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“Detective!”
An anguished cry. A flash of red. A gloved hand, outstretched, just out of reach, a tiny black shape against the deep blue sky, drifting away in a balloon. Wind rushing in her ears, snatching at her body. Impact. Then… darkness.
Ivy groaned and blinked, struggling to swim back to consciousness. Where was she? Why was it so dark? Was it night? She could hear something beep steadily nearby, and an antiseptic smell was heavy in the air. A hospital? Shouldn’t there be light somewhere? The beeping sped up. Something was wrong with her legs… and why couldn’t she see anything?!
The redhead started thrashing, trying to grab whatever the damn thing in front of her eyes was, but something was stopping her.. She had to get it off! Get it off! Get it— She moved injudiciously, and it was as if someone'd jabbed a cattle prod against her spine, turning it up to 11. An animal howl of pain and rage was ripped from Ivy’s throat, going on forever while every machine in the room joined in for a symphony of wrongness…
Suddenly, strong hands were there. Holding her down. Anchoring her. A spicy perfume overpowered the hospital smells, wrapped her in a safe cocoon, broke through the gibbering terror clawing at the walls of her mind. Ivy would know that scent anywhere. “C… Carmen? Wha…” she whispered hoarsely.
“Easy now, dear detective.” Carmen’s velvety voice purred in her ear. “You need to lie still. You’ve had quite a tumble.” Her fingers gently tightened on Ivy’s arms, keeping her down on the mattress with insulting ease.
“Carmen…” Ivy gasped as she turned towards her nemesis’ voice, in vain. “I can’t see!”
“Shh…” the older woman soothed her. “It’s going to be all right.” Carmen promised. “You’ll be back to chasing me in no time, I promise.”
Ivy’s hand grasped the air, until it found something solid, and she latched onto the master thief’s arm. “But what if I’m not?” the girl wailed, terrified and out of her mind. What if she stayed blind? Stayed shackled to a hospital bed? The monitors mirrored her rising agitation, until she felt a warm hand against her cheek. No glove. Carmen always wore her gloves.
“That’s a bridge we’ll steal when we get to it, dearest.” Carmen reassured her, carefully brushing Ivy’s tears away. “For now, you need to rest.”
There was a muffled bang, somewhere in the building, and Ivy could feel the fingers still holding her hesitate, until there came a soft sigh.
“I need to go now, but I’ll be back.”
A featherlight touch to her forehead, damp, so quick she might have imagined it, and that comforting presence was gone.
“Wait! I…!” Ivy croaked, but only silence answered her.
When her little brother arrived a few minutes later, he scoffed. “Why would Carmen Sandiego be in your hospital room, sis? You probably dreamt it.”
“Yeah… Why would she…” Ivy agreed, sounding sad, for some reason.
Wincing, Zack quickly added “She’s probably out there somewhere, planning a heist, thinking up some fiendish riddle, happy that her strongest opponents are temporarily out of the game.” in an attempt to cheer his older sister up. “The best minds at ACME are working on fixing you. Don’t worry.” he patted her hand.
Visiting hours were long over, and Ivy was alone again, with nobody to keep her company except that dangerous voice inside her head that was telling her her life was over, that she might as well give up. They’d ship her off to a quiet corner of the ACME retirement home. Congratulations, you’re our youngest retiree, not even in your twenties. Or worse, they might somehow stuff her into an ungainly robot body, like the Chief used to have. A sob escaped her, and her pillow was turning into quite the sodden mess.
A commotion, somewhere nearby. Didn’t matter. Wasn’t like she could do anything about it anyway, could she? The noises came nearer. The sound of a struggle. Muffled voices. A door opened, and something fell heavily against her bed. Whatever. But then, a voice. Her voice.
“Help her.” Carmen growled, her usual flirty and mischievous tone gone, colder than Ivy had ever heard.
“What…?” Ivy asked, groggy.
It was really her? She was really here? It hadn’t been a dream?
“Excuze moi, miss…” a querulous, heavily accented male voice breathed, and the detective could feel someone’s touch. Probing. Clinical.
Something between a sob and a laugh bubbled up in Ivy’s throat. “D… Did you steal a doctor for me?” she gasped. Once the first giggle escaped her, there was no stopping the rest of its kin, and soon the girl was laughing through the pain of yet another examination, her hand gripping a gloved one tightly.
“Of course, dear detective.” Carmen replied, as if it was the most normal thing in the world. “I promised you you’d be back to chasing me in no time, and you know I always keep my word.” Her voice turned cold again as she addressed the unknown man. “Well, Doctor Eon?”
Ivy frowned, her giggles finally subsiding. Doctor Eon? Not Serge Eon, the man with the so-called Miracle Hands? The man who claimed to be able to cure anything?
“Recovery should be possibeul.” came the doctor’s nasal voice, stronger and more confident now that he felt more in his element. “Underztand, I cannot offeur you a 100% guarantie, but…” He patted her belly. “Ze geurl should be abeul to walk and sie again. If I can get ze right tools. Good news, non?”
“Yes, yes, just tell me what you need, and you’ll have it.” Carmen’s voice spoke of irritation, but the vise grip squeezing Ivy’s hand betrayed the older woman’s relief.
Ivy relaxed, letting the soft mattress envelop her as the bickering voices washed over her. A warm, fuzzy feeling bloomed inside and swaddled her entire being as she replayed the master thief’s words. Help her. Not fix her, like the ACME people - and even her own brother - kept repeating, like she was a broken thing, to be mended or replaced. No, Carmen wanted to help her. Saw her, and not a puzzle to solve.
A tiny smile, the first since the accident, played around Ivy’s lips, and she drifted off to sleep, real restful sleep, knowing that she was in safe hands.
Over the next few days, Ivy fell into a routine. During the day, ACME doctors prodded her body and talked about her as if she wasn’t in the room. At night, when they were done treating her like a lab rat, a slab of meat, Carmen would appear, Doctor Eon in tow, with whatever tools he required.
Ivy pointedly refrained from asking about any of them. Oh, everyone in the room knew they were stolen, but she didn’t care. Besides, it wasn’t as if she could seeany crimes being committed. She could feel whatever the doctor was doing knit her shattered body back together as he worked his way up, but her world was still darkness.
Soon, he promised, almost every day. Soon.
Now that she could feel herself improve, could feel her self again, things couldn’t go fast enough for Ivy. Having to stay still for this long wasn’t in her nature at all, and she was so antsy she almost vibrated out of her skin. Soon wasn’t enough. She wanted to be done now.
Meanwhile, the ACME people were still fighting amongst themselves to see who would get to 'fix' her, since every department with a special project wanted the chance to get some live testing in.
The one constant in those long nights was Carmen. Always at her side. Holding her hand. Comforting her through the pain of each new procedure. Her velvety voice a soothing, encouraging murmur. Her familiar perfume sweeter than air itself. Her touch something the girl detective began fearing she could no longer go without.
The day had finally come. It was just the two of them again. Doctor Eon had declared he’d done all he could, and Carmen’d sent him back home. “Be at ease, dear detective. I’ll return everything else I stole to its rightful owners as well.” she’d chuckled. “It’s not as if we’ll be needing it any longer… right?”
Ivy could hear the worry in the older woman’s voice as she fiddled with what the doctor had promised was the last procedure. The girl’s grip on Carmen’s signature coat tightened.
“You should feel a slight pinch, and then… Well. We’ll see.” Carmen’s hand seemed unsteady as she placed the activator near Ivy’s temple, and pressed the button. A needle shot out, a pinprick of blood, and it was done… hopefully.
Ivy blinked a few times as her world suddenly dawned again, until the blobby colours sharpened, and for the first time in… weeks, she could finally see her surroundings. “Thank you…” she breathed, on the verge of tears again. This time, however, they were tears of happiness. Carefully turning her head, she took a good look around. The hospital room was boring, one in a hundred, the walls painted an institutional puke colour, but when her eyes found Carmen…
The weeks and the worry had visibly taken a toll on the master thief, her frazzled appearance a far cry from her usual perfectly put together, elegant persona, but… she still took the girl’s breath away. The traitorous monitor’s heartbeat sped up. “I think I should arrest you…” Ivy swallowed and blushed, her eyes finding Carmen’s. “... for stealing my heart.”
Carmen smiled, the tension visibly leaving her body, and she gently stroked Ivy’s cheek one last time before slipping on her gloves. “Well then, you’d better run and catch me. See you next crime, my dear Ivy.” she winked, and disappeared out the window.