THE MOMENT
"This is indeed a surprising coincidence...," J.J. opened her eyes at the voice and looked up. A familiar man stood on the sidewalk some distance from her holding a white bakery box. He was focused on her with a warm smile, and he nodded once she saw him. " Hello, J.J.," he greeted her and she returned the smile without standing up. She was sitting in the shade of a tree when he happened by. It was evening and the sun was on its way down.
"Hey, Kwame. Small multiverse, how's it goin'?" she asked.
"Quite well, thank you," he nodded. "Am I disturbing your work?" he asked. He didn't know if she was on a job or not; but, he was curious enough to ask, given the neighborhood.
"I'm working, but it's no bother," she said. She looked across the street and pointed at a two-story house with a variety of toys painted on the waist-high wooden fence. It was a well-kept home that could have been a daycare. "The job's to steal back a stolen prototype from that house," she said.
"I see; it seems our paths might be entangled for now," he chuckled as he turned and gestured at a house up the road. He used the box to point out a single-story home on their side of the road. "I am joining some friends for dinner," he said.
"Oh, nice," J.J. smirked. "I'm glad I'm not stealing from them," she said.
"That would be troublesome...," Kwame nodded. He turned back to the target house and considered it. "Though, I do believe they are fond of that particular neighbor; is that the home of the 'Toy-man'?" he asked.
"Yeah," J.J. nodded. "BUT, he's not as nice as he pretends to be," she said. "He's a retired black ops agent who knows about the multiverse, and he's got a bit of a kill streak," she said. "And, I didn't even find out until I got here; this Earth is full of Supers. He's totally one too I'll bet.
"Oh, him being a Super is likely. My friends are all Supers," he nodded. "And, the rest is not for me to judge or share," he shrugged. "Would you care to join me and meet some new people?" he asked. "They are expecting me to bring a friend that couldn't make it, so there will be plenty of food," he said.
"Did your date stand you up, Kwame," J.J. asked with a playful smirk to hint it was only a joke and Kwame laughed. Though, he shook his head as he chuckled.
"Claudia has proven to be a reliable friend," he shrugged. It was just dismissive enough for J.J. to get the point. “She said she had something more important to do today.”
"I appreciate the invite, but no thanks," J.J. shook her head. "I had enough friends before I met you... and now it looks like this is going to be a thing," she giggled.
"I am honored to be considered a friend of such a lone wolf," he replied.
"Well, the job's done," J.J. got to her feet as a swarm of black spiders crawled up her legs and back into her black leather duster.
"How do you do that?" Kwame asked. "If you don't mind; I've met a few Arañas, but you're the first that is able to displace things."
"It's not me, it's the spiders," she shrugged. "Voidweb spiders can web something up and send it to a kind of pocket universe. It's where they eat their prey; but, only a high-ranking Araña can control them; S+ or above," she said. "With some practice, you can make that 'pocket universe' exist anywhere."
"I learned something new, thank you," Kwame nodded. "And, I assume you're doing it from this location because you weren't paid for a fight?" he asked with a smile. It was her excuse the first time they met and it was an easy 'inside joke' to grow their new friendship.
"You got that right," J.J. nodded. "It's a good thing too," she said. "I knew he was a black ops agent, and he likes his booby traps. I already had no idea what I was in for if I wanted to go in that way. My intel didn't tell me he was a Super too," she waved at him as she began to sink. It took Kwame an extra second to realize she was descending into a portal. "The price didn't include me dealing with all that. Later, Kwame." He nodded at her with a smile.
"Until next time."