Revenge of the ULTRAs (The Last Hero Book 4) (11 page)

I
sparked
my abilities the second I heard the bang against the roof.

But I didn’t have much chance to do anything about them.

The roof caved in. Through it, fell two people. I knew they had to be Adam’s followers. They were here for us.

I lifted my hands and got ready to blast a load of ice at the intruders. If we were running, then I couldn’t hold back anymore. I didn’t care who they were. I didn’t care where they came from. I just had to…

When I regained my focus, it dawned on me exactly who it was.

Daniel Septer stood right opposite me. Behind him, there was a girl I also recognized.

I lifted my hands and pointed them at her.

It was Chaos. The ULTRA who had baited me to the middle of the Kenyan mall and brought on that explosion.

“Wait,” Daniel said.

He lifted his hands in front of Chaos. All of us stood around now, braced to use our abilities against the intruders if we needed to.

“What is this?” I asked.

Daniel smiled. “You always have the best kind of welcome parties, brother. Always roll out the red carpet treatment for me.”

“You can forgive us for being a little touchy,” Ember said. “We’re all being hunted down, after all.”

“And aren’t
you
one of Adam’s?” Stone grunted, glaring at Chaos.

She shook her head and tutted. She didn’t look totally confident or comfortable. Definitely not as much as she had when I’d last encountered her.

“Why are you here?” I asked.

“Lower your hands.”

“I’m not—”

“We’re all on the same side here, Kyle. Everyone. We’re all fighting for the same cause.”

“That’s strange,” Stone said. “We haven’t seen you in a long, long time. Jumping ship?”

“Look,” Daniel said, staying as composed as possible. “We can’t have a decent, honest conversation if we’ve all got our powers charged up and ready to fire. So please. Follow my lead. Lower your hands. Everyone.”

I looked around the room to gauge the mood. I got a sense that nobody was keen on a fight right now. There wasn’t exactly an appetite for one.

I lowered my hands, and the rest of the Resistance followed my lead.

“That’s better,” Daniel said. “Much prefer the chilled out vibe.”

“You still haven’t answered my question. What are you doing here? And what is
she
doing here?”

Daniel frowned, then turned to Chaos. “I’m sorry. He’s never been a charmer, my brother.”

Chaos grinned at me. “It’s cool. I’ve met kids like him many times. All talk when they’re hiding behind their powers, but without them, well… We all know what we are without our powers.”

“You’re not exactly making us wanna shake hands with you right now,” Stone said.

“Just quit it, okay?” I said. “All of you. Just quit it. Daniel. What are you doing here?”

Daniel took a deep breath, clearly enjoying how uptight we all were, then he walked around the debris of the broken cabin roof, slowly. “While you’ve been hiding in the middle of Greenland—and not hiding very well—I’ve actually been out there doing things.”

“Doing things?”

“Taking responsibility. Trying to figure out ways to stop Adam. That’s where I met Chaos.”

He held out his hands like he was turning the spotlight on her.

“And what does Chaos have to do with anything?” Vortex asked.

“He took my powers away,” Chaos said.

Everyone turned to look at her. Her voice sounded more cracked and uncertain than I expected.

“Adam did?” I asked. “Why would he do that?”

“He isn’t interested in redistributing power to the people. All he’s interested in is claiming more power for himself. Really, he’s just keen on toppling order. He’ll convert so many humans, then he’ll just drop the rest of the population. He wants to be worshiped, and he wants to lead. Nothing else.”

“And why should we trust you?” Cassie asked.

“You don’t have to trust me. I get why you wouldn’t. What happened back in Kenya was screwy, but even I didn’t know Adam planted a bomb there.”

“Bullshit,” I said. “You tricked me. You made it look like I caused that explosion.”

“I just followed Adam’s command, word by word. I didn’t know what would happen. I knew we were framing you somehow, but that’s all he told me. I wouldn’t have gone ahead if I’d known… if I’d known.”

“Well, what’s done’s done. There’s no going back.”

“No, there isn’t,” Chaos said.

“What makes you so sure you know Adam so well anyway?”

“We dated, for a while.”

“You dated
him
?”

“I was going through a rough patch after my sister got killed in an ULTRA battle. I guess I saw something in him, and he made me feel like he saw something in me. I got transfixed. Maybe I was obsessed. So obsessed that I didn’t see what he was doing, not for real. Not until it was too late.”

She looked down at the floor, and I sensed sadness in her. An air of total regret.

“He has a way of making you feel like you’re the most wanted person in the world. Of making you feel… feel special. But now I see him doing the same thing to everyone else. I see him using the same tricks on the people that follow him. And I know now I’m not special. Not to him. I was just a part of his game.”

Part of me was hesitant. Part of me remembered what Cassie said about not being able to force respect. But right now, I knew we were the ones to lead this world. We were the ones who could look out for people’s best interests. Sure, we wanted power, but we wanted it for good reasons.

“But there’s a way to stop Adam before he converts any more people.

“How?”

“Adam isn’t an ULTRA,” Cassie said.

I frowned. “What?”

“Adam isn’t an ULTRA. He’s just a regular guy. A regular weak guy.”

“Then how does he take abilities? How does he hand them out?”

“He wears a glove.”

The room went silent.

Stone broke the quiet. “A glove?”

“I think it’s government tech. He didn’t tell me how he got it and where, but he claims he stole it when the world went to crap last year. When Adam wears it, he gains the ability to take powers from other ULTRAs and pass them on. There’s a slight buffer, and he can use the abilities of those he’s absorbed for a short time even if he commits to passing them on; otherwise, he’s stuck with them.”

“Then why doesn’t he just keep them all?”

“It doesn’t seem to work like that,” Chaos said. “He has a choice. One ULTRA’s abilities to keep at one time. If he passes the power on, he loses those abilities himself. And it isn’t going to totally shock you to find out which ULTRA’s abilities he wants to keep.”

I saw everyone’s eyes turn on me. “Mine.”

“We take that glove away from him, and we make him totally powerless.”

“And the rest of the people around him? ’Cause it’s his army that’s really strong.”

“We try to win them over. If we don’t, well. We have a glove. We can use it to take those powers away and return them to their original owners.”

“It’s impossible,” I said.

“Maybe so. But if we don’t try getting that glove from Adam, eventually, he’s going to get to you. Then he’s going to be more powerful than you. And trust me, I ain’t your biggest fan, but I’d much rather a wimp like you had your abilities than a psychopath like Adam.”

“Thanks, I guess?”

“Take it. It’s the only compliment you’re gonna get.”

“And how the hell are we going to take that glove away from Adam?”

Chaos tilted her head to one side. “He goes to a nightclub in Tokyo every Friday.”

“Course he does,” I said.

“He likes to go there to just be himself all over again. To be a normal eighteen-year-old. He doesn’t wear the glove when he’s there. He rents a room above the place. He keeps the glove in there when he’s at the bar.”

“How do you know this?”

Chaos lifted an eyebrow. “You really wanna know all the things I’ve seen in that room with Adam?”

I felt my throat tighten and turned away. “Oh.”

“Yeah. Didn’t think so.”

A smile flickered at the corner of Chaos’ mouth. She looked around.

“I can get in there and meet with Adam. I can tell him I’ve seen the way forward. And while I’m chatting with him, Kyle can sneak upstairs and take that glove. But you have to be careful. He does have his followers with him now. One of them might be able to tell when powers are being used. So you need to show real caution.”

I nodded, scratching the back of my neck. It sounded pretty straightforward, which worried me because the straightforward plans were usually the ones to be cautious about.

“So are you in?” Chaos asked.

I looked around at the Resistance. I didn’t know what to say. It was forceful. It was against the will of the people.

But sometimes, responsibility forced you to make the uncomfortable decisions for other people that might not seem in their best interests at the time.

“We’ll do it,” I said. “We’ll help you. And we’ll go get that glove.”

The rest of the Resistance nodded. Cassie was a little more hesitant, but eventually, she agreed too.

We were taking the fight to Adam.

We were finishing his reign.

“Damn,” Stone said. “All this drama and all this loss, and the fate of the planet rests on a goddamned mitten.”

D
amon looked
in the cracked mirror inside the public restroom and he couldn’t stop his hand shaking.

It was totally pitch black outside. He could hear voices every now and then, but he barely even acknowledged them. They didn’t mean anything to him. Not compared to what he was focused on. Not compared to what his mind and his energy were totally surrounded by.

He looked down at his hands. They were shaking completely. He could feel tears building behind his eyes, and he couldn’t taste a thing but sick. He’d been pretty hungry when he set off walking away from Staten Island. Now, the thought of food disgusted and nauseated him.

He knew exactly why.

He just didn’t like revisiting the memory of what happened in the car.

What happened when Adam turned around and faced him.

He reached down into the sink and stuck his hands under the tap. When they were full, he covered his face with water. But the water felt slimy, and he didn’t feel any better for trying to refresh himself.

Instead, he just felt afraid.

Totally afraid.

This wasn’t the life he’d signed up for. This wasn’t the life he’d agreed to.

He splashed some more water on his face as the memories flooded back into his mind, unavoidable.

Someone picking him up and helping bail him out against those people following him.

Jumping into the car and realizing it was Adam.

Adam turning around, telling Damon he knew a way to deal with Kyle. To bring him back down to earth.

As much as Damon didn’t want to talk about Kyle behind his back with anyone, let alone Adam, he’d heard what Adam said. He’d heard it loud and clear.

But he still hadn’t agreed to
this.

He pulled his face up from the sink.

He saw a man standing at the back of the cubicle.

He had his hood pulled up over his eyes, and he was holding a knife.

Damon felt that instinctive terror kick in.

“Your phone and your wallet. Don’t screw around with me, kid.”

He gestured for Damon to move toward him. And a part of Damon wanted to comply. He didn’t want any trouble. He’d never liked trouble. He just wanted to get this done with and get out of here.

“Right now. Do it, or I swear I’ll shoot you in your fat little belly.”

Damon looked over at the restroom door. Tried to figure out how quickly he could get there and get out.

“Please,” Damon said. “I don’t want any—”

The guy ran at Damon and pressed him back against the wall. He pushed the gun right between Damon’s eyes. “You hand over your shit or I’ll take your shit away myself. And you don’t want that, man. You don’t want that at all. So how we gonna do this?”

Damon felt a tear rolling down his face as the guy breathed sour breath at him. “You really shouldn’t have done that.”

The mugger’s face turned. “What—”

Damon pressed his hand against the mugger’s head.

Sparks of electricity ignited from his fingertips.

The man started to scream.

Damon kept on holding his head, unable to let go. He shouted out himself. The pain of the electricity was too intense. His blood was boiling. Every single hair on his body felt like it was being pulled at, slowly. He felt like he was going to explode.

Then the guy dropped to his knees and the electricity stopped.

Damon looked at the smoking body of the guy. His eyes were closed. He didn’t look like he would be getting back to his feet anytime soon.

Then he looked down at his hands.

Then back into the mirror.

He knew what he was now. He knew what Adam had turned him into.

And he knew what Adam wanted him to do.

What the
people
wanted to do.

He swallowed another bout of sick as he thought about Kyle, his best friend, and all the rough times they’d been through together.

Then he thought of the chaos and destruction Kyle was causing, how the power was getting to his head and he couldn’t see the truth anymore, and he knew that as hard as it was going to be, he was going to have to do something about it.

Damon looked back at his hands.

Electricity sparked across his fingertips.

He took a deep breath and walked over the paralyzed body of the guy, out of the public restroom and into the wind.

He knew what he had to do.

M
y first trip
to a Tokyo nightclub wasn’t exactly in the circumstances I’d hoped.

The night sky was pitch black, but you could easily be fooled into thinking it was the middle of the day, the neon lights were so bright. The street was one of the loudest I’d ever come across. Everywhere, people bustled past one another, the smell of sweat intense and the taste of alcohol strong. It was as if, to these people, nothing major was happening in the world at all. Like there was nothing going on with the ULTRAs, or that Adam even existed.

All that mattered to these people right now was that they were out to party, and nothing was going to get in their way.

I was here for a different reason.

“It’s important that you just stick with me,” Chaos said. She had a hood pulled right over her head. “If you do that, they’ll let you in.”

“You’re not old enough to get in this place, surely?”

“It’s about who you know. Anyway. Stand tall and look tough. Here we go.”

“Can’t I just—”

“No. We do this the proper way. You use your powers and Adam will figure out you’re here.”

“One of the perks of the glove?”

“Something like that.”

Chaos cleared her throat, then she and I approached the entrance to the club, towards the security guards.

We were here because Chaos claimed she’d managed to reach out to Adam. She’d had her powers taken away, but she’d told him that she could get to me and prove her allegiance. It was risky, and I hoped she wasn’t double-crossing me. But she insisted she came here because she knew Adam liked a drink here—again, he wasn’t legal—the drinking age was twenty in Japan—but he had his ways.

But also because Adam left that glove of his in his room above the club whenever he visited here.

“You sure he’s not gonna be wearing his glove?” I asked.

Chaos nodded. “Look, I’ve been here a ton of times with Adam. I swear. He never wears that glove when he’s here.”

“Maybe things have changed since you two last hung out, though.”

“Like?”

“Like, I dunno, him taking all your powers away?”

“Even more reason to give his arm a rest from the glove then, huh?”

I saw Chaos smile. I didn’t want to put all my faith in her. Doing so felt dangerous.

But right now, I knew I had no choice but to trust her.

Or at least try.

“Just get inside. Wait for me to start talking with Adam. When I do, give it five minutes, then make your move.”

“And if I don’t get in?”

“You will.”

I saw the bouncer lift a hand when Chaos approached. She lifted her head and looked right up at him.

After a few seconds, he nodded, and Chaos walked inside.

I held my breath, my throat tightening, and I walked right after Chaos.

The bouncer lifted his arm.

He was a tall, bulky man with a stare that could break glass.

“I’m with—”

“No,” he said.

I looked for Chaos, but she’d already disappeared out of sight into the bright lights and blasting music of the club. “Did she not—”

“Too young. Go. Now.”

I thought about skipping past his arms, using my powers to teleport inside. See how tough they were then.

But then I knew causing a scene was a terrible idea. It’d make Adam realize there was something amiss.

Sensing the crowd behind getting agitated to get inside, I sighed and turned away.

I stood outside, back against the wall. The longer time stretched on, the more agitated I got. Was Chaos with Adam now?

I looked over my shoulder. I remembered what our plan was. Chaos would go in there, meet with Adam, and then I’d wait until the pair were together before sneaking upstairs and getting the glove.

But I was outside, and I couldn’t see whether they were together right now.

I had to get inside.

I had to risk it.

I had to know whether now was the time.

I closed my eyes, held my breath, and activated my invisibility.

Then I disappeared behind the wall and emerged inside the nightclub.

The music and lights were even louder and brighter in here, even more head-spinning. I looked around. I couldn’t see Chaos anywhere or Adam. But I felt disoriented. My head was spinning.

If I couldn’t see them, then where were they?

I walked towards the back of the nightclub. Every step was sluggish and forced. I nearly bumped into a few people on my way. My invisibility felt like it was simmering. What was happening to me? Why did I feel so weak?

Something was wrong. It had to be wrong.

But I didn’t have any time at all to dwell on it right now.

I searched the bar area even further for Chaos and Adam. Still no sign of them. I scanned the place twice, three times, four times, but again, still no sign of them.

Then I saw the stairs leading up to the next level of the nightclub.

My stomach turned. I knew that up there, I’d find Adam’s room. The room where he kept the glove. The glove that took abilities away and gave him all his power and control. If I got up there, I could do my job and take the glove away.

But where was Chaos?

I looked over my shoulder once more. It felt like the people in the club were looking at me. But they couldn’t be. I was just being paranoid. I was invisible, so they couldn’t see a thing.

I turned around, took a deep breath and went to climb the stairs.

I wasn’t sure what made me turn around. Call it instinct. Call it a sixth sense. Call it whatever you want.

But I did turn around.

And I was glad I did.

At the front of the nightclub, I saw five, six, seven, eight shady looking characters dressed all in black walk inside.

And although I was invisible, I didn’t just
feel
like they were looking right at me.

I was convinced they were looking right at me.