Old I.R.O.N. (Droneification!) (Patreon)

Hey folks!

Been annoyingly under the weather this week. I suppose it's just that time of year, huh? Hopefully it'll clear up soon.

Well, that's for me. For you guys, a tale from the I.R.O.N. universe! Different characters this time (not a surprise really, given how the last bunch turned out) - entirely unrelated, really, but you can assume it's part of the same semi-magical modern world. Enjoy some thrilling spy adventurers!

The distinct ting of toasting wineglasses carried the sound of class across the mansion plaza, echoing it out into the warm summer night air between the garden trees. It took real money to provide your guests glasses as expensive as those. With the stars shining above, and the mincing hubbub of party guests in extravagant suits and gowns as backdrop, the gala was clearly in full swing.

Rose Kanto had seen better, admittedly, but that didn’t mean she wasn’t enjoying the experience. There was something special about rich people parties. Something in the air, in the feel. That essence of perceived superiority and class that was so delightfully heady to take in.

Shame it made you an idiot if you basked in it for too long. But that was part of the fun too, wasn’t it? How much could you drink in before you became drunk. Rose felt she had a rather good grasp of her tolerance, but she’d always been a bit of a dare devil~

“Enjoying yourself?”

She looked up to find Ivy Sinclaire leaning against the garden railing beside her. Obviously, that wasn’t a surprise – she’d noticed the woman wandering over a mile away. The surprise was her talking instead of just monitoring her from a distance. Normally the two of them operated more independently for an operation like this.

“The atmosphere’s nice,” she allowed with a shrug. “Though I didn’t think you’d be one to come and court company. Don’t you usually prefer the lone wolf style?”

Ivy laughed. “Oh, like you’re any better. But considering that we’ve already lost Lily, I’m not really feeling it. It would be embarrassing if either of us fell into the same trap as her, don’t you think?”

“Heh.” Rose couldn’t argue. How exactly was she going to mock her fellow agent if she ended up in the same bind? She’d do it anyway, naturally, but her words wouldn’t have the same bite. “True enough. We can play nice, just this once.”

The two of them made quite a pair. Rose was a bit on the short side, a woman who moved with self-assured confidence, while Ivy was tall and graceful. Rose had short, dark hair, while Ivy’s was long and white. People always said Rose’s rear end was her finest point, while even she had to admit Ivy’s chest was too big to ignore. The only thing they had in common from afar was that they were both starting to get on in years. Wrinkles were starting to make themselves known on their faces, crows feet were starting to dig deep around their eyes, and, well, a certain degree of sag was both to be expected, and not to be directly mentioned.

What they had in common that was not, perhaps, quite so obvious was that they were both agents of a certain organization dedicated to protecting world peace by any means necessary. And the world certainly needed protecting. People wouldn’t believe the sheer amount of wannabe conquerors, mad scientists, and despotic villains needed to be dealt with in order for the world status quo to remain quo. Sometimes it felt like they were fighting off a new villain every week!

One could rest assured, their advancing years might be slowing them down a little now, but it also meant they both had access to an incredible wealth of knowledge and experience that would humiliate any younger agent. Yes, perhaps they weren’t quite so eager to spend their time running from fireballs – but these days they could head the situation off well before fireballs were on the table.

Well, as long as there weren’t any mages around, anyway.

The two of them were here tonight investigating Magnus Incorporated – a new company that had shot up overnight with a hell of a lot of money and almost as many question marks on their profile. Where had they come from? Who was their CEO? Who was funding all this? No one seemed to know.

Though, saying the two of them were here to investigate wasn’t quite right. It was supposed to be three of them.

“So what do you think happened to her?” Ivy turned and leaned her back against the railing, her body language saying she was enjoying the chat, while her eyes said she was scanning the other guests for weapons or signs of ill intent.

“Who, Lily?” Rose’s attention was still on the gardens, analysing the guard patterns and patrol routes. You never knew when you were going to have to fight your way out of a party like this, after all. “Isn’t that what we’re here to find out, darling? Surely you know better than to jump to conclusions so early in the mission.”

The other agent chuckled into the back of her hand, before giving her a nudge. “Oh come on, what’s the harm in a little speculation?”

Ah, what the hell. Why not? “I hope she isn’t dead, at least. That would turn next week’s Scrabble game quite sour.”

Ivy shrugged. “I don’t know. She does always cheat.”

“True.” Lily was terrible for that. ‘We’re spies!’ she’d always protest when she got caught. ‘Cheating’s what we do!’ “Actually, now that you say so, filling her seat with someone else might be an improvement.”

The pair nodded in casual agreement, still facing in different directions. “But, assuming she’s not dead?”

Spoil sport. “If we assume that, it could be anything. Maybe she finally turned rogue. She could be waiting in there, ready for us, perhaps even anticipating that at last she’ll be able to have her revenge for all the times either of us showed her up.” Which was no small amount of times, as far as Rose was concerned!

“Ooooh, I hadn’t thought of that one.” Ivy rubbed her chin, trying not to grin. “That would be so like her.”

“Wouldn’t it?” The shorter woman finally turned around, having had her fill of watching the guards. She’d seen nothing impressive. “If they brainwashed her, I give it fifty-fifty odds that she’s faking and playing along just to be able to torment us a little before ‘breaking free’ to save the day.”

“And if we call her on it, she’ll just say you did it first so it’s fair game.”

“What?” Rose blinked, actually looking up for the first time. “I did no such thing.”

Ivy snorted. “Oh yeah, sure, Morocco was a completely innocent affair. A total coincidence that you only managed to clear your mind after throwing me off a building.”

Oh yeah. She’d forgotten about that one.

“You’re entirely too sensitive, dear,” she said anyway, in full denial mode. “Didn’t I catch you on the way down? Besides, you and I have been at this game entirely too long to lie to each other.”

Ha. Both of them chuckled at that one, before Rose finally shrugged herself away from the railing.

“I suppose we’ll just have to go in and see, won’t we?” They both knew that Lily would show up one way or another once they started uncovering Magnus’ plans. And the best way to do that was find some high level executive – which shouldn’t be hard, this party was being thrown by the Magnus board of directors – and snuggle up until they spilled a few secrets. Maybe steal a keycard or two, perhaps get his number and figure out his password…

Look, they may have been a bit over the hill, but they were damn good at their jobs~

So the pair stepped inside, eyes cast about, looking for vulnerable examples of the rich and powerful off on their own, just waiting to be fished up – when they were stopped at the entrance by a waitress, one of a good half-dozen or so that were wandering around the party. They were all wearing the same black butler outfit, each of them with a full-face silver mask covering their features. This one had a black spikey ponytail, and she was carrying a tray filled with champagne glasses. “A drink, ladies?”

Rose grinned, plucking up a flute. “Oh, don’t mind if I do~”

“At my age I should know better,” Ivy giggled, snatching one up as well. “But at my age I know the importance of having fun, too~”

The masked waitress bowed, before moving on, looking for other guests to supply. The pair watched her go, holding their glasses in their hands, very deliberately not drinking so much as a drop.

“Hm.” Ivy was the one to break the silence, sniffing at her champagne. “Does she really think she’s fooling anyone in that thing?”

Rose snorted. “I’ll bet she does. She’s always been terrible at disguises. You know I once picked her out of a crowd of geisha at one hundred paces?”

The white haired woman paused, lips pursed as her brow furrowed .”I don’t remember a mission like that in China…”

“No, this one was in Texas,” her partner said, shrugging and giving her a look. “You didn’t come because you always say that you can’t stand the burgers down there.”

“Oh, that’s true.” Ivy nodded in immediate understanding. “Much too much meat. Terrible for the figure.”

Rose rolled her eyes. “So you always say.”

The pair watched the waitress work for a moment longer, before turning away and continuing on deeper into the party.

“Well I’m glad she’s not dead, at least.” That was Rose, smoothly sashaying her way across the floor.

“Ugh, and just when I was starting to look forward to scrabble night again.” Ivy matched her step for step, even as she sighed in put upon despair. “She always cheats, you know.”

“I know.” The shorter woman chuckled, before finally looking down to her drink as they moved away from one of the crowds. “So, how drugged do you think this is?”

“Do you really think she’dve fallen for something so obvious?” A white eyebrow arched.

It was met with a wry, knowing look. “Do you remember who we’re talking about?”

“Good point.” Ivy pulled a small capsule, maybe half the size of her smallest fingernail, from her purse. “Let me check.”

She dropped it into the champagne smoothly with a practiced hand; if Rose hadn’t been watching her do it she never would have noticed. The capsule dissolved into the drink quickly, fading from sight without a trace. The pair waited for a moment, casually smiling at other passing guests, before looking back to the glass. Nothing had changed.

“Huh. No drugs.” Both women looked surprised. “Maybe it just didn’t show up in the test?”

“It’s supposed to turn green if there’s even a hint of anything that isn’t alcohol in there,” Rose muttered with a shrug. “And these things are top of the line. They detect pretty much everything. They say it’s clean.”

“Hmph.” Ivy folded glared at the seemingly normal champagne. “You know you can’t trust all these new tests and gadgets they’re making these days. It’s all technology this, algoryths that. Back in my day you used your nose. I could smell a single dose of knock out drops in a full keg of beer.”

“Your day and my day were the same day,” Rose reminded her with a nudge. “And go ahead – what does your nose tell you?”

The white haired spy paused for a moment, then took another sniff. “That it’s clean. Huh.”

“Huh.” The pair looked at the glass a little longer, and then shrugged. “Must be magic then.”

“It must,” Ivy agreed. “From another realm, I imagine.”

“Or enchanted. You can get enchantments so cheaply these days.”

“Yes, but you only get what you pay for.” The pair resumed their walk through the party. “I don’t think even she’d fall for the kind of enchantments they’re selling out there.” Ivy nodded her head towards the black haired waitress.

“She’s fallen for them before.” Another reminder from Rose.

“That didn’t count,” the white haired spy protested. “Fairies were involved.”

“And they can’t be involved this time?”

“Hm. Fair point.”

“Doesn’t look like it this time, though,” the dark haired spy finished, giving her own glass an uncertain look.

Ivy blinked. “Oh? Why not?”

Rose sighed. “Because my scan for magic just came back clean.”

“Oh.” Now they were both looking at their drinks. “Well that is odd.”

“Bizarre, in fact.” Total agreement between the two was rather rare.

“You must be doing it wrong.” And destine to never last for long.

“Excuse me?” Rose looked at her partner, completely scandalized. “I’ve been testing like this for decades!”

Ivy rolled her eyes, scoffing. “Then you’ve been doing it wrong for decades. Here, let me- No, don’t!”

She reached out to try and grab the other spy, but she was far too slow. The dark haired woman had already thrown back her entire flute, and was now smacking her lips, twirling the empty glass in her fingers.

“It’s fine,” she said after a moment. “Just normal champagne.”

A few more moments passed before Ivy was willing to accept her claim, looking at her suspiciously. “Really?”

“Mm.” Rose smacked her lips again. “Not bad, either. Expensive. The good stuff.”

“Oh. Huh.” The white haired woman looked at her own drink, and then downed it in one go. “My, you know, I think you’re right. This is the good stuff. Now that’s disappointing.”

“I know, right?” The shorter of the two shook her head, placing her empty glass down on a tray provided by one of the wait staff – the same waitress who had given her the drink, in fact. She must have circled through the party back to them when she saw they were done with their drinks. “Are these people even trying any more?”

“They could have at least enchanted it a little.” Ivy couldn’t help but sound put out as she replaced her glass as well, taking a new one for good measure. “It would let us know that we’re wanted.”

“Exactly.” Rose picked a new glass as well, then shrugged. “Oh well. What about the food?”

“Ah! Yes, it’s got to be the food.” At last, the world made sense again.

“I guess we can look forward to dinner then.”

The pair walked off into the party once more – but not before Ivy leaned over to their waitress, patting her on the shoulder. “You’re fooling no one, Dear. Just thought you should know.”

The waitress looked after her, but she and Rose were already gone. They were moving quickly – because both of them had spotted an opportunity that was too good to pass up. Carl Magnus himself had just emerged from his rooms upstairs and joined the party. So far, it didn’t look like anyone had noticed that the head of the company hosting them all had arrived, which meant now was the time to act!

Act, in this case, meaning sidling up to the man and flirting.

“Oh Magnus, darling, we were wondering when you were going to show your face around here~!” Rose purred, pulling up on his left side.

“I was starting to worry you were going to keep to yourself all night! So good to see you at last.” And there was Ivy, gracefully sliding in on his right.

“Ladies! Welcome, welcome!” The man extended his arms. Whatever else might be said about the mysterious businessman, he didn’t miss a beat at the pair’s arrival. “I hope you’re enjoying the festivities?”

Magnus was a rather tall gentleman, but to Ivy’s amusement he wasn’t quite as tall as she was, especially not while she was wearing heels. He had a bit of a rugged look – a little more manly than you’d expect the CEO of a tech company to be, with a black head of hair and a smooth, full-faced beard. His black suit was immaculate, though both agents noticed an odd touch of decorativeness – every button appeared to be a gemstone, held in a gold setting. A bit odd, but they’d both seen far stranger fashion choices.

“We certainly are. Especially this lovely champagne,” Ivy winked as she took a long sip, pressing up against the man’s arm. A little forward for her, but she was feeling daring tonight. “Don’t you think it’s lovely, dear?”

“Very lovely,” Rose agreed, pressing in from his left as she downed her latest glass. “Nice and bubbly.”

He grinned, nodding and snapping his fingers. “I’ll make sure you have more then! Waitress?”

The black haired woman returned, her serving tray fully refilled with glasses of champagne. Giggling, the two agents replaced their glasses – playing their moods up for the mark, of course. It wasn’t like a little bubbly was going to do anything to them.

“So, my fair ladies,” Magnus turned back to them, still smiling as the waitress walked away. “I must admit, I didn’t realise we had such beautiful flowers on the guest list! A delightful surprise to see you here tonight, but please, don’t keep me in suspense – who are you?”

The two agents met each other’s eyes, and a quick, silent conversation flashed between them. It was amazing what you could do when you’d worked ‘together’ for so long.

(Flowers? Do you think he recognised us?)

(He’d be a fool if he saw through our disguises and immediately decided to tell us so.)

(Well yes, but you know these masterminds. None of them are as smart as they think they are.)

(Play it safe for now. We’ll keep an eye on it, and if he seems to be on to us, we go to plan B.)

(Plan b? Tch, fine. This was such a nice dress, too…)

The ‘talk’ was over in an instant, and then the pair were all sultry smiles once again.

“Who are we? Why, I am Lady Carla Dathomere,” Rose giggled, extending her hand, which the CEO took and kissed lightly. “Representing the Dathomere corporation.”

“And I am Evelyn Kell.” Ivy extended her hand and received likewise, smiling like the flirt she was. Their false identities were well prepared and slid on without any difficulty. This was easy stuff.

“Delighted to meet you both,” the man smiled right back. “And what brings you to my humble little get together? To what do I owe the honour?”

Rose sighed theatrically, pressing a hand to her heart as she took a sip of her latest drink. “You invited my brother, Nathan? I’m afraid he couldn’t make it this evening. Terrible stomach ache hit at just the worst time.” She’d made sure of it. “So he sent me instead.”

“Oh? Your brother? Not your husband then?” Magnus looked intrigued.

“Alas, no.” The dark haired agent played up a sudden swell of grief, drinking more bubbly. “My husband has been gone for many years now. I do still miss him, of course, but life moves on all the same.” And right back to flirting she went.

“Ah, I’m sorry to hear.” He nodded understandingly. Why, if you weren’t looking, you might not even notice his smile! “And you are quite right. Why, before we know it, our time is past, our plates are empty, and our drinks are drained. In fact, speaking of, Waiter, if you could get my new friends a refill?”

The waitress was back. Another round of drinks were procured. Rose had to admit, these things went down very easily. She’d have to see if she could get the brand while they were snooping about later~

She was so distracted by her new champagne that she almost missed Ivy speaking up. “I, meanwhile, can’t say I’ve ever married. You invited my father, of course, but he hates parties, dull man that he is, so I took the opportunity to see the place for myself.”

(Really? You’re going for that?) Rose shot her a raised eyebrow.

(He looks eager, and I lose nothing by pretending. You can be the sloppy seconds if you like, I’ll be the fresh meal.) Ivy just gave her a smug look in return.

Rose’s eyes narrowed. The translation of that look is too obscene to translate.

Of course, all of this went ignored by Magnus, who was simply continuing what he thought was the current conversation with all the charm he was capable of. Which was not that much, to be clear, much like any CEO, but he was trying, at least.

“Well, my dear, I hope you don’t mind me saying that I consider your decision an upgrade!” He flashed Ivy a smile.

And she, of course, played right into it. “Oh, my, charmer~”

“I should hope so.”

Hm. The man was looking rather taken with the taller woman, and it was becoming clear that only one of them would be able to pump him for information. Very well then. Rose wasn’t about to let herself lose that easily. She had a secret weapon, and now was the time to use it. She’d lean in, give him her classic smouldering look, and he’d surely be unable to resist inviting her to a private ‘discussion’. Sorry, Ivy, this one was going to be hers, so-

“Oop!” The dark haired agent stepped in – and immediately tripped over herself, stumbling forwards into Magnus’ arms.

“Oh, dear, are you alright?” He looked down at her in alarm, holding her steady. Something that she suddenly needed quite a bit of help with. Hoo, she must have been more tired than she thought.

This was no time to let her target know that, though! Instead, she fluttered her eyelids at him. “Peeerfectly fine, Carl, don’t you worry,” she managed, trying to stand, and still finding herself rather wobbly. “Ooh, thank you for being sshuch a gentleman, though… Ooh!” She covered her mouth, embarrassed at how she’d slurred the word. “Maybe I’ve had a liiiittle too much to drink.”

A ridiculous idea, of course. All she’d had tonight was champagne, and she could have drunk an entire barrel of that stuff before feeling even slightly tipsy – even if she was a little giddy right now. No, she certainly wasn’t drunk, this was just… a happy accident! Yes.

And it was happy because it looked like it was working on Magnus. He wrapped an arm around her waist, gesturing towards the stairs. “My dear, you look like you might need to sit down. Why don’t you come with me? I’ll get you some privacy.”

Jackpot. The agent nodded gratefully – and then smirked back at Ivy when he looked away from her.

Her rival/teammate looked unimpressed. (Playing drunk so that he feels sorry for you? How vulgar. To think you’d stoop so low.)

(I’m not playing anything! You’re just losing~) Rose couldn’t help but look smug as Ivy grew more and more annoyed.

(Oh yeah? Well watch this.) The white haired woman downed her entire drink in one go, dropping the now empty glass on the waitress’s waiting try, and then putting her hand to her head as she swooned. “Oh my, when did the room start s-spinnn…?”

“Woooah!” Magnus turned back just in time to catch her as she collapsed. Now he had an agent under both arms. “Wow, ladies, I guess neither of you has much tolerance for drink, huh? I’d better get you both out of here…”

So, struggling a little now that he was supporting both of them, the CEO helped the two women walk up the stairs, steering their wobbly footsteps carefully. It was a bit difficult – especially with how dizzy both of them were feeling – but that just meant they could lean on him more.

(I can’t believe you…) Rose glared at the other woman over his shoulders, pouting and trying not to ruin her mystique by hiccupping.

(Deal with it~) Ivy just gave her a smug grin back, while struggling not to let her eyes cross. It was rather difficult to focus her vision tonight – damn, and she didn’t want to put on her glasses…

Fortunately, with Magnus’ help, the two of them were soon away from the loud party, the pleasant hubbub having now melted into a droning roar in their ears. He escorted them to a private room, just as he’d promised, acting like a perfect gentleman the whole way. There, they found a nice plush couch waiting for them, the pair sitting heavily on the red satin padding.

Oddly, the waitress had followed after them, still carrying her tray, fresh drinks at the ready. If either agent thought that odd, they didn’t voice it. Instead, they were busy shooting glares at one another when they thought no one else was watching.

“Here,” he said, picking up a pair of glasses and offering one each to his guests. “Have something to drink. That might help.”

The woman nodded – still more distracted by each other – and took the champagne. Ivy downed her gratefully, even quicker than before. Rose started to do the same, but paused part way through.

“Hey, like… You keep giving us drinks,” she giggled, peering up at him blearily as her glass sloshed. “Is there, like… something wrong with this stuff or something…?”

Magnus looked shocked. “Wrong with it? Why, not at all. It’s simply very good champagne. Maybe a little stronger than the guests expect…”

“Ahhh, ‘kay. That makesh- Oop!” Rose nodded, swaying enough to almost spill her drink. Quickly she finished it off, pouring the liquid down her throat with a satisfied sigh, before tossing the glass aside. “Mmm, it ish very good…”

“Veeery good,” Ivy agreed, joining in her sister agent’s growing giggle storm.

“Very good indeed.” At this point, Magnus couldn’t help his grin as he watched the pair slump against each other. “Very good, and very strong. You girls never realise how much you’re drinking until you’re three sheets to the wind.”

“H… Huh?” Ivy blinked – more at his tone turning sinister than his actual words. “Wha’chu mean…?”

“It means spies like you don’t check for alcohol in your drinks,” he explained – though judging by their blank, bleary stares, neither of them quite understood him. “A little crude, perhaps, but effective. At least for the first steps.”

Inside Rose’s head, some very gummed up gears managed to click around a slow rotation. She peered up at him. “You just get ‘em d… drunk?”

“Exactly!” Magnus nodded proudly as he took a seat, sliding down between the two sloshed agents and putting his arms around their shoulders. “Works surprisingly well.”

“Silly” Ivy leaned up against him, purring, still in her seduction act. “You didn’ need t’ get me drunk to have sum fun” She trailed a hand down his chest, her finger trying to draw a line, but wandering all over the place instead.

He still seemed to appreciate her effort, chuckling. “Ah, ladies, don’t worry. I didn’t bring you back here to have fun – that will come later. For the moment, it’s enough to simply drain your souls and make sure you won’t be causing me or my company any issues.”

“Oh, I don’t know…” Rose slumped against him from the other side, more drunk than seductive. “We can be preeeeeeetty troubleshum, heehee~”

His grin widened. “I’m well aware of your reputations, Miss Kanto, Miss Sinclaire. Security alerted me to your presence as soon as our cameras identified you. But I think I can handle you. Hell, at this point, a garden rake could probably handle you. Though I have a more permanent arrangement in mind.”

Neither of the two really reacted to what was quickly becoming quite a sinister conversation. Though Ivy did flutter her eyelashes at him. “Mm? And what might that be, handshome?”

Magnus gestured to his chest. Or, more specifically, to the buttons on his suit. “You see these gemstones?” He reached up and plucked one out, removing it from its golden clasp. “Every one is the crystalised form of a lovely lady who tried to interfere with my work’s soul. You might recognise this one…”

He held it up to the light. It was a white pearl, rounded and smooth. But, if you looked closely, you might just be able to detect a silvery outline sketched across its surface. An outline that looked kind of like a face.

“Huuuhh…” Rose slurred, leaning forward to take a good look. “That’sh, uh… that’sh…”

“Oooh, that one reminds me of Lily,” Ivy giggled as her partner struggled to think. “Looks just like her!”

It did, in fact. There, in the pearl, you could just ever so faintly see the face of Lily Everest. Her eyes were rolled up in her head, her tongue lolling out, and she seemed to be caught in a moment of unimaginable ecstasy…

Ivy snorted as she sat back. “Typical Lily.”

“Mm.” Rose nodded as she slumped onto Magnus’s shoulder again. “Sho like her…”

The CEO had to take a moment to supress a laugh as he replaced the pearl in its clasp before he continued. “No, you see, my cufflinks are of similar design to these button clasps here. Old, old magic designs, I don’t pretend to understand the particulars. Based on ancient Atlantean soul traps, if you’ve ever heard of them?”

The two agents just looked at him blankly.

“Ah, yes, I suppose there’s no point asking by now. Especially not since these…” He raised his arms at the elbows, showing off his sleeves – or, more specifically, the empty gold cufflinks he was wearing. Cufflinks that they could now see were etched with obvious magical designs. “… Have been working on you two since you first introduced yourselves to me! If you’re feeling hazy right now, I’d say that’s got a 50-50 chance of being the booze, or just the sensation of having your minds and souls drained out of you. Either or.”

Magnus looked like he was after something, a reaction of some kind, but the blank stares of two very drunk agents clearly wasn’t it. He sighed, shaking his head. “Maybe we did give them too much to drink. Oh well. W12, take your mask off, let them see where they’re headed.”

The waitress nodded, setting down her tray, before reaching up and pulling the silver mask on her face off, revealing-

Oh! Rose’s eyes widened, her lips curling into a surprised ‘o’, but she couldn’t quite summon the energy to make an actual sound.

“Ha!” Ivy was not so limited, and burst into laughter. “Oh wow, Lil, you got face-offed? Oh, that’s sooooo funny, haha! You look so dumb!”

Indeed, beneath the mask was nothing. No eyes, no mouth, no nose. There was just empty, smooth skin where Lily’s face should have been. She looked kind of like one of those shop mannequins, except as a living human being. A woman – oh, clearly still a woman, her uniform wasn’t hiding that – with no identity of her own.

The longer Ivy looked at her, the harder she laughed. “So stupid~!”

Magnus grinned. “Your friend certainly finds it amusing. Do you appreciate the elegance, miss Rose?”

He turned to look at her – only to see the dark haired spy’s own face starting to glow with silver light.

“Ah, already too far gone? My, you really did make this easy on me.”

Rose might have asked what he meant, but right now it was… kinda… hard… to… think…

It wasn’t just the alcohol, either. It felt like her actual thoughts were vanishing from her head, getting sucked away more and more with each passing second. A slow, steady hollowness was building up inside her mind, gently, pleasantly consuming everything… Until there were no thoughts left to take.

The dark haired spy’s eyes crossed, her lips still frozen in an o shape… And then light streamed out of her eyes, flowing from her head straight into Magnus’s left cufflink.

A moment later, and his cufflink had acquired a ruby filling. A sparkling red gem which, under the right light, would show the silvery outline of a confused face, with crossed eyes and pouty o lips. It was a cute look – a look that the faceless drone now sat next to him no longer had to features to make.

The CEO shook his head, examining his new gem with a smile. “Far too easy. I thought Miss Ivy would be the one to fall first.” He turned to look at the new drone. “Speaking of, go help her relax into her new role.”

The drone nodded, new orders filling her empty mind. She rose stiffly, marching around the couch with a robotic stride, before stopping behind the white haired spy. There, she reached out, and set her hands on her former partner’s shoulders.

“Hmn?” The blitzed and witless spy looked up for a moment, surprise jostling her out of her stupor… but only until the drone’s fingers got to work massaging her muscles. Then a groan of delight spilled from the woman’s mouth, and she relaxed into her former friend’s grip.

“Oh that’s good…” She sighed, before cracking open an eye to give Lily one last look. “And you still look stupid~”

Then, moaning quietly with pleasure from the massage, Ivy lay back, a peaceful smile on her face, as she let herself drift off into dreams of empty white void, her mind and soul gently unspooling…

A moment later, and there was one more faceless drone sitting on the couch, and Magnus was examining his new emerald cufflink. Under just the right light, you could still see that peaceful smile, etched into the gem for all eternity…

“And that’s that,” he finally said, straightening up and adjusting his tie. “Good to have that sorted. W12, get these two new drones to the wardrobe, stick them in some bunnygirl suits or something suitably slutty, make sure they have some masks, then send them back out to the party.”

The waitress drone nodded, walking over and taking the new pair by the hands. They rose to her without a hint of disobedience.

“Great. Then I guess I’d better get back out there. This evil plan isn’t going to scheme itself!”

With that, the CEO headed out, the drones following after him, but taking a different turn out in the corridor. They had a different destination to get to. He’d see them again soon enough.

Mindlessly, the three faceless drones marched off towards their new destiny.

Hey, at least wrinkles wouldn’t be a problem anymore!