Malcolm was about to ask what he meant by that when Tapestry came up beside him, setting one hand on his shoulder and smiling cordially. Her other hand was positioned on top of a small bulge on the side of her waist.
A gun. Somehow, I doubt I can do much about that with the wind.
“Fair enough,” said Malcolm. “Look, I came with you guys willingly. I just want to know what’s going on, and uh, I guess what I’m supposed to do now?”
“We know,” said Tapestry. “And I’m sorry that we have to take this approach with you. It’s just how the Champion Authority brings in new recruits. Standard procedure.”
Malcolm nodded, walking alongside her as she gently guided him forward by the shoulder. Two of the Multis went ahead, inputting passcodes into a keypad next to a large, metal door at the front of the dome.
“This is the Vanderbrook HQ,” said Tapestry. “We just call it ‘The Dome’ for short. It’s where all of the local champions report in for briefings and missions.”
“Local champions?” Malcolm raised an eyebrow at her. “In Vanderbrook?”
His hometown had just under fifty thousand residents, and the only champions he’d ever heard of appeared right at the start of the Phenomenon, five years earlier. A few sprytes and demons, such as the one that murdered his family, passed through the town occasionally, but as far as he knew, there were no champions currently in residence.
“Well, I guess I’m the only true local champion,” said Tapestry. “Multi and Morph are transplants from other parts of the country. And I guess technically you now, too.”
“What?” Malcolm shook his head, frowning. “Why haven’t I heard of you, then? Most people who are gifted get serious media attention.”
“That’s a common misconception,” said Tapestry. “I gained my gift three years ago, in the comfort of my own home. My power isn’t flashy, and it wasn’t exactly hard for me avoid the media and contact the USCA discretely.”
Malcolm looked from her, back to the Multis, as the group of them started down a metal hallway with strips of LEDs lighting it from the ceiling.
“Multi… Morph…” he repeated. “Those names do sound… a little familiar, now.”
“Multi was one of the champions who did the toy line last year,” said Tapestry, smiling. “And Morph has done a few commercials, though she really isn’t much of a fan of acting.”
The three Multis all cleared their throats in unison.
“Enough,” said the one in the lead. “We have to give him the tests before we let him in on anything further.”
Multi took a turn through a door on the right-hand side of the hallway, his two clones standing guard just outside. Tapestry walked in with him, and a third champion, one that Malcolm recognized on sight, stood in the center of the room, getting a chair ready.
“You’re… Morph,” said Malcolm, pointing at her.
She was a tiny woman in her mid-twenties, with brown hair, glasses, and a mousey face. Her power allowed her to transform into the last animal she’d touched, and she’d showed it off in a commercial for PETA that had run during the Super Bowl the previous year, bringing her an enormous amount of international attention.
“I don’t like to go by my champion name, normally,” said the mousey woman. “Just call me Anna, please.”
“Malcolm,” said Malcolm. “Hey… wait a second. Anna… Morph? Seriously? That’s a perfect fit, given your powers.”
Anna rolled her eyes at him.
“Yes, like the books, I know,” she said, dryly. “If you only knew how many times I’ve heard the joke before…”
“Anna,” said Multi, cutting the conversation short. “Get the straps on him.”
“The straps?” asked Malcolm. “That’s not really necessary, is it?”
“Malcolm,” said Tapestry. “If we’re going to be able to trust you, we need to know more about you and how your powers work. Namely, your weakness.”
“My… weakness?” he asked.
“It might not be something obvious,” she said. “And it might not be something we can test for. But this is standard procedure. Every champion goes through it, when they’re first brought in.”
Malcolm hesitantly sat down in the chair in the center of the room, waiting while Anna pulled the leather straps on each of the armrests over his wrists. He noticed something that he’d missed before. She had a metal armband around her wrist, as did Tapestry, though she had hers mostly hidden under the sleeve of her blouse.
“Good,” said Multi. “I’ll be monitoring from the observation room. Tapestry, Anna, take it from here.”
Multi shut the door to the room firmly behind him. A tense silence hung over the air. Malcolm looked back and forth between the two women, feeling a bit more concerned about what the test would entail than he had before.
The first thing Tapestry did was take his blood pressure, along with a surprisingly large blood sample. Malcolm fidgeted a little in his chair, knowing that the experience was going to diverge from a normal doctor’s examination.
“Now Malcolm,” said Tapestry. “I’m going to set up a small ball on the ground in front of you. All you need to do is attempt to use your wind manipulation to move it while we try out a few different stimuli on you.”
“Is this safe?” he asked. “What happens if I accidentally summon a tornado? This place is insured for that, right?”
Tapestry smiled.
“Relax Malcolm,” she said. “It will be fine. Normally, I would be the only one in here during the ability testing. My power is regeneration, and I can take a beating if things get wild and crazy. But given the extent what we’ve seen of your powers, I think it’s no issue for Anna to be here, too.”
I feel like I was just subtly insulted…
“Now,” said Tapestry. “Are you ready to begin?”
CHAPTER 5
Tapestry instructed Malcolm to keep his head facing forward, which kept him from being able to see what the two women were doing behind his back. A minute went by, and then he felt the familiar warm gust of an electric heater being directed at his neck.
“Go ahead, Malcolm,” said Tapestry. “See if you can still use your powers”
“Okay.” Malcolm stretched his palm open, summoning the wind and lifting the ball into the air. He let it drop after a few seconds, feeling pleased with himself.
“No heat weakness,” said Tapestry. “Moving on.”
They went through a dozen different weaknesses in almost as many minutes. Malcolm had water poured over his head, needles pricking his finger, citrus juice sprayed onto his palm, and various other tests. Each time, he remained able to move the ball.
“Alright, Malcolm,” said Tapestry, after watching him move the ball while holding his breath. “Sometimes weaknesses are related to particular emotions. There are two in particular that seem to be rather common that we can test for here in the lab.”
“Alright,” said Malcolm. “How exactly is this going to…”
“Start lifting the ball,” said Tapestry.
He did, feeling a stupid. Half a second later, the massive paw of a large cat settled on his shoulder. Malcolm lurched forward in surprise, feeling the claws scratch across his upper arm.
“Jesus!” he said. If not for the straps, he would have fallen out of the chair. Tapestry let out a stifled, guilty laugh.
“Oh, I’m sorry, Malcolm,” she said. “It’s just Anna. Fear test.”
“Right…” His face was hot with embarrassment. “I should have guessed that would be how you’d do it.”
“Anna?” said Tapestry. “Can you come back to human form so you can give the… other, emotional test?”
Malcolm couldn’t see behind him, but he heard a small rush of air, along with a tiny popping noise, and then heard Anna’s voice.