THE MOMENT
"Finally. Time for a break," Claudia smiled to herself. She was proud of her accomplishments and she basked in the 'good tired' feeling that came with a job well done as she relaxed. She let herself fall to a seated position on a merry-go-round and gave herself a gentle push. She pulled her legs up and folded them to let the world spin around her for a moment. Then, she reached into her white lab coat and pulled out a snack. She looked down to focus on unwrapping the chocolate candy, then smiled when she looked up at the whirling world. The bright blue afternoon sky had darkened and took on a deep red color and Claudia's smile grew broader.
"Less than a week to go," she giggled and took a bite of candy. "Who could stop me?" Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a black portal open. She didn't register it right away, but, as she spun around again she was no longer surprised to see someone unexpected. A teenage girl with golden-blonde hair and rainbow double-plaited braids stood there with a curious look on her face ready to meet Claudia's eyes. As Claudia considered how she was going to respond she felt a Whisper in her ear.
[Do not be brash with this one. - Io.]
[El Corazon. Tread lightly. -Io.]
"Hello there," Claudia exuded friendliness. "What's your name?" she asked without standing. At the moment, the teenager stood taller and Claudia needed to look up to meet her gaze. And, she was glad for Io's warning. Unique Soul #27, El Corazon, had a tendency to be fickle and cause trouble. It almost always got what it desired; but, that want changed from moment to moment.
"I'm Crystal, what's your favorite number?" the girl asked. Claudia gave her a genuine laugh; it was a particularly funny question to her right then and there.
"When I have a chance to decide that, it's definitely going to be '35'," she said.
"Oh, okay," Crystal nodded. It was an odd answer to her question; but, the only thing that mattered was that the number wasn't first. "Have you seen anything weird around here?" Claudia glanced up at the red sky, then shook her head.
"Not at all," she said. Crystal noticed Claudia's gaze and turned to look up at the dark red sky.
"Oooh that's kind of pretty; I guess that's normal on this Earth, huh?" she asked.
"Is it not normal where you're from?" Claudia couldn't resist the discussion.
"Nope, we just have blue skies on most of the Earths I've seen."
"That must be strange...," Claudia replied. Crystal shook her head.
"Not really, if you grew up with it. Like you and this red sky," she said.
"What strange thing were you searching for?" Claudia asked. "What brought you here?"
"I'm not sure exactly," the teen shook her head. "I think I'll know it when I see it. A friend of mine, Turbo, knows I like exploring things and he asked me to check for something strange going on here."
"You know Turbo Rad!? I'm a big fan!" Claudia sat up straighter to show her interest. But, she received a Whisper as she pushed the conversation in a new direction.
[Distraction incoming. - Io]
"He's a friend...," Crystal nodded. "... maybe I should ask him for more details..,"
"That's kind of weird," Claudia said. She pointed at something behind Crystal and the teenager spun around. A young man, maybe a high school senior, with short brown hair looked around the park in confusion, as if his location was a complete surprise to him.
[Is that Parker Lewis? - Io] The Whisper came to Claudia as a black portal opened in front of the older teenager and he walked into it.
"Was that Parker Lewis?" Claudia asked aloud. Crystal gasped.
"I know that name! Something's weird!" she turned to wave at Claudia, then dashed off toward the portal the stranger used. It vanished by the time she reached it; but, she opened her own black portal and hoped for the best.
"Who's Parker Lewis?" Claudia asked the question out loud as a large electric blue metal gate appeared. Her break was over and Claudia sighed as she stood from the merry-go-round and stashed the unfinished chocolate into her pocket.
[A phantom to distract El Corazon. - Io]
"Neat," Claudia giggled as she approached the gate. It swung open as she neared and dozens of scientists in white lab coats began emerging from it.
"Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to your new lab! We've got a big task ahead of us, and believe you me, I know how I get," she giggled as chuckles ran through the growing crowd of scientists. They were all alternate versions of her. "But, thanks to Io, we've got an eternity of scientific exploration ahead of us. Let's start carefully and intentionally. No science work this week at all, there will be more versions of me, of us, arriving throughout the week. The goal is to have at least one million versions of me in one place by this coming Friday. Then, I can try some real science," she said. Cheers ran through the crowd of labcoats; but, only Claudia knew what they were cheering for. She couldn't have been happier with herself.