The M25 Motorway, London

[itsananomaly]

Since Stephen had said that he would meet them at the anomaly site, Cutter had left with his Connor and Abby and drove them to the M25. There was already a huge swarm of press trying to get past the makeshift barrier that had been set up.

Cutter eventually drove them to the anomaly site.

It looked like Connor was having his hands full at keeping the press back and Cutter felt a little guilty at that.

Maybe he should have let Connor help them deal with the Mammoth.

“Hi, I’ve shut down the motorway,” Jenny told them rather breathlessly as she came up to their car, “at the next two junctions, just kept the camera crews out, shut down the mobile networks and there’s a no fly zone in place and the witnesses have been debriefed,”

Cutter just looked at her, “and you did all of that with your skirt tucked into your tights, well done,”

Jenny sighed, “I’m not going to look, Mammoth. Go.”


[second part. Adapted from Series 2 Episode 6 ‘Traitor Revealed’. Preplayed with the amazing anaomaly_research_nerd. NFB due to distance but OOC welcome.]

Connor(anomaly_research_nerd)	Connor gave a small wave as they drove past before having to move to keep one of the reporters from trying to sneak past. "They're going to be ok, right?" he asked Jenny worriedly. He knew Cutter and the team were good at this. But still... it was a Mammoth.
Jenny(thearcfamily)	Jenny gave Connor a grateful smile as he kept one of the reporters back, “yeah, they’ll be fine,” she was trying to be reassuring but it seemed like she was trying to reassure herself rather than Connor. “I mean, it’s different but nothing they can’t handle. Cutter knows what he’s doing …I think,” she added, a little hesitantly.
Connor (anaomaly_research_nerd)	"Aye, they can handle it," Connor said with a small nod. He did wish he was there though, even just to know what was going on. And where the bloody hell was Stephen? "Still think I should have brought one of the tranq guns with me...."
Jenny (thearcfamily)	Jenny seemed to have the same trail of thought, “actually speaking of tranq guns, I thought Stephen would be here by now,” she murmured, noticing that they seemed to be down one team member, “I thought he was going to get bigger guns?”
Connor (anomaly_research_nerd)	"Yeah, he was supposed to," Connor said, trying to swallow down the fear bubbling up inside him. "Something doesn't feel right about this...." Connor was cut off by a noise that sounded very much like the trumpeting of an elephant echoing from down the motorway. He looked at Jenny, his expression carrying a definite "well that doesn't sound good" feeling in it.
Mammoth (itsananomaly)	It really, really wasn’t. The mammoth wasn’t having a good time being well, out of time and was roaring and thumping and knocking cars out of the way. Cutter drove the car as close as he could get and his eyes lit up as he took in the sight and got out of the car. “Oh you beauty,” he breathed as he took in the Mammoth.
Connor(thearcfamily)	OK, Connor was used to running headlong into who knew what when dealing with these anomalies. Raptors, giant centipedes, sharks, they had seen a lot.... but even knowing they were going to be dealing with a Mammoth had not prepared him for the sight that was before them. He nodded slowly in agreement as he joined Cutter and Abby as they stared at the rampaging Mammoth. "It's a herd animal. It's trying to find its mates" Abby said. "Guess we better be glad it's just the one that came through, though still" Connor offered, still finding it hard to take his eyes off the creature.
Cutter(itsananomaly)	“It’s the biggest elephant that ever lived,” Cutter gushed, “they were still running around North America until around 8000 years ago,” He walked closer to try and get a look at the Mammoth when he was distracted by the sound of a woman screaming from a car and desperately honking for someone to notice her. “This is going to complicate things,” Cutter groaned as he saw how agitated the Mammoth was getting by the noise of the honking and screaming.
Connor(thearcfamily)	"Great, so what are we going to do now?" Connor asked, glancing from the partly demolished car, to the mammoth and then to Cutter. This was going to be a bit more complicated than just funneling civilians away and keeping them from the anomaly itself.
Cutter (itsananomaly)	Cutter looked from the woman to the Mammoth as he tried to come up with a solution, “we can’t go near her, we’ll only make things worse, the Mammoth’s panicking because she’s making too much noise,” he sighed, “okay first thing we’ve got to do is get her to shut up,” He really needed to work on his people skills.
Connor(thearcfamily)	Yes that was true... but there was a better time for a lecture on social interactions. Connor looked around and caught sight of the automated traffic alert sign near where they were. "I got an idea. I'm gonna call Connor and Jenny, see what they can do" he said as he pulled out his mobile, already starting to punch in the number for Jenny.
Cutter(itsananomaly)	Cutter tilted his head a bit at that, wondering what Connor was planning, “what do you have in mind?” he asked curiously, wincing a bit at the noise from both the roaring Mammoth and the loud honking from the car.
Connor(thearcfamily)	"If we can get a message up on the sign," he said with a nod to the one overhead, "we might be able to get her to calm down enough to get Dumbo under control," Connor said while he waited for Jenny to answer.
Cutter(itsananomaly)	“Okay we’ll do that, good thinking,” Cutter agreed, especially because it really was the best option at that point, “make sure it’s obvious and to the point,” he added.
Connor(thearcfamily)	Connor gave Cutter a thumbs up as Jenny finally picked up. "Hey Jenny, we need ya to pull some strings and get in touch with the transportation department..." Connor started as he walked a little ways away to try and get a little more distance between him and the still very agitated Mammoth.
Cutter(itsananomaly)	While Connor was explaining to Jenny what they were doing, Cutter was trying to come up with a plan to rescue the woman from the car. That was when Abby came up to him with a tranq gun and cocked it. Cutter shook his head, “no we need more firepower,” he told her. He glanced down at his phone then, “jeeze where the hell is Stephen?” he cursed.
Connor(thearcfamily)	"Alright, it's done" Connor said as he hurried back over a few minutes later a tactful 'SHUT UP' flashing on the sign. "What?" Connor asked when he saw the look on Cutter's face. "That's what you said wasn't it?"
Cutter(itsananomaly)	If Cutter could facepalm right then, he would have, “I was hoping you would have put it more tactfully than me,” he pointed out. For a moment it seemed to work as the woman read the sign but the panic returned and it wasn’t long before she started hitting the horn again. “It didn’t work, I’m going to have to go over,” Cutter realised.
Connor(thearcfamily)	It took a moment for Connor to register what Cutter had said and he blinked in surprise as he watched Cutter start towards the woman. He and Abby followed after. As Abby helped to get the young boy out of the car, Connor stood against one of many lorries littering the road, trying to get eyes on the Mammoth without being seen. Once the boy was free, Abby started to lead him away toward safety. Connor started to make his way back towards Cutter who shook his head. "Connor, go help Abby," he said in a hoarse whisper, still trying to not draw the Mammoth's attention. Connor hesitated a moment, not liking the idea of leaving Cutter alone but finally nodded and went after Abby and the boy.
Cutter(itsananomaly)	Cutter took a deep breath, waiting to make sure Connor and Abby and the boy were clear before he made his next move. He went to the back of an unlocked car in front, looking for something that would help and found a pump, he got in the front seat and turned to the trapped woman. The woman let out a terrified sob as the Mammoth roared in the distance. “Darling, I’ve got to get this steering column off your legs,” Cutter said softly, trying to be gentle, “now please look at me, this is going to hurt a little. Please try and be quiet,” She nodded, biting her lip as she tried to brace herself. Cutter began to work on freeing the woman’s legs and then she let out a scream of pain. Cutter flinched, the Mammoth roared and headed towards the car. He tried desperately to still work on freeing her legs and she kept screaming both in fear and pain. The next thing they knew was a very large tusk piercing through the car and they were being lifted into the air.
Connor(thearcfamily)	While all that was going on, Abby suddenly had an idea on how to get the Mammoth back through the anomaly and had sped off down the motorway in one of the many cars that had been left abandoned when the Mammoth had appeared. This of course meant Connor was not only left to try and figure out a way to distract the Mammoth on his own, he was also babysitting at the same time. It didn't take long for him to come up with an idea at least. Good idea, bad idea, hard to tell, but it was the only one he had just then and from the way things were looking down with Cutter, he wasn't going to be particularly choosey about how they got the Mammoth away from the car. Connor and the boy found one of the lorries and climbed in, hoping to use any noise as a distraction to lure the Mammoth away. It was then the boy accidentally sounded the loud horn on the truck, and thankfully that seemed to get the Mammoth's attention. "It's working, Mate," Connor said with a surprised grin. "Come on, keep pressing it, keep pressing it!" he encouraged as the boy kept sounding the horn, Connor trying to look back and get a glimpse of Cutter.
Cutter(itsananomaly)	It was not going well for Cutter and the still trapped woman. After they had been flung into the air, the mammoth had dropped them upside down, shards of glass shattering everywhere. The woman was screaming, Cutter tried to crawl to her legs and free them. “Listen to me, try and keep your legs straight,” he told her, he could see the Mammoth stalking them and so could she. She kept panicking and screaming, “no, don’t look, it’ll be okay, everything will be fine,” he kept trying to assure her, even though he was now starting to feel panicked himself. The mammoth started stomping on the car, Cutter winced at the pressure as he tried to avoid being squished in an already tight situation.
Connor(thearcfamily)	"Come on Dumbo... come on..." Connor muttered as they kept sounding the horn. He leaned out of the cab window, to see if they had gotten the Mammoth's attention yet. "Don't get yourself killed, Cutter" he muttered. "None of us would like that, especially not your new boyfriend." He knew there wasn't much he could do otherwise, so he just hoped the sound of the horn was enough to draw the beast away from Cutter. Before he ended up a squashed pancake.
Cutter(itsananomaly)	In between the stomping and crushing, it seemed that the Mammoth had actually helped make it easier for Cutter to help free the woman. Keeping as still as possible, Cutter was hardly daring to breathe as the sound of another car horn blasted and distracted the mammoth. He waited til he was absolutely sure the Mammoth was gone, he wriggled out of the car and then went to help free the woman. “Come on, out you get, stand up,” he half dragged her from the car. Hardly daring to believe that he’d gotten out himself, he was trying not to think about what Connor would say to all this …it was the exact opposite of being careful.
Abby (thearcfamily)	Wasn't a lot of time to figure out that explanation Cutter. Not long after Abby sped up the motorway and came to a stop near Cutter. "What's this?" Cutter asked as he took the sprayer pump she held out to him as she climbed out of the car. "It's female elephant urine. Popped over to the zoo, figured he'd want to follow the scent right to the anomaly" Abby said with a nod towards the still very agitated Mammoth.
Cutter(itsananomaly)	“Brilliant,” Cutter smiled warmly at Abby, taking the spray and standing near the anomaly, he started to spray the ground, “sniff this,” he said, desperately hoping the Mammoth picked up the accent. The Mammoth did, turning towards Cutter and of course that was when the anomaly closed.
Connor (anomaly_research_nerd)	Back at the makeshift perimeter, Connor and Jenny had their hands full with everything. "This is taking too long," Connor said when he caught up with Jenny during a small lull with the press. "I'm not sure how much longer we can hold these buzzards off," he said shooting a warning glare at one particularly stubborn reporter in particular.
Jenny (thearcfamily)	Jenny was also worried as she looked down at her phone from where Lester was sending her messages. “Lester wants an update,” she groaned, “I can’t tell him that we haven’t heard from Cutter,” She glanced over at the woman who had turned up not that long ago being checked over by paramedics, “especially since he nearly got squashed and we can’t reach him,” She knew calling Cutter would put them in danger with the sound of the phone.
Connor (anomaly_research_nerd)	"I've not gotten anything either" Connor said, glancing at his phone for the tenth time in as many minutes. He had been worried enough, but when the woman appeared and told them what had happened, Connor nearly bolted down the motorway ramp to go find Cutter. As it was, he was beginning to pace like a caged animal as he waited. "I guess we just tell Lester we are still working on it. Maybe let him know some more civilians were rescued by the team?" Connor wasn't sure if that would calm Lester down or not but, it was all he could think of just them. His eyes went back to the phone almost willing a message from someone to come through. "Come on Nick.... what the bloody hell are you doing over there?" he muttered to himself, maybe a little louder than he had intended.
Cutter(itsananomaly)	Cutter would feel bad about all the worry that he was causing but he was just a little preoccupied at the moment to focus on that. Now that the anomaly had closed, he needed a plan b and fast. He frantically looked around and saw the back of a truck, he tilted his head for a moment and then he frantically started spraying to divert the Mammoth’s attention. “Connor’s in that truck,” Abby told him as he ran past. “Connor pull up the ramp!” he screamed.
Connor(thearcfamily)	Keeping an eye on the kid in the cab with him had distracted Connor for a few minutes and he jumped a little, hearing Cutter yelling at him from what didn't sound like all that far away. "Which button's the ramp, mate?" he asked, earning only a confused shrug for the kid. "Ok, press them all, just keep pressing them all" Connor said as he frantically started smashing buttons. The truck started rocking and Connor realized the Mammoth was inside. Finally, they found the right button and he gave a sigh of relief as he heard the ramp finally go up, trapping the Mammoth inside. "I think we did it," Connor said giving the kid a high five before climbing out to check on Cutter and Abby.
Cutter(itsananomaly)	Cutter breathed a sigh of relief when he saw the ramp close and the mammoth now in the truck. He bent over, now that breathing was a thing again, he took a few moments to get his breath back. Then he looked back up, a realisation hitting him and he almost started laughing, “we caught a mammoth!” he said gleefully.
Connor(thearcfamily)	"You ok out there? Connor called out as he climbed down and headed over towards Cutter and Abby, giving a glance to the truck that was still rocking slightly though the Mammoth seemed to be calming down a little at last.
Cutter(itsananomaly)	Cutter nodded, “I’m okay,” he assured Connor breathlessly, “are you alright? Abby?” he looked between the two to make sure everyone was okay.
Abby (thearcfamily)	"I'm good," Abby said with a nod. "Good here too," Connor said. "Think we better get back to Jenny, let her know we didn't become Mammoth jelly or anything."
Cutter(itsananomaly)	Cutter winced at that, “so on a scale of one to ten, how mad do you think Connor is going to be?” Since he was pretty sure that Connor knew just how close he’d come to being mammoth jelly.
Connor(thearcfamily)	Abby gave a small wince and shook her head slowly. Connor's expression was about the same as he looked at Cutter. "With one being not annoyed at all and ten being ready to kill you, probably... a solid 7 or 8." It would actually be a bit worse than that, considering what Connor's greatest fear was when it came to the man he loved. Sorry Cutter, you kinda brought this on yourself though.
Cutter(itsananomaly)	Cutter grimaced at that but fair, he had told Connor that he would be careful and running directly in the path of a Mammoth to a car was the exact opposite of careful. “I suppose I better go face the music then,” he sighed, glancing in the direction of the makeshift barrier where Connor and Jenny and probably half of the UK’s media was.
Connor(thearcfamily)	"Good luck mate. I'm sure it will be alright," Connor said, trying to sound encouraging. "I mean, you didn't die, so he can't be too upset... right?" Connor glanced over at Abby, who just rolled her eyes sightly and gave Connor a small shrug. "Good luck, Cutter," she said as they started heading back.
Cutter(itsananomaly)	“Thanks, I hope that I made it back in one piece will be enough,” Cutter sighed as he started to slowly walk back towards the barrier. He really wasn’t looking forward to this at all.
Connor (anomaly_research_nerd)	Connor had all but forgotten about his assignment of helping Jenny deal with the press. Sorry, Jenny. He was just too focused on looking down the roadway, trying to find any sign of Cutter or the others. So when he caught sight of Connor and Abby walking up the road, and didn't see Cutter at first, he felt his heart stop and drop into his stomach for a moment. And then he saw Cutter, coming up behind them a bit farther back. "Nick!" Connor yelled as he took off down the roadway, making a bee line for him.
Cutter(itsananomaly)	Well this was a good sign wasn’t it? “Connor,” Cutter was still relieved to see him, even if he was slightly afraid of being read the riot act. He hesitated, “I made it back in one piece?” he tried.
Connor (anomaly_research_nerd)	"That's the bare minimum Nick!" Connor said giving the man in front of him a look of both relief and frustration. "You could have been killed! By a bloody Mammoth! What were you thinking?" Sorry Cutter, he'll be ok... once he gets this out of his system....
Cutter(itsananomaly)	Cutter winced at Connor’s glare and he found himself staring at the ground, not able to meet his gaze, “it was the only way I could save her,” he protested, “we tried to get her to be quiet, she was scared Connor,”
Connor (anomaly_research_nerd)	"Damnit Nick..." Connor said with a frustrated sigh. He knew he was right, and he also knew Cutter wouldn't just stand by and not try to help someone if he could. It was just how he was. "Don't ever scare me like that again," he said as he stepped forward and threw his arms around Cutter and pulled him close, almost as if trying to convince himself he was actually ok. "I can't lose you..." he muttered into Cutter's shoulder, a silent 'not again,' echoing in his head as he did.
Cutter(itsananomaly)	Cutter relaxed a little as Connor threw his arms around him, “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you ,” he said softly as he leaned into Connor’s shoulder, trembling slightly as he knew just how close he’d come to getting killed. “I’m sorry,” was all he could say.
Connor (anomaly_research_nerd)	Connor held him for a moment, then slowly let go and looked Cutter up and down. "And are... are you alright?" he asked, trying to keep the trembling tone out of his voice. "Let's... get you checked out yeah?" Connor said, the genuine concern replacing any anger or frustration he had initially felt. Cutter was alive, that was what mattered. And Connor just wanted to make sure he was ok.
Cutter(itsananomaly)	“I’m …I’m fine,” Cutter took a deep breath, wishing he could stop trembling. “A few cuts and bruises, nothing to worry about,” he tried to assure Connor, “really, I don’t need to get checked out, I’m fine,” He wasn’t sure how convincing he was being, he figured if he kept repeating that he was fine, he would be. “How - are you alright?” he looked at Connor, “I’m sorry I left you to deal with the press, they were probably more vicious than the Mammoth,”
Connor (anomaly_research_nerd)	Connor wasn't quite convinced, but he would let it slide, for now. "I'm fine. Got a new appreciation for Jenny and all she does, that's for sure. I think I'd rather deal with the raptors again rather than the bloody press."
Cutter(itsananomaly)	Cutter was grateful for Connor not pressing, he took several deep breaths and managed to stop trembling enough to gain his composure. “I don’t know how she does it, “ he shook his head, “I know I prefer to not have anything to do with them,” Which was just as well because Cutter was likely to cause a media scandal if he was left alone with the press.
Connor (anomaly_research_nerd)	Connor wasn't done worrying, but he would keep an eye on Cutter to make sure he really was ok. With a hand on his back, Connor nodded toward the rest of the team. "Let's go get caught up with the team," he said, figuring it was better than standing around in the middle of the motorway.
Cutter(itsananomaly)	It was probably best to not be on the motorway when they got it cleared again, he nodded, following Connor’s lead, “we better catch up to them, they’re probably wondering where we are,” he paused, “did you hear from Stephen?” he was worried he hadn’t heard from him.
Connor (anomaly_research_nerd)	"No, and Jenny even tried calling a couple of times. No answer," Connor said with a somewhat worried look. "I can't imagine where he got off to."
Cutter(itsananomaly)	Cutter frowned, it didn’t seem like Stephen to disappear without warning, “I don’t like this …somethings wrong …I can feel it,”
Connor (anomaly_research_nerd)	Connor nodded slowly. He couldn't deny the sinking feeling that had been growing in his stomach for a bit now too. "Maybe... I can try and ring him. See if I can get through and then we can...." Connor's voice trailed off and he stopped walking, forgetting for a moment that Cutter was like half a step behind him. Connor froze, eyes fixed just ahead at the figure standing in the middle of the motorway. Well, two figures actually....