In which the truth is revealed, and this story is forgotten.

"He's coming around."

"Good. See that you send him back as soon as he's healed. Then get down here right away. We have a mess to clean up."

"Alice..?" whispered the BLU Spy through dry lips. A purplish blur was floating in front of him, and a greyish blur was receding into the distance. The purplish blur turned to face him.

"Welcome back, Spy." said Ms. Pauling in her gentle, efficient way.

"Where… Am I still… is the girl..?" the Spy found it difficult to form sentences. He felt heavy and sluggish.

"Don't strain yourself. Just lie back." said Ms. Pauling, sternly. "You're still a member of Builder's League United. Your daring 'rescue-mission' made sure of that."

"But… the girl… who… what?" moaned the Spy, desperately seeking an answer, longing to know what the reason for all his recent suffering was.

"She's classified." said Ms. Pauling, in a clipped tone. But her voice softened as she continued, "She's being deleted as we speak. You'll be back in your base in no time, and you won't remember a thing about it."

"What?! No!" the Spy struggled, trying to move but finding his limbs seemed to be made of lead. Ms. Pauling shook her head.

"It's better this way, Spy. You know it is." she said, gently.

The BLU Spy stopped struggling. He lay back and let out a small sigh.

"Oui…" he said, softly, as his eyes became heavy, "Je suppose que oui…"

"You wanted to see me, Ma'am?"

"Yes. Sit down. As you may have guessed, I am not at all pleased with what has happened."

Two people stood inside Administrator's gloomy, screen-lit office. One was the Administrator, standing behind her desk, surveying the security screens. The other was short, pale man, twisting a pair of thick gloves between his hands.

After a silence, the man spoke up.

"I can't imagine what went wrong. She was working perfectly when I last saw her. I can't think why she'd malfunction like that…"

"What happened had nothing to do with Miss Danielle's alterations, Mr. Cincade." said the Administrator, testily. "This was not caused by your tampering, but your chosen subject."

Mr. Cincade paused, mouth open, thinking. The Administrator turned to look at him. He gulped.

"O-Of course! Oh! I shouldn't- I mean, I should have known! I never should have used a girl, Ma'am, that was a terrible mistake on my part. Of course! It all makes sense now! But I swear, ma'am, I won't make the mistake again; from now on, I'll only use men–"

"Shut up, Mr. Cincade." said the Administrator, coldly. "The reason your daughter 'malfunctioned' as you put it, was not because of her sex, but because of her age and level of experience."

Mr. Cincade stared, wide eyed, terrified.

"You trained her for a year, in solitude; modified her to the peak of physical health… But you never considered that the mind of a seventeen-year-old would be unsuitable for this kind of work. You never gave her any kind of mercenary experience. You never exposed her to an environment full of males. You simply assumed that, because you'd made her super-human, she'd be able to function flawlessly. Perform perfectly."

"I– It was an oversight– I never thought about a teenaged girl's min–"

"There would be no difference if she were male." said the Administrator, looking him straight in the eyes, "My secretary, Miss Pauling, is a female, yet she has more skill and a better mind than half my men put together. But the difference between her and Miss Danielle, Mr. Cincade, is that she is experienced, careful and sensible." The Administrator put extra emphasis on the last word, narrowing her eyes.

She sighed and turned away from him, back to her screens.

"This is, in part, my fault. I should have looked into the girl's preparation before hand. But these damn robots…"

For a moment, the Administrator seemed to sag a little, showing the toll the newest threat and its implications had taken on her. But then she snapped back to her usual threatening, business-like self, turning once again towards Mr. Cincade.

"We've seized your papers. They may come in handy. We're giving them to someone more competent than you, Mr. Cincade. Your daughter is currently having her mind wiped, and you will follow. After that, we will be returning you to your home, where we hope, Mr. Cincade," the Administrator silenced the man's attempted protests with a look, "that you will take time to raise your daughter properly."

Mr. Cincade stared, shaking his head, aghast at the information he'd received. Then he turned to leave, looking as though he might try something unadvisable. Unfortunately for him, Ms. Pauling was waiting in the doorway.

When Mr. Cincade had been successfully neutralized, the Administrator took a seat behind her desk and sighed.

"Ms. Pauling, please make sure everything goes smoothly. I have something… important to take care of should this war turn sour."

Fin.

Thanks for reading! I hope this story has achieved the effect I was going for. A reversal of perspectives, if you will, an analyzation of sorts. Your reviews are encouraged, and any complaints you may have are fine as well. Thank you, once again! Till next time. -TS