THE MOMENT
"You're from the Magical Brothers and Sisters Association?" Tempus asked. The woman, Marina, introduced herself as soon as he opened the door. She hadn't actually said where she was from and it was Tempus' only guess. She was a tall woman with short silver hair and enough wrinkles to hint she was older than Tempus' mother. She certainly wasn't the preteen in a dress he expected.
"Not exactly," Marin shook her head. "We've worked with them on occasion and I'm sorry to say they passed on your application. Fortunately, I think you're a good fit for a group I'm putting together, if you're interested."
"A group? Like a team?" Tempus asked. He wasn't aware of doing it, but he subconsciously pulled back and closed the door a fraction of an inch. "That sounds like too many people, I just wanted a magical sister or brother to do things with...," he sighed. "But, I guess none of them want to..."
"Hey, don't let it get you down," Marina said. "I don't know the exact reason, but I promise you it's nothing personal. You're just a number to them and there's no way they're organized enough to single you out. Besides, that means I can invite you to join the team I'm putting together."
"What kind of team?" Tempus asked. He knew he had a tendency to dismiss things too easily and he was curious enough. If it wasn't a big team, maybe it wouldn't be too bad. "What's the goal?"
"Go to school," Marina answered. "It's a unique school for kids with Abilities, like yours," she replied as she met his eyes. "Do you know what you can do?"
He did, of course. The fact that he could stop time was one of the biggest reasons he didn't have more friends. It was hard to be himself around anyone. He still didn't have complete control and sometimes time would stop randomly if he relaxed too much. It was the main drive to try and get a Magical Brother or Sister. He reasoned that maybe he could talk to someone who knew magic about his powers. But, that was before he learned about a whole school.
"Other kids too...?" he asked. Marina nodded.
"Though, there's another detail I need to mention," she said. "To join the team and attend the school, you'll need to get a cybernetic implant."
"How big is it..?" Tempus asked. He wasn't immediately against the idea.
"You'll have a few options," Marina answered. "It's not necessarily about its size; but, you'll need it to keep in touch with the other members of the team when you're not in the same areas. The smallest version is a small chip on the back of your skull.
"Keep in touch? Like a hivemind?" Tempus was finding himself more and more interested with every answer. He wasn't that much of a tech fan; but, he enjoyed plenty of sci-fi. And, part of him always liked the idea of having some company in his mind.
"Eh, more like a chatroom; but, it's in your brain so I guess 'hivemind' kind of works too."
"How many are on the team?" he asked. He wanted friends; but, not too many at once.
"Six total, including you if you join."
"And that's it? Just become a cyborg and go to school?"
"There'll be a more complicated layer once it gets going. There'll be a meta-game played out over the school year and the goal is for your team, my team to win."
"What kind of game? I'm not good at sports...," Tempus shook his head but Marina smiled.
"Do you know about MMOs, or video games?" she asked.
"Yeah!" Tempus nodded.
"What about roller derby?" she asked.
"I've seen it a couple of times, it's okay to watch," he replied.
"Well, that's the game. Roller Derby MMO, you'll get to create a character for the school, and compete against the other teams in PvP contests all year long."
"You're serious about all of it..," he said it as a statement and she nodded.
"Wow... talk about unexpected...," he chuckled. "I thought I was going to get to meet a magical girl."
"Well, I am, technically," Marina nodded. "I'll even transform," she grinned and pulled out a transparent glass card. She raised it and it flashed with brilliant golden light. It happened instantly and Tempus blinked. When he opened his eyes again Marina stood there wearing bright pink body armor and holding a machine gun.
"Oh, right, don't mind the gun," she shook it and the weapon disintegrated into white powder. "That was for a different mode. But, Magical Woman," she gestured down at her sparkling tactical uniform. "Though, I guess it's not what you expected, huh?"
"Whooaa....," Tempus was suitably awed, and he'd decided to go along with joining just on her transformation alone. It was a thing she didn't have to do; but, she did. And, he was now in a better mood than he had been when he opened the door.
"No, not what I expected at all," he shook his head. "But, I'm glad you showed up!"