Battle of the ULTRAs by Matt Blake Page A

to ache.
    “I didn’t just back down,” Nycto said, continuing his droning on. “I rediscovered my strength. I fought my way in here and told Saint how things were. What I could offer him.”
    “A running commentary?”
    Again, Nycto laughed. “If there’s one thing I like about you, it’s your sense of humor.”
    “I wish I could find one thing I liked about you. Just to even it out.”
    “Well, we always seem to keep crossing paths. That has to count for something, right?”
    I didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.
    I looked at the cells as I passed. Unlike the one I’d been kept in, they were all faded out. I couldn’t see through them. “More ULTRAs in here than I expected.”
    Another laugh from Nycto.
    “That wasn’t a joke. That wasn’t even meant to be a joke.”
    “You’ll see the comedy of your words soon.”
    He pressed my shoulders down. Up ahead, I saw a dip in the passageway. So we were going down. Far, far down.
    We walked further. Passed more of these cells. On the way, we passed ULTRAbots too. They all seemed to glare at me but didn’t even acknowledge Nycto’s presence.
    “Oh, we programmed them to accept us,” Nycto said. “But you… well, they still see you as a target. It’s just a good job I’m with you, or I hate to see what’d happen.”
    “If you’re so hell-bent on destruction, then why don’t you just kill me?”
    Nycto took a few seconds to respond. “I think I’d miss your comedy.”
    The further we descended, the more anxious I got about where we were going. It seemed to be getting more chaotic the further down we got. To my left, I saw some ULTRAbots zapping inside a cell, heard a few whimpers. There was a smell of metal in the air. Hot metal. All of it melded together to create a pretty unpleasant atmosphere.
    “It’s a pity you couldn’t see the light like I did.”
    “Serving Saint’s the light? Serving the person who killed my sister? Who killed my mom?”
    “He killed my father, too. Made my upbringing a misery. But I look back on those sixteen miserable years now and I’m thankful for what he did. Because he made the anger build up inside me. And although the powers must’ve been dormant in me for years, it was only through the anger that they finally surfaced.”
    “I think I preferred you when you were a scrawny little nerd.”
    “Ah, yes. Being scrawny little nerds. Another thing we had in common before.”
    “Wow. Touché.”
    I saw a door right in front of us then. There was no left and no right, just this door. I knew there was only one outcome: we were heading toward it.
    “Daniel, it’s not too late to turn around.”
    Nycto laughed. “You always call me ‘Daniel’ when you’re trying to appeal to a better nature you think I have.”
    “You must have some sense in your skull. I mean, you’ve seen what Saint wants, really. He doesn’t want us ULTRAs now he’s got the ULTRAbots. And if he’s told you you’re special, then there must be something in it for him.”
    Nycto brought me to a stop, right outside the door. His grip around my already aching neck was tighter than ever. “He told me I’m special because I am special, ‘Glacies’. As for the ULTRAs being worthless to him, perhaps at first. But not anymore. Not anymore at all.”
    He lifted a hand and opened up that door.
    What I saw inside wasn’t exactly what I expected.
    The room was massive. It was spacious and airy. And it was filled with beds. Metal beds stretching out further in each direction than the eye could see.
    And on those beds, there were people.
    “If they’re ULTRAs then that’s how you’re going to turn out too,” I said. “You’ll end up unconscious on a slab, just like them.”
    Again, Nycto laughed. He patted my shoulder, with his hand or his telekinesis, I wasn’t sure. “Kyle, Kyle. These aren’t ULTRAs at all. These are humans.”
    I felt my knees go weak. “What?”
    “These beds are filled with humans. And when they are emptied,