A few minutes later, the men were sure that the girls were asleep.
"They seem nice, Skippa." Private said, bouncing around outside, while the others scanned the crate.
"Aha!" Kowalski cried, pulling out a purple notebook holder from the crate. "'Property of Anastasia Weiss'! Good thing we found this; Alice might have taken it back with the crate!" Then he was puzzled. "But what is it?"
"Their last name is Weiss?" Skipper said, laughing a little. "Nice name."
Kowalski scowled at him. "It looks like a notebook holder, with a notebook and a pencil inside."
"Speaking of pencils…it seems like they have very distinct personalities. Anna, shy and quiet. Millie, loud and boisterous. I though identical twins were, well, identical." Skipper mused, remembering how Anna had faked dropping her pencil to avoid being confronted by them.
"Identical in genetic makeup, not in psychological." Kowalski straightened up, setting the notebook case down gently by the fishbowl.
"English, Kowalski?" Skipper growled.
"Yea!" Rico coughed out, while simultaneously chewing on the crate corner.
"It means that they can be as different in personality as possible, but their DNA is the same. It is understandable that they should be so different; some identical twins feel as if they have no individuality and seek to exploit their own differences in order to achieve said individuality. That would be why we are looking at polar opposites here."
"Ow!" Skipper yelled suddenly, drawing their attentions. "What the deuce?"
"What is it?" Private asked.
"…a stick of dynamite?" Skipper stepped out into the light, holding a large stick with a fuse on the other end. "Now how did…?"
"Ka-boom!" Rico snatched the dynamite and swallowed it.
"I think I can guess who's that was," Kowalski said.
"Millie's." They all said, in unison.
And suddenly, Anna was at the top of the stairs.
"Speak of the devil…Millie. We were just talking about you! We found your dynamite." Skipper said.
But Kowalski looked at Anna and shook his head, just as she did. "That's not Millie, Skipper. That's Anna."
She, having said the same thing at the same time, looked up in gratitude. "You could tell us apart!"
Kowalski felt instantly elated. "Well, of course."
She was still beaming as she turned back to Skipper. "That dynamite is Millie's, erm, special favorite. I wouldn't have touched it, if I were you."
"No offense, but we aren't afraid of you two girls." Skipper said, feeling confident and cocky.
"Oh, it's not me you need to be afraid of, it's her." Anna said, noticing her notebook binder on the ground. "My notebook! Who found it? I thought I had lost it out in the Atlantic."
"I did." Kowalski said. "But, I was wondering why you would need it?"
She looked up at him like he was crazed. "To write in."
"Y-you can write?" Everyone's eyes got large. She looked a trifle alarmed at their sudden attention.
"Well, um, yes, I can. Can't you?" She scooped up the purple plastic binder, and looked a little surprised.
"Well, you see, technically speaking…no." Kowalski said, sounding ashamed.
"That's easily remedied, though." Anna didn't miss a beat. "You can always learn something; it's un-learning something that is impossible."
And suddenly, Kowalski didn't feel so bad about it anymore. "That's true," he admitted.
"Wait, you taught your sister to speak English, didn't you?" Skipper said, suddenly excited.
"Yes, I did…" Anna started backing away again.
"Couldn't you teach my team to read?"
"Well, um, I guess so." Anna shrugged. "Can't be much different, I suppose."
And that was when the blur that was Marlene arrived.
"Hey guys! What's up…" she faded off when she saw Anna, looking horribly shy again. "Who is this? Hi! I'm Marlene! How are you, and what's your name?" Marlene stepped towards Anna to shake hands, but Anna jumped and ran back down the stairs.
"What just happened…?" Marlene looked stunned, staring at the space where Anna had been.
"That's Anna, Marlene." Private offered. "She just got here yesterday with her sister."
"She's really shy; she was just getting semi-used to us." Even though he knew it wasn't really Marlene's fault, Kowalski felt ruffled that she had scared off Anna.
And then Anna appeared again, gulping and shaking a bit. She came up the ladder, and only looked at ground. "I'm sorry." She whispered, in super-shy mode again. "I just got frightened and bolted. I shouldn't have, and I'm working on it." She extended a slender flipper. "I'm Anna. It's nice to meet you." She really was trying her hardest; she even glanced up when she said that last bit.
"Well…Anna, it's nice to meet you! I'm Marlene, and welcome to New York! Where did you come from?" Marlene shook the trembling flipper and smiled warmly at the shy penguin.
"Versailles, France." Anna said, as her heart rate slowed. "And New York is nice."
"I'm sorry, did you just say France? That is so COOL! You have to tell me all about it." Marlene looked expectant, but Anna just couldn't talk that much yet.
"Maybe my sister would be better at explaining it to you," Anna mumbled, "I'll be right back."
And she went down the ladder, and into the H.Q.
"She seems…nice." Marlene said, in her way.
And then Millie appeared at the ladder.
"I thought you said you were going to get your sister?" Marlene was confused; there was Anna, looking her in the eyes and staring with her hands on her hips.
"I don't know what you're talking about. I've never met you before in my life." Millie said. She sounded cold and annoyed.
"Um, guys? What's going on…?" Marlene took a step back.
"What do you mean, what's going on?" Millie took a step forward. "I'm Millie. My little sis said you wanted to meet me?"
"Huh?" Marlene was frozen, confusion scrawled across her features. And then it hit her. "Oh! Your little sister was Anna, right? Oh! But that makes you…"
"Twins." Skipper said, anticipating her words.
"Identical twins." Kowalski corrected again, for the umpteenth time.
"Oh. Sorry about that! I'm Marlene! Nice to meet you." She extended a paw, which was batted at by Millie.
"Yea, yea, great. Nice to meet you. Where's my dynamite?" She stepped around Marlene and put her hands on her hips. "I hope you boys didn't use it, or worse, lose it."
"Um," Rico coughed up the dynamite and held it out for her. "Here you go!"
Her face lit up. "That was SO TOTALLY AWESOME! You HAVE to show me how to do that!" She took the dynamite from Rico, who was smiling freakishly in his psychotic way.
And Anna came back upstairs, completing the party.
"Hey, Marlene. Did Millie tell you about France much?" Anna walked over, seeming more bold this time, but not by much.
"Not really," Marlene sounded put-out. "She sorta pushed me away."
"Of course she did." Anna mumbled, and then, in a louder tone. "She does that a lot. Don't take it personally, she's just…Millie."
"Funny," Marlene reflected, "That's how everyone describes Rico."
"Is Rico the one with the spiky hair?" Anna sounded a little afraid.
"Yep, why?" Marlene preyed upon the withdrawal of information her girl-sense was picking up on. "Do you like him?"
"No, well, not like you think…actually, he kind of scares me." Anna admitted quietly, making sure that no one but Marlene heard. "But don't tell him. I don't want to hurt his feelings."
"Oh, I wouldn't! No worries! But I think he kinda scares everyone." Marlene assured, deciding that she liked Anna better than Millie. At least, so far. Maybe Millie was someone you gradually got to like.
"But anyways, how are you?" Anna asked, feeling stupid. What do people normally talk about when they meet someone new? "I mean, yea."
"Pretty good, yea, I'm pretty good…life around here can get pretty boring though. I mean, as long as you stay away from the boys over there. So I guess you'll be enjoying the full extent of their commando universe, huh?"
Anna felt confused. "Huh? Commando universe?"
"They didn't tell you?" Marlene was incredulous, but willing to explain. "They have this…military, I guess you'd call it…thing going on here. Skipper's the leader, he's the short one with the flat hair cut, and he calls the shots. Kowalski is the brainiac, you know, the thinker. Rico is the weapons guy, and Private is the, well, normal one."
"Hmm…I hadn't noticed." Anna mentally berated herself for missing out on those details. She usually missed nothing. "But that's cool."
"Sometimes it is, but mostly, it's annoying. Especially when they break into your house in the middle of the night for no reason at all, just because they 'need to'. But you'll probably get used to it. I did, kinda." She laughed a little.
And then Kowalski glanced up at Anna from where he was over at the crate remains, and smiled at her.
I don't think I'll get used to that, Anna thought, as she smiled back.
"Hey, I know guys! Lets play a game!" Marlene gushed. "It'll help us get to get to know the twins, and them to know us!"
"Oh, Marlene!" Skipper sagged. "Don't bring your sappy emotions into this!"
"Please, can't we? It's called 'One Word Description'. You say one word that describes yourself, and you keep going until you run out. I used to play it all the time back in Cali."
"I'll play!" Private smiled.
"Private!" Skipper slapped him.
"Aw, poor Private." Anna muttered, looking saddened.
"It happens all the time, Anna." Skipper said, not feeling quite so sad for poor Private. "Don't worry about it."
"I'm in." Millie said, slamming her fist down on her palm.
"I'll play, I guess." Anna whispered.
Kowalski beamed at her. "Count me in."
"Me!" Rico shrieked.
"Aw, guys! Come on!" Skipper sat down at the table too, but he wasn't really feeling it. "Lets just get this over with."
"Now, Skipper, we're here to have fun." Marlene corrected, and said. "I'll start. Fun."
"Elite." Skipper said, not really paying attention.
"Ka-boom!" Rico yelled, as anticipated by nearly everyone.
Millie stood up. "Tough."
Skipper chuckled, and Millie dove towards him. "You doubt it?"
"Millie, please," Anna begged, and Millie sat again.
Kowalski was next. "Intelligent."
"Shy." Anna said, and everyone wanted to laugh at how she ducked her head when she said it. It was just too ironic.
"Cuddly!" Private beamed, giggling.
Marlene restarted the circle. "Sweet."
"Bored."
"Skipper!"
"Sorry."
"Ka-bam!"
"Strong."
"Sensitive."
"Dying."
And everyone stopped. No one moved, and no one laughed.
"What?" Marlene asked, thinking that she'd heard wrong.
Anna looked at everyone like they were oblivious, and then they all watched as something seemed to crash into her mind. "Oh, right. I meant…I mean, I said…laughing." She gulped, and tried to laugh as she did so. "Ha ha ha…ha."
No one was buying it.
And then Millie roared with laughter. "You-you forgot!" she cried, almost falling out of her chair. "I can't believe…and you didn't want them to know…and you forgot!"
Anna was blushing like crazy. "Shut up, Millie."
"No, no! It's so funny, though! I can't believe that you just…just…forgot!"
"I just wasn't thinking…besides, they still don't know." Anna said, praying that her sister had enough sense to not say anything.
"Ok, ok." Millie had tears rolling down her cheeks. "So get this, Anna has-"
"Millie!" Anna moaned.
Everyone was just as confused as could be, flipping their heads between the two twins.
"I'll tell them your name." Anna threatened, sounding like she meant it. A little.
"You wouldn't."
"Neither would you, really." Anna tried to sound confident, but she so wasn't.
"Yes, I would." And Millie turned to everyone else at the table, who were all waiting to here it. "Anna has heart cancer."
And a stunned silence. Anna moaned.
"Millie…! How could you? I didn't want them to know!"
"Heart cancer?" Marlene whispered. "Really?"
Anna had her head buried in her flippers, and she was blushing furiously. She didn't offer up an answer.
Kowalski felt crushed. Heart cancer? That was usually…but I mean, surely this was a prank? A joke?
But some part of him knew it wasn't. Not really.
"Yep. Anna has had heart cancer since the age of two." Millie was tittering a bit. "And we're used to referring to it, and she just went and forgot…!"
"Why didn't you want us to know, Anna?" Private asked, his cute British accent peppered with concern.
She lifted her head, and they saw the glittering tears under her lids. "Because I didn't want you guys to look at me like you are now. Like I'm on my death bed, or something. Like I'm falling apart. Every time I've told someone, they've treated me differently afterwards. And I just wanted this to be different; I wanted a chance to make an impression on you without you knowing." She sounded heartbroken. "And I used to joke about how I was dying back home, and I just forgot…"
So it wasn't a joke. And Kowalski felt his world, the new one he liked so much, explode around him. But no. He wouldn't give up on her, not even because of that. In fact, he realized that he liked her even more now. He wasn't sure how that was possible, but it was. And he wouldn't let that stop him.
"So right now, you're in remission?" he said, trying not to sound judgmental or anything like that.
Anna nodded, realizing that looking at him made her cheeks cool. His blue eyes were just so…calming. "Since last June."
Kowalski did the mental math. It was May, so almost a year. She might go into a relapse soon, but then again, she might not. "That's almost a year. That's a decent amount of time."
She nodded again, still staring into his eyes. They were just so blue, and sweet. She felt herself relaxing. Kowalski isn't judging me, she thought, he isn't treating me differently.
And then came the worst thing that could have happened.
"So, cancer is that incurable thing, right?" Skipper blundered, trying to sound suave and smart.
And Anna felt her heart cracking in the middle, and her throat closed up. I knew it. I knew. I can't believe that I was so stupid that I couldn't see that nobody would treat me differently. I can't believe I was so naïve. I can't believe it.
And Millie was on his throat in an instant, and he was pinned against the floor.
"No, no, Millie!" Anna cried, wanting to stop her, but knowing from experience that she wasn't strong enough.
Kowalski was so confused on whose side to take. His loyalty was to Skipper, and Anna's twin was pinning her to the floor. But then again, some all-controlling power was swaying him to Anna's side. It was like, a strange connection of feelings he didn't understand.
So he sat there, wanting to comfort her, and wanting to stop Millie. What do I do? And in the end, something told him to wrap and arm around Anna. So he hesitated, and then he went for it.
And she didn't draw away. In fact, she sort of collapsed.
"Shut UP, Anna!" Millie yelled, and then she turned to Skipper. "Who do you think you are? Huh? You pick on her, you traumatize her, you make fun of something that she doesn't have anything she can do about! Huh? Who are you?"
Skipper didn't want to deck a girl. But, he had to. So he tried his simple kick-flip, to get her off him, to his feet.
As he tried, he ended up with his head throbbing in the back. Huh? He thought. That can't be right. Why is my head hurting? And he realized, it hadn't worked. She had some how deflected his kick, and pinned him right back down.
How is that even possible? He asked himself, and tried another signature move. It didn't work either, but the third got him to his feet.
And the duel began. Skipper was quick, but Millie was quicker. In a monochrome blur, she was practically punching circles around him. In seconds, it was over, and Skipper was smashed against a wall.
Impossible! He thought, as he skid down it and stood back up. She's a female!
He turned around in the total silence, and saw Millie, her hip cocked, her eyebrows raised, as if asking him to apologize or admit something.
He felt ashamed. Years of professional training, and he was beaten…by a female? "…You, win."
She grinned, and went over to high-five Anna. But Anna had her arms crossed over her chest (Kowalski had been so surprised when Millie had beaten Skipper, his arms had dropped in shock) and she wasn't looking amused. Millie paused, and tried re-flashing her hand, as if restarting.
"Come on, give me some love! I just beat a guy at his own game, for the billionth time." She acted put-out. "What's wrong?"
Anna shook her head. "You have to ask? You told, Millie. It's not funny."
"Yea, but its ok now." She dropped her hand. "You really aren't going to give me a high-five?"
"No, I'm really not." And Anna stood, facing her. "I really didn't want them to know for a while."
Millie sighed. "Oh, come off it. You know you forgive me, because I'm actually 'a good girl' and 'nice when you get to know' me. I 'try my best'. Please just give me the high-five."
Anna stood there, and then her mouth twitched into a smile. "Oh, alright!" And she gave her grinning twin a high-five, and they sat back down.
