point?”

“Because I wanted to turn myself into a dinosaur,” the Genius replied like it was the most normal dream in the world.

“Oh God, you’re a furry,” Ryan realized. “I guess we’ll never be friends.”

“You need fur to be a furry,” Wardrobe pointed out. “It’s in the name.”

“What’s a furry?” The Panda asked naively.

Ryan looked at him with a gaze of pure compassion, and quiet appreciation for the hero’s sheer luck. How could he survive in the wild so long? “Your innocence must be protected, my young student.”

“Hey, I’m not the one judging you on your appearance,” Dr. Tyrano complained.

“But seriously, it all makes sense now,” Ryan said. “I always wondered how you managed to make knockoffs at all, but your power should give you a heads up.”

“I couldn’t make Elixirs,” the dino Genius admitted. “Not truly. What I did was synthesize a specific resource that mimicked the properties of a true Elixir. It’s a shoddy imitation, and an imperfect one. It took years to create the Hercules serum from Wyvern, and even then I could only replicate a subset of her ability, namely her enhanced strength.”

“And you never managed to copy my power,” Wardrobe mused with a smile.

The scientist grumbled before giving back Ryan his personal space, making circles in the room with his hands crossed behind his back. “Because besides the usual Genome health enhancements, your Elixir didn’t change much about your genetic code. The mechanics that allow you to channel multiple abilities transcend the sphere of flesh.”

“I believe the Elixir mostly serves as an intermediary between a Genome and the dimension providing their esoteric powers,” Ryan stated. “They also support their host by subtly guiding them with their ability, or in the case of Psychos, pushing them to consume more Elixirs.”

Felix coughed, interrupting the discussion. “Excuse me, but… hosts, guiding? You make it sound as if Elixirs are alive and intelligent.”

“Yeah, they are,” Ryan replied, much to his teammates’ shock. “Sort of. They’re closer to viruses.”

“Except they do not use RNA or DNA to transmit information,” Dr. Tyrano pointed out. “Though they manipulate ours.”

“Sorry,” Wardrobe said with a forced smile, “you are losing me.”

“They’re like aliens who do not work the same way life on Earth does,” Ryan explained the best he could. “We don’t understand how Elixirs carry information, but they understand and manipulate how our bodies do. Enough to focus on modifying humans only, and ignoring animals.”

“Exactly!” Dr. Tyrano shouted, happy to find someone with whom to brainstorm. “After being used, the Alchemist’s Elixirs bond to an homo sapiens’ cells on a molecular level, rewriting the DNA to make their host the vessel of a unique power. And no powers are exactly the same, though they may be variants, which implies the Elixir selects the ability from a collective database and makes it unavailable to new hosts.”

Yeah, Ryan figured as much after extensive testing during his previous loops. Even when divided into doses distributed to a group, an Elixir always bonded to one person only.

Ryan could never bring himself to give someone two Elixirs at once though, not even in a research loop. Nobody deserved to transform into the new Bloodstream.

“Unfortunately, when you have more than one, even from the same color, they start to conflict,” Ryan continued, while his teammates clearly struggled to understand. “They edit the same genes. Think of it as two writers fighting over a script. They keep rewriting the other’s work until the sentences don’t make sense. And you can only have two powers at most.”

“After which, the original two Elixirs in the host’s cells cannibalize the newcomers,” Dr. Tyrano finished, he and the courier working in perfect synchronicity. “They repurpose new Elixir injections towards stabilizing the unstable genetic code, but only for a while before they start fighting again. Psychos instinctively know that, as the Elixirs in their bodies influence them to collect more in a doomed attempt to reach an equilibrium.”

“What about Mongrel?” Felix asked. “He could use more than two abilities when I fought him.”

“Ah, I can already answer that question!” Dr. Tyrano said triumphantly. “From the samples gathered from his custody, I can attest that this Psycho consumed an Alchemist-made White Elixir, followed by almost all knockoffs available on the open market.”

“So he’s a White with the power to have more than two powers?” Atom Cat asked, while the Genius nodded. “That’s cheating.”

“Instead of cannibalizing newcomers, the original Elixir seems to force them to play along like a referee. It allowed his body to channel more than one ability, but unfortunately didn’t protect him from Elixir conflicts, mutations, and addiction. The substances don’t destroy each other, but they still conflict. Truly fascinating.”

Such was the tragedy of Mongrel. He had earned an overpowered ability in theory, but lost the mental faculties needed to use his limitless potential.

“Do you think the Psycho condition can be cured?” Ryan asked Dr. Tyrano. He had given up after facing roadblocks in his understanding of Elixirs, but perhaps the saurian knew more than he did.

“Of course it can be!” The genius lambasted the time-traveler. “Nothing is impossible!”

“Yeah,” Felix said. “Augustus has two powers without any side-effects as far as I know.”

“Oh, could the Panda get two powers?” Naive Timmy’s eyes widened in hope. “One for each form?”

“Possible, though unlikely!” Dr. Tyrano said, seizing the opportunity for a free mad experiment. “We can always try, but you will need to sign a discharge first.”

Ryan lightly slapped the Panda in the back of his skull, much to his surprise. “Ouch, Sifu, what was that for?”

“Your real power is there, arrogant young disciple,” Ryan said, pointing a finger at his sidekick’s heart. “Do not be greedy, you already have the greatest power of all!”

“Y-yeah, right,” the Panda said and nodded, but misunderstood his master’s wisdom. “I should master it first, before thinking of gaining a new one.”

“There are rare cases of individuals with two powers and no side-effects,” Dr. Tyrano said. “Augustus is the most famous, but not the only case on records. Either these lucky few possessed specific genes, or their Elixirs modify different parts of the DNA sequences without conflicting. Since unlike Psychos, Augustus’ powers haven’t formed an obvious synergy, I believe they coexist independently.”

“I think I get it,” Wardrobe said, having struggled to follow the discussion so far. “You have two creators, but instead of fighting, they each design a different part of the ensemble?”

“And if an equilibrium is possible, then it can, in theory, be replicated,” Dr. Tyrano declared with enthusiasm. “Imagine, giving two powers to every Genome with no side-effect? I could become a Blue/Green and maintain this transformation permanently, joining my bountiful intellect with a powerful saurian body!”

“But you need to figure out the reason why there is an equilibrium at all,” Felix pointed out. “All your points are mere hypotheses. For all you know it depends on the Elixirs used rather than anything innate in the host.”

“Yes, yes, and unfortunately the few individuals with two powers in Italy refused to cooperate.” Dr. Tyrano shrugged. “In any case, we do not yet understand Elixirs enough to cure the Psycho condition yet. But if Mechron understood enough about powers to enhance and reverse-engineer them, then why not us?”

Ryan’s thoughts turned to the bunker below Rust Town, and his last visit there. The courier remembered entering a room with animals kept in Elixir-colored liquid, and Big Fat Adam said the armory included knockoff production facilities. Perhaps even a cure for his power degeneration.

He really needed to explore that place, after purging the Meta from it. “I would love to exchange notes on Elixirs, and especially your brain-copy project too.”

The last part caused Dr. Tyrano to snort in anger. “Does everybody know of it nowadays? I’m afraid you need a Level 5 clearance before I can even talk to you about it. The CEO already gave me an earful about security yesterday.”

Felix instantly tensed, while Ryan simply shrugged. “Well, my scaled friend, how can I gain one such clearance and build a strong bond of sciencehood between us?”

“I will petition management, but the procedure usually takes months.” Dr. Tyrano snorted with disdain for Dynamis’ bureaucracy. “Anyway, talking is time wasted, and I have a busy schedule. Go into the testing chambers and strip. You are all older than eighteen, right? My lawyer is very adamant about that part.”

瑞恩不得不承认，迪纳米斯确实有一套。这家公司把自家的英雄宠上了天。

恩里克拨给信使一整套顶层豪华套房，就在贵族派大厦二十五层。瑞恩睡的卧室有普通公寓那么大，配着等离子电视，窗外则是无可比拟、如画般的城市风光。套房内设施一应俱全，装潢也颇有品位，地上没有一寸没铺地毯；每件家具都经过精心挑选，营造出奢华而舒适的氛围。浴室里有私人泳池，配有按摩浴缸，甚至还有个吧台。

不过，套房只是整套待遇的一部分。瑞恩还有一支专属服务团队，全天候待命，满足他从寻常到匪夷所思的各种突发奇想。信使试探了一下，发现从毒品到妓女，几乎没有什么是他不能要的——前提是他那些放纵行径别传到媒体耳朵里。最妙的是，墙壁和窗户还全都隔音。

当然，套房里也装满了监视他的摄像头，不过入住五分钟后，瑞恩就把它们全黑了。

五月十一日早上，信使刚换好新制服，就听见有人按门铃。“快叫保安，穷人打到门口来了！”他对着通话器宣布，尽管监控画面上明明是衣橱和原子猫站在门外。“我受不了中产阶级那股臭味！”

“陛下早餐要吃蛋糕吗？”菲利克斯难得没戴面罩，把真面目展示给了世人……而且还真挺帅！简直就是他那位美貌姐姐的男版。

“嗨，瑞恩！”衣橱就礼貌多了。“我们能进来吗？今天行程很紧！”

瑞恩屈尊让客人们进了自己的巢穴，尽管以他高雅的贵族审美来看，原子猫实在太像个暴发户。套房的豪奢立刻震住了队友们。

“凭什么你这里比我那儿大？”走进客厅时，衣橱嫉妒得眼睛都绿了。瑞恩的沙发比大多数特大号床还宽敞，正对着一套最先进的家庭影院。“我还以为只有职业组成员才能住顶层套房呢？”

“我有特殊需求。”瑞恩答道，竭力让自己的语气显得浮夸又自命不凡。“住不到三百平方米，我会生病的。”

“我的也很大。”菲利克斯说道，这个肮脏的平民脑袋竟然对豪华顶层公寓不为所动。“我想恩里克是要让我们感受到欢迎吧。”

欢迎是一方面，收买也是。在上一次加入迪纳米斯的循环里，瑞恩可没得到过这样的套房，大概是因为恩里克当时没觉得有必要安抚他。“你们把录音交给绿手的时候，他说什么了？”

“他说了声‘谢谢’，就把我们打发走了。”菲利克斯嗤笑着答道。

令人失望，却不意外。黑棘大概还需要更多时间，才能对自家族长动手。

可惜，心震还逍遥法外，瑞恩不确定他们有没有那么多时间。一方面，心震的死曾让亚当为了取得卫星的控制权而彻底抛开顾忌；但另一方面，心震又能提供近乎无穷无尽的炮灰，用来冲击地堡的防御。虽然瑞恩和蕾恩已经警告保利等居民逃离这片街区，信使却不知道这样能不能拖慢超能帮的进度。

瑞恩记得，伏尔甘那场惨败的锈镇攻势发生在五月十二日，当时心震驾驶梅克隆的机甲，把所有人都轰上了西天。这就意味着，即便有小心心在，超能帮应该也无法在那天之前解锁地堡的全部力量，否则他们早就用巴哈姆特号对付入侵者了。但过了五月十二日，这一轮就会进入未知领域。

这还没把莉维娅算进去。

“不过，我们刚出来，我就看见双足飞龙进了他的办公室。”原子猫又补了一句，“她看起来还挺高兴的。不知道为什么。”

“想听英雄们的八卦，你们可算找对人了。”衣橱笑逐颜开。“你们知道黑棘和双足飞龙是一对分分合合的情侣吗？”

“不会吧！”瑞恩大惊失色。“那伏尔甘怎么办？！”

“我也以为她们那是爱恨交织、火花四溅，结果不是！倒是邪魔喜欢女孩子，不过她向双足飞龙示好的时候，被礼貌地拒绝了。”造型师用那双漂亮的大眼睛看着两个男生。“你们两个是不是……？”

“我是直的，”菲利克斯立刻说道，“而且不打算谈恋爱。”

“我比较灵活，”瑞恩用诱惑的语气说道，“而且随时有空。”

“我还以为你在和深潜者交往呢？”衣橱既好奇，又有点失望。“你们俩之间的暧昧都快溢出来了。”

“这……”信使移开了目光。“情况很复杂。我想找点新鲜的。”

其实，今天早上醒来时，瑞恩那还迷迷糊糊的脑子曾经疑惑，贾丝敏怎么不在床上。

然后他想起来了，失去她的痛苦又一次涌上心头。

瑞恩知道自己不该对一个女人动情，不该卸下心防，可伤害已经造成了。他不想忘记贾丝敏，尤其她还让他保证过不会忘记，但信使只知道一种麻痹情伤的方法。拿种种消遣填满心里的空洞；与其独自坐着，与悔恨为伴，不如不停地向前跑。

“是蝙蝠侠和猫女那种关系吗？你们站在法律的两边，想在一起，全世界却合起伙来拆散你们？这个我们也能做文章的！”

“嘿，猫咪！”瑞恩突然转移话题，问起了自己第二喜欢的猫。“有件事困扰我好一阵了。有没有人问过你，闪电屁股的无敌之身到底是什么原理？”

“你躲不了我一辈子的，瑞恩。”衣橱说道，铁了心要把他的感情生活刨个底朝天。

菲利克斯被黑帮宙斯的外号逗得哼了一声，不过这个话题还是让他心情不快。“恩里克早就问过了。我不知道，而且所有可能伤到他的人，都被他杀了。”

“你有那些人的名单吗？”瑞恩问道。结合前几轮收集的信息，他也许能查出黑帮宙斯那无敌之身的真正原理。他希望能和莉维娅和平相处，但总觉得，为了达成完美通关，自己迟早得和闪电屁股正面交锋。

“我知道几个，不过只有墨丘利手上有完整名单。他是组织的情报头子。”菲利克斯答道。

“我还以为那颗会说话的骷髅头是管赌场和洗钱的？”瑞恩问道，“说起来，我一直想不通，既然都不用缴税了，他们为什么还要洗钱。”

“因为墨丘利那一支是艘潜艇。”原子猫答道。

“他的水下呼吸能力比虫子强？”

“这一点也不好笑，瑞恩。”衣橱坐到沙发上说道，可听着他这句黑色幽默十足的玩笑，她还是强忍着才没笑出来。

事实证明，小矮个的水泡还处于实验阶段，并不怎么可靠。蚊子的水牢最后出了故障，或许是因为他特殊的生理构造，导致他缺氧，造成了脑损伤。

不过话说回来，瑞恩还能指望什么呢？共产党人从来就造不出好产品。

“不知道，我没试过淹死他。”菲利克斯想了想。“奥古斯都用洗过的钱，渗透欧洲那些反对他的社区。墨丘利把脏钱注入‘合法’企业，再让它们去接管公司、机构、农场之类的地方……据我所知，他甚至成功渗透了迪纳米斯的一些承包商。别自欺欺人了，那个组织的每个分支都在为犯罪势力的扩张效力。一个都不例外。”

原子猫抱起双臂，衣橱则打开电视看新闻。“还有……我跟恩里克说过，我觉得奥古斯都有点不对劲。”

“除了反社会的自恋狂倾向之外？”瑞恩问道，不过，他也有同样的直觉。

“他这几年没精打采的，很反常。以前他还会亲自追杀几个敌人，好提醒大家，他是个招惹不起的凶悍疯子。可现在，他都让普鲁托代劳，已经好几年没离开过别墅了。我爸说，他有时仿佛会忘记这个世界的存在，一忘就是好几分钟。而且，只要在公开场合，他就一直让自己笼罩在电光里。我问莉维娅为什么，她不肯回答。”

“他生病了？”衣橱皱眉问道。

“不知道，按说他应该是刀枪不入、百害不侵的。”菲利克斯耸耸肩。“也许只是年纪大了，或者抑郁了。”

瑞恩不这么想。信使的时间暂停肯定烦了闪电屁股整整四年，可最后竟然得靠一发轨道激光，才把这位黑帮老大逼出家门。瑞恩早已见过那些不祥的征兆：黑帮宙斯藏在耀眼光晕后那张病恹恹、阴沉沉的脸，他家人在他身边时的不安……

新罗马的教父出了问题。

“嘿，快看！”衣橱指着电视，打断了他们的讨论。“他们在说我们！”

瑞恩看向等离子屏幕，新闻正在回顾昨天发生的事。主要画面里，熊猫正骄傲地押送疯魔归案，衣橱回答记者的问题，原子猫对记者不理不睬，恩里克则向众人道贺，说他们让新罗马变得更安全了。还有人找出了一张瑞恩穿旧制服的照片，迪纳网上有关他的种种猜测也随之泛滥。

说真的，光看标题就什么都明白了：“动物园：至优者的新晋宠儿！”“新英雄团队重创各路疯魔！”“快存究竟是谁？”

“动物园？认真的？”原子猫重重叹了口气。“我就该叫原子粉碎者。”

“菲利克斯，连市场部都不会让你用这么傻的名字。”衣橱笑道，“我听到风声，说他们想把我们包装成一支年轻、时髦的团队。我是资深职业英雄，所以由我当队长，你们就是我的帕达万学徒。”

“由纪，不要！”瑞恩惊恐地抗议。“你知道英雄故事里的导师都是什么下场吗？求你了，别当我的欧比旺！”

“我知道，听上去不太妙，但眼光要放长远！”衣橱坚持道，“我可以穿着梅林的服装，安排一场退隐戏，让你们受我的死亡激励，成为真正的英雄！然后，我再打扮成耶稣，来一次惊喜复出巡演！”

菲利克斯显然没弄懂她的邪恶计划，瑞恩却觉得这套逻辑无懈可击。“总之，”原子猫说道，“该走了。我们得去隔壁的迪纳米斯总部，见提拉诺博士。”

“那个灵药专家？”瑞恩问道，顿时来了兴趣。

“对，他想研究我们的能力。”菲利克斯又耸了耸肩。“熊猫已经过去做全面检查了。”

“之后，我们还要去明星制片厂。”衣橱笑容灿烂。“我们要在《双足飞龙的飞翔Ⅱ》的片尾彩蛋里亮相！”

“走之前还有件事。”瑞恩看向衣橱。“由纪，我有东西给你。”

“噢，礼物？”她冲他一笑。“我最喜欢礼物了！怎么收都收不够！是什么礼物？”

“先让我讲讲它的诞生背景。我当时只穿着平角内裤，正准备上床，突然灵感汹涌而来。一股狂野的酒神精神附了我的身，强迫我戴上了圆顶礼帽。”

“你该把围巾留着的。”衣橱说道，很担心他的精神稳定状况。“我警告过你。我警告过你的！”

“是，不过没关系。因为我的缪斯启发了我，要报答你的恩情。是你做出了这身完美的制服！我必须投桃报李！”瑞恩走进卧室，拿着礼物回来了。“媒体叫我们动物园，是因为我们有动物主题。蒂米是熊猫，菲利克斯是猫，我有兔子玩偶。我就想，虽然你也能变成动物吉祥物，我还是得给你做点什么。然后我想起你办公室里那几本有伤风化的杂志，一下就有主意了。”

瑞恩向她展示了自己的最新作品：为他最喜欢的造型师亲手制作的一套服装。

这件杰作的灵感来自他自己的兔子玩偶，包括一只棕色兔耳发箍、一条系着黄色缎带的红色颈链，还有一件黑丝绒连体衣。再配上黑色连裤袜、高跟鞋和金色手镯，整套就齐了。

简而言之，就是一套《花花公子》兔女郎装。

菲利克斯连着眨了几下眼，随后忐忑地看向由纪子。这个愚蠢的平民大概以为，这位时尚英雄会觉得受到了冒犯，毕竟这套伤风败俗的十八禁服装几乎没给想象留下任何余地。

“噗呼噗呼装！”衣橱欢喜地尖叫起来。“你怎么知道我没有这套？”

然而，她首先是个有文化的女人。

“等等，由纪，你喜欢这个？”菲利克斯惊讶地问衣橱，她正满脸喜色地端详着那套衣服。

“我最爱情趣服装了。”她答道，“只是一直没机会穿。”

“当然没机会，太不像话了！”

“可它是丝绒做的！”由纪的手指摸到了兔耳朵，惊喜得睁大了眼睛。“还有耳朵，居然是真皮草！貂皮？貂皮。”

“我后备厢里常备貂皮。”瑞恩骄傲地答道，“谁知道什么时候就有服装急情呢。”

原子猫古怪地看着他。“意大利还有野生貂？”

“以前有。”瑞恩吹了声不祥的口哨，随后把注意力转回自己的新晋死党身上。“我本来想做《龙珠》里的那套，后来想起你不能用有版权的东西。”

等等，如果登记版权的国家都不存在了，版权还有效吗？由纪的能力真是毫无道理。

“瑞恩，你太可爱了，我爱死它了。”衣橱说着接过衣服。“我先把它放回房间，今晚试穿。”

“不过，迪纳米斯肯定不会让你穿成这样公开露面。”菲利克斯说出了显而易见的事实。

“双足飞龙穿连体衣不就好好的。”造型师指出。

“是，但她那身不是《花花公子》兔女郎装。而且，你以前不是抱怨过，迪纳米斯把你包装成了儿童向超级英雄吗？”

衣橱顿时蔫了。“噢，对，是这样，我给忘了……这跟我现在的品牌形象不搭。”

“等等，等等，我知道该怎么包装。”瑞恩灵光一闪。他可不能让新晋死党失望。“由纪，你正从小联盟转向职业赛场。你将告别童年的纯真，投身打击犯罪那残酷而阴暗的现实。”

“先来一段黑暗时代……”衣橱喃喃自语。“然后，等我阴暗过头、争议过大，就穿着高雅大方的服装走出黑暗！比如紧身衣配披风！”

瑞恩用一句话总结了她的营销策略。“从儿童吉祥物到成人偶像，无缝转型。”

“这样吧，我觉得自己暂时还没法坦然穿着这套公开亮相，不过私底下绝对会穿！”衣橱亲了亲瑞恩的脸颊。“谢谢。你真的太费心了。”

“衣橱，这世上有些东西是美好的……你就是其中之一。”瑞恩坦言，努力忍住眼泪。“遇见你之前，我是多么孤独。在这个疯狂的世界里，独自守着文化的最后一座堡垒。”

“我也是。”她眼里也泛起了泪光。“我刚加入的时候……刚加入的时候，他们竟然让我穿合成纤维。合成纤维！毫无尊重！毫无尊重！”

“没事了，由纪，没事了。”瑞恩抱住衣橱，让她把头靠在自己肩上。“就在我的羊绒西装上哭吧。感受到这份柔软了吗？好些了吗？”

原子猫一言不发地看着这一幕，面无表情，眯着眼睛。瑞恩感觉自己受到了攻击。“嘿，小猫，别对我们评头论足。”

“请你们千万别繁殖。”菲利克斯面无表情地说道，“你们这样的要是有三个，新罗马扛不住。”

---

上一轮，瑞恩曾和伏尔甘长谈过六十六号实验室，也就是仿制灵药的诞生地。她尤其讨厌主持这个项目的天才，那个所谓的提拉诺博士。所以，信使得知他们要去见他时，还盼着能免费参观一下那间神秘的实验室。

但事实证明，迪纳米斯给这位科研大头目拨了整整两层楼做实验，而他们约好见面的地方是六十五号实验室。

即便在那里，安保也十分严密。从入口大厅到停车场，迪纳米斯总部大楼的一切都处于自动摄像头的监视之下。各层楼的门禁权限相互独立，必须持有相应的门禁卡才能进入，因此窃贼即便偷到一张卡，也无法在整栋楼里畅通无阻。所有电梯门前都有穿动力装甲的警卫把守，无人机在走廊里巡逻，还有红外线和运动探测系统辅助。

即使是瑞恩，也很难不惊动任何人就潜进去，而且肯定不止需要一轮。正面强攻或自杀式冲关反而更容易。

穿过通往六十五号实验室的防爆门时，时间旅行者原本以为自己会走进某种阴暗的疯狂科学家巢穴。结果略微有些失望。实验室虽说有手术台、盛满液体的培养罐等经典配置，罐子里还装着看起来像恐龙胚胎的东西，但这里灯火通明，干干净净。

不过，眼前这一幕倒是弥补了环境的平淡无奇。

“师父，救我！”光溜溜的熊猫退到了实验室一角，让一张手术台隔在自己和某种人形恐龙之间。一只长着角、浑身是鳞而不是毛的怪狗，正冲着这场面汪汪叫。“他要把我剖开！”

“我只要一个肺！”这只人形恐龙混合体让瑞恩想起了一头两米高的霸王龙，只是手臂和人类一样长，鳞片漆黑，双眼猩红。这古怪的变异人穿着白大褂，戴着一副按脑袋形状特制的小眼镜，但最重要的是，他一手拿着手术刀，一手拿着注射器。“别挣扎了，不然我就得用麻醉了。”

“不许活体解剖熊猫！”瑞恩立刻暂停时间，缴了恐龙的械，把凶器扔到一边。“他可是同类里最后一个了！”

“就是，退后，博士！”菲利克斯抬起双手警告道，看样子真敢在实验室里动用能力。

“噢，嗨，提拉诺先生！”衣橱笑容灿烂地向恐龙人挥手。

“噢，嗨，由纪！”科学家用低沉的爬行动物嗓音答道，不再骚扰熊猫，转头看向瑞恩。“你嘛，根据你的能力判断，想必就是切萨雷·萨比诺？”

瑞恩猛地一僵，嬉闹的心情顿时被寒意取代。“你怎么知道的？”

“萨比诺？”菲利克斯皱起眉。“那不是深潜者的姓吗？”

衣橱惊讶地倒抽一口气。“不会吧，你们是——”

“我们没有血缘关系！”瑞恩立刻说道，伸出一根手指指着自己的死党。“你敢写我们的同人试试！”

“什么，真的？你是被收养的？”提拉诺博士毫不掩饰自己的失望。“真可惜，我本来很想比较一下不同基因者亲属的样本。这种机会很难得。”

“等等，你采了蕾恩的DNA？”瑞恩眯起眼，怀疑地看着这位天才。

“私人安保队会给所有被他们拘押的人做DNA扫描。”菲利克斯提醒他。

提拉诺博士无所谓地耸耸肩。“没关系，反正我还是需要一份样本。”

“我不建议这么干。”瑞恩答道，觉得这个鳞片人有点烦。他喜欢受人关注，但躺在手术台上被剖开不在此列。这种事他已经经历得够多了！“我可是让人欲罢不能的毒品，一旦沾上，你永远都嫌不够。”

“除了紫系，你还有一种绿系能力？”提拉诺博士问道，完全没听懂。显然，幽默感是哺乳动物独有的功能。“那我需要血液或头发，不过精液也行。有些人宁可射精，也不愿意被采血。”

“什么，快存，你入职的时候没做DNA检测？”衣橱问。

“没有，这违背我的宗教信仰。”

“你应该重新考虑一下。”提拉诺博士坚持道，那只古怪的爬虫狗跳进了他怀里。“现存的能力中，紫系的稀有程度仅次于白系基因者！为科学想想吧！”

“嗯，不行。”瑞恩答道。科学家的兴趣不再放在熊猫身上，熊猫总算松了口气。信使拍了拍搭档的肩膀，随后看向恐龙人那只怪宠物。“这是什么？”

“三角拉布拉多，我的作品之一。”提拉诺博士答道，抚摸着这头违逆自然的怪物角后的部位。“一半拉布拉多，一半三角龙。”

“所以它就是恐龙界的鸭嘴兽？”瑞恩一边问，一边挠起这小兽的肚皮，心情也缓和了些。它发出恐龙般的叫声，尾巴却像狗一样摇来摇去。“你能造恐龙猫吗？”

“我试过把波斯猫和迅猛龙拼接起来，不过成品死了。”疯狂科学家答道，“但是我，提拉诺博士，在此发誓，总有一天，每个家庭都会拥有自己的恐龙！要不是管理层老拿那个霸王龙狩猎游项目烦我，我早就做到了！”

“什么，他们想建一个保护区，让有钱人像猎狮子那样猎恐龙？”菲利克斯问道。

“很荒唐，对吧？”一分钟前还想把熊猫剖开的人说道。

“刚才有那么一瞬间，我忘了我们生活在一个万物皆可出售的世界里。”

不管怎么说，瑞恩立刻原谅了博士给自己留下的糟糕第一印象。一个想造恐龙宠物的人，怎么可能是坏人呢，管贾丝敏怎么说。

“菲利克斯，别怪提拉诺博士，他是个不被理解的天才。”衣橱双手叉腰宣布，“我的英雄制服就是他做的。”

“一种技术有机共生体，能模拟预先录入的服装形态。”提拉诺博士近乎心不在焉地解释道，怀里的三角拉布拉多挣脱了他的手，在实验室里四处溜达。“总之，你们都是新人，我想在受控环境下测试一下你们的能力。看看有没有潜在的相互作用，记录能量读数之类……”

“靠解剖我们的队友来测试？”菲利克斯问道，熊猫则缩成了一团。

“他每次从一种形态切换成另一种形态，都会完全再生！”提拉诺博士几乎吼了出来。“就连双足飞龙也需要时间自然愈合，可这头熊人不用！有了他的能力，我们就能得到无限的可再生器官来源！”

“熊猫……熊猫以前被这种人绑架过。”这只可怜的动物仿佛正被一次格外严重的创伤后应激发作拖回往事。“他们以为能用他的血做壮阳药。熊猫……熊猫只能逃走。”

“现在，我需要研究这种变形，弄清楚多出来的有机物从哪里来。”提拉诺博士说道，完全没意识到自己正在虐待动物。

瑞恩得赶在他伤害自己的搭档之前，把他的注意力引开。“其实没什么好查的。”他对科学家撒了个谎。“我能暂停时间，我的熊猫学徒能变形，我的猫能让小石子爆炸。”

衣橱轻笑起来。“你能暂停时间，这还没什么值得研究的？”

“说到小石子，上次战斗之后，我发现自己可以调节爆炸。”如今，菲利克斯已经对瑞恩所有关于猫的笑话免疫，这让信使很不高兴。“给武器充能，让爆炸延迟几秒，再扔出去。”

提拉诺博士听着他的说明，连连点头，仿佛这印证了他自己的观察。“和我想的一样，你大概是把一种特殊能量注入固体物质，让它随后爆炸。”

“红色通量？”

提拉诺博士猛地转头看向瑞恩，速度之快，连这位基因者强化过的时间感知都没捕捉到，吓得瑞恩一缩。“你怎么知道的？”

“这个嘛，我和上一任天才女友一直在研究能力。”时间旅行者说道，“我们大致推断出，基因者的能力来自异维度，每种灵药颜色对应一个。”

“太有意思了。”提拉诺博士开始侵入瑞恩的私人空间，逼得信使往后退了一步。“我得出了同样的结论，不过，能得到外部研究者的证实……”

妈的，瑞恩现在都能闻到恐龙那股温热的爬行动物鼻息了，菲利克斯猫则对他的窘迫幸灾乐祸。“从施害者变成受害者，就没那么好玩了，是吧？”原子小猫嘲弄这位时间旅行者。

“所以你的意思是，这头熊人多出来的器官，来自一个由有机物构成的异域绿色维度？”提拉诺博士只顾盯着瑞恩，完全没理会那句挖苦。“我很乐意挖开你的脑袋取取经，互相交流一下笔记。”

“其实我也有个问题。”瑞恩指向恐龙人的尾巴。“你不是蓝系吗，怎么会是绿系？”

“我是专精克隆、基因拼接和基因治疗的天才。我现在的外形，是一种实验性变形血清的效果。纯粹是暂时的。”

菲利克斯迟疑了一下，仿佛有点不敢问。“为什么，博士？这么做有什么意义？”

“因为我想把自己变成恐龙。”天才答道，仿佛这是世上再正常不过的梦想。

“老天，你是个毛绒兽迷。”瑞恩恍然大悟。“看来我们永远做不成朋友了。”

“得有毛才能叫毛绒兽迷。”衣橱指出，“名字里就写着呢。”

“毛绒兽迷是什么？”熊猫天真地问。

瑞恩看向他的目光充满了纯粹的怜悯，同时也默默感叹这位英雄运气之好。他到底是怎么在野外活到现在的？“你的纯真必须得到保护，我年轻的徒弟。”

“喂，我可没拿你的外表评头论足。”提拉诺博士抱怨道。

“不过说真的，现在一切都说得通了。”瑞恩说道，“我一直想知道，你到底是怎么造出仿制品的，不过你的能力确实应该能让你占到先机。”

“我造不出灵药。”恐龙天才承认，“真正的灵药造不出来。我做的只是合成一种特殊物质，模拟真灵药的性质。它是粗劣的仿制品，而且并不完善。我花了好几年，才以双足飞龙为基础制成赫拉克勒斯血清，即便如此，也只能复制她能力的一部分，也就是强化力量。”

“而且你一直没能复制我的能力。”衣橱笑着说道。

科学家咕哝了几句，总算把私人空间还给了瑞恩，双手交叉背在身后，在屋里绕起圈来。“因为除了基因者通常都有的体质增强，你的灵药并没有怎么改变你的遗传密码。让你调用多种能力的机制，超出了血肉的范畴。”

“我认为，灵药主要充当基因者与提供其超常能力的维度之间的媒介。”瑞恩说道，“它们还会在宿主使用能力时，暗中给予引导，来支持宿主。至于疯魔，灵药则会驱使他们摄取更多灵药。”

菲利克斯咳嗽一声，打断了讨论。“不好意思，不过……宿主？引导？听你们这说法，灵药好像是活的，还有智慧？”

“是啊，确实如此。”瑞恩答道，队友们大为震惊。“某种意义上吧。它们更接近病毒。”

“只不过它们不用RNA或DNA传递信息。”提拉诺博士指出，“不过，它们会操纵我们的RNA和DNA。”

“抱歉，”衣橱勉强挤出一个笑容，“我跟不上了。”

“它们就像外星生物，运作方式和地球生命不同。”瑞恩尽量解释清楚。“我们不知道灵药如何携带信息，但它们理解并能操纵我们身体携带信息的方式。理解程度足够让它们只针对人类进行改造，而忽略其他动物。”

“完全正确！”提拉诺博士喊道，很高兴终于找到一个能一起集思广益的人。“炼金术师的灵药被使用后，会在分子层面与智人的细胞结合，改写DNA，让宿主成为某种独特能力的载体。而且，虽然能力之间可能互为变体，却没有任何两种完全相同。这意味着，灵药会从一个共享数据库里选择能力，然后让新的宿主无法再获取这一种。”

没错，瑞恩在之前的循环里做过大量测试，也得出了差不多的结论。哪怕把一份灵药分成多份，让一群人服用，它也始终只会和一个人结合。

不过，瑞恩始终狠不下心，让人一次服下两份灵药，哪怕是在专门搞研究的循环里也不行。没有谁该变成下一个血流。

“可惜，只要体内不止一份灵药，哪怕颜色相同，它们也会开始冲突。”瑞恩继续说道，队友们显然理解得相当吃力。“它们会编辑同一批基因。你可以想象成两个作者争抢同一份剧本，不停重写对方写过的内容，直到句子变得不知所云。而你最多只能有两种能力。”

“在那之后，宿主细胞里原有的两份灵药就会吞噬后来者。”提拉诺博士接过话，和信使配合得天衣无缝。“它们会把新注入的灵药挪作他用，借此稳定那套不稳定的遗传密码。但这只能维持一阵，之后它们又会打起来。疯魔本能地知道这一点，因为体内的灵药会影响他们，驱使他们收集更多灵药，妄图达到一种注定无法实现的平衡。”

“那杂种呢？”菲利克斯问道，“我跟他交手的时候，他用的可不止两种能力。”

“啊，这个问题我已经能回答了！”提拉诺博士得意地说道，“根据他被拘押后采集到的样本，我可以确认，这个疯魔先服用了一份炼金术师制造的白色灵药，随后又服用了市面上几乎所有种类的仿制品。”

“所以，他是个白色系，能力是能拥有两种以上的能力？”原子猫问道，天才点头确认。“这也太作弊了。”

“最初那份灵药似乎不会吞噬后来者，而是像裁判一样，强迫它们配合。这让他的身体能够调用不止一种能力，可惜没能保护他免受灵药冲突、变异和成瘾的影响。这些物质不会互相摧毁，却仍然存在冲突。实在令人着迷。”

这就是杂种的悲剧。他得到了一种理论上强得离谱的能力，却失去了发挥那无限潜力所需的心智。

“你觉得疯魔的状态能治好吗？”瑞恩问提拉诺博士。他对灵药的理解撞上瓶颈后，就放弃了这条路，不过，这个恐龙人也许知道得比他更多。

“当然能治！”天才劈头盖脸地训斥起时间旅行者。“没有什么是不可能的！”

“是啊。”菲利克斯说道，“据我所知，奥古斯都有两种能力，却没有任何副作用。”

“噢，那熊猫能得到两种能力吗？”天真的蒂米满怀希望地睁大了眼睛。“每种形态一种？”

“有可能，不过概率不高！”提拉诺博士立刻抓住了这个免费进行疯狂实验的机会。“我们总可以试试，不过你得先签一份免责书。”

瑞恩轻轻拍了一下熊猫的后脑勺，把他吓了一跳。“哎哟，师父，为什么打我？”

“你真正的力量在这里，狂妄的年轻徒弟。”瑞恩伸出手指，指向搭档的心口。“不要贪心，你已经拥有了最伟大的力量！”

“是、是，没错。”熊猫点头答道，却误解了师父的智慧。“我应该先掌握现有的能力，再考虑获得新的。”

“确实存在少数拥有两种能力、却没有副作用的个体。”提拉诺博士说道，“奥古斯都是其中最有名的，但并非记录中唯一的案例。要么这些幸运儿拥有特定基因，要么他们的灵药修改了DNA序列的不同部分，没有产生冲突。与疯魔不同，奥古斯都的两种能力没有形成明显的协同作用，所以我认为，它们是彼此独立地共存着。”

“我想我明白了。”一直努力跟上讨论的衣橱说道，“有两位创作者，但他们不争抢，而是各自设计整套服装里不同的部分？”

“而只要平衡能够存在，理论上就能复制！”提拉诺博士热情洋溢地宣布，“想象一下，让每个基因者都拥有两种能力，还没有副作用？我就可以成为蓝绿双系，永久维持这种变形，把我卓绝的才智与强大的恐龙身躯融为一体！”

“但你得先弄清楚，为什么会出现这种平衡。”菲利克斯指出，“你说的全是假说。就你目前所知，关键也可能在于所用的灵药，而不在于宿主有什么先天特质。”

“是，是，可惜意大利那几个拥有两种能力的人，都不肯配合。”提拉诺博士耸耸肩。“总之，我们对灵药的了解，还不足以治愈疯魔。但既然梅克隆能把能力理解到足以强化它们、对它们进行逆向工程的地步，我们为什么就不行？”

瑞恩想到了锈镇下方的地堡，以及自己上次去那里的经历。信使记得，他走进过一个房间，里面的动物浸泡在各种灵药颜色的液体中，而且大胖亚当说过，那座军火库里有仿制品生产设施。说不定，甚至还有治疗他能力退化的办法。

把超能帮从那里清理干净之后，他真的得好好探索一下那个地方。“我很乐意和你交流灵药方面的研究笔记，尤其想聊聊你的大脑复制项目。”

最后那句话让提拉诺博士恼火地哼了一声。“现在是不是人人都知道了？恐怕你得有五级权限，我才能跟你谈这件事。昨天首席执行官才为了保密问题，把我狠狠数落了一顿。”

菲利克斯立刻绷紧了身体，瑞恩却只是耸了耸肩。“那么，我鳞光闪闪的朋友，我要怎样才能拿到这种权限，和你缔结牢不可破的科学兄弟情呢？”

“我会向管理层申请，不过流程一般要走几个月。”提拉诺博士哼了一声，对迪纳米斯的官僚作风满是不屑。“总之，说话是在浪费时间，我的日程很满。到测试室去，把衣服脱了。你们都满十八岁了吧？我的律师在这一点上非常坚持。”