Revenge of the ULTRAs (The Last Hero Book 4)

by Matt Blake

  A chorus of cheers, so loud and so deafening that the hair on my arms stood on end.

  “So this is a symbol of the new way of doing things. This is a symbol of the new world order. This is a symbol of everything we once feared falling. Because I promise you, my people. We will never be afraid again.”

  From behind him, a woman walked up. She was short. Meek.

  But she looked angry with Daniel.

  Very angry.

  “This is the new world order. And it starts right now.”

  The woman lifted her hands.

  I saw a black liquid dripping down them.

  “No!” I cried.

  I tried to throw myself past that force field once more.

  I tried to get in.

  To get to Daniel.

  The black liquid on the woman’s hands got solid.

  Then it glowed red.

  “No!”

  “This is the beginning,” Adam said.

  “Daniel!”

  He looked up at me. Regained consciousness in that split second. And I felt relief because I knew he was quick enough to get away. I knew he was powerful enough to focus.

  But then the woman fired those glowing red balls at him.

  There was a flash of red light. It seared at my eyes, temporarily blinding me.

  I heard a cheer from below, and it made my body collapse.

  I knew what that cheer meant.

  When my vision returned, beyond the cheering, celebratory crowds, and beyond Adam’s raised arms and smiles, I saw a dark patch on the stage.

  A patch where Daniel had once crouched.

  Daniel Septer was gone.

  Nycto was gone.

  My brother was gone.

  40

  Machu Picchu would look a hell of a lot more amazing if I didn’t have a dark cloud hanging over me.

  A dark cloud of memories of what had happened.

  I sat right at the top of the Andes. It was hard to breathe up here, what with the difference in altitude. Of course, I was used to sudden changes in altitude. A part of my powers was that I could change my body’s receptiveness to altitude, and easily adapt to new climates with a click of my fingers.

  But I didn’t change anything right now.

  I just sat at the top of the hills opposite Machu Picchu and let the sickness fill my body.

  The silence was comforting. I didn’t want any more outside noise. Not anymore. I was dealing with enough as it was already.

  All I wanted to do was lay low and stay far, far away from trouble.

  A part of me wanted to go back to Staten Island. Whenever I was in a tough moment, I always clung to the hope that no matter how bad it got, I could just go back home.

  But home had changed. Home had changed a lot.

  I’d watched Damon develop powers.

  And I’d watched him use those powers against me.

  It made me cold just to think of it. Just a year ago, the pair of us had been at school. Naturally, I’d scrapped school since I’d taken on a very different kind of education. But it seemed like so much had changed in such a short space of time.

  I wanted to go back. I wanted things to be the way they used to be. Simpler. Less responsibility.

  Now, I knew things would never be the same ever again.

  I stood up and walked away from the edge of the mountain edge. I walked for miles and miles, rubbing the soles of my feet right down. I could’ve healed them. But again, I didn’t want to right now. I didn’t want to use my powers for anything. Powers had got me into this mess in the first place.

  I just wanted to be Kyle Peters again.

  But then a foreboding sense hit me when I thought of that, too. Because I could never be my old self again, not just because my circumstances had changed, but because of who I was. My identity was known to the world—my real identity. I was a celebrity, whether I liked it or not. Just not the kind of celebrity I wanted to be.

  And anyway, I’d slipped way, way out of the public’s good graces. I was like… actually, no. I won’t say their name. Libel’s a crapper, right?

  I walked a little further when I saw a group of ULTRAs in the distance.

  They were swooping down over the ancient Peruvian sites and knocking them to pieces. I could hear them laughing, whooping and cheering. Clearly they hadn’t had their abilities for long, but they weren’t wasting much time in using their abilities for bad rather than good.

  I tensed my fists and felt ice singe at the tips of my fingers. A freezing sensation stretched up my forearms. They were causing chaos. I needed to go over there and stop that chaos.

  Then I saw what’d probably happen. I’d get into a fight with them. Someone would get badly hurt. Then I’d get blamed not only for hurting someone else, but for destroying an ancient site.

  I sighed, and unclenched my fists.

  I’d had enough of using my powers to help other people out, especially with the way they were repaying the good faith.

  I watched the ULTRAs destroy that place that was so many years etched in history.

  I took a deep breath, and turned around.

  I was through with Glacies.

  Damon was gone. Alive, but gone.

  Daniel Septer, Nycto, my biological brother, was gone. Really gone.

  And Kyle Peters, the life I’d lived, was gone. In all its forms.

  I walked off into the hills.

  I wasn’t fighting anymore.

  41

  Adam stood over Hong Kong at the top of the International Commerce Centre and stared down at his army of newly transformed ULTRAs.

  He looked at the vast expanse of them from left to right. There were so many of them. An army of thousands. And the ones right here were his most loyal, the most committed to the cause.

  Originally, he’d just wanted to convert as many people to his way of thinking. After all, he had a cause. Something people believed in. The Resistance were unelected gods. And sure, they’d done some good for the world. But they’d exceeded their stay on this planet.

  He wanted to give a voice back to the people. He wanted them to see what was happening right before their eyes.

  Now they’d seen that, he wanted something more.

  He looked beyond the vast array of ULTRAs right in front of him. Beyond, he could see the clouds thickening. He thought about the many ULTRAs still out there. The original ULTRAs that’d been a part of the Resistance. But also the ULTRAs who were newly formed, too. The ones he’d given powers to, but who hadn’t shown any evidence that they were fit to take responsibility for their powers.

  Now, Adam couldn’t help but worry about them. He’d given them a key to destruction. He wanted to take that power back. He wanted to be in control again.

  He had an idea how he wanted to do it. And in the end, he’d always had his eye on the prize. Kyle Peters, or Glacies, as he was known. He’d been close to him many times. But now, he knew he needed to ramp up his assault.

  Not just because he wanted his powers.

  But because he wanted to bury him.

  Forever.

  He thought back to Daniel Septer. The confrontation and stand-off he’d had with him. As he’d watched Alison charge up her powers and prepare to eliminate him forever, he’d seen an opportunity to step in and take his powers away, becoming almost as powerful as Kyle.

  There’d been a moment of crisis. A moment, where Adam saw what was in front of him and faced a real dilemma. Take Daniel’s powers away, and be almost as strong as Kyle?

  Or wait for Kyle to take his powers away, and be the strongest of all?

  Then, out of nowhere, there’d been an explosion. Adam felt it radiating from his palms.

  When the flash of light cleared from Adam’s view, Daniel was nothing more than a mark on the ground.

  Alison had finished the job that Adam had made her start.

  The chance of taking Daniel’s powers was gone.

  It wasn’t an ideal end for Adam. After all, he’d had an
opportunity to become much more powerful.

  But Daniel wasn’t the endgame. Nobody but Kyle was the endgame.

  And he wasn’t giving up on that endgame now that Kyle was weak and on the run.

  Nearly as strong as Kyle?

  That wasn’t what Adam wanted.

  He wanted to be as strong as Kyle.

  And he was going to achieve that goal, very soon.

  “There are ULTRAs out there hellbent on our destruction,” Adam shouted.

  His voice boomed from the top of the International Commerce Centre, down onto the streets filled with his followers, all recently converted, all worshiping him.

  “We can’t allow them to fight much longer. Because they don’t fight in the interests of the people. They don’t fight in our interests.”

  A cheer. A roar from the crowd.

  It made the hairs on Adam’s arms stand on end.

  “As long as those enemies are out there, we face the risk of losing. I have full confidence in us. Believe me. But all of us know we’re not totally safe and clear until we defeat one ULTRA. Kyle Peters. Glacies.”

  A bigger roar. A roar that was total music to Adam’s ears.

  They believed in him. They were on his side.

  They worshiped him.

  So why was he so afraid?

  Why was he so paranoid?

  He swallowed a lump in his throat as the first specks of rain started to fall. “What we have to do won’t be pretty. There’ll be some loss. There’ll be some chaos. Hell, there’ll be some destruction. But the way I see it, a little more chaos is worth it in return for us getting our world back.”

  “Yeah!” some of the crowd cheered. Hands started lighting up, a whole cocktail of powers and abilities sparking right before Adam’s eyes.

  A cocktail he’d started.

  “I say it’s worth all those risks if it means saving humanity. Don’t you?”

  More cheers. More applause.

  Adam smiled. He smiled, as the voices got louder. He smiled as ice and fire and water and electricity shot up into the sky. This was the uprising he’d created. And finally it was taking shape.

  Finally, it was happening.

  Adam felt a smile spread across his face. But it was a smile filled with anger. With frustration. Because he didn’t have what these people—these ULTRAs—had. He didn’t have any abilities. Just a piece of government technology on his arm that gave him the power to take other abilities away.

  A piece of technology that would be worthless when he absorbed someone else’s powers for himself.

  He knew exactly whose powers he wanted.

  He knew exactly where his conquest to share abilities with the world—to democratize powers—ended.

  “It’s time to take our planet back,” Adam shouted.

  “Yeah!”

  “It’s time to fight back against our oppressors.”

  “Yes!”

  “It’s time to destroy every single ULTRA in our path.”

  42

  Ellicia saw the news about the attacks across America and she knew she wasn’t safe.

  The afternoon sun peeked in through her blinds, which were closed. Her room was warm and stuffy. She wanted nothing more than to get outside in the fresh air. She wanted to spend time with Kyle, just how she used to.

  But she knew things had changed with Kyle. Kyle couldn’t be the person she wanted him to be. He couldn’t even be the person he wanted to be.

  He had responsibilities, now. Duties.

  The Kyle Peters Ellicia fell in love with was long gone.

  In his place, someone she couldn’t help being frightened of.

  Not because she thought he’d hurt her. She knew Kyle. He’d never hurt her. But she was frightened of him because she worried just how far he’d go to win his side of the fight.

  And if the rumors that Daniel Septer—Nycto—was gone were true, then she didn’t know what to think at all.

  She just hoped Kyle hadn’t taken it too badly. After all, he hadn’t long been aligned with Daniel himself.

  She walked across her bedroom back at her parents’ place and looked into her suitcase. She’d stuffed tons of clothes inside it. She wasn’t sure where exactly she was going to go, but she knew she had to get away from here.

  She looked back at the television. The sound of the voices in the studio all bouncing off one another made her head hurt, filled her mouth with the taste of sick. She saw the reports of the attacks—random attacks in random parts of the country—and she knew it couldn’t be good news. It made the hairs on her arms stand on end because it reminded her of another dark time.

  The night the ULTRAs and the ULTRAbots went to war.

  And she knew damn well how that ended.

  She tried to close her suitcase, but it was too stuffed to force shut. She sighed, opened it up again, and threw a few clothes onto her bedroom floor. She kept on going, furious, caught in a daze. She felt tears building up. How had it come to this? How had everything reached this point?

  When she got to the middle of the suitcase, she saw a photograph.

  She picked it out of the case and held it close to her face.

  It was a photograph of her and Kyle in Central Park. She remembered it as one of the first dates they’d been on, right by the lake. Kyle was squinting, and his ice cream was melting down his hand. Ellicia was giggling, and both her eyes were closed, too.

  But as she looked at that photograph, which she loved so much she’d had it printed, she smiled. That was them, in a nutshell. That was Goofy Kyle, in a nutshell.

  All that was gone.

  No. All that couldn’t be gone.

  They had something special. There had to be something left. There had to—

  A knock at her front door.

  She turned around and faced her bedroom door. It was wide open.

  She felt goose pimples on her skin. She swore she’d closed her bedroom door. And there was no chance anyone else had opened it. Her parents were away for the night, so she was house sitting. She had an apartment of her own now, which Kyle had kindly sorted out for her. Anywhere in the world, he’d told her. Anywhere. And she just couldn’t bring herself to turn her back on Staten Island. She just couldn’t run away in fear from New York.

  But now, her thoughts were focused on one thing.

  Who had opened that door?

  She sat there in that weird silence that always followed a loud, shocking noise. She listened for footsteps outside her house. She listened for a cough or some kind of chatter. She just needed to know if there was someone out there, still, and if so, who it was.

  Heart pounding, Ellicia took a few calming breaths. She didn’t have to go down there. It was probably just the mailman delivering a parcel. She could go collect the parcel later. She just didn’t want to answer the door. She didn’t want to—

  Another knock.

  This time, louder. Harder.

  Ellicia stepped off her bed and walked out of her bedroom. She crept across the hallway, keeping as quiet as she could. She wanted to get to the peephole and take a look through.

  But already, as she descended her stairs, she got the feeling that there was someone else inside, and she got that awful sensation telling her to get out of there. Fast.

  She reached the bottom of the stairs. Her heart raced even faster now. She didn’t want to go over to that door, but she could see a vague silhouette behind it.

  She had to know who it was.

  She had to see.

  She closed her eyes. Gritted her teeth.

  Then she moved her eye toward the peephole.

  When she saw who it was, she felt her shoulders sink, and the tightness of her body release.

  She opened the door. “Avi. Jesus, you scared me.”

  Avi looked terrified. He was pale and shaking. He kept on looking over his shoulder.

  “Avi? What is it?”

  “There’s someone following me. I swear.”

  Ellicia popped
her head out of the front door. “I can’t see—”

  “I just know. I just know.”

  When Ellicia made eye contact with him, she had to admit that she knew exactly what Avi meant.

  She just knew someone was watching, too. She knew someone was coming.

  “We have to get out of this city,” she said, turning around and going back into the house. “If the stories of Adam’s followers attacking the ULTRAs are true, then he’ll want Kyle and maybe even Damon dead, too.”

  “Screw those guys,” Avi said. “They ain’t nothin’ anymore.”

  Ellicia shook her head. “That’s not true. They’re your best friends. And I’m not gonna let you give up on them.”

  She started to climb the stairs. She waited for Avi’s footsteps to follow, but she didn’t hear any.

  “Come on,” she said. “Give me a lift with my stuff. Avi?”

  She turned around.

  Avi wasn’t standing there anymore.

  In his place, a tall, slim guy with dark, curly hair and luscious green eyes.

  He had his hands behind his back. His smile was infectious but icy. Like there was nothing behind it.

  “Hello, Ellicia,” he said. “I’m Adam. It’s a pleasure to finally meet you.”

  43

  I sipped back my eighth beer and felt so much better about myself.

  If only that were true.

  Yes, I was sipping on a drink. I was in some rundown South American bar, which other than me, was completely empty. But instead of beer, it was Coca Cola I was drinking.

  When I’d got here, I saw how empty the place was and expected the bartender to just hand over the booze. After all, I had my hood up. I was pretty well built these days. He had to believe I was legally able to drink—or at least he had to be short enough on business that he’d just hand over a pint, right?

  But he hadn’t. He’d looked into my eyes and told me I couldn’t drink if I had no ID. Of course I didn’t have any ID. Usually, my face was ID these days, and I wasn’t too keen to go revealing that so much right now. And sure, I could head somewhere else, or just find a way to manipulate the guy into believing I was legally able to drink, or, hell, I could just beat the guy until he poured me a beer.