“They used to call me Beatle.”

  “‘Beetle?’ That’s a funny name.”

  “So is Ruru.”

  “Defensive much? Hahaha!”

  “He called me that because I’m just a bug to be stepped on.”

  “I think it’s because you’re the toughest bug of them all…”

  …

  …

  Warm steam left out of his breath, feeling the cold as he shivered.

  His mother smiles, giving a coat over his suit, finishing sewing the star on his chest. “You like that, love?“

  His Tita Mommyta smiles, hugging him and kissing him on the forehead.

  Miguel then tears up and sits down, staring at the beautiful breathtaking city beneath them, showing the unending blue sky and the beautiful yet deadly smog.

  “Remember when we ate at… that fancy old place, Mann Hann? I love that, the one in SM Podium… But my favorite is the Pad Thai in Greyhound Cafe…” she smiled sweetly.

  Miguel stayed silent, looking into the distance.

  She bends her finger up and down and plays with her feet, swinging them around and rocking her body forward and backward.

  His tita Mommyta pats on his shoulder and smiles, tapping her fingers and rocking forward and backward, just like he is.

  Miguel sighs. “I broke her heart.”

  “We all break someone’s heart at some point, love,” said his aunt.

  “I thought I was better.”

  “No one is better than anyone else. We are just good beings trying to survive in this harsh reality while trying our best to stay good.”

  “I am not Superman.”

  She smiles and turns to him. “You aren’t. But the fact that you exist is already a miracle in itself. You, are a good person… You are the Saint King, not because of some superpower or some crown placed on your head… But because you love so much… and it hurts to see you get hurt all the time over such things… But that just proves that I am… You are who you say you are… Just believe in what you’ve been saying all this time…” she tears up. “Proud of you to the utmost degree…”

  Miguel tears up and hugs her…

  Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

  “Thanks, Tita Mommyta,” Miguel smiled softly.

  “Beatle… Take your sticks… and place them on her head…” said the Voice.

  Miguel turns to Anna and tears up.

  Anna speaks. “I did this… I just… wanted to be with you again.”

  “Because I was Saint King.”

  “Because I chose the wrong guy… He neglected me, Miguel. He felt nothing for me… And cheated on me,” she whimpered. “I wanted you… I should’ve chosen you.”

  Miguel sighs and bows his head. “I always… believed in you. You know that, right? I don’t love you, not right now. But I respect you. I love you as a fellow Human. And I promised to save you… And I believe you’ll save us, too…”

  Anna began to slowly grow feathers on her back, grunting heavily in pain.

  “So be… the angel on my shoulder.. My greatest critic… My best conscience… A reminder of my humanity… Be… my Black Sabbath…”

  She gasped, gaining her wings for the very first time.

  Jed stretches and thins his body to leave the rope.

  Chris just cuts the rope with his stinger.

  Meanwhile, Aurora sneers as she pins down her opponent, Narciso, and flies him up to the top ofthe Hyatt building, the tallest building in Manila.

  The President screams in horror, hanging on to nothing but the grasp her hand had on his coat.

  The President began whimpering.

  Aurora smirks. “Look at you, whimpering like a dog instead of the god you once were…”

  The President yelled out for help. “HELP!!! HEEEELP!!!”

  Miguel began listening to “People Are Strange” by John Hollows, blitzing through the mountains and into the skies to search for Hyatt.

  Aurora sighs. “For the murder of my family, among other corrupt practices and crimes you have done, such as bringing socialism and other filthy ideologies to MY COUNTRY… And allowing disgusting foreigners AND NEUROTYPICALS to rule over my land… A betrayal and treason of MY EMPIRE… I sentence you… to death.”

  He squints his eyes. “Aurora Fernandez?”

  “Ding ding!” she sneered.

  “You won’t kill me…”

  “Fuck off.”

  Aurora cocked her trident, but Miguel landed behind her. She tsked. “Beatle, LEAVE… ME… THE FUCK… ALONE!!!”

  The others landed behind him.

  Miguel began to sing. “Hey Jude…”

  “Stop it.”

  “Don’t make it bad.”

  She drops Narciso on the roof, as he backed away from the ledge out of fear.

  “Take a sad song… And make it better… Remember… to let him into your heart… Then you can start to make it better…” smiled Miguel, as she smiled and kissed him, grabbing his cheek.

  “It hurts.”

  He cries, kissing her. “I know…”

  “Not that.”

  He gasped as he felt a puncturing, seething, white hot pain in his chest. He looks down, seeing that the trident had stabbed him in the heart.

  “This… I love you, but…” She lifts him up and paints her face with his blood, fluttering like rose petals. “I can’t TRUST YOU ANYMOOOORE!!!”

  Miguel whimpers. “Rur… Ruru… I love you.”

  “You never did.”

  Anna screams out, “MIGUEEEEL!!!”

  Aurora shoves her off.

  Anna charges to try and catch him, but Aurora, teared up, smacks her away with her trident.

  A loud tjhud could be heard below, while Aurora wrestled with the heroes above.

  His eyes, his cold, dead eyes, just kept on looking upwards.

  “Get up…” spoke the Voice in his mind. “Get… Up…”