280 267: A Plague of Phantoms: Covert Machinations V

Iris

"Ned?!" Reagan exclaimed as he watched his cohort being escorted by Gargesh, Bo, Indy, Seamus, Colossus, and Gadget. Ned Anders was still wearing my face and body thanks to the appearance swapping spell. I did my best to not think about how weird it felt to see me with my hands behind my back and escorted by Bo's Orkand.

"Blake?!" Anders exclaimed. Hearing my own voice call out to Reagan made nearly trip and fall but I quickly righted myself. I was a step behind Reagan so it took Anders a moment to realize that I was there. When he did I saw his eyes flash with confusion, followed by realization, and then anger. "THAT'S MY FACE! AND MY UNIFORM!"

"You do realize you're wearing her face and clothes right now, right?" Bo commented as Gargesh bopped Anders for making so much noise.

"Quiet! Mission started!" Gargesh chastised.

"But how? What? My fucking head!" Reagan groaned and rubbed his temples.

"If that makes your head hurt then wait till you're around Chase." I said with a hint of amusement then added. "Provided you pass this little test."

"I don't think killing former allies counts as a 'little' test, whoever you are." Reagan said sternly. I sighed and nodded.

"You're right and that's why it's something that a spy sent to infiltrate a organization wouldn't do." I said then immediately switched gears. "First I need my real body back, this one is too…Manish and clunky."

"That doesn't sound like a compliment." Anders said, narrowing his eyes at me.

"It wasn't." I said casually then pointed to a nearby tree. "Gargesh take him over there and strip him. I don't want him tearing my clothes up when we change back."

"Okay!" Gargesh replied and started leading Anders to the aforementioned tree, with a bit of resistance from Anders. Bo, Indy and Seamus all stood beside me and looked at Louie, Angie and KC while Anders was stripped.

"So Chase was a little vague on what's going on. He just told us that we needed to leave the center and make sure to use the path that passed in front of Justice Technologies area." Louie said. I sighed and shook my head.

"Of course he was…okay. First off, there is about to be a lot of shooting and a lot of death." I said. Louie and Angie rolled their eyes and huffed.

"So the norm when dealing with Chase." Angie said. I nodded in agreement.

"Exactly, but this time we'll be springing at trap on the Americans. They'll attack what they think is a convoy of evos heading to the Sadamas Center but is actually a ambush. The Ogarai will deal with them and when all is said and done we'll have Justice Technologies." I explained.

"That's still a little vague Iris. Where do we come in?" Louie asked.

"You three will play the role of the innocent family that was attacked by vicious American soldiers who blamed your young son for the death and carnage that happened two years ago in St. Louis." I said then smirked. "You both can recount your treatment in the country once KC was born as well as your work on many of the evos that a lot of the countries bought in the past."

Louie's eyes widened as realization hit and a smirk spread across his face as well. Angie held onto KC a little tighter in her arms but nodded without a word.

"So payback, finally…" Louie muttered as he looked over at his wife and son.

KC was almost completely absorbed by a tree nearby, staring intently at it. That tree just so happened to be the one that Rainbow Sparkles was hiding in, completely camouflaged and hidden from view. There was no way that he could actually see him, but he could possibly sense him. If he had a high enough mana capacity and strong enough connection to evos he could possibly sense something was amiss and given that Bo and Indy kept casually looking glancing off in that direction I was open to believe that the toddler did.

"Yes." I said then looked over at Reagan. He looked absent, mentally at least. "Not looking to back out now?"

Reagan glanced and me and shook his head. His eyes burned with determination and a bit of sadness. He looked to Louie and Angie, that sadness on full display.

"I didn't know many people made it out of St. Louis. When the military finally mobilized the whole town was destroyed, nothing but bodies and death." He said. Angie and Louie both shared a look then sighed.

"We were lucky. We stayed with Haws and Chase until his grandmother showed up on the back of a evo. She'd made sure the three of us got to safety." Angie said then looked Seamus. Seamus waved her off almost immediately.

"Don't ye start apologizing again lass. Lulu died protecting our grandson. She died to give him as well as you a future. I won't sully her memory by wallowing in pity and accepting pity in return." Seamus said. Reagan looked at Seamus and frowned.

"Accept pity…?" He muttered, sounding a little confused.

"This is Chase's grandfather and Lulu'nala's husband. Seamus MacClery." I said. Reagan's eyes widened and he looked like he'd been slapped in the face.

"You were that woman's husband…" Reagan gasped. He clenched his fists and looked away. "…I'm only alive because of the actions of your Grandson and wife. Both of them were the true heroes of that day. I'm sorry…she doesn't get the recognition she deserves."

"My Lullaby would have hated ta be memorized for a day that demonized her most precious treasure." Seamus said plainly then walked over and placed his hand on Reagan's shoulder. "Yer not ta blame for her death."

Reagan looked shocked again and a little relieved to hear that but riddled with guilt at the same time.

"I'm to blame for letting this farce go on for so long…" He muttered.

"CAN SOMEONE GET ME SOME FUCKING CLOTHES!" Anders bellowed, snapping everyone's attention to the tree he was behind with Gargesh.

"Gargesh! Leave him strung up to the tree and bring me the clothes. Once I change you can take these back to him and let him change." I called out.

"GOTCHA!" Gargesh replied. A moment later he came trotting out from behind the tree with the clothes that Anders was wearing in hand. A older outfit of mine. I took the clothes from Garglesh when he arrived and retreated behind another tree to change. I first had strip and then release the spell that was morphing my appearance.

"THANK THE FUCKING GODS! MY DICK IS BACK!" Anders bellowed. I rolled my eyes and quickly changed into the outfit that Anders had been wearing. A older pair of slacks and a blouse, then walked out from behind the tree and handed Anders original uniform to Gargesh.

The Orkand rushed back over to where he left Anders. I walked back over to the group and looked to Seamus, Indy, Bo, and Colossus.

"Okay, once Anders has changed back you need to head back to the King's glaive." I said.

"OH COME ON!" Both Indy and Bo exclaimed.

"NO!" Angie, Louie, Seamus and I all exclaimed at once.

"It's bad enough we let you watch a prisoner, I'm not letting you get involved in a fight!" I exclaimed.

"Can we at least hide with Louie, Angie and KC?" Bo asked.

"No!" Louie and Angie snapped.

"Don't forget you two are our controllers for the combat simulation later tonight. You'll be involved in this little plan. Just not how you want." I said. Bo and Indy both frowned but let out a sigh a defeat.

"Okay!" They both grumbled.

"Seamus?" I said. He nodded and started corralling the young boy's away and back to the safety of the mana train, Colossus his Hell-hog following at his side. Once they were out of view I felt a little more at ease.

"Are those two kids always like that?" Reagan asked. I looked to him and nodded.

"Okay…now all we need is a target for the soldiers to think is precious cargo…" I said.

"Boss Iris!" One of the Ogarai that escorted the Gents suddenly spoke up. Rushing from his defensive position further up the road. He stopped in front of me and made a trumpeting "Report from Boss Jiggles! He is on the way with something from Boss Jane, acting for Star Shaper!"

"Probably something to look like a transport…" I replied softly then nodded.

"What?" Reagan and Anders said in unison.

"Chase's evo Jiggles sent that Ogarai a message to let them know that he was on their way. Evos and splicers can communicate telepathically if their bond is strong enough. Also all evos owned by a splicer can communicate with each other using their connection to the splicer as a anchor." I explained. Reagan and Anders eyes both widened and they looked like their minds were blown.

"That part of what you meant when you said I had no idea of what a splicer is capable of?" Reagan asked. I nodded and smirked.

"I figured you'd be a little more rattled by that fact I was your friend Anders when I went behind that tree and came out looking like this." I commented. Reagan opened his mouth to respond then frowned and closed it.

"Wait…you did, didn't you…?" Reagan muttered after a moment

"Seriously?" Anders groaned.

I heard a loud trumpeting coming from further up the road and everyone turned to see Jiggles and two Ogarai walking towards us pulling a cart with a metal cage on the back. Reagan and Anders looked back and forth between the Ogarai that were with us and the Ogarai that were coming towards us with Jiggles. They looked confused about something.

"What's wrong?" I asked. Reagan frowned and pointed at all four Ogarai.

"Are they the same evo type?" He asked. I nodded then looked to Louie.

"They are, from the same batch too!" Louie commented. Reagan and Anders shared a look and frowned.

"Then why do they look so different?" Reagan asked.

"We're special! Cobalti and I made special by Star Shaper!" The Ogarai that I now remembered was called Rubis. Which meant that the others coming with Jiggles were Normal and Exotic.

"That's the gist of it. They were the first of their kind." Louie confirmed.

"BOSSSSSS IRISSSSSSS!" Jiggles bellowed at the top of his lungs while waving his hand at me. Everyone groaned and covered their ears save the Ogarai.

"JIGGLES! QUIET!" I snapped making the loveable oaf recoil, even from that distance. When they got closer I saw the Ogrest look at me like a chastised puppy, his eyes downcast and full of sadness.

"Oh look? You made him sad!" Louie huffed then walked over and patted Jiggles on the shoulder. "She's sorry big guy, you just were too loud again."

"Sorry…" Jiggles muttered, Louie reached up and patted Jiggles on the head, as did Angie and even KC. Jiggles was like a massive murder puppy, he was easily excited, easy to please, and always wanted praise and attention. Which made perfect sense given how Chase treated his evos.

"It's okay Jiggles. Just tell stop yelling so loud. Chase has told you about that multiple times." I said sternly.

"Yes Boss Iris…" Jiggles said disheartening.

"We should probably get ready." Louie said suddenly. I nodded and looked at the cage. It was large enough that we could fit Jiggles, Normal and Exotic inside with not problem, have Rubis or Cobalti hide or play dead while staging a firefight and then spring the trap on American soldiers when before they realize it's too late.

'I see what Chase is going for…' I thought then froze and frowned.

"You just realized you could see where Chase's mind was going with this plan based off what we have and it scared you, didn't it?" Louie asked suddenly. I sighed and nodded.

"I've been around that idiot too long." I replied. Louie and Angie both laughed and shook their heads.

"We can tell you love him though. You wouldn't be here if you didn't." Angie said.

"In more ways than one…" I said solemnly. Both of them looked at me sadly then Angie suddenly placed her hand on my cheek tenderly.

"Us too." She said.

***

[How much longer until the Americans come? I'm tired of playing the helpless damsel!] I exclaimed as I ducked behind a nearby tree dodging yet another bullet fire by Reagan and Anders.

[Not much longer! I can hear shouting!] Louie replied through the manacite communication rings.

Louie, Angie, KC, and I were inside the white willow tree forest that the King's glaive was currently docked, thought near the outskirts of the forest. After Jiggles brought the cart and cage to act as a fake transport, curtesy of Jane, we moved away from the main road and had Jiggles, Normal, and Exotic inside the cage to look like new evos to sell at the Sadamas Center. I went with Reagan and Anders to raid a nearby cache of weapons that the American's hid once they landed on the island. They were using those weapons to 'attack' our convoy. Though currently the Gents were hidden away from the fighting.

"Surrender filthy splicer! And we won't kill you!" Anders yelled over the sound of gunfire. I narrowed my eyes in the direction his voice came from, that sounded a little too convincing.

"That sounds like a lie!" Rubis exclaimed from the covet of his tree.

"It's a lie!" Cobalti exclaimed. They were both hiding behind the same tree and luckily it was wide enough to cover both of them. I was about to say something to them when I saw a small object bounce off the tree they were hiding behind and roll around in a circle. It took my mind a few seconds to realize what the object was.

"GRENADE!" I bellowed then crouched down.

A deafening explosion rang out knocking me clear from my cover despite my distance from the grenade and the Ogarai. I quickly scrambled to my feet and ducked behind the nearest tree. I cursory look at the tree and I saw the remains of both Rubis and Cobalti or at least several of their limbs. Thar was more than troubling, while I knew they could heal from injuries that would kill lesser creatures I didn't know to what extent.

[Enemies are here!] Mawt Huwl informed me, albeit later than I would have liked.

[Thank you, I can see that!] I replied and drew my mana-lock.

This is where the real battle began. I saw seven soldiers but knew there were eleven thanks to Mawt Huwl and Rainbow Sparkles who were waiting in the forest for my signal. I took aim and channeled mana into my mana-lock, imagining a large explosion before I pulled the trigger. A fire bullet flew from the barrel and struck the tree beside the soldier that I was aiming at. A large explosion detonated from the point of impact and engulfed the area in flames that immediately killed three soldiers.

"ARTILLERY FIRE! TAKE COVER!" A soldier cried out.

[Mawt, Rainbow! Now!] I ordered then poke out from cover and fired a few more shots. The explosions were nowhere near any soldiers but got them scrambling. I quickly started casting a utility spell sigil and smirked as I shimmered to transparency before a soldiers eyes.

"WHAT THE FUCK!" He screeched. "THIS BITCH JUST TURNED INVISIBLE!"

"That's not nice…" I teased devilishly then drew the small blade I had hidden in the belt of my pants and slashes at the soldier's throat before he could react. "…If anyone is a bitch it's your precious hero of St. Louis."

Screams and cries suddenly started echoing in the forest. My evos were getting the drop on straggling soldiers trying to regroup. The both of them would make quick work of anyone trying to get away too.

"Bastard!" I heard a familiar voice yell followed by a explosion. I turned in time to see a soldier's blazing head sent flying into the trunk of a nearby tree as Cobalti punched the poor soldier in the chest and his body was ripped apart from the force of the following explosion.

Cobalti was trumpeted loudly in victory. I was surprised that he was alive and relatively in one piece since I had just seen him and Rubis get blown onto chunks. Part of his skull was still exposed as well as some of his ribs and some muscle on his left leg. The wounds were all healing before my eyes and Cobalti didn't seemed bothered by them.

"SAEGENT ANDERS! SARGENT REAGAN! HELP! HELP ME!" I heard a voice call our.

I immediately turned and followed the cry back to its source and found Rubis holding a soldier in the air by his neck. Reagan and Anders were standing about fifteen feet away from him with emotionless expressions on their faces. stopped and watched the scene before me unfold, with my spell still active there was no way that the two soldiers could see me.

"SAEGENTS! FUCKING SHOOT THIS THING ALREADY!" The soldier pleaded, The way that Rubis was holding him had him facing Reagan and Anders. Neither said anything but shared a look before Reagan sighed and stepped forward, aiming his gun at his former comrade. "What are you…?"

Those were the last words he said before Reagan shot the soldier in the chest. His body went limp almost instantly and Rubis looked surprised.

"I was gonna kill him!" Rubis exclaimed and tossed the dead american's body aside..

"Your boss, said that she wanted us to prove ourselves and kill one of our former comrades…" Reagan replied then looked back at Anders. He was staring at the corpse of the dead soldier with a sneer.

"If anyone deserved it, it's him. Evan Lods, used to brag about killing his nephew once his found out the boy was a splicer." Anders said.

The sound of rustling leaves and a twig snapping behind Ander and Reagan made them spin around and aim their weapons at the sound. Another American soldier came running out from the trees. Anders fired this time, hitting him in the gut and chest. He collapsed in a heap on the ground.

"That Waldo?" Reagan asked. Anders frowned and stepped closer to check then nodded.

"Yep…I was looking everywhere for this dumbass yesterday. Never where he's supposed to be and every time you need him you got a hundred people ask 'Where's Waldo? Where's Waldo?'" Anders replied. Reagan shook his head.

"I'm not sure whether I should be impressed or concerned." I said. Both Anders and Reagan jumped at hearing my voice and spun around to see where I was. Rubis sniffed the air and located me quickly. I took a couple steps towards them and deactivated the spell that made me invisible and shimmered into visibility.

"SHE CAN FUCKING TURN INVISIBLE!" Anders bellowed. Reagan frowned and turned to look at Anders.

"You were turned into a woman and her being invisible is startling?!" He griped.

"This is all new territory for me! All of it is startling!" Anders exclaimed.

[Iris! I'm on route with the local military!] Chad told me through the manacite communication ring. I nodded and looked towards Reagan and Anders.

[Understood. We'll have everything ready for when you get here.] I replied then looked towards the two former soldier and mentally focused on the Gents. [Louie, get your family and head back to the cart. It's show time!]

[Heading back now!] Louie replied.

"The local military is coming…now we get to see how well you two can act."

***

Chad

Ten minutes earlier

"I hear gunshots!"

"Was that an explosion?!"

"Someone notify command!"

I stood back with Hideyoshi Ascred and watched as the members of the Japanese defense force dashed around the improvised police station. It was little more than a small hut on the edge of the harbor town but had about nine soldiers stationed there. The hut was beside the only road out of town that lead to the white forest King's glaive was docked.

"Who's in charge here?" Hideyoshi asked as he stepped towards the station. The moment the soldiers saw him they all jumped to attention and saluted him.

"Captain Ascred!" A soldier exclaimed. A woman who I realized was a sargent stepped forward.

"Sargent Yameada! Sir!" The woman exclaimed. Hideyoshi nodded and motioned back to me.

"Sargent Yameada, this is Chad Princeton from Sho'lajah Artifact Company's security force. He has informed me that he has reasons to believe members of his company might be in danger." Hideyoshi said. As if on cue another explosion rang our from the direction of the forest.

"Sir! We need to go and investigate that explosion! I hope the members of his company aren't in the forest!" Sargent Yameada exclaimed. I rushed forward and did my best to look concerned.

"They were! They were heading to our mana train to get the evos for our presentation!" I exclaimed then growled and rushed towards the forest.

I heard the soldiers and Hideyoshi all run to keep up with me. I smirked to myself. I honestly had thought that Chase had forgotten about me since I was the only one that hadn't received any orders. He'd been distant since we returned to Andromeda. He stuck me with Boss Sin and had him basically deal with me.

It was understandable considering how I came to be under his employ or under his watch would be a better description. I know he and Sin both were careful to make sure that I wasn't alone with Iris. After all I was partly to blame for her brother's death but here I was now, running headfirst towards her.

[Iris! I'm on route with the Local military!] I informed her using the manacite communication rings.

[Understood! We'll have everything ready for when you get here!] Iris replied. I nodded to myself then focused on Princes Jane, remembering Chase's announcements about talking to him. [Princess, I'm proceeding to the second phase.]

[Understood. I'll start getting ready over here. I'm sending Astrid and Alberto to the scene as well.] Princess Jane replied.

[Understood, estimated time of arrival, ten minutes!]