10:30pm
If Mom was home, she was going to kill me.
I had finally made it to the front of the line. I'd been queuing since 6am, which gave me a lot of time to get to know the heroes around me. A gentleman named Captain Ultimo and a.... a.... something, called Wild Thing.
As I suspected, Captain Ultimo had been in the interview room a long time. While we had been queuing, he had told me of his many heroic exploits. I was sure he was going to be a shoe-in. Wild Thing, tended to sniff people's butts and drooled a lot. I'm not even going to tell you what he did when we went past a fire hydrant.
"Next", came a voice from the room.
As I walked in, I surveyed the interview panel:
A man in regal attire, his feet crossed on the desk, his hands cradling his stomach, and snoring lightly.
Next to him sat a younger man, making a tower out of playing cards.
In the middle, sat an attractive lady, wearing a wild-west outfit, going over some notes.
Next was a muscular, stern-looking man. He sat upright, his hands laying flat on the desk. His eyes glowed brilliant blue. Though he looked directly in front of him, I felt as if he was scanning my mind, observing my every move.
Finally a man wearing a t-shirt with the wording
I'll take it Any Given Wednesday.... Thursday.... Friday.... I wish I had time to find out more about this Justice League...
The man in the T-Shirt yelled out, "I said... Next"!
I gave a little cough.
"Oh". Said the startled man, "There you are!"
The woman nudged the man to her right, he quickly whipped away his card tower, nudging the sleeping man next to him. The woken man sat up straight, picked up his pen and started writing. "That was an...
interesting... explanation Captain Ultimo..."
"This is our
next applicant…", said the woman, checking her notes, before raising her head and looking at me, with a sweet smile, "This is Centurian".
"Points for the cool name", said the regal man. "Though you'll need to work on the costume".
Damn. Maybe I should have worn something other than my jeans and sweat-shirt.
"He is a bit small isn't he?", said the man next to him.
"Oh no", I thought. "They're going to play the age card".
"Sorry kid, we're not looking for a mascot”, said the man in the T-shirt.
"That is a valid comment, Wednesday", said the stern looking man, his eyes growing dimmer. Not that I felt less nervous in front of him, his voice sounded very commanding. "This isn't a game, boy. We are up against deadly threats all the time".
"I... I'm 17", I managed to get out. In a voice, a bit higher than I would have liked.
The woman put a gentle restraining hand on the stern-man's arm. "Now Midnight, Centurian has come to apply for membership of the JLR, we should at least hear him out".
For the first time, the man showed some glimmer of emotion, relaxing slightly at the woman's touch. “Agreed".
"So why do you want to join the JLR?", asked the woman.
"To be honest, I've never heard of you until I saw your ad in the local paper.", I replied.
The JLR looked shocked. The man Midnight had called Wednesday, spat out the coffee he had just taken a sip of.
"We are the Justice League Reality, dammit"! Shouted the regal looking man as he jumped out of his chair. "We've saved Olympus, beaten the Ultimates and a whole heap of other heroes.....
"Who weren't heroes", observed Midnight.
"We've averted war between Doesntreallyexistia and Chantania...", continued the regal man.
"Wasn't that TASK Force"? Asked the man next to him.
"I give up"! Said the man, as he sat down again.
"Sorry", I replied. "I only gained my abilities about a month ago. But I thought they might be useful to you".
"Well allow me to introduce ourselves", suggested the woman. "This is Registered Member 552, Ace, Midnight Spectre and Wednesday. I’m Cowgirl Jack. Together, we are the Justice League Reality. Dedicated to truth, justice..."
"And damn fine apple crisp", interjected Wednesday.
"So what is it you do, exactly"? Asked Ace.
I produced my mystical percentile dice.
"Hey!", said Ace, "I've got the market cornered on casino-related powers, thank you".
"My abilities aren't casino related", I protested. "They're D&D related".
"D&D?", queried Registered Member.
"Geek", said Wednesday.
"Oh, that's OK then", conceded Ace.
"Would you care to elaborate further, Centurian"? Asked Midnight Spectre.
"With a role of my mystical percentile dice, I can sort of transform myself into one of 100 D&D related adventurers or creatures. Hence my code-name Centurian".
“100”!?! Said, Cowgirl Jack.
"That's sounds quite handy", said Ace.
"Would you care to elaborate on the 'sort of'"? Asked Midnight Spectre.
"Well.... I guess transformed isn't the right word. Probably 'replaced' would be a better term", I suggested. "…Though I am able to communicate with them, via some form of telepathic link", I added quickly.
"So what are these adventurers and creatures you get replaced by?", asked the Registered Member.
"Well so far", I replied, "a Dwarven fighter-thief, an Elvin archer, a berserker Hobbit..."
Much to my embarrassment, the JLR burst out laughing. This wasn't going well. I had to pull out the big creatures. "Also a Troll, Minotaur and a Pegasus".
"That sounds more impressive", said Cowgirl Jack. "But that's a bit shy of 100".
"I haven't had time to find out all of the adventurers or creatures yet. It all depends on the dice roll..."
"So there is an element of randomness"? Asked Midnight.
"Well, um, yes". I conceded.
"Hmmm", said Wednesday. "That can't be helpful.
"Yeah", said Ace, with a sly grin.
"Hey", shot back Wednesday.
"So how long do these 'swaps' last"? Asked Cowgirl Jack.
"About three hours", I replied. "Would you like me to demonstrate”?
“Please do”, said Cowgirl Jack.
I shook the dice in my hand a couple of times and released them onto a nearby table. A 35. Then I felt the beginnings of the familiar process. The JLR quickly grabbed their notes as the surrounding air rushed towards me. Mystical energy surrounded my body, as the portal opened around me. The JLR shielded their eyes from the bright light, except for Midnight Spectre. I could feel myself being pulled into the dimensional rift.
Then I found myself in the other dimension, observing my replacement standing in the interview room, in front of the JLR. I was pleased to note they looked impressed.
“Centurian”? Asked Cowgirl Jack.
“Centurian? Who is this Centurian? I am known as Tarragorn…”, replied my adventurous counterpart, Tarragorn, the Half-Elvin Ranger. He quickly drew his sword.
