Battle of the ULTRAs Read Free

the deaths of the people you loved so badly, you just did it, whether it seemed like a good idea or not. The time for sitting back and moping went away. It had to, or it’d tear you apart.
    I wasn’t letting it tear me apart. I wasn’t letting Saint tear anyone’s lives apart. Not anymore.
    I flew in the direction of the dark cloud. The rain fell down heavier over Manchester now. Beside me, I saw smoking buildings. I saw cars in streets, smashed and abandoned. I’d seen so many scenes like this since Saint launched his attack on the world just three weeks ago. I’d seen so many big cities fall. Places you didn’t think it was possible to fall. Paris. Rome. Washington. Beijing. Places of strength. Places of power.
    All of them powerful no more. Not now they had a new leader. One ruling leader to unite them all in misery.
    As I flew after Saint, I heard the Resistance and the ULTRAbots still fighting on above me, behind me. I felt guilty for leaving them, sure. But I had my own fight here. I had my own personal battle. And they were strong. They thought they needed me, but in truth, they could handle themselves.
    And if I took down Saint, maybe they wouldn’t have to handle themselves at all.
    I pushed on even further, my body flying and teleporting through the air so fast that I could feel my stomach twisting. Every time I teleported to where I swore Saint was, I saw his dark cloud get further away. I felt him slipping from my grip…
    But no.
    That wasn’t happening.
    He wasn’t getting away.
    I smelled the smoke in the air as the breeze brushed against my bare face. Nycto had destroyed my Glacies mask before he was tossed aside like a fly by Saint. It didn’t matter really. I didn’t need to hide who I really was anymore. The whole world knew my identity, who I was and what I was trying to do.
    And for the first time, in a twisted sort of irony, the world didn’t fear me or the ULTRAs of the Resistance. Not anymore. Because they saw the truth now. It’d taken mass imprisonment by Saint’s army of ULTRAbots—and his inner circle of defected ULTRAs—to make them realize, but finally they saw the truth.
    Sometimes the grass isn’t always greener on the other side.
    But it wasn’t humanity’s fault. Humanity couldn’t be blamed for its fear. They’d been manipulated by a man they thought was in power, Mr. Parsons. They’d been convinced the ULTRAs were the ones to fear, not the ULTRAbots.
    Who could blame them?
    What a pity they were so, so wrong.
    I tasted metal on my tongue and realized I’d bitten my lip so hard that I was bleeding. I swallowed away the taste and kept on pressing. Kept on pushing. Saint couldn’t get much further away. I was on to him. He might be stronger, but I was quicker. More agile. I could—
    I smacked right into something when I made a teleportation leap.
    I fell back. When I looked up, I saw five ULTRAbots above me. They looked tough. Tougher than any I’d encountered so far. Their weapons were bigger, and they seemed more agile than the usual ULTRAbots. Second models? Hell, who knew.
    Didn’t make a difference. I still had to take them down.
    I flew into the one on the left, but it knocked me back before I could make contact. I kept my eye on Saint’s dark cloud, gradually getting smaller. I needed to get to him. I needed to—
    A fist crunched into my face.
    The ULTRAbots above steadied their guns and went to fire.
    I lifted my hands to stop the bullets. But the bullets were quick. Powerful. I tried to slow them down, to push them back, but I couldn’t. They were too fast. Too strong.
    In the corner of my eye, Saint got further away.
    I bit down harder on my tongue, ignoring the taste of blood as best as I could. I stood my ground in the air. Pressed back on the bullets as they continued to fire from the ULTRAbots’ guns. Harder. Harder…
    And then I let go and teleported behind the ULTRAbots.
    I took them down one by one.
    But when I’d taken them down, I saw an