Multi, with several of his copies on either side of him, sat in the command center and watched them walk over. Malcolm got a vaguely managerial vibe from the man, as though he was an overstressed bureaucrat, flanked by his aides and looking forward to retirement.
All three of the Multis were smoking cigarettes, and Tapestry didn’t seem to find it unusual. Malcolm took the seat the lead Multi pointed to as he walked up the steps and onto the command center. Multi cleared his throat, snuffed out his cigarette in an ash tray, and steepled his fingers.
“Well, Malcolm,” he said. “Now that you’ve gotten a sense of what’s going on… How do you feel?”
That’s a pretty open ended question.
“Good,” he said. “Good, and a little confused. I’m here. I’ve gone through this orientation… so what now? Am I on your payroll? Do I have a choice in whether to join up here, or not?”
Multi smiled a little. He had dark bags under his eyes, his skin looked terribly aged for someone with the ability to make perfect copies of himself.
“You have a choice about how involved you want to be,” said Multi. “If you want to continue living your normal life, we would allow it. But even someone with powers like yours could be a massive help to our operation.”
“Powers… like mine?” asked Malcolm. “Dude, come on.”
Multi chuckled. He pulled out another cigarette and patted his pockets until he found his lighter.
“We rate abilities on a scale of one to ten,” he said. “From what we’ve seen of you, the videos the news channel played on TV… Well, you’re about a three.”
Malcolm felt righteously offended by the assessment, and had to resist the urge to defend himself. He’d only had his powers for a single day. Yesterday, by their scale, he’d been a zero.
“Of course, the stabilizer would probably bring you up to a five,” said Multi. “And with serious training, you might peak at about a six, possibly a seven, if you’re lucky. Speaking of which.”
The Multi to his left nodded, and walked over to a small metal box. He opened it and pulled something out that Malcolm recognized. Both Anna and Tapestry wore one, a small metal arm bracelet with a thick, high tech clasp. None of the Multis wore them, however.
Of course not. He’d have to put a new one on each time he made a new copy.
The thought made him consider Multi’s abilities more carefully. He wondered if all of them were seeing out of the same perspective, and sharing memories. It didn’t seem like they were. They weren’t smoking their cigarettes in sync with each other, at least.
“Let me see your wrist,” said the main Multi.
Malcolm held his arm out, and another question came to mind.
“Savior mentioned sprytes and demons in the video,” he said. “The Champion Authority hunts them down, right?”
Multi nodded. He pulled the stabilizer around Malcolm’s wrist and secured the clasp.
“It’s a dirty job, but someone has to do it,” said the balding man. “The same unknown force that gives us our powers causes some people to turn into, well, for lack of a better term, monsters. Sprytes and demons still look a bit like people, but they lack the empathy and mental capacity required to live without destroying and killing.”
“Right,” said Malcolm. “I know. My family… was killed by one.”
“I’m sorry,” said Multi.
“It was on the first day, at the very start of the Phenomenon,” he said. “Do you have lists of active sprytes and demons? Anything that I could look at to get a sense of which one might have done it?”
Multi frowned and looked away from him.
“Trust me son, that’s not a good path for you to go down. Getting revenge won’t bring them back, and it will only lead you down a dark road. But I appreciate your enthusiasm.”
I’d appreciate him being more helpful.
“Anyway,” continued Multi. “Can I assume that you’d be willing to work with us? You might not ever reach the point where your wind manipulation is strong enough for you to fly, or make tornados, or anything like that, but you could still be quite useful.”
Again, Multi’s words scraped at him a little bit. Malcolm had been dreaming of flying since the very first jump he’d done from rooftop to rooftop that morning. He wasn’t ready to rule it out for himself, just yet.
“Sure,” he said. “I want to help. At the very least, I’ll be doing what I can to prevent anyone else’s family from being murdered by those monsters.”
“Great,” said Multi. He coughed into the crook of his arm and quickly shook Malcolm’s hand in goodbye. “Tapestry will serve as your mentor for the next few weeks. She’ll walk you through the basics, and help you make smart decisions. Speaking of which, the media is in a frenzy over all the shit you pulled this morning.”
“Uh…”
“No more frolicking around on roof tops,” said Multi. “And certainly, no more frolicking around with naked women whose windows you fall through.”
Malcolm shrugged.
“It takes two to frolic,” he said.
Multi didn’t look amused.
“You might have to do an interview to get the local news to calm down about that,” said Multi. “Again, Tapestry will be the one helping you with that. For now, just don’t do anything stupid.”
Malcolm nodded.
Simple enough.
Tapestry spoke with Multi briefly, both of them keeping their voices too low for him to hear. Then, she walked him out of the dome. It was late afternoon, and it took Malcolm’s eyes a second to adjust to the brightness of the setting sun.
“I know, it’s a lot to take in,” said Tapestry, as they climbed into the BMW. “I’m glad you decided to hear Multi out. We really do need more champions on our side in the area.”
Malcolm nodded.
“It feels almost like a dream,” he said. “Like I’m just waiting to wake up. It doesn’t feel real, you know?”
Tapestry nodded. The sun was in her face, and it made her blonde hair look infused with fire as she pulled the car out of the parking area. She glanced over as soon as they were on the road, flashing a smile at him. Her face was beautiful, and there was understanding in her eyes. It made Malcolm feel a little better, to know that she’d been through it, too.
“You’ll get used to it,” she said. “There’s still plenty for you to learn about being a champion. The orientation can be a little overwhelming, and we’ll take it slow for the next few days.”
The two of them headed back down the rough dirt road, and onto the main road. Malcolm watched the trees pass by them as they headed back into Vanderbrook. Rush hour traffic usually wasn’t too bad, given how small the town was, but it did take them a little longer than the trip out.
“What was your life like before you became a champion?” he asked. “How did it change things for you?”
Tapestry chuckled at the question. She smiled at him again, and seemed to consider her answer.
“My life… was different,” she said. “Getting my powers changed everything.”
“That’s a pretty vague answer,” said Malcolm. “I’m being serious. I want to know more about you.”
“I like being vague,” said Tapestry. “And I’m aware that you want to know about me.”
She gave him a look that managed to seem chastising and flirtatious simultaneously. They took the last corner onto his street, and she slowed to a stop in front of his apartment. Malcolm hadn’t given her his address.
They’re already collecting info on me. What else do they know?
“And here we are,” said Tapestry. “Get lots of sleep tonight.”
“Alright.” He nodded to Tapestry, and then smiled. “Do you want to come up and hang out for a bit?”
Tapestry just smiled.
“I’ll see you tomorrow, Malcolm,” she said. “Wind Runner.”