David Jackson
Stories
6
Chapters
2,231
Words
2.1 M
Comments
0
Reading
7 d, 3 h
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Genome parties were always fun, but the aftermath sucked. When he returned home to Jamie’s place, Ryan found it in ruins. The floor had been buried underneath beer bottles, pizza boxes, trash, and stuff best left forgotten. Someone had drenched the sofa in a suspicious fluid, and while DJ Brain had survived the apocalypse, a partygoer drew a smiley face on the vat’s surface. Even with repeated time-stop, it was a struggle to clean up the mess. Ryan was still working on it by the evening. “Faster,…-
106 •
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Where could Mechron be hiding? Smashing through blast doors and steel walls, Leonard Hargraves felt something wrong in the atmosphere. Space itself bending and twisting. Something created powerful magnetic fields inside the base, tearing apart the very fabric of reality. As he had thought, Mechron’s fortress also counted as a particle accelerator. Did the Genius activate it? For what purpose? How could it help repel the army at his door? “Pythia, where do I go?” Leonard asked, but he only…
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106 •
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Constructed inside a valley surrounded by five mountains, Sarajevo had once been a beautiful place. A perfect mix of small, pastoral houses and tall modern buildings, the city had housed events such as the 1984 Winter Olympic Games, survived the Yugoslavian wars, and thrived in the aftermath. But that was long ago. Today, Sarajevo was a vision of hell. A steel graveyard ruled by a madman, its skies dark even during the brightest days. Only decaying ruins remained of the old city, consumed by a noxious…
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106 •
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The entire Augusti high command had gathered around a table near the villa, and none of its members dared to speak. Allowed to sit between Vulcan and Livia at the mafia princess’ behest, Ryan kept his arms crossed as he observed the scene. The various ‘Olympians’ formed a circle, all of them eyeing their leader warily. Mercury’s mummified head had been placed at the edge near Pluto, while Narcinia sat with her parents. Mars kept an arm behind his chair, clearly the most relaxed of all people…
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106 •
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It ended as well as expected. With Ryan naked and shackled to a bed, a maniacal Vulcan in a black nightgown on one side, and the plushie on another. “It was all a trap,” the courier accused the mad Genius, straining against the shackles. “You only cared about the plushie!” “Very good, Ryan,” Jasmine said, playing with her knife. The inactive plushie looked on while sitting on a chair. “Now, tell me everything you know about it.” “I would, but I look down on short people.” “If you…
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106 •
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A few minutes before the shootout, Ryan was sitting behind Vulcan inside her mech, both partners in crime observing Dynamis’ HQ through a computer screen. The tower looked like some game’s final dungeon, with increasingly dangerous enemies guarding each floor with the boss at the very top. It almost made Ryan wish for a suicide run, but that would be for another time. His suit awaited him. “Should you be drinking while driving?” the courier asked Vulcan, who just finished a bottle of vodka. “I…
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106 •
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“When is the sound coming?” Lanka asked Ryan for the third time, an elbow on the loudspeaker. “When you find me another brain,” Ryan replied, tinkering with the device. A few people had already taken over the dance floor, but the house’s equipment couldn’t support a true rave party. Seriously, Ki-jung needed to stop buying Dynamis home products. They were barely a cut above pre-Wars Chinese imports. Actually, did buying the enemy's products count as collaboration? “Stop distracting him,”…
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106 •
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Ryan loved Genome parties. They always involved a lot of property damage. He had attended a few elsewhere in Italy, usually when he joined a group. However, this one looked like it would be the biggest yet; and since tomorrow would mark Quicksave’s first week in New Rome, the courier intended to cap it off with a bang. Well, he had probably spent two months or so in the city across various loops, but still! This party might be something entirely new and surprising. “How many people will come?”…
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106 •
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The current loop might be the calmest yet. Ryan had finally optimized the Augusti path. He first completed the harbor mission without incident. Fat Adam didn't send anyone for once, and Ryan had previously taken care of Luigi. The truth-teller was scheduled to get out of the hospital on Wednesday, but Ryan intended to score a few goals during the hockey match’s second period. Afterward, Jamie invited the courier to crash at his place, and he received a 'surprise' inspection from Pluto. The Underboss’…
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106 •
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It was May 10th. Psyshock would attack the orphanage any minute, and Ryan intended to give the telepath a headache he would never forget. A shotgun in hand and the “What’s happening?” Ryan asked little Giulia, upon crossing paths with her. Unlike her fellow orphans, who had taken food or toys, the little blonde mostly carried books on herself. Meeting this child after learning what Psyshock did to her in a previous loop only reinforced the courier's resolve. “Mama says she’s taking us to the…
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