Happy Thanksgiving to anyone reading this. I wanted to be sure to get this first chapter out for the holiday so apologies if it is a bit rushed. This is my first big swing at the Waifu Catalog idea as well as my first (hopefully) long running story. Anyway, here we go.
Chapter 1: A Turkey Day Miracle
As I stare at the plate of cheaply made cafeteria food, I can't help the feeling of anger welling up in my chest. The dry and bland turkey tasted like it was days old. It was debatable if the stuffing came from a box or an old plushie. The string beans were tougher than the shoelaces in my sneakers. The bun that was on the plate made me wonder if they ran out of flour and resorted to using sawdust from the shop class. To top it all off, the mashed potatoes looked like something I had seen a dog throw up once. I would not be surprised if this was designated as cruel and unusual punishment.
Despite how the shitty Thanksgiving lunch was, I knew that the food wasn't what was really getting at me. All around me were families. Moms and dads with their kids eating the terrible food and enjoying the opportunity to be together. Their voices seemed to echo into my ears. Their laughter seemed to be taunting me. After all, who wouldn't make fun of the kid sitting alone on a day for families?
I tried to ignore my own loneliness as I ground my plastic knife against the turkey that was seemingly comparable with a strip of leather. I should have been used to it. My only family on the planet was an uncle who barely showed up once a month. He would travel across country constantly with the occasional text message to make sure that I was still alive. The only effort that he put into raising me was giving me a phone and a debit card that he automatically refilled with cash once a month.
Since my uncle never stayed around for longer than a night, he never bothered to be there for me. Any homework that I had trouble with forced me to search online for solutions. The only reason that I understood the birds and the bees is because of a health class near the end of middle school. Any holiday that passed was celebrated by just me, myself, and I.
I thought that I was finally to the point where my frustration didn't sting so badly anymore. I just wanted the experience to slide off my back like water on a duck. However, I am still human at the end of the day, I can't just turn off my emotions like the Terminator. I still want someone to be there for something as stupid as a eating a disgusting school lunch with me on a day that is primarily celebrated as an excuse for a meal of intense gluttony. I just want to be important enough to be seen.
I jump in my seat a little when I feel a hand land on my shoulder along with a voice asking me, "Like, is this seat taken?"
I turn around to see a man in his early twenties standing behind me with two trays of food. He had dirty blonde hair, the faint wisps of a goatee on his chin, and he was dressed in a green t-shirt, brown pants, and dark loafers. Behind him was a brown Great Dane with black spots across his coat. My guess is that he is someone's older brother looking for a spot to eat.
"Not at the moment," I say, waving my hand at the seat next to me. "No one is going to miss it."
"Thanks," he says, before sitting down and placing one of the trays in front of himself and the other to his right. His dog immediately came over and started to scarf down the food on the second tray. I was surprised that no one was complaining but upon looking around, it was as though everyone else was ignoring the dog's presence.
"Don't mind Scoob," the man says. "He is just a little hungry since he had to skip one of his snack breaks so that we could come here."
"No problem," I reply. As I pay more attention to the two of them, the more they seem like they don't fit here. It isn't anything about their appearance since they seem as normal as anyone you could encounter going down the street. Despite this, my instincts are whispering in the back of my brain to not take my eyes off of them. "Are you a relative of somebody here?" I ask.
"Nothing like that," he says with a smile as he begins to eat his own meal. "I am only here for business. After all, there isn't much pleasure to be taken from these potatoes. I have eaten more than my fair share of food, but boy does this take some work to finish."
"What business do you mean?" I inquire. Nothing about these two implies they are here for something special.
"I guess you could say I am a recruiter of sorts," he says. "I keep an eye out for talent that want a job and I get them to sign on the dotted line. Me and Scoob here are some of the best in the biz."
"Why are you here on Thanksgiving instead of during a career fair?" I ask.
"The company I work with is a little pickier when it comes to their prospects," he admits. "They don't just want any old guy to work for them. They want someone who would leave everything behind for the chance at a life only a few could even dream of, let alone obtain."
"That seems a little to good to be true," I say.
"The best things always are, James," he replies. I freeze after he says my name. I know for a fact that he shouldn't know my name since I never said it. He notices and waves off my nervousness. "No need to worry. After all, I am here to talk to you in the first place. The name is Norville, but most people just call me Shaggy. This over here is my best bud in any world, Scooby Doo."
"Rello," the dog says before going back to his meal. I just noticed that he now has a stack of trays next to him from the number of lunches he is eating.
My brain finally processes the context clues. The outfit, the name Shaggy, and a Great Dane named Scooby results in these two being fictional characters from a tv show for kids. However, that doesn't seem to equate to the unease I am currently feeling.
That is when it hits me. This isn't any ordinary Shaggy. There was a joke that got popular over the internet to the point where people tried to petition for Shaggy to be put into Mortal Kombat. It all started with someone overlaying Dragon Ball music over a fight scene from a Scooby Doo movie where Shaggy beats some guys up. This resulted in a joke version of Shaggy who was supposed to be strong enough to travel dimensions, alter reality, and even fight God. Out of every version of Shaggy in all of the worlds, he is the most dangerous and powerful.
"Ultra Instinct Shaggy," I mutter to myself. He clearly hears it because it causes him to chuckle.
"Yeah, it is funny to go to worlds that have figured out how strong I am," he says. "Now, would you like to hear the offer of a lifetime?"
"Sure," I say. Of course I am going to hear him out. He might be able to snuff out my universe on a whim. There is no reason to piss him off.
"The company that I represent is looking to hire some new talent," he says. "One thing that they want from their contractors is no strings tying them to their old worlds. Thankfully, you don't have anything keeping you here. The next thing is being able to brave danger for out of this world rewards. Do you have it in you?"
"Yeah," I say. "But how awesome are we talking?"
"Any dream you have ever had, no matter how crazy," he says. "As long as you shoot for the stars, contractors can do anything. Like, you could even become a god if you wanted."
"What would I have to do?" I ask. There is always a catch in these kinds of deals.
"You would have to do missions to get credits to buy the really cool stuff," he explains. "These let you buy abilities, equipment, even girls."
"Wait, hold up," I say. "Did you say girls?"
"Of course," he replies. "Any girl from all of fiction could be yours for the right price. Don't worry about kidnapping or anything. Any girl that you buy is just a clone of the original with the same memories. They won't automatically love you, so you don't have to worry about mind control either. Unless that's a thing you plan on doing, but you don't strike me as that kind of guy."
"So that is it?" I ask. "Just sign on, do some adventures, and meet a bunch of babes?"
"Told you it was the offer of a lifetime," Shaggy says. "As long as you keep the Company and the clients happy, the multiverse is yours for the taking. So, do you want to join the team?"
He reaches out his hand for me to shake and I think over my options. Take his hand and go on an adventure beyond all comparison or stay here for a life of mediocrity and isolation. Well, when I say it like that, it doesn't seem like that hard of a choice.
"Sounds good to me," I say, grabbing his hand with my own. "Sign me up."
--
And there we are. First chapter down and the story is set for our young hero to choose his build and what world he is going to go to. Well, I guess you already know if you read the story description. Yes, he is going to substitute with James Buchanan Barnes, better known as Bucky from Marvel. I will be getting through the early stages as soon as I can so we can get onto the sweet story that will come with the comic book universe. Just to let you guys know ahead of time, I am not going to have him buy any waifus. Any that join his retinue are going to be through meeting them during missions or while exploring worlds. Anyway, be sure to send a review if you liked anything about the story or if you wanted to suggest a character to show up during the WWII arc of the story.