It was hard to see through the smoke and flames but Malcolm spotted his fellow champions in the hall and immediately went to aid them. Anna was dragging Greenthumb across the floor. Tapestry was still unconscious, and Malcolm was surprised to see Wax struggling to lift her up.
“I’ll carry Tapestry!” said Malcolm, yelling to be heard over the sound of the fire.
Wax nodded. He tried to say something, but could only manage a cough in response.
Their escape was a race against time. Malcolm used his wind manipulation to carefully redirect the smoke from their faces. All they needed to do was make it down the hallway and out the front entrance, but the walls, and even the floor in places, were on fire.
They made it to the door after what felt like an odyssey through hell. The electronics that controlled the door opening mechanism weren’t functioning. Anna started screaming as it refused to respond to her inputs.
Malcolm walked over, set his hand against it, and gave it a focused electrical burst. The door opened, and the champions burst out into the open air, coughing up smoke as they tasted the fresh air.
They kept going until they were next to the cars parked on the grass. Tapestry’s BMW was unharmed, as were Anna, Greenthumb, and Multi’s rides. Melt’s truck had taken a metal beam through the windshield at some point, and was in no state to be driven.
Malcolm sat down next to Tapestry, who was still unconscious and in the process of regenerating. Her face was fully healed, but serious burns ran up her arms and chest. It was taking her longer than Malcolm ever remembered it taking her before, and his concern for her was almost overwhelming.
“What do we do now?” asked Anna. She directed the question at Wax, though it took the bald Multi several seconds to realize he was supposed to answer.
“Uh…” Wax shrugged. “That’s a good question.”
“But…” said Anna. “You’re a Multi, aren’t you? You should know the main Multi’s backup plan in case of the base being attacked.”
“I’m Wax,” said Wax. “While technically I am a copy of Multi, I haven’t been him, in a sense, for almost five years. He was the one who gave the orders… And now those monsters have him.”
“Wait, what?” said Malcolm.
“I saw them capture Alpha,” said Wax. “The original Multi.”
Malcolm frowned. He was cradling Tapestry’s head, and she let out a small cough. Several locks of hair had come loose from her pony tail, and he brushed one of them out of her soot stained face.
“What does that mean?” asked Anna. “If they have Multi…”
“Best case scenario is that they interrogate him and learn most of the Champion Authority’s secrets,” said Wax. “Including information about all of your weaknesses and every other champion that Multi knows about.”
“How is that the best case scenario?” asked Malcolm.
Wax’s expression darkened.
“The worst case scenario, Wind Runner, is that they manage to do to Multi what they’ve already done to Melt,” said Wax. “Turn him into a demon. Think about what that would mean, given his power.”
An infinite army, under the command of Rain Dancer and Shield Maiden.
Malcolm exhaled slowly. He shook his head.
“We have to do something,” he said. “We can’t let that happen.”
“All we can do now is bide our time and try to regain our strength,” said Wax. “It’ll be better if we split into groups to avoid drawing too much attention to ourselves.”
“Greenthumb needs a doctor,” said Anna. “I don’t think he’s in danger of… dying, but he needs medical attention.”
“So the two of you should head to the hospital,” said Wax. “And Wind Runner, do you have somewhere to go with Tapestry?”
“Her house?” asked Malcolm. “She has a… family member, who is probably already starting to worry about her.”
“That’ll do,” said Wax.
“What about you?” asked Malcolm.
Wax smiled.
“I’m going to get in touch with Savior,” said Wax. “He needs to know about what’s transpired here.”
Malcolm drove Tapestry home in her BMW. Melanie was waiting at the door and helped him get her inside, her worry manifesting as an overwhelming barrage of words and questions.
“How did this happen?” she asked. “The base was attacked? By what? Tapestry said that your base is impenetrable? What could have done this? Was it a monster? I swear, if it shows up here, I’ll fight too! Nobody hurts Aubrey and gets away with it!”
“Melanie,” said Malcolm. “It’s okay. She’ll recover.”
Malcolm helped get her into her room, and then brought a towel and some warm water to Melanie so that he could get her cleaned up. He headed to the bathroom, noticing for the first time the damage Rain Dancer’s electricity had done to his clothing.
It’s my favorite shirt. Well… given what I did to his eye, I guess we’re kind of even.
He’d left the door open a crack, and a shadow flickered in the periphery of his vision. Malcolm tensed up, feeling a rush of conflicting emotions as he opened the door.
“It’s just me,” said Melanie. “I need a few more towels. Are you okay, Malcolm? You look surprised…”
“Uh, yeah…” he said. “I’m just… tired.”
“You can put on your music in the living room, if you want,” said Melanie. “Are you planning on staying the night? I can’t cook as well as Aubrey, but I can make something for us. We can even open a bottle of wine! Don’t tell Aubrey though, she’s still mad at me for drinking her booze last time.”
“I’ll stay for a while,” said Malcolm. “It’s probably better if I stick around, at least until she wakes up.”
He passed Melanie her towels and closed the door before she could start on another tangent. Malcolm sighed. He was tired, both physically and emotionally.
Rose… What’s going to happen the next time we meet?
CHAPTER 37
“I’ll kill him! He… is a dead man!”
Rain Dancer smashed his fist through a table in the meeting chamber of Underworld. His anger manifested in uncontrolled static sparks through his hair and along his body. He kept one hand over his newly bandaged eye, massaging the area around the socket.
“I won’t let you kill him,” said Rose. She stood off to the side, next to Shield Maiden. They hadn’t told her about the attack on the champion’s base until after it had happened. They still didn’t trust her, and maybe for good reason.
“You would pick a champion over me?” roared Rain Dancer. “A pathetic, sniveling wretch!”
He whirled on Rose. She summoned her shadow tendrils, wrapping one of them around his neck before he could take a step in her direction.
“Does that answer your question?” asked Rose.
Rain Dancer snarled. Shield Maiden slowly moved to position herself in between the two of them.
“There is no point to fighting amongst ourselves,” she said. “Rain… please. Think about all that we’ve gained from this attack.”
“Think about what I’ve lost,” shouted Rain Dancer. “My fucking eye!”
“We captured their leader,” said Shield Maiden. “The one they call Multi. This is not one of the copies, either. He’s wearing the same outfit you said the one giving the orders had on.”
Rain Dancer let out a huff and relaxed slightly.
“And on top of that,” continued Shield Maiden, “We’ve secured another powerful new ally. Why don’t we go check in on him, and see if he’s ready to be sociable?”
She started walking down the hallway toward the containment cells. Rose followed her on one side, and Rain Dancer kept pace a few steps behind them.