THE MOMENT
Fillbert gripped the baseball bat tighter as he approached the figure in the dark. Suddenly, the lights came on. The intruder spun to face him at the same moment he turned to see who turned the light on. The intruder he was sneaking up behind happened to be studying a picture of him, and also looked like Fillbert. Then, as he turned, another version of himself stood at the switch with his eyes locked on Fillbert. Everyone in the living room looked like him, and everyone was looking at him. There was no other way to describe the situation than to say Fillbert found himself staring at himself.
"Told you it was the right place," the version of him at the switch put his hands up to show he meant no harm, then smiled at Fillbert. "Yeah, we're versions of you from an alternate universe," he said.
"Different alternate universes," the version closer to him had put the picture down and went to join the other doppelganger.
"I'm Fillip, this is Filliam," the one who turned on the lights easily took charge of the explanations. "We're here looking for you; another version of us."
Fillbert found it was easy to trust himself. He knew himself well enough to see how relaxed they were. And, he was a horrible liar, so it was likely they weren't there to hurt him. He didn't necessarily have to believe their story to feel safe. He'd seen a lot of movies, and he was willing to listen at least.
"What for?" Fillbert asked. "Is the multiverse in danger or something?"
"Pffft," Filliam struggled and failed to hold his laughter. Fillip rolled his eyes at the giggles, but shook his head.
"The multiverse is too broad and abstract to be in any danger, and even if it was, how would we know?" he asked with a grin. "I'm putting together a roller derby team made up entirely of alternate versions of me, and you're invited for one of the six spots," he said.
"You're traveling to alternate universes... just to put a derby team together?" Fillbert was impressed and already annoyed at the trivial uses for such an amazing ability. Fillip seemed to know what was on his mind.
"It's one thing to say it like that," he replied as he reached into his pocket for a black card. He threw the card at the wall, and it opened an equally black portal. "But, it's as simple as walking into the next room," he said.
"Why me? I can't even skate?" Fillbert asked. Fillip shrugged but gave him a warm smile.
"You're giving it too much thought," he said. "Once you start Traversing between universes, you'll get the hang of it. We didn't 'choose' you, we're just going from Fill to Fill asking who wants to join. And, skating isn't an issue. It's actually known as 'AlterNet Roller Derby', and it's different than what you're used to. It's more like an immersive MMO. You choose a class, join a team, and PvP other teams. Oh, but there's a minor issue. Now that we're here, you'll get to explore the multiverse. If you want to join my team, you'll need to choose a specific class, the Spellslinger. But, you'll still get a tour and all that if you don't want to join. And if you want to play a different Class, we won't keep you from joining a different team."
"So, I'm not like a chosen one?" Fillbert asked. In a very short time, he'd already grown attached to the thought of saving the multiverse, even if it was his own imagination.
"Even better than that," Fillip replied. "You get to choose."