chapter twenty five the wind roared in kit baxter's ears as she unfurled the gliders in her costume and turned her dive into a soaring flight path high above downtown

she had elected to take the high ground on their rooftop patrol knowing that she could easily catch up with the boss once she was in flight. But he must have covered an enormous amount

of territory in the time it took her to run up the side of the tower, as it was several minutes

before she could see him from afar, leaping from roof to roof with enormous strides. She arched

her back to increase her speed and quickly closed the distance between them, but maintained her altitude,

watching him.

With every leap over the city streets he threw himself into the air with abandon,

manipulating the controls with his gauntlets and using the powerful static shoes to repel himself away from the first rooftop, then draw himself toward the next. It all appeared effortless

to the untrained eye, as though he was possessed of inhuman

strength and agility. But Kit had watched him make this run often enough to know that something

was different to-night. He was pushing himself harder, challenging himself as he only did when he

was trying to work something out. The flying squirrel knew him well enough to know when to hang back and give him

some space to think, and when he was ready to think out loud. He made the long leap over Bloor

Street in Bay and hit the side of the high building at full stride, running up the wall as if it were a

flat plane. Only the occasional sparks from the soles of his feet betrayed the device that helped propel him forward.

In seconds he reached the roof and stopped,

looking south over downtown with a proprietary air.

This she took to be her cue.

She circled around the rooftop several times on the way down,

preserving the energy of her flight in case he changed his mind

and bolded. But when he kept his position, she pulled the gliders close to her body and descended

rapidly. At the last moment she dropped her feet and spread the gliders to increase her drag,

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