THE MOMENT
Glory Rose heard the door chime and exhaled a small sigh. It wasn't that she wasn't thankful for more customers; but, she was almost ready to close. Having to serve anyone else would push her back at least a couple of hours.
"Maybe they'll just want coffee...," she mused to herself as she walked out of the kitchen. Glory ran a small diner that served mostly paranormal creatures; she was used to the strange and unusual. But, she never would have expected the guests she found. One was a teenage boy wearing a red jacket holding what appeared to be a sword in a white sheathe; he looked like a normal human. But, it was the person he was with that really stoked Glory Rose's curiosity. The green-haired woman next to the teen could have been her twin; but, Glory was an only child.
"Hi, welcome to Glory's Diner," Glory Rose smiled at her doppelganger. "I'm Glory Rose; take a seat anywhere," she gestured at the empty booths. Luckily, her regulars had the courtesy to avoid being there that close to closing time.
"Thanks!" the teen smiled at her; but, they remained in place instead of sitting down. "My name's Turbo and this is my friend, Gloryanna. We're not here to eat though, I actually wanted to talk to you," he said.
"Oh, what can I help you with?" Glory Rose asked. She was relieved and hoped they wouldn't want too much of her time.
"It's a simple favor," Turbo said as he drew her attention to the sword for a moment. "I'd like you to touch this sword; but, explaining why is going to stretch your imagination a bit," he said. "That's why I brought Gloryanna."
"Sure, I'm listening," Glory Rose replied. Her guests probably had no idea how far her imagination could already be stretched.
"I'm you from an alternate universe," Gloryanna said.
"Oh...," She'd met vampires, fairies, and more; but she never considered alternate universes before. Despite the initial surprise, she found it easy to believe; she was already beside herself after all. "... are you from a different universe too?" Glory Rose asked Turbo. He nodded.
"There are an infinite number of alternate universes; and, travel between is pretty easy," Turbo said.
"Okay, I'll buy that" Glory Rose nodded. "So, why am I touching the sword?"
"It's sort of an attunement," Turbo replied. "I'm working on a big project that involves...," he gestured at her, then Gloryanna. "...'Glory' from other universes. I have someone that's going to run through different universes at high speed; but, they need to be specific ones. Your attunement will help keep him on track instead of branching out to unexpected universes."
Glory Rose wondered how trivial traveling between universes was if it was possible to run through them, and accidentally hit the wrong ones. As she processed her thoughts, a tall black portal opened in the air next to Turbo and Gloryanna. An imposing, mountain of a man wearing a black leather duster walked out of the portal. But, he wasn't an ordinary man; Glory Rose had enough experience to recognize him as a vampire. He nodded at Turbo.
"Good news, Majesty agreed to join the team," he said.
"Great!" Turbo grinned. "I have some ideas for the last three spots," then, he turned back to Glory Rose. "This is Ruin," he said. Ruin nodded at her but didn't say anything else. But, Glory Rose made a quick decision once she saw Ruin walk out of the portal.
"So, you just need me to touch the sword?" she asked as she held her hand out and waited.
"I still had some things that I should probably mention...," Turbo said. But, Glory Rose shook her head and wiggled her fingers at the white sheathe.
"No need," she said. "I think I've seen enough to go along with it." Turbo shrugged and put the handle within her reach. She didn't hesitate to wrap her hand around it. "Besides...," she added.
"...I'm trying to close and I don't need any one else showing up."