by Blake, Matt
And then I remembered I could teleport. I hadn’t mastered it completely. There’d been moments where I’d been able to use it, but it was sporadic and definitely the hardest of my powers to use. But I knew I had it in me in my moment of greatest fear. I knew I—
When I turned around, I saw the Figure in Black standing over me. He was wearing a bowler hat, a long black trench coat and a black mask over his face that looked solid. He was a big guy underneath that coat. Big enough to make me feel intimidated.
That said, intimidating me didn’t exactly take a lot.
I jumped back when I saw him. Only I didn’t get far—a few meters further away. He reached out to me. Put a hand on my shoulder. I tried to knock it away, but he was just too strong.
When it rested on my shoulder, I felt a weird kind of warmth. Calm.
“You did well,” the Figure in Black said, his voice incredibly deep. “To heal your wound. To break the ties. You’ve got strength. But you need to stop being stupid if you want to get anywhere.”
I didn’t know what to say. I couldn’t believe this man was actually addressing me. Like he knew what my powers were. What I was capable of. “I don’t—I don’t know what you’re—”
“Don’t try the naivety game with me,” the Figure in Black said. “I know what you are. What you can do. I know what you’re capable of. I’ve seen it, Kyle Peters. I’ve seen what you are.”
My stomach almost dropped out of my body. He knew who I was. He knew who the hell I was.
“How—how do you—”
“For one, you’ve not got your costume on right now. And you look awfully similar to that spotty little nerd I saw on the school photographs in your living room. So I’d say that’s a giveaway.”
I felt myself blush. “But how do you know who… who I am?”
The Figure in Black didn’t say anything. Not at first.
Then he pulled back a hand and out of nowhere, he went to slap me.
I tried to stop him. Tried to stop him with the powers I knew I had, that this man also knew I had. But the hand made contact with my face. Made me even dizzier than I already was.
“It doesn’t take a genius to figure out who you were,” he said. “And that should be a serious worry for you. Because now Nycto is rising, the government aren’t going to go easy on you. They’re going to want you just as much as they want him. And as much as you want to go on living your nice little double life, it’s dangerous, Kyle. You need to let Kyle die. You need to become somebody else entirely.”
The Figure in Black turned around. Started to walk away. I still couldn’t believe what was happening here. It all seemed so surreal.
“You’re strong physically,” the Figure in Black said. “But mentally, you are weak.”
“I’d watch what you say,” I said, in the pussiest voice imaginable.
The Figure in Black stopped. Turned around. Something about that black mask made him look constantly sincere. “Your mental weaknesses are the only thing holding you back, even if you’re afraid to admit that right now. If you can believe yourself, truly believe in yourself, you can achieve the one thing you’ve been gifted these abilities for.”
“And what’s that?” I asked even though I was already afraid I knew the answer.
“You know exactly what it is. You know exactly what you have to do. You have to stop Nycto before he finishes the job Saint started all those years ago. You’re the only person who can.”
The Figure in Black walked further away. There were so many things I wanted to ask him, so many questions I had. “What if I can’t?”
The Figure in Black stopped again. “If you can’t, then God help us all.”
I looked down at myself. My skinny body. I was just Kyle Peters. When I wasn’t in my costume, that’s all I was.
But I knew this person, whoever it was, had a point.
Even when I was in my costume, I was still being Kyle Peters. I was still being myself.
I had to change. I had to fight. If I wanted to defeat Nycto, I had to adapt.
I lifted my head to ask the Figure in Black who he was, how I could find him. He seemed like the mentor I needed right now, even though I was clueless about his morals, his motives.
More than anything, I thought about those ties around my wrists. Had he caused those? And if so, did that mean he was an ULTRA too?
But when I lifted my head to ask the questions, the Figure in Black had disappeared.
30
I lay back across my bed and thought about what the Figure in Black told me.
It was a bright summer day. The air was warm, and I knew that Central Park would usually be full of happy people on a day like today. People way cooler than me, sure, people I was infinitely jealous of, absolutely, but people nonetheless.
But as news of Nycto’s attacks became more common, more terrifying, and even scarier than anything, more random in their nature, I knew Central Park wouldn’t be a place where many people would be all that interested in spending time today.
I listened to the silence of my street, outside my house. It was a Monday, but we’d been given a few days off school after the events at the party venue, as well as because of Nycto’s attacks. We were finishing for summer at the end of the week anyway, so everything had a kind of anti-climactic feel to it. In truth, I knew we’d probably never go back to school this year. Most people would just take the rest of the week off.
What a way to mark the end of another year. Never the way I’d expected it to go down.
The more I heard and the more I read about Nycto’s destruction, the more those words from the Figure in Black resonated with me. He’d told me I needed to do something. That I was the only person that could do something.
Nycto had launched a fresh attack on London earlier today. Moments later, just as the UK government was getting over the attack, he launched another attack back home in Austin. Then another over in Zanzibar City, attacking a ferry terminal. Then another, back home in Boston, just up the highway. The world was reeling from the first few attacks. No one had any idea where he was going to strike next.
But the truth was clear: he was getting through cities and places around the world, and he wasn’t letting anyone or anything get in his way.
I focused on the locations of the attacks, knowing I couldn’t just let more people die and suffer. I was an ULTRA, for better or for worse. I had to use that to my full advantage. The Figure in Black said it himself—I was the only one capable of stopping Nycto. I just had to believe in myself. Shake off my mental weakness, or whatever he called it.
I closed my eyes and pictured the scenes of Nycto’s attacks in my mind.
As the memories of the party attack and the loss that came with it flooded my mind, I felt myself thinking quicker. Trying to connect dots between Nycto’s attacks at super-speed. There was a pattern. There had to be a pattern somewhere. Sure, the attacks looked random, but nothing was ever truly random. There was always a logic. Always a—
I heard a knock on the door downstairs. It snapped me out of my thoughts in an instant.
My parents were out shopping, so I climbed off the bed and staggered down the stairs. I wasn’t sure who it could be. And as I lowered the handle, I got a little worried after what the Figure in Black told me he’d easily tracked me down.
My worry soon slipped away when I saw Ellicia standing at the door.
Her dark hair shone in the sunlight. She smiled at me, revealing that little gap between her teeth. “Hello, stranger,” she said. “You okay?”
I couldn’t find the right words to say to Ellicia. I mean, she was here, at my damned door. What the hell was I supposed to say?
I took a deep breath. Decided to play it as cool as I could. “Hey.”
Ellicia looked around me, over my shoulder. “You up to much?”
“Oh, er, homework. Just homework. You?”
I blushed, realizing my mistake right away. We didn’t have any homework. How stupid could I be?
/> Ellicia shrugged. “Just wondered if you… Just passing by. Thought I’d say hello.”
She smiled at me. I saw her eyes light up in that way that always made me light up inside too. But what did I say now?
I wanted to invite her in. Ask her to come into my house. But I heard the Figure in Black’s voice in my head.
“You need to let Kyle die. You need to become somebody else entirely.”
I didn’t want to believe him. But the thought of anything else happening to Ellicia all because I was failing to take on Nycto… it wasn’t worth thinking about.
“If you’re busy,” Ellicia said, drawing that last word out. “Maybe another time.”
I should’ve said no. I should’ve said I wasn’t busy. I was a sixteen-year-old kid—this was the life I was supposed to be living.
“Yeah,” I said, scratching my head. “I’ll Facebook you. Or somethin’.”
Ellicia lowered her head. Smiled and nodded. “Right. Facebook.”
She turned around and started to walk away. I hadn’t felt this much an idiot in a long time.
“My boyfriend’s left me,” Ellicia said.
Talk about not knowing what to say. How the hell was I supposed to say a thing to this?
“Oh,” I said. “That’s… that’s too bad.”
She nodded. “Moved over to Chicago. His parents don’t think New York’s safe anymore. Not with Nycto. Not after everything that’s happened.”
I started to say something back to Ellicia when it clicked.
A sudden realization clicked in my mind.
Austin.
Zanzibar City.
Boston.
Yaizu.
An alphabet of American cities. A reverse alphabet of foreign cities.
C was coming next.
The biggest populated American city beginning with C?
Chicago. Chicago.
“I’ll see you soon,” I said to Ellicia, fully aware of how much of an idiot I sounded now.
She smiled at me, and it pained me to close the door on her.
But I ran upstairs.
Changed rapidly into my gear, faster than I thought was capable.
I looked in the mirror at myself. Looked at myself, the costume split from where the bullet hit me. The only thing not on was the black hood.
“You’re not causing any more chaos, Nycto,” I whispered to myself. “Not anymore.”
I pulled the black mask on.
Then, I shot out of my house.
I’d never been to Chicago before. I figured now was as good a time as any to take a trip.
Nycto floated at the corner of Sherman Avenue.
He’d suspected Kyle Peters for so long. So, so long. Right since he first saw footage of that hooded assailant helping the woman at the ATM. He thought he recognized his scrawny figure, that goofy way he ran. But he hadn’t really believed it. Not totally. There hadn’t been enough to go on.
He hadn’t believed Kyle Peters was capable of the things he was capable of.
Not until he saw him shoot out of his house, thinking he was completely camouflaged.
Well, nothing was camouflaged to Nycto. Nycto saw things exactly as they were.
He thought about going into Kyle’s house. To putting a stop to his nonsense before he got the chance.
But he could tell from Kyle’s excitement that he was falling right into his trap. He’d seen the clues, and he was stumbling into them like the little idiot he’d always been.
He watched the dark-haired girl, Ellicia, walk away from Kyle’s house. He’d deal with her if he had to. In time, he’d deal with her.
But now it was time for Nycto to have some fun.
It was time to head to Chicago.
31
My first visit to Chicago wasn’t exactly under the best circumstances.
It was cooler here than it was back in New York, living up to the stereotype of the Windy City. The sun covered with cloud. Otherwise, it was pretty reminiscent of Manhattan in all truth. The same tall buildings, the same honking horns of taxis. The same sense that usually, this was a city that was busy. That was bustling with life.
But today, there was a strange quietness to it. A quietness that I knew would be the same in every city around the world.
People weren’t venturing far from home when Nycto was such a threat.
I sat on a bench overlooking North Avenue beach. The waves were high, and apparently this place usually got pretty busy. There were just a few people out today, sitting and hoping for sun. Behind me, the horns of cars, the chatter of the city.
I had my gear on underneath a big black coat I was wearing. I also had sunglasses on, which probably should’ve made me look cool but actually made me look stupid. I did what the shifty older generation always did when they were trying not to look suspicious—held up a newspaper. I mean, man. Holding an actual paper version of the news in this year? How the hell was that supposed to not look suspicious?
The only thing that mattered was that there was no sign of Nycto yet.
I overheard chatter about the ULTRAs, mostly Nycto. A few worried conversations in cafes, mostly empty. But the talk wasn’t all about Nycto. There was talk about the incident in New York, too. The rumors of another ULTRA freeing those women from the harbor, but causing chaos in the process. Me, of course. They didn’t know that yet. I was kinda glad. Some people didn’t exactly have the nicest things to say about ULTRAs in general, even when we were just trying to do the right thing.
I heard some shouts over to my left. Saw people walking through the streets. They were holding placards in the air, chanting things.
“Go away, ULTRAS!”
“BURN IN HELL!”
“Je Suis Humanity!”
I saw those placards, heard the angry chants, and I felt uneasy about this whole thing. I’d made an educated guess that Nycto had Chicago next on his list if there really was a pattern to how he was going about his attacks. But what if I was wrong? What if I’d made an error, and he was hovering above another city right now, waiting to rain down those fireballs from his fists?
I shuffled my newspaper. There wasn’t much worrying about it could do. I was here, where I thought Nycto was headed. That was the main thing.
I hadn’t thought nearly enough about what my plan would be when Nycto finally got here. Part of me wanted to reach out to him. To figure out who he was. Ask who he was and why exactly he was doing what he was doing, masks off. Everyone had a reason for the things they did. Maybe I could get through to Nycto. Maybe I could reach some place inside him that he didn’t even know was there, turn him around before he caused any chaos.
I sat on that park bench for ages. After a while, at least an hour, I walked into an alleyway and camouflaged. I used every inch of strength in my body to hover up between the buildings. I was ropey at it. Nearly fell a few times. The height made me feel sick.
But I managed to lift myself right above the city, my fear of heights—something I didn’t even know I had until now—well and truly awakening.
The city was still. There was no sign of Nycto. No…
I saw it. Saw it in the corner of my eye.
Movement. Up ahead to the right.
Nycto.
I felt myself grow more at ease hovering in the sky right then. Like the fury of seeing Nycto fueled my powers.
I felt the sickness in my stomach. The nervousness telling me I was being crazy. That this was suicide.
I had no choice. I was the only person capable of stopping Nycto. And I wasn’t even hundred percent sure I was that.
I flew in Nycto’s direction. As I shot through the sky, my stomach tickling with adrenaline and fear, I felt myself flying faster towards him.
He shot to the left. Then to the right. He was moving crazy fast. So fast that I had no idea if I’d actually be able to catch him.
Then, something weird happened. He stopped. He stopped and he started dropping. Dropping in free-fall out of the sky.
I hesitated for a moment. It seemed weird. Like something wasn’t right. Why was he falling? Had his powers failed him?
Screw it. If they had, this was my moment.
I flew down towards Nycto. As I got closer, I became more suspicious. More unsure. But I had to get him. I had to stop him.
I was just inches away from him. I could almost feel his silver armor. I could see that metal…
Wait.
This wasn’t the same mask Nycto wore.
This wasn’t…
I collided with what I thought was Nycto.
My image of him blurred. The Nycto I’d seen disappeared.
I was holding on to something else entirely.
Something big. Something… something metal.
A bomb.
I looked up. Saw the real Nycto hovering over me. And I wanted to turn around. I wanted to turn around and go after him.
But I needed to stop this bomb.
I could see people below. Terrified people fleeing. A woman with a pram, startled; another kid beside her holding an ice cream and staring up with fear in her eyes.
I gripped on tight to the bomb.
Gripped on tight and felt myself get stronger.
The bomb was just feet from the ground now.
“If you can believe yourself, truly believe in yourself, you can achieve the one thing you’ve been gifted these abilities for.”
I had to stop it. I had to use all my strength. I had to…
The bomb came within inches of the ground.
I flipped underneath it.
Pushed it over towards one of the buildings on my right, one of the skyscrapers, with everything I had.
I slammed into the ground, a crater forming around me. I heard voices. Heard screams.
All I could do was watch that bomb that’d left my hands. The bomb I’d stopped hitting the ground of Chicago.
Watch it fly towards the massive skyscraper as if it was in slow motion.
I wanted to get up. I wanted to stop it. I knew if I pulled myself out of this smoky pit, my back wrecking with pain, that I’d have the power and the force to stop it.
