The Shadow Players are a group of Fables who serve as a secret intelligence organization after magic is introduced to the mundane world. They make their debut in Everafter: From the Pages of Fables #1 — "The Show Me State: Chapter One of The Pandora Protocol" and their base of operations is located in Washington, D.C.[1]
History
Hunting Yordan Yew
At one point, Bo Peep is shown practicing combat techniques with her husband Peter Piper while Feathertop guides Szymon Nowak around the facilities.[5]
Bo, along with her husband and Hansel, embark on a mission in the mundane world to capture Jordan Yow, a mundy girl who has gained magical abilities since the introduction of magic into the mundane world. They battle against a swarm of zombies and other horrifying beings. As they cautiously explore an abandoned train station, they stumble upon a peculiar train that seems to have appeared out of nowhere, not resting on any rails as if it was simply dropped in place by some unknown force. Inside the train, Bo and Hansel discover Jordan. However, instead of capturing her, Hansel declares he will kill her. When Bo attempts to stop him, she receives a blow to her knee from his walking stick. Fortunately, Jordan can fend for herself and causes Hansel to combust into a gooey mess.[1] Bo and her husband make an attempt to apprehend Jordan without harming her, but the girl teleports out of their grasp.[2]
Meanwhile, Toad Jr. is seated at the computers as the latest recruit Connor Wolf is being shown around the premises. His irritation escalates when Connor, aiming to impress Ayesha with his shapeshifting prowess, morphs into a gigantic wolf, nearly toppling Toad Jr. from his seat.[1]
In the wake of Hansel's death, Thomas of Erceldoune carefully records some ancient runes for Feathertop and delves into the archives dedicated to Salem. Then, he arranges the gruesome remains of Hansel's body in the exact manner specified for a ritual to resurrect him. The ritual succeeds, with hidious results.[2]
Helping Jordan Yew
Bo shares with Feathertop the details of their encounter with the monsters and reveals that they were figures from St. Louis folklore that Jordan raised from the collective unconscious. Using a magical map of the mundane world, the truthsayer Thomas is able to locate Jordan. Feathertop demands for Bo to kill the girl, but despite the pressure, Bo stands firm in her decision not to harm a child. In an attempt to persuade her, he brings her to Nibiru, a once prosperous world that was destroyed by powerful magic. Feathertop cautions her that if she chooses to spare Jordan's life, the mundy world could suffer the same fate.[6] He reveals a heartbreaking tale of being forced to witness the deaths of countless innocent beings on the planet Nibiru, hearing the screams of children and smelling their burning flesh. He orders her to fulfill her responsibility, in order to prevent the children of the mundane world from meeting a similar fate.[7]
Bo intercepts a call from Jordan's panicked grandmother to 911. She frantically explains that Jordan has murdered her own family, and resurrected them as walking zombies. With the help of Glam in a Can, Bo transforms her appearance into that of a police officer and heads to Jordan's house. She introduces herself as Officer Lamb from the Chicago Police Department. Bo expresses her concern for Jordan, and offers to help her. Jordan accepts the offer and agrees to go with her.[8] Bo fakes Jordan's death by using Glam in a Can to transform a pig into an exact replica of Jordan and executing it. She then dumps the body in a rendering plant furnace, and sends the girl to Nibiru to help resurrect the dead world. When she returns to headquarters, she provides body cam footage as proof of the "deed."[9]
The relic thieves
Concurrently with the hunt for Jordan, a pursuit for a band of relic thieves takes place. When Bo and Peter make their way back to headquarters following the failed attempt to apprehend Jordan, Tom Swift is upset that Peter crashed his motorcycle during their mission. However, their boss Feathertop has already given the Shadow Player agents a new task: to thwart a team of mercenaries who have been stealing sacred Native American artifacts from various museums nationwide. Tonight, these mercenaries will be attempting to rob the Denver Art Museum, and it is imperative that they are captured. Accompanied by Connor, Peter heads to the museum. As they arrive at the museum, one of the thieves spots Connor. Despite Peter's attempt to stop them with a melody from his magic flute, it is too late. The thieves swiftly knock Connor unconscious.[2]
Peter walks into the building, only to find the lifeless body of the person who attacked Connor. Disturbed, he goes back to headquarters, where he receives a call from Connor himself. Connor explains that he has successfully infiltrated the gang by assuming the appearance of the deceased man. Peter and his team can listen helplessly through Connor's communication equipment as he is captured by the enemy. Peter approaches Tom Swift and requests a vehicle that can traverse both land and water, but unfortunately, they don't have any available. Instead, Peter settles for a motorcycle as his mode of transportation. He makes his way to a set of docks, administering a potion to an unsuspecting man before commandeering his boat.[6]
At the same time, Connor has transformed into a bird and flown away from the island, only to lose consciousness and transform back into a human. With a few notes from his flute, Peter conjures a flock of birds that carry Connor into the boat. As they settle in, Connor reveals that he knows that Peter's knee is in pain; the pain from Bo's injury, which Peter has transferred to himself. Peter says that it was part of his signing bonus with the Shadow Players, and urges Connor not to disclose this information to Bo. Suddenly, murderous revenants begin to appear as the thieves used the artifacts to unlock a portal to the afterlife.[7]
They take a boat to Alcatraz, where the thieves are located. Peter takes on the role of leader, determined to stop the ritual and retrieve the valuable artifacts, while Connor is tasked with apprehending the thieves alive. Peter tracks down the thieves and inquires about a solution to stop the ghosts. They respond with a grim answer, stating that there is no way to defeat them and all the inhabitants in the mundane world are doomed. Suddenly, a leopard-human hybrid ghost emerges from behind Peter and impales him with its sharp claws. Without hesitation, Connor rushes to his aid. He transforms into a spectral wolf and offers his back to Peter, who rides him to where the boat is docked. After successfully evading their attackers, Peter is shocked when Feathertop discloses the method he is using to neutralize the ghosts, as it involves sacrificing innocent lives. However, Feathertop argues that it is the only option to prevent complete annihilation.[9]
The Cube
After receiving a distress call from Inola Tanner, Feathertop, Peter, Bo, Connor and Thomas rush to Plano South Junior High School. A group of renegade students has created a magical prison called The Cube and trapped all the students classmates inside. It's up to the five of them to find a way to break the spell and free the captive students.[10]
The following morning, the Dallas Goat Man and the Plano Goat Man emerge and begin attacking police officers and Shadow Players agent alike. Thomas realizes that the creatures have targeted Inola, and he informs Feathertop of this. However, Feathertop is more preoccupied with learning their sender and origin. Unfortunately, Thomas does not possess this information.[3]
Feathertop gives orders to his agents to lead the monsters away from the police officers here and handle them in a less populous area, stating that there must be no casualties. He attempts to utilize technology to pick up transmissions from within The Cube, but is unsuccessful. He concludes that there must be a malfunction, but Thomas insists that the equipment is functioning properly.[3]
Thomas attempts to tap into his gifts and gather intel on The Cube, but his ability as a truthsayer proves ineffective against it: Anything he says about it is true, but the opposite is also true: It feels like two conflicting truths exist simultaneously, overlapping each other.[11]
Together, Thomas and Toad Jr. sit and listen to the heartbreaking transmissions from The Cube. According to Toad, over four thousand years have passed in there. Feathertop introduces Erwin, a cat who is sometimes alive and sometimes dead. Erwin's unique condition requires him to be the one sent in to take down The Cube, because it is sustained by a magical superposition of a quantum eigentstate. Erwin is successful, and Bobby Speckland and his legal guardian, Kara Bass, are reunited after Bobby was trapped inside The Cube.[12]