Just discovered the show Welcome to the Wayne, and I love it! I especially love Ansi, who is the perfect blend of scared kid and brave adventurer. The first episode made it clear he would be important somehow and I wanted to write a story about his first showing up at the Wayne and becoming a part of Team Timbers (I know the chapter special kinda cover that, but I wanted to make my own version, as well as an emphasis on how Ansi feels about his parents divorce). Hope you like and please forgive me for working on another new story instead of updating my current ones. CURSE MY IMAGINATION!

Qualms in the New Home

…

"Ansi? We're here, son." The boy in question looked up from his book at his dad's announcement, finally seeing the Wayne building for the first time since his dad had told him they would be living there from then on.

It was nice and long, like a hotel rather than an apartment building. It was colored white, yellow and red and had boards hanging from someplace near the top like it was still being built. There were windows covering every surface besides the bottom, which only had red double doors as an entrance. It was surrounded by much smaller building and a few trees and had and had an overall appearance of something unusual and unstable. And that scared Ansi a little.

He wasn't a coward or anything like that. He and his dad had traveled to many places and found numerous homes around the globe. It was just… a new situation and after ending up in these circumstances where he was the new kid time and time again, he just wasn't sure how this current interaction would go.

Ansi gulped to himself as he noticed a few kids loitering around the building and the streets around him. When you always had to say goodbye to your old friends and are forced to make new friends, it can become harder for you to be social. Especially when you're aware you'll eventually be leaving those friends you make to start the process all over again.

"Ansi?" The boy shook his head and turned to meet his dad, who was looking worriedly at him through the rearview mirror. "Did you hear me?"

'Uh, no, sorry. I was just thinking. What did you say, dad?" Ansi questioned, forcing himself not to give into his worries and focus on his dad. The moves weren't any easier for him either.

"I was just saying that I hope this place could help us turn over a new leaf for us both. It was highly recommended by the residents when I was researching new places online. I hope we can enjoy ourselves here."

"You mean until we move again." Ansi flinched as the sentence escaped before he could think it through. He generally avoided showing how exasperated and sad these temporary houses and apartments they stayed in made him feel.

There was a moment of silence. "Son…" His dad said, voice trailing off as he tried to think of something to say.

Ansi rushed to speak up before he could. "I'm sorry, really, dad. I didn't mean that. I just… I wish things were different. I wish we didn't always have to move."

His dad sighed, shoulder sagging as he softly said, "I know, son." The divorce of his parents had happened when he was a few years younger. His dad had won custody because he had a job as an information technician, meaning he could work from home since all he needed was a computer or laptop. His mom, who was a psychiatrist, was always too focused on her patients and never really had time to pay attention to him or remember to make him lunch or pick him up from school.

He could still visit her whenever he wanted, as she lived in the countryside and was always a bus or plane away, but he couldn't see her as often as he would have liked. And he knew that it was as hard for his dad as it was for him. The moving was so they could find a place that was both conventional enough for his dad to work and offered a good education and community for himself. And no place they had been to so far had been right.

"I know this is hard for you, Ansi. But the Wayne is a good apartment. Not only are there tons of kids your age, but they also clean the building twice a day."

"Really?" it would be nice to live somewhere that wouldn't constantly make him feel dirty and would allow him to have a bottle of hand sanitizer that would last for more than a week.

"Really. This may be it for us, Ansi. This could be our home. I know it's not easy for you to start over, but please try. For me?" His dad asked, voice slightly imploring. Ansi sighed to himself, resigned to what he would have to do. He may hate moving but he hating disappointing and stressing his dad more.

"Sure, dad. I'll try."

"Great." The man said gently as he opened his door and prepared to step out of the car. "Who knows, Ansi. Maybe you can find a friend. Someone who won't get you into trouble."

The boy sighed as he stepped out of the car as well. They could only hope so.

…

Jonah Bishop was a lot bigger than his dad and seemed quite put together despite being responsible for such a big building. He made sure to greet them at the desk, a firm smile on his face. Ansi just stood to the side and let the two talk, book in his face.

"Thank you for welcoming me and my son into this residence. From the way people were talking about it, I was kind of afraid it would be booked." He heard his dad say.

"No problem. There's always room in the Wayne. I hope you enjoy your stay here." Bishop began to walk away before he suddenly stopped, a serious expression on his face now. "And do well not to get lost. The Wayne is very… complicated when you don't know how it works. You never know what you'll find or what could happen."

Ansi felt a shiver down his spine as he watched the man walk away. It was also like he was trying to warn them. Or, more likely, he was just messing with them. After all, what's the worst that could happen in an apartment?

…

It wasn't until about two weeks after they had officially moved in that Ansi met Olly and Saraline. And it wasn't really under the best circumstances.

He had arrived back from school, still staring around in awe at the marvelous sight of the apartment. He hadn't gotten used to it all just yet. It seemed like every corner had something new and mysterious in it. It was hard to keep track or get used to it all.

As far as things were school wise, he was doing well concerning his education, but being social had always been one of his weaker suits. It had only gotten worse the more times he ended up traveling until it just seemed better to seclude himself with his books rather than make friends he would just have to leave eventually.

The Wayne was a great place like his dad had preached before, but he couldn't shake the feeling that something was up with the place. Like someone or something was hiding in the shadows, watching him for some reason. It was more than a little unnerving and made him cling to his books even more.

While he was headed towards his apartment room, nose in his book, he didn't notice anything in his path. So it came as no surprise to anyone when he tripped over a large object and fell to the ground, headfirst.

"Oh, sorry, new kid. Didn't see you there." He heard a slightly deep voice apologized. Groaning, the boy turned to see a short kid with orange hair, apricot skin and a white jacket over a red sweater with jeans and white sneakers. He also had a teal backpack over his shoulders.

"Uh, it's fine," Ansi replied, getting to his feet and quickly cleansing his hands of germs. You could never be too careful. He could see he tripped over some weird red object.

"Olly, I told you not to leave your gadgets lying around. Someone could get hurt." Ansi turned to see a little girl about as short as the one called Olly, long hair that was a lighter orange and wearing a green jacket along with a red and white baseball cap with a yellow circle in the center.

"Oh, come on, Saraline. It's always worked out before. Even now, the new kid's fine. Right, new kid?" Ansi, who wasn't expecting to be addressed so abruptly, scrambled for something to say without stammering.

"Uh, yeah, I'm fine. Really," He answered without much confidence. Olly still smiled at him, holding a hand out for him to shake. "Hey there. Name's Olly Timbers, a fellow resident of the Wayne."

Ansi took a step back, a little wary of the appendage in front of him. "Uh, I'm Ansi Molina. N-nice to meet you." He had never really like touching other people or for them to touch him. He would always be worried if they washed their hands or trying to remember if it was flu season.

Saraline sighed as she stepped forward to talk. "You'll have to forgive Olly. He's can be kinda in his own head sometimes. I'm his little sister, Saraline Timbers. Nice to meet you, Ansi." Well, she was obviously the smarter and more mature one.

"Thanks. So, uh, what are you guys doing in the middle of the hallway?" The boy asked to be polite.

"Well, Ansi, you see those three goons over there?" Olly said as he pointed to a blonde woman sitting with a fat guy in a flower suit and another man that was wearing sunglasses that completely hid his eyes. "They're a group of secret agents that are trying to take control of this place and all the creatures that live here. So Team Timbers, that's me and Saraline, are working to stop them any way we can."

Ansi could only stare at the boy with his mouth open. Was this kid for real? Saraline smacked him across the head, looking mildly annoyed. "Olly, you can't go around telling people that! It makes you sound severely insane."

"So, it's not true?" The new kid asked hopefully.

"No, it is. But he still shouldn't just go blabbing that to people. He might tell the wrong person one day, that's all." The girl countered casually with a shrug.

Ansi stared at the two kids, now very must certain they were mentally unstable. How old were these kids to believe in a fancy tale like that? That explanation sounded like something from a storybook.

"That's nice. So, I should get going, my mom will worry if I don't show up soon." Well, more like if he doesn't call soon, but these guys didn't need to know that.

Olly smiled, believing his lie quite easily. "Okay then. Later, BFF." Saraline just looked at him, clear suspicion on her face. It was all Ansi could do not to run as he made his way to his apartment.

…

Since that first meeting, the sibling refused to leave him along. They would meet him in his apartment, ambush him in the hallway, and somehow end up in the same location he would go to before him.

When he just wanted a moment to read and wait for his dad to get back from his job, they would appear and pester him about "missions" and "duties to the Wayne". It was like they considered him a member of their crazy club. And nothing he said seemed to deter them, especially Olly, who had somehow convinced himself they were best friends.

It got so bad, they actually followed him to school. That's when Ansi had finally snapped.

"What do you guy want?!" He had screamed when he had finally arrived back home to find they had broken into his apartment. Again!

"We need your help, Ansi. This thing we're doing is bigger than all of us." Saraline declared as she fiddled with her device that looked like a phone but wasn't.

"Look, I understand you guys really think this place is in danger or whatever, but you guys can handle it on your own. I just want to be a regular kid with a regular life, okay?" Ansi declared, setting his bag down and turning to face them.

"Aw, come on, Ansi. Where's your sense of adventure? You can discover monsters and save lives. You'll never be bored here."Olly declared.

"But I like being boring. Boring is good, it's relaxing. And no matter how much you try to shove all this down my throat, I won't believe otherwise. Monsters and missions just aren't my thing, alright?"

Saraline pursed her lips for a moment, looking deep in thought. "What if we proved it?"

"What?" He and Olly asked at the same time. Olly sounded excited while Ansi sounded dubious.

"If we prove the threat and creatures are real, will you help us protect the Wayne? I'll even guarantee that we won't bother you again if all this turns out to be fake." She said as she moved forward until she was standing in front of him. "How will you prove that?" Ansi asked.

"Just have a little faith, Ansi. Faith and trust, that's all we're asking for."

"So, what do you say, bestie?" Olly asked eagerly. Ansi was quiet for a long moment, trying to think this through. If they couldn't prove it, they'd finally leave him along and he can go back to his quiet life with his books. But… if there's the slightest chance they were telling the truth, he couldn't ignore it. He may not like germs or being social, but he would never turn his back on people who needed him. It was one of his more annoying qualities.

"Alright then. Let's go." He said, thinking he was ready for anything as he followed the siblings to where their proof was stashed. Turns out, he really wasn't ready. Not by a long shot.

…

Well, the rest is history. They prove it, and they form a team to protect the Wayne. Hope you liked the little preface I wrote. Feel free to review, follow or favorite as well as read my other stories. Have a nice day.