Era of the ULTRAs (The Last Hero Book 5) Read online

  Catalyst.

  Just thinking of the name made Michael’s stomach ache. It put him right off the idea of food, for a long time for sure. Because he knew what Catalyst wanted. It went beyond the Failsafe. And there was a bittersweet reality to Catalyst finding that Failsafe. Mostly because Catalyst didn’t truly realize just how powerful he would be making himself. Not fully.

  He walked across the tiled floor, his footsteps echoing around this vast expanse of an office. He grabbed his phone and stood with it for a few seconds, unsure of whether to go ahead with the phone call. He wanted to make that call. No doubt about it. But at the same time, he was afraid. Because he feared if he made that call, it’d be the last time he ever spoke to her in his entire life.

  He didn’t want to face up to that reality.

  But he called anyway.

  He listened to the dialing tone. The longer it rang, the more agitated and uncertain he grew. How strange that two people who had once loved each other could find such distance between them. How tragic that two lovers were nothing more than strangers, now.

  The dialing tone cut out, and Michael heard her voice. “Hello?”

  Michael smiled the moment he heard it. Olive’s voice had a soothing effect on him, making him feel like he was okay, and like all was well with the world. It’d been the same way since he’d met her three years ago, marrying her a year later. Sure, they were old. But when he spoke with Olive, he felt like he was young again. They both did. “Honey. It’s me.”

  “Michael? I… I didn’t expect you to… You know. When you’re working.”

  “I’ve got some free time right now,” Michael said, instantly feeling guilty about the reluctance in his wife’s voice. “Look, I… I’ve made some mistakes over the years.”

  “What’re you talking about?”

  “But I promise you I’m gonna make those right. I’m gonna work my ass off to get things better again. Between us. I’m gonna make us as great as we used to be, back when we first met.”

  Michael heard a silence at the other end of the line. It was only when he tasted salt on his top lip that he realized he was crying. And judging by the silence, Olive was crying too.

  “I miss you,” she said.

  “I’ll be home soon. For good.”

  “I’ll make you steak. Like I used to.”

  “With your bare hands?”

  “You betcha. Best way to make it.”

  He was starting to lose himself in the fantasy when he heard a crack.

  A crack, somewhere to his right.

  He spun around. The noise was unusual in a place of such silence. There was nothing in here that could make such a sound. Unless a computer had blown or something. But that didn’t seem likely.

  “Olive, I’ve gotta go. I…”

  His voice trailed off when he realized there was no one on the line.

  He was alone. Totally alone.

  Well. Not totally alone.

  Because he had that niggling feeling creeping up his spine that someone else was in here with him.

  He walked slowly over to the place where he’d heard the crack. He grabbed an anti-energy pistol from the table and held it in his shaking hand. He crept toward the source of the noise, heart racing, head spinning with all kinds of possibilities.

  What if they’d come for him?

  What if it was Catalyst?

  What would it mean?

  He reached the place where he’d heard the crack. A desk. The other side of the desk.

  Michael held his breath and lifted his pistol. He was sure someone was there.

  He gritted his teeth.

  Went to step around the desk.

  There was nobody there.

  Just a computer mouse lying on the floor.

  Michael swallowed a lump in his throat and sighed. He went down to pick the mouse up. It musta just fallen. Musta just slipped from the desk. That’s all it was. He was just being paranoid. He was just…

  When he got back to his feet, that sense that someone was in here was stronger than ever.

  His fears were confirmed when he saw someone’s reflection on the computer monitor.

  He spun around and held up his anti-energy pistol, pulling the trigger.

  He didn’t get to pull the trigger.

  His fingers cracked. Each and every one of them.

  They twisted out of their sockets and snapped, like nothing more than twigs.

  Michael let out a yelp and went to fall down to his knees.

  Instead, he went crashing back into the glass wall, and he felt himself being pressed against it. Hard.

  When his blurry vision cleared, he saw who was holding him up.

  Not that it surprised him in any way.

  The dark clothing.

  The hood.

  The covered face.

  Catalyst.

  Catalyst walked slowly to Michael. Every footstep was long and drawn out. The way he moved creeped Michael out. His silence scared him. Everything about Catalyst intimidated him.

  Then, Catalyst stopped just a foot away from him, staring up into Michael’s eyes from within the darkness of that hood.

  “Remember me?” he asked.

  Hearing him speak brought back all the memories of the terrible things Michael had been involved in. The horrible things he’d done. “Jason. I never meant to—”

  “Don’t say it,” Catalyst said, reaching for his hood. “Don’t you dare say you never meant to hurt me. And don’t you dare call me Jason.”

  He pulled down his hood.

  Michael looked away. He couldn’t bear to see what he’d caused. He couldn’t face the truth.

  “You will look at me!”

  Michael didn’t have a choice. His neck snapped round and his eyelids stretched open.

  He stared into the face of the monster he’d created.

  Catalyst was pale and bald. He looked older than his mid twenties. There were purple patches on his head. His skin looked really thin and weak. All across his face, scars and lacerations.

  But they weren’t even the most distinguishing things about Catalyst.

  The most distinguishing things were the holes where his eyes used to be, now completely covered over with skin.

  “You put me through this because you wanted me to be your little project. You trained me. Made me strong. But you put me through so much pain to get what you wanted.”

  “Catalyst, I—”

  “How’s it feel now the shoe is on the other foot? How does it feel now you are the experiment?”

  “None of you. I never meant to—”

  “Stop saying you never meant to hurt me. Because you did what you did. I know not every ULTRA is aware of the pain so many were put through to make them who they are, but I remember. I remember clearly. So now you will do as I say.”

  He lifted his hand, and Michael felt himself choking.

  “The Source,” Catalyst said, lifting the Failsafe out of his pocket. “The location where I activate the Failsafe. Where is it?”

  Michael couldn’t talk if he wanted to. Not with Catalyst’s telekinetic grip so tight around his neck. He struggled for breath. Battled against it.

  Then Catalyst loosened his grip.

  Michael caught his breath. He panted, dizzy, colors filling his vision.

  “Well?” Catalyst asked.

  Michael swallowed a lump in his throat as the memories of what he’d put Catalyst through when he’d been working on more recent experiments of the Hero project filled his mind, haunted his thoughts. “I won’t tell you. No matter what you put me through, I’ll never tell you. Never.”

  A smile twitched at the corners of Catalyst’s thin, chapped mouth.

  “I’m glad you said that,” he said.

  All of a sudden, Michael felt intense pressure building.

  Right behind his eyes.

  “Because I want you to go through what I went through. Worse than I went through.”

  “Please—”

 
“And when we’re finally finished, we’ll see just how resistant you are.”

  Michael kicked out. He punched the wall. He did everything his aging old body could to battle free of Catalyst’s grip.

  But that pressure behind his eyes kept on building.

  Kept on intensifying.

  “Tell me.”

  “Never,” Michael gasped.

  Catalyst held his hand in midair. The pressure stabilized, just for a second.

  Then he shifted his hand toward the right and pointed at Michael’s left eye.

  “Then we’ll start with the left one.”

  “Plea—”

  Michael might’ve finished shouting. He couldn’t be sure.

  Because he felt the most pain he’d ever felt in his life, and with that pain in his left eye socket, darkness replaced vision.

  And the real sickener?

  He knew the pain was only just getting started.

  He thought of Olive and prayed he’d die quickly.

  But deep down he knew his prayers weren’t going to be answered this time.

  27

  When I returned home, Cassie was already waiting for me at the front door, like she’d been standing there ever since I went missing.

  I walked up the steps toward my home and I felt guilt every time I glanced up at her. I could tell she’d been crying. She’d been worried about me. Which meant, no doubt, that everyone had been worried about me. And of course they had. I’d gone missing. I hadn’t checked in at all. I’d vanished, left my family and friends wondering where I was at.

  That said, I wasn’t exactly expecting a slap around the face.

  My cheek stung when Cassie’s hand made contact with my cheek. Then she grabbed both sides of my face and made me look at her. “You don’t do that.”

  “I was—”

  “You don’t get to just vanish without a goodbye and leave us like that. Especially not Dad. Not after what happened.”

  I knew what Cassie was referring to. Herself. All these years my family had been convinced Cassie had been taken away from them. Now, she was back. But then I’d gone and vanished, and that could only have made my dad feel terrible.

  “I’m sorry,” I said. “There were some things I… I needed to sort out.”

  “Well you’d better get your ass in that sitting room and you’d better have a darned good excuse. Or you’ll be getting another slap across the face, pronto.”

  I went into the house with Cassie. She called Dad, told him I was fine, that I’d just been away for a few days. Kept it awfully vague, which I appreciated. I wasn’t ready to be totally open about my powers just yet.

  “So go on,” Cassie said. “You’re out with Damon and Avi and you just vanish. Then you turn up like, a week later looking like total shit. What gives?”

  I shook my head. Part of me didn’t want to face the problem of Catalyst and the Failsafe. But the other part of me was growing stronger. The part that wanted to make a plan. To get the Failsafe back and end this madness once and for all.

  And I couldn’t do it alone.

  “Well?” Cassie said.

  “There’s a Failsafe.”

  “A what now?”

  “A Failsafe,” I said. “A guy called Michael Williamson created the ULTRAs years back. He was made to make a Failsafe, in case of disaster. He swore it was in a secret place that could never be found. But now it’s out there. And it’s in the hands of someone dangerous. Really dangerous.”

  I saw Cassie’s eyes narrow, like she was unconvinced about this whole thing. “So, what, you witness an armed bank robbery and you stand there shitting your pants, but one whiff of a threat to yourself and you’re galvanized back into action?”

  “It’s not about that, Cassie.”

  “Then what’s it about?”

  “I’ve made mistakes. I accept that. I can see I’ve screwed up. But right now, everyone’s lives are at stake. Not just ULTRAs. People, too. Catalyst’s the kind of guy who won’t have good intentions for anyone. And I’ve no doubt he’s gonna use that thing, as soon as he figures a way. And if he doesn’t, well. He’ll have something planned. No doubt about that.”

  Cassie was silent for a few seconds. “So you’ve come back here, why?”

  “I need your help.”

  “Oh,” Cassie said, rolling her eyes. “Now you need my help.”

  “I’m sorry for what happened. I’m sorry for everything. I’m sorry for acting like a spoiled brat.”

  “That’s a start.”

  “But now’s not the time for messing around. We need to build a team. A team capable of taking on Catalyst. Because… because yeah, I’m strong. But I can’t do this alone.”

  Cassie was quiet again for a while. Looked like she was really mulling over what I’d said.

  Then, “Ellicia’s gone to San Fran already, you know?”

  Those words hit me like a dagger to the chest. “She’s…”

  “She left early. Figured you’d walked away from her so decided to make a clean break. I’m sorry. Really. But you did this. You have to see that.”

  I sighed. San Fran might just be a teleport away, but it still seemed like the other side of the world with Ellicia being that far away from me, meeting new people, mixing with new friends… and guys. “I’ll fix things between us. I swear I will. But right now, getting that Failsafe is more important. So will you help me?”

  The pause stretched on longer than was comfortable. I thought Cassie was about to turn me down.

  Then she stepped toward me and put a hand on my shoulder. “Looks like we’d better get tracking our people down, huh?”

  I smiled. For the first time in God knows how long, I actually smiled.

  Then I saw movement in the corner of my eye.

  I lifted my hand, covered it in ice, went to fire a blast at the figure at the back of the room.

  Then I realized I didn’t have to.

  “Damon?” I said.

  Damon looked sheepishly between Cassie and I. “Heard—heard what you were saying just then. About building a team.”

  “What the hell are you doing here?”

  He looked down at the floor, his cheeks red. “There’s somethin’ I haven’t been totally honest about.”

  I narrowed my eyes. “Damon?”

  He looked up at me, then he pulled his hands out of his pockets.

  Purple electricity moved across them both, lighting up the room.

  28

  “You could’ve been straight with me.”

  “Um, Kyle. You coulda been straight with me.”

  “I didn’t want anyone to know I still had powers.”

  “So, what? Things got a little tough and you opted out or something?”

  “It wasn’t like that. Anyway, you can hardly talk.”

  “Huh?”

  “I mean, you kept your powers a secret. You’re hardly one to judge.”

  “Yeah, but I’m not Glacies. I’m not the world’s most powerful ULTRA. I don’t have responsibilities like you do.”

  “Fair point.”

  “Yeah it is a fair point. So what’re you gonna do about it?”

  I swallowed the lump in my throat as I sat at the table across from Damon. It felt like we were spilling it all out. The truth. Our secrets. Everything we’d been hiding. I couldn’t lie, there had been a kind of distance formed between us since the incident with Daniel, where Damon had effectively betrayed me and stood against me once Adam gave him his abilities. And this bit of dishonesty didn’t exactly go a long way toward reassuring each other that it was all cards on the table.

  But we were getting there. Slowly but surely.

  “I’m guessing that’s why you got captured in the first place,” Damon said.

  “What?”

  “In the arcade. I’m guessing you got captured ’cause of your abilities.”

  “I was given a job. That job was to retrieve something important.”

  “Kyle, man, you don’t have to dumb
things down to me. Not anymore. I want to understand. I want to help.”

  I shook my head. “It’s too dangerous, Damon. The world I fight in. It’s too big and messy for you to get involved.”

  “You don’t get to decide that.”

  “I—”

  “No, Kyle. Just because you want to be the only one of your friends with abilities, I’m sorry. You don’t have like, a God-given right anymore to make those kinds of decisions. I am who I am. I tried to hide it. I can’t anymore. And I want to do something with what I’ve got. Something… something good.”

  I put my hand on Damon’s shoulder. “What happened. To Daniel. That wasn’t—”

  “I’m not doing this just ’cause of Daniel,” Damon snapped. “I’m doing it ’cause of me. I have abilities. I can’t just leave them to rot while you and whoever goes searching for this Failsafe. I’m not hiding anymore. I’m not running away from who I really am. This is me. Damon. Although… I’d better get myself a hero name, right?”

  I sniggered a little and shook my head. “We’ve come a long way.”

  “And we’ll keep on going. Just things will be, well, a little different now.”

  “Just a little.”

  “Are you sure about this?” I asked.

  I looked into Damon’s eyes and tried to find a glimmer of uncertainty. Just enough to give me the ammunition to fight against him.

  But I saw nothing but certainty.

  “I want to help. I want to do something good with my life. And this is it.”

  I half-smiled, unable to contain the slight disappointment I felt. Only because I cared, though. Only because I worried about losing my best friend. I wasn’t sure I could bear losing anyone else. “You’d better tell Avi why you aren’t hanging around with him as much for the next while then.”

  “Oh, don’t worry about Avi. He just picked up the sequel to that book he’s always going on about. No doubt he’ll be swimming in babes by the time he hits the end of the first chapter.”

  We both laughed. And when we laughed, it was like the old versions of ourselves laughing. No secrets. Everything out in the open. No lies. Nothing between us.

  “So where do we start?” Damon asked.

  I looked over at the door and saw Cassie standing there, smiling.