He landed in an old park in the center of an abandoned neighborhood, feeling drained by the experience. He was worried about Rose, more than he ever had been during any of her previous episodes and disappearances. He wasn’t sure if she’d come back to herself, this time.
“You… have so much to answer for!” demanded Tapestry. “Who are you? And what’s your relationship to Wind Runner?”
Malcolm barely even heard her. He was scanning the skies for any sign of Rose. How had she flown, inside that sphere? Was that an ability only available to her when deep within an episode?
“Answer me!” Tapestry lunged at him, her hand groping for the bottom of his mask. Malcolm spun out of the way.
“Your questions will have to wait,” he said. “If I see Wind Runner… I’ll send him back to you.”
Even as he said the words, they felt hollow and empty. If he saw Second Wind again, it was more likely that things would end as they’d ended with Brenden. That thought struck a raw note inside of Malcolm. How had all of his good intentions come to this?
He pushed back into the air before Tapestry could ask anything more, feeling a small twinge of guilt over how in the dark she was. It was easy to brood in Malcolm’s state of mind, but instead, he forced himself to hum his rock music and keep his mind on balancing his wind manipulation. It would let him stay in the air longer. It might let him find Rose.
He flew high, unconcerned by the clouds, and the chill of the thin air. He flew as high as he could while still keeping visibility on the ground below, and searched for Rose, like someone scanning a thick carpet for an inconspicuous lost earring.
She could be anywhere. And in the state she’s in… the only sure thing is destruction.
Malcolm flew slow circles around the town, pushing himself to the limit of how much flying he could do without snapping. Part of him wanted to flirt with the limit, and wondered what would happen if he did succumb to the temptation to turn into a demon.
He thought of his brother Danny, and of Rose. Of his fellow champion, Melt, who had snapped during combat, and later committed suicide. The memories weren’t things that Malcolm could let himself dwell on. At least not now.
During his first break from flying, Malcolm called the spryte phone out of desperation. Fantasy picked up. Malcolm’s words with her were brief, but enough to confirm that she hadn’t returned to their base yet. He knew that she wouldn’t have, and that it could be days, or even weeks, before she’d ever be in a state of mind to return.
He searched for hours. It was frustrating and pointless. He could either fly low and slow, and make out detail, or high and fast, and settle for trying to spot areas of recent destruction. Each time he did, it was just Multi’s handiwork, or leftover damage from other, unrelated incidents.
The sky was dark by the time Malcolm finally gave up. He flew back to his hideout, landing on wobbly legs, half-sure that another minute in the air would be enough to make him cross over the line.
There was someone waiting for him next to the hatch leading below. Malcolm blinked and felt his heart sail as he stepped in close enough to see in the dim confines of the warehouse. It was her. And… she was naked.
“Rose!” Malcolm ran to her. He pulled off his mask and let it fall to the ground. He kissed her passionately, and felt Rose give a small, surprised squeal. He cupped her naked breasts in his hands, and pressed forward against her, his exhaustion giving way to fierce, sexual need.
She had her hand down his pants, stroking his hardness eagerly, a mischievous smile on her face as though she wanted him to take her right there in the dirty warehouse. Malcolm had so many questions, but they slid to the back of his mind in favor of the pleasure she offered.
He frowned, noticing something strange. She was shorter than she should have been. Rose was already pulling his pants down and lowering herself to her knees. She ran her lips over his erection and began to suck in an uncharacteristically eager manner, lips and tongue focused and intent. Malcolm met her eyes, and felt the truth, along with his anger, hit him like a runaway bus.
“Fantasy,” he said.
She winked at him and slid his shaft out of her mouth. Rose’s naked form shifted, skin turning from purple to a soft gold, hair from black to fine blonde. She was still naked, and she’d always been a bombshell, but that was the last thing on his mind.
“It was Shield Maiden’s idea,” said Fantasy, slowly rising to her feet. “And I agreed with her. We needed to know for sure. Both who you were, and whether you had anything to do with Rose’s disappearance.”
Malcolm almost exploded at her, but managed to check his reaction in time to see the truth of her words.
I did have something to do with it. It’s my fault. I led her to Brenden, and then I kept secrets from her.
“For the record, we’d ruled out you being Wind Runner,” said Shield Maiden. “It’s … a little unbelievable to me. There’s footage of both of you together that we’ve seen on the news… Though I guess anyone could have been under the mask in those clips.”
Fantasy flashed a flirtatious smile. Malcolm glared at her.
“Well, you have your answer,” he said. “You know who I am now. Are we done here?”
“We care about her, too,” said Fantasy. “Both Shield Maiden and I. Keep us in the loop. We’ll help however we can.”
Malcolm gave a small nod, feeling betrayed by the deceit.
“You know…” said Fantasy. “Since I’m already here, and since I’m already… naked.”
She stepped in close to him again, kissing his neck, sliding one arm under her breasts to make them more prominent. Her nipples were large, and the tips were hard.
“You have an odd way of caring about your friends.” Malcolm turned his back to her and set about unlocking the hatch to his hideout. “You have my number. Call me if you hear anything.”
He didn’t look back as he climbed down the ladder.
CHAPTER 31
Malcolm was exhausted, but sleep eluded him that night, and for good reason. His throat felt like it had a lump in it. He couldn’t close his eyes without seeing Rose’s face, and hearing her screams as the audio recording of Brenden’s words played.
I caused her so much pain. I just wish… I could do the last few days over.
He knew that it wasn’t all his fault. Regardless of whether he’d told her immediately, or successfully hidden it from her, she would have found out eventually. Malcolm felt the lump in his throat tighten with empathy as he thought about the weight she carried.
His phone vibrated next to his bed. He picked it up immediately, his hopes high. He had a new text message from Tapestry, and it simply said that she needed to speak with him, immediately.
Malcolm sighed, debating with himself over just when constituted immediately. He was leaning his head back against his pillow when it suddenly struck him that he’d never given Tapestry his new phone number. There’d never been any reason to. Which meant that she found it through other means.
A cold chill ran through Malcolm. He got out of bed and rushed to pull his clothes on. He pulled on his mask a little reluctantly, unsure of whether it would serve him anymore to continue the charade of the Gifted Vigilante.
It’s just another secret for me to carry.
It was still early, and the sky overhead was a deep, dusky purple that reminded him of Rose. He flew across Vanderbrook in what felt like a single bound. He couldn’t help but savor the sensation of the wind on his clothes even as his thoughts were drawn back to his worries.
The lights were on in the living room of Tapestry’s house. Malcolm landed in her front yard, and considered his approach carefully. Just by showing up at Tapestry’s, he would be betraying that he knew where she lived. How much longer would it be before she connected the dots?