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Part 4.

Presently.

"Oh, please tell me you two didn't go at it again," Queen's feelers drooped as she saw Shade and Charlie walk in, both bruised and dirty. Thanks to Charlie's insistence, Shade had passed by her room and was now at least dressed in casual blue jeans and a tank top that strained to contain her perfectly round chest. Charlie on the other hand had her chitin armor on, allowing her some modicum of decency.

"It was just friendly sparring, relax," Shade brought her hands up defensively while Charlie meekly shrugged. Queen sighed, knowing of the constant rivalry between the two metamorph girls. Since the night Queen was transformed, Shade and Stinger had become unlikely allies, and it was thanks to that event that S.W.O.R.D. had taken them in. Shade's powers and speed as well as her job as a thief made her perfect for infiltration and espionage, so Shade was usually dispatched for solo missions. Maybe the solitary missions were making Shade cranky. Whenever Stinger and Shade met together lately, they always seemed to end up fighting! After seeing her four Knights fly in with soft buzzing, Queen finally relaxed.

"Beth, Charlie says you've been reading for 9 hours straight," Shade said, "Shouldn't you take a rest?"

"It's been two hours since you left for training already?" Queen raised an eyebrow at Charlie.

"I'm more concerned your head hasn't exploded yet honestly," Charlie mentioned as she rummaged through boxes of snacks and pastries on the counter, "Aw man, aren't there anymore donuts?" a loud snap made Charlie jump as Shade's elastic tongue suddenly shot in front of her eyes and pulled a creamy bagel to her hands. "That's just gross. Are you sure you aren't half frog?" Shade shrugged as she chomped down on the treat and got a soda from the mini-fridge.

"Donuts?" Queen paused, feelers twitching, "Right. Agent Turner took half of the last box with him."

"Seriously?" Charlie groaned, "That Gary! Hmm, I wonder if I can charm him into giving me his donuts..."

"Don't," Queen interjected, "Everyone's already mad you keep fooling him to get critical information." Charlie seemed to pout in defeat, but then she folded her arms and proudly swung her hips to the side.

"Well, I don't blame him! It's pretty hard to resist me and... Ahh!" Charlie gasped again as Shade's tongue once more shot down at one of the boxes the chameleon had been eyeing to extract another treat. "Damnit Kim! Hey, wait a second! There one was a donut, gimme!"

Queen did a face-smack when Charlie leaped at Shade and the two began to struggle over the last donut. "Can't we have a quiet breakfast for a change?!" the red-head bee finally snapped.

"Stop it, my tongue found this, not yours!" Shade bit tightly onto the donut while Charlie did the same from the opposite end.

"But I want it more!" the scorpion argued, gripping Shade's claws while they rolled around the room, only managing to aggravate Queen further.

"Now you're just being little girls!" With a vein almost popping behind her head, Queen stood up to her impressive 11 ft. stature of Amazonian proportions and yelled while pointing at the two women, "Force them apart now!" The command was obviously unheard by the hybrid females, but very soon two of Queen's Knights were on both Stinger and Shade. The muscle bound drones kept a firm grip between the two struggling girls, but no matter how hard they pulled, they couldn't undo THEIR grip on each other.

It was then that the door to the metamorph division's break room opened to allow entrance to two sets of footsteps. "Agents? Sorry to interrupt..." Captain James Rogers was holding the door open to a scene composed of a busty chameleon and a curvy scorpion fighting for a donut between them, chests smashed together while two muscular male bee drones attempted to tug the ladies apart from each other. All that time, the gigantic queen bee directing the drones was shouting at the smaller females. The action stopped and everyone, Knights included, paused to look at the intruding pair of gentlemen. To captain Rogers, this was just another day.

"She started it!" Both Shade and Charlie pointed at each other, but then Shade used the distraction to rend the donut to pieces before swallowing it. "Damnit!" Charlie whimpered.

"We have a guest," Rogers announced.

Then a familiar voice ensnared Charlie's attention, "Mon Dieu, so many beautiful young ladies oui oui! And ah, are these the so called Knights, mon amí?" a white bearded, slender and tall man walked from behind a nodding Rogers, finally making Charlie recall her memories.

"Dr. Pierre!" exclaimed a euphoric Charlie as she suddenly bowled over Shade and both Knights and nearly tackled the old man out of happiness. Throwing her arms around him, she pulled Pierre in for a hug.

"Ahh, cherí, it is good to see you! Or your lovely chest rather! Need I remind you I never earned my doctorate?" Pierre laughed, muffled words coming out from Charlie's chest as she hugged the white-coated old man.

"Who's the old coot?" Shade promptly got up and whispered up to Queen, bee and chameleon both confused. When Charlie finally released Pierre from her tight hug, she set him back down on the floor and gave him a grin.

"And how come Charlie's so happy to see him? I've never seen her beam like that before!" Queen responded in a whisper.

"Mademoiselle Richards, I see life as a S.W.O.R.D. operative has kept you tres busy! It is good to see you brimming with energy," Pierre smiled, his thick white moustache seeming to pass as a mouth each time he spoke, "Mmm, and these friend of yours! So big and healthy looking! Impressive metamorphs, oui!" Both Queen and Shade shyly waved. Pierre approached them and took Queen's hand before kissing it. "You must be Queen, how adequate a codename for such a beautiful woman!"

"This guy's gotta be Canadian," Shade pursed her lips to hold back a giggle when she saw her much taller friend blush at Pierre's words.

"Ah, mademoiselle Shade!" Pierre was suddenly in front of Shade. "All the colors in the spectrum at the command of your fine body, simply magnifique!" Immediately losing her nerve at how creepy it was for a presumably sexagenarian to be talking in such a manner to her, Shade's scales turned a deep red all of a sudden. Charlie couldn't hold back her laughter.

"Ahem," interrupted Rogers as he served Pierre and himself a cup of fresh coffee, "As you might have guessed, Pierre is interested in advanced metamorphosis. It took us a while to recall him from his splinter cell in Asia, but he's here to help us now."

"Wait, a splinter cell to who?" interjected a surprised Charlie.

"Why, Secret Worldwide Operations, Rescue and Discovery, cherí!" Pierre quickly answered without titubation. Charlie's jaw dropped.

"You mean you've been S.W.O.R.D. all this time?!" the scorpion recalled the fateful day when one of her missions as an Interpol agent led her to the doorstep of a mid-Asian black market where a leaked Xteria sample was being auctioned. Having seduced the winner of the auction to later steal the sample, plain old Charlotte Richards found herself the target of a vengeful tycoon's wrath. Barely surviving the chase his agents gave, Charlie nearly died when she was stung by scorpions inside a collapsed desert tunnel. Fortunately, the scientist currently smiling at her, back then was the one to find Charlie while investigating said tunnels. If it hadn't been for Pierre, Charlie would have eventually lost the battle against the scorpion's venom. "That explains why you were there."

"Oui, that's what the worldwide part stands for, mon cherí." Pierre smiled, but Charlie cocked an eyebrow up in curiosity.

"But if that's the case, how come you never told me about this?" Pierre shook his head at Charlie's question but heartily laughed.

"Ah but that's what the Secret part is for, oui? Indeed, you are a metamorph, but you used to be Interpol back then."

"And S.W.O.R.D. identification is on need to know basis," Rogers finished.

"Plus, you never did ask what I was doing at my outpost, mademoiselle Richards!" Charlie returned a flat stare, as if irony was punishing her for the silly question. "Mmhm, I do prefer my solace back at my outpost, where I can comfortably research ecosystems and treatments for the population living in those unforgiving areas. Alors, I am required in America for more than just work." He finally took the cup of coffee Rogers was offering and took a sip before adding: "It has certainly been a while. Almost two years ago in fact."

"So what brings you here, doc?" an impatient Charlie asked.

"Ah, oui oui. I got side-tracked. You see, back when I believed it had been Schmidt's work that had changed you, I had no idea my ex-colleague, the late Dr. Masters, had been the actual discoverer of the Xteria. Ever since you left my labs, cherí, I have been busy researching advanced metamorphosis. My findings have been outstanding, yet inconclusive."

"You've been finding more questions than answers, then?" Queen asked from her chair.

"Quite perceptive of you, mademoiselle Queen. But you see the uh- how do you say it? Ah oui, the cross-references I could make were vague at best."

"You still haven't answered Charlie's question though," Shade added. Pierre nodded.

"I am here on personal matters, but James and I are good friends. When I am done with my business, I shall relocate to these headquarters in order to support the metamorph division!" Pierre smiled, "I might not be able to reverse your condition, cherís, but that does not mean I won't give it my all to aid you."

"Well, here's me welcoming you to the team, Pierre. You'll be back from your trip to Colorado in a couple of days, right?" Rogers asked, getting a nod from the scientist.

"Colorado huh? Never been there before," Shade shrugged, "Wonder if they got nice loo-ahh... I'm just curious if they got art museums..." the ex-thief shook her hands defensively after getting glares from both Queen and Stinger.

"Ah, where I'm headed, the sciences take shape into what I could easily compare to art!" Pierre proudly spoke, holding a hand to his chest, "And my dear niece is about to give out a demonstration in a couple days. I haven't seen her since I flew her from France... almost two years ago actually!"

Queen seemed to be the most interested one, "That niece of yours... she wouldn't happen to be Dr. Francine LeFleur, would she?" Pierre nodded, making Queen approach him, "Oh curse my luck! I've been following the news on her Project Galvanika. I could maybe hitch a ride and watch the demonstration if I wasn't so tall..."

"Is it that important?" Charlie raised an eyebrow in confusion to Queen's sudden burst of exuberance. Queen seemed appalled.

"It's only one of the most important experiments of the century! What Dr. Pierre's niece is trying to accomplish is a completely renewable source of electric power. Think about it, no more fighting about oil if she succeeds!"

"S'il vous plait, mon cherí! I haven't received my doctorate," Pierre laughed.

"Really? That does sounds interesting," Charlie admitted after Queen's explanation. "How do you even pull that off? Can't imagine a computer suddenly telling you how to make infinite batteries."

"Oh I know! Why don't you tag along then?" Queen suggested, "You've been needing a little break, haven't you, Charlie?"

Pierre seemed to perk up, "Ah, what a splendid idea! I couldn't think of a better travel partner. Oui, and we can catch up on your recent exploits, mademoiselle Richards!"

"Me and science? I don't know," Charlie scratched her head, "Shade, why don't you go instead?"

"You can both go! It's even cold out there, so your civilian identity should work fine, Kimmy. Then when you come back you'll tell me all about it!"

"Oh! Mademoiselle Shade as well? Tres bien! I have been wondering how you put your powers of mimethization to work. This will be both entertaining AND a learning experience!"

"Wait, huh? Don't I get any say in this?" Shade objected, but Charlie seemed remiss in saying no to the jubilant Queen. "Ugh, fine. I always wanted to visit Colorado anyway."

"And no stealing!" Queen instantly frowned down at Shade.

"Yes mom." The chameleon sank her shoulders a bit, cheerfulness instantly returning to the massive bee girl.

"It's good to get involved in this, Stinger, Shade. Just like Queen said, this is one of the most, if not the most important undertaking in energy studies." Rogers folded his arm while leaning against the counter, "If Pierre's niece is as close as we seem to think she is at developing this new energy source, you can bet there will be shady elements involved in that demonstration."

"I knew it. It's never a field trip," Charlie frowned a little. "Should this be the metamorph division's job though?"

"We can't be certain of anything yet," Rogers scratched his chin in deep thought, "But you've seen it before. The Xteria sample auction. If there's a sign of an incipient market, there will be opportunists trying to cash in in the most despicable ways possible. Since you two are going to be there, I want you to be alert for anything."

Shade and Stinger exchanged looks before nodding to each other, "When are we leaving?" Shade asked Pierre.

"Ah, today actually! I have my plane parked outside," the two blinked their eyes in disbelief, "S'il vous plait, gather your things and meet me up outside in an hour! I will be saying hi to the rest of the team in the meantime!"

With that, the energetic scientist left with Rogers. Queen seemed giddy and happy about this, "Ah, I would have loved to go. If only I were a little smaller..."

"Yeah, we can't even get you a shirt that fits around your chest, balloon tits," Charlie snickered, getting a huff from Queen.

"From one job to the next, I guess." Shade cracked her neck slightly, "I'm going to go get changed. See you outside, Charlie."

"Yeah." As Shade and Queen walked out, Queen couldn't seem to stop filling the brunette haired reptile's head with her admiration for Francine LeFleur and her regret for being unable to go with them. Charlie sighed.

"Well, I do need a little break from all the crazy."

---

Boulder, Colorado.

"Mom?" Charlie winced a bit, cursing herself for not having called hours ago when she told herself she would.

"Hija! So good to hear from you again." Consuelo Richards's voice always sounded chirpy, "How are you?"

"Fine, how's dad?"

"He's actually improved over the last few weeks. Monty was disappointed Interpol had to recall you during your week off!" Charlie winced again; she hated lying to her own mother, but telling Consuelo there had been no recall was a bad idea, especially when the explanation behind it was Charlie didn't want to show her parents they had a half-arachnid in the family now. "The tontito was saying he would storm the place if they kept holding you back from enjoying life, can you believe it?" Charlie's mother giggled, making Charlie wryly smile while staring off into the distance from the top of Pierre's plane in which they had arrived.

"Y-yeah, uh... Listen, I'm actually on the job right now."

"Oh really? Where are you, querida?"

"I'm with my partner in Boulder."

"All the way over in Colorado? Espera, Dios... Did you say with a partner? Is it a dangerous job?"

"No."

"Don't lie to me, Charlotte."

"It really isn't... I mean it this time." Charlie adjusted her sunglasses nervously as if Consuelo was standing in front of her. "We're here to escort a VIP to a science demonstration. There, I just endangered world-wide peace to keep you happy. Happy?"

"Very much. Now you listen to me, Charlotte. If your job's ever too much, don't forget you also have a home here in Phoenix, and a family that wants to see you." Charlie shifted on her perch with unease; Consuelo always knew how to guilt trip her.

"I know mom, and thanks."

"Then if you know, call more often, dear. Take care, te quiero."

"Yo también..." Click, the call ended. Charlie sighed, her segmented tail slumping to the side as she brushed her mane of black hair out of the way. "Urk... hate lying to mom, but what am I supposed to do? Drop in the hospital and start small-talk about my new form?" she thought, cringing a little as she played out things in her head: "Hi mom, I noticed you still haven't gotten over your phobia of scorpions. Wanna see how far I can jump now?"

"Oi, bug-butt! Done with the call yet? Bad weather doesn't mean no civs are around. Get down already!" Shade's voice came from down below. Charlie inhaled deeply and jumped down. "Damn, it's freezing here." Shade was hugging herself, her skin color changed to a pale shade of pink allowing her to pass her scales as human skin if one didn't look too hard. She wore gloves and boots for her claws and tied her long but thin tail around her waist pretty much like Charlie did. Except Shade's tail didn't make her look like she had a belly under her clothes. In comparison to Charlie's civilian clothes, Shade's only accentuated her lady-like proportions. To cover her obvious reptilian snout, a scarf was tied around her neck and lower face. It also helped with the cold weather they were having.

Similarly, Charlie had to hide her large segmented tail around her waist, but unlike Shade, the resulting bulge around her mid-section had to be hidden under thicker clothes. This gave Charlie the appearance of having a belly, which actually worked well with her wide hips and ample bust. With her pale yellowish skin, she could pass as human. Specially tailored shoes and the implementation of sunglasses assisted in maintaining Charlie's secret identity. After putting her tail back around her waist and properly adjusting her sweater, Charlie sighed and looked at Shade, "Where's Pierre?"

"The old man's still talking to his niece over the phone. Seems like the demonstration got moved to tomorrow night. Think we'll go straight to the hotel!"

"So much for sightseeing."

"Works for me." Shade shrugged, "Being in S.W.O.R.D. means I can't steal as much..."

"As much?" Charlie blinked. Shade brushed some of her pretty brown hair to the side and sauntered over to the airplane for her baggage.

To Be Continued...