Category: Fandom

Requested by: N/A, author idea

Inspired by

****Okay so there is no reacting in this one, just all the characters getting kidnapped. But the following parts will definitely have what you can here for. They don't appear in this chapter till the end but this features and they will be pretty involved in the other chapters tho lol.

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00:28 E.S.T.

New York City, USA

The cool night air bit into her skin, leaving the sensation of a pin pricking into it. The only difference was that no blood was drawn. No thin trails of red leaving puncture wounds.

It was half-past midnight and New York was busy as ever; A horde of pedestrians were weaving through the onslaught of traffic, navigating their way with the numerous neon signs popping up along the streets. Rampant car horns, eloquently voiced advertisements, and thousands of feet fiercely thumping along the ground were like a symphony, a never-ending instrumental that was the background music to New Yorkers' lives.

Skyscrapers reaching for the heavens could be made out in the near distance, their silvery panels reflecting the artificial light of the city. The buildings were like a community of their own, different in size and shape and color, but--somehow--one. Everything moved so incredibly fast, with nothing and no one slowing for even a split second.

Carmen had witnessed the fast-paced nature of urban vitalities like this around the world. Yet the Big Apple still did not fail to entrance her. For a short-lived moment, she was content to sit still. Content to watch the people that mulled in and out of the streets from her shadowy perch.

And then she remembered the caper. She turned, facing a dimly lit building taking up space at the corner of the street.

A teleprompter was lit at the entrance: CLOSED INDEFINITELY

Carmen's eyes narrowed at the Nitehawk Cinema. The theater was one of the most popular in the city. Or so they said. If this claim was true, however, the question arose: Why was it empty? The building had shut down without any forewarning or reason as to why. She took it as a sign of the Villains International League of Evil.

When she and Player had sifted through the remainder of intel on the VILE Hard drive, she had expected the next locale of their cons to be in some exotic, history-rich area. Somewhere with priceless artifacts and a battalion of security guards. Somewhere containing something of high monetary value.

A movie theater in the big apple would not have been her first guess.

With nimble fingers, she removed the scanner designed to pass as a pair of opera glasses from the folds of her deep red trench. She clicked the infrared setting on, slowly turning her head to catch even the faintest glimmer of a heat signature. Somewhere within, she expected at least two. Zack and Ivy.

Ground crew had not checked back in for twenty minutes.

She came across a writhing blob in the corner of the cinema. It fluctuated between yellow and green and red, indicating far more bodies than just the two she'd been looking for.

"Looks like we've got some friends to deal with." She said to no one in particular.

Ambush? Trap? She speculated all the ways this could have been a setup, knowing she had to go either way.

"Player." Her eyes were still trained on the section with the heat signatures. "I've given Zack and Ivy enough time. I'm going in."

Oddly enough, she received no answer, only a small thrum of static that refused to clear.

That's strange. She thought to herself, deciding the issue was technical difficulties.

The thief slipped in quietly, triggering no alarms. She paused only momentarily to grab a handful of popcorn from the machine. Oddly enough, a bag sat in the counter, filled to the brim and untouched. Carmen looked around, making sure there really was no one else. Eh. They won't miss it. She thought, scooping the bag into her coat.

Theater one.....four....theatre seven.....theatre eleven....theater....ah! Theater Thirteen!

She double-checked with her opera glasses once more to confirm this was the room.

Carmen took a deep breath. There was no sneaking into here. There were only two entrances, both of which surely would've been secured by the VILE agents inside. Or was it ACME?

She crept in, keeping to the shadows, her arms in defensive positions around her face. She waited a moment, listening.

"We know you're there, Fedora." Tigress.

With a battle cry, Carmen leaped into the room, her feet kicking forward. "HAAAA---huh?"

A very irritated Tigress was bound completely with ropes, her arms tied to the railing on the sides of the steps in a way that didn't allow her to use her claws. Next to her, Le Chevre, El Topo, Paper Star, Mimb Bomb, Dash Haber, Otter Man, Moose Boy, The Driver, and Neal the Eel were tied in the same manner, only unconscious.

"Is this your idea of a setup? Because it's pretty pathetic." Carmen asked, puzzled as to what was happening.

Tigress scoffed. "Why would we rob a movie theater of all places?"

"I guess it is pretty unexpected." She said, lowering her arms. It was clear Tigress could not fight back, though it was a pity her captors hadn't bound her mouth.

"But why should I trust you?"

"Um, I don't know, maybe because I'm TIED UP?"

"Fair point. Who--Who brought you here?"

"I don't know. I've been trying to get out and wake the others up, but they're out cold."

"So this isn't VILE?"

"Nice of you to catch on, genius."

"You're right. I am a genius." Carmen smirked, tossing her hair.

"That was sarcasm. You talk like an idiot." Tigress scoffed, kicking at the binds on her legs while staring daggers at her former friend.

"Of course I do. How else would you understand me?"

"You think you're sooo great. As if you aren't just a stuck up little coward too afraid to do what it takes to be a proper thief."

Carmen rolled her eyes. "Ever heard of playing nice?"

"Awww. Did I hurt your wittle feelings? Ugh. Grow up." Tigress leaned back against the wall, finally giving up on resisting.

Carmen shrugged her shoulders, throwing her former classmate a smug grin. "Okay, but you are tied up. And I could help you get out of those ropes. Theoretically."

At this Tigress sat up. "Wait! I didn't mean---"

"Ah Ah Ah. Too late for that Kitty Cat. Now, where are my friends?"

Tigress slumped again. "Ugh. You mean dumb and dumber? Keep walking."

Le Chevre groaned, yawning. He struggled sleepily against his bounds, his eyelids fluttering open. "Uh. . .J'ai mal a' la tête. . .my head. . ."

"Urgh. . .T. . .Tigress? Where are. . ." He lifted his head, finally registering his former classmate. "Bla---Carmen?"

She tipped her hat at him, noting the lilt in his voice when he said her name. "The one and only."

Le Chevre looked to Tigress for an explanation. Carmen continued on before she could hear what she had to say.

To her surprise, the VILE faculty and a few senior members were strapped into some of the seats, There every joint bound with what appeared to be steel cables. Carmen passed Coach Brunt, Maelstrom, The Countess, Dr.Bellum, The Mechanic, and lady Dokuso.

She even was allowed a glance at Shadowsan's replacement---Roundabout. Or at least, the man whom she assumed was roundabout. The operative had olive skin and almond-shaped eyes, his graying hair slicked back with gel. Fine wrinkles lined his face, signifying middle age. His lids fluttered open revealing cat-like eyes, the irises a striking emerald green.

"You." He sneered in an alarmingly British accent.

"You?" She asked quizzically, pretending that she hadn't already guessed who he was. "Do I know you?"

"How did you manage to capture us all and---What? Don't you recognize me?"

"Can't say that I do, glasses. Care to let me in on the secret?"

The man growled. "Roundabout." He practically spit. "Shadowsan's replacement."

"Riiiight. Yeah. I'll just be moving along now." Carmen said, chuckling. She began to move down to the other end of the theater.

"Don't you leave Sandiego! Untie me this instant! You WILL regret it if---" She ignored him and continued on anyways until two familiar tufts of ginger hair caught her eye.

"Zack. Ivy!" Carmen whispered, moving towards them.

"Carm!" Zack whisper-yelled. "Over here!"

The thief moved quickly, untying her friends' binds, trying her best not to get too upset over the red welts the ropes left behind on their pale, freckled wrists.

Ivy rubbed the areas the ropes had covered. "Jeez. Thanks for getting us, Carm. We didn't even see 'em coming. They knocked us out and brought us here."

"Who? Was it---Is that--Is that Shadowsan?" The Bostonians whipped around, in the row over, the ninja's limb body could be found.

"Oh my god. It is!"

They rushed toward the man and untied him, jostling him over and over until he woke up. And by woke up, she meant leaped up into a fighting position and let out a battle cry. "RRaAAAAaaagh!---What is it you want?" He snapped, finally flying awake.

"Sensei!!!!" Zack cried, giving him a hug at the mid-section despite Shadowsan's protests.

"Okay." Carmen stepped back, trying to think. "I don't understand. Shadowsan, I thought you were on the Kuwait Oil Extraction Caper?"

The man stood, taking in his surroundings. "I was. . .Is this not a movie cinema?"

"It is."

"The last thing I can recall was destroying VILE's mining equipment and then. . . nothing."

"Zack, Ivy? Thoughts on our kidnapper?"

"It's gotta be VILE!" Ivy Chimed in, her features morphing to a scowl.

Carmen shook her head. "No. .. I actually just passed VILE faculty and some operatives tied up. That doesn't make sense."

Shadowsan's brows furrowed. "If that were the case, ACME seems like the probable suspect."

Ivy gave them both a strange look. "Uh. . .what? We were bought in through the other entrance, and it was a little foggy, but I swear I saw the suits piled up in the corner!"

"And your sure it was ACME?"

Zack nodded. "Yeah. I saw that inspector guy who's always chasing after you."

"Let's go check this out. Crew split up. Shadowsan, can you go and try to talk to the VILE agents. Take Ivy and Zack. I'll cover ACME."

Everyone nodded and the team split into their designated assignments, and Carmen crept closer to the other end of the theater. To her surprise, a group of ACME agents were tied up and piled next to each other. Though she recognized them all from various capers, she could only place a name to three:

Jules was slumped over the body of a tall man with slick black hair, her own short pixie cut ruffled alluringly. Her glasses rested on her nose crookedly, a lenses shining over a brush freckles. God, she looked cute. Carmen was tempted to reached out and adjusting her glasses for her.

Nearby, an agent with tan skin and dyed platinum blonde hair lay on the ground. If she was remembering correctly, she had heard Jules refer to her as Agent Zahri. Her partner.

Devineaux was sprawled on the ground in front of them all, his blue ACME issued uniform crumpled here and there. Drool dribbled from his open mouth, leaving a stain on his shirt. She had been wondering what happened to him. Carmen hadn't seen the man in a couple of months and almost missed their games of cat and mouse.

Julia began to stir, squinting at where the thief stood. She lazily adjusted her glasses, blinking a few times before regaining her vision.

"C-Carmen Sandiego? What are you doing here?"

"I could ask you the same thing, Agent Argent." Carmen replied, mocking the last part.

Julia appeared uncomfortable, shifting. "Please. Jules is fine."

Carmen raised an eyebrow. "Are you really that unconcerned over why you're tied up?"

Jules seemed to finally realize she had been bound, glancing at the rope encircling her petite frame and then scanning over the faces of her coworkers. "What--Did. . .Did you do this?"

"No. Though I suppose you don't have much of a reason to trust me." Carmen moved forward, using her tools to free the agent.

"I believe you. Um. I never got to say it but, thank you for returning the statue, the caviar, and the dinosaur bone. And uhm, for the roses."

The thief smiled. "It's a small gift in return for your help. We make a good team."

Julia smiled, glancing away. "It meant a lot to me. . .that you trusted me."

Carmen winked at her, causing the Asian woman to turn red. "Of course. I do love spending time with my favorite ACME agent."

Jules flushed a shade deeper, her lips quirking upwards adorably. "I suppose you want your coat back." She said rather reluctantly. Almost as if she wanted to keep it. Cute.

"You can keep it." Carmen shrugged, not able to keep a small smirk from her face. "I've got a warehouse full of copies."

"Really?—I mean, Thank you. May I ask if you know who brought us here?"

"Still trying to figure that out myself."

"Could it be VILE?"

"I don't think so. I found them tied up at the other end of the room song with my crew at the center. You can go investigate if you like. Or free your friends. I'm going to double-check the perimeter."

Jules nodded, turning to Agent Zahri and trying to work on her ropes. She struggled with it, as she was far less experienced with that sort of thing compared to Carmen.

"By the way, Jules?"

"Yes?"

"You look cute today." A small sound escaped Julia's lips, her eyes wide with surprise. The red in her cheeks went a shade deeper. Carmen suppressed a grin, strolling off.

The thief quietly crept to other end of the theater. To her surprise---she could make it Gray's form slumped against a seat.

"Oh my god. Seriously?" She rushed over to the body, her thoughts confirmed upon closer inspection. Gray was in his civilian clothing, his curly brown hair slicked out of his face with gel. Warm brown eyes opened to peer at her as he began to stir back into consciousness.

"Uhhh.....Carmen? Am I dreaming?" Gray stood up shakily, turning to her as his eyes opened. Carmen made a mental note of the flash of his dimple.

Carmen laughed, not able to resist the opportunity. "So you dream about me, then?"

Gray turned red, his ears boiling first. "What? No! I mean...agh."

"At least tell me they're the good kind of dreams." She threw him a coy grin.

He smiled back, glancing away from the thief. "Well--I mean. Some of them. But most of the time, they're kind of freaky. A lot of them are you in some kind of suit and short hair or in some sort of gray uniform. You.....always call me Gray instead of Graham."

Carmen's smile disappeared at his words. He was remembering.

"I thought I'd never see you again after New Zealand."

"Don't worry. I didn't forget about you." She smirked, placing a finger to his lips. "But I'm hoping you kept that pretty little face of yours quiet."

"Never said a word." He smiled widely at her, his eyes glimmering with mischief.

Carmen returned the grin, tempted to make another flirty comment. However, realization donned on Gray.

"Wait--what are you doing here? Where are we? Why am I here?"

"Easy there, 'Mate.' Don't give yourself a panic attack."

"Dodging my questions. Did you bring me here?" He challenged.

"Maybe. It would explain why you're tied up."

The Aussie scoffed. "Yeah, right."

Carmen motioned to his ropes and the one she was still holding from freeing Jules.

Gray glanced down at his body and to the rope in her hands and let out a nervous laugh. "Haha. Very funny, Carmen. You can...uh...you can let me out now."

Carmen laughed, untying his binds. "You seriously thought I kidnapped you."

"I mean, to be fair, I was tied up with rope and didn't know where I was." Gray paused after standing. "Speaking of which, where am I? Why? And if you didn't bring me here, who did?"

"You're at the Nitehawk Cinema in New York."

"New York? What? You're messing with me."

She shook her head. "I'm not. I don't know why you were bought here, but you weren't the only one. As to who bought....everyone...here, that's what we're trying to figure out. I don't suppose you remember anything about arriving here?"

Gray's brows furrowed together for a moment as he tried to think it over. "No....I just remember finishing my shift and walking down the street. Then....nothing. Actually, I do remember this girl I saw on the street. She kept looking at me funny. But anyway, I wouldn't trust my memory. And who did you mean by we?"

Carmen, who had been listening intently and nodding, motioned to the rest of the theater. "My crew and I. You remember that I work for a secret service right?"

"Yeah. Pretty hard to forget that."

"Well...there is this agency of....bad guys....that we have to stop."

"Bad guys?" He raised an eyebrow. " I'm not ten years old."

"Sorry. They just work for a rival organization and the purpose of mine is to stop them. There is also another agency with the same goal as ours, but we don't work together."

Gray's eyebrow kicked up. "Why not?"

"It's....complicated. Anyway, they're all here and tied up like you. My crew and I were on a mission, and when they went missing, I came looking for them. Now, I'm trying to find out who took them. And why. And--uh, Gray?"

"Graham."

Carmen scoffed, preferring his nickname to his given one. "Fine. Graham?"

"Yeah?"

"Can you...do me a favor and stay out of the other agencies' eyeline? I don't know what would happen if they caught sight of you." Or if you caught sight of them.

"Uh. . . .yeah. Sure, Carmen. I guess you know best."

Carmen nodded. "Lay low for a bit till I figure this out, okay?"

"Okay." Carmen winked at Gray before leaving, pleasantly surprised with the cute smirk he returned.

Carmen made a beeline towards where Zack, Ivy, and Shadowsan seemed to be, when the theater's screen blazed a bright white. Groans and mutters erupted from both ACME and VILE. Carmen glanced around. Good. Gray had hidden himself near the other exit. Hopefully VILE & ACME would be too busy worrying about their situation than to notice him.

A cloud of purple smoke settled around the room, causing even more groans of annoyance and confusion. Amidst the chaos, Carmen spotted a figure in a full body stealth suit enter. Everything was covered, except for her curly black hair. No one else seemed to notice their visitor. Carmen quietly crept behind her before---she LEAPT!