THE MOMENT
Wyatt woke up surprised. He was hanging upside down in his own bedroom staring at a leather-wearing punk sporting a purple fauxhawk. The room was upside down; but, she wasn't. She seemed to be hanging upside down from the ceiling as well, without her arms tied behind her back. Though, her black duster also hung normally around her shins in a way that was unnatural. It wasn't the fact that he had enemies that surprised him. He was just impressed someone got the jump on him. He wasn't abandoning contracts haphazardly, Wyatt was comfortable he was untouchable until he met her violet eyes.
"Hey, sorry, my name's J.J.; but, I'm in a hurry," she said. "What's your favorite number?"
"What do you - 34!" He'd began asking his own question in protest and still felt compelled to answer.
"Awwww nuts," J.J. shook her head. " I mean, I guess that's good news for you, hold on," She jumped, or fell, and twisted mid-air to land on her feet, then she left the room and left him alone with his thoughts. He tested his Super strength; and, he felt some give. Whatever she tied him up with could be broken if he needed it. He had a host of Super powers like strength and regeneration. He'd lived through some amateurish mistakes as a hitman, and that was when he started running off with the money. He was also a light sleeper with enhanced senses. He Wyatt never expected anyone to be able to sneak up on him; but, there he was upside down. She even managed to break in without setting off any alarms. He wasn't confident he could beat her in a fight without getting the jump on her first.
He had weapons hidden around the room for just such an occasion and he took a glance around to see what his closest options were. Unfortunately, everything had been covered in thick spider webbing. The handle for the hidden sword in the bedpost was wrapped up with white threads. The knife in the chair arm was likewise sealed. The fighting staff that made up the curtain rod was attached firmly to the wall. A fight was out, and it looked like escape was his only option. Though, he'd never be able to return.
Wyatt hadn't noticed it right away, he was looking for other fighting options. But, as he considered escaping, he realized the windows were blocked with spiderwebs too. This time, he could clearly see hundreds of white spiders actively creating a wall to keep him inside.
"Oh wow," Wyatt chuckled. He had no choice but to accept the humor of the situation. He was absolutely outclassed in every way, and technically he did deserve it. He was cocky; but he knew what he was doing when he kept money that wasn't his.
"Hey, great news!" J.J. walked into the room again. She stayed on the floor and looked up at Wyatt. "I'm done as soon as I ask you a question. You're not my problem anymore," she said. "Pay attention, this is important. I need an answer. Why did you screw over your clients?" Oddly enough, he'd had a little bit of time to think about that.
"I don't respect them, because they're killers," Wyatt shrugged. He didn't have anything to lose by being honest. "I have powers most of them don't. I thought they couldn't touch me and so.. what are they gonna do? Report me to the cops?" He chuckled at the idea.
"Awesome, you get to live, and I'm out of here," J.J. waved, and Wyatt felt himself go slack. He was caught by surprise; but, he saw J.J. get enveloped by a swarm of pitch-black spiders and she disappeared just as he hit the ground. He could move his hands now and he got back up. The spiders were gone from the window; but, the webs still lingered. He thought he was alone; and, he jumped when a new voice spoke up.
"Hey, Wyatt, good to meet you. My name's Ozone," the newcomer said. He was a portly man with green hair wearing a green tropical shirt and he offered Wyatt a handshake.
"He-hello," Wyatt shook his hand.
"I'm the one that sent J.J. to kill you," Ozone nodded with a grin. "Nothing personal, that was the contract. But, you're something called a 'Unique Soul'. That means a lot of things, but right now it means it'd be a waste to kill you when you'd be better off joining my team."
"So.. you're going to do the same thing you were sent to kill me for?" Wyatt had to laugh. But, Ozone shook his head.
"Not exactly," he said. "I'm based on another Earth; that's not common knowledge to my contacts here. I take you off this Earth for my team and I still get to claim you're dead as long as you don't come back to visit."
"Another... Earth? Like an alternate reality?" Wyatt asked. Ozone nodded.
"I'm in!" Wyatt didn't hesitate. Part of his thievery was yearning for adventure. A small part of him wanted to be caught to fight his way out of it. Of course, he never expected he wouldn't be able to, and he couldn't have guessed at the existence of alternate universes.
"Lovely. So, we need to tie up some things here. It's your choice," Ozone said. "How do you want to die?"