Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

“You didn’t tell me why you don’t speak to your mother anymore. Does she disapprove of your work in the law?” Carmen asked one day, appearing as always with little warning. Julia was slowly learning to detect the slight change in the air when the thief was going to appear and barely raised her eyes from her paperwork.

They had been working on finding Carmen’s mother for a few months, but between VILE’s stunts and ACME’s tries to catch Carmen, the red team had little time to work on this. Julia could feel that Carmen was getting frustrated. Julia understood frustration a little too well, and knew its effects on people. But the question still hurt.

“I would rather not answer that question, if that is alright with you.”

Carmen stopped what she was doing – browsing the book on Julia’s nightstand – and approached the agent. “I’m sorry, I should have realized that this was a sensitive subject.”

“It’s okay, she is simply someone I do not really enjoy talking about.”

“Does it not bother you?” Carmen asked. “Helping me finding my mother I mean.”

“No,” Julia answered honestly, “on the contrary, I’m glad to be able to help reunite a family.”

“Hum. Sometimes I wonder if it’s actually a good idea to be looking for her,” Carmen admitted, looking sad. Seeing Julia’s perplexed look, she continued “If she wanted to be found, we would have found her by now.”

“Why would she want to be found? She probably has no idea that you’re alive, and that means that the only people that could be after her are either VILE or…”

“Or ACME,” Carmen finished.

They both stayed silent a while, and when Carmen’s silence became too much, Julia asked “Did you need anything?”

Carmen ignored Julia’s question to ask one of her own, watching the agent attentively. “Jules, why are you really helping me?”

“I... because you asked me to!”

“Yes. But why did you agree?” Carmen seemed genuinely intrigued. “Why would you risk you career to help someone your organization is looking for?”

The idea of telling Carmen the lie Julia had been telling herself for those two months was enticing. And it wasn’t exactly a lie, it was more a… reasonable and logical explanation of her actions. Her mom had always been a so-called "helper" but had turned to be very specific about the people she helped. Julia - in a weird way - wanted to uphold that helper side, but without the judgements her mother had always made.

But if she was being truthful, all Julia could say was, “I don’t know.”

“You… don’t know?” Carmen was visibly not expecting that answer.

“When I first agreed, I thought that helping you find your mom was really my primary motivation, but now I’m not so sure.”

Just as Julia admitted this, the door barged open and several ACME agents entered, weapons drawn.

“Carmen Sandiego, you’re under arrest.”

Chapter Text

“Carmen Sandiego, you’re under arrest.”

Carmen’s face morphed into a look of disappointment, and began running towards the window by which she had come in.

“Freeze!” the agents said, and this prompted Julia to stand between the window and the agents.

“Agent Argent, ACME agent, what is the meaning of this?”

That stopped the agents long enough – a second later Julia heard the familiar sound of Carmen’s hang-glider and the thief was flying away – hopefully fast enough to not get caught.

“She’s ACME, what was I thinking? Trusting her in Sweden almost killed me, and I went back to her!”

“Calm down.” Shadowsan said. If he was surprised by Julia’s betrayal or Carmen’s reaction to it, he wasn’t showing it. “Did she say she wanted to give you to ACME?”

“What’s going on?” Zack and Ivy were back from testing a new drone prototype.

“ACME agents tried to arrest Carmen. She thinks Agent Argent was planning on delivering her to them,” Player answered over the speakers.

“But… that doesn’t make sense.” Ivy retorted. “From what we’ve seen of her so far, it doesn’t match her personality.”

“And we’ve already established that while ACME isn’t made of the smartest individuals, Julia is very smart. She had multiple opportunities to capture you, why act now?” Player added.

“It doesn’t matter,” Carmen growled. “How could they have known I was there if she wasn’t the one to tell them?”

None of them answered. Carmen sighed. “Maybe it wasn’t a good idea to look for my mother while VILE and ACME are still active.”

“But it could take months before we’re able to stop them!”

Carmen acknowledged Zack’s remark by a nod. “I know. But from now on, we will concentrate on VILE.”

Later, Shadowsan found Carmen on the roof of their headquarters. Head on her knees, Carmen didn’t move a muscle, but he knew she had heard him.

“For what it is worth, I do not think you were wrong to trust her.” Carmen looked at him, surprised. “If I had any doubt that she could betray you, I would have advised you to not turn to her to find your mother.”

Carmen sighed, clearly still displeased with herself. “Back in Prague, she told me that the agents that had chased me in Sweden had not acted on her instructions. Maybe I was too caught up in the euphoria of looking for my mom that I… Maybe she has been lying to me for a while. ”

“Why was Carmen Sandiego in your hotel room, agent Argent?”

“I do not know Chief,” Julia answered calmly.

“You’re a very capable agent, but you are a terrible liar, Julia.”

She was not in custody, per se, but Julia knew that if she wanted to work again on anything remotely interesting – or possibly not end up in prison - she had to keep her cool.

“She was asking for my help.” She couldn’t say too much, but had to say enough that Chief would not suspect she wasn’t entirely honest. She couldn’t let Carmen down again.

“Help? With what?”

“It seems, she was under the impression that I could help her locate some old VILE operative.”

“Hum. And you didn’t discuss anything else? She was spotted entering your hotel almost ten minutes before the agents intervened.”

So that was how they knew Carmen was there. Dumb luck in spotting her. While it as enraging, it also meant that ACME had no idea that Julia had been meeting with Carmen for a while.

“No, we exchanged pleasantries and she told me what it was she wanted. I would have called the reinforcements, but she was watching intently and I did not get an opportunity to signal her presence.”

“Your story checks out agent. But know you will be under close surveillance from now on, your so-called instincts on Sandiego already led to a breach in our network, you interfering with her capture certainly does not look good.”

Once out of the ACME building, Julia let out a long sigh. She needed to find Carmen.

Chapter Text

Julia quickly realized that doing something under ACME’s radar was much more complicated when said radar was pointed on you – and yes, she was aware the metaphor didn’t hold up.

She didn’t always see them, but she knew there was constantly an agent in her vicinity. Looking for Carmen that way was going to be difficult.

So difficult in fact, that the idea of leaving ACME crossed her mind. Maybe going back to Interpol would make things easier. She refused to consider why it mattered so much to her to find Carmen. They were barely friends, why go through all this trouble just to prove Julia hadn’t betrayed her? But that was the thing, wasn’t it? They were more than just acquaintances, and it was more than what could be said of most people Julia knew. Sure, she had colleagues - Devineaux' annoying face popped in her mind - and people from the swim team with whom she went for drinks. But no one to truly call a friend.

“I would like to request a vacation.” It was a slow day, and they hadn’t made any real progress in weeks, so she had decided to call Chief and just ask. Surely she wouldn’t be watched while on vacation?

Chief raised a holographic eyebrow. “A vacation, agent Argent?”

“Yes, I haven’t had a proper break in a while, and I feel my work is suffering from the lack of rest.”

Chief considered her request much longer than Julia anticipated.

“Alright. I give you three weeks,” – that was much more than Julia hoped for, and plans to book plane tickets started popping in Julia’s mind – “but you are forbidden from leaving France.”

The plan bubble exploded. She tried to remain calm – showing Chief how much this decision bothered her would only further suspicions. “May I ask why?”

“You will not be under surveillance during those three weeks, but I need to know that you will not try and find Carmen Sandiego, or go somewhere where you couldn’t be contacted.”

There was no point in trying to change Chief’s mind, so Julia thanked her and left the building.

Well. At least she would have time to read.

She was bored out of her mind after 3 days.

Thankfully, 5 days into her vacations, someone knocked at her door. It was already unusual during daytime, it certainly was a first at 11pm.

Chief had let her keep her tranquilizer, so she dug it from her nightstand’s drawer and looked through the peephole. A man around 50, with a stern face, was looking at the door as though he could see Julia through the door. She recognized him as the man from VILE Carmen had been seen talking to. Why was he at her doorstep - in a country where Carmen hadn’t been spotted in a while? Could Carmen have sent him to…? No, no, she was derailing. Carmen would never do something like that. But still.

She opened the door, slightly trembling, just as the man was about to knock again. He rightened himself, cleared his throat, and declared:

“Good evening, I am Shadowsan, Carmen’s…” He trailed off without finishing, visibly struggling to find a proper way to describe his relationship to Carmen.

“Colleague?” Julia offered.

Shadowsan nodded. “Yes. And this here is Player.” It was only then that Julia realized that the man was not alone. He was indeed accompanied by a teen, probably around 14. “He is a colleague as well.” The boy waved timidly. “Player’s location has been found out by VILE, he needs to be protected.”

Julia tried to understand without needing to have it explained why a boy in need of protection from an evil organization would be led to her. But truly, it didn’t make sense.

“And you’re bringing him here because…?”

“We can’t keep him in our headquarters, this could lead them straight to us.”

Julia remained flabbergasted for a few seconds. So instead of bringing the danger to Carmen’s team, the danger would be directed on her? Instead, the thought she voiced was:

“So Carmen doesn’t think I betrayed her?”

Shadowsan stilled.

“We didn’t have much choice, actually,” the boy – Player – explained. “I’m too young to stay alone on my own for long – at least without raising suspicions – and I don’t have much family.”

That weirdly made sense. But that still didn’t answer her question. Then it hit her.

“She doesn’t know you’re here, does she?”

“It is much safer that way,” Shadowsan said.

That too made sense. “The less people know, the less likely it is that they find him.”

Shadowsan nodded. A man of a few words – she was starting to like him, even if he was deeply intimidating.

“So I suppose ACME cannot suspect in any way, shape or form that Player is here, or who he is.” There were so many variables and things to consider – what did teens even eat?! How long would he stay, was he allowed to go outside?

But before Julia could voice any of those other questions, Shadowsan turned sharply his head to the right, listening intently to something that Julia couldn’t hear.

“I must be going,” he announced - and before Julia could even say “Wait!” – he was gone, leaving Player and Julia to eye each other curiously.

Chapter Text

“You might as well come in," Julia said, opening the door wider.

“Thanks, sorry to impose on you like this.”

Their stilled conversation continued on. She offered him her bed, he refused, so she opened her convertible sofa and they finally settled for the night. She realized while he was off brushing his teeth that she had never had someone over, much less a sixteen year-old Canadian.

As she lay in bed a while later, she made a mental grocery list. After that, she started a list of all the questions she needed answers to. After she reached 25, the sheer number of things she still ignored about Carmen and VILE almost made her feel dizzy, and she decided to call it a night.

“So, how did you all meet?” she asked the next morning over her mug of coffee.

Thankfully, she had found some chocolate powder in her cupboards and was able to make Player a hot chocolate. Some bread from the bakery next door was all she had, but that didn’t seem to bother the teenager.

When all she got was a raised eyebrow, she continued: “I mean, you weren’t with the people who retrieved the dresses in Milan or picked up Carmen after the… incident in Sweden. Zack and Ivy I believe their names are?”

Player looked at her wearily, but also apparently amused at her obvious attempt to know more. “No offense, but I’m not sure I trust you enough to give you this information.”

Fair enough. “Do you think I’m the one who handed Carmen to ACME?”

Player moved so that he could be crossed-leg on the chair. “No, actually. I don’t think you would have agreed to help her just to hand her over after. Shadowsan agrees with me on that point.”

Weirdly enough, relief washed over her. It was a start. Maybe she could explain to Carmen herself that it was all a misunderstanding. For the time being…

“If you know where I live, you probably already know that I’m not working for another 2 weeks.”

Player had the decency to look slightly ashamed. “Yes, I already knew that.”

“How deep did you manage to go into ACME’s files?”

The teenager smirked, clearly proud of himself. “Pretty deep.”

She knew she wouldn’t get more than that. It also meant that he had probably found interesting things, things even Julia had no access to. It was a bit frustrating.

She decided to change the subject. “So are you allowed outside or am I supposed to distract while you wait for Shadowsan to return?” If someone were to ask her if there was any sarcasm in that question, she would say no. Player pretended not to detect it at least.

“I mean, there’s no way VILE would suspect you’re hiding me, so for now I don’t see why I shouldn’t go outside.”

Julia sighed of relief. “Great." Being stuck inside with him would have been quite troublesome. "Oh, while we're on the subject, here is the spare key, I trust you to not lose it.”

She set the key on the table, but as she moved towards the door, already planning some errands, Player exclaimed “Wait! I don’t speak any French, how am I supposed to survive out there alone?”

She rolled her eyes at his extravagance. “I’m just running a few errands. We can plan something to do later.”

An hour later, she was back to her apartment, and found Player on his computer.

“I do not think you should try to contact your team so soon,” she said while putting away the groceries.

“I’m not,” Player answered, still typing, “I was wondering how long it would take us to go to Lascaux.”

The French name pronounced with his Canadian accent made her chuckle. “It’s La-scoh. Anyways, why would you want to go there?”

“Well, you said we could plan something when you came back,” he said, looking at her with hopeful eyes.

Truth was, she got it. He was tracked down by an evil organization, at age… possibly 16? And on top of that, he was stuck in a foreign country with someone he barely knew. Wanting a distraction made sense.

“So you… want to do sightseeing?” Truly, Carmen’s team members were as surprising as her.

Player shrugged. “Since I’m in France, might as well make the most of it!”

Lascaux was only a 2-hour drive from Poitiers, it was actually a good pick. And Julia hadn’t been there in years, so she was almost as excited as Player was.

The replica of the infamous cave was near the original site, on top of the hill where it had been discovered in 1940. It was thankfully less crowded than it was during the summer, and they were able to chat with the person doing the guided tours for a while.

Over the course of the following week, they spent quite a lot of time on the road. Player made a point of not talking too much about his team, but he would oftentimes absentmindedly mention little facts about them. Plus, they were both history enthusiasts and got along much more than either expected.

Nantes and Bordeaux – two cities not too far from Poitiers - were both thoroughly explored during that week. And while the September weather was a bit too cold to actually swim, they did spend a day near the ocean at La Rochelle.

They hadn’t exactly forgotten why they were both sightseeing instead of being home or at work, but when Player’s phone rang the following Sunday, it was almost a surprise.

Chapter Text

“Oh thank god you answered! We need to see ya ASAP,” Ivy said in a single breath.

“Ivy! What’s going on?”

“We’ll talk when you’re here. We know you're with Argent, make sure she comes too. Text us where you want to meet, but it can’t be Europe  - or anywhere with too much Interpol presence. See ya soon champ!” And she ended the communication.

Julia and Player looked at each other for a few seconds, neither saying anything.

Then they both started speaking at the same time.

“Something is very wrong!”

“I can’t leave France!” A beat. “Wait, what makes you say that?” Julia asked.

Player frowned. “Ivy isn’t supposed to know where I am. And she’s never the one who calls me.”

“Could it be a trap from VILE then?”

“I mean, she could have figured it out with Zack, but that doesn’t explain why she would need to contact me if Carmen and Shadowsan were around.”

“Could they both be on a mission?”

In whatever way they looked at the problem, something was definitely off, even assuming that it was not a trap from VILE – and that was an option that they could not rule out yet. But even if they did decide to go meet Zack and Ivy, they had to figure out how to get Julia out of France. There was no doubt in Julia’s mind that Chief would know immediately if Julia got out of France. When she explained that to Player, he stayed silent for a few minutes, playing with his handspinner. Finally, he grinned at her.

“Tell me Julia, have you ever been to La Réunion?”

“I can’t say that I have, but…? Oh! La Réunion is French ground.”

Indeed, while it was certainly not in Europe, the tiny island was a part of the French territory. “You do know your geography!”

Player puffed out his chest. “I mean, you know, it’s my job.”

They decided on something which, while not the greatest plan, might give them a chance to escape if VILE was behind the call, and 13 hours later, they were on a plane to the tiny island in the middle of the Indian Ocean.

It had taken Carmen weeks, but she had finally found where an old colleague of her mother was living. What it was exactly that they worked on, it was pretty much impossible to know from the few files she had managed to gather. Still, Miss Smitherson and Carmen’s mother had apparently worked on several cases together and it was too good an opportunity to miss.

A man in his 50’s opened the door of the small house, clearly not expecting company. Clear green eyes looked Carmen up and down.

“Hi,” Carmen began when it became clear that the man wasn’t going to speak, “I’m looking for miss Smitherson?”

The man chuckled. “Hadn’t heard that in a while. The name’s Mark, Mark Smitherson,” he said pointedly, holding out his hand, waiting for Carmen to catch on.

“Oh. My apologies. Though it explains a few things,” Carmen said while shaking Mark’s hand.

“Really? What kind of things?”

“You’re quite a hard man to track down, Mister Smitherson.”

He shrugged, eyes twinkling with amusement. “Trust me, my transition had nothing to do with my desire to disappear.” He smiled. “But I must admit it is an added bonus. Fifteen years on testosterone do change a person.”

“They do. But I must confess this is not just a courtesy visit.” His green eyes were watching her with rapt attention. “I believe you knew my mother.”

He frowned, clearly puzzled, until understanding downed on him.

“Are you… Vera’s child?” Hearing her mother’s name spoken out loud always felt… strange.

“I am. My name is Carmen,” she answered. At her words, he opened his door completely and let her in. He gestured to Carmen to take place on the sofa in the tiny living-room and went to the kitchen, grabbing two glasses and a pitcher.

“By the gods, if I thought I would ever get to meet you! You look just like her.”

“So she was still working with you when I was born?”

He shook his head, pouring Carmen a glass of lemonade. “No. But, you know, info gathering was kind of our thing. I believe I even sent her a card, but for the life of me I can’t actually remember if I did.” Seeing Carmen’s face fall, he added, “Buuut, depending on what you want to know, I might be able to help. For old time sake.”

Carmen took a deep breath. Maybe she was finally going to have answers to the myriads of question she had since she had heard Shadowsan’s story. “When was the last time… you heard about my mother?”

He sat down, scratching his chin. “Now that, I have to confess I don’t recall. Your mom has always been incredibly proficient at the disappearing act. I heard some… 19, 20 years ago that something had happened – something that made her seek revenge. It was strange news, since she had faked her death a while before. She became less cautious after that – she wanted to destroy VILE. But I can’t remember when that was exactly.”

“So you know about VILE.”

“Of course. I was one of the first Interpol agent on their trail – along with your mother. But she quit maybe a year before you were born, and by the time ACME was founded, I had already decided to stop working in intelligence gathering.”

“Do you think she’s still alive?”

For the first time, he avoided her gaze. He opened his mouth, then seemed to think better of it. The silence stretched on… until the fluffiest cat Carmen had ever seen appeared out of nowhere and began meowing loudly towards Mark.

“Ah, sorry! Miyuki is very punctual when it comes to feeding! Do you mind if I…?” he asked, pointing to the kitchen.

She shook her head and smiled briefly, trying to think of a way to make Mark say what he was clearly not sure how to tell her.  

With Mark gone – she could hear him make cooing sounds in the kitchen, she rose from the couch and took a closer look at the rare pictures scattered around the living room. Most of them were clearly of Mark’s family, but a few looked like they were taken with friends or colleagues. A photograph in particular caught Carmen’s eyes then.

The picture had been taken in some sort of board room, but the people around the table seemed relaxed. She recognized Mark, smiling at someone at the other side of the table. But the person who caught Carmen’s attention was a woman, almost at the end of the table, looking at the camera with a knowing smile. Auburn hair, red lipstick and eyes that twinkled with mischief.

“What did I tell ya, you look like her,” Mark said from somewhere on her right. She hadn’t even heard him come back. But then again, the man had been a spy.

“Do I?”

When she didn’t get an answer, she turned towards Mark. He was still looking at the picture with something akin to sadness in his eyes.

“Mark, you need to tell me what you know.”

He sighed. “I told you kid, she’s always been incredibly gifted for disappearing.”

“But I suppose there’s a ‘but’ somewhere?”

“VILE is… not an organization you can mess with without consequences.”

Carmen crossed her arms. “Oh, I am well aware of that.”

He looked at her with surprise. “Don’t tell me you’re following in her footsteps.”

When Carmen simply raised an eyebrow and cocked her head to signify that she was, indeed, doing the same as her mother, Mark rolled his eyes and grumbled “What is it with VILE and the Cruz women, I wonder.” Carmen refrained to mention she had been raised by said organization.

“You still haven’t answered me.”

Mark sat again on the couch. “You’re tenacious, I’ll give you that. But if I’m being completely honest with you… I believe that same character trait is what led your mother to her demise.”

Chapter Text

[Mark sat again on the couch. “You’re tenacious, I’ll give you that. But if I’m being completely honest with you… I believe that same character trait is what led your mother to her demise.”]

“So… you think she’s dead.”

Mark nodded gravely. Then that meant… had she been searching in vain all this time? Had she been looking for signs of life when what she should have searched for were signs that Vera Cruz had died, possibly at the hands of VILE? As if feeling her distress, Miyuki the cat jumped on her knees and began purring loudly. Carmen froze, unsure of what she should do.

Mark grinned. “Go on, you can pet her, she loves cuddles.”

Painstakingly slowly, Carmen reached a hand and began stroking the slick fur of the cat. If possible, the cat purred even harder, and the simple task of concentrating on the sound made Carmen consider things more calmly. Mark wasn’t sure her mother was gone.

Somewhere in the house, a clock rang.

“I should get going,” Carmen declared, slowly lifting Miyuki off her lap. “Thank you so much for your time Mr. Smitherson.”

“Anytime.” He walked her to the door. “Look kid, I don’t know what you’re planning on doing, but please be careful. Your mother wouldn’t want you to risk your life for revenge or -“

Carmen chuckled ruefully. “Don’t worry, I started butting heads with VILE long before I even knew who my parents were.”

“Still.” He fiddled with his hands, seemingly unsure of what to do or say. “If you ever need anything, let me know. I may be retired but I still have a few connections.”

“Thank you.”

She waited to be out of sight of the house to let out the deep sigh that she had felt building up since Mark had told Carmen her mom was probably… She shook her head – she couldn’t afford to dwell on that. She had told her team they would stop the research for now.  Going to see Mark had been a mistake. First VILE, then… then she could go on searching.

She wondered briefly what she would do after. After she was done with VILE and the mystery of her mother. But it was so far off in the future, it certainly wasn’t a pressing concern.

She took a deep breath of the evening air, and watched the city lights far below.

She was on her way to be the airport – on a rented bike, thank you very much – when what looked like a police roadblock appeared in a turn. She slowed down, not overly concerned, when she noticed a sickly green and black suit amidst the policemen.  A second later, a paper star grazed her cheek. A trap. How could they have found her?

Right then, it didn’t matter – she tried to turn around, but the road was slick, even though it hadn’t rained in days, and she couldn’t stop her fall. She barely managed to not land helmet first on the pavement, but the fall still rattled her. She got to her feet quickly, trying to restart the bike. She couldn’t get caught now, she needed to warn the others, to contact Shadowsan… A sudden shot of pain in her neck, and all went black.

“So. Remind me again. How does our plan work?” Player asked nervously.

They had landed at St Denis airport a few minutes before and retrieved their luggage quickly.

Julia tried to smile reassuringly – even though she was far from confident this would work. “I’ll blend in the crowd and you will wait for Zack and Ivy to arrive – or whoever called us. If everything is okay, you will have nothing to do. If there are… complications, just do what we discussed in the plane. You have the layout of the airport memorized, right?”

Player nodded stiffly. “And I have the French manual if I don’t find people who speak English.”

Julia patted his shoulder. “It is going to be okay.” She really wasn’t good at this. She had to do better than this. “You are one of the smartest person I know Player, it is going to be fine.”

He smiled briefly, murmured a ‘thanks’ and directed his steps to the reception of the airport.

She heard a shout from the other side of the lobby a few minutes later. “Hey! You made it!” The two redheads squeezed Player in a hug that lifted him slightly off the floor and she decided to give them a few minutes to themselves. She continued to survey the airport, looking for anyone suspicious.

Player had seen them so often on screen that he never expected Zack and Ivy to be so vibrant and warm. The hug they gave him was the best hug he had ever received and warmth he had rarely felt settled in his bones. His friends were here.

But someone was missing. Carmen was not with them.

“Is Carmen joining us later or…,” he began, then noticed that the siblings’ faces had fallen simultaneously.

“Carmen’s disappeared,” Ivy said gravely.

“Wha- what do you mean disappeared?”

“We don’t know exactly. She only left a note saying she was on a mission – but Z and I think it was about her mother. We wouldn’t be angry with her if it was about her mom even she had decided to stop the research. But…it’s been an entire week and we’re getting worried.”

“What about Shadownsan?” Player asked as he tried to process the idea that his best friend was missing.

Julia appeared at that moment, and immediately realized something was wrong. “What is the matter?”

Player filled her in quickly.

When he was finished, Zack added “And we don’t know where Shadowsan is. But we know he’s alright, we equipped him with a distress signal before he left. We thought he would come back to HQ after dropping you somewhere safe, but he apparently went straight to another location.”

“Maybe we should not have come,” Julia declared, worry etched on her face. “I promised to protect you and if you get captured because we moved…”

Player shrugged. “We’re here now. And we need to figure out where Carmen is. If VILE has her, she could be in grave danger.”

Chapter Text

[Player shrugged. “We’re here now. And we need to figure out where Carmen is. If VILE has her, she could be in grave danger.”]

They regrouped in a small hotel in the outskirts of St Denis.

“So what do we do?” Julia asked while they were sat around creole food. “Should we try to contact Shadownsan?”

Ivy shook her head. “We already tried. He won’t be in touch until he’s done, and we think it might still take a while.”

They ate in silence for a few minutes.

“What if it isn’t VILE?” Player finally said.

The others looked at him, confused.

“I mean, we assume that VILE got to her, but it could also be ACME, or another group! Or it could just be that… she’s hurt somewhere and has no contact info on her and -”

“Wow, WOW, calm down. You’re spiralling there, champ. I know this is scary, but panicking is not helping,” Ivy interrupted.

Player sighed. “I need some fresh air.” The teen was out of the room before they could stop him.

Ivy tried to go after him, but Julia stopped her gently. “Give him a minute.” Ivy shrugged and went back to looking at the world map her and Zack had laid out.

A few minutes later, Julia found Player in the gardens.

She sat beside him. “You know better than anyone that she’s faced worse odds, and she’s always come out on top. She’s going to be fine.”

“What if she’s not?”

“That’s why we need to act quickly. But we need to have faith in her. She’s tough.”

Just as she said that, Julia heard a rustle behind her and several people she recognized as VILE agents appeared.

“But are you?” the woman dressed as a tiger asked.

Jules adopted a fighting stance. There was no way she was going to take down that many people – but they were not here for her, they were here for Player. She just needed to give him a chance to run and get back to Zack and Ivy.

She murmured “Get ready to run” to the terrified teen and started throwing punches.

She just had time to see Player run back to the hotel before someone knocked her out.

The cell she was thrown in was surprisingly bright. So luminous in fact, that she had to blink several times to get used to the light. She had no idea how long she had been transported, but she hadn’t felt the characteristic vibrations of a plane. But that didn’t mean anything. She could still be on the island, or on a boat, or… It didn’t matter. She was trapped anyway.

When she finally managed to get a look at her surroundings, she realized she wasn’t alone. Someone was curled up in a corner of the cell.

Auburn hair and light brown skin…

“Miss Sandiego! Are you alright?”

Carmen moved slowly, turning her head towards Jules. “Funny”, she said with a smile half delirious, “you look a lot like someone I know.”

“Miss… Sandiego? It’s me, Jules”.

“Jules?” Carmen blinked, looking confused. “They must have given me something stronger than I thought, there’s no way you’re real.”

What had they done to her? Anger flared in Julia.

She approached Carmen slowly. “Do you mind if I check your head for injuries? You are not making a lot of sense.”

Carmen shrugged, not moving from the floor. “Sure, you can’t actually touch me anyway.”

“Oh, I assure you Miss Sandiego, I am quite real.”

Carmen snorted. “No way.”

She kept rolling her head around, bobbing to an unheard music. Julia was truly getting worried. She took a few more steps towards Carmen, trying to catch her gaze, but the thief seemed half in a world of her own.

“Why not? Why wouldn’t I be stuck in a cell with you?”

Carmen squinted at Julia, as if doing so would help her determine if Julia was a figment of her imagination.

The thief mumbled something that sounded like “You wanted to give me to ACME.”

But Julia was too worried as this point to dwell on what the thief was saying, and touched Carmen’s head gently, searching for injuries in Carmen’s unkempt hair.

When she found nothing, she began to wonder if the thief had been fed recently, or even given something to drink.

When she asked, Carmen only answered with a “Nope! Haven’t eaten in a few days I think!”

Barely containing her anger, Julia banged on the door. When nothing happened, she banged some more. She knew someone was behind that door, and they had to get fed up of the noise at some poi-

A sliding panel she hadn't noticed before opened at eye level.

From somewhere below the pair of eyes came a disgruntled "What?".

“My…” friend? – colleague? – person Julia weirdly trusted since their first meeting? – “my cellmate has not been given food or water for several days. This is unacceptable.” She wasn’t sure she had ever used that tone of voice before. Then again, she might never have been this angry.

The pair of eyes blinked, clearly caring very little about what she had said. She tried to put it in a simpler way. “She needs food and water.”

“Didn’t get any order to give her food or water.”

“She will be of no use to your bosses if she’s half delirious or suffering from inanition,” Jules said at a normal level. “And I don’t care how or when, I will make your life a living hell if she is not given proper care,” she added in a lower voice.

Where that aggressiveness came from, or if it was particularly useful, she had no idea, and didn’t have the time to dwell on it.

The eyes blinked again. The sliding panel closed.

“Hey! Get back here!” She tried banging on the door again, but the noise was getting irritating even for her, and seemed to disturb Carmen as well.

Maybe, maybe, they were truly doomed.

Later, much later, when she had given hope they would actually bring any food, the latch at the bottom of the door opened, and a tray with bread and fruits slid in the cell. Relief washed over her.

“Carmen? Come on, you need to eat something.”

The thief complied, allowing Julia to feed her pieces of bread and fruit, then fell into a somewhat peaceful sleep, curled up at the end of what masqueraded as a bed.

When Julia woke up – she hadn’t even realized she had dozed off – Carmen was watching her sat against the opposite wall. “Morning,” Carmen said.

“Is it?” Julia’s still half-asleep brain asked.

Carmen shrugged, mildly amused. “I wouldn’t know, could be the middle of the night or 2 PM.”

Julia cracked her neck and managed to will herself awake. “You look better.”

“You look… real. How and why are you here?”

“Zack and Ivy got worried when you didn’t give any sign of life for a few days, so Player and I went to meet them –“

“Wait, why were you with Player?”

Shadowsan hadn’t told Carmen where he had placed Player. Had he even told her that VILE was after the teen?

She must have been silent longer than she thought, because Carmen almost barked. “Just tell me already Jules!”

Taken aback by Carmen’s aggressiveness, Julia almost snapped back. But as she was about to reply, Carmen’s anger disappeared from her face to leave place to an anguish Julia had never seen the thief demonstrate, tears threatening to fall. Mere instants later, Carmen covered her face and sobbed.

Acting on impulse, Julia drew closer and sat beside her. But now that she was there, she wasn’t really sure what to do - so she patted Carmen’s thigh.

“Shadowsan came to see me two weeks ago. Player was with him.” And she began telling Carmen all that had happened since. Her week of sight-seeing with Player, the twins’ call, going to the Réunion.

Midway through her retelling, she noticed that the thief had calmed down, and had almost laughed when Julia had confessed having no idea what teenagers ate these days. When Julia finished, the thief looked calmer, but exhausted. “I’m just. So tired of fighting them, Jules. I put my team at risk every time and it’s never enough. And now, they have me, they’ve captured you and I just… don’t know what to do anymore.”

“You cannot give up now. Does the situation look dire? Yes. But it’s not hopeless!”

Carmen snorted. “It’s not?”

“As far as we know, Player, Ivy and Zack are still free! They must be looking for you!”

Surprising Julia, Carmen smiled. “Something tells me they’re looking for us.”

Chapter Text

• Brought in front of the baddies

“At last we meet again, Blacksheep,” Bellum says. “It’s been too long since we’ve seen you.”

“My name is Carmen,” the thief says through gritted teeth. “What do you want with me?”

“Revenge of course! We want both you and Shadowsan to pay for your treason.”

“And how do you hope to achieve that?” Carmen sneered.

Julia wasn’t sure that antagonizing her opponents was the smartest move at the moment, but was still impressed by Carmen’s show of bravery.

“Why,” Bellum sneered, “by using you, of course. With the help of my - ”

Countess Clio interrupted the scientist. “You can either willingly tell us where he is, or you will tell us under more… unpleasant circumstances.”

Carmen didn’t even answer, but her determined stare was enough to make the VILE’s members understand her intentions: there was no way she was giving them anything.

“All right then,” Maelstrom said, “you will give us what we want soon enough.”

And they were thrown in their cell again.

• Carmen is being way too sure of herself

“What if they brainwash you?”

“They can’t, otherwise they lose one of their best lead to Shadowsan. Their brainwashing isn’t sophisticated enough for them to be sure it won’t erase crucial memories.”

“It’s been at least two weeks, Jules, I can’t… I can’t keep going. I shouldn’t… I shouldn’t have gone alone. I don’t even know why I hid it from them. What if something happened to them? What if they – gave up?”

“More than your friends, those people are your family Carmen, they would never give up on you! You have to hold on.”

When Carmen didn’t answer, Julia decided to ask something that had been bugging her for a while.

“What were you doing on this island anyway?”

“I found an old colleague of my mother.”

"You did?! Could they tell you anything about her?"

The thief nodded. “He thinks she’s dead.” She tried to deliver the information without emotion, but by now Julia could see right through her.

“Do you think that is true?”

Carmen stayed silent a while, carefully thinking over the question. “From what her colleague heard, she went completely off the grid after my father died, and was trying to take revenge on VILE, so there’s no way to tell, really. But it’s been almost 20 years, surely by now she would have come out of hiding, one way or another.”

Bellum’s machines weren’t working despite all the tweaks she applied, Cleo’s and Maelstrom’s methods of extortion and manipulation didn’t work on their own trainees and Coach Brunt wasn’t allowed near Carmen – the other members feared the green-haired brute might kill her.

Player and the siblings still hadn’t been caught, and neither had Shadowsan, but it was clear that Carmen was growing desperate, her eyes going dimmer every day.

“Do you remember when we visited the Orloj in Prague?” Julia asked, trying to bring Carmen back to happier thoughts.

The thief was silent for a while, then murmured, a small smile on her lips. “How could I forget?”

“You said it inspired you. That it had withstood so much, including near destruction by the hands of the Nazis.”

It was almost imperceptible, maybe even just wishful thinking on Julia’s part, but Carmen’s eyes seemed a bit brighter.

“It defied centuries and catastrophes and is still standing, as magnificent as ever. Just as you are Carmen, you defied the odds so many times.”

• Grow closer over the 4 weeks they spend together with little intimacy.

“You asked me one day whether my mother approved of my working in the law.”

“Jules, you don’t have to –“

“My mother didn’t – well, doesn’t – agree with my ‘tendencies’, as she likes to put it. She… disowned me when I came out to her and my father.”

Anger flashed through Carmen's eyes, and for a moment Julia thought Carmen was angry at her.

"She disowned you because you're gay?"

When Julia nodded, Carmen jumped to her feet and started pacing the room, clearly upset.

"Are you alright?" Julia asked.

"I... yes. It's just... I knew people could behave horribly, but I didn't think it could be this malevolent."

• Red team arrives, VILE tries to hurt Julia
• Carmen jumps in front of Jules to protect her from a laser blast

With horror, and almost in slow motion, Julia saw Carmen jump in front of her. The blast hit Carmen right in the chest.

“Carmen!”

• VILE members flee when they believe they're outnumbered
• Carmen wakes up (because of course she does)

“Hey guys, what’s going on?”

“Oh thank God you’re alive!” Julia said right before hugging her tightly.

Carmen winced. “That’s still up for debate.”

“Why would you do something like that? It was idiotic!” Julia said, rightfully pissed off. Then she added, softly, because Carmen was hurt and it wouldn’t do much good to yell at her now. “Don’t move, you probably have broken ribs.”

“Still better than a broken heart,” Carmen quipped, winking at Julia.

Julia shook her head, exasperated. “You are an idiot, Carmen Sandiego.”

“So I’ve heard.” The thief was lying there with multiple bruises and possibly a few broken ribs, and she still had the audacity to look cheeky. The urge to kiss that cheeky smile off her face took Julia by surprise and would probably have overcome her if Player hadn’t launched himself on top of them.

• Later, once they’re out of VILE’s jail.

“Thank you, Jules. For everything,” Carmen said. “We’ll be in touch.”

Julia caught Carmen’s arm before the thief could leave with her team. “Wait!” Carmen turned towards Julia, surprise and something akin to anticipation in the eyes. “Take me with you. Please.”

“Did she just say what I think she said?” Zack asked, incredulous.

“I…,” Julia started hesitantly. She then took a deep breath and started again. “All those months ago, you said we made a good team. And we do. And I think you need me to take down VILE permanently.”

Carmen, still silent, looked over at Shadowsan, who nodded silently, then at Zack and Ivy, who grinned widely.

“Player? What do you think?”

“Are you kidding? Of course I want Julia on the team!”

“You do understand that there’s no turning back if you come with us? You might never be able to work for any official agency ever.”

Julia looked Carmen straight in the eyes. “I do. And well, I had time to think about it. So yes, I’m sure.”

“Alright then. Julia Argent, welcome in the team.”

“Hold on a minute, miss Sandiego,” a voice said behind them.

“Ah, I was wondering when you would show up. Late as always,” Carmen remarked, turning to face the chief of ACME, who looked even more upset than usual. “Shadow-san, could you make sure the team gets to the boat safely?”

The siblings along with Player almost protested, but one look from Carmen told them there was no arguing on this one. Julia stayed right beside Carmen.

“You keep playing with me, Sandiego,” Chief sighed, clearly exasperated.

“Is that what I’ve been doing? I’m not playing, Chief. I’m trying to stop VILE, just as you do. And well, you did kill my father, so it’s only fair I get to toy with you a bit, wouldn’t you think?”

Chief frowned. “How could I –“

“That man you killed all those years ago in Argentina? He had a family.”

Chief’s face fell, the horror of what Carmen was telling her downing on her. “I… I am so deeply sorry. It was an accident, I didn’t mean to…”

Carmen raised her hand to interrupt ACME’s leader. “I know. It’s alright.”

“No, you need to understand. I never forgave myself. That’s why my agents only carry non-lethal weapons. I won’t let such a mistake destroy another life.”

Carmen sighed. Wondering how her life would have turned up if her father had managed to survive was pointless now. But she could use Chief’s remorse.

“Then you owe me,” she said, very calmly. “Let Julia join me, without chasing after her, or me and my crew.”

“She’s an Interpol agent, I cannot just –“

“Tell them whatever you want. I don’t want anyone chasing us while VILE is weak and can finally be taken down.”

That made Chief pause. “You believe you can stop them? For good?”

Carmen nodded. Chief was silent for a moment, clearly displeased with this turn of event. Finally, she looked at Julia.

“As miss Sandiego said, agent Argent, there will be no turning back. Are you absolutely sure of your decision?”

“Yes, I am quite certain.”

“Fine. In that case, it was a pleasure to work with you agent Argent,” Chief declared as she held out her hand to shake Julia’s.

Julia hesitated a second, then shook Chief’s hand. “Likewise.”

When they finally made it to HQ, Carmen told them everything. How she had found Mark’s trace during a previous caper, and had decided to look for him without telling anyone. The fact that Mark was almost entirely sure that her mother was gone.

“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you where I was going, and why. I didn’t want to seem obsessed with my biological family when I have all the family I need right here but…”

“You needed to be sure,” Ivy completed. Carmen nodded. “We understand that, don’t worry.”

“You sure you’re okay Carm?” Zack asked.

Carmen looked at her team, a relieved smile appearing on her face.

“I am. I needed to be sure to be able to move on. But my family is right here. And I wouldn’t change that for anything.”

“How are your ribs?” Jules asked some time later while they were readying a room for Julia.

“Could be better,” Carmen said, but by the tone of her voice, Julia could tell that Carmen was about to deliver a sassy remark or another, “but-“

Julia put gently a hand on Carmen’s torso. “Carmen, please kiss me before I yell at you again for what you did.”

“Hey, we both got out most-“

The insufferable thief was interrupted by Jules, who couldn’t stop herself from kissing Carmen.

Not far from HQ, a silhouette wearing a red hat disappeared within the shadows...