“You aren’t hiding anything else from me, are you?” she asked.
“…No,” he said.
I don’t like lying to her, but I’m not about to turn the champions loose on Rose.
Tapestry pulled the BMW onto the dirt road that led to the dome. Multi was already outside when they parked, in full force. There at least seven copies of the balding man that Malcolm could see, most of them dressed in body armor and carrying firearms. It was like looking at a small battalion of identical twins.
Three of them were in the process of unfurling something that looked like a parachute. Malcolm got out of the car and started walking alongside Tapestry, wondering which Multi was the one they were supposed to report to.
“Finally,” said the middlemost Multi. “Why didn’t you report in last night?”
“I took a fire blast from the demon,” said Tapestry. “Malcolm managed to get me out of there, but he wasn’t sure of the route back to HQ.”
Multi frowned, but gave a slow nod. Malcolm fidgeted slightly, pulling his sleeve a little further over his charred stabilizer. If Multi saw that, they would both be caught in a lie.
An owl hooted overhead. Malcolm glanced up in time to see it swoop to ground level and shift its form. Morph, her hair done up in a bun and wearing a pair of recreation specs, hit the ground in a roll. She stood up and dusted herself off, nodding to Malcolm and Tapestry before reporting to Multi.
“No sign of smoke or any active fires in the area,” said Morph. “I wasn’t able to check the other side of Vanderbrook, though. It’s exhausting to stay airborne for so long.”
Multi nodded. He tapped a finger on his chin and then pulled out a cigarette, an action instantly mirrored by most of his nearby copies.
“Good work, Anna,” he said. “We have to find this fucker as soon as we possibly can.”
“From what I saw last night, I don’t think we’re going to stand a chance at taking him down, Multi,” said Tapestry. “This demon is really nasty. And he’s going to be carrying around enough heat to do some serious damage.”
“I agree,” said Multi. “That’s why we aren’t going to fight. Once we’ve found him, me and the other Multis will engage and do what we can to pull him away from Vanderbrook.”
Malcolm only barely managed to hold back his objection. He was planning on fighting the heat demon, regardless of whether the rest of the champions thought it was a good idea or not. He’d never been closer to vengeance, and he wasn’t ready to give up on it.
“Wind Runner,” said Multi. “I… apologize for having to put you in the field so early, with so little training, but we’re out of options.”
“What do you need me to do?” he asked.
“The heat demon is going to show himself again soon, either to burn something else down to build his strength, or to attack,” said Multi. “Either way, we can watch for the smoke. We need eyes in the sky constantly, and Morph can’t do it on her own.”
“Eyes in the sky?” asked Malcolm. “I can’t fly, Multi.”
“Not on your own, you can’t,” he said. “But… with something like a paraglider, I don’t think it should be much trouble.”
He gestured to the canvas canopy some of the other Multis were setting up.
“A paraglider…?” Malcolm frowned and shook his head. “Is it like a parachute, or something?”
“You can think of it like that, yes,” said Multi. “Except with enough wind, one of these will let you lift off from the ground, instead of just slowing your fall.”
Malcolm took a closer look at the canopy. The other Multis had spread it out on the ground and were in the process of untangling a harness. There was an image on the back of the paraglider itself of a woman in a bikini, holding up a peace sign and posing provocatively.
“We got it from a private seller,” said Multi. “It was the only one we could find. Usually they don’t sell to people who don’t have a special license, or certification.”
“And you think I’m just going to be able to strap this thing on and instantly start flying?” asked Malcolm.
Multi stared at him. He took a long drag from his cigarette and casually blew it into Malcolm’s face.
I guess that’s my answer.
“You’ll be fine,” said Multi. “Just be careful when landing. Tapestry, I want you to be Malcolm’s eyes on the ground. Get his phone set up so that he can stay in touch with you and report what he’s seeing.”
“Got it.” Tapestry disappeared into HQ. Malcolm walked over to the harness. He stood there and fumbled with it until one of the Multis begrudgingly helped him put it on.
Tapestry reappeared a few minutes later with a Bluetooth headset. She paired it with Malcolm’s phone and then had him put it on.
“See these buttons up here?” she said. “The top one will open the communication channel to me.”
“And the bottom one?” asked Malcolm.
“That controls your phone’s music app.” She smiled at him. “In case you need some of that wild rock and roll to get a recharge while you’re airborne.”
“Nobody calls it rock and roll anymore, Tapestry,” he said.
She sighed and shook her head. The Multis had finished strapping him into the harness and preparing the paraglider’s canopy. Everybody moved back a safe distance to watch.
“Alright,” said Malcolm. “So, what now?”
“You need to run into the wind to take off,” called Multi. “Can you arrange that?”
Malcolm shrugged. He could set up the conditions, but he was still skeptical about whether it would actually work. The paraglider was big, but the idea of generating enough lift continuously to keep himself up for very long was a little daunting.
“Just give it your best shot.” Tapestry’s voice came from the Bluetooth headset. “And keep your eyes out for smoke and fire.”
“Sure.” Malcolm took a breath to focus, and switched his headset over to one of Danny’s 90s playlists.
He held the paraglider’s main lines in his hands as he slowly started jogging forward, calling the wind toward him head on. It didn’t take long for the breeze to spread the canopy into position. Malcolm ran a little faster, and increased the strength of the wind. He lifted off the ground, missing a step. It almost felt like what he did when he was wind running, but with more upward pull.
His foot hit again. He took another few solid strides, noticing how close he was getting to the trees. Summoning all the wind that he could, Malcolm hit the paraglider’s canopy with a powerful upward burst.
He lifted off the ground. The speed at which he gained height was shocking, and soon, he was up over the trees. Malcolm felt his heart racing as he looked down at the other champions. They looked tiny and far off. Anna was waving to him, cheery as always. The Multis were smoking, a few of them already on their way back inside.
“Stay calm,” came Tapestry’s voice, over his headset. “Multi says that you’re high enough up to use regular air currents as well as your wind manipulation.”
“What does that mean?” asked Malcolm.
“It means that you should be careful about trying to do anything fancy,” said Tapestry. “Just keep yourself in the air and wait until you feel like you have control to start adjusting your flight path.”
The air currents were already taking him away from the dome, which soon disappeared amidst the forest. Malcolm could see Vanderbrook in the distance, the entire town seeming very self-contained from the height he was at. He looked directly down at the trees beneath him and tried not to think about what it would feel like to crash into them.
He still had Tapestry’s power, of course, which put him a little more at ease. Though, he suspected that regardless of whether he could heal from getting impaled by a tree branch, it would still be incredibly painful to endure.
“Alright,” he muttered. “Let’s what happens if I give myself a push.”