THE MOMENT
"What, you didn't hear me the first time?" Parson shook his head at Ruby, the woman behind the desk. "Look, I can either give every human powers or I can depower every human in the world. Now, which path does your species choose?"
"No, no, I heard you," Ruby smiled at him. "It's simply that you're already wasting my time and I decided to indulge in some levity; your joke seemed apt," she smiled.
"You're wasting time and a huge opportunity here, lady," Parson replied with a stern tone. Her reaction was already vastly different from what he was used to when making the offer. Parson had the ability to travel through the multiverse, and this was an Earth he'd never been on before. He did have the ability to grant, or remove powers on a limited scale. Usually it was enough to bluff his way to a hefty payday before he moved on to the next Earth.
"Are you in a hurry? Please don't let me keep you, you're the one that requested an appointment after all," Ruby continued with her polite, cheerful tone.
"Ah, you don't believe me. It's easy enough to prove," Parson replied.
"One thing at a time," Ruby said. "Why me? You didn't choose any world leaders, you came to Chroma Corp. with this offer. Why is that?" she asked.
"Chroma Corp. is the largest corporation on this Earth, and you're the one in charge. Everyone knows corporations run the world," he chuckled. Then, he casually reiterated the hint about what was out there to really blow her mind. "It's the same on every Earth I've been to...," he grinned.
"Oh, you've been to other Earths?" Ruby asked. "And, this is your first time you land on an Earth with Chroma Corp.?"
"Don't take it personally, it's a huge multiverse. There's no guarantee other versions of you decided to start the company," he said. He teased enough outsider knowledge and wanted to get back to business. "But, we're getting off topic here. You get to decide the outcome, which path will you choose for your species?"
"Humans?" Ruby asked and tilted her head in curiosity.
"Yes! What kind of question is that?"
"I should've guessed it would be an unnecessary one," Ruby said. Then, she shook her head. "I have no interest in your offer personally, and neither does Chroma Corp. Thank you for your visit, you're welcome to leave," she said.
"You... you can't do that!" Parson shook his head. "Let me talk to your superior!"
"I believe you made the appointment with me, specifically because I am in charge. The appointment was made over two weeks ago, and in that time you did nothing to learn about Chroma Corp.?" she asked.
"I learned enough!" Parson was annoyed now, this wasn't how it was supposed to go.
"I doubt it," Ruby smiled. "As you said, it's quite a big multiverse out there, so it is possible that you've missed it so far. Chroma Corp. is a multiversal corporation. It's quite likely that we have branches on more Earths than you've been to," she smiled. "It's no secret at all, and honestly it requires extraordinary obliviousness for you to not have bothered to check our website," she added as jagged red scales formed on her face. "It also mentions the company is run by dragons."
