Oddity Specialist: Manifestor

by James Courneya

  She easily crosses the gorge and lands onto the other side.

  “Hmm.”

  She thinks over what she sees. “Nothing seems out of place.”

  Neri makes her way down. While she does, Quinn notices something. He reaches down and picks up a metal fork, that has scrapes along it.

  “What are you looking at?”

  He holds it out.

  “Hm, hey, that might be from that room.”

  “Room?”

  “Open window.”

  She points at it without looking.

  “How do you figure?”

  “The quality of it. Not being stainless steel, fits the what I could see of the room. Besides, it’s out here, next to a place that looked like it had been picked over, with little to no trace left behind.”

  “Hm, okay.”

  “Is their something else off about it.”

  “Yeah.”

  Neri focuses in on the scrapes.

  “Oh.”

  “They don’t look normal at all. Like a saw had curved around the base, while applying pressure to give it a slight bend.”

  “Hmm, it’s hard to tell what exactly would have done this.”

  “Yeah.”

  As Neri looks at the scratches, something sparks in her mind.

  “Come on.”

  She heads back over to the ladder and looks over the rungs. Then the two head over to the dumpster again.

  “Similar markings are all over the place.”

  “Okay.”

  “That means that they where left by something specific, that had moved down the exact path the oddity had taken.”

  “So it has to be the oddity then?”

  “It’s an astronomically high likely hood, yes.”

  “What does that tell us?”

  She raises a finger.

  “One, that it most likely scratches things that it grasps.”

  Another finger raises.

  “Two, it is specifically looking for objects and has a fundamentally good understanding of humans.”

  “Uh-huh.”

  “Three, it most certainly has a plan of sorts. The fact it is taking some things and not others, means there is a specific goal in mind. Using that as a base point, it would leave me to believe, it is at least sapient and is collecting parts to build something.”

  Quinn takes a moment, then realizes what this means.

  “It has a base of operations.”

  “Exactly. It’s leaving a tracible trail, while having a location that it will stick close to.”

  “Then we just need to track it down.”

  “Mh-hmm.”

  Neri starts walking away.

  “The trail is cold right now, but we at least have a general guiding direction.”

  She quickly licks her front lip.

  “Meaning, it can heat back up instantaneously.”

  They travel down the path. Keeping their eyes peeled, Quinn eventually starts spotting more markings.

  “That light pole has a marking.”

  An older park light poll has thin scratches on it, in two distinct groupings leading up the pole.

  “That basically clenches it.”

  Neri climbs up the pole, placing her hands where the markings are.

  “These are being left by the oddities hands.”

  She focuses in on the missing light bulb. “Smart enough to cover it’s path, by placing the cover back over it.”

  “Hmm.”

  She slides down.

  “I wonder.”

  “What?”

  She thinks to herself for a bit.

  “We should split up to cover more ground.”

  She scans around.

  “If you can investigate everything on that side of the street, about four blocks wide and three up, then meet back with me towards the end of that area, that would be great.”

  “Anything in particular I should be looking for?”

  “Certainly look for marks, but pay close attention to areas that would normally have markings, that don’t.”

  “Alright.”

  The two split up to scan the area. As Quinn is looking around, a thought occurs to him. “He’s been awfully quiet.”

  “Hey.”

  Quinn turns to his left, seeing Lucifer walk beside him.

  “Yes?”

  “What do you make of this?”

  “Another oddity on the lose? Seems to just be more of the usual.”

  “Like, there isn’t anything of note going on?”

  “Not particularly.”

  “Hm.”

  “What is it?”

  “It just feels like, there is something off about this. Like we are missing the bigger picture, somehow.”

  “Any practical reason you feel that way, or is this just an emotional hunch?”

  “Kind of, sort of, the ladder.”

  “Hm.”

  Lucifer’s frown deepens, while being directed at the boy.

  “You’re probably right.”

  Eventually the area is scanned over.

  “Well?”

  Neri asks, to which Quinn fills her in on the details. Neri then draws up a map within her head.

  “Found it.”

  They start heading off to a particular spot.

  “This area as a central point, doesn’t have the same tracks left around it, while still being within the radiance they should be left in.”

  “Meaning that...”

  “The base is probably here.”

  “I see. How can we tell where?”

  “Only so many options.”

  Neri lifts her pointer finger and slowly moves it around the area. It settles on an abandoned house.

  “A perfect location, to set up shop in.”

  “Makes sense, I guess, we should check it out.”

  They examine the property for a bit. Nothing seems out of place, but there is no way to peer inside.

  “That’s a good sign.”

  Neri states, excitement mounting.

  “Sure.”

  Her eyes turn to Quinn, sparkling.

  “Is it time?”

  “For?”

  “A good old fashion B-and-E, breaking and entering, taking the law into one’s own hands!”

  “Ehhh, if we must.”

  Neri, giddy with excitement, drops down and examines the door lock.

  “Lucifer.”

  “What?”

  “Hair.”

  “...I’m regretting showing you that.”

  He hands her a strand of his hair.

  “These aren’t easy for me to grow back anymore, just so you know. I certainly will not be going bald for your little excursions.”

  Neri finishes picking the lock.

  “Hm?”

  “...Never mind.”

  The three enter in through the doorway.

  The insides of building, is a rather distinctive décor. Feeling as if they have been transported to another world, the two look around at the futuristic technology on display. A central blue, metallic cylinder sits in the center of the room. Dozens among dozens of tubes of varying densities, along with wires that hold firm, jet out from the top of the cylinder spreading out across the roof into the room. Vibrant lights course through each of them in rhythmical, shifting intervals. The way they overlap and vary gives them the same general appearance as tree roots. Simply floating in the air, interspersed within and outside of these tubes, are floating, glowing, blue orbs. A dark circular shadow moves through the surface of the orbs, making them take on a crescent shape, then covering them, before moving all the way around restarting the cycle. The walls have layered pieces of metal. Almost like a bugs exoskeleton, they stack on top of each other, causing them to curve outwards, while having these rough jagged edges. One corner has a purple light shining up a tube, made of thin, overlapping, diagonal bars. In the middle the purple light is a coil sitting on a flat, floating, grey table. The hollowed-out center of the middle cylinder, loo
ks to be one large curving screen, covered in flashing colorful lights that are firing off seemingly at random.

  “Hello, realtor coming in.”

  Lucifer says. The two look at him.

  “What? It’s what they say. There could be a homeless man in here. I’m simply doing my due-diligence.”

  “You just wanted to say it.”

  Quinn states coldly.

  “duuueee-diligence.”

  Neri walks in as they have this exchange.

  “This is, hard to fully breakdown.”

  Quinn looks around.

  “I can see why.”

  “We might not be able to understand the technology, at least not right away. Since, the oddity is based on human perception though, that means that it is crackable.”

  Neri begins examining what she can make out. While she does this, Quinn simply takes in his surroundings. “You know, this would probably make for some good...”

  He takes out his phone and begins snapping pictures. This catches Neri’s attention. Quinn turns to her, not fully sure what to say exactly.

  “These could be useful for clues later. Also, they make for good pictures.”

  “Hmm. Ah! You’re like a crime scene photographer. Oohh, that would be a great role to fill for the agency. Keep up the good work, Supernatural Consultant Quinn.”

  “...Ok.”

  “It’s probably good that you are getting pictures. It probably isn’t to safe to stay in here for to long. Who knows where the oddity is, or what it can do?”

  Lucifer states.

  “That is a good point. Though, I’m more worried about how to deal with an alien oddity.”

  Quinn takes a moment to ponder this feeling he has.

  “I think the first question actually is, what should we even do, in regards to an alien oddity. Like, does it make sense to get rid of it directly, or to interact with it in order to come to an understanding? It would be good to know, what an Oddity Specialist would do in this situation.”

  “Yes, that’s a fair point. Planning for both the best and worst-case scenarios is important. We unquestionably can’t leave an oddity who is stealing things and causing damages to run around freely. More importantly then that, we know it has some intelligence, meaning it is more dangerous then the average oddity, because of its unpredictably and adaptation potential.”

  She focus in on Quinn more directly.

  “However, I don’t think framing this situation, using an Oddity Specialist works. Since each one would have their own ways of going about this type of situation.”

  “That’s a fair point.”

  “Then, what we have to do, is come to understand the oddity, while having a contingency plan for whatever it might have in store for us.”

  “Yeah, that seems like the best option.”

  Neri finishes looking around the place.

  “Alright, we should probably head out of here, while we still can.”

  “Sure.”

  They leave the building.

  “Hmm, we could stake the place out, or maybe leave a message for the oddity?”

  “That would tip your hand.”

  Lucifer states. Neri turns to say something back, but stops when Quinn speaks.

  “That’s true, but it might still be worthwhile. A give and take. We’d just need to make sure, that we get more then we give.”

  “Yes, that’s exactly right.”

  Lucifer says, somewhat surprised.

  “We don’t know the intentions of the alien, so that makes things far harder. We first have to get a read of them, before we engage in a trade.”

  Quinn continues, before starting to think on what to do next. The two continue to examine him, while he is thinking. After a moment or two, he gets slightly fidgety about it.

  “What is it?”

  “Oh, nothing. Yep, we should certainly keep those things in mind.”

  Neri states. Lucifer opens his mouth, but doesn’t speak. His eyes look as if multiple thoughts are running through his head. “...Sharper indeed.”

  He turns his attention to Neri, who has begun looking through her phone for new info on the alien. “I had thought, depending on her would have dulled his already flimsy blade. It seems, I was mistaken on that. It meant quite the opposite.”

  “New sightings have come in.”

  “They have? Anything helpful?”

  “Maybe, but nothing is popping out to me.”

  Neri grabs her head.

  “It’s still...”

  She closes her eyes and takes a moment to recuperate.

  “If you need time to rest, then take it.”

  “I’ll be fine. I’m just not used to having limits.”

  “h-Huh. Well, if you say you’re fine.”

  Quinn pushes off his worry for now. “She still needs to get used to her new ability. I’m sure that is the case, but if it causes so much damage, maybe it’s best to avoid it... Heh, not used to limits. Yeah, okay, she has a way of making me worry less, that’s for sure.”

  “We certainly aren’t ready to deal with this thing right now. Probably best for use to leave, without causing their suspicion to rise.”

  Neri states.

  “Yeah, that also gives us time to get more information and formulate a plan.”

  They head back to the agency. Neri writes down details on the sightings, while Quinn grabs any information he can find on this type of oddity.

  “I got both extraterrestrial specific information and self-cognizant oddity files.”

  “Alright.”

  Neri starts scanning through a few stacks, while Quinn looks over a file of his own. They have a back and forth on what they find, along with potential plans going forward. A couple hours later, Neri squeezes the bridge of her nose and stays motionless for some time.

  “Maybe we should call it here for today?”

  Quinn suggests.

  “We can rest after we solve this case.”

  “We can’t solve it without resting.”

  “...Mhhh, fair enough.”

  Neri states, with irritation in her voice. They head home for the night and reconvene the next day. The two head off to the abandoned building, while Neri speaks.

  “From the information we have gathered, a few things are clear. The oddity has a specific goal in mind. Likely, their intellect level is human level, and not human plus. Meaning, that goal must be short term.”

  “Hm?”

  “Like, a demon might set a plan into motion that would take a hundred years, but we would be less likely to do so.”

  “Oh.”

  “That also limits the goal, towards something related to its creation. What do aliens want? To examine things, or to invade, or to get home. These are the most likely options. If it is to get home, then if we help them, the oddity’s conditions could be met, leading to them dissipating.”

  “And the other two?”

  “Um, perhaps an alien researcher could be brought on board to help us?”

  Quinn express his dissatisfaction at the concept with his face.

  “...Either way, that one isn’t the dangerous one.”

  “Yes, if they want to wage a war against the Earth, then we have much more to worry about.”

  “So, they are either taking things to examine them, or they are building something. That thing being a space ship, or a weapon.”

  “Pretty much.”

  “You say that, but I can tell there’s more.”

  “If it was simply examining things, I think it would be less picky and most definitely would take far more care in not being got. They seem almost desperate. That narrows it down to two options.”

  “Fight or flight.”

  “Ah, I like the connection. In case it’s flight, we just need to help it.”

  “And fight, I guess is, self-explanatory.”

  “Yeah.”

  “How do we fight an alien?”

  “Lasers?”

  “We don’t have lasers.”


  “Water.”

  “We have that. Though that really feels like a copout reply. Why would an alien, allergic to water, come to a planet covered in it? Plus, it’s water, that’s just H2O. It’s not the oxygen that does the damage, so how bad does the hybridization have to affect them?”

  “Mhh, I kind of do want to have this conversation, but we don’t really have time. Let’s remember it for later.”

  “...Sure.”

  Quinn winces slightly, thinking over the words he just said. “I’m still not used to the fact, that there’s someone else interested in random moderately intriguing things. It’s honestly a little more embarrassing talking about something when someone else is interested in it, then when they aren’t. Maybe, because that means they are actually paying attention and know what you’re saying?”

  They arrive at the building.

  “Stake out.”

  Neri says excitedly, hiding behind a bush. Ten seconds pass.

  “Let’s head in.”

  “Not much of a stake out...”

  “They aren’t here, so it would kind of be a waste of time.”

  “Okay.”

  They head over to the door.

  “I’m not giving you more hair, doesn’t matter how much you beg, it won’t happen.”

  “Hm?”

  Neri looks back to Lucifer, having already picked the lock with a lock pick.

  “Okay, now I just kind of feel useless.”

  “Do you not normally feel that way?”

  “How dare-?”

  “You don’t ever help us investigate, or look over information. Sometimes we finish a long search for something, then you say oh yeah, I remember that now.”

  Neri mimics his voice with great accuracy.

  “Oh gee, oh willickers, looky loo at me! I’m a little detective, boy howdy do I like doing boring, tedious, and pointless tasks.”

  Lucifer doesn’t just mimic her voice, he completely copies it.

  “Oh, that was pretty good.”

  “...Can we head in?”

  Quinn asks. The three head inside.

  “...”

  Lucifer clicks his tongue.

  “That’s not good for you.”

  The room is empty, besides what you would normally expect form an abandoned building.

  “They took everything with them. They’re running.”

  Neri says.

  “That does make sense, if they figured out someone found them.”

  “No, it’s a lot worse than that. Sure, finding them again will be hard. However, they didn’t change their movement pattern.”