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diana-bookfairchild · 1 year

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@fluffbruary Day 16

“Finally!” Zack called dramatically, collapsing on Ivy, who shook him off with a disgruntled warning not to bother the driver. “That one was hard!”

Carmen spun the box containing the La Peregrina Pearl in her hand. “Mmm, not particularly. For one of the most famous jewels in the world, security was sadly lacking.”

“Only for you, Red,” laughed Player onscreen. “I’d say a hundred guards plus the no-oxygen room, not to mention the thumbprint and iris scanner would be enough for anyone else. Be careful with that,” he added. “It bid for more than 11 million dollars, you know.”

Carmen clicked her tongue. “It’s a good thing Countess Cleo will not be getting her hands on it then.”

“She would certainly love this,” Shadowsan agreed. “We must be careful for a while. The only thing the Countess treasures more than her jewels and clothes is revenge.”

“They’ll never get us, Carm’s too good,” Ivy scoffed. “Bro, if you elbow me one more time, I’m tossing you off this ship.”

“Chill, Ives,” Zack drawled. “Player, any idea what our next mission is?”

Player had his thinking face on, clearly having switched the screen to go through the hard drive. “Honestly, it’s a wait-and-see game at this point. They’ve been trying to switch up their missions and agents recently.”

“Probably because they know boss will come and get them,” Zack said. “And her suuuuper awesome crew. Hi-yah!” He did a terrible imitation of a kung fu chop. “Sensei, when will my training continue?”

“When you’ve displayed any aptitude for the martial arts,” Shadowsan retorted dryly. “In the meantime – or for the rest of your life, seeing as that seems more likely – I would suggest remaining the get-away driver.”

“The get-away sailor this time,” Ivy commented. “And it’s me, and not him! Ha.”

“Want me to make you a little paper captain’s hat sis?” Zack chuckled.

“I’ll smash it over your head, bro.”

“It might be a good thing to have a break between this and the next caper,” Carmen was telling Player as Zack and Ivy continued their argument and Shadowsan continued to bemoan all the life choices that led him to witness it, “We could have some rest. And you could pay attention in school. And do your homework. And go to sleep on time, for once.”

“You sound like my mom,” Player complained, leaning back with his hands behind his head. The tension always in his voice when he guided them on missions – responsible for his team, his family – bled out as he enjoyed a conversation with his best friend. “Besides. I have absolutely no doubt that you’ll find a way to get into trouble even without any capers. I’ll need to stay up late anyway!”

“Don’t sound so happy about that,” Carmen chided. “Seriously, Player, you need to learn to take better care of yourself. Have you eaten today?”

Player waved a plate of noodles and fork mockingly at the camera.

“Something other than that breathtakingly unhealthy stuff?”

“The unhealthy stuff’s what’s tasty, boss,” Zack chimed in. “I don’t get how you don’t like junk food.”

“I grew up on VILE Island,” Carmen replied amusedly. “Not much time for junk there unless it’s valuable or evil.”

“Coach Brunt set a very specific diet for Carmen growing up,” Shadowsan nodded. “I remember Dr. Bellum contributed – most probably why you were allowed any sweets at all.”

“Weird to think of that huge Coach being a mom,” Ivy commented.

“Carm doesn’t need any moms,” Zack snickered. “She’s got Player.”

“Player’s clearly the mom friend,” Carmen agreed.

Player made an outraged noise. “I’m the mom friend? Red, remind me who was just nagging me about bedtime and food like I’m in preschool?”

“Red, did you just get knifed? Where did she get you? Are you sitting down? Did you take the knife out? How much is it bleeding? Do you know how to clean it? You know the rate of people dying of knife wounds in Canada is 0.49 in a hundred thousand people? And you’re like that with someone who’s been trained all her life to deal with things like knife wounds,” Carmen imitated Player’s concerned fussing teasingly.

“You got stabbed!” Player cried indignantly. “That’s different!”

“You’re like that every time someone’s hurt, Player,” Ivy said. “Also, I don’t get how the stats help.”

“Yeah, what’s with that? D’you reckon knowing how many people die of that particular thing will help us recover from it?" Zack asked, puzzled.

Player flushed. Carmen knew perfectly well he ranted without thinking when he panicked, and that solid hard statistics was his favourite thing to recite. “It’s better than your typical habits, Zack,” she saved him from answering.

“Anything’s better than lil’ bro eating his feelings,” Ivy mocked.

“Ow, that hurts, Ives,” Zack said, sniffing exaggeratedly. “More than VILE’s ego after boss kicked their ass for the thousandth time, I’m sure.”

“Nothing could sting more than that,” Shadowsan smirked, for once joining in on the joking.

“Not to mention the rubbing of salt in the wound when we make the return of the goods public and donate the money to charity,” Carmen added lazily, putting her legs up on the couch, keeping an eye on the surroundings. The boat was still rather in the open, and she didn’t need Devineaux and ACME interfering with a successful caper.

“Speaking of which, we need to decide on whom you’re going to be giving the Pearl to, Red,” Player said, stretching his hands forward and typing. “On this one you’ve liberated. . . . Drumroll, please. . .” Zack and Ivy obliged. “Eight-hundred thousand euros from VILE!”

“Woohoo!” Zack and Ivy cheered, and even Shadowsan cracked a smile. Zack began beatboxing, and Ivy began to sing. “The best thief - in the world? Yeah, it’s Carmen Sandiego. Where in the world is – Carmen Sandiego? Where - will she go next – no one ever—”

“So, any ideas?” Player asked over the music and Shadowsan’s annoyed grumblings.

“Jules, obviously, for the Pearl,” Carmen said, leaning closer to the monitor in order to see her friend better. “And just pick a few non-profits from the list, Player. Though preferably an orphanage, for this loot.” Her face darkened and she turned away.

“Hey. Not your fault, Red. You can’t save everyone,” Player consoled gently, referring to the orphan who had gotten killed by VILE simply for being a bystander.

“No, but it would be nice to save someone,” she replied with unusual bitterness.

“You do. You save loads of people,” Player said insistently. “Think of how many people this money will help. Think of how many trees whose oxygen you’ve saved by making sure Tigress won’t be speaking for a week at least!”

That got a smile. “Fair enough.”

Player watched her carefully, even as he quickly arranged for the wire transfers. She seemed okay, but he’d have to keep an eye out. “I’ll book a flight to wherever Juuuules is,” Player extended the name teasingly. “You do realize you’re the only who calls her that?”

“It suits her,” Carmen said nonchalantly.

“Yeah, and you’ve got a crush,” Player said delightedly. “Black Sheep’s got a crush! Carmen’s got a crush!”

Carmen reached out and tapped the screen, mock threateningly. “Quit it, Player, or I’ll tell Zack all about your antics at the gaming tournament at age eight.”

Player mimed zipping his mouth. “Shut up. Got it.” He couldn’t resist another jab though. “You know you always drop whatever you’re doing to go see her, even on capers?”

“Are we talking about Julia Argent?” Zack said bluntly.

“And Carmen being very obviously smitten with her?” Shadowsan added. Carmen glared at him in betrayal.

“No, we’re discussing how the lot of you are interfering traitors, who are blighting my very good day,” she drawled. Her eyes caught on another boat. “And speaking of blights. . .”

Player caught on, tapping a key, eyes sharpening. “Well that’s a vile blight on the landscape.”

“It is quite a landscape isn’t it?” Shadowsan said, getting up and readying himself. “A perfect spot for taking down more agents.”

“Awesome!” Zack said, tumbling to his feet. “Time for our training to continue, Sensei!”

“Not the time, bro!”

Carmen slipped the Pearl into her pocket, zipping it tightly shut, before taking a flying leap from her boat to the other one, taking two out with a roundhouse kick.

“Grunts!” Ivy called. “Couldn’t send any of the better agents, could you? Haven’t seen the goat for a while.” She blindly swung a club and somehow managed to take one down. “Ha! There’s one!”

Shadowsan efficiently thinned the crowd. “And mine’s six.”

Carmen ducked the blow from the sword, before using a maneuver Coach Brunt had once taught her and managing to knock the owner out with it. “And there’s the last.”

Zack pouted. “I didn’t get a single one.”

“Aw, Zack,” Player said in the intercom. “Don’t worry about it. I didn’t either.”

“Hear that, Zack? You’re being compared to a kid sitting a whole continent away.” Ivy laughed under her breath, swinging an arm around her brother’s shoulder as they climbed back on their own boat.

“I believe this calls for a toast.” Shadowsan proclaimed.

“So it does,” Carmen agreed. “Player. ACME?”

“On its way,” he said in satisfaction. “Good day’s work, team.”

“I think this calls for some alcohol,” Ivy said. “Tada! This one’s supposed to be the best around here. Get the glasses, I want to taste it.”

“Cool, sis,” Zack grinned, opening the cupboard to produce the glasses. “Good thing you’re not here Player.”

Player knew he shouldn’t take the bait. He knew.

“Why?” He said anyway.

“’Cause a little guy like you couldn’t drink, and then you’d be all left out!” Zack said melodramatically. “It’d be really sad.”

“Carmen!” Player said in agitation.

Carmen laughed, watching her family bicker.

“Far from VILE Island, is it not?” Shadowsan asked quietly, sipping from his own glass.

“Quite a bit,” she agreed, taking her own glass and holding it in a toast to her best friend who was still angrily ranting at Zack. “And I couldn’t be gladder for it.”

#fluffbruary #fluffbruary 2023 #carmen sandiego #team red #ivy carmen sandiego #zack carmen sandiego #player carmen sandiego #shadowsan #carmen sandiego netflix #carmen sandeigo 2019 #carmen x julia #fanfiction #fanfic #fluff #found family

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fools-endearment · 1 year

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my heart just melts thinking about carmen seeing her kid for the first time after the birth in the hospital w fem!reader and the team gathered around them (r names their daughter yelena)

This is really cute! Sorry this took so long. I decided to do a mix of headcanons and a small scenario/mini-fic(?) type of thing that I got the idea for by this request, and I hope you don’t mind but I also more expanded it to also include before and after this! Please don’t judge if I get anything wrong, as I’m not too knowledgeable on some of this stuff. Also, this does feature some canon divergence. If this isn’t what you what, please feel free to request again!

Carmen and her S/O having a kid (Romantic, Fem Reader)

Okay, first off, before the birth of your kid, the rest of Team Red will be constantly insisting you both take some time off from the villain chasing during the pregnancy, especially when the due date gets closer.

Zack and Ivy are put in charge of helping the both of you get the baby’s room ready. Zack absolutely is getting dinosaur toys for your kid. Doesn’t matter the gender. He will wait for the day that child is old enough for toys and give them to the kid. Ivy will pretend to find this silly, but don’t be fooled, she will start painting the room dino themed if given the opportunity.

Player frequently sends the both of you reliable parenting tips or websites he finds online. He feels a bit awkward with the situation, but he’s trying his best to help and doing a pretty good job at it.

Shadowsan has already been deemed the official babysitter for when the child is born, as he’s arguably one of the most reliable of Team Red for that, though that’s not to say Zack and Ivy aren’t capable of also taking good care of a kid. As the due date gets closer, Shadowsan is… experiencing. He’s not ready to be a granddadowsan. Just give him time to process the situation, it may be a reminder of his old age, but he’ll happily welcome your bundle of joy to the world nonetheless.

When it’s time for the kid to be born, Zack is the one who drives you all, with the obvious exception of Player, to the hospital. Everyone is trying to not freak out on the way to the hospital and up until the point they can finally see the two of you and the small newborn girl.

There is no way to put this lightly. When Carmen gets to hold your kid for the first time, she genuinely starts crying out of the sheer joy and wave of emotions she’s feeling.

Yelena. That’s what you both tell the rest of your team that you decided to name her. They all were happy you both and your kid were happy and healthy, including Player, who you could get back to talking with once your other teammates were allowed to visit in the room after the birth, as they were left in charge of your ear pieces.

As time passes, things fall back into a form of normalcy. After a few months, you and Carmen are back to fighting crime, though you make sure at least one or two of the team can stay at the base or wherever you are currently staying to watch your kid, and that you yourselves are able to be there for them as often as possible. If you can help it, you avoid bringing Yelena on missions for her own safety, though there are times where too many of you need to go or it’d be too long apart that you do take her, though you all make sure she is far out of harm’s way, and she seems to often enjoy seeing the various sights and experiences!

It’s a strange way to go about living life, but no one in Team Red would trade it for the world.

(Plus an extra bit!)

One day, after a successful stopping of V.I.L.E.’s usual brand of mischief, you and Carmen come across something at the scene of the crime before you left…

You both stared down at the object in front of the both of you. It was a small box, wrapped up neatly with a little card attached. You stared at it for a moment, moving to reach towards it before Carmen stopped you. She carefully reached out to it herself and inspected it, being mindful in case it was a trap, but she lightly shook her head after doing so.

“It seems like it’s just an ordinary box, but the writing on the card gives us an idea of who this is from.” Carmen gently removed the card and handed it to you, allowing you to get a good look at it. In fancy writing was the words ‘From your old friends’ upon the card, though it didn’t seem there was anything else strange about it.

Memories bubbled to the surface of when Carmen had told you about her old life at V.I.L.E. Academy. Could these ‘old friends’ be her old classmates? You’ve obviously had quite a few run-ins with them during your time in Team Red, though those run-ins obviously contain more of fighting than having meaningful conversations with them. This however causes you to worry a bit, they obviously were not on good terms with Carmen, or anyone from Team Red for that matter, so what if this was still a trap?

Carmen seemed to pick up on your renewed unease over the card and the box, as she carefully began to open up the box to inspect what it contained once she was sure it was safe to do so.

“I’m going to check if there is a tracker in here. It could be that they want to trick us into taking this box into wherever our base is so that they can follow us.” She opened up the cardboard flaps of the box once she was finally done opening it and you both peered inside. To your shock, it wasn’t anything either of you were expecting.

Inside of the box was a bunch of toys, stuffed animals, and other various children’s items. There were coloring books and crayons neatly stacked together, and little teddy bears dressed up in outfits. You both stayed stunned as you took it all in, and Carmen slowly began to look over the contents of the box. Once again, nothing seemed awry.

“… Let’s have the others meet us over here to get another good look at all of this…” Carmen gently handled one of the bears with a soft look on her face. Even after loving her for so long, you couldn’t quite tell what that expression was on her face. Sad? Tired? Longing? … Lost? Maybe, in a strange way, some combination of all of those and more.

All you could do for Carmen in this moment was gently bring her in to hug her side. There was a silent thought, an unsaid thought, but it was a thought you both had. These were clearly gifts for Yelena, and maybe, for once, this wasn’t some trick V.I.L.E. had up there sleeve, and was merely just a gift. The question of ‘Why?’ was one that lingered the more you thought, and there’s a chance you may never know. For the moment however, you looked down at a small plush dolly you had grabbed from the box. It was simple in design, looking like a young girl in a pink-on-blue polka dot dress, and reminded you of those dolls that would be depicted as sitting at a young child’s tea party. Maybe, just maybe, for now, you could just appreciate the kind gesture of it all.

#carmen sandiego #carmen sandiego x reader #ivy carmen sandiego #zack carmen sandiego #shadowsan #player carmen sandiego #birth tw #tw birth #hospital tw #tw hospital #pregnancy tw #tw pregnancy #fool’s writing

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grahamcarmen · 1 year

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#red crackle #carmen x gray #carmen x graham #text #gifs #red crackle thoughts #if its repetitive lol its because top 10 carmen moments im sorry #even when she is she's really not #player is so flabbergasted talking to her its great #Carmen sandiego 2019

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thevoidisscreamingbackatyou · 1 year

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player week prompt 1: "We're old friends. From her school days."

rating : gen, no major archive warnings i believe

characters: carmen sandiego, player(makes sense), and vera cruz. mentions of julia :)

disclaimer: i don't usually write stories so this is probably really bad im so sorry

additionally brain went no at the first prompt so my first ones an alt oof

i swear that these will get better.

...hopefully.

Player squinted at his phone, double checking that the address was right. He ignored that this was the fifth time he'd done this, and that it was most definitely the right address.

After all, it was probably best to make sure that the orphanage where your best friend found their mother was the right one, since, y’know…it’d be kind of awkward to just go up to a random lady and be like, “Hey, I know your daughter” and have her not know which one you were talking about.

He took a deep breath and smoothed his hair anxiously, still not ready to even ring the bell. He was possibly about to meet Carmen’s mom for the first time in the at least ten years he’d known Carmen, sue him.

A couple of kids in the yard looked at him weird. Player did his best to ignore them, still extremely nervous.

Finally, his shaking fingers rose to ring the doorbell. The sudden ding! of the doorbell sound made him wince.

A pretty woman with hair the color of the red-brown soil appeared at the doorway, her eyes crinkled.

“Hello. Who are you?” she asked.

Player fumbled for a second, then replied, “Uh, my name’s—---but you can call me Player. I’m…a friend of Carmen?”

“Oh! You must be the boy she talks about in her stories, then? How do you know her?” Carmen’s mother asked. While she seemed perfectly friendly, Player noticed the slightly hostile undertones in her voice. He approved. That wariness had probably kept her and Carmen safe when Carmen retired for a bit.

“We’re old friends. From her school days. Uh, but, I’m not part of VILE. Sorry,” Player said, automatically using his usual excuse before realizing that it would likely not go over well with whatever Carmen had told her mom.

Before either of them could say anything more, Carmen appeared behind her mother.

“Player!” she exclaimed, seemingly excited to see her old friend. Player put out a fist and the two fist-bumped.

“Didn’t expect to see you here, Red,” Player joked, and Carmen winked.

“Decided to go on vacation for a bit. You caught me a couple days before I was going to go meet Julia at her college, actually!” Julia had worked at ACME for a few more years before deciding that the siblings had it under control. Chief told her to do whatever made her happy, so she went back to being a professor. She was somewhat of an Oracle, helping out with cases from behind the screen.

“Come in, it’ll be better than standing out here,” Carmen urged, and Player smiled, stepping into the home that his best friend had found.

@playerappreciationweek i think this is how you do it? apologies in advance lol

also sorry i dont have ao3 so,,,hopefully this will do!!

#playerweek2023 #csplayerweek2023 #cs player #player cs #carmen sandiego 2019 #carmen sandiego #vera cruz #future au #(?)#aged up characters #by who knows how many years but its been a w h i l e at this point #dont ask me timeline pls bc i dont know either #i forgot everything about the ending despite seeing it a few weeks ago so this is probably really out of canon #also i love college professor julia and i couldnt leave her to be acme #forgot for a few seconds this was supposed to be completely gen and included julia x carmen oops #eh it was a sentence lol its gone now tho #cs julia #help idk her character tag

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myimaginarymary · 1 year

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Me in my rabbit hole of Carmen Sandiego (2019)

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beatskylar · 9 months

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A broken memory, is a knife to the heart. Part 3

“Who are you? What are you doing here?”

“Who are you?” “And what are you doing here?”

Taking a deep breath in, Carmen slowly exhales as her eyes flutter open revealing that she is in a different room. The stiff bed she’s gotten used to is now gone, and as she begins to feel the tension in her back muscles, the awful bed is deeply missed. Both of her forearms, palms, and left cheek are pressed against cold metal, and as she slowly rises from her bent position, she begins to feel her muscles relax. “Never thought I would miss my bed back at the academy,” Carmen whispers as she rotates her shoulders and neck, but the crick in her neck refuses to leave, the pain and soreness a familiar sensation to her.

“Shadowsan! Shadowsan!” The young girl yells as she skips behind the master of stealth, who continues his walk to his classroom. Without verbally acknowledging her presents, the girl knows that he’s waiting and listing. His strides have become slower, a change was barely noticeable to passing by students but a clear sign for her. “Can you teach me that neck knockout thing?” Once she is close enough, she jumps to reach his neck, unable to lay a finger on her target.

“The pressure point pinch.” After another failed attempt, she stops her efforts knowing he’ll get mad if she decides to continue. Finally, after years of getting in trouble, Carmen knows how far she can push things before the faculty get angry with her. Coach Brunt, being the mama bear she is, doesn’t mind anything she does, even going out of her way to excuse the girl’s behavior as ‘Learning new skills.’ Professor Maelstrom and Dr. Bellum allowed six attempts, on their good days, before they become irritated and threaten to call the Cleaners on her. Countess Cleo gives her three tries, and on the fourth try, she forces the girl to take a ten-hour lecture on how to be a ‘Proper Lady’. Lastly, Shadowsan might allow two attempts before he starts grunting in disapproval.

“Yeah, that!” When he doesn’t utter another word, she continues before he returns to his normal pace. “Blackout betted I couldn’t knock him out and I am going to enjoy proving him wrong. At first, I thought of asking Boris and Vlad for help, but they only appear when I do something ‘wrong’ and/or ‘foolish’. Then I thought of using oil, but Professor Maelstrom banned me from the kitchen after, and I quote ‘covered the stairs leading to VILE in oil, causing Cookie Brooker and several other operatives to fall and hit their heads’… Which I am innocent of doing, I swear it was Neal the Eel, despite footage showing otherwise.”

“If I teach you, will you leave me alone?” In an instant, he completely stops in his tracks, which leads the girl to bump into his legs. A grunt escapes him, but she will not let him change his mind. Immediately she agrees to his demand, running around his legs so she is standing in front of him. “Alright. I will teach you when you wake up.”

“Wake up?” Before she could realize what he meant; the man leans down so they are at eye level as his right hand rested on her shoulder. In a swift motion, he quickly applies slight pressure to the muscles on her neck.

Lifting her right arm to massage her neck, Carmen feels it. The slight sting on her wrist as the metal cuff moves against her irritated skin. “Of course, they wouldn’t make it too easy for me, that wouldn’t be fun.” It doesn’t take her long to see the cuffs around her wrist aren’t standard police handcuffs. The metal link is longer than it should be, allowing enough room for her to stretch one arm at a time but making it difficult to fight at her fullest capability. There is no way she can pick the lock, considering she’s without any of her gadgets and there is no keyhole to even pick. In an instant, she understands that the cuffs are using a magnetic lock, and the only way she’s getting out is if she steals one of the blue coat’s keycards. No random idiot’s clearance level will work either, she’s going to need one of the bimbos that arrested her or the boss’s card.

The table Carmen is sitting at shows signs of being altered to keep her restrained. The metal bar, ensuring she remains stuck with the table, is a dark copper that stands out from the silver table. The bolts on either end of the pipe are hastily screwed into the table and pipe, the quick work leaving some space between the bar and screw head. Not a lot, but just enough for her to unscrew the screws. Running her left index finger over the end, the sharp metal begins tugging at her skin, with enough pressure and speed the pipe could cut skin.

Looking around the room, Carmen sees that she’s in a typical interrogation room. Two metal chairs on the other side of the table. One exit to her left that must be unlocked from the other side as there’s only a handle to pull the door open. Flickering lights hang above her, a slight hum the only sound she hears, as her eyes land on the two-way mirror, five feet away from her. Focusing on her reflection, Carmen leans forward being sure she moves both of her hands in front of the screws, effectively hiding them from view. As she tilts her head to the right, she discreetly tests how well the bolts are tightened. The hard part is to hide her thumb’s movements to avoid anyone on the other side of the mirror seeing what she is up to. When she feels both screws budge a little, only being able to do half a turn, Carmen knows that if she wants to escape, she first needs to remove the nuts from under the table.

There must be at least ten agents that can easily be taken care of, but Shadows will be a threat she needs to prepare for. The only thing that might stop the ex-faculty member from playing hero, is a hostage. The male agent, with the glasses, is going to put up a fight and he has already proven to have no regard for his safety or the safety of others. The female agent on the other hand barely put up a fight against Carmen, even going out of her way to tell the other agent not to hurt her.

Leaning backward till her back is pressed against the metal chair, Carmen sighs in relief. It’s going to take some doing but she’s going to be able to escape. All she needs to do is play her cards right and she’ll be walking back to VILE with the greatest price in the world, a bluecoat.

As she stares at her reflection, an image of herself without her signature red coat and fedora brings a shiver to her spine. A reminder of a time before she graduated from VILE, a reminder of a bright-eyed child that admired Shadowsan, and was attentive to every single word that came from his mouth. Carmen loathes that she tried so hard to make him proud, all those years before she even enrolled in VILE, spent trying and failing to prove herself. Everyone in the faculty had approved of her skills before she was able to walk, the only one who constantly refused to acknowledge her abilities was and still is Shadowsan. All of her accomplishments were undermined by him, whenever she bested an operative, he would state it was because she received help from Coach Brunt or she cheated.

“Black Sheep, you had better be certain that becoming a professional thief is what you truly desire, for if you choose this road there will be no turning back.”

“I want this more than anything Instructor Shadowsan, and I am willing to go to the end of the line.” As she bows to him, her posture remains firm and calm but her heart beats fast enough to fly out of her chest. She doesn’t want to show how badly she wants his approval, how even if the rest of the faculty tells her no, she’ll be ecstatic if he just for once approved. As she slowly rises in time to see the vote, her heart stops at the sight. Once again, the faculty approved of her, except Shadowsan. Her heart stops beating and falls to her feet as the ninja leaves, she wants to throw up at the feeling of being rejected again, for the millionth time.

The hiss of the metal door opening draws Carmen's eyes to the only exit as a pair walk in, one of them being the agent she tried to kill in the Ferris wheel. Neither are wearing suits, instead choosing to remain in their civilian disguises. The girl holds a single red laptop in her hands, setting it carefully on the table before taking a seat. The other agent takes a long time to sit down.

"I see you survived your little fall; I was starting to get a little worried I missed your funeral. Guess I won't need to pay my respects... yet." In an instance, both agents react to her comment, the female clenching her fist to calm down while the male agent looks away from Carmen, his eyes showing the fear of being reminded about his fall. Seeing she hit a nerve, Carmen innocently smiles at the two. As the three of them fall into silence, the girl uses the time to start up her computer while the boy stares at the oh-so-fascinating floor. Taking a small glance down, Carmen sees why the stained floors have the young agent’s attention. "Tell me, agent was your free fall the other day your first? Wasn't it exciting feeling the wind hitting you as you fell?" Carmen makes it a point to whistle a tune that starts off at a high pitch and quickly lowers, mimicking the sound effects as a cartoon character would fall.

The boy doesn’t have a great poker face, as he grimaces at her words, and she leans towards him. Out of the corner of her eye, she sees that the female has turned the laptop to point at Carmen, but her blue eyes focus on the male. “Just breathe bro-“

“Yes, just keep breathing, and breathing because-” Slowly moving her right hand under the table, Carmen begins the process of unscrewing the nut as she states. “I wonder how many breaths you’ll take before I take your last.” Her shell of a threat works, her eyes noticing him gulp as he leans away, almost causing him to fall onto the floor. Despite knowing she won’t be able to follow through with the threat if she wants to escape, it helps elevate Carmen’s situation. If they are going to keep her imprisoned, the least they could do is allow her to mentally break the agents.

“We might be friends, but I will not let you talk to him like that!” The female yells, slamming her left hand down next to Carmen’s. For a moment she stops unscrewing the nut as her brown eyes meet the agent’s eyes.

“We are not friends.”

“Yes, we are!” Sighing, the girl sits back and takes a deep breath before continuing. “We are more than friends, we are family-“

“Don’t make me laugh.” Out of the corner of her eye, Carmen sees the laptop turn on and she is immediately greeted by a young boy. He looks unsure as he stares at her, bags under his eyes yet he keeps them wide open. For several minutes no one says anything, no one even moves a muscle as everyone waits. Everyone is staring at her, and she hates it with a passion.

A thief isn’t supposed to be seen; she’s supposed to be like a ghost. Appear and then disappear.

“They’ve been calling you the crimson ghost, red.”

“Really? What an honor.”

Closing her eyes, Carmen forces the voices in her head out. She needs to stay focused, and she needs to get to work. Breathing in and then out, Carmen opens her eyes and begins unscrewing the nut again. Her left hand hid the bolt from the agent’s view.

“Red, do you remember me?” Carmen doesn’t reply, just letting her eyes linger on him. She has never seen him before, and she starts to wonder how long this agency has been after her. If they know anything about VILE. “My name is Player, and I’ve been- we’ve known- I’m your friend, best friend.” Her features remain still, not showing an ounce of emotion as she forces herself not to roll her eyes. No one at VILE had friends, especially the faculty. There were only the fellow thieves you could work with and the thieves you wish you could push off a cliff. And even though she got along with Crackle, Carmen still didn’t consider him a friend, because she knew if they were to ever be trapped, with law enforcement creeping in. She would throw him under the bus.

She can never be caught…. Unless it was worth it.

“I was there for your first caper when we meet Ivy and Zack,” Player stops for a minute, gesturing to the agents in the room, as they smile. It’s faint, and with one look from Carmen, Zack loses his smile as he shrinks into himself. “The four of us have been inseparable since then, and we’ve only gotten closer when Shadowsan joined us.”

A soft chuckle leaves Carmen’s mouth just as she was able to remove the nut and can feel the bolt come loose enough that she can yank it out of the table. Shifting her body to look at the young boy through the screen, she positions her left hand over the remaining bolt. Her right-hand repeats the process of removing the nut that is keeping her trapped. “You don’t say? Tell me ‘best friend’ what other grand adventures we’ve been on.” The young boy begins detailing events but with every twist of the nut, Carmen tunes him out until the nut drops in her waiting palm. Taking a deep breath, she leans her head back which makes the boy quit talking.

“Carmen?” The girl asks, but when they lock eyes, Carmen springs into action. Pulling the metal bar out, she leans back far enough to use her legs to push the metal table toward the two agents. The red-headed boy is just barely able to jump away from the table as the other agent’s back is smacked against the see-through glass and pinned there by the table. As she slowly makes her way to the terrified agent, she throws one of the nuts at the laptop screen, causing it to crack as the boy yells her name. The second nut she has makes immediate contact with the female’s forehead.

Before Carmen can get the chance to torture the agent in front of her, the door leading to her exit bursts open as more agents barge in. Looking over her shoulder she smiles as she sees Jules and the loudmouth agent are among the agents now aiming their weapons at her. “Carmen Sandiego, surrender or I will be forced to take you out,” A tall woman states in a commanding voice, and simply by her attire Carmen knows that she’s in charge. Slowly turning on her heels, Carmen raised her hands up, the metal bar being loosely held in her hand. “Drop the weapon.”

The second Carmen sees Shadowsan, she can tell that he’s able to anticipate her next move as he goes for his sword and yells. “Julia move!” Unlike in the past, this time she’s faster than her old mentor and gets to the agent in the blink of an eye. In a swift movement, Carmen is able to twist Julia’s arm behind her and press the metal bar to her neck.

As her now-captured agent yells in pain, everyone in the room takes a small step back. “Do as I say or say goodbye to Jules.” To ensure her threat is heard, Carmen pulls the bar down causing the agent’s skin to tear a little. A small cut, but enough to allow a few drops of blood out.

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#carmen x julia #julia x carmen #carmen sandiego #player #shadowsan #chase devineaux #zack and ivy #julia argent #julesthief #jules argent #my writing #acme #vile faculty

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