THE MOMENT
"Meredith? Of course, I'll tell her you're here. May I have your name?" The hovering Fairy fluttered down and landed on the information desk as she answered the teen. The lobby of Chroma Corp. was bustling with activity and the fairy wasn't the only non-human employed in the company.
"Jenny," the teen replied without a second thought. She wasn't prepared for the sudden, tiny scream as the fairy toppled over on the desk and began to writhe in pain. She rolled around like she was on fire. The small humanoid went over the edge of the desk without catching herself in the air. She hit the cold hard tile with a thud and continued to yell in agony as a few employees took notice. Jenny was actually surprised that so few strangers seemed to be bothered. she had no idea what was happening; but, it sounded painful.
"Hey.. are you-," she began to ask; but, she was interrupted. Jenny blinked halfway through her question. When she opened her eyes again the fairy was gone. An old man wearing a black guayabera with board shorts and orange flip-flops stood in front of her with a pleasant smile.
"Hey, Jenny, good to see you. What brings you to Chroma Corp.?" the old man asked.
"Hey, Tim," Jenny smiled at him. She'd met him before as the godfather of one of her friends. "I'm here to see Meredith; what happened to the fairy??" she asked.
"Eh, don't worry," he shrugged. "It happens every now and then. Since Chroma Corp. works with fae, we sometimes get fairies applying just to steal names. Unfortunately for them, we get a lot of Uniques through here; Unique names can't be stolen like that."
"I didn't know that was even a thing, why not?" Jenny asked.
"There's power in names," Tim nodded. "In the case of Uniques, it's too much power. Usually, when they steal a Zero's name it's watered down by all the other versions in the multiverse. But, you are the only you to exist in infinity. It's a lot like being swallowed by the sun when you were expecting a candle."
"Whoa... is she going to be okay?" Jenny asked. Tim nodded.
"Like I said, not the first time it's happened," he smiled. "So, Meredith, huh? She's out right now; but, I'll let her know you're looking for her," he added. "In the meantime, if you're not doing anything else, Ruby would like to say hi."
"To me?" Jenny asked. Ruby was Chroma's daughter and the current head of Chroma Corp. When it came to important people in the multiverse, she was on par with Dana Sharp. Which only made it stranger that she wanted to meet Jenny. "Why? I mean, I totally want to; but, why me?"
"Because you're participating in the Pineapple Cup; it's just good business to check in on your investments,' Tim replied.
"Oh, sure, okay," Jenny nodded. She was considerably less enthused after that. She felt special once she learned she was a Unique Soul. But, after joining the roller derby team she found she was meeting Unique Souls all the time. It was business as usual for them and the team was starting to feel like another corporate product.
"And if you're really lucky...," Tim added as he led her to the elevators. "Maybe you'll get to meet Chroma."
"Isn't she hibernating?" Jenny asked. When Mundo explained the multiverse to her he mentioned that Ruby was in charge because Chroma preferred to sleep the years away.
"She is," Tim nodded. "It'll be up to Ruby; but, Chroma Corp. expects great things from you. She might consider it a morale boost of sorts," he said. It might've sounded more encouraging if he hadn't just said she was an investment.
"My morale's okay...," Jenny shrugged. She was doing her best to keep it at 'okay', despite learning how unspecial she was in the universe.
"Not for you," Tim grinned as the elevator dinged. The doors opened and Jenny stepped inside. Tim waved at her but didn't follow. A black portal opened behind him and he stepped back into it. But, he left her with more questions as the doors slid closed. "Chroma tends to be grumpy when she wakes up; it might be a good idea to have someone she likes there."
