Alice smiled as she entered the office. She was greeted by the mechanical sound of people typing filling the office, as reporters, editors, and cartoonists were rushing to make the deadline. It was set for March 11th at noon. Which, incidentally, was today.
Benjamin grunted as he rubbed his temples in frustration.
Alice walked over and peeked over his shoulder. He was writing an article on the effects of artichokes on the cardiovascular system. The article was well written, if not for it turning into a long sequence of the word artichoke repeated over and over halfway through.
“Looks like someone needs a break.” Alice said dryly.
Benjamin clicked his tongue. “Easy for you to say.” He grunted. “You’re done already.”
Alice nodded. “Yes, but anyone can see you’re stuck.” Then she smiled. “And the best way to fix that is to take a break.”
Benjamin sighed. “Fine, the director will probably postpone the deadline anyway.”
“He always does.” Alice agreed. They started chuckling at that.
A loud clearing of the throat broke the two from their mirth. Alice turned to see Evelyn, the director’s assistant. “Alice, director Max wants to speak with you in his office.”
“Speaking of the devil, they say.” She murmured as she walked off towards the office.
The office was simply, with only a few key issues from the Scales, like the first printed issue, the headline detailing the destruction caused by Citadel. She shuddered. The tall skyscrapers of Manhattan twisted and deformed like clay constructs. That was the day everything changed. Or so they thought.
In the end, Citadel turned out to be an anomaly, most Odds only had minor abilities, such as producing a literal handful of water by cupping their hands, or being able to change their facial expression on a photograph after it had been taken.
After the Manhattan incident the general public was very opposed to Odds, fearing for another Citadel. Fortunately, that had calmed down now. Odds were seen as just that, a bit odd, not a threat or menace to society. The Scales had played no small part in that, spreading stories of the more innocent Odds doing good in their communities, featuring a funny series of cartoons of Odds with harmless powers trying to take over the world, and failing humorously each issue. Alice herself had been responsible for an extensive article detailing all the researches that showed another anomaly like Citadel was incredibly unlikely at best.
“Close the door, Alice.” Max, the director and founder of Scale, said calmly.
As Alice closed the door she asked, “What is it about, Max? Something wrong with my article?”
Max shook his head. “Not at all.” He paused. “In fact, because you are the only one who has already finished their article, I have a new assignment for you.”
He sighed.
Alice cocked her head. “You don’t seem very excited about this assignment. How bad is it?” She groaned. “Please tell me it isn’t artichokes or anything like that?”
Max just shook his head again, and handed her a file. She grabbed it, reading the title.
“Anomaly 02: Punctuality”
Her eyes widened, then she opened the file, flipping through it, her eyes racing across the pages.
“Is this real?”
“That’s what I need you to find out. If it is, we’ll need a reporter like you to write the article on it. Not many others could bring this to the public properly.” With that he dismissed her.
Alice rushed through traffic for the first time in her life.
She shook her head. It could not be true. Citadel had been an anomaly, a once in a billion happenstance. It would be impos-
Suddenly a car crashed into hers, pushing both into an alley.
Groaning Alice blinked as her vision cleared. Before her stood a man dressed in a fancy suit, he seemed oddly fine for a man who had just been in a car crash.
The man tapped his watch, smiling viciously.
“You are right on time, miss Alice.”
He pulled a knife from his sleeve. “Now I’m afraid this first meeting will have to be our last as well.” He shrugged. “Nothing personal, of course, just business.”