The Last Hero (Book 2): Rise of the Ultras (7 page)

I
didn’t really want
to go out into Manhattan with Damon and Avi, but I figured if I were going to carry on living my life as Kyle Peters while the ULTRAbots waged war on the ULTRAs, then I’d better stick to my damned word.

The snow was thick and crunchy underfoot. It wasn’t snowing anymore, the reports of a major storm on the way strongly overstated, and the sky was blue and clear. What tourists called a perfect New York Winter’s Day, just like the shots on the postcards, the promotional photos. There were a lot of people walking around the Times Square area. A woman pushing a pram. Three men dressed in suits. Two kids turning around, looking at me. It felt like everyone was watching me. Like everyone knew who I was.

I took a deep breath, tension in my body at an all time high. The lack of sleep didn’t help.

Nobody was watching me. I was just being stupid. Paranoid. If I kept a low profile, I’d be fine.

“You okay, dude?”

Avi’s voice was muffled. It made me jump, spin around to look at him. Damon was by his side, wrapped up in a scarf and a thick winter parka. He looked just as weirded out by me as Avi.

“Nah. He’s definitely not okay,” Damon said.

“What’s up, bro? Bit cold for ya?”

I searched my mind for the best, most believable excuse. “It’s just… it’s just Ellicia. Can’t stop thinking about Ellicia leaving.”

Avi and Damon looked at one another and sighed. I figured by that look that I had them suitably fooled. “Man, you gotta get her outta your head,” Avi said. “That dating book I told you about. The one with a 4.6 stars on Goodreads. Well, it has a 4.4 stars now, but 4.4 stars is still good. Not quite elite level, few one stars dragged that shit down, but still—”

“What’re you getting at?” I asked.

“I’m just sayin’,” Avi said, as we walked along through the snow, the constant noise and chatter of Times Square growing. We were out shopping for Christmas gifts. Avi wanted some M&Ms for his sister, and no matter how much I told him Amazon Prime was the answer, he still insisted on an actual trip to the M&M store. “Not being harsh, but you gotta let her go. Have a read of that book. It’ll do you good.”

“Right. Just like it’s doing you good?”

Avi half-smiled. “Hey. I’ve had seven conversations with girls since I read that book. Charmed ’em like mad.”

“Avi,” I said, trying to hold in my frustration. I was so pissed with his insistence that a book was the answer to my problems that suddenly I
was
more upset about the Ellicia thing than the fact a band of super-frigging-powered ULTRAbots was out to get me. “Six of those girls you only ever chatted to online.”

“And the seventh one? I met her. She was super-hot.”

“You met her because you had Ryan Reynolds as your profile picture and she was so dumb to believe it was actually you.”

Avi shrugged. “Truth stands, man. Truth stands.”

The hardest part of all? I couldn’t argue. I actually couldn’t argue.

I kept on walking alongside them, eager not to get so caught up in conversation that I got sidetracked. I had to be alert, on guard. If the ULTRAbots were hunting ULTRAs, then they could be onto me right now. This wasn’t right. It wasn’t the life I’d chosen to live. I chose the life as Kyle Peters because I wanted to be free of all that ULTRA nonsense. But I couldn’t walk five steps without looking over my shoulder.

“Holy… Is that what I think it is?”

I heard the amazement in Damon’s voice. I’d heard that amazement recently when he’d spoken about something with awe. Something that made my skin crawl.

When I looked where Damon was pointing, right in the middle of Times Square, I seized up completely.

Hovering above the middle of Times Square was a woman. She was dressed in a loose brown cloak, with blue jeans underneath. Her hair was short, cropped close to her head.

She stared into the distance like she was asleep. Like she was hypnotized.

Like she was just waiting for something to trigger her sensors.

A silver crest, like a lightning bolt, was embossed on her cloak.

“It’s an ULTRAbot,” Damon said. He let out a little laugh of amazement, then looked at Avi and me. “Guys, it’s an ULTRAbot! Right here in the city!”

I didn’t want to go any further. I didn’t want to step any closer to that thing. I knew it was dangerous. I didn’t know how they worked exactly, how they traced ULTRAs. But I remembered what that man called Mr. Parsons said on the news.

“The ULTRAbots will destroy every trace of ULTRAs on this planet. Within a week.”

That was the kind of promise not to be made lightly.

“Come on, guys. We gotta go see this. This is, like, a once in a lifetime thing.”

“I’m—I’m not sure,” I said.

Damon and Avi stopped. Turned around to look at me. “What?”

I couldn’t take my eyes off the ULTRAbot, and neither could anyone else walking by it. My mouth was dry. I just wanted to be back home. I just wanted to be away from here.

“I hear they’re reaction-less, bro,” Avi said. “Say anythin’ to ’em and they don’t do a thing back. That’s the kinda shit we need to test out.”

“I’m not sure about this.”

“Come on, wimp,” Damon said, punching my arm. “Thought you’d toughened up lately?”

“My sister,” I said. It was the only thing I could think of saying. The only excuse I could come up with to get out of this situation. “Cassie. It just… It brings it back. Brings it all back. I’m sorry.”

Damon sighed. But he didn’t demand I joined him this time, so I took that as something—a sign that his view was softening, perhaps. “It can’t harm you, dude. It can’t harm any of us.”

If only he knew the truth.

“Come on, Kyle,” Avi said. “I mean, it’s up to you, sure. But we’re here. We got you. Two big bros’ve got you.”

I was about to shake my head and say no again when I saw something that sent a shiver right through my body.

The ULTRAbot wasn’t staring into space anymore.

It was looking right into my eyes.

My heart pounded. The sounds all around me went fuzzy, out of focus. I saw Damon and Avi moving in the direction of the ULTRAbot, jogging away from me, leaving me alone.

Everything was in slow motion. Me looking at the ULTRAbot. The ULTRAbot looking back at me.

The ULTRAbot knew who I was. It knew I was an ULTRA.

And it was going to kill me if I didn’t hide.

I turned away from the ULTRAbot and ran down the nearest side street. I didn’t look back to see if it was looking. I couldn’t afford to.

I just disappeared down the side street, shaking like a leaf.

Then I pressed my back up against the wall.

Held my breath.

Teleported right across the street.

I kept on holding my breath when I appeared at the other side of the street. Kept my camouflage activated. And in the corner of my eye, I saw the ULTRAbot emerge at the other side street where I’d stood just moments ago. I saw it look around. Look all around, like a child searching for a lost toy, or a bird of prey hunting a mouse.

I held my breath, sweat dripping down my head. Felt my teeth chattering against one another.

I could do this. I was okay. I could…

The ULTRAbot disappeared from the side street.

Floated back to the middle of Times Square and resumed its watch over the people.

I let my breath out. Along with it, a sob. I planted my hands on my knees. My stomach ached, and I wanted to throw up.

They knew. They knew who I was just by looking at me. The honing thing was true. I didn’t have to be even using any Glacies powers, they just… they just knew.

I had to get home. I saw that now. I had to get home and I had to hide. No, maybe not even home. Maybe somewhere at the other side of the world. But then that’d only worry my friends. That’d only increase suspicion. And if my parents reported me missing to the police and the police reported it to the government it’d all lead back to—

“Chin up, loser.”

The voice came from opposite me.

Directly opposite me.

When I looked up, I saw a man.

He was in his twenties. Good-looking, if I was into that kinda thing, which I wasn’t. Long, dark hair swept back over his head. Charming, sparkling smile.

He was wearing a tight blue suit.

“Ready to listen yet?” the guy said.

It was only when I saw his hands that I realized what he was.

Electricity sparked from the tips of his fingers.

W
hen I saw
the electricity sparking from the guy’s hands, I did the only thing I could.

I held my breath.

Pulled back my fist.

Rammed it towards this guy. Hard.

But before it could reach him, before it could crack him in the jaw, I felt my hand slowing down. I could feel the electricity tingling across my knuckles, burning at my skin.

“Wait!” the guy said. “Hold it right there.”

“Get away from—”

He pushed me back against the wall down the side street, which I hit with a thud. “It’s cool. I’m not one of them. I’m with Vesper, man. I’m with Vesper.”

I tried to work out what this guy was saying. Vesper? Who the hell was Vesper? On the street, I could hear the chatter of amazement at the ULTRAbot hovering over Times Square, not all that far away from my current position. The thought of how close it’d come to finding me after looking me right in the eyes made me taste sick in my mouth.

“You need to chill,” the guy said. “Look. My name’s Spark. Well, not really, but you know. We all have names—”

“Leave me alone,” I said.

“Glacies, you can’t walk away. You see why you can’t walk away, right? Surely you see now why you can’t just turn your back on us. On your people.”

I wanted to walk away. I wanted to get out of this side street and far, far away from Times Square. Far away from
everywhere
. Here was another person with ULTRA abilities, using them in public, which was dangerous in itself.

Not only that, but he knew who I was. He knew I was Glacies without me having any of my gear on.

How the hell?

Was I really so bad at disguising myself?

“You need to make a call, right now,” Spark said. He looked around as a couple of people walked by. Pushed me behind a dumpster so I was out of view. “You need to make a call over what you do. But even when you make that call, we aren’t gonna stop knocking. ’Cause you’re important to us. You’ve no idea how much we need you right now.”

For the first time, I actually felt some sympathy for Spark. He was just after my help. He was just an ULTRA terrified of his fate, just like me.

“Make the right call, man,” Spark said. “Make the right damn call. Don’t screw this up.”

I swallowed a lump in my throat.

Closed my eyes.

Embraced the terror inside me.

“I’m sorry.”

I shot up into the air. I wasn’t strong enough and didn’t have enough time for teleportation right now. I had to fly away. I had to disappear somewhere. I had to…

As I flew, I felt something pulling me back. Something clinging onto me, like a weight around my ankles.

And I looked down and saw electricity sparking up into the sky. Electricity that was coming from Spark’s hands.

As if in slow motion, I saw Times Square all around me. I saw the ULTRAbot, facing the opposite direction.

I tried to fly away. Tried to shake free of the electricity.

The ULTRAbot started to turn.

I tried again. But no use. I was bound by the electricity. Spark had me.

So I did the only thing I could right now.

I dropped back down to earth. Landed right beside Spark, hurting my ass in the process.

“Good job,” Spark said, rubbing his hands together. “The old electricity ain’t failed me yet—”

“What the hell do you want?” I shouted.

Spark smiled. “What do
I
want? I told you what I want. Vesper. The dude in black. I want to get you to him. ’Cause he wants to see you. To talk to you. But believe me, kid. The more of us meet you, the more of us doubt you meeting him’s that good an idea at all. Really not livin’ up to your Glacies reputation right now, I’ll tell you that much.”

The dude in black.

The Figure in Black.

Could it be? Could he really be looking for me? Searching me out?

I remembered the Figure in Black’s—Vesper’s—words.

You need to let Kyle die.

I still didn’t want to believe that. I still didn’t want to give up my normal life. But he’d told me something else too. He’d made me realize that if I believed in myself, I could be stronger than I ever imagined. He was right about that.

What if he was right about that other thing?

“See, I was hoping to spare the pep talk. But the way you’re behaving, I reckon I’m gonna just have to go for it. We need you, man. Your
kind
needs you. The government is hunting us. And you’re a tough cookie, whether you wanna admit it or not.”

“I’m not your
kind,
” I said.

Spark narrowed his eyes. “You what?”

“I said I’m not your kind. I’m… I’m just a kid. I just want to live my life.”

Spark stuck his bottom lip out, almost mockingly. “Aw, diddums. Is the little boy not ready for the real world yet?”

“Shut up.”

“Well I’ll tell you something, ‘Glacies’. We were all little kids like you at some stage. All little kids coming to terms with who we are. With what we can do. And as much as you wanna go on living your nice, cushy little double life, it doesn’t always work out that way. It’s like growing up. Someday, you can’t keep sponging off your parents. You gotta move out. You gotta get a job. ’Cause it’s what we do to survive. We have to make tough calls. We can’t live two lives. So you gotta make that call, right now. You join us, and you help us. Or you walk away, and you kill both your lives. Your call.”

I heard Spark. I heard him loud and clear. I wanted to help. I wanted to step up. I wanted to
be
as strong as I knew I could.

“I just… I’m just not ready,” I said.

Spark spat an unimpressed laugh out. He shook his head, looked at me like I was dirt. “You’re choosing a side, kid. Choosing a damned side, whether you know it yet or not.”

Spark walked away. Walked away down the alleyway. And as he walked, I thought about calling him back. About telling him I wanted to meet Vesper. Talk with him. There was something about Vesper that made me feel… secure. Even though he terrified me, even though I had no idea who he was, I felt like I needed his judgment right now.

Besides, maybe Spark was right. Maybe I did need to step up. If I didn’t, then I wouldn’t just lose my freedom as Glacies—I’d lose my life as Kyle, too.

I started to see a path in front of me. A clearer path. I realized I needed to make a decision. The right decision. For myself. For my real, real self.

I went to open my mouth to shout Spark back.

But when Spark reached the opening to the sidewalk, I saw three figures swoop down from above.

Surround him.

All of them were hovering. All of them had that dead-eyed look.

All of them were ULTRAbots.