In between the different multiverses, outside the realm of time and space.
Laid a pristine marble hall, inside a single room, filled with countless doors.
In front of which a man sat on his desk, alone, a phone in hand.
He took a whiff of his cigarette as his finger scrolled across the endless realities of the multiverse. Simply content to mindlessly spend the day on the job.
Felix Calloway dropped in face first, head burying into the floor.
"What's up Thanis!" Felix pulled his head out, grinned and waved excitedly.
"Felix…" Thanis sighed, "You're early."
"I am?" Felix looks to his watch, the numbers shifting around in panic. "It doesn't seem like it."
"Yeah… it's probably because of that." Thanis pointed up.
Teeth pierced across the ceiling as saliva dripped.
The two men stared as flesh grew with the smell of breath suffocating the room.
Felix stood there, mouth agape. "Woah. That is so cool."
Thanis dragged the cigarette across the oaken table as he whispered. "Yours was cooler."
"Really!?" "No."
Felix pouted, "You really are a bit mean."
Acid pooled at their feet as Felix clapped, "Woah, this is super cool."
Thanis sighed, "Business or Pleasure?"
The room shuddered as it all vanished, leaving behind a girl standing at the center of the room.
"Business? What is that?" The woman asked, eyes unblinking.
Felix nodded, "It's a system of production and profit driven by the bourgeoisie. To exploit and extract labor from the proletariat."
Thanis stared at him, eyebrow raised.
"What? That's what this guy told me, when I went to this last job and—"
"Don't care." Thanis cut him off as he turned to the woman.
"Awww, c'mon!" Felix pouted, arms crossed.
Thanis rolled his eyes and turned to her, "So, I ask again. What is your purpose here?"
She stared at him, his face blank, eyes inattentive and yet something in his blue eyes gleamed.
It was full of life, full of the same gleam so many mortals had.
Even when their words meant nothing, no substance.
And yet, the smile, the sigh and the eye rolls.
It felt… strange, alive. A puzzle she cannot piece together.
The excitable one walked up to her, eyes warm, smile wide with a skip on his step.
He tapped her cheek, "Sooo? What's your story?"
The woman nodded, "I—"
"AM I LATE!? The story started already!? I'm not even in the first paragraph!?" A man appears out of nowhere — framing his hand against the air like a screen.
His eyes gleamed, a kaleidoscope, like a rainbow shattered to infinity. He grabbed his head in frustration, roaring as he knelt . "WHY!? Why did Thanis get the first paragraph!?."
He rolled on the floor, whining, "I was supposed to be the cool guy in the first chapter!"
Then he froze, coughing in his hand as he stood up, staring at you. "Sup."
The woman stared at him, staring at nothing, yet as if peering across beyond.
Something beyond her, his vision passing behind the inconceivable.
Felix clapped and she stared, his hands slapping one another, making a sound.
She followed as she idly wondered, if this is simply another ritual.
The man turned to Felix, gesturing his hand.
Felix's face crinkled, confused, then as if remembering something important. He clicked his fingers, pulling a mic from between time and space as a card phased through his fingers. "Presenting! The most handsome entity across the multiverse, the strongest that was and shall ever be. He who was there at the beginning, The Alpha and The Omega, The Enlightened One, The Wall breaker. The Great Solomon Vex!!!"
The doors shuddered as the sound crashed against the marble pillars. "Was that good."
"It was great!!!" Solomon gave a thumbs up before schooling his features, "I mean it was sufficient." He shrugged, "Anyways, what's new here?"
Thanis took a whiff of his cigarette, "Before you interrupted us, I was asking this lady what her business here was."
"Lady?" Felix turned to the woman, tilting his head "I'm sure she has a name?"
"Name? What is a name?" She tilted her head clicking to the side, imitating what she saw.
Solomon leaned against the wall, brooding. "It's how they label you to fit into their worldview."
Felix shrugged, "I guess that's one way to say it."
He turned to her, "It's how the mortals call. How one calls you to get your attention"
She tilted her head to the other side, the times she had been summoned.
The times where the mortals asked for her presence.
"I see, the mortals that summon me, they call me.Ṱ̸̢̰̍͝ḧ̶̫͔̟͍́̽͗̏͜e̶͓͍̞͓̞̅̚͝ ̸̱̟̱̳͇̒͌͊̈́Ḿ̴̹͓̖̬̰̓̒́̈́â̶̼͔̖͙͛͗͝w̶̨̛̅͌̓͘ ̵̖͍̯̳̍̒̊̔t̴̲̉̏̈͠ĥ̷̭̓͝͝à̴̧̼͔̫̭͝t̶͇̩̉̌̈́͘ ̴̥̫̇͜D̶̨̎̈́͆e̴͓̅̅̈́͝v̷̡͙̣͚͘o̸͚̯͈̞̚u̴͕͂͊̀̓͠r̶̭͋̔̚s̶̥̮̓̉̓͜"
Felix taps his chin, "Sounds a bit… long? Don't you think?"
"What would you recommend?" The Maw looks at him and taps her cheek, feeling the sharp teeth poke at her finger.
"Oh! I know! What about—"
Then a door was politely opened in front of them as a demon finger pushed a man through the door.
"Wait! But we still have so much to talk about!" The man shouted, "How can you break my mind!? If we haven't even talked about folding a dimension! What about a false vacuum! I haven't even—" Then he was shoved out as the demon groaned.
The door shut to his face, disappearing out in fear of another tirade.
The man dusted off his robe, "So much for being the Chaos God of change and magic." He fixed his glasses looking around him before raising his arm in excitement, "Felix! Hey!"
"Teddy!!" Felix grinned as he raised his arm for a high five.
Teddy raised his before their hands smashed, a magic circle spawning between then.
The runes danced, as numbers and symbols fluttered between them.
The woman stared at their ritual, the magical symbols, the numbers.
The sheer amount of power emanated from it, the amount of which dwarfed a star.
All for that display of power for the joy of laughter?
Reality creaked at the power being expelled between them.
The edges blurring before a single snap, ended their exchange.
Felix whined, holding his face in frustration. "I lost again."
Teddy smirked as he flicked a rune, "You got this rune wrong,"
A magic circle flickered, "You got this circle a little late."
Mana brimmed at his wand, "That's why you started a red star and not a white dwarf."
Felix nodded in concentration, "I'll get you next time, then."
"No, you won't." Teddy laughed.
"Yes, I will." Felix laughed back.
Teddy's smile vanished, "No, you really won't"
Felix looked down at him, "Hmmm, I can try—"
Solomon coughed in his hand, "Now, since you're done. How did the job fare?"
Teddy beamed, "Oh, boss! Yeah, there was this black hole feeling an existential crisis. I fixed it!"
Solomon nodded in total understanding, "Good, good, you got it a girlfriend?"
"Totally!" Teddy gave a thumbs up. "A patched up job, for a patched up payment."
Thanis sighed. "Are you done? I still have a job to do."
Felix widened his eyes, "Speaking of which," He grabbed Teddy dragging him to Mawmaw.
"This is The Maw that devours, this is Teddy Ambrosius. Mage extraordinaire, winner of the multiversal magic games, Strongest mage across the multiverse and the nerdiest guy you are ever going to meet."
Teddy waved, "Hello, Ms. Maw the devours."
"The Maw That Devours, Teddy. Speaking of which, Ms. Maw. Do you have a nickname?"
The woman stared at them as the reality around her fizzled.
Searching for a time, a nickname was bestowed upon her.
She stopped thinking, "I do not think so."
"That's weird, a nickname is great! Especially if you have a long name."
"Then grant me one, Felix." Maw cuts him off, something in her chest urging her. "Grant me a name."
Felix stopped and smiled, something in his eyes flickered.
He rubbed the top of her head, "Mawmaw, then? Does that please you?"
Mawmaw feels the warmth in his touch, is this what she seeks?
Why would such a sensory detail leave one wanting?
Why would something so mundane have meaning?
"It does." Mawmaw smiled, or did the poorest imitation of a smile she could.
Felix grinned, "We're going to have to work on that smile."
Thanis snorted, "Finally got yourself a girlfriend? And I thought Teddy would beat you to it."
Teddy reddened, "Hey! I've had—"
Thanis lazily cuts him off as he rest chin on his hand, "Anyways, about your purpose here."
Mawmaw opened her mouth to answer as another door burst open, "Solomon Vex."
Solomon, who was coolly leaning against the wall, jolted upright. "She's here!"
With these words, the air ionized, as countless nanobots skittered from the door.
Thanis bit into his cigarette, "Shit."
As Solomon hid behind Thanis.
Teddy hid behind Solomon.
Felix waved excitedly, behind them. "Val! Over here!"
And Mawmaw stood there, watching their antics..
Val strode in, one cybernetic eye whirling in dangerous red.
Her eyes surveyed until she stopped.
Eyes wide as she stared at Mawmaw, "Why is she naked?"
The four men froze, """"Huh?""""
"Seriously, the four of you really are idiots." Val muttered, she snapped her finger as clothes appeared over Mawmaw. A white sundress, draping over her
Val snapped her finger, as clipboards appeared in their hands.
"I just finished the meeting, a certain someone was supposed to attend."
She turned to Mawmaw, "And your name?"
Felix raised his hand, "Ooooh, I know, I know."
Was this what the mortals called a mother?
For what other reason would they fear her?
Mawmaw stared at her, the whirling eye made of steel staring straight through at her.
She tried to twitch her mouth upwards, to indicate peace.
And all she got was laughter.
Val giggled, "Oh, so you're that type."
She picked up her cheek, "Flesh takes a while to get used to, doesn't it?"
Mawmaw inclined her head a bit, "Yes?"
"My name is Valentine Mendez." She offered her hand.
Mawmaw grabbed to meet it. "The Maw that Devours."
"Mawmaw for short," Felix chirped.
Solomon coughed, gesturing to Val.
"Oh! Right!."Felix gripped the mic in his hand, sound bursting. "The Great Founder of the Multiversal Research Institute, Former Universal Dictator.. The One who Reversed Entropy. She who creates!!! The God Intellect, Valentine Mendez."
Val stared at him as he shrugged, "Chief, told me to do it. Something about exposition."
Solomon meanwhile, still hidden beneath the desk. "I had to! "
Val sighed, "I suppose, I shouldn't have expected much."
Solomon shouted, "Yeah, don't expect anything from me, I'm totally useless— I mean… whatever."
Val decidedly ignored him as she looked around, "Since we are all here now, a debriefing is in order." She waved her hand as memos appeared on everyone's hand. "I've hashed out a new deal with A.F.T.E.R.L.I.F.E."
Teddy raised his hand, "Eris still isn't here."
Val pointed at the door beneath her. "She's here."
"BOOM! BABY!" A train busts down the door as train tracks spew forth.
A woman stood atop it, with hair flailing like wildfire, as her smile stretcheede and twisted, unbound by the laws of physics. "Hey guys look at this thing I got!"
Teddy trembled in excitement, "Is that the infinity train?"
"It totally is!" She waved back.
Mawmaw stared at her, the chaos she brought was immense.
The noise, the stimulation, it all felt different.
Like a flame that consumed everything. She laughed wildly, loudly and violently.
Reality itself warped from the chaos she had brought.
It brought a sense of unpredictability.
Val snapped her finger as a bomb appeared in front of the tracks.
Eris grinned, "That's not good."
Without any tracks the train went straight down into a hole in the ground.
Eris, still on its back. "Yahoooooo."
Felix and Teddy looked down at it, "Wow, that really dark."
Eris looked down with them, "It really is. I should light it up." She snapped her finger, as the train was engulfed in flames.
Val appeared behind her and smacked the back of her head. "Don't light it up."
"No thanks." Eris nodded solemnly.
Val stared at the flaming train, "At least you bought an actual infinity train this time."
Solomon, "Of course, she would. It's the first chapter."
Thanis dragged his cigarette against the flames, "You're still on about that?"
Mawmaw stood beside them.
She does not understand. Is this how humans socialize?
They stood around chatting around an infinite train, burning like a pyre.
She takes out her notebook, and lists down the thoughts.
Then the entire thing went into a screeching halt as a man entered from another door.
"I have brought souvenirs." said the man, his black resplendent hair tied behind his back.
He froze at the sight as he muttered, "Everett, think of the government contracts, think of all the money, this is why you were hired as HR manager."
The six of them jolted.
He gripped his tie. "Just think of the money and the kids. All the galaxies they can eat, just think of that before you start choking Solomon. For this stupidity"
Solomon coughed in his hand, "I can hear you, you know."
He pulled on his tie, "Don't think of breaking Teddy's staff for blasting a hole from another dimension of hell."
Teddy gulped, "But I just got this!."
He took off his coat, "Don't think of burning all of Thanis' cigarettes because he forgot my calls."
Thanis shivered, "I… did…n't" He opened his phone, "Shit."
Everett took out his scabbard, "Don't think of sealing Eris' mouth for pranking important clients."
Eris held her mouth, "Not again!"
He unsheathed his sword as blood dripped from its edges, and the screams of souls seemed to drown the room. "You're a good person now, no longer the head of a demonic sect. You can't resort to violence like you used to. Keep your temper."
Everett clapped his hand as the six jolted, "Now, can anyone tell me what happened?"
Felix raised his hand, "I will!" He turned to Val, "I need a mic first though."
Val furrowed her brows, "You already…" She snapped her finger, "Sure, why not."
Then a portal opened as a hand pushed through, Felix handed the microphone as he smiled.
"Just had to close a paradox. Oh, and Mawmaw came here for something."
"Mawmaw?" Everett raised an eyebrow.
Mawmaw raised her hand, "That would be me. I wanted to request something."
Everett raised his sword above his head, as Solomon shouted. "Say it quickly before he ends the chapter with a slash!"
She nodded as she asked, "How do you become a human?"