同章对照

“You’re not a human,” the film scriptwriter said. “You are a panda who drank a human-shifting Elixir.”

Ryan remained silent a moment, before exchanging confused glances with the Panda and Atom Cat. All three of them sat in chairs next to a cardboard cutout showing Wyvern transforming into a dragon, and faced two Dynamis screenwriters with very strange ideas. “I’m sorry?” the Panda asked, sinking in his chair while in human form. “That’s not my tragic backstory!”

“Yes, yes, we understand, but…” The first scriptwriter reminded Ryan of an accountant, his greedy eyes hidden behind glasses; he had traded his artistic soul for a suit, and it wasn’t even made of cashmere. “It won’t sell.”

“What my colleague wants to say is that it’s not inspirational enough.” The other, meanwhile, was a walking Hollywood cliche. Some thirty-something year old guy who thought wearing a sweater and sneakers made him look trendy. “Your public persona is marketed towards young children, and your story… I’m sorry to say it, but it's depressing.”

Ryan kinda agreed with them on that front. When the Panda told everyone about how he became a superhero, the courier had expected a funny adventure. Instead, he listened to an epic personal journey straight out of a Rocky movie.

“I thought it was pretty inspirational,” Atom Cat argued. “There were so many twists and turns...”

“Yes, but people don’t buy tickets to see a hero struggle,” Four-Eyes said. “They go to a movie to have a good time. Everybody says they hate power fantasies, but they sell well.”

“Which is why I think you’re a goldmine, Quicksave,” hip writer said. Ryan looked at the pass around the man’s neck, finally learning his name was Kevin of all things. “We can make so many cool scenes with your power, I think you might become the next action movie franchise.”

“I’m more of an R-rated black comedy material, to be honest,” Ryan said with a shrug.

Felix glanced at the Panda, growing more and more annoyed. “What do you think?”

“The Panda is glad to get a movie at all, to be honest,” the manbear replied.

“Do you want to be portrayed as…” Felix struggled to find the correct wording. “An uplifted mascot?”

“Also, that’s not how Elixirs work,” Ryan pointed out. “We had an exposition scene like two hours ago.”

“Moviegoers don’t care about how it works or doesn’t work,” Mr. Four-Eyes said. “But a bear becoming a human will appeal to young children better than the other way around.”

“I understand your skepticism, but that’s because you haven’t read the full ‘Pandamania’ script,” Kevin argued with a smile. “The movie starts with an eight-year old boy—”

“I’m out of here,” Felix said abruptly, rising from his seat and looking at Ryan. “Coffee break?”

“Coffee break,” the courier replied, before patting the Panda on the back. “Want something, my young pandawan?”

“Nothing, thanks Sifu,” the Green Genome replied, a bit embarrassed. “Coffee gives me ulcers.”

Ryan and Felix left the Panda alone with the corporate madmen, walking through Star Studios’ warehouse six. After Tyrano’s extensive testing, the team went there to both film a stinger scene at the end of the latest Il Migliore movie, and discuss possible plans for individual franchises. Countless engineers, actors, and technicians worked inside these walls, and though Il Migliore was Dynamis’ cash-cow, the company’s cinema branch produced everything from romantic comedies to action flicks.

Ryan had expected Vulcan to wreck the place, but the Genius was strangely quiet during this loop. A shame. He would have enjoyed a little chaos, since Dynamis focused entirely on bland money-makers rather than more innovative movies.

Wardrobe was busy acting as Wyvern’s stuntwoman, wearing the superheroine’s costume while she floated in front of a green screen; computer engineers then replaced Yuki’s face with a CGI of her template. The more he learned about Wardrobe’s power, the more Ryan thought the ‘copyright’ limit was only her way to systematize it. From what he understood, her power instead decided if a persona was ‘available’ for copying, or if it belonged to someone else. Since Dynamis allowed her to cosplay as Wyvern, she could do so, even if the persona was copyrighted.

It would also explain why she could dress as Augustus. Lightning Butt piggybacked Zeus’ myth so much, people had started to conflate the two personas together.

“You know, kitten, something has been bugging me about Dr. Tyrano,” Ryan admitted, as they made their way to the nearest break room.

“His dinosaur obsession?”

“No, the name,” Ryan explained. “Shouldn’t it be Dr. Tyranno with a second ‘n’? Like Tyrannosaure?”

“I thought only the french wrote it like that,” Felix replied with a snort. “Besides, it’s his true name: Alain Tyrano.”

“The dinosaur scientist’s family name is Tyrano?” Ryan asked with an eyebrow raised. “That’s like calling your son Van Doom, and he grows up to be a supervillain.”

“Yeah.” Much like the rest of the building, Dynamis put care into making the break room as trendy and aesthetically pleasing as possible. Equipped with a window view of the park outside the studios, the hall included leather sofas, a round table for conferences, and even a holographic fireplace. The duo walked towards the nearest coffee machine, waiting behind a line of caffeine addicts and overworked trainees. “So what’s your plan, Quicksave?”

“Bold of you to assume I have one,” Ryan replied. “Usually, I just wing things until they work out. The only plan that can’t fail, is the one you didn’t plan for.”

“You know what I mean,” his teammate said with a frown. “Why did you join Dynamis exactly? I can tell you aren’t the celebrity type, and that you’re playing a long game of some kind.”

“So are you, kitten.” They finally reached the machine, Ryan putting fifty Euro cents in the coin slot. The machine quickly started pouring a cappuccino inside a paper cup. “What made you want to leave the family fold?”

“Bliss,” he replied while asking for a normal coffee.

“Not milk? I’m disappointed.”

“If I change my superhero name, will you stop with the cat jokes?”

“No, I won’t.”

“You’re the worst,” Felix sighed as he grabbed his cup, motioning at a sofa near the window. Both heroes sat on it, peacefully looking at the green scenery beyond the glass. “I left because of Bliss.”

Yeah, Ryan figured as much. “Because they force your sister to make it?”

“Partly,” Felix replied with a frown. “Just how much do you know about me? Are you some sort of professional spy?”

“If I were, I would drive an Aston Martin,” Ryan joked, enjoying the smell of his cappuccino. “I know you’re the son of Mars and Venus, and that you temporarily shared a flat with Zanbato, Sphere, and Chitter.”

“Did Enrique ask you to watch me?” Felix asked, misunderstanding the situation. “Make sure I’m not a reverse-mole supplying info back to my family? Because he’s already doing a fine job of keeping me out of any real action anyway.”

That made sense. Knowing Blackthorn, he probably considered Atom Kitten more valuable as a potential hostage or intel source than as a hero. “Nothing of the sort,” Ryan replied, sipping the coffee. “I have a soft spot for people fleeing a toxic environment.”

“Bloodstream?” Felix chuckled at seeing Ryan’s reaction, delighting at one-upping him for once. “I did my homework too.”

“You know the worst part?” Ryan asked, as his thoughts turned to Len. “Even dead and buried... he still holds his daughter under his sway, and I don’t know how to break it.”

Felix waited a few seconds before asking the question burning on his lips. “Did you kill him?”

“No, but I arranged for his demise.” Atom Cat flinched at Ryan’s blunt confession. “Do you hate your parents, Felix?”

“Not enough to want them dead, but I wouldn't mind seeing them taken down a peg. They have a lot of blood on their hands, and they’re dragging my sisters into the ‘family business.’ They forced one to make drugs, and convinced the other to join the Killer Seven.” Felix shook his head in disappointment. “I thought my departure would force them to reconsider their choices, but Augustus’ grip is too strong.”

From what Ryan had gathered, his departure did shake his family, but they chose to blame Dynamis or hope he would return to the fold. Nobody in the Augusti seemed likely to turn their back on the organization, except Vulcan, who had never been loyal to begin with.

Atom Cat frowned upon glimpsing at something on the other side of the window, and Ryan quickly identified what. A very familiar rat observed the duo from beneath a bush, before quickly fleeing across the studio’s park when spotted.

“Chitter,” Atom Cat said with a frown. “She’s always watching me.”

“You were close?” Ryan asked, wondering if a rat swarm would suddenly appear to destroy the studio.

“So you don’t know everything.”

“No, but I’m sure you’re going to tell me soon!”

Felix snorted, but relented. “Zanbato and I were best friends once. Enough that we ended up sharing a flat for a few months, when I decided I should have my own place.”

“What changed?”

“Someone stole Bliss batches from Mercury’s division, the one where Zanbato works. The casinos’ staff distributes it to clients, either for recreational purposes or to blackmail them. I helped Zan with the case, and it turned out the thieves were intelligent rats.”

“Chitter,” Ryan guessed.

“Yeah. We tracked the animals to their mistress and…” Felix stopped for a moment, looking into the distance. “It was… it was a horrible sight, man. She was squatting in an abandoned apartment infested with rodents, and she...”

“Hey, easy kitten.” Ryan put a hand on his teammate’s shoulder. “Don’t force yourself if it’s too hard.”

“It’s… It’s fine.” The would-be hero regained his composure. “You know Bliss can even affect Genomes? When we found her, the stuff had given her an overdose. She had blood pouring out of her nose and eyes, Ryan. Mold growing on her skin. If we hadn’t found her and rushed to a hospital, she would have died. And when the docs saved her life, do you know the first thing she asked for?”

Ryan frowned, having already guessed. “More Bliss?”

“More Bliss. That poison hadn’t just destroyed her life, Ryan. It enslaved her body and soul.” Atom Cat made a disgusted face. “That was a fucking wake-up call for me.”

“But not for Zanbato?”

“Zan…” Felix’s expression turned into a contemptuous sneer. “Jamie thinks he’s a nice guy, but he doesn’t know what freedom feels like. He owes his entire existence to the Augusti, and he can’t fathom a life outside it. Yeah, he went the extra mile to keep Ki-jung clean, but he was just trying to assuage his guilt. He doesn’t want to support the Bliss business, but at the end of the day, he does as he’s told.”

The renegade finished his cup and tossed it into the nearest trash can with astonishing accuracy.

“It opened my eyes,” Atom Cat continued his tale. “I talked to Narcinia, and she admitted she never wanted to make that drug. But our parents always guilt-tripped her back into it whenever she attempted to stop. ‘It’s for the greater good of the family, honey,’ or ‘addicts kill themselves because they can’t help themselves.’ And Jamie, he let Ki-jung fall into the mafia lifestyle rather than keeping her away from it. After I realized just how deep it went, I couldn’t stay anymore.”

“For all it’s worth, I think you made the right choice,” Ryan said, the story echoing a lot with his own. “You have the right to dump toxic people out of your life.”

“If it was just me, Ryan…” Felix sighed. “My family kills so many innocents, and it corrupts good people too. I thought Dynamis could help me change that, but now… now, I don’t know what to do anymore. From what I’ve seen so far, they’re just as bad in their own way.”

“Things can change,” Ryan said, trying to cheer him up. “No matter how bleak.”

His teammate scoffed in response. “You sound like a self-help booklet.”

“That doesn’t make my words untrue,” the courier replied with seriousness. “It can always improve. But you have to keep trying even if you fail, again and again. That’s the hard part.”

He wasn’t sure if these words were meant for Felix or Ryan himself, but he had to say them anyway. Both fell into an uncomfortable silence, neither knowing what to say next, and none wanting to return to the scriptwriters.

And then, calamity struck.

“Felix!”

Her shrill voice sent a shiver down Ryan’s spine, like death crawling out of the underworld. Felix had the exact same reaction, his eyes widened in horror as he turned his head to look behind. “Tell me I’m dreaming…”

“Oh no, you aren’t!” Fortuna walked towards their sofa, wearing a fashionable golden shirt and skirt that exposed her legs for everyone to see. She smirked triumphantly when everyone ogled at her, glancing at Ryan as if expecting him to do the same. “Our paths cross again!”

Much to her fury though, Ryan ignored her entirely to focus on the keycard dangling from her neck. Where did she get a pass?

Oh, wait, stupid question. Of course a pass would magically fall into her hands!

“How the hell did you get in?” Felix asked his sister, clearly far from happy to see her.

“The studios held a lottery, with the winners gaining a guest pass,” Fortuna replied. “And that’s no way to greet your beautiful sister.”

“And Dynamis let you in?” Felix almost choked.

“Of course the corpos let me in, why wouldn’t they? Look at me. I’m me.” Fortuna put a hand on her waist. “Though they tried to poach me, and I had to promise I would consider it. Do you realize what you made me do, you ungrateful brat?”

“I didn’t ask you to come, sis.”

“You left me no choice!” Fortuna complained. “Neither of you answer messages!”

“Wait, neither of you?” Felix looked at Ryan with suspicion. “How do you know my sister?”

“That madman almost hit me with his car!” Fortuna complained. “And when I demanded he bring me and Livy home, he drove away like a savage!”

“And I regretted the ‘almost’ part ever since,” Ryan deadpanned.

“H-how dare you say something like that!” she protested, before making a haughty face. “But I guess I will forgive you if you invite me for coffee. I have expensive tastes though, but hopefully you aren’t as poor as you lo—”

“Is she always like this?” Ryan asked Felix, Fortuna glaring at him in response.

“Unfortunately,” Atom Cat replied with a heavy, heavy sigh.

“No wonder you ran away from home.”

“I should have known you would make the pair, you’re both infuriating!” Fortuna crossed her arms. “Felix, I’m here to bring you home.”

“Then you will leave disappointed,” the hero replied angrily. “I told you. Unless you leave the hit squad, we have nothing to say to each other.”

“We aren’t a hit squad, we’re bodyguards!” Fortuna argued. Clearly she didn’t understand the seriousness of her situation. “We protect the Olympians. It’s just that sometimes, we do it preemptively!”

“By murdering people who Augustus thinks might become a threat? How long until you confront someone who can negate your power and your luck runs out?” Atom Cat snarled. “You’re an assassin, Fortuna, and that’s all you will be to me unless you walk away from this shit.”

“What about Narcinia then? Do you know how heartbroken she has been since you left? What about Livy, you selfish ass?” Fortuna accused her brother. “We’ve seen the news, how you fought with Psychos in Rust Town. Don’t you think we’re all worried for you?”

“I can take care of myself,” Felix said as he rose from his seat, his tone dripping with venom as he faced his sister. “Now get out or I will show you the door myself.”

“I’m not leaving without you!”

The two started arguing so loudly they completely forgot about Ryan’s existence, with Fortuna accusing Felix of having abandoned their family, while her brother blamed her for joining the Killer Seven. The technicians looked at the scene with embarrassment, with a few members of the security staff wondering if they should intervene.

Ryan let the two siblings argue while he enjoyed his cappuccino, only for his phone to start ringing. “Oh geez, another unknown number,” the courier mumbled as he picked the call. “It’s getting cliché.”

“Quicksave?” The voice on the other side belonged to a man, and sounded somewhat familiar. Ryan was certain he heard before, but he couldn’t put a name or face on it.

“The one and only, but I’m in-between jobs right now,” Ryan warned. Come to think of it, he never received that call in the previous loops. He wondered what had changed? “To whom do I owe the pleasure?”

“My name is Leonard Hargraves. We crossed paths four years ago, do you remember?”

Ryan immediately froze in place, checked that the two siblings couldn’t hear him, and then answered. “How could I not?”

“I understand we don’t have the best history together, but one of our own recommended we contact you.” Ryan heard noise in the background, like someone talking to the Living Sun on the other side of the line. “Is Atom Cat with you?”

“Perhaps,” Ryan replied while squinting. “What do you want with us?”

“I think you know already, but fine. My team just arrived in town, and I wondered if you were both available to meet with us. From what I understand, we all want to cure New Rome of the cancers that infect it.”

Yes, they did.

“About time somebody cleaned up the trash.”

“你不是人类，”电影编剧说道，“你是一只熊猫，喝了能变成人类的灵药。”

瑞恩沉默片刻，随即与熊猫和原子猫交换了困惑的眼神。他们三个坐在椅子上，旁边立着一块双足飞龙变身成龙的纸板立牌，对面则是两位想法十分古怪的迪纳米斯编剧。“不好意思，您说什么？”人形的熊猫往椅子里缩了缩，“我的悲惨身世不是这样的！”

“是，是，我们明白，但是……”第一位编剧让瑞恩想起了会计，眼镜后藏着一双贪婪的眼睛；他出卖了艺术家的灵魂，换来一身西装，居然还不是羊绒的。“这故事卖不出去。”

“我同事的意思是，这还不够励志。”另一位则活脱脱是个好莱坞刻板印象：三十来岁，以为穿件毛衣、蹬双运动鞋就显得很潮。“你的公众形象面向的是低龄儿童，而你的故事……恕我直言，太压抑了。”

这一点上，瑞恩多少有些赞同。熊猫向大家讲述自己如何成为超级英雄时，快递员原以为会听到一段搞笑冒险。结果听到的却是一部史诗般的个人奋斗史，简直是从《洛奇》电影里搬出来的。

“我倒觉得挺励志的，”原子猫反驳道，“那么多波折起伏……”

“是，可观众买票不是为了看英雄苦苦挣扎，”四眼说道，“他们进电影院，是为了开开心心地看场电影。人人嘴上都说讨厌力量幻想，可这种片子就是卖座。”

“所以我才觉得你是座金矿，快存，”时髦编剧说道。瑞恩看了眼他脖子上挂的通行证，这才知道此人叫什么不好，偏偏叫凯文。“你的能力能让我们拍出好多超酷的镜头。我觉得，下一个动作电影系列就可以围绕你来打造。”

“说实话，我这块料更适合拍R级黑色喜剧。”瑞恩耸了耸肩。

菲利克斯越来越恼火，瞥向熊猫。“你怎么想？”

“说实话，能有一部自己的电影，熊猫就很高兴了。”熊人答道。

“你真想让他们把你拍成……”菲利克斯费力地寻找合适的说法，“一只被开了智的吉祥物？”

“还有，灵药不是这么起作用的，”瑞恩指出，“我们大概两小时前才演过一场设定说明戏。”

“观众不在乎灵药到底能不能这么起作用，”四眼先生说道，“但比起人变熊，熊变成人更能吸引小孩子。”

“我理解你们的疑虑，但那是因为你们还没读完《熊猫狂热》的剧本，”凯文笑着辩解，“电影开头，有一个八岁的小男孩——”

“我不奉陪了。”菲利克斯突然说道，起身看向瑞恩，“喝杯咖啡？”

“喝杯咖啡。”快递员答道，随后拍了拍熊猫的背，“要带点什么吗，我年轻的熊猫绝地学徒？”

“不用了，谢谢师父。”这位绿系基因者有些不好意思，“喝咖啡会让我胃溃疡。”

瑞恩和菲利克斯把熊猫独自留给那两个公司疯子，穿行在明星制片厂的六号仓库里。提拉诺做完一大堆测试后，小队就来了这里，既要拍摄最新一部至优者电影的片尾彩蛋，也要商讨以各人为主角开发系列电影的可能方案。这里有无数工程师、演员和技术人员在忙碌。至优者虽然是迪纳米斯的摇钱树，但公司的电影部门从浪漫喜剧到动作片，什么都拍。

瑞恩原本以为伏尔甘会来砸场子，可这一轮循环里，那位天才却安静得出奇。真可惜。他还挺想看点乱子，毕竟迪纳米斯一门心思只拍平庸的圈钱片，毫无创新可言。

衣橱正忙着给双足飞龙当特技替身，穿着那位女超级英雄的战服，悬浮在绿幕前；电脑工程师随后会用电脑生成的正主面孔替换由纪的脸。对衣橱的能力了解得越多，瑞恩就越觉得，所谓的“版权”限制只是她自己归纳能力规律的方式。按他的理解，她的能力判断的其实是某个形象是否“可供”复制，还是已经属于别人。既然迪纳米斯允许她扮成双足飞龙，她就能这么做，即便这个形象受版权保护也没关系。

这也能解释她为什么可以扮成奥古斯都。闪电屁股借宙斯神话给自己贴金，实在贴得太过头，大家已经开始把这两个形象混为一谈了。

“你知道吗，小猫咪，提拉诺博士有一点一直让我很在意。”走向最近的休息室时，瑞恩坦言道。

“他那股恐龙痴迷劲儿？”

“不，是他的名字，”瑞恩解释道，“提拉诺博士的名字不该拼成Tyranno，多一个‘n’吗？就像暴龙的拼法Tyrannosaure？”

“我还以为只有法国人才那么拼呢。”菲利克斯哼笑了一声，“再说了，那就是他的真名：阿兰·提拉诺。”

“恐龙科学家还真就姓提拉诺？”瑞恩挑起眉毛，“这不就跟给儿子起名叫范·杜姆，然后他长大当了超级反派一样吗。”

“是啊。”和这栋楼的其他地方一样，迪纳米斯花了心思，把休息室尽可能布置得时髦又美观。室内有皮沙发、开会用的圆桌，甚至还有一座全息壁炉，透过窗户就能看到制片厂外的公园。两人走向最近的咖啡机，排在一群咖啡因成瘾者和过劳实习生身后。“所以，你有什么打算，快存？”

“居然假定我有打算，你胆子不小啊，”瑞恩答道，“通常我都是走一步看一步，直到事情成了为止。唯一不会失败的计划，就是压根没做过的计划。”

“你知道我在问什么。”队友皱起了眉，“你到底为什么加入迪纳米斯？我看得出来，你不是想当明星的那种人，你是在布某种长远的局。”

“你不也一样，小猫咪。”终于排到了咖啡机前，瑞恩往投币口塞进五十欧分，机器很快开始往纸杯里注入卡布奇诺。“你又是为什么想脱离家族？”

“极乐。”他答道，选了一杯普通咖啡。

“不是牛奶？真让我失望。”

“我要是换个超级英雄名字，你能别再讲猫笑话了吗？”

“不，不能。”

“你真是够了。”菲利克斯叹着气，拿起纸杯，朝窗边的一张沙发示意。两位英雄坐了下来，静静望着玻璃外的绿意。“我离开，是因为极乐。”

嗯，瑞恩也猜到了。“因为他们逼你姐妹制毒？”

“一部分原因是这个。”菲利克斯皱眉答道，“你对我到底了解多少？你是什么职业间谍吗？”

“我要是间谍，开的就该是阿斯顿·马丁了。”瑞恩开着玩笑，享受着卡布奇诺的香气。“我知道你是玛尔斯和维纳斯的儿子，还跟斩马刀、球体和吱喳合住过一阵子。”

“恩里克叫你监视我的？”菲利克斯误会了，“确认我不是反向渗透进来、给家里传情报的卧底？他都已经把我隔绝在真正的行动之外了，这方面他干得够漂亮了。”

这倒说得通。以瑞恩对黑棘的了解，在他眼里，原子小猫当英雄的价值，恐怕还不如当潜在人质或者情报来源。“完全不是。”瑞恩啜了口咖啡，“我对逃离有害环境的人总是格外心软。”

“血流？”看到瑞恩的反应，菲利克斯轻笑起来，难得扳回一局，让他颇为得意。“我也做过功课。”

“你知道最糟的是什么吗？”瑞恩想到了蕾恩，“就算他已经死了，埋进土里了……他女儿还是摆脱不了他的掌控，而我不知道该怎么打破这一切。”

菲利克斯等了几秒，才问出那个一直憋在嘴边的问题。“是你杀了他吗？”

“不是，但他的死是我安排的。”瑞恩如此直白地坦承，让原子猫一颤。“你恨你的父母吗，菲利克斯？”

“还没恨到想让他们死，不过我不介意看他们栽个跟头。他们手上沾了太多血，还在把我的姐妹往‘家族生意’里拖。一个被他们逼着制毒，另一个被他们说服，加入了杀手七人组。”菲利克斯失望地摇了摇头，“我原以为我走了，能逼他们重新考虑自己的选择，可奥古斯都把他们攥得太紧了。”

据瑞恩所知，他的离开的确给家人带来了冲击，可他们不是选择怪罪迪纳米斯，就是盼着他回心转意。奥古斯蒂里似乎没什么人会背弃组织，伏尔甘除外——她从一开始就没忠心过。

原子猫瞥见窗外的什么东西，皱起了眉，瑞恩很快也看清了。一只十分眼熟的老鼠正躲在灌木底下观察他们，一发现自己暴露，就飞快地穿过制片厂的公园，逃走了。

“吱喳。”原子猫皱眉说道，“她一直在盯着我。”

“你们以前关系很好？”瑞恩问道，琢磨着会不会突然冒出一群老鼠，把制片厂给拆了。

“原来你也不是什么都知道。”

“不是，但我相信你马上就会告诉我！”

菲利克斯哼了一声，还是开了口。“我和斩马刀曾经是最好的朋友。我那时决定搬出来自己住，我们关系好到后来一起合租了几个月。”

“后来怎么了？”

“有人从墨丘利的部门偷走了几批极乐，就是斩马刀工作的那个部门。赌场员工会把极乐发给客人，有时候是供他们消遣，有时候是为了敲诈。我帮阿斩调查这件事，结果小偷是一群有智慧的老鼠。”

“吱喳。”瑞恩猜道。

“没错。我们跟着那些老鼠找到了它们的女主人，然后……”菲利克斯停了一会儿，望向远处。“那……那场面太惨了，兄弟。她窝在一间废弃公寓里，满屋都是老鼠，而她……”

“嘿，慢慢来，小猫咪。”瑞恩把手放在队友肩上，“太难受就别勉强自己。”

“没……没事。”这位立志成为英雄的年轻人重新镇定下来。“你知道极乐连基因者都能影响吗？我们找到她时，她已经吸毒过量了。瑞恩，她鼻子和眼睛里都在往外流血，皮肤上长着霉。要不是我们发现了她，赶紧送去医院，她就死了。医生把她救回来以后，你知道她开口要的第一样东西是什么吗？”

瑞恩皱起了眉，他已经猜到了。“更多 极乐？”

“更多 极乐。瑞恩，那毒药不只是毁了她的人生，还把她的身体和灵魂全都变成了奴隶。”原子猫满脸厌恶，“那次他妈的真把我敲醒了。”

“可没敲醒斩马刀？”

“阿斩……”菲利克斯的表情变成了一抹鄙夷的冷笑。“杰米自以为是个好人，可他根本不知道自由是什么滋味。他所拥有的一切都是奥古斯蒂给的，根本想象不出离开它该怎么活。是，他费尽心思帮基贞保持戒断，可那不过是为了减轻自己的负罪感。他不想支持极乐生意，但说到底，让他做什么，他还是照做。”

这个叛出家族的男人喝空纸杯，随手一扔，以惊人的准头把它投进了最近的垃圾桶。

“那件事让我看清了很多东西。”原子猫继续讲述，“我去找纳尔西妮娅谈过，她承认自己从来就不想做那种毒品。可她每次想收手，父母都会拿愧疚感逼她继续。‘亲爱的，这是为了家族的大局’，或者‘瘾君子死了也是自找的，谁让他们管不住自己’。还有杰米，他没让基贞远离黑手党，反而任她陷进了那种生活。等我明白这一切已经烂得有多深，就再也待不下去了。”

“也许我说了没什么用，但我觉得你选对了。”瑞恩说道。这个故事与他自己的经历有太多共鸣。“你有权把那些有毒的人从生活里清出去。”

“要是只牵扯到我自己就好了，瑞恩……”菲利克斯叹了口气，“我的家族害死了那么多无辜的人，还把好人也拖下水。我以为迪纳米斯能帮我改变这一切，可现在……现在我也不知道该怎么办了。就目前看到的而言，他们只是坏得不一样，程度上半斤八两。”

“事情是能改变的，”瑞恩试着让他振作起来，“不管局面有多黯淡。”

队友嗤笑了一声。“你听着像本励志小册子。”

“但这不代表我说的不对。”快递员认真答道，“总有变好的可能。只是你得不停地试，哪怕一次又一次失败。难的是这一点。”

他不确定这番话是说给菲利克斯的，还是说给自己听的，但无论如何，他都得说出来。两人陷入了令人不自在的沉默，谁也不知道接下来该说什么，又都不想回去见那两个编剧。

然后，灾难降临了。

“菲利克斯！”

她尖利的嗓音让瑞恩脊背发凉，仿佛死神正从冥界爬出来。菲利克斯的反应一模一样，他转头朝身后看去，惊恐地瞪大眼睛。“告诉我，我是在做梦……”

“想得美，你可没做梦！”福尔图娜走向他们的沙发，一身时髦的金色衬衫和短裙，将双腿展露在众人眼前。见所有人都盯着自己看，她得意地扬起嘴角，又瞥向瑞恩，仿佛等着他也如此。“我们又见面了！”

然而，令她恼火的是，瑞恩完全无视了她，一心盯着她脖子上挂的门禁卡。她从哪儿弄来的通行证？

哦，等等，蠢问题。通行证当然会神奇地自己掉进她手里！

“你到底怎么进来的？”菲利克斯质问自家姐妹，显然一点也不高兴见到她。

“制片厂办了抽奖，中奖者有访客通行证。”福尔图娜答道，“还有，跟你家这位漂亮姐妹打招呼，能不能有点礼貌？”

“迪纳米斯居然放你进来了？”菲利克斯差点呛住。

“那帮公司人当然放我进来了，凭什么不放？看看我。我可是我。”福尔图娜单手叉腰，“不过他们想挖我过去，我只好答应会考虑考虑。你这个没良心的臭小子，知不知道你害我干了什么？”

“我又没请你来，福尔图娜。”

“我还不是被你逼的！”福尔图娜抱怨道，“你们两个谁都不回消息！”

“等等，我们两个？”菲利克斯狐疑地看向瑞恩，“你怎么会认识我姐妹？”

“这个疯子差点开车撞了我！”福尔图娜控诉道，“我让他送我和莉薇回家，他居然跟个野蛮人一样开车跑了！”

“从那以后，我就一直在为‘差点’两个字后悔。”瑞恩面无表情地说道。

“你、你怎么敢说这种话！”她抗议起来，随后又摆出一脸高傲，“不过，你要是请我喝杯咖啡，我倒可以原谅你。可我喜欢的东西都不便宜，但愿你没你看上去那么穷——”

“她一直都这样？”瑞恩问菲利克斯，换来福尔图娜怒目相向。

“不幸的是，没错。”原子猫叹了口气，那口气沉重得不能再沉重。

“难怪你离家出走。”

“我早该知道你们俩能凑一块儿，都一样气人！”福尔图娜抱起双臂，“菲利克斯，我是来带你回家的。”

“那你就只能失望而归了。”英雄怒气冲冲地答道，“我说过，除非你退出那个暗杀小队，否则我们没什么可说的。”

“我们不是暗杀小队，我们是保镖！”福尔图娜争辩道。她显然不明白自己的处境有多严重。“我们负责保护奥林匹斯众神。只不过有时候，我们会先发制人地保护！”

“保护的办法，就是杀掉那些奥古斯都觉得可能成为威胁的人？你还能撑多久，才会撞上能让你能力失效的人，把好运耗到头？”原子猫怒声道，“你是个杀手，福尔图娜。除非你从这摊狗屎里抽身，否则在我眼里，你就只是个杀手。”

“那纳尔西妮娅呢？你知不知道你走了以后，她有多伤心？还有莉薇呢，你这个自私鬼！”福尔图娜指责着自己的手足，“我们看了新闻，知道你在锈镇跟疯魔打了起来。你难道不觉得，我们所有人都会担心你吗？”

“我能照顾好自己。”菲利克斯站起身，面对自家姐妹，话音里淬满了毒，“现在就走，不然我亲自送你出去。”

“你不跟我走，我就不走！”

两人越吵越大声，把瑞恩的存在忘了个干净。福尔图娜指责菲利克斯抛弃了家人，菲利克斯则责怪她加入杀手七人组。技术人员们尴尬地看着这一幕，几个安保人员也在犹豫要不要干预。

瑞恩任由这一家子吵架，自顾自享用卡布奇诺，偏偏手机这时响了。“天哪，又是陌生号码。”快递员嘟囔着接起电话，“都快成固定桥段了。”

“快存？”电话那头是个男人的声音，听着有些耳熟。瑞恩确定自己以前听过，却想不起名字，也对不上脸。

“如假包换，不过我眼下正处于工作空档。”瑞恩先声明了一句。说起来，他以前的循环里从没接到过这通电话。究竟是什么变了？“不知是哪位赏光来电？”

“我叫伦纳德·哈格雷夫斯。四年前我们打过交道，还记得吗？”

瑞恩顿时僵住，确认那两个正在吵架的人听不见自己，才开口答道：“怎么可能不记得？”

“我知道我们过去相处得不算愉快，不过我们的一位同伴建议联系你。”瑞恩听见了背景里的动静，像是电话那头有人正在跟活体太阳说话。“原子猫和你在一起吗？”

“也许吧。”瑞恩眯起眼睛，“你找我们干什么？”

“我想你已经知道，不过也好，我直说。我的队伍刚到城里，我想问问，你们二位有没有空跟我们见一面。据我了解，我们都想清除新罗马身上的毒瘤。”

是的，他们都想。

“早该有人出来清理垃圾了。”