THE MOMENT
"So, it's none of my business..," Britt said. "But, are you having trouble with not being normal? It's not that weird that you can talk to fish, you know?"
"What?" Anthony looked up. "What do you mean I can talk to fish?"
"Huh?" Britt's honey-brown eyes flashed golden stars as she looked at him, then they disappeared. "I must be so tired, I'm sorry," she said. "I didn't even notice you're still Slumbering. Uhh, the short version is: you can talk to fish if you get a tattoo with the number 50 on it. I think Mundo has a tattoo shop here. If you go to them, you'll get the longer version."
"What??" Anthony asked again. He was flabbergasted. "You're kidding, right? How do you know all that?" Anthony had wanted a tattoo for a while. Even before the meteor hit, he'd always known what he was going to get. He wanted to get a big shark with the number 50 on it tattooed on his back. He couldn't explain why he was drawn to the number, but it just felt right. But, once everyone developed superpowers, he changed his mind.
He wanted to see what superpower he developed so he could get an appropriate tattoo; it was going to be a celebration when he finally got it. But, apparently he needed to celebrate that he already had it.
"Slightly longer version," Britt nodded. "You and I are both something called Unique Souls. There are 69 different types of souls, and each type has different abilities. You are #50 El Pescado, that means 'The Fish'," she said. "That means you can probably swim really well and talk to fish. Some of them can breathe under water; but, I'm telling you now, that's not you. I'm #35 La Estrella, 'The Star'. she said. "I can see what you are," as she spoke golden stars glowed in her eyes again. "And, I can do other stuff too, but I'll let Mundo explain that."
"So you know Mundo?" he asked. He was surprised when Britt shook her head. "No," she said. "But, he'll explain that too," she smirked.
"So.. when did all this happen?" Anthony asked. "I've been following the meteor story since it happened, but this is the first time I've heard about Unique Souls."
"Oh, no," she said. "Unique Souls don't have anything to do with the meteor releasing superpowers." But, she shook her head and rephrased it. "Well, I mean Unique Souls as a whole; but, the ones that arranged the meteor impact happen to be Unique Souls."
"Arranged?" Anthony asked. "It was done intentionally... and you know by who?"
"Yeah...," Britt sighed. "Aury's been on a Superhero kick lately," she said. "If I'd known that he made it into an AlterNet server for Supers, I wouldn't have bothered setting up the restaurant on this Earth," she shrugged. Then, she immediately clasped her hand to her mouth and her eyes went wide.
"Ignore that. You didn't hear anything about other Earths. Just give me your order and go see Mundo. He'll explain everything."
"Other Earths??" Anthony asked. But, for the first time he could remember in months, he smiled. "Who cares about that? I got my superpower," his eyes sparkled as he looked at her. "I can talk to fish!"