“Tapestry, come on,” she said, with a sigh. “You would be better at this one than me.”
“I’m flattered that you would say so, Anna,” said Tapestry. “But really. I couldn’t.”
“Tapestry…” said Anna. “How about this? We both do it.”
“Anna, please.”
“It’ll be quicker,” said Anna. “And it’s only fair.”
Malcolm frowned, unsure of whether he liked the sound of the conversation or not.
“Alright, fine.” Tapestry walked around to the front of Malcolm’s chair and smiled at him reassuringly. “Malcolm, the other common emotion that oftentimes can be a weakness for the gifted is…”
She bit her lip, hesitating. Her face turned beat red, and it was one of the cutest things Malcolm had ever seen.
I think I know what it is. But this is just too funny.
“What?” asked Malcolm, trying to sound oblivious, “What is it? Is it happiness? Confusion?”
“Malcolm…” Tapestry hesitated again, fidgeting a little in front of him. “You know how when a man and woman are… attracted to each other, sometimes-”
“Jesus Christ, Tapestry,” said Anna. “I can see why you wanted me to do it so badly.”
Anna walked around to the front of his chair, and instead of explaining or saying anything, she crouched down next to Malcolm, moving in close. She was relatively average looking, without the pretty face or petite curves that Tapestry had to work with, but there was something intense about her.
“Hey,” she said to Malcolm, flashing a small smile. She stretched her hand out and slid it across his chest, and then his stomach.
“Hey,” said Malcolm. He grinned back at her, pleased to have finally reached a test that was fun for him, too.
“It’s still part of the test, Malcolm,” said Tapestry, in a matter of fact voice. “She’s testing for a weakness related to arousal, or lust.”
“Oh, really?” said Malcolm, with a tinge of sarcasm. Anna’s hand had settled on his thigh, and she was slowly running it back and forth, within an inch of his manhood.
“So, whenever you’re ready…” said Tapestry, sounding a little uncomfortable. “Malcolm?”
Tapestry frowned and leaned forward in front of him, inadvertently pushing her chest into his face.
“It would go faster if you helped,” said Anna. “Just saying…”
Tapestry made an annoyed noise and scowled at both of them. She placed a hand on Malcolm’s shoulder, patting it a couple of times in the shyest attempt at being sexy that he’d ever seen.
“Does this help?” asked Tapestry. She made eye contact with Malcolm, and blushed. He felt himself getting hard, and suddenly unable to look away from the small blonde woman. There was something even sexier about the nature of that cute, embarrassed look that than anything else she could have done.
Well, almost anything else.
“Okay,” said Malcolm, clearing his throat. “I’m… good.”
Anna moved away from him immediately. Tapestry lingered for a moment, blushing and looking as though she felt like she had something more to say. She finally rubbed Malcolm’s shoulder and disengaged, stepping back so he could get a clear view of the ball.
Malcolm clenched his hand, and manipulated the wind from above, bouncing the ball in place. He shrugged.
“I’m actually kind of glad that’s not it,” said Malcolm. “That would be so inconvenient.”
“Did you ever hear the story of Stealthskin?” asked Anna. “Basic invisibility champion with that weakness, though he never made the connection about it.”
“What happened?” asked Malcolm.
“He’d try to hide in the women’s locker room,” said Anna. “He got arrested for indecent exposure seven times, escaping police custody after each. He’s a pencil pusher in the USCA now.”
“No morals whatsoever,” said Tapestry. “Filthy pervert.”
“I mean, as a guy, I can kind of…” Malcolm trailed off, feeling as though he was veering dangerously close to “filthy pervert” territory. He tried to look over his shoulder at the women, but before he could, something cold and metallic pressed against the back of his neck.
“Alright, Malcolm,” said Anna. “Try to use your power.”
“Okay,” he said. He focused, and was about to hit the ball with another blast of wind when a very mild electric current came from whatever Anna had against him. The tingling sensation wasn’t painful, but it was distinct, and more importantly, it was as though it instantly severed Malcolm’s link to his ability.
“I… can’t,” he said, after a couple of frustrating seconds.
“Shock,” said Anna. “That’s not unusual for a champion with wind manipulation.”
“It’s a minor weakness, though,” said Tapestry. “Just keeps him from using it.”
The current stopped, and Malcolm breathed a sigh of relief. He took a slow breath, making a mental note be very careful around anything electrical in the future. He thought about what Tapestry had just said.
“Minor weakness?” he asked. “Are there major weaknesses, too?”
“Minor, major, and fundamental,” said Tapestry, as she started to undo his wrist bonds. “Minor is what you just experienced. It keeps you from using your abilities. Major would be a weakness that renders you unconscious or dead from exposure. And fundamental…”
“Fundamental is water if you have fire conjuration,” said Anna. “A weakness that has to do with the nature of your abilities, rather than your connection to your power.”
“Gotcha.” Malcolm rubbed his wrists, furrowing his brow as both women come back into view. “What comes next?”
“Now,” said Tapestry. “You can relax. At least for the moment.”
CHAPTER 6
Anna stayed in the testing room, while Tapestry led Malcolm outside and down another hallway. He still had a countless number of questions about what was going on and what he needed to know, but held back instead of asking them.
They’ve been straight with me, so far. I just need to be patient.
“Here,” said Tapestry. “You’re going to want to change out of your clothes and take shower.”
“Uh, okay.” Malcolm raised an eyebrow at her. “Any particular reason why?”
“Standard procedure,” said Tapestry. “We know your weakness, so you aren’t as much of a threat now, but we still need to ensure that you don’t have anything hidden before bringing you into HQ.”
Malcolm shrugged.
“I guess I can’t blame you for being suspicious,” he said.
Tapestry gestured to the door they were standing next to, and he headed through it. It led to a large locker room, with shower stalls lining one side. It was clean, and smelled far better than any locker room Malcolm could ever remember being in.
Tapestry had followed him in. He frowned a little as he reached for the hem of his t-shirt.
“Are you going to watch me?” he asked.
She scowled at him, blushing a little.
“Its standard procedure,” said Tapestry. “Just act like I’m not here.”
Act like a hot twenty-year-old blonde isn’t watching me strip and shower. Sure, no problem.
Malcolm took his clothes off, hesitating for a moment before pulling down his boxers. He didn’t glance over to see if she reacted at all to getting a full frontal, and she didn’t break the silence to offer any opinion. He was still a little aroused from the unique weakness test they’d done, and wasn’t sure whether to be happy or ashamed.
He slipped into one of the shower stalls and turned on the water, taking the chance and turning around to face Tapestry directly. She flinched slightly when his gaze met hers, as though she hadn’t expected him to have the nerve to make eye contact.
“So…” said Malcolm, feeling suddenly awkward. “You had to go through this too, when you first joined?”