The Last Hero (Book 2): Rise of the Ultras Read online

  “Anyway,” Orion said. “I pieced myself together. Saint and I battled for longer.”

  “The battle didn’t end above Staten Island?”

  “The battle raged on for some time after that. And in the end, it came down to two men. Two men so exhausted that we were stripped of our powers.”

  “But you killed him? You finished him?”

  Orion nodded. “I did what I had to do. To protect all of humankind. All of ULTRA-kind. I am not proud of what I did to Saint. But it was the only thing I could. Just like you and Nycto.”

  I thought about Orion’s words. He had a point. I wasn’t sure how anyone could be guilty of killing Saint. But then I remembered I’d felt a guilt of my own when I’d buried Nycto at the bottom of Krakatoa, left him under the rubble. “Eight years,” I said. “Eight years and nobody sees you. Nobody thinks you exist. Why now?”

  Orion kept on walking, back and forth. “For the same reason as you,” he said. “I saw the hate. I saw the fear. And I realized there was no place for me in this world. Not anymore.”

  “So you just hid?”

  “I hid, yes,” Orion said. “But eventually, I picked myself up. The government doesn’t want people to believe it, but there are many more ULTRAs around the world than they’d have anyone believe. I spent my time reaching out to those ULTRAs. Trying to get them to understand what they were. To embrace what they were. To help keep the world a better place.” He stopped pacing and looked straight at me. “I hid, Kyle. But I did not give up my responsibilities.”

  I looked down at his feet. A twinge of guilt flickered inside me. Because that’s what I’d done. I’d been so focused on living two lives that I’d neglected my true responsibilities as Glacies. My responsibilities to the world. “How am I… how are we ULTRAs?”

  Orion looked at me for a little longer, then turned away, as if he was uncomfortable with the question. “We called ourselves The Resistance,” Orion said. “We fought silently behind the scenes. Fought to keep the world a better place. But my influence was limited. My main asset nowadays is my ability to win people over to my way of thinking.”

  “So nobody really knows who you are?”

  “Some. Not many. Only those I trust the most. My inner circle. Which is, incidentally, all I have left.”

  Again, he held that stare with me a few seconds, then looked away.

  “My powers aren’t what they were. They haven’t been the same since the day of the Great Blast. Something happened that day. Something wrenched the height of my powers away from me. I felt like I was disemboweled that day—”

  “Ew.”

  Orion ignored me and continued. “And I haven’t been the same since. Which is why the time for standing up is more crucial now than ever before.”

  “The government,” I said, taking a few steps of my own around this container in the middle of wherever. “Why do they hate us so much?”

  “Would you like it if your cat started locking you out of the house?”

  “I… don’t have a cat.”

  “Would you like it if something that was supposed to be under your control started growing a mind of its own? Would you like it if your lights started flashing in the middle of the night? If your car started spinning around and driving all by itself?”

  “It might help me pass my driving test.”

  “The point stands,” Orion interrupted, clearly not a guy of jokes. “ULTRAs were Heroes as long as they were under human influence. And then they decided to grow a set of morals of their own. And then they became ULTRAs.”

  There were so many things I wanted to ask, it made my head spin. “Why do we call ourselves ULTRAs? I mean, I think of myself as an ULTRA. But that’s something the government created.”

  Orion shrugged like it wasn’t really a big deal. “Empowerment, I guess. Taking a derogatory term and using it as a compliment. Because we are ULTRAs. And we are strong as ULTRAs, no matter what they call us. It’s a way of taking that name for ourselves. Claiming it.”

  More silence followed. Orion had a point.

  “There’s something I still don’t get,” I said.

  Orion folded his hands. I swore he sighed.

  “You’re so focused on me, me, me. There’s loads of you. Loads of you fighting the ULTRAbots, fighting each other. What’s that all about? Why? And why do you need me so much?”

  “You do not understand how powerful you really are, do you?”

  “I, um—”

  “Something is happening. A storm is brewing.”

  “You guys really like your storm analogies, don’t you?”

  “A war is approaching. A war not between ULTRAs and ULTRAbots, but something else. The ULTRAs fighting one another in the sky. You mention you’ve seen them. How do they make you feel?”

  I scratched my head. Here was Orion, most famous ULTRA of all time, asking me a question. “Confused. I mean, I don’t get any of this. But especially not that.”

  “Likewise,” Orion said. “Likewise.”

  He walked closer to me. And then, against all expectations, he put a heavy hand on my shoulder.

  “I want you to join us because I have the potentially misguided belief that you are the most powerful ULTRA in existence. I want you to join us because I want you to take my place. To use your powers how I would use mine, if mine weren’t so exhausting to use these days. I want you to make this decision so you don’t lose the people you love. Your… your family. Your friends. Your girlfriend.”

  There was such a sincerity in his voice. Sincerity I wanted to believe. “Why do you care so much about my family?” I asked.

  Orion opened his mouth. Went to say something, then paused.

  “Kyle, I…”

  He just started speaking when something heavy landed on the roof of the container.

  Hard.

  23

  I stood completely still as the footsteps echoed around the top of the metal container.

  Orion was still, too. We listened to those growing footsteps that had landed above us. My heart began to beat faster, racing with all the options, all the possibilities. Why would somebody be on the roof of the container? And what if it wasn’t a somebody at all? What if it was a something?

  “What do we—”

  “Ssh,” Orion said. And I did, straight away. Because unlike anyone else in my life right now, I felt myself fully trusting Orion. I felt myself believing in the power of this guy because I knew he was stronger than me. His powers might’ve diminished, sure, but he was the original fighter. The ULTRA who’d kept on battling for the good of humanity, even when humanity turned against him.

  I had to put my faith in him right now. I had to believe in him. I didn’t have a choice.

  The pair of us looked up at where we figured the footsteps were. They moved backward and forward, over towards Orion, then towards me, then back towards Orion again. I held my breath like it’d make any difference. There was a groggy taste in my mouth, brought on by a lack of sleep. But I didn’t feel tired. Not anymore. Exhausted with everything, sure, but not tired.

  The footsteps stopped right above me.

  And then there were no more sounds.

  I kept my focus on the roof of the container. Waited for the footsteps to move again. But they didn’t, not at all.

  I looked over at Orion to see how he was reacting, what he was doing.

  He was staring above, just like me. Waiting for whoever was up there to make the next move.

  “I need to check it out,” I said.

  I wasn’t sure where the words came from. Some place deep down that’d been niggling at me for a long time. But right now, stood here, I realized that I was going to have to start using my abilities more freely if I ever hoped to be safe. I couldn’t turn my back on my responsibilities as an ULTRA anymore. It was scary, sure. Terrifying, even.

  But I was Glacies. Not in his costume right now, but deep down underneath, that’s who I was. That’s who I had to be. Kyle Peters and Glacies, the
y were one and the same.

  I had to start making a change.

  I held my breath and started to shift myself out of the container, above it, so I could see what was going on.

  A hand landed on my arm. Snapped me out of my trance.

  It was Orion.

  “Don’t,” he mouthed quietly. He pointed up. “If it’s an ULTRAbot, they know. They know when you use your abilities. They hear it louder than a whisper.”

  I gulped. Looked back up at the container roof. Even though there were no more sounds, I couldn’t escape the feeling that there was someone still up there, watching, waiting to make a move.

  “Then what do we do?” I asked.

  Orion didn’t respond. Just kept his focus on the roof.

  I wanted to go along with him. Believe me; I didn’t want to shoot out of this container without a costume and start flaunting my abilities.

  But I had a job to do.

  I had to make sure the pair of us were safe.

  “Sorry,” I said.

  “Kyle, wait…”

  I shifted outside of the container before Orion could stop me. When I was outside, I saw I wasn’t in a harbor, as I thought. I was right at the top of a scrap heap. Sitting atop a mound of trash in a tight squeeze of a container. Hell, I wasn’t by the sea. Least I knew now why it smelled so bad of fish, though.

  I looked back at the container I’d just disappeared from. Hovered alongside it, keeping myself camouflaged, even though I knew that didn’t do much good with the ULTRAbots.

  I held my breath as I rose up beside it. As I waited to go face to face with my assailant.

  There was nobody on the roof of the container.

  Nothing on the roof of the container.

  I looked around at the rest of the scrap heap. Worn old sofas. Smashed-up cars. Massive containers spewing out trash of all kinds. Rats crawling around everywhere. In the corner of my eye, I swore I saw movement. People watching. People waiting.

  I shook my head and teleported myself back inside the container.

  “They’ve gone,” I said, upon appearing. “Whoever was there has…”

  My mind froze.

  Orion was standing opposite me. But he wasn’t the only one.

  An ULTRAbot, male with buzzcut hair, stood right behind him.

  He was wearing some kind of dry suit.

  Powering up a bolt of electricity in its hand.

  Getting ready to fire.

  24

  I saw the ULTRAbot standing behind Orion, getting ready to attack.

  I wanted to shout. I wanted to tell him to watch out. To turn around. Someone was getting ready to attack him; I needed to let him know. And what could I do? I wasn’t in my Glacies gear. I couldn’t expose myself as an ULTRA. If I gave away my identity and my abilities to an ULTRAbot, then who knew what they’d do to my family, to the people I cared about?

  That voice in my head was loud and strong as the ULTRAbot’s electric grew bigger, as I saw Orion start to turn as if in slow motion.

  But there was another voice.

  A louder voice.

  A voice telling me that I had a duty. I had a responsibility.

  And to hell with standing aside and watching someone else fall all because I was too afraid to give up my life as Kyle Peters.

  I lunged towards the ULTRAbot at full force.

  I slammed into it. Knocked it back against the wall of the container. I tried to shift us away, far away, but the ULTRAbot swung a heavy left hook into my cheek, knocking me back.

  I flew through the roof of the container. Looked down and saw the ULTRAbot crouching down, then jumping up into the sky with me.

  I dodged its first punch. Ducked just before it could make contact, that burning electricity so close to singeing my face.

  I punched it back, right between its legs, as hard as I could. And then I bolted towards its head and fired ice into its eyes.

  Electricity sparked from its eyes, and I fell back down towards the piles of rubble, the pain from the water conducting the electricity sending me off balance. I landed on the ground, right by a group of rats.

  I was just adjusting my vision when I saw the ULTRAbot was right above me again.

  It pulled its fist, which simmered with electricity, back.

  And then it rammed it into my stomach. Hard.

  I felt the shockwaves of pain. I felt like rolling over, like giving up. I wondered where Orion was. Surely his powers weren’t so limited that he couldn’t help me out here.

  But then I saw the truth. I saw the reality of my situation.

  I had to save myself. I was capable of saving myself.

  The ULTRAbot went in hard with another punch. This time, I managed to roll myself away and disappear before it could punch me again.

  I appeared above it. Grabbed its arm. Pulled the ULTRAbot back into the air with all my strength. I tried to teleport the pair of us again, tried to get us away, but every time I tried, the ULTRAbot just pulled out another move, hit me again, knocked me off balance.

  Sparks ignited from its hand. It went to throw them at me; then I spat back at its face. I saw it sizzle, heard it yelp. Wait. That wasn’t like an ULTRAbot. In fact, it wasn’t even wearing the typical ULTRAbot gear, but more of a drysuit. That was… weird.

  We traded punches in the sky, right above the scrapyard below. It was like a dance, only I’d never been any good at dancing, and in my former life I hadn’t been much good at fighting either.

  I felt myself gaining ground. Felt my punches getting harder. Felt my abilities strengthening.

  I felt the anger welling inside.

  I could do this. I could beat this. I could…

  It was at that moment that I realized something.

  This ULTRAbot. It wasn’t an ULTRAbot at all. It wasn’t looking at me with that same dead-eyed glare that the ULTRAbots did. It wasn’t emotionless, reaction-less. It didn’t even have that emblem on its outfit, which I should’ve noticed earlier.

  This was an ULTRA.

  An ULTRA was trying to kill me.

  I felt the punch then. Felt the hard crack that knocked me off balance, out of the sky. I tried to hover. Tried to teleport myself. But my head was spinning too much. I was falling. Falling to the ground below. I was going to break my neck. I was going to slip into unconsciousness and never heal myself. I was going to—

  I grabbed the ULTRA’s leg.

  Bit down onto my lip.

  Teleported us to the first place I could think of.

  The edge of the Staten Island harbor.

  I held him down over the edge of the harbor. He tried to use his electricity again, tried to fire it at me, but I saw now that I was too strong for him. I had him pinned down.

  “Who are you?” I barked.

  The ULTRA smiled, blood between his teeth. “You have no idea what you’re getting yourself into.”

  He started laughing.

  I felt my stomach turn. Tasted a sickly combination of blood and phlegm. The ULTRA was laughing at me. He was laughing at me because I really didn’t know what it was he was talking about. I really didn’t know what I was getting myself into. That terrified me.

  But I wasn’t going to listen to his laughing any longer.

  “Neither do you,” I said.

  I went to push him over the edge, into the water.

  “Wait!”

  The loud voice came from behind. I turned around, still holding the ULTRA down.

  Orion walked across the harbor towards me. He was limping a little, and sounded out of breath. I had no idea how he’d followed me, but then again he was Orion so of course he’d found me.

  “Don’t do this,” Orion gasped. “We do not kill our own. No matter what, we do not kill our own.”

  “He tried to kill me!”

  “And he’ll have succeeded if you kill him. He’ll have turned you into something else. Something you do not want to be. Something you can never take back. Ever.”

  I looked around at
the ULTRA, who was still laughing as he lay there. I knew what’d happen the moment I pushed him into that water. I’d seen how he’d flinched when I’d spat at him, the water sparking a severe reaction to the electricity. If I took his dry suit off and threw him into this water, I suspected it’d spell the end for him.

  “You have no idea!” the ULTRA said, hysterical. “You have no idea what a mistake you’re making.” His laughter rolled on.

  “Please,” Orion said. “Do not do this. Do not go down this road.”

  I held my breath. Felt sweat trickling down my head. I wanted to end this ULTRA. I wanted to finish him, for he’d seen my face, and for that reason alone, he was a threat.

  I pushed him back. Walked away.

  “Good,” Orion said, looking at me, as the ULTRA continued to laugh and roll around the ground.

  Orion turned to the ULTRA.

  “Now let’s put you somewhere you won’t come back from.”

  In the blink of an eye, Orion disappeared.

  A blink later, he returned.

  He stood there, a little steam rising from his body. He gasped. Put his hands on his knees. I could tell the teleportation that he’d used so seamlessly had taken a lot out of him. So much that he was coughing and spitting onto the ground.

  “Where did you take him?” I asked.

  Orion looked up. Walked over to me. Put a hand on my shoulder.

  “Like I said. Somewhere he won’t come back from.”

  The pair of us walked away from the darkened harbor as the sounds of the water rippled against the concrete walls.

  Somewhere far, far away, he kept on rolling around, kept on laughing.

  “You have no idea what you’re getting yourself into!” he cried. “You have no idea what you’re getting yourself into!”

  25

  Mr. Parsons stared out of the window of his fifty-first story office.

  He liked it up here. He liked coming here and looking out at the horizon first thing in the morning, watching the sunrise. Of course, in winter, it wasn’t quite as spectacular; looking over the towns and cities and seeing a dim light behind the clouds. But there was something about it that he loved. Something about the way those clouds, just patches of water in the sky, could suffocate the impact and force of something as strong as the sun. The very thing keeping our solar system going. A pure miracle of nature.