Chapter Text
***
Portland, Oregon
Earth
...Patience...
He was a scrawny street rat of no real memorable features, just another face in a crowd of humans...
...Timing...
Thin, though oad shouldered, the youth darted through the crowded sidewalks of Portland, his emerald green eyes studying the mundane suited stiffs. He had nothing in common with his prey; a boy barely an adult with a pair of tattered jeans and a black tee-shirt underneath a light forest cammie army jacket, his combat boots noiseless against the din of the mundane. Red-brown hair fell into his eyes; he pushed it back over his ear with a long, slender hand.
...There...
A man in an open trench coat headed toward him, his attention to his cell phone pressed against his ear. He had a smile on his face. The suit he boasted was Armati, the trench coat, Italian leather.
This guy was loaded.
The boy glanced up at the bank's clock to his right. 5:45 pm, forty-two degrees Fahrenheit. His eyes darted back to his intended victim, still talking, still nodding, burst into a chuckle, then continued his conversation with the piece of plastic.
...Now...
With a bump of the shoulder, the boy stumbled, his face showing feinted surprise as the man in the Italian leather trenchcoat caught him with his free arm.
"Just a second, Ralph," He uprighted the boy. "You okay, son? Sorry about that, didn't see you there."
"Oh, fine, sir, thanks..." the boy nodded quickly, his voice embarrassed. "I should have been looking where I was going..."
"No problem..." The man nodded, then walked away, returning to his conversation.
With a sigh, the boy disappeared into the ocean of people, following a current down to a subway terminal.
A high-pitch whine suddenly alerted him. Electronic in nature...
...Police-issued tracking frequency...
"Shit..." the boy dodged passed through the stall and into the southbound train. It was extremely crowded.
Good.
Casually, he flipped open the wallet he had lifted from the man with the cell phone and opened the bill fold.
Sure enough, a tracker was sewed into the leather of the wallet.
Glancing over his shoulder, he stuck his finger on the tracking device. Reverting his attention back to the wallet, he narrowed his eyes and stared at the nettlesome electronic.
Short, he ordered mentally. There was a slight snap, and the little blinking red light in the panel died.
The high-pitched frequency halted abruptly. Another seemingly casual glance over his shoulder, he saw a couple of policemen staring down at a palm-puter, bewildered.
With a quiet chuckle to himself, Luke MacArin weaved through the subway cars with the ease of a dancer, disappearing once more in the crowd.
*
The alleyway was called Hell's Pantry by the denizens who live there; makeshift tents and trash-can fires were littered in between the soggy boxes and dumpsters.
Luke had claimed a rather dry area inside a condemned church at the end of the alleyway, farthest away from most of the other homeless people. He shared the church with four others around his age: Tobias, a large kid with powerful hands and a sharp tongue, his twin sister Tabitha, a petite waif with a beautiful face and quiet demeanor, Archie, the quote-unquote breadwinner of the group with his dealings with the local drug dealers, and his girlfriend, Jackie, a fiery red-head who was four months pregnant.
Save Tabby, these kids were not his friends. They were merely roommates, and agreed to protect one another in case of a territory raid or bad drug bust or something of the sort.
Luke growled as he entered the area that had become his home. He did not want to be there; perhaps if he hadn't been abandoned by his wanderlust mother when he was five, things would have been different.
With a disgruntled sigh, he pushed open a flap to a tent made from a green tarp, patched with duct tape.
"Mrs. Gorden?" he beckoned, unneeded. The elderly woman from her knitting looked up and smiled. She and her husband had been evicted from their apartment two months ago by a landlord who was selling their apartment to the city to be torn down for parking space. The Gordens, with no children to help them, searched for another affordable apartment to no avail.
"Luke? Come on in," Mrs. Gorden waved him to come closer. She was draped in a thick homemade quilt, beautifully crafted under the dinge, her hands covered in woolen gloves. "How are you today? Mr. Gorden just stepped out for a bit, but he'll be back-"
"Mrs. Gorden, I brought you something," he whispered, closing the flap of the tent and unslinging his backpack from his shoulder. Carefully, he pulled out a paper bag and, from within that, a paper container of soup from the deli a few blocks down. "Thought you and Mr. Gorden would like to have some fresh soup. Chicken Noodle. Probably not as good as how you make it, but I didn't have time to pick up ingredients."
"Oh, bless your heart, Luke," she clapped her hands together, her knitting dropping into her lap. "The Lord must truly smile upon us to bless us with such good friends to watch us, praise the Lord! I wish I had something to give you in return-"
"Don't worry about it, Mrs. Gorden. You need everything more than I."
"You've a good heart, Luke. I wish the others were like you." Her grey eyes hooded. "They are so selfish, even when they are in need. They've become no more than intelligent dogs, fighting over the last scrap of meal."
"That's how they grew up," Luke retorted. "They've lived on the streets most of their lives.”
"But still, they could learn to show the respect they demand."
"If so, then we would all be better off," the boy nodded. "But it's not just the homeless...the ones who have their houses...there are those who are no different than Archie."
A sudden scream in the alleyway interrupted their discussion. Luke bolted to his feet and peered out of the tent flap, Mrs. Gorden leaning with a groan to peek under his arm.
"What's going on, Luke?" she questioned. "Damn my old eyes, what's going on?"
"Looks like a drug bust," he whispered.
"That no-good Archie, no doubt."
"Perhaps...I'm going to check it out. You stay here, and keep warm."
"I don't think I'm in the position to argue. You be careful, Luke."
"I will."
With that, the boy stepped out of the tent, staring at the four cops surrounding the Nordic young adult. Archie instantly met Luke's green eyes and narrowed his cold blue ones.
"He's the one you're looking for," he nodded towards the smaller boy. "He's the one who's been dealing..."
"What?" Luke arched both brows.
The cops turned.
And Luke bolted.
Fear was an interesting motivator. Anger too, anger that wanted to strangle the accuser. What the hell was he thinking?
He had to get out of town fast...but how?
*
Five blocks away from the drug bust, four creatures from another planet remained hidden. A sharp-looking Chevy Z24, white with black decals and bumpers, was parked at the end of the street, next to an old-style yellow Volkswagen Beetle, which in turn was between the Cavalier and a blue Corvette with red flames on the wheelbase, the final car being a large black Pontiac GTO. Aside from the Z24, the four looked like museum-quality showpieces, with the exception of the bumper stickers on the Beetle.
"Anyone care to explain what we're doing?" Cavalier piped up suddenly, bored out of her neural processor.
"We're staking out," Bumblebee retorted, almost excitedly. "We're undercover."
"We're showing off our new paint jobs," Tracks beamed. "Oh, I was so lucky to find the right colour for my fender...it matches perfectly!"
"Will you guys quiet down?" the GTO hissed. "Rodimus sends three of the most attention-getting bots, plus one of the loudest-"
"Hey!" Cavalier protested.
"-For a stakeout. Good kid, good ideas, needs a bit more experience..." She trailed off. "Tracks, I think you did a lousy job with my symbol..."
"No way! I never screw up a paint job!" The Corvette protested.
"She's referring to the fact her symbol's got two faint purple horns," Cavalier smirked.
There was a moment of silence.
"Shut the slag up, Cav," Artemis ordered. "But she's right...did you just paint over the old one or what?"
"Blame that on Jazz," Tracks stated bluntly. "I never screw up a paint job."
"Then why was I called 'Herbie' for three days straight?" the Beetle demanded.
"That was different," Tracks paused. "That was on purpose."
Suddenly, sirens hit their auditory receptors. A crackle over their two-way radios soon followed.
"Eye in the sky report, folks! We've got a lone suspect on foot heading your wait, Artemis!"
The GTO affirmed. "We read you, Blades. What's Groove's situation?"
"I'll be heading him off at the pass," the motorcycle Protectobot stated over the airwaves. "You guys just make sure he doesn't do anything drastic, and don't lose him!"
"Not a problem!" Cavalier retorted, just as a redheaded kid bolted out from an alleyway, almost smack into Artemis's fender. Swiftly, he lept, running across her hood, then jumped onto Tracks', followed by Bumblebee's roof, and diving into Cavalier's open passenger-side window. A swift click later, he was in her driver's seat, turning over the ignition, and, with a swift shift of gears, zoomed off.
With Cavalier screaming enough obscenities to make a Junkion blush.
"What the hell just happened?" Bumblebee demanded.
"I've got a footprint on my hood!" Tracks whined.
"My question is more like how's he getting away!" Artemis retorted, turning over her own engine. "Blades, Groove, your perp just took off with Cavalier! I don't know how, but lock onto her sig! I'm pursuing! Cav, do you read me?"
"GET THIS CARBONSLAGGER OFF MY CONTROLS!"
"Easy, Cav! I'm right behind you!" the large black automobile shifted into pursuit. "How's he controlling you?"
"I DON'T KNOW! MY MOTOR SKILLS'VE BEEN OVERRIDDEN! GET ME OUT OF THIS MESS!"
"How can he override an Autobot?" Tracks demanded, taking up Artemis's trail. "My poor hood..."
"Talk about weird," Bumblebee agreed. "We'd better inform Rod about this!"
*
"Ease up, buddy," Luke ordered with a growl. "Don't make me shut off your vox too..."
"Who they hell do you think you are?" Cavalier demanded.
"Name's Luke. Luke MacArin. And you are an Autobot. I want to thank you for the challenge. I've never hotwired a Transformer before."
"And you're not supposed to be able to hotwire me! How'd you do it?"
"Trade secret," he stated bluntly. "I can hotwire, hack, and crack anything. Wasn't sure about transformers, but, heh, looks like I did pretty good on my first time. So, what's your name?"
"You're gonna get in real big trouble doing this, not with just the law, but the Autobots as well!"
"You would too if you had nowhere else to go. I had a buddy who pretty much pointed me on something I didn't do. And with my status, if the cops got me, I'm up Shit Creek without a paddle, even though I didn't do anything."
"You hijacked a car."
"I hijacked an Autobot. There is a difference. What's your name?"
She became silent for a couple of seconds.
"Cavalier," she stated bluntly.
"Ah, eloquently put. Anyway, I didn't exactly want to take your friends...the Vette and Goat stick out like sore thumbs, and I wouldn't be able to get too far with the Bug." He downshifted, taking a corner on two wheels, onto an entrance ramp onto the 5, heading out of the city.
"What are you running for, anyway?"
"Not sure. All I know is that a friend of mine-or so I thought-pointed me out to the police for something he did. The problem is, I'm pretty much wanted anyway for being a street kid to begin with."
"And for grand theft auto..." Her smirk was audible. "Listen, Luke, why don't we just pull over and talk this over, okay? I'm sure we can work this out somehow-"
"-I've been running for most of my life, Cavalier...I don't know any other way." He casually glanced into the rearview mirror, then down at her gauges behind the steering column. Two-fourteen KPM. Great. Stuck in a car from Canada. He did a quick calculation in his head as he weaved in and out of traffic with unnatural agility, combining both his own lightning quick reflexes with the Cybertronian precision machinery. "Not bad handling capabilities...not bad at all."
"Thanks. Come on, Luke. You're in big trouble as it is. And as much as I don't want to do it on the 5, I will hit my manual kill switch."
"You're bluffing," he retorted. "And I can't. Do you know what it's like to live on the streets most of your life, without a family, without a real home, always watching your back and afraid to sleep?"
"I grew up in a group home, if that's any consolation." Her voice lost its edge of cynicalism.
Luke blinked somewhat, almost missing an opening between two Porsches, a blue and white 938 Turbo and a red 924 Baja, in the middle lane of the highway.
"Didn't think Cybertronians grew up in the sense we humans do," he retorted, matching pace with the Bug in front of him as he looked over his shoulder briefly to change lanes. A battered light blue pickup sped suddenly to match speed along side the white and black Autobot.
"You'd be surprised how much similar we are," Cavalier scoffed. "It's-"
"Clever..." the human glared at the pickup, sans-driver. "Your friends are attempting to entrap us."
"No, really?" Her cynic edge returned as sirens wailed in the distance.
"No, really," he deftly cranked the wheel hard to his right to merge with the travelling lane, only to compensate back to the left as a large auto transport took up the spot.
"I warned you," Cavalier taunted.
"I'm not out of options yet," Luke gritted his teeth, casting his gaze to the transport just as four cruisers, two of them Autobots, sped alongside the entrapment, lights and sirens blaring as other motorists rushed to escape the interstate.
There was a sudden curse from the transport, and then a surprised cry as the large blue and white tractor trailer swerved dangerously into the guardrail on the far right, barely missing the police cruisers. Toppling off the overpass, Ultra Magnus transformed, clutching at the loosening tarmac.
That black Goat from earlier covered fast ground towards the accident, turning sharply and slamming brakes, clouds of friction smoke billowing from its tires as it careened to a stop in front of the fallen Autobot. Transforming as well, a large black female robot, she snatched Ultra Magnus's flailing hand. With a mighty heave, she attempted to pull the much larger Autobot back up on the overpass, her face contorted in concentration. The ground transport managed to swing a leg onto the overpass, pushing himself up and over, losing his balance momentarily. She caught him deftly, without a word, righted him, and took off again, hitting the ground on four tires as she transformed in mid stride.
Ultra Magnus only blinked, watching the black musclecar he had once called friend so long ago and enemy only recently speed off, then shook his head as he was joined up with Rodimus Prime and Blurr.
"You all right, big guy?" Rodimus questioned. To his companion, he added, "Blurr, head them off at the pass!"
"NotaproblemnosirreeI'monitonitonit!" Blurr saluted, taking up to the chase.
"I've never encountered anything like that before..." Ultra Magnus stated coolly. "It was as though that human...was actually controlling me..."
"What?" The red and yellow leader questioned. "Magnus, are you sure?"
"I lost control long enough for something to...push me..." The larger Autobot shook his head. "I'm still disorientated..."
As the two Autobots conversed of the happenings, they failed to notice the Decepticon behind them, leveling both arm-mounted null rays to their heads, crosshairs locked dead on target.
A short burst of fire-
-the shots were dead on accurate.
But neither Rodimus nor Ultra Magnus fell victim to the phantom blasts. In fact, their only reactions were a slight glance over their shoulders and a collective shrug.
Starscream was not pleased.
Lowering weapons, he narrowed his optics, willing himself forward after the black car.
This death bit was making him very irate.
But that was a less important matter.
Ultra Magnus himself said a human controlled his actions. A human! A lowly, flesh-ridden human controlled the actions of a Cybertronian. What a disgusting concept!
In almost no time, he had caught up with the Starlight black GTO, gliding effortlessly above her. If she knew he was there, she made no attempt to speak to him as she took up Ultra Magnus's place in the entrapment, freeing up Streetwise to return with the police blockade.
*
"Come on, Luke, just give up...you don't have a chance now!" Cavalier pleaded. "This is only making it harder on yourself!"
"Blockade's coming up!" Cliffjumper shouted, pulling out from pole position to the left, in front of Kup.
"Surprise surprise!" Jazz shouted, slamming on his breaks, brodying to a stop as Artemis and Kup fell back behind Cavalier, matching her speed as well.
"What are you doing, Flyboy?" the black Goat snarled under the roar of her engine, low enough for the older Autobot not to hear.
"At last, you acknowledge me!" the ghost stated with a heartful chortle as he condensed into a solid orb of energy, slamming into and through Cavalier's roof. The white and black Autobot seemed unphased, until the human inside suddenly started, his hands flying to his face. Cavalier swerved dangerously near Kup with a shout as she fought for control. The old soldier bolted forward around the sportscar's tail end, his engine hitting a dangerous whine as the black GTO did the same, only emitting a louder roar, swerving to flank Kup. As he kept tabs on Cavalier, Artemis hit her brakes and downshifted with a tight corner, leaving a black patch in a semicircle in her tires' wake, until she finally stopped, her engine idling.
What the hell was that good-for-nothing ghost doing?
Whatever it was, the smaller Autobot wasn't liking it too much as she ricocheted off the left guardrail, her front axle smashing inward, catching on the twisted metal and flipping the vehicle onto her roof, spinning slightly from the leftover inertia.
There was a sudden rush as all the Autobots in the area reverted to their robot modes, rushing towards their fallen comrade.
"First Aid, get here, stat!" Streetwise barked into his comm link Artemis and Kup raced up beside him. "Cavalier's been rolled over!"
"Acknowledged! I'm on my way!"
"Lass, can you hear me?" Kup knelt before the whimpering Autobot.
"I...can..." Her voice depicted agony. "Luke?"
There was some muttering from the human. Nothing coherent, at least to the other Autobots.
"Let's get her upright," Artemis suggested, her tone stoic as she nodded towards Kup. On three, they gently lifted Cavalier, turned her over, and set her back on her tires.
"Axle's broken...I can tell you that," Kup shook his head just as a black-haired human in civilian dress raced from one of the police cruisers.
"Detective Nate Lovecraft, 2nd Class," he flashed a badge from his leather jacket. "Anyone hurt?"
"My axle's broken, I'm gonna need some time in the body shop..." Cavalier's tone dropped. "I don't know about Luke..."
"Luke?" Detective Lovecraft seemed unphased by the fact he was conversing with giant sentient robots. "Do you know his full name?"
"Luke MacArin...you gonna do something about him? Something spooked him big time...I don't know what...slot...my slottin' axle...where the slag's First Aid?"
"Cavalier!" Rodimus and Ultra Magnus finally joined in the group.
"What happened? We heard a Primus-awful crash..." Rodimus winced when he caught a glimpse at the sportscar. "Primus, Cav..."
"I'll be all right..." she hissed, then winced painfully as the officer forced open her driver's side door. "Careful, there!"
"Sorry...Zoe! Call in base! We've got our perp!" The human pushed his bangs back, examining the battered youth in the driver’s seat. He had been wearing a seat belt, but it wasn't enough to stop his head from connecting with the steering column. A gash, running the full width of his forehead, bled profusely into his face, drenching his tee-shirt and combat jacket. He was losing consciousness, and fast. "Shit...Zoe! Get over here and bring the kit with you!"
An ambulance approached at breakneck speed, careening to a stop. Just as Detective Lovecraft's partner, a mousy-haired woman with dark blue eyes and also dressed in civvies clothes, along with three uniformed cops, arrived on the scene, gathering around the driver's side of the wounded Autobot. Two more ambulances pulled up to the accident scene, one of them sporting an Autobot symbol above the reversed "AMBULANCE" stencil on its hood. First Aid converted to bot mode, gesturing sternly towards the other Autobots.
"Clear the area! Non-medical personnel step back!" he ordered, his soft-spoken voice edged with authority as the human paramedics surged towards the scene of the accident, gurney at the ready.
"What about Cav?" Rodimus worriedly questioned the Protectobot. First Aid shook his head.
"I can't get to her until they take care of the human first," he stated ruefully, shaking his head.
"Looks to me that her front axle's snapped," Kup added as they watched the one paramedic place a neck brace around the kid's neck as another tended to the gash on his forehead. "What was that kid thinking?"
"What's bothering me is how that human managed to control Cavalier and Ultra Magnus," Artemis stated coolly.
"And, for that matter, what spooked him?" Streetwise added.
The others failed to notice Artemis's glare to her left.
"Zoe, go with the paramedics! I want to know when this kid's conscious," the black haired human ordered his partner as the paramedics placed the young man on the gurney. "He's got a lot of explaining to do."
"Gotcha, Nate!" Zoe saluted, flashing her badge to the driver of the ambulance en route to the passenger seat. "Zoe Sommers, Detective 3rd class, 16th precinct."
"Morgan, Cates, Chance, start rerouting traffic. If the accident itself doesn't attract attention, the Volton Force will." Detective Lovecraft shot a glance up at Rodimus, shook his head with a snort, then returned his attention to the banged up Cavalier. "Whoever's in charge of your guys, better weed down your numbers to those who need to be here."
"Protectobots, Kup, Ultra Magnus. Artemis, too. The rest of you, head back to base. Have Wreck Gar prep the infirmary," The last order, Rodimus issued to Blurr. "Hopefully, this doesn't take too long."
"Absolutelypositivelynoproblem!" Blurr agreed speedily as he reverted to vehicle mode, quickly taking to the lead of the departing Autobots.
"I need some questions answered," the detective stated as First Aid examined the white and black sports car. "Who's up to telling me what exactly happened? Any witnesses?"
"Yeah, this kid comes barreling out from an alley-way and takes off with Cav," Artemis shrugged, her tone even. "The boys and I took up chase, but the way the dude was driving, and taking into consideration we all have a problem cornering at the speeds he was taking, we lost him, until Groove alerted us to him hitting the 5. "
"That's when we brought in the entrapment maneuver," Kup added. "Just in case Cavalier was able to throw her kill switch, we would be able to prevent keep up with her so not to cause any accidents."
"Ultra Magnus, what happened then?" Rodimus questioned.
"I lost control. It was as though something hacked into my motor relays and bypassed them." Ultra Magnus still seemed a little phased by the notion, still a bit disbelieved something like that could happen.
"It was a good thing we got traffic cleared out in that lane," Detective Lovecraft nodded, his voice betraying no true emotion.
"I took up his position," Artemis continued. "When Streetwise informed us of the road block two kilometers ahead, we then executed a flanking position. Cliffjumper would pull out in front of Kup while Jazz fell behind. Kup and I moved to flank Cavalier, to herd, if need be."
"Then the kid flipped out," Kup added. "Don't know why; one click, he was in control, the next, swerving into the guard rail."
"It's worse than I thought," First Aid then retorted. "Cavalier, it's going to hurt, but I need you to transform."
"Wha..why? What's wrong?" the white and black Autobot demanded. "I ain't gonna go offline or anything, right? Frig, I just got here...I can't go offline! Primus, tell him, Rod, I can't-"
"Ease up, Cav. Just calm down. We'll get you through this, no problem." Rodimus ordered softly. "First Aid, what is it?"
First Aid sighed heavily.
"She won't go offline," he shook his head. "But her entire steering box is collapsed, her CV-joint is snapped in two, her drive shaft has met a similar fate...and her front axle is broken."
"Shit," Cavalier cursed.
"Two weeks on Earth and she's already picking up the lingo," Artemis muttered.
"So what does this mean?" Rodimus demanded.
"As much as I entrust the skills of the Junkions, we should replace the fractured pieces with new parts. Until then..."
"My vehicle mode's useless," Cavalier grumbled painfully, finishing First Aid's train of thought.
"Well, in a nutshell..." the medic agreed reluctantly.
"Shit," the white and black Autobot swore again.
"Can you transform?" Rodimus asked sincerely.
"I'll try..." Her form twisted somewhat, then, with a loud grinding that made all the Autobots wince, her front end snapped up at an awkward angle as a few sparks flew from her chest cavity. Fully transformed, she then hit the ground with her knee, clutching her chest with her right hand. Her left hung limply at her side. "Slottin' carbon-slaggin' sunovaBITCH! That HURT!"
"Let's get back to base, then," the yellow and red leader nodded. "The sooner we do, the sooner we can get you patched up, Cav."
"Sounds like a plan," she grumbled, grimacing in agony as she took a step. "Dammit."
"Hold up there, buddy," Detective Lovecraft held up his hand. "What we've got here is a key witness, not to mention an accessory to resisting arrest."
"And what we have here is a wounded Autobot who needs medical attention as soon as possible," Artemis snarled, glaring daggers down at the black-haired human. "This isn't the time nor the place to discuss this."
"Artemis's right," Rodimus nodded. "Under normal circumstances, we would comply, Detective. But seeing that these aren't normal circumstances..." Glancing towards Kup, he then added, "if you wish to question her and us further, then you are more than welcome to follow us back to Autobot City."
Detective Lovecraft shook his head with a grumble.
"Fuckin' E.D.C. regs..." he muttered under his breath. Aloud, he retorted, "I've got to fill out the paperwork at the precinct, but be expecting a visitor tomorrow for a little Q & A. I don't know about you, but I aim to get to the bottom of this."
"The same goes for us," Kup interjected. "Whatever that kid did to Cavalier and Ultra Magnus, it's not good news."
"Depending on your point of view, that is," a malicious hiss breathed past Artemis's auditory sensor. "He could see me, Arty."
Her optics narrowed dangerously, though not focused on anything in particular.
"You don't need to say anything...I know you're trying to prove to the Autobots you're sane...I shall take my leave of you...for the moment, at least. This flesh creature interests me. I covet more information."
There was a brief stir of air next to her face, then Starscream's presence was gone.
Peace, at least for another couple of megacycles, she thought dryly.
She watched sourly as Streetwise and Hotspot loaded up the wounded Autobot onto Ultra Magnus's trailer, Cavalier continuing her painful griping.
Knowing the situation at hand, Starscream was the one at fault here. Had he not interfered, Cavalier, and for that matter, the human, would not have been hurt. Simple as that. However, it didn't matter who the blame was put on at the moment, least of all a dead Air Commander whom only Artemis and apparently now the human could see.
What a strange day indeed, she concluded, transforming into her vehicular mode and bringing up the rear of the group as they headed east, back towards base.
And something told her things were about to become even stranger.