同章对照

“I’m losing him!” Wardrobe panicked.

It didn’t take long for Ryan and the Panda to locate their allies, who had turned the rubble of a collapsed building into a shelter. Cosplaying as a masked surgeon, Wardrobe had raised an improvised hospital tent from whatever material she could find.

She had managed to stitch up Atom Cat’s stab wounds the best she could, but Felix remained in a state of shock. Shroud, meanwhile, was losing blood at an alarming rate in spite of her best efforts. Acid Rain’s grenade had not only blown off his right arm, but impaled his thigh with shrapnel.

“Can’t you do CPR?” The Panda asked a stupid question.

“CPR can do almost anything,” Yuki replied, “but not give someone their blood back!”

“But there has to be something you can do!” the Panda panicked. “You could turn into Christ!”

“I can’t solve every problem by cosplaying as Jesus!” Wardrobe protested, quickly losing her nerve as her efforts failed. “Who can heal any wounds? I can’t think of the right persona!”

“I think I can help,” Ryan said while searching inside his suit for a knife and wires, to perform improvised surgery. However, even an optimist like him thought saving Shroud would be a long shot. The vigilante had lost an incredible amount of blood; if he wasn’t a Genome, he would have perished already.

The courier blamed himself for this mess. Ryan was used to fighting alone with no regard for collateral damage; he didn't do so well in a team, where he had to avoid friendly fire. The courier should have trained with his team before the battle, learned to coordinate better with the group.

Right before Ryan could start a last-chance surgery, he sensed an odd feeling down his spine; for a second, he thought Acid Rain had survived the headshot, only for a violet tear in space to open near the group. The Carnival teleporter Ace and someone dressed as a plague doctor stepped through, immediately flinching at their wounded teammate’s sight.

“Move away,” the plague doctor ordered, whom Ryan identified as the Carnival member Dr. Stitch. He opened a black bag he carried around his waist, to reveal an assortment of tools and strange organic devices. He quickly grabbed one of them, a horrifying white tumor with tendrils sticking out.

“W-why do you carry that on yourself?” the Panda asked, resisting the urge to vomit.

“My expertise is in viruses and bacterias,” Stitch replied, the tumor wriggling within his fingers. He quickly applied it to Shroud’s wound, the tumor grafting itself to the vigilante’s flesh. “My bacteria colony will help repair—”

“No time for mad science exposition,” Ace cut in, before focusing on Ryan and the Panda. “You two, report.”

“Sarin has been blown away, and Acid Rain’s skull blown out,” Ryan said. He couldn’t resist making terrible jokes when stressed.

“Good, Wyvern and Devilry are handling Frank for now, so we can assume the perimeter is secured,” the teleporter said with a nod, while Stitch and Wardrobe cooperated to save Shroud. “You can still fight, right? Then you come with me. Stitch and Wardrobe will go to the infirmary and treat the wounded.”

“We should take Wardrobe,” Ryan protested. “I mean, Whalie is as big as a whale, and Yuki’s Japanese. She’s his natural predator.”

Ace seemed somewhat amused by his joke, but remained serious. “We have many fighters, but not enough people to treat the wounded.”

“How are things going?” The courier asked, while Ace opened a portal towards what looked like a Dynamis hospital camp. Wardrobe and Stitch quickly dragged the wounded through the rift.

“Worse than expected, but still good,” the teleporter replied, closing the portal and opening another. “Leo and Mr. Wave blew up the Meta’s mech, but Adam barricaded himself inside his underground base. We’re fighting his remaining men door-to-door, and Psyshock is throwing brainwashed suicide bombers at us.”

As Ryan had expected, failing to kill the brainjacker caused casualties to increase exponentially. Most importantly, he could read between the lines.

Sunshine couldn’t destroy Mechron’s base without killing the Meta-Gang’s hostages, and now, they had to clean the bunker up with an old-fashioned assault. Which meant Dynamis had learned of its existence.

If the enormous casualties wouldn’t force Ryan to restart, this change would. Though they had provided valuable help during this loop, the courier didn’t trust Dynamis with Mechron’s technology. Too many corrupt elements in their ranks.

Ace opened a new portal, Ryan and the Panda passing through. In the blink of an eye, they left the toxic open atmosphere of Rust Town for the suffocating claustrophobia of Mechron’s bunker.

Ryan didn’t recognize the room, some kind of industrial warehouse with metal arms and cables dangling from the ceiling. Assembly lines dedicated to robot manufacturing had been repurposed into improvised barricades; the air smelled of ozone, and ominous red lights pulsed from the ceiling. The corpses of both Psychos and normal humans lay on the ground, torn apart by heavy weaponry.

Fallout and armored members of the Private Security had formed a line, bombarding the Meta-Gang’s barricades. To Ryan’s surprise, none of their enemies were mutated; they were all dog drones, brainwashed technicians, and enslaved denizens of Rust Town. Most of them carried Dynamis-made firearms, but a few wielded strange weapons with Mechron’s logo on them.

Most nightmarishly, all of them wore suicide belts, and the Meta-Gang had tied up people to their barricades. Not only did Psyshock throw brainwashed slaves at Dynamis, he dared use his few remaining sane prisoners as human shields.

“I’m just saying, that’s why I’m against automation,” a Private Security member in power armor declared, as he blasted a hound drone with a laser minigun. “First they steal our jobs, and then they try to steal our lives!”

“Yeah, and I’m paid three thousand a month when these things cost a quarter of a million to make,” another guard added, using a flamethrower to torch Psyshock’s brainwashed cannon fodder. “That’s the real economic inequality!”

“Shut up and keep fighting,” Alphonse grunted, raising a hand at a technician threatening him with a rocket launcher. His metal fingers shone with nuclear energy, before blasting the attacker apart with a gamma ray.

While the Panda smashed through a barricade with a roar and Ace fled through another portal, Ryan approached Dynamis’ VP. “How are things going, Atomic Cancer?”

“The brainwashed thralls blow themselves up if we approach them, and they use their free-willed captives as shields,” Alphonse grunted, completely ignoring Ryan’s nickname for him. “Disgusting.”

“We have to take down Psyshock.” Ryan turned around, noticing Enrique Manada behind them. The corpo kept one knee against the ground, surrounded by thin, nearly undetectable vines spreading through the bunker’s corridors. “He is the backbone of their defense. If he falls, the rest will follow.”

“Greenhand?” Ryan asked, quickly lowering his head to dodge a stray bullet. “You’re here too?”

“Surprised, Romano?” the grass manipulator replied dryly, fingers on the vines. Unlike Ryan’s, the corpo’s cashmere suit remained fully intact.

“I thought you were more of a pencil-pusher, bravely commanding from the rear.”

“You thought wrong.” Enrique turned to face his brother. “Al, I’ve located Adam and Psyshock. Second room to the right. I suspect it is the base’s command center.”

This worried Ryan greatly. If the Meta already managed to access the bunker’s mainframe, it meant they might access the Bahamut. Knowing Big Fat Adam, he would press the trigger as soon as he could.

“I will carve a straight path,” Alphonse said, his metal hands shining with radioactive energy. “Brother, you guide us. Quicksave, cover our rear.”

“Does anybody have a spare gun?” Ryan asked, having lost his own during the fight with Acid Rain.

“Take mine,” Enrique said, searching inside his suit and tossing a Beretta at Ryan. The courier claimed it as his own, though with a clear lack of enthusiasm. “What, Romano? Not good enough for you?”

“I’m disappointed it’s not gold-plated.”

“You have strange stereotypes about my social position, Romano.”

“Enough prattle,” Alphonse said, before putting his hands against the right wall. The heat increased as he channeled energy through the metal, melting it away. Within seconds, Fallout had shaped a hole big enough to allow the trio to progress.

After a few minutes of improvised digging, the group melted their way into a large room shielded by a colossal blast door. As Enrique had guessed, the area looked like the bunker’s central mainframe; large screens covered the walls, while ten colossal server towers served as pillars holding up the ceiling. A single blast door served as the entrance, red lights flickering as tremors shook the complex.

The most noteworthy part of the area, though, was the gargantuan biomechanical construct at the center. The machine, easily the size of an elephant, reminded Ryan of a human brain, albeit completely blue and outfitted with thick wires, alien implants, and electrical pylons protruding outward from the cerebrum. A mass of nerve-like wires connected the structure to a metal pedestal supporting the biomechanical brain, while a crimson force field shielded it from the outside world.

Psyshock had intermingled with the machine like a bloodsucking flea, his tendrils intertwining with the nerves. Hannifat Lecter stood in front of the force field, his skin covered in an alloy carbon and his eyes glancing at the screens above.

“You know, Psyshock, I think it’s time to go Old Testament on them,” Hannifat Lecter ordered his second-in-command, as he watched Dynamis’ forces break past their defenses on the screens. “Bomb Sodom and Gomorrah back to the stone age.”

“I can’t, I need more time to crack the firewalls—” Psyshock froze, as he and his commander noticed the newcomers. His cold voice turned furious when he saw Ryan. “Little Cesare... you and your sister ruined everything.”

“Thanks,” Ryan said, pointing a gun at the brainjacker while Alphonse raised his hands at Adam. “It’s always a pleasure.”

“Fontaine, Grey, time to surrender.” Even with all the chaos happening around them, Blackthorn remained icily polite. “Release the hostages, you’re surrounded. There is no escape.”

“Perhaps,” Big Fat Adam replied with a false smile, before revealing an item hidden behind his back, “but I got one last trick up my sleeve.”

A bottle full of a black, swirling liquid, with Mechron’s symbol stamped on some kind of colored glass. An Elixir, as black as a starless night.

A Mechron-made Elixir.

“You know what they say!” Adam said, raising the bottle and preparing to throw it at the group like a Psycho-making grenade. “If you can’t beat them, join them!”

Ryan froze time, calmly raised his gun, and shot the bottle while it was still in Adam’s hand.

Much to his shock, the liquid moved in the stopped time. Like a living blob of black oil, it surrounded the Ogre’s fingers, melting the carbon armor and seeping through his skin.

When the clock struck again, Big Fat Adam let out a scream of pain, as the ooze swallowed his arm and progressed through his body. “Sir!” Psyshock shouted in alarm, as the Black Elixir slowly covered all of its host’s body like a mantle of darkness.

Fallout immediately unleashed a blast of energy at the mutating Psycho with enough power to vaporize him. Adam raised his blackened hand, and an invisible force canceled the atomic ray. It simply stopped existing past a certain point.

Hannifat Lecter wished he had died though. His screams turned deafening, as the Black Elixir melted his skin and flesh, leaving only blackened bones and organs. The Psycho’s body couldn’t assimilate the Black Elixir, and it devoured him alive.

“What is this sorcery…” Blackthorn muttered to himself, horrified by the sight. Meanwhile, his more ruthless elder brother increased the output of his blasts, to no avail; the Black Elixir’s power trumped his own.

Adam’s skeleton shambled, the black ooze manipulating the bones like a puppet. The undead’s body degraded at an accelerated pace, organs dissolving… and yet it could still form words.

“You… you… open…” The voice didn’t belong to Adam. “You…”

The corpse raised a melted finger at an astonished Ryan, black ooze leaking from the emptied eye sockets. Blackthorn quickly forced the courier behind him, as if to shield him. Aw, he cared!

“You… you… must open…”

Adam was no longer in control.

The Elixir was.

“Open… the gate… send me… send me… to the Black… it is…” The voice turned from pleading to agonizing, as Adam’s jaw and throat started to dissolve. “This dimension... is not… send me… back...”

Afterward, even Hannifat Lecter’s enhanced body could no longer resist the degradation. The words turned incomprehensible, as the corpse collapsed into a puddle of black oil; having consumed its own host, the sinister substance dissipated into nothingness. Of the Meta-Gang’s leader, not even dust remained.

“Well, it was one hell of a slimming cure!” Ryan joked, trying to lighten the atmosphere.

After a brief moment of silence, Fallout attacked Psyshock next. One of his nuclear rays hit the force field, unleashing a pulse of energy that shorted out half the screens. Yet the defensive barrier held.

In response, parts of the ceiling opened to reveal automated gatling turrets, all of them opening fire on the group. Ryan briefly stopped time and pushed Enrique out of the firing line, sparing him a volley of bullets to the face. Fallout’s armor shrugged off the projectiles, while Dynamis’ VP increased his power’s output; he unleashed a sustained ray of focused nuclear energy at the forcefield, until Ryan had to cover his eyes to protect himself from the light. An unstoppable force fighting an immovable object.

The unstoppable force won.

The forcefield shorted out, and Psyshock barely had the time to leap out of the biomechanical database before Fallout hit it. The blast vaporized the giant brain, organic and mechanical parts alike, and continued its way through the wall behind. Steel and glass both melted before this almighty power. All screens and lights turned black, leaving only Alphonse Manada’s radiance to provide lighting, and the turrets abruptly stopped firing.

With the dexterity of a spider on the run, Psyshock used his tendrils to jump across the room and attempted to bypass the trio. Ryan froze time and shot the tentacles supporting his weight, causing the Psycho to crash on the ground before he could escape.

“Didn’t you hear, Psypsy?” Ryan taunted him, shooting a tentacle before Psyshock could smash his skull with it. “Today, we have fried squid on the menu!”

The rose on Enrique Manada’s suit grew thorn tendrils, until the plant had become a floral squid as large as Psypsy himself. Its roots restrained the Psycho, while the flower unleashed a burst of colored smoke right in his face. Psyshock struggled for a moment, before his whole body went limp.

“I knew Dynamis’ perfumes were low-quality, but not to the point of causing someone to faint,” Ryan mused out loud.

“I used a genetically altered brand of aconitine,” Blackthorn replied, which Ryan identified as a plant-based neurotoxin. “Since Psyshock needs to die to activate his body-transfer, hopefully keeping him in a state of unconsciousness should disable it.”

“And since Psypsy is almost entirely made of nerves, it’s doubly effective against him, even with his enhanced biology!” Ryan had to admit the idea was brilliant. Enough to shamelessly copy it in a later run.

“We do our research too, Romano,” Blackthorn said dryly. “You do not have a monopoly on intelligence.”

“Fallout to all teams,” Alphonse Manada spoke through an intercom in his suit. “Adam is dead, and Psyshock is neutralized. Move to secure the site.”

“Any idea what that was?” Ryan asked, glancing at the spot where Big Fat Adam had perished. It couldn’t have happened to a nicer guy, but the entity had singled the courier out among the group, much to his confusion.

Blackthorn shook his head in disgust, and if the courier wasn’t mistaken, a hint of remorse. “It was our early days all over again.”

“We had worse results,” Fallout replied while receiving a response through his suit’s intercom. Unlike his sibling, he couldn’t care less. “The drones and robots have deactivated, but Psyshock’s thralls are still fighting. I must order a full wipeout.”

Much to Ryan’s surprise, Blackthorn immediately protested. “Al, they are not our enemies, they are victims.”

“I do not like it either, but the lives of our soldiers take priority,” Alphonse replied coldly. “And the thralls fight to the death.”

“Guys, I can stop time,” Ryan declared, both Manada siblings looking at him. “I can disarm and incapacitate people safely.”

“Yes, Al, let us try to capture as many as we can first,” Enrique asked his sibling. “We may be able to cure them later.”

“You and your sentimentality...” Alphonse grunted, before barking orders through his intercom. “You have ten minutes. No more.”

“You heard him, Romano.”

“Yeah, Greenhand,” Ryan said, as they rushed through the hole in the wall. “Frankly, I’m a bit surprised. I thought you wouldn’t care about casualties.”

“We can’t always make the world a better place,” Enrique replied with a shrug, “but we have to try anyway.”

---

In the end, Ryan saved as many people as he could. He disabled suicide belts in the frozen time, disarmed more fighters than he could count, saved dozens of lives.

But he couldn’t save them all.

When the courier emerged from the bunker through the half-melted blast doors, the battle had ended in a decisive Carnival/Dynamis victory. Troopers had secured the Junkyard, forming a defensive perimeter and establishing sniper nests atop the trash walls. The fact Leo Hargraves had torched half the area didn’t bother them.

Since he couldn’t see the giant Kaiju battle and the ground had stopped shaking, Ryan assumed both Frank the Mad and the Land had been defeated. Most of the Meta-Gang’s cannon fodder had been restrained, bound either by iron chains or cocoons made of countless paper sheets bound together; either the Carnival or Dynamis had a paper-manipulator on their payroll. Ace opened portals left and right to let troops through, the Panda proudly carried a drugged-out Psyshock in his arms to containment, and Leo Hargraves circled above Rust Town to survey the area. The message couldn’t be clearer.

The Meta-Gang was no more.

Ryan should have felt happy about it, but the raid left him with a bittersweet feeling. Yes, he had fulfilled his promise to Jasmine and ensured Hannifat Lecter wouldn’t fire an orbital laser at New Rome. But Dynamis now knew about the bunker, and Augustus would learn of the Carnival’s presence soon enough. One problem had been solved, but so many others remained.

And one quickly called the courier.

“Romano.” Enrique emerged from the bunker, his rose back on his suit. “We have business ahead of us.”

“Is it about the Beretta?” Ryan asked. Frankly, he would return it on principle. The courier only accepted the best, and that gun wasn’t all that great.

“You may keep it for now,” the corpo replied with a scoff. “This is not over yet.”

“Stragglers to deal with? Can I run them over? I love doing that.”

“Leave the mooks to our troops.” Enrique raised his eyes, as Leo the Living Sun floated down to their position. “Hargraves.”

“Enrique, Quicksave,” Sunshine greeted both of them as he landed on the ground. “I assume the bunker is secured?”

“Yes, it is,” Enrique replied, looking at the Living Sun’s head. “You knew about it.”

Sunshine remained silent a split second, but was too much of a shining knight to lie. “Yes.”

“As I thought,” Enrique replied, not truly surprised. “I suppose you worried that word of this place might reach my father or Augustus. Wise, but troubling.”

“You know this technology is dangerous. It ended the world once.”

“In the right hands—”

“There are no right hands, Enrique,” Leonard interrupted Blackthorn, and Ryan was sorely tempted to agree. “Mechron’s legacy has to go.”

“Perhaps. In any case, we can decide what to do with this bunker like civilized people, after we deal with the problem at hand.” Enrique crossed his arms. “What about you?”

“I neutralized the Land with Origami’s help,” the Living Sun replied. “And I’m confident we captured or killed almost every Psycho active in Rust Town. The only ones unaccounted for are Incognito and Gemini. They must have used their powers to slip amidst your troops and escape.”

“I do not worry about these two. Without Adam to provide direction, they will be nothing more than a nuisance. We’ll catch them eventually.”

“Then we should be done,” Leonard said, arms crossed. “Or are we?”

“There is still one last source of concern,” Enrique said as a noise echoed from above. Ryan raised his eyes, noticing a helicopter preparing to land. “We found the evidence we needed, and Alphonse wants to arrest our father before he can organize a counter-coup. We’re going to the family manor, and we will clean up this mess once and for all.”

“I will go there first,” Sunshine said, preparing to take flight. “Make sure he does not get away.”

“Do not engage and wait for us,” Blackthorn commanded, Leo flying away with a nod. Once the Living Sun was gone, Enrique turned to look at Ryan. “Considering you planned all of this, I thought you might wish to be present as well.”

“Plan?” Ryan chuckled. “I don’t plan, I adapt.”

“You truly take me for a fool, Romano,” Enrique replied with a frosty tone, “but suit yourself. I warned you back then, once the day is done, we will have a talk.”

“I will drive to our destination,” Ryan said with a shrug. “No offense, but my ride is classier than yours.”

“Move quickly then,” Enrique said, straightening his suit as his helicopter blew dust in all directions. “History won’t wait for you.”

If only he knew.

Without wasting any more words, Ryan walked out of the Junkyard and whistled as loudly as he could. His Plymouth Fury self-drove to the trash labyrinth’s entrance, spooking a few Dynamis troopers, but Ryan prevented them from committing suicide by raising his hand in peace.

The second he sat on the driver’s seat, Ryan turned on the Chronoradio. “Shortie? Shortie?”

For a short while, Ryan worried the answer would never come, but it did. “Riri? Riri, can you hear me?”

“Thank God, you’re alive!” The courier let out a sigh of pure relief before looking at the skies. Enrique’s helicopter flew east of Rust Town after Leo Hargraves. “Where are you? Are you alright? Is everything okay?”

“I’m… I’m fine,” she replied while the courier followed Enrique’s helicopter. “Under the sea. I fled through the tunnels when Dynamis invaded the lower levels. And I...”

Ryan’s fingers tensed on the driving wheel.

“I have it,” Len declared, a quiet sense of triumph in her voice, “I have the braintech.”

“他快不行了！”衣橱慌了。

瑞恩和熊猫很快便找到了同伴。他们把一栋坍塌建筑的废墟当成了避难处。衣橱扮成戴口罩的外科医生，用手头能找到的材料搭起了一顶临时医疗帐篷。

她已经尽力缝好了原子猫身上的刀伤，但菲利克斯仍处于休克状态。至于裹尸布，无论她怎么努力，他都在以惊人的速度失血。酸雨的手榴弹不但炸掉了他的右臂，弹片还扎进了他的大腿。

“不能做心肺复苏吗？”熊猫问了个蠢问题。

“心肺复苏几乎什么都能办到，”由纪回答，“但不能把流出去的血给人补回来！”

“可你总有办法吧！”熊猫急了。“你可以变成基督啊！”

“我不能什么问题都靠扮耶稣解决！”衣橱抗议道。眼看努力全无成效，她也迅速乱了阵脚。“谁能治好所有伤口？我想不出合适的角色！”

“我应该能帮忙。”瑞恩一边说，一边在西装里翻找刀子和金属丝，准备就地做手术。然而，即使乐观如他，也觉得救回裹尸布的希望渺茫。这位义警已经流了太多血；若不是基因者，他早就死了。

信使认为，这场烂摊子是自己的责任。瑞恩习惯了独自战斗，不在乎附带损害；可在必须避免误伤队友的团队里，他就没那么得心应手了。他本该在战斗前和队友一起训练，学会更好地配合。

就在瑞恩即将开始这场背水一战的手术时，一股异样的感觉顺着脊背窜了上来。有那么一瞬，他还以为酸雨头部中枪后竟然没死，接着却看见一道紫色的空间裂口在众人身旁敞开。嘉年华的传送者王牌，以及一个扮成瘟疫医生的人从中迈出。一看见受伤的队友，两人都不由得一惊。

“让开。”瘟疫医生命令道。瑞恩认出他就是嘉年华的斯蒂奇医生。他打开腰间随身携带的黑包，露出各式工具和奇怪的有机器具。他迅速拿起其中一件——那是一团骇人的白色肿瘤，表面伸出许多触须。

“你、你为什么会随身带着那种东西？”熊猫强忍着呕吐的冲动问道。

“我的专长是病毒和细菌。”斯蒂奇答道，那团肿瘤还在他指间蠕动。他迅速把它按在裹尸布的伤口上，肿瘤随即嫁接到义警的血肉上。“我的细菌群落会帮助修复——”

“没时间听你讲解疯狂科学了。”王牌打断他，转向瑞恩和熊猫。“你们两个，报告情况。”

“沙林被吹没了，酸雨的脑壳被崩没了。”瑞恩说道。他一紧张，就忍不住讲烂笑话。

“很好，双足飞龙和邪魔目前正在对付弗兰克，可以认为外围已经安全了。”传送者点头说道。一旁，斯蒂奇与衣橱正合力抢救裹尸布。“你们还能打，对吧？那就跟我来。斯蒂奇和衣橱去医疗站，救治伤员。”

“我们应该带上衣橱。”瑞恩抗议道。“你看，小鲸鱼跟真鲸鱼一样大，而由纪是日本人。她是他的天敌。”

王牌似乎被他的笑话逗乐了一点，但仍然神情严肃。“我们不缺战斗人员，缺的是能救治伤员的人。”

“战况怎么样？”信使问道。王牌打开一道传送门，另一头看起来是一处迪纳米斯的医疗营地。衣橱和斯蒂奇迅速拖着伤员穿过裂口。

“比预想的糟，但还算顺利。”传送者答道，关上那道门，又打开另一道。“利奥和波动先生炸掉了超能帮的机甲，但亚当把自己锁在地下基地里。我们正在逐间攻打他残部据守的房间，心震则不断派被洗脑的自杀炸弹客来对付我们。”

正如瑞恩所料，没能杀掉那个劫脑者，让伤亡呈指数增长。更重要的是，他听出了话外之意。

阳光无法在不杀死超能帮人质的情况下摧毁梅克隆的基地，如今他们只能用老式的强攻战术清剿地堡。这也意味着，迪纳米斯已经知道了它的存在。

哪怕巨大的伤亡不足以逼瑞恩重来，这个变化也足够了。虽然迪纳米斯在这一轮提供了宝贵的帮助，但信使不放心把梅克隆的技术交到他们手里。他们内部腐败堕落的人太多。

王牌打开一道新的传送门，瑞恩和熊猫穿了过去。眨眼间，他们便离开了锈镇有毒的露天空气，置身于梅克隆地堡幽闭得令人窒息的空间中。

瑞恩不认识这个房间。这里像是某种工业仓库，天花板上垂挂着机械臂和电缆。原本专门用于制造机器人的装配线被改成了临时路障；空气中弥漫着臭氧的气味，头顶不祥的红灯明灭不定。地上躺着疯魔和普通人的尸体，都被重武器撕得支离破碎。

辐尘与全副装甲的私人安保队队员排成一线，猛攻超能帮的路障。令瑞恩惊讶的是，敌人之中竟没有一个变异者，全是犬形无人机、被洗脑的技术人员，以及遭奴役的锈镇居民。他们大多拿着迪纳米斯制造的枪械，但也有少数人手持古怪武器，上面印着梅克隆的标志。

最可怕的是，他们人人都绑着自爆腰带，而超能帮还把人绑在了路障上。心震不但派被洗脑的奴隶去迎战迪纳米斯，居然还敢拿仅剩的几个神志清醒的俘虏当人肉盾牌。

“我就说吧，这就是我反对自动化的原因。”一名身穿动力装甲的私人安保队队员说道，同时用激光转管机枪轰击一架猎犬无人机。“它们先抢我们的饭碗，现在又想抢我们的命！”

“就是，我一个月才拿三千，造这玩意儿一个却要二十五万。”另一名守卫附和道，用火焰喷射器烧着心震手下被洗脑的炮灰。“这才是真正的经济不平等！”

“闭嘴，继续打。”阿尔方斯低声呵斥，同时朝一名用火箭筒威胁他的技术人员抬起手。金属手指亮起核能的光芒，接着一道伽马射线便将袭击者轰得粉碎。

熊猫咆哮着撞破一道路障，王牌则从另一道传送门撤走。瑞恩走近迪纳米斯的副总裁。“进展如何啊，原子癌？”

“一靠近，那些被洗脑的傀儡就会自爆，还拿仍有自主意识的俘虏当盾牌。”阿尔方斯闷声答道，完全无视了瑞恩给他起的外号。“恶心。”

“我们必须拿下心震。”瑞恩转过身，发现恩里克·马纳达就在他们身后。这位公司高管单膝跪地，周围全是纤细得几乎看不见的藤蔓，正沿着地堡的走廊蔓延。“他是整条防线的支柱。他一倒，其他人也撑不住。”

“绿手？”瑞恩迅速低头躲过一发流弹，问道，“你也来了？”

“很意外，罗马诺？”草木操纵者冷淡地反问，手指搭在藤蔓上。与瑞恩不同，这位高管的羊绒西装仍然完好无损。

“我还以为你更擅长坐办公室，在后方英勇指挥呢。”

“你想错了。”恩里克转向哥哥。“阿尔，我找到亚当和心震了。右边第二个房间。我怀疑那里就是基地的指挥中心。”

这让瑞恩大为不安。如果超能帮已经成功接入地堡主机，就意味着他们可能也能操控巴哈姆特了。以他对大胖亚当的了解，那家伙一有机会就会按下发射键。

“我来直接开条路。”阿尔方斯说，金属双手闪耀着放射性能量。“弟弟，你带路。快存，掩护后方。”

“谁有多余的枪？”瑞恩问道。他自己的枪已经在与酸雨交战时丢了。

“拿我的。”恩里克在西装里摸索一下，把一支伯莱塔抛给瑞恩。信使收下枪，据为己有，却明显没什么热情。“怎么了，罗马诺？还不够好，配不上你？”

“居然没镀金，真让我失望。”

“你对我这个社会地位的人，抱有一些奇怪的刻板印象，罗马诺。”

“废话够了。”阿尔方斯说着，将双手按上右侧墙壁。他把能量导入金属，将它熔化，周围温度随之攀升。几秒之内，辐尘就熔出了一个足够三人通行的大洞。

经过几分钟的临时掘进，众人一路熔穿墙壁，进入一间由巨型防爆门保护的大厅。正如恩里克所猜，这里看起来就是地堡中央主机所在的区域；巨大的屏幕覆满墙壁，十座庞大的服务器塔如立柱般支撑着天花板。唯一的出入口是一扇防爆门，随着整个设施不断震颤，红灯也闪烁不定。

不过，此地最引人注目的，还是中央那座巨大的生物机械装置。它足有大象那么大，让瑞恩想起人类的大脑，只不过通体呈蓝色，装有粗大的线缆和异样的植入物，还有电力塔架从大脑上向外伸出。一大团神经般的线缆，将整座装置连接到承托这颗生物机械大脑的金属基座上，一层猩红色的力场则把它与外界隔绝。

心震像只吸血跳蚤，与机器融为一体，触须和神经彼此缠绕。汉尼胖·莱克特站在力场前，皮肤覆盖着碳合金，目光扫过上方的屏幕。

“你知道吗，心震，我觉得该给他们来点《旧约》里的惩罚了。”汉尼胖·莱克特看着屏幕上迪纳米斯的部队突破防线，对自己的副手下令。“把所多玛和蛾摩拉炸回石器时代。”

“我做不到，破解防火墙还需要时间——”心震僵住了，他和首领都注意到了闯入者。看见瑞恩时，他冰冷的声音转为暴怒。“小切萨雷……你和你妹妹毁了一切。”

“谢谢。”瑞恩用枪指着劫脑者，阿尔方斯则朝亚当抬起双手。“每次效劳都很愉快。”

“方丹，格雷，该投降了。”即便周围乱成一团，黑棘依旧保持着冷冰冰的礼貌。“释放人质。你们被包围了，无路可逃。”

“也许吧。”大胖亚当露出虚假的笑容，亮出藏在背后的东西。“可我还留了一手。”

那是一只瓶子，里面盛满漆黑翻涌的液体，某种彩色玻璃制成的瓶身上印着梅克隆的标志。一瓶灵药，黑得犹如没有星辰的夜晚。

一瓶梅克隆制造的灵药。

“俗话说得好！”亚当说着举起瓶子，准备把它当成一枚制造疯魔的手榴弹，扔向三人。“打不过他们，就加入他们！”

瑞恩暂停时间，平静地举起枪，趁瓶子还在亚当手里，一枪打碎了它。

令他震惊的是，那液体竟在停止的时间里动了起来。它像一团活着的黑色油泥，裹住食人魔的手指，熔掉碳质铠甲，渗入他的皮肤。

时钟重新走动的那一刻，大胖亚当发出痛苦的惨叫，黏液吞没了他的手臂，并向全身蔓延。“老大！”心震惊叫道。黑色灵药缓缓覆盖宿主全身，仿佛给他披上了一件黑暗斗篷。

辐尘立刻朝变异中的疯魔射出一股能量，威力足以将他汽化。亚当抬起染黑的手，一股无形的力量抵消了那道原子射线。越过某个位置后，射线便径直不复存在。

然而，汉尼胖·莱克特宁愿自己已经死了。黑色灵药熔化了他的皮肤和血肉，只留下发黑的骨骼与内脏，他的惨叫也变得震耳欲聋。这具疯魔之躯无法吸收黑色灵药，反而被它活生生地吞噬。

“这是什么邪术……”黑棘被眼前的景象骇住，喃喃自语。与此同时，他那位更狠辣的哥哥不断提升攻击的能量输出，却毫无作用。黑色灵药的力量压过了他的能力。

亚当的骨架蹒跚着移动，黑色黏液像操纵木偶一样操纵着他的骨头。这具活尸的身体正加速崩解，内脏逐一溶化……可它居然还能说话。

“你……你……打开……”那声音不属于亚当。“你……”

尸体抬起一根熔化的手指，指向满脸惊愕的瑞恩，黑色黏液从空荡荡的眼窝里流出。黑棘迅速将信使拽到身后，似乎想护住他。哎呀，他还是在乎的！

“你……你……必须打开……”

掌控身体的已经不是亚当。

而是灵药。

“打开……门……送我……送我……去黑色……这里……”随着亚当的下颌和喉咙开始溶化，那声音从哀求变成了痛苦的呻吟。“这个维度……不是……送我……回去……”

随后，就连汉尼胖·莱克特经过强化的躯体也再无法抵御崩解。话音变得含混不清，尸体坍塌成了一摊黑色油泥；吞噬了自己的宿主之后，那诡异的物质也消散于无形。超能帮的首领，连一点灰都没剩下。

“好吧，这减肥疗法真他妈够劲！”瑞恩开了个玩笑，试图缓和气氛。

短暂的沉默过后，辐尘转而攻击心震。一道核能射线击中力场，释放出一阵能量脉冲，令半数屏幕短路熄灭。然而，防护屏障撑住了。

作为回应，天花板上几处盖板打开，露出自动加特林炮塔，齐齐向三人开火。瑞恩短暂地暂停时间，将恩里克推出火线，免得他脸上挨上一梭子弹。辐尘的装甲轻松扛下了枪弹，这位迪纳米斯副总裁同时加大了能力输出。他将核能聚束成一道持续不断的射线，直射力场，强光逼得瑞恩不得不捂住眼睛。无法阻挡的力量，迎上了无法撼动的物体。

无法阻挡的力量赢了。

力场短路失效，心震刚来得及从那座生物机械数据库中跃出，辐尘的攻击便轰了上去。巨脑的有机组织与机械部件一同汽化，射线去势不减，继续贯穿后方的墙壁。钢铁与玻璃都在这无可匹敌的力量面前熔化。所有屏幕和灯光尽数熄灭，只剩阿尔方斯·马纳达自身的光芒照亮四周，炮塔也骤然停止射击。

心震如一只逃命的蜘蛛，灵巧地用触须在房间里跳跃，试图绕过三人。瑞恩暂停时间，开枪打断支撑他体重的触手。疯魔没能逃走，一头栽倒在地。

“没听见吗，小心心？”瑞恩嘲弄道，一枪打中了心震的触手，没让它砸碎自己的脑袋。“今天菜单上的菜是炸鱿鱼！”

恩里克·马纳达西装上的玫瑰生出了带刺的触须，不断生长，最终成了一只与小心心一般大的花卉鱿鱼。它的根须缠住疯魔，花朵则朝他脸上喷出一股彩色烟雾。心震挣扎片刻，随即全身瘫软。

“我知道迪纳米斯的香水质量差，可也没想到差到了能把人熏晕的地步。”瑞恩若有所思地说道。

“我用的是一种经过基因改造的乌头碱。”黑棘回答。瑞恩知道，那是一种植物源神经毒素。“心震需要死亡才能触发身体转移，希望让他一直处于昏迷状态，就能阻止转移。”

“而且小心心几乎浑身都是神经，所以就算他的身体经过强化，这招对他也有加倍的效果！”瑞恩不得不承认，这主意高明极了。高明到值得他在以后的某轮里厚着脸皮照抄。

“我们也会做研究，罗马诺。”黑棘冷淡地说。“聪明才智不是你一个人的专利。”

“辐尘呼叫所有小队。”阿尔方斯·马纳达通过装甲内的对讲机说道。“亚当已死，心震已被制服。开始控制现场。”

“知道刚才那是什么吗？”瑞恩问道，瞥了一眼大胖亚当丧命的地方。这种下场落在他身上再合适不过，可那东西偏偏从几个人中单独挑中了信使，让他困惑不已。

黑棘厌恶地摇了摇头。如果信使没看错，他脸上还有一丝悔意。“我们早年经历过的事，又重演了。”

“我们还见过更糟的结果。”辐尘一边回答，一边听着装甲对讲机里传来的汇报。与弟弟不同，他毫不在意。“无人机和机器人已经停机，但心震的傀儡还在战斗。我必须下令全部消灭。”

令瑞恩大感意外的是，黑棘立刻提出了异议。“阿尔，他们不是我们的敌人，是受害者。”

“我也不喜欢这样，但我们士兵的性命优先。”阿尔方斯冷冷地回答。“而那些傀儡会战斗到死。”

“两位，我能暂停时间。”瑞恩开口，马纳达兄弟都看向他。“我可以安全地缴械，让他们失去行动能力。”

“对，阿尔，先让我们尽量多抓些活的吧。”恩里克请求哥哥。“以后也许有办法治好他们。”

“你啊，总是这么多愁善感……”阿尔方斯哼了一声，随即通过对讲机厉声下令。“给你们十分钟。不能再多了。”

“你听见了，罗马诺。”

“听见了，绿手。”两人冲过墙洞时，瑞恩说，“坦白讲，我有点意外。我还以为你不会在乎伤亡呢。”

“我们并不总能让世界变得更好。”恩里克耸耸肩，回答道，“但无论如何，总得试试。”

---

到最后，瑞恩尽自己所能救下了更多的人。他在冻结的时间里拆掉自爆腰带，夺走了无数战斗人员的武器，救下几十条性命。

可他救不了所有人。

信使穿过熔化了一半的防爆门、走出地堡时，战斗已经结束，嘉年华与迪纳米斯取得了决定性的胜利。士兵们控制了废料场，构筑防御圈，并在垃圾围墙顶部架设狙击阵地。利奥·哈格雷夫斯烧掉了半片场地，这一点并未妨碍他们。

巨型怪兽大战已不见踪影，地面也不再震颤，瑞恩因此推测疯子弗兰克和大地都已被击败。超能帮的大部分炮灰已经受到控制，有的被铁链捆住，有的则被无数纸张拼接而成的纸茧裹着。嘉年华和迪纳米斯当中，肯定有一家雇了个纸张操纵者。王牌四处开启传送门，让部队通行；熊猫骄傲地抱着被药物放倒的心震，将他送去关押；利奥·哈格雷夫斯则在锈镇上空盘旋，巡视这片区域。这一切传达出的信息，再清楚不过。

超能帮不复存在了。

瑞恩本该为此高兴，可这场突袭留下的滋味却苦乐参半。没错，他兑现了对贾丝敏的承诺，确保汉尼胖·莱克特不会用轨道激光轰击新罗马。可迪纳米斯如今知道了地堡的存在，而奥古斯都也很快就会得知嘉年华已经到来。一个问题解决了，剩下的却还有那么多。

而其中一个很快就开口叫住了信使。

“罗马诺。”恩里克从地堡中走出来，玫瑰已经回到他的西装上。“我们还有事要办。”

“是伯莱塔的事吗？”瑞恩问道。说真的，出于原则，他也会把枪还回去。信使只接受最好的东西，而那把枪实在不怎么样。

“你暂时留着吧。”高管轻哼一声。“事情还没结束。”

“还有漏网的要收拾？我能开车轧他们吗？我可喜欢了。”

“杂兵留给我们的部队。”恩里克抬起头，活体太阳利奥正朝他们的位置飘落。“哈格雷夫斯。”

“恩里克，快存。”阳光落到地上，向两人打了招呼。“地堡已经控制住了吧？”

“是，控制住了。”恩里克看着活体太阳的头部，答道。“你早就知道这个地方。”

阳光沉默了一瞬，可他这位光辉骑士实在太过正直，撒不了谎。“是的。”

“果然不出我所料。”恩里克并不怎么惊讶。“我猜你是担心这里的消息会传到我父亲或奥古斯都耳中。明智，但也令人不安。”

“你知道这些技术有多危险。它们已经毁灭过一次世界了。”

“交到合适的人手里——”

“没有合适的人，恩里克。”伦纳德打断黑棘，瑞恩很想表示赞同。“梅克隆的遗产必须彻底消失。”

“也许吧。无论如何，等处理完眼前的问题之后，我们可以像文明人一样，商量该怎么处置这座地堡。”恩里克抱起双臂。“你那边呢？”

“我在折纸的帮助下制服了大地。”活体太阳回答。“而且我确信，活跃在锈镇的疯魔几乎已经全部被捕或被杀。唯独无名氏和双子下落不明。他们一定是用能力混进你们的部队，逃了出去。”

“我不担心这两个。没有亚当指挥，他们顶多制造些麻烦。我们迟早会抓住他们。”

“那我们应该完事了。”伦纳德抱着双臂说道。“还是说，并没有？”

“还有最后一个隐患。”恩里克说话时，头顶传来一阵响动。瑞恩抬头看见一架直升机正准备降落。“我们找到了需要的证据。阿尔方斯想趁父亲还没来得及组织反政变，就先逮捕他。我们要去家族庄园，一劳永逸地收拾掉这个烂摊子。”

“我先过去。”阳光说着，准备起飞。“确保他逃不了。”

“别动手，等我们。”黑棘命令道，利奥点点头，飞走了。活体太阳离开后，恩里克转过头看向瑞恩。“考虑到这一切都是你谋划的，我想你大概也希望在场。”

“谋划？”瑞恩轻笑一声。“我不谋划，我随机应变。”

“你真把我当傻子了，罗马诺。”恩里克语气冰冷。“随你的便。不过我早就警告过你，今天的事一结束，我们一定要好好谈谈。”

“我会开车去目的地。”瑞恩耸耸肩。“无意冒犯，但我的座驾比你的有格调。”

“那就快点。”恩里克整了整西装，直升机在他身旁卷起漫天尘土。“历史可不会等你。”

要是他知道就好了。

瑞恩不再废话，走出废料场，尽可能响亮地吹了一声口哨。他的普利茅斯“狂怒”自动驶到垃圾迷宫入口，吓了几名迪纳米斯士兵一跳，不过瑞恩举手示意和平，才没让他们自寻死路。

刚坐上驾驶座，瑞恩就打开时空收音机。“小矮个？小矮个？”

有那么一小会儿，瑞恩担心自己永远等不到回答了。但回答还是传了过来。“瑞瑞？瑞瑞，听得见吗？”

“谢天谢地，你还活着！”信使如释重负地长舒一口气，随后望向天空。恩里克的直升机正追随利奥·哈格雷夫斯，向锈镇东边飞去。“你在哪里？你没事吧？一切还好吗？”

“我……我没事。”信使开车跟上恩里克的直升机时，她回答道。“在海底。迪纳米斯攻入下层时，我从隧道逃了出来。而且我……”

瑞恩握着方向盘的手指绷紧了。

“我拿到了。”蕾恩说道，声音里带着一份安静的胜利喜悦。“我拿到脑科技了。”