by GoozX and I'm Not Mister Mxypltk
Shirley Francis looked over the appointment sheets, her pen gently sliding down the list. Pausing sharply, she noticed an unchecked box beside a note that read, "Pick up uniforms." With a sigh, she pressed the intercom. "T.C., if you don't leave..." A breeze swept across the air in front of her, but she barely noticed. "...you are gonna be late picking up the team's new uniforms at--"
Before she could even finish, Tobias appeared in the doorway with a box.
"Istoppedontimethistime,no?"
Shirley's hand struck her head, the vibrating causing another headache. Popping a few pills, she said, "Yeah, you're getting much better alread--"
Once again he was gone, and only the box remained. With a sigh, she got up and put the box on the counter. Slicing it along the side, she opened the box. Each uniform was handmade, the initials MBL were on each right shoulder, and code names were across the back. They were colored in a very basic light blue and gray.
I can't wait to see Mick in this, she thought. Turning around, she noticed Sam Dawson walking toward the door. "Heads up," Shirley said, giving Sam a quick warning before his uniform slammed into his face.
Taking it away from his face, he gave it a quick look over. "Nice." Turning the uniform around, the name Shift was etched into the back. "I like, I like."
Sam turned toward Shirley. "I'm going out for a little bit. I hope you wouldn't mind holding this for me."
Shirley turned, and the uniform met her face. Grinding her teeth, she said, "No problem at all..."
Outside, Sam spread out his arms and breathed in the fresh air. A light breeze passed over him as the sun struck his face. "Now to get down to some real business."
The day was still young, yet was filled with its share of weirdness. In a small waiting room, that is, a former walk-in closet renovated into a waiting room, sat a small mechanical dog.
The little dog sat on a chair waiting to speak to Kit Piper, who was in a meeting with another new arrival, one Turkish Stringfellow.
The dog sat, curious how much longer he would have to wait before being helped, when a small cat, Li'l Jo, entered with a purr.
"I'm sorry, but you will have to wait until I'm done. I was here first," it said with a mechanical voice.
Li'l Jo turned his head and looked at the mechanical dog with curiosity.
"My name is T5. And you are?"
"Meow."
"Meow? I see. It is a pleasure to meet you." After an uneasy pause, it said, "So, what problem brings you here today?"
Li'l Jo looked at T5 for a second and then licked her paw, following with a purr.
"Well, if you wish to not speak about it, then I understand. I mean, we all have personal stuff."
The game room on the second floor:
"Is everything ready for the trip?" Danny Hearn asked.
"Yeah," Pete Glover answered. "I guess."
"The flight's in two hours," said Tobias Christopher, who was reading Shirley's Cosmo magazine on the couch.
"Cool. I just packed my things," Danny said. "Did you pack yet?"
"I'll do it a couple of seconds before we leave," Tobias said, putting his feet on the couch.
"Pack?" Pete asked.
"Yeah, you know. We could be there for days," Danny said.
"Oh," Pete said. "'Kay," he continued as he walked to the stairs to go to his room.
As he exited the room, Shirley Francis walked into it from the opposite side, carrying a box. "The uniforms are here!" she said, throwing Danny and Tobias their respective uniforms. "Look, they even got a cute li'l one for Li'l Jo."
"Nice," Tobias said, putting the magazine on the floor and placing his uniform on his chest.
"Animal Man?" Danny said, looking at the code name on his uniform. "Animal Man?!"
"Well, we couldn't put Danny on it," Shirley explained.
"Animal Man?!"
"Hey, guys, have any of you seen my Cosm--" Shirley said, and at that exact split-second, the magazine lying next to Tobias was replaced by a newspaper, "--o?"
"Nope," Tobias said, picking up the newspaper. "Check your desk. Maybe it's there."
"No, I just checked there."
"Check again, you might be surprised," Tobias said. "Uh, or not, whatever..."
Meanwhile, in Pete's room, he had been staring at the empty open suitcase lying on his bed for three minutes now, not knowing what to pack.
"Hell, I'll just takes what I'm wearin'! What else does I need?" he finally said.
He started walking out of his room, but then he stopped and said, "Okay, maybe me spare boxers... just in case," as he grabbed the boxers and placed them in one of his pockets.