As soon as the jet landed, Dash Haber and the Cleaners came in and quickly bound and gagged their two prisoners. Carmen struggled against the ties, but she knew there was no way she was going to break free. As they injected them with the tranquilizers, she felt panic rise in her throat.

No, no, no, no, no, she thought. She tried to stand, though she was too dizzy to keep her balance for very long. She hit the floor, landing hard on her right shoulder. But the pain quickly faded with her consciousness.

----------------------------

It took Carmen a minute to clear the bleariness from her eyes and shake off the last effects of the tranquilizer before she could sit up.

She found herself in a strangely familiar room. She was in a bed, though it was probably closer to a military cot. She looked around, and her blood turned to ice. It was a V.I.L.E. barrack. In fact, it was the same one she had stayed in when she had trained to be a thief. She could tell from the deep gouges on the opposite wall where Tigress had tried out her claw gloves for the very first time. But how? V.I.L.E. island had exploded!

She could almost see all of her roommates moving about the barrack. She had many memories here. El Topo always searching for his shoes that he never put back in their place, Tigress being overly bossy and protective of her personal space, and Mime Bomb sitting in the corner being weird (he was always in that same spot). Le Cheve practicing the newest fighting moves and frequently managing to break or knock something over, and Gray, who was always up to something. Usually Black Sheep was in on it, though.

"Why am I in here?" Carmen murmured aloud.

"Great question, Lambkins," Coach Brunt said, stepping away from the wall next to the door where she had been standing. Carmen couldn't believe she hadn't noticed her.

"Well, well," she said, trying to hide the tremor in her voice and appear calm and indifferent. "Long time no see, Mama Bear."

Coach Brunt snorted. "I wouldn't be so sure about the 'mama' part. But you're darn right about the bear." She grinned, but the expression didn't hold any amusement. It was cold, angry, and menacing.

"Never thought I'd see this place again," Carmen remarked, looking around. "Especially since V.I.L.E. island was blown up."

"Unfortunately this isn't the real thing. We've recreated it in our new headquarters," Coach Brunt told her. "We thought it might be good for you to look back at a bit of the past before we, well, destroy your future."

Carmen smirked. "Sorry to disappoint you, but I don't plan on letting you just kill me." She stood from her bed and dropped into a fighting stance. She felt the arm she had landed on in the jet twinge with pain, but she kept her expression neutral.

Coach Brunt didn't look worried. "We were counting on that." She reached into her pocket, and suddenly Carmen felt as if she had been struck by lightning. An electric shock zapped through her body, burning like fire. She let out a strangled gasp and sank to her knees.

"I recommend you play along with us," Coach Brunt continued. "Or things will get very nasty very quick thanks to a little collar Dr. Bellum made especially for you."

Carmen now realized she felt a weight on her neck, and reached up to find a thick metal device clasped firmly around it.

"Wonderful," she muttered. To Coach Brunt, she said, "So, what exactly are your plans to kill me? Knowing all of you, it has to be pretty extravagant."

"Ah, that's a surprise, sugar," Coach Brunt told her, walking back towards the door. "But right now, we're going to head to the faculty lounge so we can all speak with you. Your boyfriend's already there."

Carmen felt her cheeks grow uncomfortably hot. "He's not-"

Coach ignored her protest. "Come along, Lambkins. Everyone's just dying to see you."

----------------------------

Graham faced the faculty defiantly. Professor Maelstrom, Countess Cleo, and Dr. Bellum sat in the typical faculty lineup, but he noticed Coach Brunt was missing. The seat Shadowsan, then Roundabout, and then Carmen had previously occupied seemed cursed to remain empty forever.

"So, tell us, Crackle, what possessed you to betray V.I.L.E.?" Cleo questioned him. She didn't seem as angry as she looked confused. "We have been wondering about that for quite some time. We have given you everything you've ever wanted, and yet you helped Carmen Sandiego regain her memories."

Graham gritted his teeth at the use of his old codename. "You've also brainwashed me before. How did you expect me to be okay with it when you did the same thing to Carmen?"

"So this is about Black Sheep!" Bellum hissed in a too-loud whisper to Cleo. She was grinning smugly. "I told you he had a soft spot for her!"

"Let me remind you that I suggested the idea first," Cleo hissed back. "You're far too blind when it comes to matters of that nature."

Professor Maelstrom cleared his throat in annoyance. Unlike Cleo, he did look angry. "Whatever the reasoning, the fact still stands. Crackle has betrayed V.I.L.E, and as such, we have the right to enact revenge."

At that moment, the doors to the faculty audience hall were thrown open. Graham couldn't turn around to see the newcomer's face, but based off of the shadow that was thrown on the back wall, it had to be Coach Brunt.

His guess was confirmed as Coach spoke. "The little lamb has finally woken up."

"Wonderful," Professor Maelstrom said, rubbing his hands together sinisterly.

Coach dragged over another empty chair next to Graham and shoved Carmen into it. She wasn't tied up like he was, but he did notice a thick metal collar clasped around her neck.

"Now all we're missing is Shadowsan," Coach said, spitting the name with considerable hate.

"He's proving a little more... difficult to capture," Cleo huffed. "We'll get him soon enough, though. We have who we really want at the moment."

"Carmen Sandiego." Maelstrom nodded, glaring at the former thief. "You have caused us much grief over the past few years."

Coach snorted. "That's an understatement if I've ever heard one," she muttered.

The other faculty members ignored her. "Now it is finally time for you to pay for all of the times you've thwarted us," Dr. Bellum grinned menacingly. "Oh, how we have looked forward to this day! Carmen Sandiego at our mercy at last."

"This isn't the first time you've captured me," Carmen said scornfully. "And how did that work out for you exactly?"

Bellum glowered at Graham. "The mental remapping would have worked perfectly if he hadn't gotten involved."

"Regardless, I think it's obvious tampering with the mind is still unreliable and unstable," Cleo pointed out. "This time, we are going to stick with something that cannot go wrong." She drew a slender finger across her throat in an unmistakable gesture. "Death is the only thing traitors deserve."

The faculty's eyes were hungry for revenge and... excited? Graham felt his skin prickle with nervousness.

"Are you ready to encounter your deepest, darkest fears, Carmen Sandiego?" Maelstrom inquired of the superthief. "Because you are about to face them all."