THE MOMENT
"Is this the quest?" Tamara let herself wonder aloud. There was no one around to hear her. The white space around was about 20' x 20' she guessed, and there was no sign of anyone, or anything else. She glanced down at the node but it did not offer any new information. As she waited, a black portal opened. It had to be a doorway of some sort. Tamara made the decision as soon as the option presented itself and she walked toward it. She did not expect to see a woman with red hair emerge. She wore blue glasses and a white lab coat as she approached Tamara with a smile.
"Terra Firma? Hi, I'm Claudia," the woman introduced herself.
"I'm not on duty, you can call me Tamara," she answered as they shook hands. "Someone named Io offered me a quest. It sounded like fun, but I don't know why you're here, or where here is."
"We were going to ask you to attack Area 51; but, -"
"You're out of your mind!" Tamara was thoroughly and instantly offended. "I want no part of this. Suggesting an attack on American soil, on a military installation no less, is where I draw the line. I'm going to assume you're making a horrible joke and ask you to show me the door. I'm a soldier, not a mercenary."
"I said 'BUT'," Claudia giggled. Tamara's stone-serious face rejected the humor. Claudia continued. "I'll get back to that 'but' in a sec; but, you're missing some information that needs to be filled in first. I said the phrase 'Area 51' and you thought of Area 51. What if I told you that you were thinking of the wrong one?" Claudia asked. Tamara remained silent and solemn on the exterior. Mentally, she wondered how Claudia knew about the 'real' Area 51 and she decided it would be best not to say anything that could be considered a confirmation or denial.
"Your Earth is one of infinite alternate Earths in the multiverse. The initial plan was to have you attack the base on a different Earth. As I said, that's no longer why we wanted to talk to you. Part of it was to introduce you to the multiverse properly."
"You have me prisoner, so I'm listening. I'll expect proof whenever you're done," Tamara nodded.
"Chill out, you're not a prisoner.. well okay. Actually, that fits. Sorry, but it's more like an MLM. I just want you to hear my pitch, you can leave after." Tamara remained silent.
"Fine," Claudia sighed. "I'll speed through it."
"Io did some research. You're a Super with Earth Elemental powers, and you were chosen to be a magical woman, thus given greater power."
"I know what I am and what I've been through," Tamara smirked. Nothing Claudia said was a secret. Her Super status was how she got into the military at all; America was too great a country to send powerless civilians to war. And, being chosen for the first-ever Magical Platoon was a great, televised honor. Alpha Squad were well-known celebrity figures.
"You know yourself and that's good," Claudia nodded. "But, you have no idea what you've been through. Wait," she shook her head as Tamara took visible offense. "Let me put that another way; you don't understand the scale of what you've been through. You grew up on an Earth with Super powers so common, there are enough to power the world's militaries. You're used to the world functioning a certain way and you go through your days doing what you can within those 'certain rules' you were raised into."
"Do you have a point, or are you just stringing words together?" Tamara asked.
"Your Earth is a game to certain people. Your military, your squad, you are all just playing a game you don't even know exists."
"Okay, that's enough of that. I'm going to ask you for proof right now, or let me go," Tamara said.
"There's this, does she look familiar?" Claudia made a gesture with her hand and one of the white walls began playing video. It showed a young woman with red-orange hair and a black leather jacket taking a relaxing stroll on a downtown city block.
"That's Ash Regency, Alpha Squad put an end to her," Tamara nodded. She had no idea what it was supposed to prove. Ash Regency was a Supervillain that attacked civilians and her squad was assigned to stop the attack.
"You didn't kill her, that's her right now, alive. And, you only defeated her in a technical sense; she threw the fight."
"Then, we'll find her and finish the job," Tamara answered. Claudia giggled again and shook her head.
"You're not getting it. She was just playing around. She is in on the game. She's not even evil, Gia was hired to fight your team and lose. She did her job and there's no reason to be mad at her; but, you do have a reason to wonder why she was hired. Your fight was the first official mission of Alpha Squad right? I don't think it'd be a stretch to call it your big 'debut'," Claudia added.
"Why are you showing me this?" Tamara asked. The question was more of a stall than a request for information. She had a lot to process now and she needed to buy herself a moment. Whatever Claudia said, the only proof Tamara had was easily faked videos. Despite that, she did have the feeling that Alpha Squad won a bit too easily. That was enough to get her gears turning.
"Io told me to," Claudia shrugged. "She sees Alpha Squad as a step up from the Super thugs we've been throwing at Area 51 and she wants to invite you to join us. All of you," she said. Claudia raised both hands and gestured at different sides of the room.
"That portal will take you back to your Earth and we don't have a reason to pursue you anymore," she pointed at one, then gestured at the other portal.
"That one will take you to Io, in another universe, for a longer chat; hopefully with more of an open mind on your part." Tamara kept her gaze locked on Claudia. Rather than waste time looking back and forth to decide, she studied the woman for any sort of hesitation. After a few moments, Claudia giggled and shrugged.
"If you're going to play the game, it's better to pick a team that knows how to play it," she smiled, and waved at Tamara before turning toward Io's portal. Tamara followed Claudia with her gaze first, then she started walking.