My mood was ruined and besides I only wanted to fool around a bit, not have sex in the middle of the street, since I still wanted to get back home. "No, another time maybe." There most likely wouldn't be another time, after all she would need to go through the portal with me and despite what she claims, she probably just wants to fuck me. "Let's keep moving, alright?"

 

"Come on, baby," she groaned as she went down for a kiss, trying to catch my lips despite me moving my head left trying to avoid her. "You really- gonna- be a- pussytease? Come on, just-”

 

“For real, fuck o-” I got interrupted when she seized my lips and started kissing me furiously. “Mhfuofgh.”

 

A left hook into her unarmored liver finally got her away. Self defense is a superheroe’s best friend and I trained often.

 

She stumbled away, holding her stomach, her face red and making funny faces. “Ooouuw! Goooddess! Fuuuuuuk!”

 

“I told you to get away,” I accused her, wiping my mouth with my sleeve and picking up my mask from the floor.

 

I put my mask back on and started walking away, since the force fields had fallen down due to the punch.

 

“Nghh, wait!” she called out, raising a forcefield in my way. “I—the team—really does need you for the job. I’m sorry if I offended you and shit and won’t do it again…if you really don’t want it. Ufff…you really know how to throw a punch.” She waited a moment and then looked at me hopefully with her one eye. “So, are you still in?”

 

A man that is drowning should take the helping hand… “Alright, but pull any weird shit again and I’m out, you’ll have to find another man for the job.”

 

She gave me a frail and shaky smile, her good mood fast gone. She stumbled after me as I walked away.

 

The walk from then on was awkward. Farans kept asking if I was okay and trying to apologize. Replying and talking to her got annoying after a while and we went the rest of the way in silence.

 

Just like in my world, Metropolita City was either extremely rich or extremely poor. You could walk a few dozen blocks and you could practically feel the environment and people getting worse block by block. 

 

All in all, it took us around twenty minutes to reach the information broker. The building was, for lack of a better word, a cesspit. Rough and dangerous looking Latinas were loitering outside the dilapidated building. They had hoodies and stared at me intensely, like a piece of meat. Some even went as far as catcalling me. Now that I took a closer look, there was a guy. I didn't notice him at first, because men here looked similar to flat chested women. His outfit was very revealing and consisted of a pair of very tight leather pants that left little to imagination and a see-through—also tight—white button up shirt with a tie that had stars and other neon glowing patterns. He kept trying to grab one of the women, whining and asking for drugs

 

Farans stepped up, her face iron, and pushed me behind her with her hand, earning many glares.

 

"We are here to see Hermana Grande,” she declared, her tone definitive. A few of them snickered at her horrible Spanish.

 

“‘Come ‘ere,” one of them, a girl with greasy black hair and a modest beer belly, said, opening the door for us.

 

Farans and I walked up the little stairs leading up to the door, passing the people that were sitting on them or on the railing.

 

Even though my suit was utilitarian and not designed for appearance and didn’t really showcase my body, it was still a bodysuit and I could feel their stares bore into my ass and dick like a physical thing.

 

When I was halfway up, one of the women gathered the courage to slap me in the ass. “Puto chupatetas!” she growled, giving me a smile with a few missing teeth.

 

Farans proved a moment later why she lost a few teeth by suckerpunching her. “You fucking animal! Leave him alone!” Blood flew out of her mouth and splattered against the stairs. 

 

While the woman was recovering, coughing on the floor, Farans moved to get on top of her and started punching her over and over. However, she was soon grabbed by the other women, pulling her away.

 

They were all laughing and  telling Farans to calm down, that her hand slipped, that it was just a joke. Farans looked at me and seeing that I wasn’t that affected or making a big deal of it, she relented and raised her hands up as a sign of peace.

 

The interior of the building was nothing like the outside, it was expensive, opulent. There were painting, there was fancy looking furniture I couldn’t even name. As we walked deeper into the house, we encountered more security guards—all female—but these didn’t look like thugs: they were wearing what I can only describe as the combination of a dress and a suit. With the sunglasses and everything.

 

At the end of the hallway a guard opened the door to a big, spacious study room. Inside was a Latin woman wearing a blue, glitter dress that complemented her sharp blue eyes. Hanging from her arms, not fully worn, was a little white fur coat.

 

When we opened the door she was already waiting for us on the other side, ready with a handshake (for Farans, she grabbed my hand and kissed it gently instead). 

 

“You had trouble with one of my security personnel and for that I apologize. Rest assured she will be dealt with appropriately.” All of this she said to Farans, only turning to address me and include me in the conversation at the tail end of the statement.

 

“I’m glad. I thi-”

 

I cut Farans off. “Please tell me the names and locations of all superhumans with the capacity to transport people across parallel realities.”

 

The information broker was finally giving me her full attention. She had a small smile at all times, but it was fake, didn’t reach her eyes. “You must be the new villain around town, the power stealer I’ve been hearing so much about. You can call me Michelle or, as most people, Hermana. Anyways, as I’m sure you well know, all information has a cost.”

 

“I’ll cover it.” Farans chipped in.

 

Michelle’s smile got a little bigger. “Wonderful. So, about your question, it pains me to say that there are none…at least none in so far as my power tells me.”

 

I swear the more power people get, the more they like to hear themselves talk. “What the hell does that mean?” I said, frustrated. “Why don’t you give me a straight answer. What does your power do? What is the probability that it got this wrong, that it didn’t detect them?”

 

“Ah, yes,” she replied, unhurried. “Those are good questions. In essence, I ask my power questions and it tells me the answers based on information it gathers from around the whole world. It has never failed before and I doubt it has this time."

 

"Do it again! Use your power to tell me who can find what you can't!" I ordered her. 

 

My shouting didn't affect her in the least, still smiling that smile of hers, she answered me, "I can do that, but there will be additional costs."

 

I felt like shouting, like throwing the statues and things in her office to the floor. I felt like using my power on her and getting the answers for myself. Maybe I-

 

"You are thinking of using your powers on me," Michelle began. "But you shouldn't, remember what your impulsiveness and powers caused you in the past—the bad experiences. Why don't you think of something only you should know and if that's not enough for you, why don't I tell you two things that will happen in the future. Of course, this will cost you extra." 

 

I looked at Farans, who looked reluctant to pay.

 

What could I offer her to pay? Farans obviously liked my body, she even claimed to be in love with me—although the truthfulness of that statement was questionable at best.

“Please,” I pleaded, taking off my mask with my back to Michelle, so only Farans could see my best begging face. “You want me right? You said you love me. So, I’ll be with you, I’ll let you do what you want. Just…please do this for me.”

 

Her usual playful mood was gone, not a trace of it. She stared at me with her one good eye with a cool, calculating gaze. “Look, Nick. You are cute and all, but if I wanted a hot piece of dick, I could pay three top notch prostitutes with what I am paying here. There’s a limit to what I’ll pay for sex. This’ll have to be a what’s you call it…long term investment. Join the team until you cover your debt, plus become my boy and I’ll pay Hermana here her cutthroat fees.”

 

There was a moment of silence as I considered this. Coming back to my reality was starting to feel more and more like an impossible task, but I needed to do this for closure—I was a hero dammit and heroes don’t give up. And yet, Farans had my picture, there would be no defaulting on this promise unless I was ready to take on a team of supervillains.

 

“Deal,” I answered, breaking the tense silence. Then, I put my mask back on and turned to Michelle. “So, prove your powers work.”

 

The information broker just smiled at me placidly and said, “Please think of a complex password or code or something only you would know.” She closed her eyes. “L3X55JNINE87.”

 

“You could be a mindreader for all I know.” I pointed out.

 

“Tonight at 3:36 am a person will come into your room through the window.” she stated like she was stating what she would eat tomorrow or the weather, without much emotion. 

 

I would be lying if I said I wasn’t a little alarmed, but it was a vague statement and it could be just my mom.

 

“What is the second thing?” 

 

“Before I tell you, I would like to inform you that my power advised me to set up a few things in advance, some precautions so you wouldn’t use your power. People will forcibly do tests on me to see if I am under the effect of your power and things won’t end well for you.” She waited for me to say something and when I didn’t, she continued. “You were going to die in two days before I told you this very fact”—after seeing my expression, for the first time since I met her, Michele laughed and her smile reached her eyes, crinkling them with mirth—“And the funniest thing is that even after I told you, you are still going to die in around three weeks!”

 

“How wi-”

 

“If you know what’s good for you, you will shut your fucking mouth.” Even in anger she was still composed and cold. “If you want to know more, if you want my help, you are going to have to kill a lot of people for me.” She patted a stack of papers on her desk behind her. “Some of them are heroes, some of them did nothing wrong. I know that right now your silly morals and heroics blind you, so I will let you go now, give you the chance to think on it. After all, you’ll come crawling back soon enough.”