“Well, that’s kind of an exaggeration,” said Malcolm. “She was snapping photos like crazy, without my consent. I was just trying to get her to stop, and I think I acted reasonably.”
“The picture she paints of you doesn’t make you sound reasonable, Malcolm,” said Jennifer. “Do you understand how it might concern people for a champion here in a small town like Vanderbrook to be acting erratically?”
Malcolm opened his mouth to answer and then stopped himself.
This isn’t about what’s already happened. This is about what people are afraid could happen, if I turn out to not be a stable, justice minded kind of person.
“I understand,” Malcolm said, carefully. “And I do regret how the incident turned out, in retrospect.”
“I think that will put a lot of people at ease to hear,” said Jennifer.
“Moving forward, I’ll be working with the Champion Authority to keep the local area safe,” said Malcolm. “That’s every champion’s goal, when it comes down to it. A safe world, safer even than the world was before the start of the phenomenon.”
Should I also say that I’ll help cats out of trees? Help old ladies cross the road? Give sermons in church?
Jennifer nodded slowly.
“So you’re talking about the so-called monsters, then? The sprytes and demons.”
Malcolm hesitated.
“…I’m talking about any threat that would jeopardize people’s lives,” he said.
“There’s been a lot of discussion on the internet about sprytes and demons,” said Jennifer. “One vocal camp in particular has been insisting that the Champion Authority’s treatment of them is inhumane. What’s your opinion on that?”
Malcolm closed his eyes. He’d been dreading this question, or any variation of it. It was easy enough for him to tow the company line when it came to admitting his past mistakes and promising to do better. When it came to the morality of killing sprytes and demons, he wasn’t sure what he thought, or if he could lie effectively.
I’ll just tell her a version of the truth, then.
“I’ve only been a champion for a couple of days,” said Malcolm. “I’m not sure if you’re aware, but… I lost my family to a monster attack.”
“Of course,” said Jennifer. “The incident on Day One of the Phenomenon that killed your mother and brother. My apologies if this is a sensitive topic to bring up.”
“It’s fine,” said Malcolm. “What I can tell you honestly is that I’ve never stopped looking for the monster that took my mother and brother away from me.”
Jennifer nodded, clearly satisfied by his answer. The rest of the interview was less hard hitting, and Malcolm even joked some more with her about his name and how appropriately it described his somewhat meager powers.
They only know about my wind manipulation. I should probably try to keep it that way.
“Thank you for your time, Malcolm,” said Jennifer, at the end. “The interview will probably air tomorrow night, possibly the next day if it takes our editors-”
Someone burst into the studio, waving to get everyone’s attention.
“There’s a fire, a big one. In the outskirts of town, near the old auto factory. We’ve got to get a news crew there, ASAP.”
The news team immediately began scrambling to gather their equipment. Malcolm spotted Tapestry moving onto the set from backstage. She grabbed his arm and pulled.
“Come on,” she said. “We can help out, too.”
“How?”
Tapestry winked at him.
“Fires are my specialty,” she said.
CHAPTER 21
Malcolm hesitated outside, as they were running toward the BMW.
“Why don’t I go ahead of you?” he said. “I’m pretty sure I can get there faster on foot than you can through traffic.”
Tapestry thought about it for an instant and then nodded.
“Save anyone you can,” said Tapestry. “Please… don’t do anything stupid.”
“Me?” He grinned at her. “Of course not.”
Malcolm reached out, pulling the wind around him. He broke off in a run in the direction of the fire, taking long, loping steps boosted by wind. It felt almost like running down a long trampoline, except with the force of a wind tunnel at his back.
People stopped and stared at him. If it wasn’t for the time constraint of the fire, Malcolm would have waved, or put on a show. As it was, he saw phones out in the hand of almost every onlooker, filming for Facebook and YouTube.
Note to self: Try not to ever do anything really stupid in public.
The smoke from the fire signaled its location. Malcolm closed in on it, seeing the extent of the blaze as he rounded the corner. A couple of buildings that he knew to be abandoned were on fire, along with a rundown apartment complex that was still very much occupied.
The blaze looked strange. There were abandoned buildings on either side of the complex, but they’d almost collapsed from the extent of the fire damage.
Smoke was pouring out of most of the apartment windows, but from what Malcom could see, the flames hadn’t reached the roof yet. Something about it looked intentional, and he considered the possibility that an arsonist might still be nearby.
Malcolm used his wind manipulation to run up the side of a building across the street. It was taller than any building he’d tried scaling before, and he felt a mixture of adrenaline and fear as he neared the top. He pulled himself up over the building’s concrete lip and looked back at the burning apartments.
There was no way anyone still in the building could make it out through the front entrance. The flames on the lower floor were too intense for even fire fighters to make an attempt at suppressing. Malcolm could make out the shapes of people on the roof. He summoned the wind and sent a massive gust toward them, hoping to blow back the smoke and let them get a breath of fresh air.
And if I can keep the smoke clear for long enough, a helicopter can land there!
For an instant, it looked like it was working. Malcolm upped his efforts, waiting for the people lying crouched and prone on the building to spring to their feet. They didn’t. And the fire, fed by the oxygen in his wind blast, surged stronger.
“Damn it!” Malcolm stopped using his powers, gritting his teeth in frustration. He looked around, desperate for another tactic, and saw the water tank.
It was on top of the building he was on, and something he probably should have noticed earlier. It was at least twice his height and three times his circumference, and filled with fresh, cold water. Malcolm considered for a moment, and then carefully used a blast of wind to blow the top off.
Alright. This is going to be some intricate shit.
He stood behind it, blocking his own view of the burning building. Malcolm reached deep into his powers, summoning the full strength of the wind he could command, and hit the open water tank with enough force to make it wobble.
He hit it again, slowly building a shaking rhythm, back and forth, until finally the tank tipped. Malcolm moved as fast as he could, getting a good view of the water as it fell and using the wind to sweep under it. He pulled it back up into the air and pushed it into the burning building.
Enough of the windows had already broken from the heat to make his water attack effective. He saw the fire dim noticeably, but it wasn’t enough to put it out. Malcolm’s frustration boiled over. He looked around, desperate for something else he could do.
A single figure was approaching the building. Malcolm recognized the outfit and blonde hair, and immediately jumped down to the ground, cushioning his fall with the wind. Tapestry was taking off her clothes, throwing them behind her like an off-duty life guard rushing into the water.
“What are you doing?” shouted Malcolm.
“I can help from within,” said Tapestry. “This is what I meant. Fire isn’t enough to stop me, Malcolm.”
“And what happens if the building collapses on top of you?” he asked. “Tapestry! Not even the firefighters are
risking their men.”
She turned and met his eye for an instant.
“We have a responsibility, Malcolm.”
She ran forward at full speed, barefoot and clad only in her bra and panties. Malcolm watched in disbelief as she burst through the wall of flames without bothering to slow down. He looked down at his hands, suddenly feeling as though his own power was a very meager thing.
The firefighters were finally set up. A couple had hose streams concentrated on the building. Malcolm used the wind to help direct the water as much as he could, his body tense with concern for Tapestry.
Minutes went by, long enough that he began to doubt whether he’d ever see her again. Finally, Tapestry burst out from the entrance, carrying a small form wrapped in a bundle of blankets.
Her skin was charred in places, and her bra and panties had been completely burned off. She collapsed into a pile, steam and smoke still rising from her body. The building let out a deep groan, and one of the lower floors gave out, starting a domino effect as the rest of it toppled down.
Malcolm helped pull Tapestry and the child she’d saved away from the wreckage. Dust blasted out in a shockwave as the building collapsed, flames continuing to burn what was left.
“Hey!” shouted Malcolm. “Tapestry!”
She blinked ash out of her eyes to look at him and smiled. Malcolm couldn’t help but smile back at her. The child was coughing, and EMTs were already carrying it toward one of the ambulances. Malcolm patted out a small, smoldering flame that still burned in Tapestry’s hair, and then glanced down at the rest of her slightly crispy and very naked body.
He cleared his throat, trying not to notice how pink her nipples were against the rest of her soot covered skin. Malcolm pulled off his windbreaker and set it over her shoulders, and she nodded in thanks.
“Do you want me to get one of the EMTs to look at you?” he asked, quietly.
She shook her head.
“They know me,” she said. “They know I’ll be fine. I just need my clothes and… my phone.”
Malcolm nodded, heading over to where she’d left them piled. He brought them back to her, and turned around to allow her some privacy while she dressed.
“That was amazing,” he said. “Tapestry… I’ve never seen anyone risk their life like that.”
He instantly wished that he’d used a different phrasing.
“There’s no risk in it for me,” she said. “I wouldn’t be able to live with myself if I didn’t try to help.”
Malcolm understood what she meant. Her example had given him something, a new perspective on his role as a champion. He wasn’t ever going to be able to lean back from a dangerous situation, ignore danger and assume someone else had it covered.
“This was the work of a demon,” said Tapestry. “I saw it, through the flames.”
“A… demon?” Malcolm frowned at her, turning back to face her just as she was pulling on her sweater.
“It might be the one, Malcolm,” she said, quietly. “The one you’ve been looking for, or at least one like it. I can’t be sure, but it looked as though it was feeding off the heat.”
“Feeding off the heat?”
“We’ve heard rumors about this demon before,” said Tapestry. “It has explosion powers. Feeds off heat sources, releases the heat in a massive blast. Capable of destroying buildings, people, pretty much anything, but usually it needs to set a bunch of regular fires, first.”
Malcolm was still reeling from what she’d said.
It’s the same one. I don’t know how I know, but I do. It must be.
They spent another few hours at the scene. Tapestry spoke with the police chief, several fire wardens, and Multi, over her cell phone. Malcolm was beginning to understand how much of the job of a champion was public relations, reassuring people in the aftermath of a dangerous event.
He didn’t want to know what the death toll in the building was. The firefighters were still in the process of putting the last of the flames out, but rescue workers were already pulling bodies loose from the rubble, and lining them up side by side on the concrete.
It was late in the afternoon when Tapestry finally finished her diplomacy. Malcolm had spent most of the time on his phone, feeling useless and bored out of his mind. When she finally walked over to him and nodded, he tried not to let his relief show on his face.
“Come on,” said Tapestry. “I have to get home. Melanie is worried about me.”
“Right,” said Malcolm.
Tapestry hesitated for a moment.
“You can have dinner with us, if you want,” she said. “It might be a better way of decompressing than heading back to an empty apartment.”
Malcolm smiled.
“Sure.”
CHAPTER 22
Tapestry drove them to one of the nicer neighborhoods in Vanderbrook, pulling into the driveway of a surprisingly large house. Melanie was already waiting for them at the door, wearing a flower-patterned spring dress and looking extremely worried.
“Aubrey!” shouted Melanie. “You promised! You promised me that you would stop taking stupid risks and relying so much on your powers. This is breaking that promise! Do you understand? You’ve broken your promise!”
Tapestry scratched her head, shooting an awkward glance in Malcolm’s direction.
“It couldn’t be helped.” She set her hand on Melanie’s shoulders. “Look, I’m okay.”
“Okay?” Melanie reached out and snapped off a section of still burned hair. “This only happens when your powers run low. You were close to dying, Aubrey, for real.”
“A lot of people did die today, Mel,” said Tapestry.
Melanie took a deep breath, continuing to glare at Tapestry for a moment. Then, she pulled her into a tight hug.
“I was so worried,” she said. “They showed it on the news, and I just knew you’d stick your nose in. Next time, please… just let the fire fighters do their job. You have your job, and they have theirs. Separation of specialization. Stick to the normal champion stuff.”
Tapestry returned the embrace, softly stroking Melanie’s hair.
“I’ll try,” she said. “Sorry, Mel.”
The three of them stepped into the house, and Melanie only then seemed to notice Malcolm. She nodded, her smile broadening significantly.
“Hi,” said Malcolm. “Nice to see you again, Melanie.”
“Well, at least you did one smart thing, Aubrey,” said Melanie. “I was bugging her for all of yesterday afternoon to get you over here for dinner, Wind Runner. Her other coworkers are nice, but they aren’t like her. Too focused on their jobs. No perspective, none at all.”
Malcolm shrugged, feeling a little overwhelmed.
This girl is too much.
He took his shoes off and looked around the house. It was very clean and nicely decorated, but there was something off about it that took Malcolm a little while to notice. It was the style, the wallpaper, even the carpet. Everything looked as though it came from another era, teleported forward from 1975.
“Melanie, can you keep Malcolm company in the living room while I get started on dinner?” asked Tapestry. “I’ll get the two of you something to drink. Seltzer? Cranberry juice?”
“Water’s fine,” said Malcolm.
He watched as Tapestry disappeared into the kitchen, returning a moment later wearing a pink apron and carrying two glasses. She smiled broadly as she passed them to Malcolm and Melanie, as though being the busy bee of the house was her favorite thing in the world.
“We’re having steak, but I also need to recharge,” said Tapestry. “Any requests? I make excellent oatmeal cookies.”
“That’s fine,” said Malcolm. “As long as they have chocolate chips, and not raisins.”
Tapestry scrunched up her face at him.
“They taste better with raisins, but fine,” she sighed. “Also, Melanie can help you get the music system set up, so you can listen to your 90s stuff and recharge. I don’t use it as much, so I�
�m not as familiar with it.”
“Totally!” said Melanie. “Here, let me show you Malcolm. I installed it for Aubrey. Speakers all over the room. It’s Bluetooth, so you can connect using your phone. Just find the device in the list that comes down when you-”
“I got it,” said Malcolm. He connected to the speakers and started playing a vintage Weezer song off one of his playlists. Immediately he felt relaxed, almost like getting a massage after working out all day.
He sat down on the couch with Melanie. She was talking to him, word after word falling out of her mouth like water out of a faucet.
“And she knows that she doesn’t have to! That’s the thing! It’s just that she sees it in terms of keeping the people she loves safe, you know. Which is fine by me, but sometimes I wish she would keep herself safe, for her and for me.”
“The two of you are really close, huh?” asked Malcolm.
Melanie hesitated. For the first time that evening, she looked as though she didn’t know exactly what to say.
“It’s okay,” said Malcolm. “I get it. You both didn’t exactly jump to confirm my conclusion when I implied that you were sisters yesterday. I know what’s going on.”
“You… do?” said Melanie.
“Yeah,” he said. “It’s fine, Melanie. I’m not weird and judgmental. I just think it’s great that you’re both in love.”
Melanie’s jaw dropped open. She stared at Malcolm in disbelief, and then started laughing.
“Wow,” she said. “Just… wow.”
“Uh, sorry,” said Malcolm. “Did I… assume too much?”
Melanie sighed and shook her head.
“It’s okay,” she said. “Look, this is going to come out sooner or later, if you and Aubrey stay friends. I wish she would just come out and tell you, but she can be a little shy and guarded, sometimes.”
“Just tell me,” said Malcolm. “Whatever it is.”
Melanie glanced back at the kitchen door, making sure that Tapestry was still out of the room.
“You can’t tell her that I told you,” she said.
Malcolm nodded.
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