It's not enough. Livio still seems very aggressive.

Now, see, it's a lot easier to not kill regular unaugmented humans, paradoxically enough. He knows exactly how much to hold back. "Keep Livio occupied," Zash says, and then he jumps into the fray with a gang of desert raiders that is entirely unprepared for the Human Typhoon.

"'Kay!!" she agrees.

Livio actually seems to be more aggressive, now. Which is good. Probably. Aggressive is different than the puppet-like, stilted movements he'd been doing earlier, which implies maybe she's getting somewhere at all. Could be wishful thinking, but eh, she'll call it optimism.

Can she successfully keep him occupied without him shooting anyone that can't heal from it? And maybe grab a cigarette and her lighter and try to light the damn thing and see if she can try Plan B again? Let's find out!

The problem with this plan is that, with Zash occupied, Livio can completely focus on Morgan, so she'll have to get her cigarette and light it while being relentlessly pursued and shot at by him.

.... Yeah, okay. She'll get shot a few times, but.

Actually, she can work in these conditions.

In the process she takes several bullets, nearly losing her lighter when one of those hits her arm and almost causes her to drop it. But she does not, and her mission is accomplished. Cigarette: lit. And then she can waft the fucking thing in his face. C'mon does something in you remember this??

What.

His eyes widen as he stares at her. His breath starts coming in ragged, which this entire fight hadn't done, and his lips part as he drops his arms down to his side.

“Yes! There we go. C’mon, Liv. I know you can live up to that name—”

...he cracks a smile. A small one, though, and it doesn't reach his eyes. He's still staring.

(One of the gang members manages to get past Zash and tries to sneak past Livio and Morgan too, except no they don't.)

Livio doesn't notice, or doesn't acknowledge it. He just... stares.

"Best baby brother I've ever had. I'll get that crap off you, hold on..."

Okay yes excellent this is a good opening to dismantle this crap SENSIBLY and SAFELY and then once he is free she will hunt down Legato and TURN HIM INTO BOOTS.

No.

No no no no this is all wrong.

He takes a step back away from her, then another. "Morgan."

Oh that doesn't look good that looks like he's about to run no, she can save you!

"I'm here, please hold on, Liv," she whispers, desperately.

"No." He points both guns at her. "NO!" No no no no no he takes some more steps back and looks around in a panic. This is Morgan but he is meant to kill Morgan but he loves her but it's his holy mission, he is a holy warrior of God... "No..."

And he points one gun at his own temple.

"No," he whispers, one last time.

Bang.

That wasn't. That wasn't supposed to happen.

Wait, that.

Wait, but.

But. But.

There's probably still an entire rest of the world out there around her, but right now it can go burn for all she cares.

("Useless," growls someone, frustrated. "A useless vessel for such a righteous cause. The test is ruined, the perfect weapon of God is yet untempered. Fine. I'll find another way.")

Zash...

...heard the gunshot.

It sounded different from the previous ones. More final, somehow.

It was... just a single gunshot.

Oh. Oh no. Oh no.

He can't... hear Livio anymore.

Oh no.

He knocks out one more bandit and shoots two others on the arm (away from any major arteries) and three on the shoulder and then he turns around and runs towards Morgan.

"Morgan?" he asks, looking at where Livo had been, before... before... "What... did... he...?"

She's just standing there, hand still reaching out towards. A someone that is no longer there anymore. His body fell over the edge, but he was already gone.

"What do you think," she says, sounding almost as dead.

Zash... wants to hug her... but she doesn't want to be hugged. She's not... even all there, right now. She's with him. With Livio. Her mind and her heart are there.

"I'm... I'm so sorry."

She doesn't reply. Just closes her eyes, and just... stands there.

Until there is a mysterious creak of the gun above them.

Morgan snaps into reality like a woman possessed, and she's moving before she's really back. She has her gun and it was not clear that she could run that fast but she is right now.

"He's here. He's fucking here, where—" she mutters, gun on its highest setting and scanning the fucking horizon where are you you coward she will kill you slowly.

He looks up at the ion gun.

Two more bandits try to get the jump on him.

Zash points his gun at them before he turns around to look at them. "How do you still not get it? I'm Zash the Stampede. I am going to go through each and every one of you and I am going to grind you to paste if you don't fucking leave and stop bothering me." And to prove this point he shoots six bullets that perfectly clip the side of the masks of six of them without drawing a single drop of blood. "If I wanted you all dead you would all be dead. I can dodge all of your fucking bullets and I can heal the bullet holes you fill me with. I'm not human, I've never been human, and I am running out of patience." He takes his shades off and shows them the glow of his eyes. "Go. The fuck. Away. Before I decide I want you dead. Are we fucking clear you sad, pathetic excuses for humans?"

One of the bandits wets his pants.

The others decide that actually they haven't even managed to get inside the ship yet and they had better fucking leave.