Post-production note: Since only season 1 had come out when I wrote this, I had no idea what the XANA's weakest monsters were officially called. When I looked it up I found two names - Kankrelat and Roachster. Since I assumed in the English version they would go with something that would be an obvious parallel to an animal, I used Roachster. Seriously, who thought it would be a good idea to call those things Kankrelats? It just sounds stupid. Sorry for the delay. You can keep reading now!

6-1: Anticipate

I was actually curious to see what might happen in the second season and this turned out to be the result of my little Season 2 Dream-a-Thon. Since it'll be out soon, I think a lot more will be revealed that will refute my ideas.
Janika (Sissy's cousin) and the gang have just gone through a troubling time and are just getting back into the swing of things. But X.A.N.A. is dangerous in his unpredictability. One thing leads to another and now he has released a deadly weapon on Kadic…

(((-1-)))

X.A.N.A. surveyed his creation. It was flawed all over, but ultimately still powerful. He knew this plan was unlikely to succeed, but the one living within Lyoko was no longer completely bound to it and every day that passed was another step toward a remedy to his implanted virus that kept her linked to the world in which he was trapped.

He was desperate. That was the truth. Another month and it was possible he could be destroyed permanently. This may be his last chance for survival.

The creature would have to do for now. If it demonstrated usefulness he could improve the program later. All it needed was awareness independent from his own, capable of distinct thought patterns. If not for the newest Warrior's computer, he would never have discovered what he needed to make it function properly.

This was dangerous, what he was about to do. The link he would forge from Lyoko to Earth was unlike the one that already existed and could have dire consequences.

But time was against him. The choice was made.

(V)

Janika kicked her feet lazily in the air as she lay stomach-down on her bed, staring vacantly at the book in her hands. She snapped it shut and looked around her room. There was a picture of her with the gang on her nightstand. She began to smile as her eyes fell on the short blonde boy smirking at her from the photo. A moment later she finally made a decision.

She left and walked one floor up, then down the hall. Taking a deep breath, she knocked. Ulrich answered.

"Is Odd there?" she wondered nonchalantly, though also with a trace of shyness.

"Sorry Janika. Odd has to serve detention for hurling spitwads at Sissy this morning." He gave her an apologetic look. "I think he's cleaning up the school grounds. He might be out near the soccer field."

She brightened and thanked him before leaving. The sun was blocked by a bank of clouds and a stiff wind whipped her braid this way and that. Janika spotted her other friends. Aelita was talking with Jeremy and Yumi as she approached.

"Yumi and I were speaking with a girl in class this morning and she said that I might like to go into choir."

Jeremy nodded encouragingly. "Why not? I think you'd be a good singer. Your voice is - er - very nice on Lyoko." There was a hint of pink in his cheeks.

"Hi! Is Odd hiding around here someplace?" Janika called.

Yumi pointed across the street where the boy in question was sullenly collecting trash and putting it in a plastic bag. Excited, she dashed forward to meet him. He had just noticed her waving when his face went blank…

—The car didn't slow for the stop sign. Instead it made a sharp turn onto the street and roared down the lane, the driver failing to notice Janika as she recklessly sprinted across the road. Odd could only cry out a futile warning as the car collided with her body and—

She was nearly to the road.

The car was just reaching the intersection.

There was a glass bottle in his hand.

With no time to think about what he was doing, Odd pitched the bottle straight at the car! It broke on the windshield and the ldriver instinctively swerved. It was just enough.

Janika bounced off the side and landed limply in the street. He was beside her in seconds. The driver had stopped and started to curse at Odd when she caught sight of the unconscious girl on the cement. Kids from Kadic were running over.

Yumi and Jeremy were suddenly with him, lending support. Aelita ordered the other kids to keep away while the smart blonde kid felt along his friend's spine as she lay in the ditch, breathing but not moving.

"She might have broken ribs, but I'm not sure because of the awkward position she's in. Nobody touch her. Tamiya, put down that camera and go get Nurse Dorothy."

Minutes later, Jim and Dorothy arrived on the scene. The nurse checked Janika as she was just coming to. Except for some quickly-forming bruises along her leg and side, everything was fine. Jim found out the driver had been in a rush to get to the hospital to see a relative who had (ironically) been struck by a speeding car.

Aelita stayed behind while Odd and Jeremy supported the injured girl between them, heading for the dorms. They called up Ulrich, telling him the news. He was waiting there by the time they got back to Janika's room.

Yumi left the three boys in the empty hallway while she made sure her friend was as comfortable as could be. Jeremy was still offering congratulations.

"If you hadn't thrown that bottle, she'd be roadkill right now!"

The other kept silent as he leaned against the wall, head bowed. Jeremy looked at him closely, not sure what was going on with his friend. Ulrich didn't say anything.

"I saw something weird when she was running toward me," he finally said. "My vision went foggy and then I saw the car hit her before it happened."

Jeremy clutched Odd's shoulder. "Are you saying you saw the future? That's impossible!" His eyes darted quickly down the empty hallway, but saw no one. "You can't use your Anticipation outside Lyoko. None of you can use your Special Abilities."

Ulrich patted his buddy's back. "Whatever it was, it saved Janika's life and you both should be grateful for it."

The boy wearing glasses looked anxious as he started for the exit. "I have to talk to Aelita. See you guys later."

Ulrich assured his friend once again that everything would be fine, and then left Odd alone in the hallway…or so he thought. One door was open a crack as a girl with short fair hair pulled back into a ponytail on the side of her head peered surreptitiously out.

Maïtena held a comic book tightly in her fist as she examined the lonely boy from her vantage point. Can it be true? she wondered. Is it possible that there could be kids with superpowers here at Kadic?

A fanciful smile spread across her face. "Odd," she said boldly, coming up to him. "You really reacted fast out there. Some would say you've got great reflexes."

"Yeah, I guess so."

He hardly looked at Maïtena, which maddened her, but she tried not to let it show.

"I think you're special," she spoke quietly. "How did you do it?"

"Do what?" he asked, shooting a guarded look her way.

"See it before it happened. You had a premonition. I know it! Just tell me how you're able to do it, Odd. I promise I won't say anything."

"You're nuts." The blonde boy knocked on Janika's door and entered at Yumi's call, closing the door solidly behind him. Maïtena stood there disgruntled.

Maïtena is not an OC. As a matter of fact, she is on the show (though I have not seen her) and I decided to give her a pseudo-personality since I didn't know what she was really like.