At least, until I absorb a different power…
Malcolm gently pressed his hand into the inside of the shield bubble. It took very little energy from him to maintain. Outside the bubble, the toxic gas awaited him, which posed a problem when it came to what came next.
Rain Dancer and Shield Maiden would come to check up on him eventually. Malcolm’s hope was that it would be after filling the elevator shaft with a volume of gas that the two of them assumed to be impossible to survive. Perhaps they wouldn’t search for his body, in that scenario, and he could wait until they’d come and gone and then take his chance to escape.
It was a long shot, but it was the best plan he had. Any ideas that began with him attacking the two monsters immediately ended with him getting his ass kicked. Malcolm sat and waited in the bubble, trying to keep his senses alert, and listening as much as he could.
Footsteps came after another hour or so, followed by the sound of one of the elevator doors above him scraping open. Malcolm froze. It was hard to see much through the bubble shield and gas, but he could still hear.
“Malcolm?” called Rose. “Malcolm!”
Malcolm wasted no time. He took a deep breath, let the shield bubble pop, and then boosted himself up to the elevator opening where Rose’s silhouette stood. Immediately after coming out of the elevator shaft, he pushed her back away from the opening.
“They poisoned it,” he said. “Come on, we shouldn’t stick around long!”
Malcolm pulled her down the long hallway with him, annoyed by how Rose seemed to be digging in her feet. They were in an old hospital, or extended care center. He passed by an empty wheel chair, frowning and wondering how his captors had found the place.
“Malcolm, please,” said Rose. “Hold on!”
“We don’t have time to talk,” said Malcolm. “Come on!”
They were on the second floor. He pulled her downstairs with him, hurrying out into the hospital’s main lobby. Rain Dancer and Shield Maiden were waiting for them.
“So, he’s still alive,” said Rain Dancer. “And he hasn’t turned…”
“You… bastard!” Malcolm felt cold rage take hold of him, on his own behalf and for the young boy Rain Dancer had killed in cold blood. He lifted his hands, preparing to ensnare Shield Maiden with her own power and do what he could against Rain Dancer.
Shadow tendrils slipped over his wrists, holding him back. Malcolm struggled against them, his mind uncomprehending.
“Rose…” he said. “What… are you doing?”
“Don’t attack them, Malcolm,” she said, quietly. “There’s no need for us to fight.”
“Rose…” he repeated. Something twisted inside him as he looked at her face. She wouldn’t meet his eye.
“She’s agreed to work with us, Wind Runner,” said Shield Maiden.
Malcolm frowned. He leaned in closer to Rose.
“We can’t keep pretending,” he hissed. “Come on. We’re above ground, this is our best chance to take them on and escape!”
Rose finally let her gaze linger over his.
“I’m sorry, Malcolm,” she said.
“You’re… sorry?”
“Can we hurry this along?” asked Rain Dancer. “I don’t know how the punk survived the elevator shaft, but we can just toss him right back in. Better to turn him than kill him, you know?”
“No,” said Rose. “We’re… letting him go.”
“We’re letting him go?” repeated Malcolm. The words hit him like ice water in the face. He brought a hand up to his head and slowly ran it through his hair.
“He’s a champion, don’t be insane,” said Shield Maiden.
“If you want my help like you said you did, that’s the price,” said Rose.
“Rose, you can’t do this,” said Malcolm. “Look… We can find a way to save your sister. This is about her, isn’t it? Are they threatening her?”
“Malcolm, it’s-”
“I could even get other champions to help, if they knew these lunatics had hostages. We’ll save Leah, Rose.”
“It’s not about Leah!” snapped Rose. “I don’t even remember her, Malcolm. And she claims that the star touched have no family, so as much as blood may connect us… she’s still essentially a stranger to me.”
“But… she’s your sister,” said Malcolm.
“I’m not like you Malcolm,” said Rose. “Quit projecting.”
She folded her arms, her expression sad, but with an edge of coldness to it.
I don’t understand this at all.
“So, what?” he said. “You believe them? All the crazy, religious, conspiracy mumbo jumbo?”
“I don’t believe a single word of it,” said Rose. She glanced over at Rain Dancer and Shield Maiden and shrugged unremittingly.
“Then why?” asked Malcolm. He felt his confusion turning to anger. “I deserve an explanation, Rose.”
“Because they’re strong,” she said. “Because… Regardless of what they might believe, or the tactics they might use… ultimately, I believe in what they’re fighting for.”
“They’re killers, Rose,” said Malcolm. “Killers and liars.”
“And the Champion Authority is any better?” she replied. “You work for an organization that would kill me if they ever caught me. The champions want to sterilize the world of people like me, Malcolm. And I’ll fight with anyone who stands against that kind of injustice.”
Malcolm could only stare at her. He was shaking his head, his heart suddenly burning in his chest.
“What if the two of us… went our own way?” He was pleading with her, and hated himself for it. “We could both leave together, Rose.”
“I can’t,” she whispered. “This is an opportunity for me, Malcolm. Shield Maiden can use her powers to help me if I have an episode, and Rain Dancer… hell, he beat both of us in a fight, Malcolm! He’s strong.”
He’s strong, and I’m weak.
Malcolm felt his shame like a physical thing, a heavy, aching lump in his throat that made it hard to speak. He turned away from Rose, shaking his head. When he looked back at her, she had tears in her eyes. For some reason, that made him furious.
“Please, Malcolm,” whispered Rose. “You still have your choice to make. If you wanted to… you could come back with us.”
Malcolm looked over at Rain Dancer and saw the smug smile on his face. He could still hear Teddy’s screams as the water filled his cell, and the way his body had contorted as the lightning hit him.
“No,” said Malcolm. “I can’t. I won’t.”
He shook his head, tying all his painful and confusing emotions into a nice, neat bundle with his resolve.
“Then…” Rose’s lip quivered, and one of the tears finally broke loose down her cheek. “We might be enemies, the next time we meet.”
Malcolm took a deep breath, and then slowly nodded. He turned away from Rose, summoned both the wind and his willpower, and crashed out of one of the hospital’s windows.
CHAPTER 25
It was the middle of the night, and it was raining outside. Malcolm ran with the wind, putting distance between himself and the hospital as though trying to wake up from a bad dream.
It’s over. I don’t have to worry about getting caught anymore, protecting her from Tapestry and Multi.
The thought was of little consolation. Malcolm ran faster, taking long, bounding leaps. He was using Shield Maiden’s advice, activating his powers in quick, focused bursts, barely touching with his feet at all.
It took him a few minutes to find his bearings. He was just off the highway, in between Vanderbrook and Halter City. Malcolm oriented himself so that he was heading straight back to the local Champion Authority headquarters. He didn’t care about reporting in. He was just worried about the type of thoughts he’d start thinking if he went back to his apartment alone.