同章对照

The dragon cop let out a mighty roar, and the robber centurion answered with a spear to the eye.

Wyvern deflected the projectile with her scaled hand, the spear’s shaft snapping in half on impact. Determined to fight the LAW, Mars continued with his attacks, assisted by Sparrow. The Olympian and his accomplice launched javelins and lasers at the dragon above their head, while Mortimer outpaced them to chase after Ryan’s Plymouth Fury.

Wyvern, or Dragon Mom to friends, swiftly deflected the projectiles by zigzagging above buildings. Ryan watched her trying to find the right angle of attack, but she couldn’t open fire in a populated street. Unlike the Augusti, she wanted to avoid casualties.

A Private Security helicopter also joined the chase, though it was still too far away from the Plymouth for Ryan to identify the pilot. Probably nobody he knew.

“Take the wheel for a minute,” Ryan said, as Mortimer gained ground on them. The hitman grabbed a shotgun from beneath his cloak, moving to the Plymouth’s right.

“You’re sure?” Felix asked, clearly uneasy at the idea. How couldn’t he be? Ryan’s car was a kingly throne on wheels, a sun that would burn the unworthy.

“I wasn’t talking to you, kitten,” the courier replied, as the car’s autopilot took over the driving wheel. Ryan moved to the backseat to get a better view, gun in hand, and aimed at his pursuer—after lowering the right back window of course. “Stick to the baby seat.”

The courier froze time, and pulled the trigger. Ryan hoped that the hitman’s power wouldn’t work well in the frozen time, but to his frustration, the projectiles phased harmlessly through the criminal.

When time resumed, Mortimer closed in on the right, aimed at Felix, and pulled his shotgun’s trigger.

“Get down!” Ryan shouted, both he and his unwilling sidekick lowering their heads. The blast shattered the car’s front right window, but thankfully missed the passengers. The blowback almost tossed Mortimer off his motorcycle and forced him to pull back for a few seconds.

At this point, the Plymouth Fury left New Rome’s nightlife circuit and dashed into the Strip. Glitzy casinos and luminous establishments illuminated one side of the street like temples to consumerism, with hordes of gamblers, fixers, and players coming from all around Italy to worship them. The peaceful waters of the Mediterranean bordered artificial beaches and palm trees on the other side.

As the pursuit moved from narrow streets to a massive four-lane, Wyvern finally had the space to return fire. She unleashed a fireball at Mars and Sparrow from above, only for the former to summon a dozen medieval shields in midair. Dragon Mom’s projectile melted the steel wall, but her flames couldn’t hit the killers behind it.

Mars teleported a futuristic rocket launcher into the palm of his hand, which Ryan immediately recognized as Vulcan’s handiwork. The Olympian released a volley of fist-sized homing missiles at the dragon and forced her to blast them away in the skies.

The chase continued, the Plymouth Fury and its pursuers slaloming amidst other vehicles, moving from one lane to the other without rhyme or reason. While Wyvern and Mars fought one another, Sparrow and Mortimer focused on Ryan.

Swearing to protect his Plymouth Fury from all harm in his Perfect Run, the courier reloaded his gun, only to notice something rolling from below the backseat. A white-furred demon, smelling of antidepressants and gunpowder.

“How long have you been here?” Ryan asked, surprised.

The plushie didn’t respond, an empty revolver within reach of its paw.

“You’ve been playing Russian roulette in my car?” The time traveler glared at his wayward fiend. “The backseat is for love, not war!”

“Are you talking to a toy?” Felix asked while peeking over his broken window. He immediately lowered his head again to avoid a shotgun blast.

Ryan focused back on the car chase, and froze time again. Instead of firing at Mortimer himself though, he played dirty and targeted his vehicle’s wheels. The hitman couldn’t possibly keep his entire motorcycle intangible, or it would sink into the ground.

Ryan was right.

The bullets hit.

When time resumed, the motorcycle abruptly veered off course as its wheels deflated and threw its rider off its back. A surprised Mortimer phased through the ground as his vehicle crashed into a casino’s revolving door.

Ryan wondered if he would respawn like racing games contestants, but poor ol’ Mortimer didn’t come again.

Sparrow picked up the pace though. While Mars teleported Vulcan-made rounded bombs between himself and Wyvern to keep her at bay, Sparrow raised a hand in the Plymouth Fury’s direction. Thankfully, she looked far less experienced with a motorcycle than a Mercedes and had trouble aiming.

Ryan tried to shoot her, only to realize that his gun’s barrel was empty. He almost reloaded before a better idea crossed his mind.

“I always wanted to check something,” the time-traveler mumbled to himself, as he tossed his gun away.

His kitten at the front panicked. “Wait, what are you doing?”

“Upgrading my arsenal.” Ryan grabbed the Plushie with both hands, and to his relief, the depressed abomination didn’t cut them off on the spot. The Plushie didn’t say a word as the courier raised it Simba-style in Sparrow’s direction.

Ryan moved his thumbs behind the rabbit’s ears, and pushed.

The Plushie’s eyes unleashed a bright beam of light as its ears lowered, while Sparrow returned fire.

Two streams of energy collided amidst the four-lane. Now, having watched countless movies, Ryan expected a massive explosion, or for both beams to cancel each other out. Instead, they slightly undulated but still crossed through one another.

Unfortunately for Ryan, Sparrow’s laser hit his car’s roof and vaporized it, turning his Plymouth Fury into a convertible. The plushie’s gaze melted the concrete road and blew dust all over the four-lane, but the hitwoman managed to veer out of its path. A civilian’s Ferrari car drove off the road in an attempt to avoid the devastation, hitting a palm tree on a nearby beach.

“Dammit, not even a bright flash!” Ryan complained as he raised his thumbs, briefly stopping his assault.

At this point, the Private Security helicopter had caught up to the racers, its side gate opening to reveal a passenger. A beautiful Japanese woman in a tight, blue costume with a badge and a hat.

Wardrobe, in a fabulous traffic cop uniform. The Law had never looked so good.

Ryan watched on with fascination as she brought a whistle to her lips and used it. Almost all vehicles in the vicinity shone with a golden glow, as Wardrobe asserted her authority. Sparrow’s motorcycle, Mars’ own bike, civilians’ cars, and even bicycles, all abruptly stopped in the middle of the road.

The Plymouth Fury’s autopilot still worked though, callously violating traffic laws. Soon, it left its pursuers behind in the dust.

“She can search me anytime,” Ryan said as he looked at Wardrobe with longing. He immediately beat himself over it. Must… stay… faithful… to my First Lady! He imagined Livia in a cop costume slamming him against his car’s hood, and it solved the issue.

Wyvern immediately fell down on the Augusti like a falcon on doves, barring their way. Sparrow took a tail swipe to the chest and ended the race face-first on the ground.

Mars, meanwhile, leaped from his vehicle and switched his rocket launcher with a thermal lance. As he jumped within ten meters of Wyvern, he immediately summoned bombs inside the dragon’s throat, her neck expanding like a toad’s.

It didn’t kill her. It didn’t even behead her, as her throat contained the blast. If anything, Wyvern looked more pissed than hurt as flames came out of her maw and nostrils.

Her enormous hand reached for Mars, the thermal lance snapping as it impacted her thick scales. Her claws almost closed on the Olympian, but a shockwave propelled him upward above the road and let him slip through his foe’s grasp.

Ryan watched on with confusion as the flying Mars materialized a shield while in midair beneath his feet. A new shockwave erupted around his boots, pushing both the Genome and his shield into different directions. Wyvern attempted to catch the escaping Caporegime with her fangs, but he quickly summoned swords inside her eyes in response. Dragon Mom let out a roar of pain as a fountain of blood flowed down on her face. Mars used repeated shockwaves to leave his foe in his dust and pursue the Plymouth Fury.

The courier quickly realized what was happening. Mars was teleporting pressurized air beneath his iron boots, and the blowback propelled him forward.

Wardrobe’s helicopter flew down to intercept the centurion wannabe, while Wyvern’s eyes seemed to partly regenerate from the damage. Unfortunately, Mars reacted faster than the heroes. He summoned bombs close to the Private Security helicopter, destroying two of the blades and cracking the windshield.

Wardrobe almost fell off her vehicle as it spiraled towards the ground. Wyvern immediately moved to catch it with two hands, while holding Sparrow prisoner by squeezing the hitwoman with her tail. Wardrobe managed to hang on, to Ryan’s relief.

However, the Dynamis reinforcements remained behind, leaving Mars to pursue the Plymouth Fury unmolested. The Olympian used repeated shockwaves to ‘jump’ in the air, summoning shields to orient himself.

“Kitten, we aren’t shaking off your daddy issues just yet,” he warned his sidekick, before pushing the Plushie’s ears. The rabbit unleashed a beam of energy at Mars, but the Olympian zigzagged between the waterfront and the casino to dodge.

Unfortunately, the centurion seemed to have run out of conventional weapons to launch, and he moved on to bigger stuff. He dropped a Renault Espace French car on the four-lane, and though the damaged Plymouth Fury avoided a collision, the impact blasted part of the walkway to pieces.

Mars then teleported a Japanese truck, but the Plushie’s baleful laser glare blasted it to pieces. Deciding to cheat, Ryan froze time and had the rabbit demon blast a paralyzed Olympian mid-flight. The beam tossed Mars back when time resumed, but the man swiftly switched the damaged parts of his armor with spare ones and continued the chase.

At this point, Felix grabbed the gun which Ryan had previously dropped and found bullets to reload it with in the glovebox. Atom Kitten tried to support the courier with suppressing fire, but his aim was terrible.

“Have you ever used a gun?” the courier asked, as Mars ‘jumped’ behind a luxury hotel on the strip. Ryan raised his thumbs, causing the Plushie to turn its head at him with an unhappy, non-lethal gaze. “You couldn’t shoot an elephant in a corridor!”

“I’m doing my best, alright!” Felix complained, before noticing a new motorcycle entering the four-lane from their right. A man riding with a woman holding him by the chest. Though both wore helmets, Felix immediately recognized them. “Jamie and Ki-jung.”

Were they friends or foes though?

Police sirens echoed as Private Security patrol Humvees passed by the Plymouth Fury on the other side of the lane, veering to avoid the burning wrecks Mars left in his wake. Augusti guards in power armor emerged from the casinos to watch the chase, mesmerized. Both sides looked confused, perhaps due to a breakdown of communication from their hierarchy.

In any case, it made the courier’s task easier. By trying to keep the hit on Atom Cat relatively quiet, the Olympians had neglected to inform their mooks. Most were too confused to chase after Ryan and Felix, and it would take time for them to mobilize.

Still, the duo needed to escape the city before Lightning Butt climbed down from his mountain and took things into his own hands.

“Shortie!” Ryan shouted, as Mars reappeared above them. “Shortie?!”

“I’m here!” Her voice came out of the chronoradio. Ryan glanced at the beach, and to his relief noticed the tower of the Mechron submarine peeking above the water. “To your left!”

Ryan quickly noticed a pleasure pier splitting the beach like a dagger, three hundred meters from their location. Two yachts were anchored on each side, sitting in the waters. “Put on your seatbelt,” the courier ordered his sidekick as he moved back on the driver’s seat and took over the wheel. The Plushie sat on his lap. “I hope you love action movie sequences.”

Felix immediately understood what he had in mind. “We can’t leave the city!”

“Trust me, kitten, it’s for your sake,” Ryan said, before focusing on the Chronoradio and the road ahead. “Shortie, we’ll jump from the pier in two minutes. Open the back.”

His second favorite cat didn’t like the plan. “My sisters—”

“One of them is a serial lottery winner, and both are under Livia’s protection,” Ryan replied as Jamie’s motorcycle slowly caught up to them. “They’ll be fine.”

“You knew,” Felix said, clenching his fists. “She saw this happen. It’s another of her plans.”

“One that involves sparing your l—”

Ryan didn’t finish his sentence, as Mars switched strategies. He launched two spiked chains more than twenty meters in length from his hands, each with a grappling hook at the end. One embedded itself in the car hood, the other in the trunk.

The Olympian had harpooned the car like a whale!

Ryan immediately froze time, lifted his Plushie, and pushed the ears down. The wily rabbit raised its forepaws in excitement as it opened fire on the chain grappling the car hood. The beam melted the links, but time resumed before the courier could turn around and sever the second link. Mars landed on the ground while manifesting a shield beneath his feet, waterskiing on the concrete. This slowed the Plymouth Fury considerably, and gave the Olympian time to maneuver.

“Kitten, blow the chain at the back!” Ryan ordered as he hastily seized the driving wheel. The courier still had a short cooldown to take into account, and he didn’t trust the autopilot to make a risky maneuver.

“I’ll try!” Felix replied, moving to the car’s back as the vehicle escaped the four-lane and turned towards the pier. The hero tried to reach for the chain with one hand, but had to lower himself to avoid a flying knife from his father. Mars started to pull himself toward the Plymouth Fury, using both hands to move up the chain while launching small kitchen tools. He even attempted to target the car’s wheels, but Ryan wisely had them reinforced against such tactics.

Unfortunately, if Mars moved within ten meters of the car, then he could manifest a weapon beneath the car and immobilize it. Ryan’s car could take a lot of punishment, but it had its limits.

Worse, Jamie and his girlfriend had outpaced their boss. The new Mercury had manifested a sword of shining red light in his hands, and reached the Plymouth Fury’s trunk. Felix looked at his old friend’s visor, while he raised his sword to cut him down.

“Jamie,” Ryan heard Felix whisper. “Don’t, please.”

Jamie hesitated for a split second, before he briefly glanced at his girlfriend behind him. She said something Ryan couldn’t hear due to the wind in his face, but whatever it was, her fiancé reached a decision.

Jamie’s shining sword swiftly fell down, and Mars’ chains snapped in half.

The surprised Olympian lost control of his momentum and slipped off his shield, falling on his right leg with a sickening crack noise so loud that half of New Rome must have heard it. He rolled on the ground, but had the presence of mind to try and skewer Jamie. The rebellious Augusti managed to move his motorcycle safely to the left, right as metal spikes manifested where he used to be.

Right as Mars finished his crash landing, rats emerged by the hundreds from manholes and the road’s sewage system. The centurion attempted to teleport items to protect himself, but the horde quickly buried him alive beneath their furred mass.

Jamie gave a shocked Felix a nod, and then fled in the city’s direction while Ryan drove his car on the pier. The Plymouth Fury seemed to screech as it drove between yachts, Len’s submarine rising from the waves three dozen meters away.

Metal plates opened on the colossal underwater vehicle’s back, revealing a platform meant for transporting Mechron’s mechs. Shortie waited on it, anxiously looking at her best friend with a water rifle in hands.

“They… they helped us?” Atom Cat whispered to himself.

“You should treat your true friends better,” Ryan said, as they reached the pier’s end. “Seatbelt!”

Felix hastily grabbed the one on the backseat, while the Plushie kindly put on Ryan’s seatbelt. The courier briefly froze time to calculate the right angle, before smashing the accelerator when it resumed.

The Plymouth Fury reached the pier’s edge, and flew.

Without a roof and most windows broken, Ryan took the sea wind in the face, while the Plushie raised its forepaws in happiness. The courier immediately realized he wouldn’t make it, as the distance between the submarine and the pier was too great.

The yachts’ windows shattered, the glass shards forming a flying landing ramp.

With it, the Plymouth Fury landed on the submarine’s open platform, turned half clockwise, and parked itself. The shock was so abrupt that Felix’s seatbelt almost snapped under the pressure, while the Plushie happily bounced off the driving wheel.

When at long last his car had stopped moving, Ryan let out a sigh. The poor Plymouth Fury had been ravaged beyond words, its roof destroyed, its hood full of holes.

“Sorry to be late,” Shroud replied above Ryan, not even bothering to disguise his voice. The sharp edge of his glass costume became visible, simmering under the moonlight. “I had to get my girlfriend to safety.”

“How long have you been here?” Ryan asked with a frown.

“I caught up to you at the pier.” The vigilante crossed his hands. “I guess luck was on my side.”

Such a bad pun, and yet so appropriate.

“Riri, you’re alright?” Len asked while immediately rushing to his side.

“I’m fine,” the courier replied, before glancing at New Rome. “We won the race.”

As the submarine moved away from New Rome’s shores, Ryan noticed Pluto parking her car on the pier, escorted by Augusti guards on motorcycles. The Augusti’s Underboss glared at the submarine as it swam away, the platform’s roof closing in preparation for the vehicle to dive beneath the waves.

As for the Strip, Ryan had left a few fires in his wake. He wondered how the situation would evolve after this. Things hadn’t escalated to a full war between Dynamis and the Augusti yet, but this fight had been very public. Ryan hoped that Livia could smooth things over, but the situation didn’t look optimal at all.

One creature didn’t hide its joy though.

“I love you so much!” The Plushie rose to its feet to observe the chaos while the glow of the strip’s flames reflected in its soulless blue eyes. They kept shining even as the submarine’s roof fully closed.

Nothing better than mindless destruction to cure depression.

巨龙警察发出一声威猛的咆哮，强盗百夫长则用一根直刺眼睛的长矛作答。

双足飞龙用覆满鳞片的手拍开长矛，矛杆应声断成两截。玛尔斯铁了心要与法律对抗，在麻雀的协助下继续进攻。这位奥林匹斯众神成员与同伙向头顶的巨龙射出标枪和激光，莫蒂默则加速超过他们，追向瑞恩的普利茅斯“狂怒”。

双足飞龙——朋友们也叫她龙妈——在楼宇上方左右穿梭，迅速避开袭来的攻击。瑞恩看得出，她正试图寻找合适的进攻角度，可街上人这么多，她没法开火。她和奥古斯蒂的人不同，不想伤及无辜。

一架私人安保队的直升机也加入了追逐，不过它离普利茅斯还太远，瑞恩看不清驾驶员是谁。多半不认识。

“接管一下方向盘。”莫蒂默逐渐逼近时，瑞恩说道。杀手从斗篷底下抽出一把霰弹枪，驶向普利茅斯右侧。

“你确定？”菲利克斯问，显然觉得这主意让人心里没底。他怎么可能不忐忑？瑞恩的爱车可是装着轮子的王座，是能焚尽一切不配之人的太阳。

“没跟你说话，小猫咪。”快递员答道，车上的自动驾驶系统已经接管了方向盘。瑞恩握着枪爬到后座，以便看得更清楚，随后瞄准追兵——当然，先摇下了右后方的车窗。“你老实坐你的儿童安全座椅。”

快递员暂停时间，扣动扳机。瑞恩原本指望这杀手的能力在静止的时间里不好使，可让他失望的是，子弹毫无阻碍地穿过了那个罪犯，没造成半点伤害。

时间恢复流动，莫蒂默从右侧逼近，瞄准菲利克斯，扣下霰弹枪的扳机。

“趴下！”瑞恩大喊，和他那位不情愿的跟班一同低下脑袋。霰弹打碎了右前方的车窗，幸好没打中车里的人。后坐力差点把莫蒂默掀下摩托，迫使他落后了几秒。

此时，普利茅斯“狂怒”驶出了新罗马的夜生活街区，冲上娱乐大道。金碧辉煌的赌场与灯火通明的店铺照亮了街道一侧，宛如一座座供奉消费主义的神殿。成群的赌徒、掮客和寻欢客从意大利各地赶来，向它们顶礼膜拜。街道另一侧，地中海平静的海水紧邻着人工沙滩与棕榈树。

追逐战从狭窄街巷转入宽阔的四车道大路，双足飞龙终于有了还击的空间。她从上方朝玛尔斯和麻雀喷出一颗火球，前者却立刻在半空召出十几面中世纪盾牌。龙妈的火球熔穿了这道钢墙，烈焰却没能击中墙后的杀手。

玛尔斯将一具充满未来感的火箭发射器传送到掌中，瑞恩一眼就认出那是伏尔甘的手笔。这位奥林匹斯众神成员朝巨龙一口气射出数枚拳头大小的追踪导弹，逼得她只能在空中将其轰爆。

追逐仍在继续，普利茅斯“狂怒”和追兵在车流间蛇形穿梭，毫无章法地来回变道。双足飞龙与玛尔斯交手之际，麻雀和莫蒂默将注意力集中到了瑞恩身上。

快递员发誓，到了自己的完美通关里，一定要让普利茅斯“狂怒”毫发无损。他正给枪装弹，忽然看见有什么东西从后座底下滚了出来。那是个白毛恶魔，浑身散发着抗抑郁药和火药的气味。

“你在这儿待多久了？”瑞恩惊讶地问。

毛绒玩偶没有回答，一把空膛左轮手枪就躺在它爪子旁边。

“你居然在我车里玩俄罗斯轮盘赌？”时间旅行者瞪着这只不省心的恶魔。“后座是用来做爱的，不是用来作战的！”

“你在跟一个玩具说话？”菲利克斯一边问，一边从碎掉的车窗往外窥探。为了躲开一发霰弹，他立刻又把头缩了回去。

瑞恩把注意力转回追逐战，再次暂停时间。这一次他没朝莫蒂默本人开枪，而是使了个阴招，瞄准了摩托车的轮胎。这杀手总不可能让整辆摩托都处于虚化状态，否则车就该沉进地里了。

瑞恩猜对了。

子弹命中。

时间恢复流动，轮胎瘪了下去，摩托车猛地偏离方向，将骑手甩下车。猝不及防的莫蒂默虚化沉入地面，摩托则一头撞进了一家赌场的旋转门。

瑞恩还在想，他会不会像赛车游戏里的车手一样原地重生，可怜的老莫蒂默却没再追上来。

麻雀倒是加快了速度。玛尔斯将伏尔甘制造的圆形炸弹传送到自己与双足飞龙之间，阻止她靠近；与此同时，麻雀朝普利茅斯“狂怒”举起了一只手。幸好她骑摩托的本事远不如开奔驰，瞄准起来颇为吃力。

瑞恩试图朝她开枪，却发现枪里已经没了子弹。他差点就动手装弹了，脑中忽然冒出一个更好的点子。

“有件事，我一直想验证一下。”时间旅行者喃喃自语，随手扔开了枪。

前排的小猫咪慌了。“等等，你要干什么？”

“升级我的军火库。”瑞恩双手抓起毛绒玩偶，令他松了口气的是，这只抑郁的怪物没有当场切掉他的手。快递员模仿举起辛巴的姿势，将它高高举起，朝向麻雀，毛绒玩偶始终一声不吭。

瑞恩把拇指移到兔耳朵后面，按了下去。

耳朵压下的瞬间，毛绒玩偶眼中射出一道明亮的光束，麻雀也同时开火还击。

两股能量在四车道公路上碰撞。看过无数电影的瑞恩原以为会引发一场大爆炸，或者两道光束互相抵消。结果，它们只是微微波动了一下，便径直穿过了彼此。

对瑞恩来说，不幸的是，麻雀的激光击中了车顶，将其彻底汽化，把他的普利茅斯“狂怒”变成了一辆敞篷车。毛绒玩偶的目光则熔化了混凝土路面，扬起的尘土笼罩了整条四车道公路，女杀手却及时转向，避开了光束。一辆平民的法拉利为了躲避这场灾难冲出道路，撞上附近海滩的一棵棕榈树。

“该死，居然连道闪光都没有！”瑞恩抱怨着松开拇指，暂时停止了攻击。

此时，私人安保队的直升机已经追上这群飙车党。侧门打开，露出一名乘客：一位漂亮的日本女人，身穿紧身蓝色制服，胸前别着警徽，头戴警帽。

是衣橱，穿着一身美得惊人的交警制服。法律从没这么养眼过。

瑞恩看得入迷，只见她把哨子送到唇边，吹响了它。衣橱发号施令，附近几乎所有车辆都泛起金光。麻雀的摩托、玛尔斯的座驾、平民的汽车，甚至自行车，全都骤然停在了路中央。

然而，普利茅斯“狂怒”的自动驾驶依然正常运作，肆无忌惮地违反着交通法规。很快，它就将追兵远远甩在身后，只留下一路尘烟。

“她随时可以来搜我的身。”瑞恩满怀向往地望着衣橱，说道。他立刻为此狠狠谴责自己。必须……对我的……第一夫人……保持忠贞！他想象莉维娅穿着警服，把自己按在汽车引擎盖上，问题迎刃而解。

双足飞龙立即扑向奥古斯蒂的两人，宛如猎鹰扑向鸽子，挡住了他们的去路。麻雀胸口挨了一记扫尾，脸朝下摔在地上，结束了这场竞速。

与此同时，玛尔斯跃离摩托，将火箭发射器换成一柄热熔矛。一跃进入双足飞龙十米以内，他立即将炸弹召进巨龙的喉咙里面，她的脖子顿时像蟾蜍一样鼓了起来。

这没能杀死她，甚至没能炸掉她的脑袋——她的喉咙硬生生兜住了爆炸。烈焰从口鼻中喷涌而出，双足飞龙看起来与其说是受了伤，不如说是被彻底惹火了。

她伸出巨掌抓向玛尔斯，热熔矛撞上厚重的龙鳞，直接折断。利爪眼看就要攥住这位奥林匹斯众神成员，一股冲击波却将他向上推离路面，让他从敌人的掌握中溜了出去。

瑞恩困惑地看着飞在半空的玛尔斯在脚底变出一面盾牌。又一股冲击波在他的靴子周围爆发，将基因者与盾牌推向不同方向。双足飞龙试图张口咬住这个正在逃跑的头目，他却立刻在她的双眼内召出利剑。鲜血如泉涌般淌过龙妈的脸，她发出痛苦的咆哮。玛尔斯借助接连不断的冲击波将敌人甩在身后，继续追赶普利茅斯“狂怒”。

快递员很快就明白了其中的原理。玛尔斯正把高压空气传送到铁靴下方，利用反冲力推动自己前进。

衣橱的直升机降低高度，拦截这个冒牌百夫长，双足飞龙受伤的双眼似乎也已再生了一部分。可惜玛尔斯的反应比英雄们更快。他在私人安保队的直升机附近召出炸弹，炸断两片旋翼，还炸裂了挡风玻璃。

直升机打着旋坠向地面，衣橱差点被甩了出去。双足飞龙立刻上前，伸出双手将它接住，同时仍用尾巴紧紧缠着女杀手麻雀，不让她逃走。衣橱总算抓稳了，这让瑞恩松了口气。

然而，迪纳米斯的援军就此落在了后头，玛尔斯得以毫无干扰地追赶普利茅斯“狂怒”。这位奥林匹斯众神成员借助一次次冲击波在空中“跳跃”，又不断召出盾牌调整方向。

“小猫咪，你那老爸造成的心理阴影，我们暂时还甩不掉。”他提醒跟班，随后按下毛绒玩偶的耳朵。兔子朝玛尔斯射出一道能量光束，后者却在海滨和赌场之间左右穿梭，避开了攻击。

不幸的是，百夫长似乎已经把可供发射的常规武器用光了，开始往外扔更大的东西。他朝四车道公路扔下一辆法国雷诺Espace。伤痕累累的普利茅斯“狂怒”虽说躲过了撞击，那辆车落地时还是将一截人行道轰得粉碎。

接着，玛尔斯又传送来一辆日本卡车，却被毛绒玩偶恶毒的激光目光轰成碎片。瑞恩决定作弊，暂停时间，让兔子恶魔向凝滞在半空的奥林匹斯众神成员开火。时间恢复流动，光束将玛尔斯向后掀飞，可他迅速用备用部件替换掉受损的盔甲，继续追来。

此时，菲利克斯捡起瑞恩先前丢下的枪，又从手套箱里找到子弹，装填完毕。原子小猫试图用压制火力支援快递员，可他的枪法实在糟糕透顶。

“你以前开过枪吗？”玛尔斯“跳”到娱乐大道一家豪华酒店后方时，快递员问道。瑞恩松开拇指，毛绒玩偶便扭头看着他，目光满是不悦，不过并不致命。“就算走廊里站着一头大象，你都打不中！”

“我已经尽力了，好吗！”菲利克斯抱怨道，随后看见又一辆摩托从右侧驶入四车道公路。一个男人骑着车，后座的女人双臂环抱着他的胸膛。两人都戴着头盔，菲利克斯却立刻认出了他们。“杰米和基贞。”

可他们是友是敌？

警笛响起，私人安保队的悍马巡逻车从对向车道与普利茅斯“狂怒”擦身而过，转向避开玛尔斯一路留下的燃烧残骸。身穿动力装甲的奥古斯蒂守卫也走出赌场，看这场追逐看得出了神。双方都一头雾水，也许是各自的上级都没能把情况传达下来。

不管怎么说，快递员的任务因此轻松了些。奥林匹斯众神想尽量悄无声息地干掉原子猫，因而没通知手下的喽啰。大多数人还摸不清状况，根本没法追赶瑞恩和菲利克斯，要动员起来还得花上一段时间。

不过，两人仍然得在闪电屁股从山上下来、亲自动手之前逃出城。

“小矮个！”玛尔斯再次出现在他们上空，瑞恩大喊。“小矮个？！”

“我在！”她的声音从时空收音机里传出来。瑞恩朝海滩瞥去，欣慰地看见梅克隆潜艇的指挥塔已经露出了水面。“在你左边！”

瑞恩很快注意到，三百米外，一座观光栈桥如匕首般横切过海滩，两侧的水面上各停泊着两艘游艇。“系好安全带。”快递员一边吩咐跟班，一边爬回驾驶座，接过方向盘。毛绒玩偶坐在了他腿上。“希望你喜欢动作片场面。”

菲利克斯立刻明白了他想做什么。“我们不能离开这座城！”

“相信我，小猫咪，这是为了你好。”瑞恩说完，便将注意力转向时空收音机和前方的道路。“小矮个，两分钟后我们就从栈桥上飞出去。把背部打开。”

在他最喜欢的猫里排名第二的那只不乐意了。“我姐姐和妹妹——”

“她们一个是彩票常胜将军，而且两人都有莉维娅保护。”瑞恩回答。杰米的摩托正在缓缓追近。“她们不会有事的。”

“你早就知道。”菲利克斯握紧了拳头。“她预见了这一切。这又是她的计划。”

“这计划是要保住你的命——”

瑞恩没能把话说完，玛尔斯改变了策略。他从双手射出两根二十多米长、带着尖刺的锁链，末端各有一个抓钩。一个钉进引擎盖，另一个钉进后备厢。

这位奥林匹斯众神成员把车当成鲸鱼，用鱼叉钉住了！

瑞恩立刻暂停时间，举起毛绒玩偶，将它的耳朵按下去。狡猾的兔子兴奋地抬起前爪，朝钩住引擎盖的锁链开火。光束熔断了链环，可快递员还没来得及转身切断第二条锁链，时间便恢复了流动。玛尔斯落向地面，在脚底变出一面盾牌，踩着它在混凝土路面上滑水。普利茅斯“狂怒”的速度被大大拖慢，也给了这位奥林匹斯众神成员施展手段的时间。

“小猫咪，把后面的锁链炸断！”瑞恩一边命令，一边赶紧抓住方向盘。快递员还得等能力那短暂的冷却时间过去，而这么危险的驾驶操作，他可不敢交给自动驾驶。

“我试试！”菲利克斯答道，爬向后座。汽车已经驶离四车道公路，转向栈桥。英雄伸出一只手，试图够到锁链，却被父亲射来的一把飞刀逼得俯下身。玛尔斯开始沿着锁链攀向普利茅斯“狂怒”，双手交替向前拉扯，期间还不断射出小型厨房用具。他甚至试图攻击轮胎，可瑞恩早有先见之明，专门做过加固，防的就是这一手。

遗憾的是，只要玛尔斯进入汽车十米以内，就能在车底变出武器，将它卡死。瑞恩的车是很耐折腾，但也有极限。

更糟的是，杰米和女友已经超过了他们的上司。新任墨丘利手中变出一柄由耀眼红光凝成的剑，追到了普利茅斯“狂怒”的后备厢旁。菲利克斯望着老友头盔上的面罩，而对方已经举起剑，要向他劈下来。

“杰米。”瑞恩听见菲利克斯低声道，“不要，求你了。”

杰米犹豫了一瞬，飞快地瞥了眼身后的女友。她说了句什么，迎面的风让瑞恩听不清，但无论她说的是什么，她的未婚夫都做出了决定。

杰米发光的剑迅速斩下，玛尔斯的锁链应声断成两截。

这位奥林匹斯众神成员猝不及防，控制不住冲势，从盾牌上滑了下来，右腿先着地，发出一声令人牙酸的脆响，响得怕是半个新罗马都听见了。他在地上翻滚，却还记得要将杰米刺穿。这名倒戈的奥古斯蒂成员及时将摩托驶向左侧，安然避开；他刚才所在的位置随即冒出一片金属尖刺。

玛尔斯刚结束这场迫降，成百上千只老鼠就从窨井口和道路的下水系统里涌了出来。百夫长试图传送物品保护自己，鼠群却迅速扑了上去，用毛茸茸的身躯将他活埋。

杰米朝一脸震惊的菲利克斯点了点头，随后向城内逃去，瑞恩则将车驶上栈桥。普利茅斯“狂怒”从游艇之间驶过，仿佛发出了一声尖叫；三十六米外，蕾恩的潜艇正破浪浮出水面。

这艘庞然大物背部的金属板打开，露出一个用于运送梅克隆机甲的平台。小矮个端着水流步枪等在那里，焦急地望着自己最好的朋友。

“他们……他们帮了我们？”原子猫喃喃自语。

“你该对真正的朋友好一点。”抵达栈桥尽头时，瑞恩说道，“安全带！”

菲利克斯急忙抓过后座的安全带，毛绒玩偶则好心替瑞恩系好了他的那条。快递员短暂地暂停时间，算好角度，待时间恢复流动，便将油门一脚踩到底。

普利茅斯“狂怒”冲到栈桥边缘，飞了出去。

车顶没了，车窗也碎了大半，海风直扑瑞恩的脸，毛绒玩偶则快活地高举前爪。快递员立刻意识到，这一跳到不了——潜艇与栈桥之间的距离实在太远。

游艇的窗户纷纷碎裂，玻璃碎片在空中组成了一道接车的斜坡。

有了这道斜坡，普利茅斯“狂怒”顺利落上潜艇敞开的平台，顺时针转了半圈，自行停稳。冲击来得太过猛烈，菲利克斯的安全带差点被绷断，毛绒玩偶则开心地撞上方向盘，又弹了回来。

汽车终于不动了，瑞恩叹了口气。可怜的普利茅斯“狂怒”已经被摧残得不成样子，车顶毁了，引擎盖上也全是窟窿。

“抱歉，来晚了。”裹尸布在瑞恩上方开口，连声音都懒得伪装。他那身玻璃战衣的锋利轮廓显露出来，在月光下熠熠闪烁。“我得先把女朋友送到安全的地方。”

“你在这儿待多久了？”瑞恩皱眉问。

“到栈桥时才追上你们。”义警交叠双手。“看来幸运女神站在我这边。”

这双关烂得可以，却又恰如其分。

“瑞瑞，你没事吧？”蕾恩问着，立刻冲到了他身边。

“我没事。”快递员回答，随后望了一眼新罗马。“这场比赛，我们赢了。”

潜艇逐渐驶离新罗马海岸，瑞恩看见普鲁托将车停在了栈桥上，骑摩托的奥古斯蒂守卫护卫在旁。这位奥古斯蒂副首领怒视着远去的潜艇。平台上方的顶盖开始合拢，为潜入水下做准备。

至于娱乐大道，瑞恩这一路留下了好几处火头。他不知道接下来局势会如何发展。眼下事情还没升级到迪纳米斯与奥古斯蒂全面开战的地步，但这场冲突发生得实在太过公开。瑞恩希望莉维娅能从中斡旋，平息事端，可目前的局面怎么看都不算理想。

不过，有个生物倒是毫不掩饰自己的喜悦。

“我太爱你了！”毛绒玩偶站起身，欣赏眼前的混乱，娱乐大道的火光映在它那双没有灵魂的蓝眼睛里。直到潜艇顶盖彻底合拢，那双眼睛依然闪闪发亮。

要治抑郁，没什么比肆无忌惮地搞破坏更有效了。