Maya masked a sigh of relief. The last thing they would have needed was to mess up on the inspection and have some sort of fine to pay. Or getting their licence questions. They had enough on their plate as is. With Becca away on mystic business, they already had a newer staff member currently watching Iris.

"It has to be." she smiled at the inspector, finishing her coffee. "One never knows when something around here..."

DING!

Front door. Maya tilted her head, but trusted whoever was on greeting duty to take care of whatever was at the front door.

DONG!

What the... "Impatient people. Kids need to stop ordering pizza." She rolled her eyes, leading the inspector out of the lab.

DING!

Maya was cut off as she was about to say something she might not should have said. The doorbell rang. Then it ran again. Sam had placed a few calls on his way over. He checked his watch. Looks like people were arriving on time. This meant his distraction might work.

”All this food in the kitchen and they’re ordering pizza? Is this a high school or a college dorm?” Sam laughed and followed Maya out of the lab.

As they walked Sam pointed to a bathroom and asked, ”Mind if I use your facilities while you sort out the pizza guy?”

The pizza guy. The flower guy. The AC repairman, the a couple of mormons, mobile wine delivery service, DHL, and every other thing Sam could think of to have sending something to random students and faculty he found in the mansion’s records.

"Technically it's both. Many of our students stay during their college studies..."

DING!

Maya groaned. What the hell. She nodded to the inspector. "Bathroom here just around the corner. I'll be back in a minute."

Leave it to the Mansion to have something weird going on just when there was this guy around. Maya grumbled, heading to the front gates... to be faced with an entire horde of... assorted delivery people. Her half-foggy brain tried to find out if it was a significant day she didn't know about. Or a celebration. Or... if this was just a very, very bad joke.

Sam nodded and said, ”Thank you. I’ll find you in the lobby.” then headed off in the direction Maya had indicated.

Once Sam had walked away and rounded the corner he smiled. He had a chance now. He hoped that enough people were at that door to buy him time. Time to assume a new disguise and make his way upstairs to find the child.

Entering the bathroom, Sam took out a knife and slashed the mirrors. He had specially prepared this knife for this occasion. There was a small flash when the blade contacted the mirrors and they went dull. The reflective glass became matte and cloudy. Then he set his briefcase on the counter, opened it and took out a key. It had a lock of his actual hair tied to it. He inserted it, twisted, and returned to his normal self.

From there, Sam turned on the tablet and found a picture of the person he was to become. Sam took a breath of air in his normal lungs before reinserting the key and turning it again. There was a flash and it was done.

Sam stepped out of the bathroom cautiously. No one in the hallway. Good. No one would have seen Jason step in and Becca step out.

The problem with the disguise is Sam was not familiar with Becca. He knew what she looked like and how she dressed when pictures of her were taken that found their way to public places. Sam hoped it would be enough. Sam had matched as close as he could Becca’s style from a picture of her in a professional blouse and skirt.

Sam had used the key to disguise himself as a woman before, it had been extremely useful while he was in hiding. No one was looking for a woman when looking for him. THat said, he was not used to wearing a skirt. Worse yet, Sam had had to practice walking in heels for this disguise. They weren’t very tall, blessedly, but not something he had prior experience with.

The briefcase and the tablet were stashed in the air duct, all of Sam’s magical implements had been stashed on his-no-her person. With great difficulty.

Sam tried to walk like she knew where she was going and like she was Becca as she made her way up stairs and toward the staff dorms. She just needed to find the right room.

While Maya was struggling with the onslaught of mysteriously appearing delivery people downstairs, drawing more attention from staff and students, Iris was back in the Grey-Morris apartment upstairs, trying to build unrealistic towers from building blocks. Her new babysitter was a young woman named Lotte, recently hired at the Mansion as a temp teacher after extensive background checks and some power-based testing. She had a mutant ability to change the color of things, and turn objects sparkly, which turned out to be very popular with smaller kids. Since she had ambitions to be a kindergarten teacher, she was more than happy to watch Iris whenever her two parents needed a break. Or had work to attend to.

Lotte was in the process of making "MOVE BWUE!" blocks, when the door opened to reveal Becca. "Oh. Hello there! Didn't think you would be back yet..."

It took a little searching which Sam tried to do as inconspicuous as possible, but eventually she found the right room. She was able to hear Iris through the door so she was able to mentally prepare herself before opening the door.

There was a woman in the room with the child, Sam tried to place the face. He had gone over the mansion’s staff in preparation for the incursion but she couldn’t recall the face. The woman must be newer.

”A wis able tae slip away early. Ye can tak a break gin ye want, gae grab yourself a nice lunch. A can tak her from here.” Sam said, affecting his best attempt at Becca’s accent. Sam had practiced it but it was still foreign to her tongue. Sam smiled at the woman and then at Iris

Sam knew she needed to hurry this along. There was no telling how long Maya would be busy with the visitors… Or how long before she got suspicious of them being there and Jason being left to his own devices… While a mystic who can change forms was on the loose.

The delivery people were impossible. Maya was very close to yelling at them when finally Gemma made an appearance, and took matters into her own hand. She was a practical woman. Also, she knew there was an inspection going on. Maya headed back into the building, hoping Jason did not venture far... Wandering inspectors were not great.
But Jason was nowhere to be seen. Instead, she saw Lotte walking down to the lobby, curious about the noise outside.

"Hey! Lotte? Where's Iris? Did she run away again?"

Lotte shook her head.

"No, Becca came back and let me go."

"Oh?" Becca was not due back for a few more hours. If she was... something could have gone wrong. "Thanks. Hey, if you see the inspector wandering around, tell him I'll be here in a second, okay?."

Deciding to leave the inspector issue for a few more minutes, Maya skipped into a mirror and made a short trip upstairs.

The woman who had been watching Iris left and Sam casually walked around the room, locating reflective things, mirrors, tv screen, anything like that and casually drew the knife across it. The surfaces immediately dulled and became unreflective. She didn’t want Maya just looking in and stopping Sam in the middle of her work, she wanted Maya to have to enter through the door. She wanted her to have to come from somewhere predictable, and with a bit of sound to announce the presence.

”A like yer tower, iris.” Sam said as she sat down next to Iris and ran a hand over her head and down her back. Sam was taking stock of the magic that she had used on Iris that had locked away her power.

Sam continued to talk to the child as she inspected her work. The spell seemed to have been somewhat reduced by time. Not so much that Iris’ power would be able to manifest itself, but enough to show Sam that the spell was not as permanent a fix as she had hoped. Perhaps she could reset it? Sam felt the weight of the key in her other hand, closed so Iris wouldn’t see it.

"Mama!" Iris gave her a big grin, although she watched curiously as reflections were dulled. "Mama?" Even in her tiny life, mirrors had been associated with Mimi, and they were a good thing. There was a sense of unease too vague for a three year old to voice. Iris held up some blocks instead. "Bwue?"

Maya had a similar sense. She had planned on emerging from the living room mirror like she always did... but it wasn't here. In the possible portals in the mirrorworld... it wasn't there. She emerged in the hallway instead, frowning. Did they put something over the mirror?... She walked through the door instead, noticing his wife with Iris on the floor.

"Hey Becks! Heard you were back early..."

Sam played the part of the loving mother as she worked on Iris. She wasn’t the best at understanding the speech of children but she was making a concerted effort.

” Dae ye want it tae be blue? we can probably find a way tae make it blue for ye.” Sam said with a smile. Hoping the kid would not suspect that Sam was not Becca.

Sam was preparing to use the key to unlock and relock Iris’ powers when she heard someone at the door. She quickly stashed the key she had in hand before turning to see Maya walk in.

Shit.

”Yeah. Ma thin finishit up early an A wis able tae slip back i. A saw ye were a little occupiit wi ivery delivery driver i new york sae A came up tae see iris.” Sam said waving Maya over to her and Iris. That was a thing married people did. Kid is doing things, other parent shows up and you wave them over to join in the bonding time.

"Mimi!" Iris beamed as Maya entered. She got up to reach out for her; having the other parent around alleviated some of her unspoken nerves.

Maya glanced around and noted the clouded mirror.

What the...

She paused. Looked back at Becca.

She might have missed the changes, the subtle differences... but she had spent enough of her life with Rebecca Grey-Morris to spot a fake Scottish accent from a mile away.

Maya's eyes narrowed slightly.

"Say that again?"

Oh no. Sam knew it was already going poorly. Sam’s disguises were only good fakes of who they were trying to recreate. A genetic rewrite to create the mental image of a person, not that actual person. This meant there was always a possibility of something being wrong. Not to mention Sam was having to fake a difficult accent. ”Uh... A finishit ma thin. Came back an saw ye were busy sae A came tae see our child.” Sam tried to sell it with a smile and a confused look.

Sam had caught Maya looking at the cloudy mirror. Double shit. Sam had come prepared with a few odds and ends to help in case of discovery, but sitting on the floor, in a skirt and heels with an X-men team leader staring her down was putting an escape on hard mode. Since Iris had gotten up, Sam stood. Putting herself on relatively even footing with Maya if it went pear shaped. ”Is somethin wrong, dear?”

The accent was bad. Maya might have missed it, but she had listened to countless hours of Becca making fun of fake Scottish accents while they watched movies, or back when she was doing her online stuff. And this one was... not Becca. Her face, her voice... not her accent.

Dread made her stomach sink.

"Who the fuck are you?"

"Mimi said a bad wowd!" Iris declared, delightfully scandalized, and giggled.

"Iris. Come over here to Mimi."

Shit.

F.

Balls.

Crap.

Sam’s cover was blown. Why did Becca have to have such an unintelligible way of speaking? Sam had worked to mimic it, but it was practically a different language.

”Whit? it's me, becca… Ah to hell with it.” Sam gave up. It was clear Maya wasn’t buying it. ”You were supposed to be busy with the parade of delivery men. Two more minutes and I would have been gone and no one would have been any wiser.”

Putting up her hands in a disarming gesture Sam said, ”I’m not here to hurt anyone. I am a humanitarian, I’m the one who cured Iris and I was checking to make sure it had not harmed her. Spoiler, it hasn’t. You’re welcome”

Iris toddled over to hug Maya's leg. She was feeling that uneasy thing again that she couldn't quite understand. Was it a game? Was Mimi angry? People said bad words when they were angry.

>>”Whit? it's me, becca… Ah to hell with it. You were supposed to be busy with the parade of delivery men. Two more minutes and I would have been gone and no one would have been any wiser.”

Maya felt blood drumming in her ears. Having Iris near her was better. She put a hand on her head.

>>”I’m not here to hurt anyone. I am a humanitarian, I’m the one who cured Iris and I was checking to make sure it had not harmed her. Spoiler, it hasn’t. You’re welcome”

Rage.

Rage so hot it turned around to ice cold.

"You are him." Maya said quietly, before leaning down. "Iris dear, please go find Uncle Sam, okay? Tell him Mimi has a guest and she said a bad word. Attagirl."

She made sure the toddler left the room before what would happen next.