Wind Runner: The Complete Collection

by Edmund Hughes

  Malcolm grinned.

  “And your way of giving me space is apparently stalking me,” he said. “Wow, you really took that advice to heart.”

  Tapestry punched him in the shoulder hard enough to hurt. Malcolm laughed through the pain. Their eyes met, and they shared a moment.

  I wish I could tell her everything. Maybe someday… but not now.

  “Anyway,” said Tapestry. “Multi sent me to pick you up and bring you back.”

  “I have Melt’s truck with me,” said Malcolm. “How about I follow you back to HQ?”

  Tapestry lifted an eyebrow at that.

  “You? Driving a truck?” She smiled. “That’s hard for me to picture…”

  “Hey,” said Malcolm “What’s that supposed to mean?”

  “It’s just, back in my day, the type of men who drove trucks were…”

  She trailed off.

  “And what’s that supposed to mean?”

  He had more time to think in the truck’s cab on the way back, and he wasn’t sure if he really needed it. Luckily, Melt had an aux cable hooked up to the stereo system, and Malcolm took advantage of it, blaring Everclear and Third Eye Blind out of the speakers.

  He parked the truck on the grass, wondering if it would default to him, now that Melt was out of commission. He followed Tapestry in through the main entrance, and the two of them almost ran directly into Greenthumb.

  “Hello, Aubrey,” said Greenthumb. “Might I have a moment alone with Malcolm?”

  Tapestry nodded, sensing something serious in his tone.

  “Of course,” she said. “Malcolm, report straight to Multi after.”

  “Right,” he said.

  Tapestry headed down the hallway toward the training rooms. Malcolm waited, sensing what the conversation was going to be about.

  “Multi tells me that Melt… turned into a demon, during your encounter at the church.”

  Malcolm nodded. Greenthumb’s expression was blank, without a trace of emotion. It made the thin man appear robotic, as though he felt no emotion over having just lost his partner.

  “I’m sorry,” said Malcolm. “He… was so angry. We were fighting a monster that he just couldn’t find a way to beat. It was nothing that he, or I, did wrong.”

  And so I start with the lies. It was my fault that Melt turned.

  “Oh, of course not,” said Greenthumb. “I’ve known for a while now that Melt was at risk.”

  “You have?” asked Malcolm.

  Greenthumb smiled, but it was more a movement of muscle than something genuine.

  “Melt has always been a rather volatile man,” said Greenthumb. “He… has a good heart. He truly does, but when combined with his emotions and personality… he was always getting in his own way.”

  “He fought bravely, in the end,” said Malcolm.

  Another lie. Melt quite literally stabbed me in the back.

  “I’m sure he did,” said Greenthumb. “And he will fight bravely to the very end. When I find him.”

  Greenthumb, as he often did, was carrying a small potted plant. He reached his fingers out and caressed one of the leaves.

  “You’re going after him?” asked Malcolm. “You were his partner, though.”

  “Yes,” said Greenthumb. “And that’s all the reason for me to be the one to put him down. It’s a shame, it truly is. But with Melt’s powers… well, let’s just say he can kill very effectively when he wants to.”

  “What if…” Malcolm hesitated, thinking about his phrasing. “What if there’s some way to bring him back to reality? What if we trapped him, somehow, and tried to see if we could… I don’t know? Domesticate him?”

  Greenthumb gave him a curious look.

  “That’s a very odd thing to say,” said Greenthumb. “You should speak to Multi about your concerns.”

  “I just think that it would be a better alternative,” said Malcolm. “Better than you having to kill your old partner.”

  “It’s like I said before, Malcolm,” said Greenthumb. “I’ve had a strong suspicion that Melt would break eventually, for a while now. I have good sense of the kind of people that turn into monsters.”

  He locked eyes with Malcolm, holding his gaze, dead silent. Malcolm felt a chill run down the length of his spine. He didn’t move.

  “Anyway,” said Greenthumb, conversationally. “You should report in to Multi. Thanks for being open about what happened.”

  “…Right,” said Malcolm.

  He turned to head down the hallway toward the command center, and managed to take a single step before the entire building shook with the force of a massive impact.

  CHAPTER 34

  “We’re under attack!” shouted Greenthumb.

  Malcolm took off down the hallway alongside his fellow champion. An alarm blared through the intercom overhead. Another explosion made the floor shake, and Malcolm had to call the wind to steady himself.

  They burst through the doors into the command center and came to an immediate halt. Malcolm almost couldn’t believe his eyes. Rain Dancer stood off to one side in the room, head held high, electricity crackling across his body. His eyes had an intense white-blue gleam to them, and his dreadlocks danced through the air as if he was underwater.

  Multi was still in his command seat, which he’d swiveled around to face the demon, instead of looking at his screens. Tapestry and Morph had come in through another door, but both quickly circled around to form a united front with Malcom and Greenthumb.

  The ceiling had a massive hole in it, and the effect of it made the curved roof look like the retractable dome of a sports stadium. Malcolm glared at Rain Dancer, who seemed to be waiting until he had the full attention of the room before proceeding.

  “Champions,” called the demon. “I am known as Rain Dancer. I am one of the star touched. I come here not to bring violence, but opportunity.”

  Opportunity? Just like he gave to that defenseless boy, locked in his cell?

  “Stand down,” said Rain Dancer. “Bring no violence against me, or any other of the chosen people you refer to as monsters. Accept your seeds, and inherit the hidden power within your gifts. Stop with all the pretending.”

  Malcolm was watching Multi, waiting to see how he would react to the demon’s demands. The leader of Vanderbrook’s champions looked comfortable. Even without his copies to back him up, Multi’s expression was confident, and perhaps even a little bored. Rain Dancer was waiting, and seemed to decide after a few seconds to continue with his dramatic oration.

  “Together, we will overthrow the hidden rulers of this world,” said Rain Dancer. “The shadow government! The illuminati! The deceitful scum of the world! They will all be brought into the light and removed from power. It’s only a matter of time, you know.”

  Now there’s the unhinged conspiracy theorist I’ve come to know and love.

  Multi finally reacted. He started a slow clap, drawing it out for effect, and even rising out of his chair as though giving a standing ovation.

  “Really, Multi?” muttered Malcolm. Tapestry glanced over at him.

  “It is a little over the top,” she whispered.

  Multi finished clapping and furrowed his brow, staring Rain Dancer down.

  “That was quite the speech,” he said. “Did you practice on the way over?”

  From a purely visual standpoint, the two men could not have been more different. Multi was a short, chubby, balding redhead. Rain Dancer was a massive, muscular black man with long dreadlocks. But as far as Malcolm could tell, the intensity brewing in the air between them did not discriminate based on appearance.

  “You should take my words seriously, ya?” said Rain Dancer. “I offer you an olive branch. A chance to keep your lives, and join me as brothers and sisters in the new world order.”

  “I thought the NWO was another conspiracy theory?” asked Multi. “Hmm, no matter.”

  Multi took out a cigarette, lit it, and took a few puffs.

  “This is your
last chance!” shouted Rain Dancer. “You hesitate because you sense my strength! You should trust the fear you’re feeling, and-”

  “Do you know why it is that this base is so large?” asked Multi, cutting the demon off. “There are only a half dozen champions in Vanderbrook at any given time, and yet we have this massive base… Why do you think that is?”

  “It does not matter why!” shouted Rain Dancer.

  “The correct answer is, the same reason why I’ve been stalling you for the past minute.” Multi grinned. Next to Malcolm and the other champions, the floor shifted, sliding metal panels pulling back suddenly to reveal a hidden staircase.

  Rain Dancer crackled with electricity. He shot a burst of lightning at Multi. Multi ducked behind his chair in time to avoid it. He stood halfway, gesturing for Malcolm and the others to stay where they were.

  “They’ve been kept in cryo stasis, so they’ll be a little groggy,” said Multi. “But they’re fully equipped, fully trained, and fully aware that the only time I’d pull them out of storage is if and when our base came under attack.”

  As if on cue, a company of Multis began charging up the stairs, fanning out as they came into the command center. Each of them wore body armor and a helmet, and carried an assault rifle. They ran in formation, all of them keeping their guns trained on Rain Dancer from the moment he came into their view.

  Malcolm had been expecting perhaps a dozen or so Multis. There were easily close to a hundred, separated into three divisions, two of them flanking Rain Dancer, and the third standing to shield Malcolm and the other champions.

  “Now,” said the original Multi. “Shall we start this conversation over again?”

  Rain Dancer let out a roar and unleashed a blast of lightning at the group of Multis trying to sneak around behind him. The one in the lead took the brunt of the attack, convulsing for several seconds before bursting into flames.

  Gunfire echoed through the room as several dozen Multis opened fire. Rain Dancer’s electricity extended out around him in an electromagnetic shield, either deflecting or redirecting the bullets, some of them hitting friendly targets.

  Malcolm dropped low to the ground, glancing over at his fellow champions. Anna was nowhere to be seen. Greenthumb had smashed his potted tree on the floor, and powerful roots were tearing through the metal to reach the Earth below. Tapestry met Malcolm’s gaze and nodded.

  “We have to hang back for now!” she shouted. “If we try to help, we’ll only just get in-”

  A grenade exploded in the space where Rain Dancer had just been standing, destroying part of the wall of the command center, but missing the demon by a few feet. One of the Multis pulled his arm back to launch another. Rain Dancer struck it with electricity before it left the man’s hand, blowing him up and the three Multis clustered nearby.

  This isn’t a fight. This is war.

  “Fools!” yelled Rain Dancer. “You will all die!”

  He deflected a barrage of bullets into another group of Multis. Already, at least half of the copies were no longer in a state to fight against Rain Dancer, and the demon was taking sadistic pleasure in finishing off the wounded, even as he fended off the rest.

  “We can’t wait any longer!” Malcom yelled to Tapestry. She’d picked up a rifle from a fallen Multi and was already staring down the sight at Rain Dancer.

  Malcolm ran in a crouch, pushing himself forward with the wind and hurrying around to Rain Dancer’s blindside. One of the Multis tried attacking with another grenade. It made it into the air before Rain Dancer hit it with lightning, exploding it overhead and blowing a hole in the wall nearest to Malcolm. He tried not to shake off how close he’d just come to dying as he prepared to attack.

  A hawk swooped in, scraping claws across Rain Dancer’s face. It was Anna, in her transformed state. Rain Dancer screamed in annoyance and blasted out his lightning, knocking her across the room and back into human form.

  Malcolm launched himself forward, taking advantage of Anna’s distraction. He managed to get in close and slam his fist into Rain Dancer’s stomach. Rain Dancer, however, was strong even disregarding his powers. The demon immediately countered with a hard elbow to Malcolm’s jaw, followed by a burst of lightning.

  Malcolm felt pain explode across his body as he tumbled back across the floor. He lifted his head up, watching as the battle continued. The remaining Multis were trying to pull their numbers into a single unit. Tapestry was running up the stairs to the second level, presumably to find a spot to snipe from.

  Greenthumb was wearing a tree. Malcolm blinked in disbelief, his eyes focusing on the details and taking a moment to comprehend what they were seeing. Greenthumb had expanded the tiny potted plant he’d been carrying into a massive, intricately twisted, living body of wood.

  It looked like the result of a god twisting a tree into the shape of a giant, leaving a small space in the center for a human to fit inside of. Leaves adorned his head in place of hair. Massive, knots composed the hands, with roots for fingers. It moved far faster than Malcolm would have imagined, the branches creaking from the strain.

  Greenthumb descended on Rain Dancer, the demon looking like a child up against a giant. He smashed one of his tree trunk arms into Rain Dancer, knocking him across the room. Rain Dancer’s lightning shot out against the metal wall behind him, somehow slowing him and preventing serious injury as he collided with it.

  “A tree?” shouted Rain Dancer. “Lightning is made to destroy trees!”

  He blasted a single strike of intense lightning at Greenthumb’s tree body, exploding a section of the wood and lighting it on fire. Greenthumb shook himself from side to side, knocking loose a cloud of leaves which flew toward Rain Dancer, creating a distraction.

  Tapestry began opening fire with the rifle. Rain Dancer let out a howl of pain as one of the bullets grazed across his shoulder. The remaining Multis joined in with their rifles. Rain Dancer let out a wordless bellow and unleashed a massive, spherical wave of lightning, knocking Malcolm back and breaking Greenthumb’s tree armor into splinters.

  Malcolm rose to his knees, his head pounding. Black stars danced across his vision. Rain Dancer was walking slowly across the floor of the command center, electrocuting the wounded Multis with the same casual efficiency a housewife might use to vacuum the floor.

  Greenthumb was struggling to stand, leaves and vines wrapping around his arms and legs to prop up his wounded body. Tapestry and Anna were nowhere to be seen, and neither was the original Multi.

  If we give up now, we die!

  Malcolm stood to his feet. He leapt into the air, flying upward for a moment before letting himself fall toward Rain Dancer feet first, in a drop kick.

  “Fool,” said Rain Dancer.

  The lightning hit him and ejected him up and out of the hole in the roof of the command center.

  CHAPTER 35

  Malcolm managed to focus his powers enough to cushion his fall, but only just barely. He landed in the parking lot outside of headquarters and tumbled for a few feet, feeling his skin scraping against the gravel.

  He groaned, and sat to find that he wasn’t alone outside the compound. Shield Maiden stood no more than five feet away from him, just as shocked by his sudden appearance as he was.

  “Wind Runner…” she said, slowly.

  Malcolm was still amped on adrenaline from the battle inside, and moved faster than she did. He leapt toward her with the wind, managing to get his hand on her wrist before she could encapsulate him in a bubble shield.

  He felt the tingle that meant that he’d absorbed her power and almost groaned. Tapestry’s regeneration would serve him better in a fight to the death.

  Hold on… Wait a second.

  He took a step back from Shield Maiden and quickly called on her power, putting a bubble around her before she could do the same to him. Malcolm waited for a couple of seconds, wondering if she’d have control over the shield, given that he’d made it using her power.

  “Let me out o
f here!” came Shield Maiden’s muffled voice. “You idiot! That’s… how did you do that?”

  “We all have our secrets,” said Malcolm. “Hang tight for a couple of minutes.”

  He turned back toward headquarters, his body aching at the idea of rejoining the fight. He pushed his exhaustion aside and jumped into the air, using the wind in a directed burst to lift him up to the dome’s roof.

  Malcolm dropped back in through the same hole he’d been knocked out of. The situation inside was even more dire than it had been before he’d been ejected. The Multis were dead or dying. Greenthumb was lying on his back, unconscious or dead, with a terrified looking Anna crouched over him.

  Rain Dancer was torturing Tapestry, shocking her with the full might of his electric power. He laughed as her skin melted from the intensity of the electricity, her regeneration trying to heal and failing against the onslaught.

  “Surprise!” shouted Malcolm. He used Shield Maiden’s power, trapping Rain Dancer in a shield bubble before the demon even noticed his return.

  “What… is this?” shouted Rain Dancer. “Shield Maiden!”

  “No,” said Malcolm. “Just me.”

  “How?” screeched Rain Dancer.

  “Sometimes it’s handy to keep the full extent of your powers under wraps.”

  He glanced around. Anna wasn’t paying attention to anything other than Greenthumb. There wasn’t a single Multi left standing. It was tragic, but it also meant that Malcolm could hopefully go a while longer without having to reveal his power mimicry to his allies.

  Which is good… But what happens now?

  Rain Dancer was unleashing the full brunt of his lightning power against the inner shell of the shield bubble, and it was having a clear effect. The color of the shield was changing, shifting from an opaque rainbow hue into something clearer and less substantial.

  “Oh, come on,” muttered Malcolm.

  The shield wasn’t going to hold him. Malcolm had played his final card and come up short. As soon as Rain Dancer was free, he’d mop up any resistance that remained, which at the moment, appeared to be just Malcolm.