同章对照

They crashed into Dynamis’ HQ, like Fat Man into Nagasaki.

Vulcan had been kind enough to equip the Saturn Armor with a small jetpack, but Len’s aquatic suit had no such boon. The beefed-up Mosquito instead carried her in his arms, as they crashed through Dynamis’ windows too fast for the security drones outside to react.

The President would have loved to enter through the cashmere production facility on the twentieth floor, but that would have meant fighting his way through forty more. Instead, they entered through floor sixty, the last one without any reinforced windows.

“Don’t worry, guys,” Ryan said, as he, Len, and Mosquito faced an army of office workers behind cubic desks. Guards in power armor protected two elevators. “We’ve got a search warrant.”

Automated cameras immediately focused on the trio, while acid rain clouds formed outside the building. Alarms resonated in the room, Dynamis workers hiding below their desks while the guards opened fire. Ryan almost dodged on reflex, before reminding himself that his armor should resist lasers.

So instead, the president smugly walked forward like a terminator, shrugging off the guards’ attacks. Mosquito, less dramatic, grabbed the closest desk and threw it at the security staff. The building shook, as the Land caused a miniature quake and the other Meta-Gang members assaulted the building from the reception hall.

However, Ryan caught a glimpse of a flyer rushing towards the building from the neighboring Optimates Tower. The red-skinned Devilry unleashed streams of flame from her feet like a rocket’s reactor, a furious look on her face. Acid raindrops turned to steam upon touching her warm skin.

“Take cover!” Len shouted, using her Genius-made rifle to close the windows with a wall of water. Devilry vaporized it with a fireball, and prepared to incinerate the entire floor.

“Security!” Ryan shouted, as he disarmed the remaining guards with a combination of time-stops and armored fists to the face.

“On it!” Mosquito flew out of the window right as metal panels closed them off, pulverizing most of the ceiling as he did. His attempt to tackle Devilry failed miserably, the pyrokinetic moving out of his path and preparing to blast him off with a fireball.

However, Acid Rain suddenly teleported behind the flyer and quickly shot her feet before disappearing to safety. Devilry lost control of her flight for a second, allowing Mosquito to slam her against the building.

Ryan left his men to handle the superhero, while he quickly disarmed the remaining guards and let Len trap them inside water bubbles. By the time metal panels covered every window, the president tossed a desk over to reveal an office manager hiding beneath. A golden keycard dangled from his neck.

“I will be borrowing that.” Instead of taking it off the man, the courier simply grabbed the card and dragged the terrified wearer along towards the elevator. “Incognito, Doll?”

“On it!” His gynoid friend answered, data showing up on the courier’s lenses as he examined the keycard.

Earlier during the loop, Ryan sent the Psycho Incognito to infiltrate Dynamis’ HQ. His Blue ability forced others to perceive him as anyone else of his choice, though he couldn’t fool all their security systems. Still, combined with the president’s own hacking, Incognito had managed to slip inside the HQ and gained access to the building’s main servers.

Combined with Tea and Alchemo’s long-distance assistance from the submarine, the group quickly reprogrammed the building’s access authorizations.

“Alright, guys, all keycards should grant access to any floor now,” Ryan informed his team through his helmet’s intercom. “Sarin, my dear, how are things going on your end?”

“We’ll catch up in a minute,” she answered, shockwaves and explosions echoing from her side of the line. “Shouldn’t take long.”

“Wonderful,” Ryan replied, before applying the keycard against the elevator’s security system. The doors opened, and this time the president seized the keycard for himself and left the manager alone.

“Thank you for your cooperation,” Ryan thanked the manager, as the elevator’s doors closed behind him and Len. His Genius friend clicked on floor sixty-six, their lift moving up.

“You think they expected us?” Len asked, readying her water rifle.

“Yes, but all the heavy hitters moved to Rust Town,” Ryan said, putting the card in one of his armor’s hidden compartments. “Besides Devilry, they should only have the juniors on standby.”

Though he did wonder how many heroes Dynamis had left to throw at the invaders. Wyvern’s shocking departure had caused a wave of resignations among Il-Migliore, and even in the Private Security.

When the elevator’s doors to Lab Sixty-Six opened, the President expected to face an entire battalion's worth of corporate stormtroopers. Victims against whom he could test the full power of his armor, in preparation for whatever horrors awaited inside Dr. Tyrano’s lair.

Instead, Ryan found himself standing in a colossal beast’s dread shadow. An ancient titan from the west and east, from the lost magical land of Zhongguo; a guardian protecting a reinforced blast door so heavy that even a giant couldn’t lift it. The monster’s head reached the metal ceiling, while his fur was as white as his victims’ bones, and as pitch black as his soul.

“So,” the giant bear said, his voice echoing with the power of the world’s ancestors. “We meet at last, villain!”

The fools at Dynamis had summoned the Panda.

“I love your new armor!” And Wardrobe too, to Ryan’s delight. “The ears are cute!”

Ryan and Len calmly stepped out of the elevator and into a hall of concrete separating the floor’s entry points from a thick blast door. Cameras and two automated turrets dangled from the ceiling, watching the intruders. Three fearsome guardians stood between the forces of the United States, and their objective: the Panda, Ryan’s most powerful rogue; Wardrobe, wearing a black and white Brioni tuxedo; and Reload, wielding a laser blade and eager for payback.

Ryan recognized Wardrobe’s outfit, gasping in shock and delight. “I thought James Bond was copyrighted worldwide?”

“Me too,” she said. “But not in Canada!”

Those hockey-loving traitors! “Well, now I know which country we’re invading next week.”

“Step aside,” Len said with her weapon raised, not in the mood for jokes. “You’re fighting on the wrong side.”

“The wrong side?” Reload snarled angrily. “You brought New Rome to its knees and threatened it with a nuclear bomb!”

“And your boss mass-marketed a Psycho in a bottle, who is waiting right beyond that blast door by the way,” Ryan pointed out. While Reload didn’t believe him, both Wardrobe and the Panda clearly winced. “It’s the pot calling the kettle black!”

“As if I would believe that!” Reload snarled, weapon raised. “I don’t know what evidence you fabricated to mislead Wyvern, but no way I’m trusting a deranged Psycho warlord!”

“The Panda is the only one who can stop you,” the Panda said grimly. “Even if he must ally with a lesser evil to do so.”

Wait, did he believe Ryan’s words on TV? Did Dynamis believe him? Either that or they had to recruit anyone they could find. Still, the president didn’t have the heart to correct the manbear.

“I’m sorry, but they arrested my girlfriend when they realized she took money from you, and I have to play nice to get her out,” Wardrobe said, raising a Walther PPK at Ryan’s armored head. “Nora is pissed you used her by the way. That was mean of you!”

Oh? Argh, Ryan didn’t think of that. He had no intention of endangering the Architect in his schemes. “I shall buy her forgiveness… with AUSTRALIA!”

Wardrobe carefully considered the proposition. “I think she would prefer France, is France on the table?”

“For Nora, everything is on the table,” Ryan reassured her.

“Sweet, you can tell her that when I bring you in!”

Reload let out a shout of rage, blade raised, as he charged at the President without any regard for diplomatic protocol. Ryan lazily glanced at him with utter disdain, while Len pressed her water rifle’s trigger. A second later, the hero floated inside a bubble of pressurized water, his laser blade on the ground.

Wardrobe opened fire without skipping a beat, aiming for the Saturn Armor’s lenses. Ryan quickly dodged, while Reload was trapped in a cycle of death by drowning, followed by rebirth.

“Mr. President…” The Panda tried to look brave and confident, but the poor manbear couldn’t hide his fear. He raised his paws and adopted a kung fu stance. “I… I’ll fight you, in Justice’s name!”

“I am Saturn now.” Ryan flexed his unlimited power, by raising an authoritarian fist raised to the heavens. “You expected to face a president, but instead, you’ve found a god!”

“God or not, you won’t get past me!” The Panda leaped at Ryan with all his might, while Wardrobe kept providing cover fire. “You won’t get past the Panda!”

Ryan raised his hands, roaring as he prepared to meet his destiny.

Pop, pop.

Ryan froze in place, as he faced two bubbles of pressurized water. Len had shot both heroes with her weapon.

The time-traveler had heard pandas were wonderful, elegant swimmers, but… not this one. His short legs wagged in the water bubble keeping him imprisoned, the bear unable to fight the intense pressure; Len had improved the design after Ryan informed her Psyshock could still move inside them. Wardrobe wasn’t doing any better, though she changed to a mermaid outfit to avoid passing out.

Ryan sighed, glaring at his partner. “Shortie…”

“What?” she asked, confused.

“Shortie, I love you, you know that,” Ryan said, pointing a finger at the three trapped heroes in the room, “but you can’t bubble all your problems away.”

“Riri, we are on a schedule,” she replied, unapologetic. “My father… my father is beyond this door.”

“Yes, I know, but… look, Shortie, it’s like strolling through a garden without smelling the flowers. You’re missing the important part.”

Even the defensive turrets opening fire on them didn’t improve Ryan’s mood, the weapons failed to pierce the duo’s armors. The president raised his arms at them to reveal Vulcan’s hidden lasers, blasting the defenses to smithereens.

Splash!

Ryan turned around to see Wardrobe wearing a toga and a coral crown, a trident of light in her hand. The water that kept her contained swirled around her weapon like a liquid snake.

Poseidon’s costume.

Before Wardrobe could point her weapon at her trapped allies’ bubbles and free them, the courier quickly moved to disarm her with a kick. Her trident vanished into dust particles the second it left her hand, the water falling on the ground.

Yuki switched costumes to that of a ninja in order to leap away from the courier and dodge another bubble from Len. Ryan raised a hand to prevent his sidekick from interfering. “Open the door, Shortie,” he said, eager for a duel. “I shall take good care of her.”

“You underestimate my power!” Wardrobe replied, picking up Reload’s laser blade and switching her costume for a fencer’s one.

“Look, I swear we will free your girlfriend on our way out,” Ryan said. “I’m a villain with class, I don’t endanger my nemesis’ family. Just don’t hate me over that blunder.”

“I don’t!” Wardrobe replied while doing some footwork. “I believe you, and Enrique confirmed it! If they didn’t have Nora, I would have walked out like Felix did!”

Wardrobe was only making a token effort at defending the place, to keep up appearances. No wonder she didn’t bring out the apocalypse suit, or the Augustus costume.

In that case, he would make it a performance.

“So be it,” Ryan replied while revealing hidden switchblades hidden in his armor’s arms. Wardrobe’s eyes widened at the sight, realizing she would get the duel of her dreams. “I shall show you the true nature of the Oval Office!”

The two duelists appraised each other for a solid minute, before charging at each other with roars. Len ignored them both, as she started cutting open the blast door with a stream of pressurized water.

A solid laser clashed against Mechron-made steel, neither able to penetrate the other. The duo danced to the tune of a song that only existed in their head, though Ryan hummed Duel of the Fates to himself. Wardrobe leaped, and sidestepped, and pierced forward. The president pushed, smashed, and forced her back.

The blades drew lines in the concrete walls, sending sparkles everywhere as they clashed. No word could describe the deadly duel they engaged in. Wardrobe channeled all sword masters who had ever lived, moving with the grace of water. Ryan fought with experience accumulated over centuries, a perfect style honed through countless iterations. They were evenly matched.

But Sarin had been right about one thing.

Ryan cheated.

The president stopped time, and when it resumed, he pointed Wardrobe’s own blade at her throat. The defeated hero took a step back in surprise, hitting the wall behind her.

“You are beaten, it is useless to resist me,” Ryan declared, taking deep, powerful breaths. “Don’t make me cut off your hand.”

Wardrobe looked at him defiantly, rebel scum to the end. “Do you expect me to die, Mr. President?”

“No, Miss Bond.”

He retracted his blades, threw away his sword, grabbed Wardrobe by the waist, and pulled her closer.

“I expect you to marry me.”

Wardrobe covered her mouth with her hands in shock at his proposal, while Len abruptly stopped her work to look over her shoulder. The president ignored his childhood friend and focused on his archenemy.

“Marry me, Wardrobe,” Ryan said, losing himself in Yuki’s beautiful eyes. “You’re the perfect partner. The only one who understands who I am. Together... together we can rule the galaxy, as husband and wife!”

“I’m sorry,” Wardrobe apologized, tears in her eyes and hands on her nemesis’ cashmere poncho. “I know we have that raw sexual chemistry going on, but I’m already taken!”

“I’m a Mormon,” Ryan reassured her softly, “I can make bigamy work.”

She gently touched his helmet’s left side, shaking her own head in denial. “No harems on my watch, silly.”

Ryan’s heart broke in his chest, as his mad hopes of a hero-supervillain romance were utterly dashed. She was too loyal, too pure, to embrace the dark side.

“But we can totally stay good archnemeses, even if I will probably get fired soon,” Wardrobe reassured him with a low voice so the cameras wouldn’t hear, before shouting, “I will never join you! Never!”

“So be it, hero!” Ryan deftly hit her in the chest and neck to activate her pressure points. Wardrobe collapsed in his arms like a sponge, the supervillain carefully laying her against the nearest wall.

By now, Len had managed to carve a circle in the blast door, though the enormous gate of metal refused to fall. “What was… what was I looking at?” she asked her best friend.

Ryan sobbed. “A tragedy.”

Damn it, why was she already taken? There was no justice in this world!

Instead of answering, Shortie shook her head. Ryan had the feeling she was sulking for some reason. “Help me kick down the door.”

Ryan did so, but neither armored warriors were strong enough to open the hole through the thick metal. The president hesitated to use his chest blaster to get around the problem, only to hear the elevators open behind him. He half-expected a battalion of Dynamis men to try to ambush them.

Instead, Sarin and Mongrel moved into the hall. Hazmat Girl barely took a glance at the room before figuring out the situation, raising her hands at the metal door. “Move out.”

Ryan and Len hastily obeyed, right before Sarin blasted a hole into the next room.

The group finally took their first step into Lab Sixty-Six, an immaculate, sterilized white room fifty meters in length and twenty in width. The sound of metallic clinks echoed around them, as automated medical drones took care of thrumming machines and terminals.

A claustrophobic, medical assembly line stretched as far as they could see, and continued into the next room. Colored Knockoff Elixir bottles came out of a metal hole right next to a door equipped with a bioscanner. Robotic arms stamped the bottles with Dynamis’ logo and moved them into various crates ready for delivery.

Ryan glanced around looking for guards or defenders, but didn’t find any. It appeared Dynamis only trusted machines inside this facility, perhaps due to the danger of Elixir contamination or theft.

“Where are the others?” Len asked Sarin, as the group moved into the laboratory.

“Frank is climbing up the other shaft,” Hazmat Girl replied with a scoff. “He was too big to fit inside the elevator. The others are holding the line downstairs.”

“So this is the place, huh?” Mongrel asked, as he examined the next room. “Where’s the Genius in charge?”

“Probably beyond this door,” Ryan said, as they walked along the assembly line to reach its end. Unfortunately, his keycard didn’t work on the door’s bioscanner. As Nora warned him one loop ago, the laboratory used its own secure computer system. “President calling to VP, please blow that door open. I can smell reptilian immigrants behind it.”

“Rya—Mr. President!” Acid Rain called through Ryan’s intercom, though he could barely hear her with the interference. “He’s here, on the roof! He’s fighting Mosquito!”

Ryan tensed up in alarm. “Whom? Hargraves?”

He didn’t have to wonder for long. The entrance hall’s ceiling collapsed, someone having smashed their way through the floors above like a drill into the ground. The impact had blown dust into the laboratory, with Sarin, Len, and Mongrel all forming a defensive perimeter around their president.

The Saturn armor let out an alarm sound, as it detected an abnormal amount of radiation flowing into the room.

“You’re going all-in, huh?” A towering shadow emerged from the smoke, tossing away Mosquito’s charbroiled corpse while acid raindrops slipped inside the building. “Well, I’m calling your bet, muties.”

Alphonse ‘Fallout’ Manada stepped past the blast door and into the laboratory, his hands shining with deadly radiation.

“Time to die.”

他们撞进迪纳米斯总部，就像“胖子”砸进长崎。

伏尔甘好心给萨图恩装甲配了一套小型喷气背包，可蕾恩的水下装甲就没这待遇了。变得壮硕的蚊子只好把她抱在怀里。他们撞穿迪纳米斯的窗户，速度快得连外面的安保无人机都来不及反应。

总统本来非常乐意从二十层的羊绒生产车间突入，但那就意味着还得一路打上四十层。所以，他们选了六十层——再往上，窗户就全都经过加固了。

“各位，别担心。”瑞恩说道。他、蕾恩和蚊子面前，是一大群坐在方形办公桌后的上班族。身穿动力装甲的警卫守着两部电梯。“我们有搜查令。”

自动摄像头立刻对准三人，大楼外则聚起了酸雨云。警报声响彻整间办公室，迪纳米斯员工纷纷躲到桌下，警卫随即开火。瑞恩差点条件反射地闪开，才想起自己的装甲应该能扛住激光。

于是，总统得意洋洋地像终结者一样向前走去，对警卫的攻击不屑一顾。蚊子没这么爱演，抄起最近的一张桌子就砸向安保人员。大地引发了一场小型地震，其他超能帮成员也从接待大厅发起进攻，整栋大楼随之震颤。

不过，瑞恩瞥见一个会飞的身影，正从隔壁的贵族派大厦疾冲而来。红皮肤的邪魔脚底喷出道道火流，宛如火箭的推进器，满脸怒容。酸雨刚碰到她灼热的皮肤，就化成了蒸汽。

“找掩护！”蕾恩大喊，用她那支天才造物步枪升起一道水墙，封住窗户。邪魔一发火球将水墙蒸干，准备把整层楼烧成灰烬。

“保安！”瑞恩大喊，同时接连暂停时间，挥起装甲拳头往剩余警卫脸上招呼，缴下他们的武器。

“来了！”就在金属板即将封死窗户时，蚊子飞了出去，顺带撞碎了大半片天花板。他试图扑倒邪魔，却扑了个空。那位控火者闪出他的飞行路线，准备拿火球把他轰飞。

然而，酸雨突然瞬移到那位飞行者身后，迅速朝她双脚开枪，随即消失，退回安全地带。邪魔的飞行短暂失控，蚊子趁机把她狠狠撞在了大楼上。

瑞恩把那个超级英雄留给手下对付，自己迅速缴下剩下几名警卫的武器，再让蕾恩把他们困进水球。等金属板封住所有窗户时，总统掀翻了一张办公桌，露出藏在下面的部门经理。他脖子上挂着一张金色门卡。

“借用一下。”快递员没把卡从那人身上摘下来，而是一把抓住卡，连同吓坏了的佩戴者一起拖向电梯。“无名氏，人偶？”

“这就办！”他的女性机器人朋友应道。快递员打量门卡时，镜片上浮现出数据。

这一轮早些时候，瑞恩派了疯魔无名氏潜入迪纳米斯总部。他的蓝系能力可以强制让别人把他看作他选定的任何人，却骗不过他们所有的安保系统。尽管如此，配合总统本人的黑客技术，无名氏还是成功混入总部，取得了大楼主服务器的访问权限。

再加上蒂娅和阿尔凯莫从潜艇上提供远程支援，这群人很快就改写了大楼的通行权限。

“好了，各位，现在所有门卡应该都能通行所有楼层了。”瑞恩通过头盔内的对讲机通知队伍。“沙林，亲爱的，你那边进展如何？”

“一分钟后就赶上来。”她回答，通讯那头回荡着冲击波和爆炸的轰鸣。“用不了多久。”

“太好了。”瑞恩说着，把门卡贴上电梯的安保读卡器。门开了，这回总统把门卡拿到了自己手里，放过了那位经理。

“谢谢配合。”瑞恩向经理道谢，电梯门在他和蕾恩身后合拢。他的天才朋友按下六十六层，电梯向上升去。

“你觉得他们料到我们会来了吗？”蕾恩问，端好了水枪。

“料到了，不过那些厉害的全去了锈镇。”瑞恩把门卡放进装甲的一处暗格。“除了邪魔，留守待命的应该只有那些新人。”

不过，他确实好奇，迪纳米斯还剩多少英雄可以派来对付入侵者。双足飞龙那次令人震惊的离职，已经在最优者中掀起了一波辞职潮，甚至连私人安保队都受到了波及。

通往六十六号实验室的电梯门打开时，总统本以为会迎面撞上一整个营的企业突击兵。他正好拿这些倒霉蛋试试装甲的全部威力，为提拉诺博士巢穴里不知藏着的什么恐怖玩意儿做些准备。

结果，瑞恩发现自己站在一头巨兽骇人的阴影中。那是一尊来自西方与东方、来自失落魔法之国中国的古老泰坦；一位守护者，身后护着一扇连巨人也举不动的厚重强化防爆门。怪兽的头顶直抵金属天花板，毛皮白如受害者的枯骨，黑如他自己的灵魂。

“那么，”巨熊开口，声音中回荡着世间先祖的力量，“我们终于见面了，恶棍！”

迪纳米斯那帮蠢货，竟然召唤出了熊猫。

“我喜欢你的新装甲！”让瑞恩高兴的是，衣橱也在。“耳朵好可爱！”

瑞恩和蕾恩平静地走出电梯，进入一座混凝土大厅。这一层的各处入口与一扇厚重防爆门之间，就隔着这座大厅。摄像头和两座自动炮塔悬在天花板上，监视着入侵者。三位可怕的守护者挡在美利坚部队与目标之间：熊猫，瑞恩最强大的宿敌；衣橱，身穿黑白相间的布里奥尼晚礼服；还有读档，手持激光剑，急着报仇雪恨。

瑞恩认出了衣橱的装扮，又惊又喜地倒吸一口气。“我以为詹姆斯·邦德在全世界都受版权保护？”

“我也这么以为。”她说，“但加拿大不算！”

那帮爱打冰球的叛徒！“好吧，现在我知道下星期该入侵哪个国家了。”

“让开。”蕾恩举着武器说，没心情开玩笑。“你们站错边了。”

“站错边？”读档愤怒地吼道，“你们逼得新罗马屈服，还拿核弹威胁整座城！”

“而你们老板把一个疯魔装进瓶子，大规模推向市场。顺便说一句，他就在那扇防爆门后等着呢。”瑞恩指出。读档不信他的话，衣橱和熊猫却明显瑟缩了一下。“这可真是乌鸦笑猪黑！”

“鬼才会信！”读档举起武器，怒吼道，“我不知道你伪造了什么证据去蒙骗双足飞龙，但我绝不会相信一个丧心病狂的疯魔军阀！”

“只有熊猫才能阻止你。”熊猫沉声说道，“哪怕为此必须与危害较小的邪恶联手。”

等等，他真信了瑞恩在电视上说的那些话？难道连迪纳米斯也信了？要不然，就是他们已经到了能找着谁就招募谁的地步。不过，总统还是不忍心纠正这位熊人。

“抱歉，但他们发现我女朋友收过你的钱，就把她抓了。我得乖乖听话，才能把她弄出来。”衣橱举起一把瓦尔特PPK手枪，瞄准瑞恩包着装甲的脑袋。“顺便说一句，你利用了诺拉，她很生气。你太过分了！”

哦？啊，该死，瑞恩没想到这一层。他可没打算让自己的阴谋把建筑师置于险境。“我会换来她的原谅……用整个澳大利亚！”

衣橱认真考虑了这个提议。“我觉得她会更喜欢法国。法国也能谈吗？”

“只要是为诺拉，什么都能谈。”瑞恩向她保证。

“太好了，等我把你抓回去，你可以亲口告诉她！”

读档怒吼一声，高举利刃冲向总统，完全不顾外交礼仪。瑞恩懒洋洋地瞥了他一眼，满是不屑，蕾恩则扣下水枪扳机。一秒后，这位英雄漂在一颗高压水球里，激光剑掉在地上。

衣橱毫不停顿地开枪，瞄准萨图恩装甲的镜片。瑞恩迅速闪避，读档则陷入了溺死、重生、再溺死的循环。

“总统先生……”熊猫努力摆出勇敢自信的模样，可怜的熊人却掩饰不住恐惧。他抬起双掌，摆了个功夫架势。“我……我要以正义之名，与你一战！”

“如今，我已是萨图恩。”瑞恩将象征独裁权威的拳头高举向天，展示自己无穷的力量。“你以为自己面对的是一位总统，不料迎来的却是一尊神！”

“不管是不是神，你都别想过去！”熊猫使尽全力扑向瑞恩，衣橱继续开枪掩护。“你休想越过熊猫！”

瑞恩举起双手，发出咆哮，准备迎接自己的命运。

啵，啵。

瑞恩僵在原地，面前是两颗高压水球。蕾恩开枪把两位英雄都困住了。

这位时间旅行者听说，熊猫游泳游得又好又优雅，不过……眼前这只不在此列。短短的后腿在囚禁他的水球里乱蹬，却根本抗不过强大的水压。瑞恩告诉蕾恩，心震在水球里仍能活动之后，她就改进了设计。衣橱的处境也没好到哪里去，不过她换上了美人鱼装，以免昏过去。

瑞恩叹了口气，瞪着自己的搭档。“小矮个……”

“怎么了？”她不解地问。

“小矮个，我爱你，这你是知道的。”瑞恩伸手指着大厅里三个被困住的英雄，“但你不能什么问题都靠水球解决。”

“瑞瑞，我们赶时间。”她回答，毫无歉意。“我爸爸……我爸爸就在这扇门后面。”

“对，我知道，可是……你看，小矮个，这就像逛花园却不闻花香。你错过了最重要的部分。”

就连防御炮塔向他们开火，也没能让瑞恩的心情好起来。那些武器打不穿两人的装甲。总统抬起双臂对准炮塔，露出伏尔甘藏在里面的激光武器，将这些防御设施轰成碎片。

哗啦！

瑞恩转过身，见衣橱身披长袍、头戴珊瑚冠，手里握着一柄光芒凝成的三叉戟。原本困住她的水，如一条液态的蛇，盘旋在她的武器周围。

波塞冬的装扮。

衣橱还没来得及把武器指向困住同伴的水球、放出他们，快递员就迅速上前，一脚踢飞了她的三叉戟。三叉戟一离开她的手便化为尘埃，水也洒了一地。

由纪换上忍者装，纵身跳开，远离快递员，同时躲过蕾恩的又一发水球。瑞恩抬手拦住自己的助手，不让她插手。“去开门，小矮个。”他说，迫不及待地想来场决斗。“我会好好照顾她的。”

“你低估了我的力量！”衣橱回应，捡起读档的激光剑，换上了一身击剑服。

“听着，我保证我们走的时候会把你女朋友救出来。”瑞恩说，“我是有格调的反派，不会危及宿敌的家人。别因为这次失误恨我就好。”

“我没恨你！”衣橱一边变换步法，一边回答，“我相信你的话，恩里克也证实了！要不是诺拉在他们手里，我早就像菲利克斯一样走人了！”

衣橱只是在象征性地守卫这里，做做样子。难怪她没拿出末日套装，也没扮成奥古斯都。

既然如此，他就好好演一场。

“那就这样吧。”瑞恩说着，弹出装甲双臂中藏着的刀刃。衣橱看得睁大了眼睛，意识到自己梦寐以求的决斗就要开始了。“我会让你见识椭圆形办公室的真面目！”

两位决斗者互相打量了整整一分钟，才咆哮着冲向彼此。蕾恩没理他们，开始用高压水流切割防爆门。

凝实的激光与梅克隆制造的钢铁撞在一起，谁也无法切开对方。两人踏着只存在于各自脑海中的旋律起舞，瑞恩还自顾自哼起了《命运之战》。衣橱腾跃、侧闪、向前突刺。总统推挡、重击，步步将她逼退。

刀剑在混凝土墙上划出道道痕迹，交锋时火星四溅。他们之间这场致命决斗，已非言语能够形容。衣橱仿佛历代剑术大师附体，身法如流水般优雅。瑞恩凭借数百年积累的经验，以无数次循环磨砺出的完美剑技应战。两人旗鼓相当。

但有一点，沙林说对了。

瑞恩作弊。

总统暂停了时间。时间恢复流动时，他已经用衣橱自己的剑抵住了她的喉咙。败下阵来的英雄惊得后退一步，撞上身后的墙。

“你已经败了，反抗我毫无意义。”瑞恩发出深沉有力的呼吸声，宣告道，“别逼我砍掉你的手。”

衣橱桀骜不驯地看着他，至死都是反叛军渣滓。“你是想让我死吗，总统先生？”

“不，邦德小姐。”

他收回刀刃，扔掉手里的剑，揽住衣橱的腰，将她拉到身前。

“我是想让你嫁给我。”

衣橱被这番求婚惊得双手捂嘴，蕾恩也猛然停下手里的活，回头望来。总统无视了青梅竹马，把注意力全放在死敌身上。

“嫁给我吧，衣橱。”瑞恩沉醉在由纪美丽的眼眸中。“你是最完美的伴侣。唯一懂我的人。我们一起……我们可以以夫妻的身份，共同统治银河系！”

“对不起。”衣橱满眼泪水，双手搭在宿敌的羊绒披风上，歉然道，“我知道我们之间有那种原始的性吸引力，但我已经名花有主了！”

“我是摩门教徒。”瑞恩柔声宽慰她，“重婚的事我能安排妥当。”

她轻轻抚上他头盔的左侧，摇头拒绝。“有我在，就不准开后宫，傻瓜。”

瑞恩的心在胸腔里碎了。他对英雄与超级反派恋情的疯狂憧憬，彻底化为了泡影。她太忠贞、太纯洁，无法投身黑暗面。

“不过，我们完全可以继续做一对好宿敌，虽说我大概很快就要被开除了。”衣橱压低声音安慰他，免得摄像头录到，随即高声喊道，“我绝不会加入你！绝不！”

“那就如你所愿，英雄！”瑞恩手法利落地击中她胸口与颈侧的穴位。衣橱像海绵一样软倒在他怀里，超级反派小心翼翼地让她靠着最近的墙坐下。

这时，蕾恩已经在防爆门上切出了一个圆，可那扇巨大的金属门仍纹丝不动。“刚才……我刚才到底看了什么？”她问自己最好的朋友。

瑞恩抽泣道：“一出悲剧。”

该死，为什么她已经有对象了？这世上根本没有公道！

小矮个没有回答，只是摇了摇头。瑞恩感觉她不知为什么在生闷气。“帮我把门踹开。”

瑞恩照做了，可两个身披装甲的战士仍不足以在厚重的金属门上打开缺口。总统正犹豫要不要动用胸炮解决问题，就听见身后电梯门打开了。他还以为会有一整个营的迪纳米斯士兵冲出来偷袭他们。

结果，走进大厅的是沙林和杂种。防化服姑娘只扫了一眼就弄明白了状况，双手举起，对准金属门。“让开。”

瑞恩和蕾恩赶紧照办，紧接着沙林就轰开了一个通往下个房间的洞。

这群人终于踏进六十六号实验室。这里是一间长五十米、宽二十米的白色无菌室，洁净无瑕。金属轻碰的叮当声在四周回荡，自动医疗无人机照管着嗡嗡作响的机器与终端。

一条让人感到逼仄压抑的医药生产流水线延伸至视线尽头，还一路通进了下一个房间。一扇装有生物扫描仪的门旁开着一个金属洞口，一瓶瓶五颜六色的仿制灵药从里面送出。机械臂给瓶子打上迪纳米斯的标志，再装进不同的箱子，等待发货。

瑞恩环视四周，寻找警卫或防守人员，却一个也没看见。看来迪纳米斯在这座设施里只信任机器，也许是怕灵药遭到污染，或是被人偷走。

众人走进实验室时，蕾恩问沙林：“其他人呢？”

“弗兰克正沿着另一个电梯井往上爬。”防化服姑娘哼了一声，回答道，“他太大了，塞不进电梯。其他人在楼下守着。”

“所以就是这地方了，嗯？”杂种打量着下一个房间，问道，“负责这里的天才在哪儿？”

“大概就在这扇门后面。”瑞恩说。他们沿着流水线走到了尽头。可惜，他的门卡对门上的生物扫描仪不起作用。正如诺拉在上一轮提醒过他的，实验室使用独立的安全计算机系统。“总统呼叫副总统，请把那扇门炸开。我闻到后面有爬虫类移民的味道了。”

“瑞——总统先生！”酸雨通过对讲机呼叫瑞恩，干扰太强，他几乎听不清她的声音。“他来了，在楼顶！他正和蚊子交手！”

瑞恩顿时绷紧了神经。“谁？哈格雷夫斯？”

他没疑惑多久。入口大厅的天花板轰然坍塌，有人像钻头钻地一样，一路砸穿了上方的楼层。冲击将灰尘掀进实验室，沙林、蕾恩和杂种纷纷围在总统身边，形成防御圈。

萨图恩装甲检测到超常量的辐射正涌入房间，发出了警报。

“你们这是要梭哈了，嗯？”一个高大的身影从烟尘中走出，随手扔开蚊子焦黑的尸体，酸雨的雨滴飘进大楼。“好啊，这注我跟了，突变种们。”

阿尔方斯·“辐尘”·马纳达跨过防爆门，走进实验室，双手闪耀着致命的辐射光芒。

“该去死了。”