Odder Than Ever

Twelve: The Other World

"Oof!" Dalila rubbed her head and stood up. "Hey... this is the street near the studio! We're back!" Olive smiled at her friend, then frowned when she saw the damage Todd had done. People were screaming and running from a giant laser chicken, the streets were covered in jam, and worst of all, a giant pienado was in the center of town. It was pure chaos everywhere. Olive shuddered at the thought.
"Look, Mommy, it's Odd Squad! They'll save the day like they always do!" chirped an enthusiastic kid, tugging on her mother's sleeve. Her mother frowned. "Odd Squad isn't real, honey."
Sean tapped her on the shoulder. "Ma'am, you're escaping a giant laser chicken, and you're debating whether Odd Squad is real?" The woman looked at him in shock before glaring at him disapprovingly. "Don't you have better things to do than roam the streets in full costume?"
Oscar chuckled. "Oh, he's in full costume. But I'm not." The woman stared at the two. "I'm sorry, I'm confused."
Sean sighed. "Never mind." Bending down to the little girl, he smiled. "Yes, we'll save the day like we always do. But we need some help. Would you be willing to help us?" Wide eyed, the girl nodded. "Excellent. Now, all you have to do is to get others to believe in Odd Squad, and try to help people avoid the oddness. We don't want anyone getting hurt. So if you see someone about to bump into a laser chicken, warn them, okay?"
"Okay!" The girl jumped up and down with excitement. Sean smiled warmly and gently ruffled her hair before turning to the others. "Come on, guys, let's go."
The six headed to the park, where they relaxed under a tree.
"So what should we do first?" asked Olive, lazily making a daisy chain.
"We should probably stop Todd before he does any more damage. But where can we find him?" Filip gazed up at the clouds.
Dalila thought for a moment before saying, "We could check the news!"
"Great idea!" Oscar quickly ran up to a man walking through the park. "Excuse me, my good man, but do you have any idea where we could acquire the latest issue of The Schmumber Times?" The man looked at him strangely.
Dalila hurried after him. After muttering an apology to the man, she dragged him back to the group. "That's not how things work here, Oscar. First of all, you don't talk to strangers. Second of all, you don't talk like you're some sort of duke or something. Third of all, there is no Schmumber Times here!"
Otto looked confused. "No Schmumber Times here? How do you find information, then?"
Filip smiled. "We use the internet." Olive looked at him strangely. "The internet? What's that?"
Sean perked up. "The internet is a magical area where you can find anything and everything, from sports scores to music videos. It's like your tablets, except way bigger and with more knowledge."
"There's a computer at my house we can use," Dalila added.
"Great! Let's go!" Otto headed straight for the nearest tree trunk, ramming into it at top speed. He rubbed his head. "Ouch..."
Dalila smiled. "That's another thing we don't have here, tubes. We'll walk."