itsananomaly | Anomaly Research Centre

Lester had called a couple of days ago, saying that there had been a lot more anomaly activity and they needed all hands on deck, he had even - if somewhat reluctantly invited Connor to tag along to help them.

Since they were heading home, Cutter thought that this was a good opportunity to finally tell the team about him and Connor being together, they had already told Cutter’s Connor the news - which it turned out they’d had nothing to worry about, he was very firmly in love with Abby and had been very supportive of them being together.

The team had been supportive as well, even Stephen - Cutter knew there was a lot of history between them and he had been nervous about telling Stephen, not just because of everything that had happened with Helen but the times that he and Stephen had tried and failed to make it work between them before deciding to be really good friends instead.

Now that he’d told the team, he supposed now was as good a time as any to let them in on his discovery that there was a traitor amongst them - he’d called a meeting with both Connor’s, Abby and Stephen - he felt bad about not including Jenny in this but he didn’t know how far up it did go, from what he’d gathered from Connor it went fairly high up and he didn’t want to include her in this just yet.

He’d arranged for them to meet in the gym but he was waiting in his office first with Connor, mentally preparing himself to go and meet with them.

“What if they don’t believe me?” he looked worriedly over at Connor, “what if they … I don’t know, think I’m just paranoid or something?”

[and so begins the canon update! Adapted from Series 2 Episode 6 'Traitor Revealed' and preplayed with the amazing

anomaly_research_nerd. NFB but OOC welcome!]

Connor (anomaly_research_nerd)	"I'm sure it will be fine... They trust you. I mean yeah, a little paranoid maybe, but not that anyone can really blame you," Connor said as he watched Cutter, reaching out to put a hand on his shoulder. "It's going to be alright, Nick," he said with a reassuring nod.
Cutter (itsananomaly)	“I … I know I’m right about this,” Cutter said softly, a little hesitant than he might have been, he was grateful for the hand resting on his shoulder to steady him, “it … we need proof, there’s no telling just how far up it goes, what they’ll do to stop us from finding out … I … I can’t do this alone,” he admitted, which was a very rare thing for him to admit.
Connor (anaomaly_research_nerd)	"And you won't have to," Connor said simply, knowing what a big deal that was for Cutter to ask for help at all, but not wanting to make him feel awkward by calling attention to it. Instead, he just gave his shoulder a small squeeze. "We'll figure out who's behind this and stop them.”
Cutter (itsananomaly)	Cutter gave a small, relieved smile at that, grateful that Connor was there with him, “do you think everyone will be at the gym now? Or should we wait a few more moments?” It seemed that Stephen didn’t spend much time at the ARC these days, so he wasn’t sure if Stephen was even going to be at the meeting he’d arranged.
Connor (anomaly_research_nerd)	"Could probably start heading over. Connor and Abby are likely there already right?" Connor tried to hide the small frown on his face as the thought about it. They had been really cool about everything but still... he was trying not to feel too awkward about it all.
Cutter (itsananomaly)	“Right,” Cutter nodded, feeling a bit more at ease at that, “I think I saw them heading that way earlier, there’s a good chance they’re already there…I’m not sure where Stephen is, I haven’t seen him since we told everyone,” he admitted. He noticed the small frown that Connor was trying to hide, "are you alright?" he asked gently.
Connor (anomaly_research_nerd)	"Yeah, I'm good. Sorry Nick," he said with a small grin. "Just don't want to mess things up ya know? This... this is the first time I've really been around the team since we told them... and, I just don't want to be the one to screw things up for the team."
Cutter (itsananomaly)	“You don’t have to apologise for anything Connor,” Cutter assured him gently, “the rest of the team have been really supportive, even Lester didn’t seem that surprised by it or make any sarcastic comments when we told him, which is practically a compliment coming from him,” he smiled softly, “but if it makes you too uncomfortable being here, I can make arrangements to have us go back to Fandom early … I’ll pull some strings with Jenny so we can leave,” he added.
Connor (anomaly_research_nerd)	"Nice try, but you aren't getting rid of me that easy" Connor said with a small smirk. "I said I was going to be here for you and that is what I am going to do," he added, giving Cutter a small half hug. "So.... shall we go get this secret team meeting started?"
Cutter (itsananomaly)	Cutter's smile widened at that as he returned the half hug, "it's settled then," he said, not feeling so nervous now, "let's go to this secret team meeting," he hesitated and then held out his hand for Connor to take, so they could walk to the meeting together.
Connor (anomaly_research_nerd)	Connor returned the smile as he took Cutter's offered hand, lacing their fingers together. "Let's do this," he said with a nod and then started down the hall with Cutter.
Cutter (itsananomaly)	Cutter took a deep breath and led them to the gym, he could hear Abby and Connor talking and then he heard Stephen’s voice as well so everyone was there. “He just said he wanted to meet us,” Abby was saying. Well that seemed like as good an entrance as any, still holding onto Connor’s hand, maybe a little more tightly than normal. Sorry Connor. “I wanted it to be somewhere we’re we wouldn’t be overheard,” he said as they entered the room. “Wow is that paranoia or what?” he could hear his Connor mutter and he flinched a bit as he went to turn the music up.
Connor (anomaly_research_nerd)	Connor gave Cutter's hand a reassuring squeeze, even as the blood flow was starting to get cut off a bit there. He looked around at the others with a small nod. "Not paranoid if there is just cause for it though," he said, still holding onto to Cutter's hand, waiting until he was ready to let go. "I think it's better to be careful, until we understand what we are up against and who we are dealing with," he added, looking over at Cutter as he did.
Cutter (itsananomaly)	Cutter nodded, Connor’s reassuring squeeze making him realise how tightly he was squeezing Connor’s hand and finally let go. “And this is a necessary precaution,” he assured them, motioning for everyone to come closer to him, “come here,” Abby, his Connor and Stephen gathered round him and he had another moment of hesitation, looking over at Connor for reassurance.
Connor (anaomaly_research_nerd)	"Go ahead Nick," Connor said, the name slipping out before he realized it. "Tell them about the traitor we think is here in the ARC." Connor made sure to emphasize the 'we' there, so it didn't seem like it was just Cutter being paranoid or overreacting.
Cutter (itsananomaly)	Cutter gave a small smile at that as he heard Connor say his name, he took a deep breath, “I - I don’t know who it is exactly,” he admitted as he looked around the group, “but someone is working against us, someone who has access to the detector and probably the same someone who stole the headset in the Silurian,” he looked at Stephen as he said it. “Someone?” Stephen looked over at Connor for clarification since Connor seemed to know more about what was going on.
Connor (anomaly_research_nerd)	"Someone pretty high up it seems," Connor said, looking from Stephen to Cutter then back to Stephen. "Could be Lester, could be Leek, could be someone even higher than them..." Connor knew who it had been in his timeline but there were enough differences between the two timelines that he couldn't risk making an assumption that it was the same. "We need to be careful who we trust, especially outside the group," Connor said, looking a bit more at Stephen than the others as he added that bit.
Cutter (itsananomaly)	Stephen looked like he was about to start protesting and the last thing Cutter wanted was for this to turn into an argument so he tried another tactic, “I know we all have our own ideas about who that might be, but this time we have to find out for sure,” “Okay so how are we going to do that?” Stephen asked, glancing between Cutter and Connor. Before Cutter had a chance to respond a loud siren started blaring, indicating that there was a new anomaly.
Connor (anomaly_research_nerd)	"Lester wasn't kidding about these things happening more often, was he?" Connor muttered as he looked over at Cutter. He gave a slight nod toward the other Connor and stepped back as he started towards the ADD hub, the others following right behind. "Shall we go see what this one has in store for us?" he asked Cutter.
Cutter (itsananomaly)	“We may as well before Lester starts to have a coronary,” Cutter had a feeling that whatever new anomaly this was that Lester was not going to be thrilled about, “we should go and see what the anomaly is this time, we can work on finding who the traitor is later,”
Connor (anomaly_research_nerd)	"Aye whoever it is might be counting on us getting distracted and not paying attention to the anomalies," Connor pointed out. He paused for a minute, letting the others get ahead of them a bit before turning back. "You doing alright, Nick?"
Cutter (itsananomaly)	Cutter nodded as he remembered to turn the music off so that they could head towards the hub, “I’m fine, thanks … it always feels kind of weird being back with all of this … I don’t think I’m ever going to get fully used to the ARC,” he admitted, “and I know I’m never going to get used to that siren,”
Connor (anomaly_research_nerd)	"Yeah, recall it definitely not being my idea either, but Lester will be Lester and he insisted on making sure 'everyone could hear the bloody thing,'" Connor said with a slightly mocking tone and grin. But then he got serious again as he looked at Cutter. "It'll all be fine, Nick. I got your back."
Cutter (itsananomaly)	“That’s all that matters to me,” Cutter smiled warmly and after hesitating a moment, leaned in to give Connor a hug, “you being here and believing me, I couldn’t do any of this without your help,”
Connor (anomaly_research_nerd)	Connor grinned as he eagerly returned the hug, enjoying how nice this was. "Nowhere else I'd want to be. Now let's go see what this anomaly is all about before Lester has an aneurysm I think I can hear him ranting from here."
Cutter (itsananomaly)	Cutter laughed at that, as he held on to Connor as long as he could, “we better, or they’re going to send a search party out for us, I wonder what creature’s come through this time?” he wondered, still rather reluctant to let go of the hug.
Connor (anomaly_research_nerd)	Damn anomalies, interrupting the good stuff.... "Hope it's something on the smaller side, would be a nice change for once!" Connor smiled and then reluctantly let go of Cutter as they headed down the hall to catch up with the others.
Cutter(itsananomaly)	There was no such luck, Lester was furious and was ranting and raving as he paced up and down the upper walkway of the hub, “my worst nightmare in one sentence,” “Mammoth on the M25” Jenny groaned as she got out her phone to begin calling people. Cutter’s heart leapt at hearing that, as he stood in front the computers to begin finding the information he needed and he grinned excitedly at Connor, “it’s a mammoth,” and a bit louder he added to Lester, “it’s a Columbian Mammoth,” he said rather excitedly.
Connor (anomaly_research_nerd)	"Brilliant. I mean not exactly small but... still, bloody brilliant," Connor said with a grin of excitement. He leaned over towards Cutter and whispered to him "I don't envy Jenny's job on this one at all, mate."
Cutter(itsananomaly)	Cutter grinned back, "it is isn't it? I always wondered if we'd ever get to see a Mammoth and we have one on the M25 freeway," he said excitedly, he looked over at Jenny who was back and forth on her phone to all the different people she was trying to reach to contain the story, "neither do I," he admitted, whispering back to Connor, "but she'll work something out, she always does,"
Lester(thearcfamily)	“The flavour is immaterial,” Lester snapped at them as he walked passed. “The Columbian is a hairless species sir,” Leek spoke up then, trying as always to suck up to Lester and gain his approval but Lester snorted dismissively. “Look I don’t care if it’s shaved its legs and and got a bikini wax, it’s on a motorway in broad daylight,” Lester growled angrily.
Connor (anomaly_research_nerd)	Connor had to literally bite his lip to keep back the laugh that threatened to come out. He managed to hold it in but had to hide the bit that snuck out behind a fake cough as he tried to compose himself before Lester directed that anger in his direction. "So, where do you want me?" he asked Cutter, avoiding eye contact just then so he didn't lose it completely.
Cutter (itsananomaly)	Cutter was trying to hide a smirk of his own, “did you want to maybe try and coordinate with Jenny? I’m sure she could use an extra pair of hands at dealing with the press?”
Connor (anomaly_research_nerd)	”Oh ummm... yeah, I...I could do that," Connor said, looking over at Jenny, who was currently trying to juggle two different phone calls at once. He didn't like the idea of not being with Cutter and not being there to help him if he needed.... but he did want to be the most help to the team. "Just.... do me one thing?" Connor asked as he turned back to Cutter. "Be careful ok? And not just the whole Mammoth thing... BE careful."
Cutter (itsananomaly)	“I will,” Cutter said softly, “at least I’ll try to,” he amended sheepishly, “Stephen and I are going to make sure we have big enough weapons, if we have full access to the motorway and it’s contained, it shouldn’t be too hard to coerce a mammoth to return through the anomaly right?” he tilted his head a bit.
Connor (anaomaly_research_nerd)	"Yeah, just... try not to spook it too much. It's probably as temperamental a regular elephant just.... ya know, much bigger." Connor caught Jenny's eyes and saw the desperation in them and gave her a nod, letting her know he was on his way. "Alright, let's do this," he said as he pulled Cutter close for a quick hug. "Just come back in one piece Nick. Please."
Cutter (itsananomaly)	Cutter was grateful for the hug, however quick it was and returned it, holding on as long as he could, “I will,” he desperately hoped that this was going to be okay, “you take care too okay?” He knew the press could be just as vicious as some of the creatures they dealt with.
Connor (anomaly_research_nerd)	"Will do. Think Jenny would let me bring one of the tranq guns with me?" Connor gave him a grin and then laughed, knowing what the answer would be. He gave Cutter a nod as he headed up to the walkway where Jenny was pacing and yelling into one of the phones.
Cutter (itsananomaly)	Cutter smirked at that, biting back a laugh as he nodded back at Connor, watching him leave before he headed over to where Stephen was assembling all of their tranquilliser guns. He picked one up, “we’re going to need a bigger gun,” he decided.
Stephen (anomaly_research_nerd)	"Yeah, a lot bigger," Stephen said with a nod. "I'm on it," he said as he headed out towards his truck to grab the big guns. "Meet ya in a bit."
Helen (itsananomaly)	Helen was waiting for him when he approached his car, she waited until he’d gotten what he needed from the trunk, her arms folded on the top of the car as she waited for Stephen to acknowledge her. This was definitely what Stephen needed right now wasn’t it?
Stephen (anomaly_research_nerd)	Oh yeah, perfect timing as usual. Stephen froze for a minute, trying to process this unexpected turn of events. "What are you doing here?" Stephen hissed as closed the trunk. "I'm here to see you of course," Helen replied as coy and smug as usual. Stephen was about to say something when he saw Cutter and the others driving to pick him up. Helen ducked down behind the car so she wouldn't be seen as they stopped. "Looks like I left the gun inside. I'll grab it and then meet you guys there yeah?" he asked, trying to not let his eyes drift over to where Helen was crouched down less than a foot away from him.
Helen (itsananomaly)	They waited til the others had driven off, Helen looked up at Stephen from where she was still crouched on the ground. “Talk to me Stephen,” she said, once she was sure it was safe, she stood up to talk to him.
Stephen (anomaly_research_nerd)	"Cutter knows about the traitor conspiracy," Stephen said with a sigh. "He's already trying to figure out who it is right now."
Helen (itsananomaly)	Helen had suspected as much, “come with me,” she urged Stephen, “we can’t wait any longer,” Stephen looked hesitant, “Nick can cope,” she added, hoping that would work, she sighed, “look, every second you delay, makes Lester’s position stronger,” she pointed out.
Stephen (anomaly_research_nerd)	Stephen hesitated, then realized Helen was right. They couldn't wait any longer. "Alright," he said as he got into the car with Helen, deciding to leave Cutter and the others to deal with the anomaly and Mammoth themselves. He and Helen had things to discuss after all.
Helen (itsananomaly)	Helen smiled, more to herself than anything that everything seemed to be going to plan, “you won’t regret this,” she told Stephen as she got into the car. There was absolutely no way at all that this could go wrong.