The Stranger Days of Annabelle

The Stranger Days of Annabelle Lennox

Annabelle Lennox knew that she was a special girl.

Honestly, it wasn't that hard to figure out that she wasn't quite like all the other little girls in her class.

For one, her dad was practically a super hero. Okay, yeah, so everyone else's dad happened to be a super hero, but hers really was one... or was the closest thing to one without actually having super powers. William Lennox happened to be a Major in the military, but that wasn't what made him the most awesome dad ever. Nope. What actually made him awesome was the fact that he was one of the special coordinators between the normal army and all the awesome people who got to work on the Earth Defence Command base in the desert.

Some dads had normal jobs. Her dad worked with aliens.

Oh! And the aliens... yeah, that was a big part about what made Annabelle a pretty special little girl. Her family happened to be full of aliens. Big ones. Made of metal. And they happened to turn into cars. They were called a lot of things, like Cybertronians, or transformers, or Autobots... or 'get off my front lawn, you tin can!', but that last one was generally only for special occasions. Seeing as Annabelle was only eight years old and had yet to grasp the intricacies of genealogy, she wasn't quite sure where the Cybertronians fit in to her family tree. They didn't look like they fit in to her mom's side or dad's side, but she didn't think it mattered very much.

She had uncles and aunts with the coolest names- Ironhide, Chromia, Sunstreaker, Sideswipe, Bumblebee... And they could do things that no one else could do. They could turn into cars and drive around even when there was no one in the driver's seat. They could transform their arms into guns and shoot things that were really far away. Ironhide liked showing off like that, blowing giant boulders up whenever he got the chance. Some of them were as tall as her house, while others were small enough to fit right inside her house. They could make holographic projections that made them look human... even if they slipped up sometimes and did something that was completely alien.

But those weren't the only kinds of aliens that Annabelle knew. There were lots of other kinds of aliens, not just metal ones. A lot of them were fleshy, like humans... and some of them didn't have flesh, but scales, or feathers, or bark and leaves like a plant. There were a couple kinds of aliens already on Earth, most of them hidden in plain sight. Ever since the Cybertronians came out to the public, a lot of other aliens had started making themselves public. Lots of them lived near EDC bases now because it was safer for them. A lot of them looked odd, but that didn't mean they scary or mean. They could be really nice when you got to know them.

Part of what made Annabelle so special what that she knew so many aliens personally, and she wasn't scared of a single one. A lot of her human friends made faces and squealed when she would tell them about a new kind of alien she had met through her dad, and it had always seemed weird to her that they would make such a fuss. What was wrong with someone who could transform into a car? What was so funny if someone had leaves that grew out of their head, or if they could breathe underwater, or lick their eyeballs with their tongue...?

Okay, so that last one kind of freaked her out, but it wasn't like she made a big deal about it.

It was the fact that she never made a big deal about people who were different that made Annabelle a very special little girl.

And being a special little girl paid off sometimes, like today. No one would tell her exactly what was going on, but it was apparently important. Not that she was complaining, since she got to stay home from school. It was a Friday, so she wasn't missing much anyways.

"Are we there yet?" Annabelle chirped from the backseat, peering out Ironhide's back windows eagerly. They were travelling familiar roads through town, headed in the direction of the airport.  

Her mom peered back at her from the passenger's seat. "Almost there, but it'll still be a few more minutes. Ironhide decided to go the speed limit today." She patted Ironhide's dashboard affectionately.

A deep rumble vibrated the entire cab of the gigantic truck. "I am not going to risk either of your safety," announced a gravelly voice which emanated from the speakers. Up ahead, a light turned amber, and instead of speeding up to make the light, Ironhide slowed down and stopped long before the light turned red.

"You could have made that," Sarah pointed out lightly.

"No."

Sarah spun around again and Annabelle was treated to an eye-rolling show as her mother made a face. "See? Ironhide's being all safety conscious because he's driving us."

Annabelle giggled.

"If anything were to happen to you..." intoned the Autobot.

"You would never forgive yourself. Yes, we've heard, Ironhide," Sarah replied. She patted the dashboard again. "We're just teasing you. I know you'll get us there when you get us there."

"I bet even if we crashed, we'd be okay," Annabelle said, nodding her confidence. "Your armour is supposed to be the strongest out of everyone's, right? Nothing can get through it."

If Ironhide had been in his bipedal mode, he might have puffed up in pride. Like most of the Autobots, he had a soft spot for Annabelle Lennox. She showed the brightness and energy of a Cybertronian youngling, and it offered comfort to even the most hardened spark to dote on her from time to time. As she viewed the Cybertronians as family, they in turn viewed her as a bright spot to their days when it seemed everything else was getting darker.

"No, nothing can get through my armour," rumbled the weapons specialist, sounding quite proud of himself. "It was forged by some of the greatest blacksmiths on Cybertron, made from the toughest metals."

The light turned green and they lurched back into motion. In the lane next to theirs, an obnoxiously loud car horn blasted at them. Annabelle was instantly craning her neck to see out the window again, trying to see who was beeping at them. Who ever it was, they were driving a really low-slung car, because she couldn't see them from her spot in the back of Ironhide's cab. Ironhide happened to be a lot bigger than most of the vehicles on the road.

"Are people being stupid because you don't have a driver?" Annabelle wondered, still yanking at her seat belt to see outside.

"Don't call people stupid," her mother chastised lightly.

"Don't worry, Sarah- this time, 'stupid' applies quite nicely," Ironhide grumbled. To Annabelle, he said, "It's only Sideswipe."  

The honking horn continued until Ironhide suddenly veered to the side, forcing Sideswipe to fall back or be thrown from the road. Annabelle didn't hear anything being said between the two Autobots, but she knew that Ironhide was lecturing the red Lamborghini. The Cybertronians could talk to each other inside their heads; a bit like how two people could talk on the phone, only a little more private. Finally, Annabelle managed to get enough leverage to get up on her knees and squish her face to the window, able to see down far enough to spot a streak of bright red. She wanted to wave to the pretty Lambo, but he probably couldn't see her.

Someone tapped her shoulder. Annabelle gasped and spun around, her butt landing on the padded seat with a soft thump. Sitting next to her was Sideswipe's hologram, looking handsome with his bright red hair tied back in a pretty braid and wearing the basic EDC uniform that all the holograms used as a default. He had the whitest teeth she's ever seen as he grinned at her brightly.

"Hey there, little bright spark," he said.

"Sideswipe!" Annabelle cried out, falling into the hologram's arms to hug him tight. Like all holograms, he smelled like a new car.

Strong arms wrapped around her, and then she felt him kiss the top of her head.

"Just thought I'd say goodbye," said the Lambo. "Me and Sunny are headed back to Carnéval today and I couldn't hop on the flight without saying goodbye to my favourite little youngling."

"Are you headed to the airport too?" Annabelle wondered.

Sideswipe laughed. "No, Sunny and I are too big to get on a normal airplane. The EDC flies us around in special cargo planes."

"Are you going to be back soon?" Annabelle asked, her little arms cinching tighter.

"We have a couple orns off, but we should be back in a month or two. I'll bring you back a souvenir from home," said Sideswipe. "Be a good girl, kay?"

"Okay," Annabelle replied brightly. She released him and settled back in her seat, watching as the hologram that Sideswipe used suddenly turned into a bunch of pixels and then shattered. It was a bit like watching a video game character disappear after defeating them. Before the pieces hit the floor of Ironhide's cab, they disappeared.

"Urgh," Ironhide groaned. "I hate it when someone transmits through me. Especially him. His coding is horrendous."

Out on the road, Sideswipe gave one last cheerful honk of his horn before he peeled off at nearly twice the speed limit and swung onto a side road, leaving angry drivers and scared pedestrians in his wake.

Still giddy from the distraction, Annabelle did not note the passing time until Ironhide finally turned off the road into the expansive parking lot of the airport. As he navigated around, she was on her knees again, trying to get a look at as much as she possibly could. There wasn't much to see in a parking lot, to tell the truth. Cars, trucks, motorcycles- every kind of make, model, and colour. Just by looking at them, Annabelle knew none of them were Cybertronian. Like many of the humans who had been around the robotic aliens long enough, Annabelle had developed a sixth sense to know when a vehicle was alive or not.

Ironhide drew up on the curb and opened his doors, the seat belts clamped around his passengers disengaging. "You two can go ahead, I'll park. Agent Simmons is already in there."

"Mr. Simmons?" Annabelle wondered, frowning. Reginald Simmons was a strange man. Her dad didn't seem to like him much, even though he came around for dinner nearly every week with everyone else. No one ever called him by his first name, and only a few people actually called him 'Agent Simmons'. Most people called him only by his last name... or called him names that Annabelle wasn't allowed to repeat. As a compromise, she called him 'Mr. Simmons' because that felt more polite, even if he was a very strange man.

Sarah jumped down from her seat and went around to catch Annabelle, setting her down on solid ground. "Mr. Simmons is here to meet some very special people."

Annabelle wrinkled her nose. "But why are we here? Is he sending us away?"

Sarah laughed and squeezed her hand as they breezed into the busy building, the cool air from the air conditioners washing over them.

"Nope, Mr. Simmons actually asked for you to be here for a very special reason."

Instantly interested, Annabelle perked up excitedly. "Do I get to go on a mission like Daddy does?"

"Not quite," Sarah replied, but her smile was still wide.

Next to them, the air shifted, and then Ironhide's hologram was there. Annabelle didn't like his hologram as much as she liked his real self. The human-looking thing didn't look very friendly.

"Simmons is this way," said the holoform, sounding like himself and yet... not quite. The metallic twang was missing from his voice. The timbre wasn't as intense or deep. He sounded human, which Annabelle disliked as much as she disliked his hologram.

Moving through the bustling crowds that hurried this way and that to get to the right terminals, they came to a waiting area lined with windows and arranged with chairs. Simmons was easy to spot amongst the normal people. He might not have meant to stand out, but he did so anyways by the way he held himself too stiffly and the way his eyes constantly scanned every person who walked by. Her dad had once told her that he only acted like that because he'd spent too many years in Sector Seven doing things that were very difficult to do and it had taken its toll on him.

He spotted them almost immediately, his face relaxing just a bit. He adjusted his tie, straightened his jacket, and made his way forward at a quick walk. He greeted Sarah with a handshake, and inclined his head to Ironhide. Annabelle held out her hand when she knew it was her turn to greet him, but instead of shaking her hand like he normally did, Simmons crouched down to be on level with her.

"I'm glad you were able to make it, Annie," he said. His breath smelled like coffee and mints.

She cocked her head to the side, pursing her lips. "But why am I here?"

"I have a very special mission for you," said the agent.

Annabelle straightened up, her blue eyes wide. "A mission? A real one?" She grinned excitedly. "Do I get to go some place cool- like Japan?"

Simmons laughed. "Not one of those missions," he said. "A very special acquaintance of mine is arriving today to help out at the EDC. She's bringing along her cub and he's going to need a friend to help show him around. I think you're the best agent I have for the job. Do you think you're up for it?"

Annabelle puffed up. "Yeah, I can do that!"

Simmons smiled, groaning as he stood up. "Good. You're a good girl, Annabelle." He checked his watch, then glanced around the waiting area. "They should being arriving soon, so we should take a seat."

Annabelle could hardly sit down now that she had been assigned a real mission by a real secret agent... Well, ex-secret agent, since Mr. Simmons now worked for the EDC like everyone else. She decided it was now her mission to pester the agent relentlessly to find out as much information as she possibly could about the people who were arriving. That was what a responsible secret agent would do, right? So her questions were as follows: Why did he say 'cub' instead of 'kid'? Where were they from? What were their names? What kind of job was his friend planning to do at the EDC? How old was her cub? How long had he known them? Where did he meet them? When were they going to arrive? Was she going to like them when they came? Was her mission going to be really difficult? Did she have to fight Decepticons?

Mr. Simmons, as it turned out, was a very tough nut to crack. Annabelle tried all her best interrogation techniques and he still didn't budge. He was a formidable agent, indeed.

The only break that her mother and the agent got was when Ironhide volunteered to take her to the small shop in the airport that sold smoothies. Annabelle was more than happy to go get a strawberry-banana smoothie, and then lingered in the shop to talk to the nice Nebulon named Kloo who worked at the counter with another human. Nebulons were one of her most favourite alien species- not as awesome as the Cybertronians, but still pretty cool. They were actually plants, not animals, so their skin was green like grass and they had big leaves that grew out the top of their heads. It was funny talking to them because they didn't have any voice boxes- instead, they could project their thoughts into others' heads.

Finally, Ironhide informed her that the plane had arrived and that they should get back so that she wasn't late to begin her mission. Annabelle sighed expansively, casting an apologetic look to Kloo the Nebulon.

"Sorry," she said. "It was really nice talking to you, but I have to go now. I'm a secret agent with a mission."

Kloo smiled, big black eyes glittering. "Good luck on your mission."

Annabelle skipped her way back to her mother with Ironhide's holoform trailing behind her like a big, scary shadow. She hopped up on one of the chairs and looked around excitedly, noting that the big open area was a lot more crowded than it had been before. Over the speakers, a calm voice was announcing the arrival of a plane from Copenhagen, Denmark. Annabelle had no idea where that was, but she guessed that it was far away.

"Are they here yet?"

Simmons stood up and adjusted his tie again. "You'll know them when you see them."

"Do we know them?" Annabelle wondered.

"No, they're just hard to miss," said the agent.

Annabelle redoubled her efforts to peer through the crowd, inspecting every face who entered the area. How would she know who they were waiting for? What did they look like? Would they be nice? Were they tall? Short? Thin? Fat?  

And then she spotted them.

At first, it was just a flash of pink in the crowd. Bright neon pink; it was fuzzy and stood up in every direction. Curious, Annabelle continued to watch the bobbing flash of pink until the crowd finally parted, revealing who was attached to the bright pink hair. She heard herself gasp loudly, knowing instantly that the woman she saw was the one that they were waiting for. There was a little boy with her, trailing so close that he nearly tripped as he pressed himself to his mother's leg.

They weren't human.

But they weren't any kind of alien that Annabelle had seen before.

Their skin was pink, the mother's skin the colour of pink bubblegum while the little boy's skin was paler, like milk with a little bit of pink dye in it. The neon pink that had caught Annabelle's attention at first turned out to be the mother's hair, which stood on end at several inches long in a wild array like a Troll doll's hair. The little boy at her side had shorter hair, standing only a couple inches away from his head, but it was as red as Sideswipe's paint. Their faces were almost human-like, except that their noses were bigger and rounder, and their eyes were bright yellow and slitted like a cat's. When one of them looked to the side, Annabelle saw that they had pointed ears. When something swished behind them, Annabelle discovered, much to her awed delight, that they had tails tipped with the same coloured hair that was on their heads.

Hopping down from her chair, she tugged insistently on her mother's sleeve. "There they are!"

"I see them," Sarah whispered back.

"They're pink!" Annabelle exclaimed.

Simmons raised his hand, waving once. "Liah!"

The alien female startled for a moment, searching around. She closed her eyes and tilted her nose in the air, taking a breath. A moment later, she opened her eyes and turned their way.

"Reginald!" she called, waving back.

More than a few people stared as the pair of pink aliens made their way through the crowd toward the small party of humans (and one hologram) waiting for them.

"Det er så godt at se dig igen," Simmons said, then cleared his throat. "Sorry, my Danish is a little rusty."

"It is good enough. Better than your Ummish ever was," replied Liah teasingly in moderately understandable English, her words laced with a strange accent. It wasn't just Danish, but another language... Ummish, maybe. Without preamble, she stretched her arms out and brought the agent into a tight hug, her nose dipping to the hollow of his neck to take in a deep breath. Simmons returned the gesture awkwardly, patting his so-called acquaintance on the back.

Annabelle watched for only a moment before her attention was drawn downward. The little alien boy with the bright red hair was currently trying to hide behind his mother's legs. He was shaking and his tail was down so low that it was nearly tucked between his legs. For a brief moment, he poked his head out, caught Annabelle staring, and then ducked back to safety. He was taller than her by a couple inches, and was maybe a year or two older, but the poor guy looked terrified.

Words were being said above her head, but she only listened to a little bit of it. Something about Liah being the new dietician on base... helping sort out other alien diets so all the diverse species could be comfortable... blah, blah, blah... a whole bunch of adult stuff.

Annabelle was much more interested in the alien cub watching her. He was kind of cute, being all pink and red with the tail and pointed ears. He looked almost like what she might imagine a cute troll to look like. Without a doubt, he was her new mission. She was supposed to be his friend. The only problem was... he didn't seem to want to make eye contact with her.

Simmons was suddenly crouching beside her. "Annabelle, I would like you to meet Liah Mophat and her son Teeki. They're Uma from Denmark. I've known Liah's clan for several years and she's agreed to come here to help out."

Annabelle smiled brightly up at the Uma woman. "You're really pretty."

Liah smiled back, revealing a set of teeth that were all sharp and pointy. "Thank you. You're a very pretty little girl." She crouched down, taking her son and guiding him out in front of her. "This is Teeki, my cub."

Teeki's tail was now firmly planted between his legs.

Liah ignored her son's terror, continuing as if nothing was wrong. "Reginald mentioned that you're willing to show him around until he gets used to his new home?"

"Yep!" Annabelle chirped happily.

Teeki seemed to be startled by the sudden noise, spinning around to attempt to hide behind his mother again. Liah held tight, not letting him go anywhere. She leaned close to his ear and said something in a language that Annabelle didn't understand. It didn't even sound like a human language, but instead like a cat trying to talk- growling and meowing were mixed with the words. Annabelle guessed that the language must have been Ummish. Whatever Liah must have said, Teeki's tail slowly came out from between his legs. His big yellow eyes blinked bright and wide as he stared at Annabelle with a new fascination.

Liah turned her attention back to Annabelle. "Teeki only speaks Ummish and Danish right now, so you'll have to be patient until he learns some English."

"Or I can learn Danish!" Annabelle replied cheerfully. "I don't know if I can learn Ummish, though..."

"Teeki will be able to teach you, if you want to learn," Liah said warmly. "I told him that you're going to be his friend and look after him. He's a little shy, but once he gets used to you, he'll warm right up."

Annabelle regarded Teeki again and noticed that he seemed to have warmed up a lot from the last time she looked him in the eyes. He was looking her all over, from her curly blond hair to her sandals and feet. She watched as his round nose twitched, like he was trying to catch her scent. His tail swished like a cat's did when they were curious about something.

Since this was her mission and she was determined to do it right, Annabelle took a step closer and held out her hand. "Hi, I'm Annabelle."

Teeki stared at her offered hand, then looked at her face. Very softly, he said "Jeg er Teeki.".

Without warning, he came forward and hugged her, his nose dipping to her neck like Liah had done to Mr. Simmons. She felt him take a deep breath in... a second, and then a third. It tickled, but she didn't laugh. Thinking that this was the way that Umas greeted each other, she stretched up and took a deep breath of Teeki's neck. He smelled like soap and wild animals. When he released her, they both stepped back and giggled quietly.

"It's very nice to meet you, Teeki," Annabelle said, smiling her best smile for him.

Teeki smiled back, his teeth as sharp and pointy as his mother's. "Du dufter godt."

"Um... thank you!" She had no idea what he just said, but she was pretty sure they were going to be friends now.