“Well, I guess I’m the only true local champion,” said Tapestry. “Multi and Morph are transplants from other parts of the country. And I guess technically you now, too.”
“What?” Malcolm shook his head, frowning. “Why haven’t I heard of you, then? Most people who are gifted get serious media attention.”
“That’s a common misconception,” said Tapestry. “I gained my gift three years ago, in the comfort of my own home. My power isn’t flashy, and it wasn’t exactly hard for me avoid the media and contact the USCA discretely.”
Malcolm looked from her, back to the Multis, as the group of them started down a metal hallway with strips of LEDs lighting it from the ceiling.
“Multi… Morph…” he repeated. “Those names do sound… a little familiar, now.”
“Multi was one of the champions who did the toy line last year,” said Tapestry, smiling. “And Morph has done a few commercials, though she really isn’t much of a fan of acting.”
The three Multis all cleared their throats in unison.
“Enough,” said the one in the lead. “We have to give him the tests before we let him in on anything further.”
Multi took a turn through a door on the right-hand side of the hallway, his two clones standing guard just outside. Tapestry walked in with him, and a third champion, one that Malcolm recognized on sight, stood in the center of the room, getting a chair ready.
“You’re… Morph,” said Malcolm, pointing at her.
She was a tiny woman in her mid-twenties, with brown hair, glasses, and a mousey face. Her power allowed her to transform into the last animal she’d touched, and she’d showed it off in a commercial for PETA that had run during the Super Bowl the previous year, bringing her an enormous amount of international attention.
“I don’t like to go by my champion name, normally,” said the mousey woman. “Just call me Anna, please.”
“Malcolm,” said Malcolm. “Hey… wait a second. Anna… Morph? Seriously? That’s a perfect fit, given your powers.”
Anna rolled her eyes at him.
“Yes, like the books, I know,” she said, dryly. “If you only knew how many times I’ve heard the joke before…”
“Anna,” said Multi, cutting the conversation short. “Get the straps on him.”
“The straps?” asked Malcolm. “That’s not really necessary, is it?”
“Malcolm,” said Tapestry. “If we’re going to be able to trust you, we need to know more about you and how your powers work. Namely, your weakness.”
“My… weakness?” he asked.
“It might not be something obvious,” she said. “And it might not be something we can test for. But this is standard procedure. Every champion goes through it, when they’re first brought in.”
Malcolm hesitantly sat down in the chair in the center of the room, waiting while Anna pulled the leather straps on each of the armrests over his wrists. He noticed something that he’d missed before. She had a metal armband around her wrist, as did Tapestry, though she had hers mostly hidden under the sleeve of her blouse.
“Good,” said Multi. “I’ll be monitoring from the observation room. Tapestry, Anna, take it from here.”
Multi shut the door to the room firmly behind him. A tense silence hung over the air. Malcolm looked back and forth between the two women, feeling a bit more concerned about what the test would entail than he had before.
The first thing Tapestry did was take his blood pressure, along with a surprisingly large blood sample. Malcolm fidgeted a little in his chair, knowing that the experience was going to diverge from a normal doctor’s examination.
“Now Malcolm,” said Tapestry. “I’m going to set up a small ball on the ground in front of you. All you need to do is attempt to use your wind manipulation to move it while we try out a few different stimuli on you.”
“Is this safe?” he asked. “What happens if I accidentally summon a tornado? This place is insured for that, right?”
Tapestry smiled.
“Relax Malcolm,” she said. “It will be fine. Normally, I would be the only one in here during the ability testing. My power is regeneration, and I can take a beating if things get wild and crazy. But given the extent what we’ve seen of your powers, I think it’s no issue for Anna to be here, too.”
I feel like I was just subtly insulted…
“Now,” said Tapestry. “Are you ready to begin?”
CHAPTER 5
Tapestry instructed Malcolm to keep his head facing forward, which kept him from being able to see what the two women were doing behind his back. A minute went by, and then he felt the familiar warm gust of an electric heater being directed at his neck.
“Go ahead, Malcolm,” said Tapestry. “See if you can still use your powers”
“Okay.” Malcolm stretched his palm open, summoning the wind and lifting the ball into the air. He let it drop after a few seconds, feeling pleased with himself.
“No heat weakness,” said Tapestry. “Moving on.”
They went through a dozen different weaknesses in almost as many minutes. Malcolm had water poured over his head, needles pricking his finger, citrus juice sprayed onto his palm, and various other tests. Each time, he remained able to move the ball.
“Alright, Malcolm,” said Tapestry, after watching him move the ball while holding his breath. “Sometimes weaknesses are related to particular emotions. There are two in particular that seem to be rather common that we can test for here in the lab.”
“Alright,” said Malcolm. “How exactly is this going to…”
“Start lifting the ball,” said Tapestry.
He did, feeling a stupid. Half a second later, the massive paw of a large cat settled on his shoulder. Malcolm lurched forward in surprise, feeling the claws scratch across his upper arm.
“Jesus!” he said. If not for the straps, he would have fallen out of the chair. Tapestry let out a stifled, guilty laugh.
“Oh, I’m sorry, Malcolm,” she said. “It’s just Anna. Fear test.”
“Right…” His face was hot with embarrassment. “I should have guessed that would be how you’d do it.”
“Anna?” said Tapestry. “Can you come back to human form so you can give the… other, emotional test?”
Malcolm couldn’t see behind him, but he heard a small rush of air, along with a tiny popping noise, and then heard Anna’s voice.
“Tapestry, come on,” she said, with a sigh. “You would be better at this one than me.”
“I’m flattered that you would say so, Anna,” said Tapestry. “But really. I couldn’t.”
“Tapestry…” said Anna. “How about this? We both do it.”
“Anna, please.”
“It’ll be quicker,” said Anna. “And it’s only fair.”
Malcolm frowned, unsure of whether he liked the sound of the conversation or not.
“Alright, fine.” Tapestry walked around to the front of Malcolm’s chair and smiled at him reassuringly. “Malcolm, the other common emotion that oftentimes can be a weakness for the gifted is…”
She bit her lip, hesitating. Her face turned beat red, and it was one of the cutest things Malcolm had ever seen.
I think I know what it is. But this is just too funny.
“What?” asked Malcolm, trying to sound oblivious, “What is it? Is it happiness? Confusion?”
“Malcolm…” Tapestry hesitated again, fidgeting a little in front of him. “You know how when a man and woman are… attracted to each other, sometimes-”
“Jesus Christ, Tapestry,” said Anna. “I can see why you wanted me to do it so badly.”
Anna walked around to the front of his chair, and instead of explaining or saying anything, she crouched down next to Malcolm, moving in close. She was relatively average looking, without the pretty face or petite curves that Tapestry had to work with, but there was something intense about her.
“Hey,” she said to Malcolm, flashing a small smile. She stretched her hand out
and slid it across his chest, and then his stomach.
“Hey,” said Malcolm. He grinned back at her, pleased to have finally reached a test that was fun for him, too.
“It’s still part of the test, Malcolm,” said Tapestry, in a matter of fact voice. “She’s testing for a weakness related to arousal, or lust.”
“Oh, really?” said Malcolm, with a tinge of sarcasm. Anna’s hand had settled on his thigh, and she was slowly running it back and forth, within an inch of his manhood.
“So, whenever you’re ready…” said Tapestry, sounding a little uncomfortable. “Malcolm?”
Tapestry frowned and leaned forward in front of him, inadvertently pushing her chest into his face.
“It would go faster if you helped,” said Anna. “Just saying…”
Tapestry made an annoyed noise and scowled at both of them. She placed a hand on Malcolm’s shoulder, patting it a couple of times in the shyest attempt at being sexy that he’d ever seen.
“Does this help?” asked Tapestry. She made eye contact with Malcolm, and blushed. He felt himself getting hard, and suddenly unable to look away from the small blonde woman. There was something even sexier about the nature of that cute, embarrassed look that than anything else she could have done.
Well, almost anything else.
“Okay,” said Malcolm, clearing his throat. “I’m… good.”
Anna moved away from him immediately. Tapestry lingered for a moment, blushing and looking as though she felt like she had something more to say. She finally rubbed Malcolm’s shoulder and disengaged, stepping back so he could get a clear view of the ball.
Malcolm clenched his hand, and manipulated the wind from above, bouncing the ball in place. He shrugged.
“I’m actually kind of glad that’s not it,” said Malcolm. “That would be so inconvenient.”
“Did you ever hear the story of Stealthskin?” asked Anna. “Basic invisibility champion with that weakness, though he never made the connection about it.”
“What happened?” asked Malcolm.
“He’d try to hide in the women’s locker room,” said Anna. “He got arrested for indecent exposure seven times, escaping police custody after each. He’s a pencil pusher in the USCA now.”
“No morals whatsoever,” said Tapestry. “Filthy pervert.”
“I mean, as a guy, I can kind of…” Malcolm trailed off, feeling as though he was veering dangerously close to “filthy pervert” territory. He tried to look over his shoulder at the women, but before he could, something cold and metallic pressed against the back of his neck.
“Alright, Malcolm,” said Anna. “Try to use your power.”
“Okay,” he said. He focused, and was about to hit the ball with another blast of wind when a very mild electric current came from whatever Anna had against him. The tingling sensation wasn’t painful, but it was distinct, and more importantly, it was as though it instantly severed Malcolm’s link to his ability.
“I… can’t,” he said, after a couple of frustrating seconds.
“Shock,” said Anna. “That’s not unusual for a champion with wind manipulation.”
“It’s a minor weakness, though,” said Tapestry. “Just keeps him from using it.”
The current stopped, and Malcolm breathed a sigh of relief. He took a slow breath, making a mental note be very careful around anything electrical in the future. He thought about what Tapestry had just said.
“Minor weakness?” he asked. “Are there major weaknesses, too?”
“Minor, major, and fundamental,” said Tapestry, as she started to undo his wrist bonds. “Minor is what you just experienced. It keeps you from using your abilities. Major would be a weakness that renders you unconscious or dead from exposure. And fundamental…”
“Fundamental is water if you have fire conjuration,” said Anna. “A weakness that has to do with the nature of your abilities, rather than your connection to your power.”
“Gotcha.” Malcolm rubbed his wrists, furrowing his brow as both women come back into view. “What comes next?”
“Now,” said Tapestry. “You can relax. At least for the moment.”
CHAPTER 6
Anna stayed in the testing room, while Tapestry led Malcolm outside and down another hallway. He still had a countless number of questions about what was going on and what he needed to know, but held back instead of asking them.
They’ve been straight with me, so far. I just need to be patient.
“Here,” said Tapestry. “You’re going to want to change out of your clothes and take shower.”
“Uh, okay.” Malcolm raised an eyebrow at her. “Any particular reason why?”
“Standard procedure,” said Tapestry. “We know your weakness, so you aren’t as much of a threat now, but we still need to ensure that you don’t have anything hidden before bringing you into HQ.”
Malcolm shrugged.
“I guess I can’t blame you for being suspicious,” he said.
Tapestry gestured to the door they were standing next to, and he headed through it. It led to a large locker room, with shower stalls lining one side. It was clean, and smelled far better than any locker room Malcolm could ever remember being in.
Tapestry had followed him in. He frowned a little as he reached for the hem of his t-shirt.
“Are you going to watch me?” he asked.
She scowled at him, blushing a little.
“Its standard procedure,” said Tapestry. “Just act like I’m not here.”
Act like a hot twenty-year-old blonde isn’t watching me strip and shower. Sure, no problem.
Malcolm took his clothes off, hesitating for a moment before pulling down his boxers. He didn’t glance over to see if she reacted at all to getting a full frontal, and she didn’t break the silence to offer any opinion. He was still a little aroused from the unique weakness test they’d done, and wasn’t sure whether to be happy or ashamed.
He slipped into one of the shower stalls and turned on the water, taking the chance and turning around to face Tapestry directly. She flinched slightly when his gaze met hers, as though she hadn’t expected him to have the nerve to make eye contact.
“So…” said Malcolm, feeling suddenly awkward. “You had to go through this too, when you first joined?”
“I did,” she said. “It was… embarrassing for me too.”
Malcolm was suddenly picturing her naked, in the shower. He bit his lip, trying to push the image away before it got him too worked up.
“Was Multi the one who stood and watched?” he asked. “I can’t imagine that was much fun.”
“No,” said Tapestry. “Anna was. She’s been a champion since Day One of the Phenomenon, though I’m technically her superior here, now.”
“How did that happen?” asked Malcolm.
“It’s a long story,” said Tapestry. “Focus on getting washed up.”
Malcolm shrugged, and ran his hands through his wet hair. It felt oddly thrilling to have her watching him, now that the situation was underway. He glanced back at her as he ran his hands across his stomach and crotch. She was still blushing, and it was hard to tell if her interest in watching was purely limited to “standard procedure”, as she’d put it before.
“Finished,” he said, after a couple more minutes.
Tapestry blinked, and then cleared her throat.
“Right.” She walked over to one of the lockers and pulled out a folded set of clothing. “You can have these to wear, for now. Your other clothes will be returned to you when you leave.”
“Fine by me,” said Malcolm.
He pulled the clothes on, a white t-shirt, white sweat pants, and white socks. He felt a little like he was joining some kind of cult, and had just been through the initiation process. Tapestry seemed more relaxed, now that the showering was done, though a bit of weird tension still lingered between them.
They walked further down the metal hallway, and it exited out into what Malcolm assumed was the dome’
s main room. It took up a full half of the spherical space, the roof curving several dozen feet overhead.
The center of the room held what looked like a command station, with several computer terminals, currently manned by copies of Multi. The one in the center looked up as Malcolm and Tapestry approached, nodding to them.
“Is he ready for orientation?” asked Multi.
“Yeah,” said Tapestry. “Can I bring him in?”
“Go ahead,” he said. “I’ll activate the projector once you’re inside.”
Orientation? Maybe this is going to be a bit like a cult, after all…
She led him around the edge of the room. There were stairs leading up to a second level, and Tapestry gestured for him to follow her up. They passed of dormitories on the way, with the walls inside each room lined with more bunkbeds than they could ever need, from the headcount Malcolm had taken up to that point.
“Do you guys get a lot of visitors, or something?” he asked.
Tapestry glanced over at him, and smiled and nodded.
“All of the Champion Authority HQs are designed to be able to accommodate a small army,” she said. “That’s what it sometimes takes to handle a spryte or a demon that’s running amuck.”
Malcolm wanted to ask her more about that, but she stopped in front of a new doorway and waved him inside. He walked into a small movie theater, complete with massive speakers, a projector and screen, and the requisite darkness. He took a seat in the middle row. Tapestry remained standing behind him, shutting the door and cutting off the last bit of light.
He didn’t have to wait long for the movie to start. The speakers crackled to life, and the projector turned on. Music played, sounding like something out of the 1950s, and a simple caption appeared across the screen.
“So you’ve discovered that you have a super gift?” muttered Malcolm, reading it out loud. Tapestry hushed him.
Wind Runner: The Complete Collection Page 3
