5. The New Kid
"NO! Absolutely not!"
Lester's reply rang out through the ARC.
"Why not?" Anomaly asked, her voice softer then his.
Lester looked at her, his eyes wide. "Do…Do you have any idea how DANGEROUS it would be? I can't have my team risking their life trying to save you!"
Her eyes locked on his. "And why would they have to save me?"
Lester snorted. "Why else? You're just a kid…"
Kesea growled in the back of her throat as Anomaly glared at him, interrupting his sentence. "I'm old enough to fight Predators. Old enough to be banished from my home. Old enough to do things you can only dream of."
Lester took an involuntary step back, trying to avoid the look in her eyes. There was absolute silence for a minute.
Finally, Anomaly rolled her eyes. "Look. I'll be reading the dictionary. Think about it, and give me your answer." Her eyes narrowed. "You've already seen what I can do."
She walked out of the room, and there was silence.
"Maybe we could give her a chance…" Connor finally spoke up, and all heads turned to him.
"No." Lester replied. "Do you have any idea how…?"
"Look, she's right." Connor interrupted him. "She obviously knows something about the anomalies. What if we just gave her a chance?"
Lester sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose, trying to concentrate.
Finally, Cutter spoke up. "I think he's right."
All eyes turned to him.
Cutter shrugged. "If she knows something, maybe she could help…"
Lester sighed again, louder this time. "Fine! We'll hire another amateur. Why should it matter that she's barely out of diapers?"
Cutter smiled.
Anomaly sighed, twirling the cell phone in between her fingers. Electricity danced over her hands in quick bursts.
"Hello?" Connor's voice drifted in through the door.
"Hi." Anomaly's answer rang out clearly.
"Lester thought about what you said…" Connor trailed off.
Anomaly raised an eyebrow, the pattern above her eye shifting with the movement. "And…?"
Connor smiled. "Welcome to the team."
Anomaly's eyes lit up. "Really?"
Connor nodded.
Anomaly smiled. "I knew he'd break down."
Connor sat down next to her. "He does need some… information. You know. Paperwork."
Anomaly chuckled humorlessly. "Like any of my information would help." She shook her head slowly. "All right. Ask away."
"Well… I don't know…" Connor looked nervous.
Anomaly smiled. "Look. If you don't know what to ask, just find someone who does." She handed the phone to him. "Oh, and give this back to the guard. He doesn't really know I took it."
Connor looked at her. "No, I…" He realized what she'd said and raised an eyebrow. "You stole it?"
Anomaly was the picture of innocence. "I'm giving it back, aren't I?"
Connor took the phone from her. "You have a habit of doing that?"
Anomaly shrugged. "I'm used to being a pain. It's kind of my job."
Connor looked at her. "Right…"
Anomaly sighed after what seemed like hours of questions and answers. "Can I go now?" She asked Lester.
"I'm afraid not." Lester replied.
Anomaly groaned.
"You're the one who pointed out how much paperwork there would be if I let you out." Lester told her matter-of-factly.
Anomaly rolled her eyes. "That was then. This is now."
Lester smiled smugly.
Anomaly's eyes narrowed. "You're getting revenge on me for joining your team, aren't you?"
"I don't know what you mean." Lester replied.
Anomaly glared at him. "I'm watching you…"
Lester rolled his eyes. "If we could continue…"
Anomaly shrugged. "If you don't want your phone back." She pulled out a small black device and twirled it between her fingers.
Lester sighed, reaching out a hand. "Give it back."
Anomaly looked at though she was considering it. "Maybe…If you let me out of here."
Lester sighed. Anomaly smiled.
Finally, Lester gave up. "Fine. Give me the phone and get out of here."
Anomaly smiled and handed the device over to him. "I knew you'd listen to reason." She said, standing up and walking over the door. She barked out a few orders to her Florlics, who looked glad to be able to stretch their legs.
"Once you've answered a few more questions."
Anomaly groaned. "Come on! I need to get out of here!"
Lester pointed to the chair. "Sit." He ordered.
The Florlics whimpered.
Lester narrowed his eyes as he looked at them. "You too."
Ikesa nudged his hand.
Lester looked at him. "Now."
Ikesa whimpered, turning to Anomaly, who sighed and nodded.
The Florlics sat down, and so did Anomaly, though not before swiping Lester's wallet.
"So." She said, flipping through the wallet, not seeming to care what was inside it. "What do you need to know?"
"Your real name."
Anomaly's eyes narrowed, and the hair on the back of the Florlic's necks stood up. "Neirta norfalo." She hissed.
"Tell me. Or you can't go anywhere."
Anomaly sat back. "Anomaly. That's my name."
Lester sighed. "Don't make this any harder."
"Otlecta." She replied. "It means 'Anomaly.' Put that down if you need to." She dangled the wallet in front of his face, obviously intending to snatch it away if he reached for it.
Lester looked at her. "Anomaly it is then." He finally said.
Anomaly smiled. "Glad we have an understanding." She tossed the wallet towards him.
Lester picked it up and put it in his pocket. "Now, if we can continue…"
Anomaly shrugged. "What else would you need to know?"
"Place and Date of Birth?"
Anomaly shrugged. "I don't know. We don't keep time like you do. But I was born in Artalis."
Lester sighed. "We'll ignore that one, shall we?"
Anomaly smiled. "Can I go now?"
"No."
She groaned. "Come ON!"
"You're only making this harder on yourself." Lester's voice was cold and emotionless.
Anomaly sighed. "What else?"
"How old are you?"
Anomaly thought about this for a moment. Finally, she answered. "Twenty-three."
Lester raised an eyebrow. "Well, I highly doubt that."
Anomaly shrugged. "Believe what you want. Technically, I'm twenty-three. In your terms."
Lester set his pen on the table. "Explain."
She looked at him. "I'm technically fourteen. But, mentally speaking… I'm twenty-three." She shrugged again. "We mature faster then you do."
Lester's eyes narrowed. "Fourteen it is."
Anomaly sighed loudly. "At least compromise. Say… seventeen."
Lester looked at her. Finally, he nodded. "Fine. Seventeen it is."
Truth be told, Lester only agreed because it was possible. She could pass off for seventeen, with a stretch of the imagination. Maybe sixteen. If she looked younger then she was… Well, it was an explanation, at least.
Anomaly leaned back in her chair. "Anything else?" Suddenly, her ears pricked. She sat up strait, rigid in her chair. The hair on the back of her neck stood up.
Lester looked at her, an eyebrow raised. "What?"
Anomaly didn't answer him, instead rising to her feet and heading for the door. The Florlics followed, and a whimper escaped from Ikesa's throat.
"You have another anomaly alert." Anomaly whispered.
Lester looked at her. "Two in one day? That's highly unlikely…"
"Listen!" Anomaly hissed, before walking again. "Can't you HEAR it?"
Lester remained quiet for a moment. Finally, he spoke up. "I can't her anyth…"
He was cut off as a siren wailed around them, red lights flashing.
"Ertaca!" Anomaly spat. She started to run, a blur as she raced towards the center of the ARC.
"What do we got?" Next to the ADD, Abby was taking to Connor.
"Another anomaly." Another voice entered as Anomaly sped next to them. "A little way away from here."
Connor raised an eyebrow. "Yeah…"
"What are we waiting for?" Anomaly looked around at the equipment, and grabbed a small gun. "Let's do this."
"Woah, woah woah." Steven walked over to Anomaly and plucked the gun out of her hands. "Weapons are my expertise, short stuff. You don't need a gun."
Anomaly's eyes narrowed, and her hand sparkled with electricity for a split second. For a second, it looked like she would attack Steven then and there.
But, after a moment, she managed to calm herself down. "Don't call me short stuff." She snarled, then turned on her heel and sped out the door.
This time, Anomaly went with the others in the car. Cutter sat next to her. He'd been waiting for a chance to talk to her, and there might not be another time…
He cleared his throat. "Anomaly… I'm just curious…"
Anomaly sighed. "You want to know about Claudia, don't you?"
Cutter's eyes widened. "Yes." He whispered.
Pain, pure and absolute, washed through Anomaly, shown clearly in her eyes. "It's a long story, Cutter."
"Please." Cutter whispered. "I need to know."
A tear sparkled in Anomaly's eye, but she wiped it away before Cutter could really be sure it was there. She turned to him. "Tolio Terria." She said, returning to her native language, whatever that was. "Itara norfallow." She sighed. "It was an old legend. No one would believe it when it came true." She looked down. "And it DID come true. One hundred years before I was born. No one accepted it until there was undeniable proof. And there was." She looked back at him, her voice and eyes mournful. "Oh, there was proof."
She looked out the window. This girl had so much mystery surrounding her, a past that was best hidden.
But Cutter wanted to know. "Proof of what?"
A tear sparkled down Anomaly's cheek, unseen by anyone. "Proof of time collapsing." She replied.
Cutter's eyes widened.
"Proof of those lost coming back." She continued. "Proof that it IS possible to change time by changing the past." She closed her eyes. "Proof that time can bite back." She whispered.
Cutter looked at her, his eyes wide.
Anomaly said nothing further, and Cutter didn't ask her to. He had a feeling that was all she was going to say.
Steven, who was driving, turned to face them. "We're here." He said.
Anomaly was out of the car before anyone could blink. "Right!" She called. "What's the deal?"
Everyone looked at her.
"What?" She asked. "You don't have a plan?"
Connor came over to her. "Well, we kind of just make it up as we go along."
Anomaly's eyes were wide. "Do you have any idea how DANGEROUS that is?" She demanded.
Everyone looked down.
Anomaly's face broke into a smile. "I'm liking this more and more."
Everyone looked back at her.
The Florlics, who had been flying too high for anyone to see, swooped down and landed next to them. The hair on the back of their necks was standing up, and they were growling.
Anomaly smiled. "Show time." She started to walk. She had no idea where they were, but seemed to navigate around the area with ease.
They split up into teams of two, with one exception. Connor went with Abby. Steven tried to follow Anomaly, but she nodded towards Cutter, stopping him in his tracks.
"You two stick together." She ordered. "I'm better going solo."
Steven thought for a moment, then nodded. The girl had four huge dogs with wings following her. What could go wrong?
They searched for about ten minutes. The hand-held anomaly detectors had been giving a bad signal for some reason, so they'd dropped those and searched for the anomaly the old-fashioned way.
Connor swallowed, suddenly nervous. "So…"
Abby raised an eyebrow, looking at him over her shoulder. "Yes…?"
Connor flinched. "Nothing. Never mind."
Abby smiled. "What?"
Connor was clearly embarrassed, looking in any direction but towards her. "Forget it. It was nothing."
Abby's smile widened. "Come on, Connor. You can tell me…"
Connor blushed. "It was nothing, ok? Just… drop it."
Abby kept smiling. She looked ahead.
And her eyes widened.
"Connor." She hissed.
Connor looked up. "Yeah?"
Abby flinched. Connor was so LOUD. "Come here." She whispered.
Connor walked over to her. "What is it?"
Abby nodded her head towards the thing in front of them.
Connor looked, and his eyes widened as well. "Oh."
There, in front of them, was the largest anomaly they'd ever seen.
And, standing in front of THAT, was a creature larger then the anomaly itself.
