Tama of Tomeowrrow

Freakshow

"Team to the bridge, I repeat, team to the bridge," Ray's annoyingly cheerful voice jolted me awake from my nap.

We all gathered around Ray's new anachronism map.

"We really messed up time," Sara rubbed her temple.

"Looks like we gave time acne," Mick added, trying to lighten the mood.

Ray explained, "Each of these dots represents an anachronism we created by messing with time. Rip's bureau rates them on a scale of one to ten based on their impact and difficulty." He shrunk the hologram and transferred it to the screen in Sara's office.

"Look at all these," Nate said, disbelief clear in his voice. "It's going to take a lifetime to clean up all these—maybe several."

"So, where should we start?" Ray asked.

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The team decided to take on an easy slam-dunk mission, so while they headed down to Wisconsin, I stayed back on the ship as backup.

"Perfect, we're bringing the circus to the circus," Sara said.

"This is a classic slice of Americana. The air is thick with the smell of popcorn, candy, and wonder," Ray gushed.

"If I see a clown, I'm out of here," Mick grumbled.

"What, you afraid of clowns?" Jax chuckled.

The team scanned the circus for the anachronism. Ray stumbled upon some animal poop and got excited about analyzing it. "Aha! Ladies and gentlemen, let me present to you a saber-toothed tiger!" he announced as he revealed it behind a curtain.

"Please tell me you brought your shrink ray," Jax asked.

"Molecular hyper-compressor, and yes," Ray replied, strapping it on. He prepared to shrink the tiger, but he was slow and ended up releasing the tiger instead.

*Sigh* Of course.

___

"You guys released a giant saber-toothed tiger," Sara said, emphasizing each word.

"Release isn't the word I'd use," Ray mumbled.

"Yeah, more like... didn't contain," Jax added.

"Sara, what's the status of the anachronism?" Sara checked in with Gideon.

"The anachronism has elevated from a level one to a level four," Gideon reported.

"What? How is that even a thing?" Nate asked, incredulous.

"It seems you've worsened the anachronism, Mr. Heywood," Nyssa said.

"Okay, so we get Ray to go back out there," Nate suggested.

"None of us even have experience with animals," Sara cut him off.

"I could always scare the tiger into submission, you know," I offered.

"No, that might agitate the tiger and worsen the problem," Sara dismissed me.

"Stay on the ship, stay out of trouble," Sara ordered as she hurried out of her office. I shrugged and padded over to my bed. Yawn Might as well fit in a cat nap.

______

I lay in Nyssa's lap as she read a book, enjoying the calm. Suddenly, a scent wafted through the air—one I thought I'd never smell again. I jumped up abruptly and dashed toward the dining room, Nyssa trailing behind me.