THE MOMENT
"Uhhh...," Mongoose hesitated and glanced at the stranger. He'd been called into the leader's office and was surprised to see someone else next to Captain Cape. Not only next to him; but, sitting in the Captain's chair behind his desk. Captain Cape told Mongoose why he was there and it took him by surprise. "...my webcomic Sir?" he asked. The Adventures of Ferret & Friends was well-known; but, only the highest-ranking team members knew he was the artist. And someone not immersed in the world of Heros and Villains might not even know they were based on a real team. With so many super teams and doom leagues, it was hard to keep track of all of them. He felt uncomfortable that Captain Cape revealed that information in front of an unknown; and, a teenager at that. But, the trust was there; he hoped the Captain had his reasons.
"This is Rhapsody; she'll explain everything," Captain Cape replied. Then, he moved to walk out of his own office. He patted Mongoose on the shoulder and gave him some friendly advice as he passed by. "Just roll with the punches, kid. There's no winning this one."
"Hello, Mongoose," Rhapsody nodded at him. "Do you prefer Mr. Mongoose?" she asked. Her voice carried a sincere tone; but, Mongoose had sharp eyes. He caught a ghost of a smirk when she asked.
"I do, actually," Mongoose replied with a smile. If she was going to make a joke about it, he was going to see to it she got sick of it fast.
"Well, Mr. Mongoose, I am on a schedule; so, I'll make this quick," Rhapsody said. "Sharp Development...," the pale teenager touched the red scissor logo on her white blazer as if to say, 'we'. "... is asking you to Cease and Desist with your webcomic; it infringes on our intellectual property."
"What?" Mongoose laughed aloud at the thought. "That's ridiculous," he shook his head. "I made up those characters. I'm on the super team that has those actual adventures. That's my life, what makes you think you can even make this demand?"
"I see someone didn't read their contract," Rhapsody grinned. "This team is owned and sponsored by Sharp Development," she said. "We have exclusive rights to any adventures this team undertakes, and any conflicts they resolve. And, I wouldn't say you made up those characters. Clearly, you're Mr. Ferret; and, of course, the Caped Captain represents your team leader. Those are our stories you're telling, and we're asking you to stop," she said.
"You can't do this!" Mongoose shook his head. "I'm living those experiences; you can't own them!"
"On the contrary," Rhapsody nodded. "We already do. I'm not saying you can't enjoy them; but, you cannot profit from our property."
"Why now?" Mongoose asked. "I've been doing the comic for years!" The timing was suspect. His comic had recently gained some mainstream attention; his popularity was rising.
"And the company has allowed it for years," she nodded. "I only joined the company recently; but, I can answer this for you. You may have noticed an increase in your views lately," she said.
"You bet I have!" Mongoose nodded. He knew it was suspicious and was anxious to hear her response.
"Sharp Development is in the early stages of opening this Earth to the multiverse. There are alternate Earths out there, including several where Ferret & Friends is a rather popular franchise. Travelers from other universes have been visiting your site thinking it's the official comic."
"IT IS THE OFFICIAL COMIC!" Mongoose filtered out the mention of other Earths. He had too much happening to him right now to worry about that. It wasn't that much of a surprise, some of the team members claimed they could travel to other Earths.
"Sharp Development has an official Ferret & Friends comic based on your exploits. Your version wasn't any competition when it was limited to a single Earth. But now, that's changing. We're going to need you to stop your comic to avoid any fan confusion."
"I'll quit the league!" Mongoose replied. He meant it as a threat; but, as soon as it was out of his mouth he realized there was no threat at all.
"You're welcome to at any time," Rhapsody nodded. "However, we still own the characters. If you wanted to continue being a comic artist, you would need to create new heroes."
"That's no problem," Mongoose chuckled to himself. "There are plenty of other Super teams or maybe I'll go rogue and join a Villain's league," he chuckled.
"Well, you may run into some issues there too," Rhapsody replied. She stood from the desk to hint that the meeting was almost over. "All Super teams on this Earth, heroes and villains, are registered with Sharp Development; we own everyone," she said.
"You can't...," Mongoose shook his head. But, Rhapsody only smiled as a black portal opened in the air next to her.
"We already do," she said. "Unless you thought the Villains happened to have a big scheme ready to go every week," she giggled.
"By the way," she added as she stepped into the portal. "We're changing some things to align with the comic more. If you decide to stay on the team, starting now, your new hero name is Ferret," she waved at him and the portal began to close. "But, I can bend the rules a bit and make it Mr. Ferret if you'd prefer."