Chapter Text
Somehow, someway, it was probably Devineaux’s fault.
The building’s alarms blared louder than a thunderous storm and the normal fluorescent lights died and were replaced with scarlet emergency ones. The contrast of lighting that came in from the silvery moon outside made it possible to see the clear gas move through the air. Luckily, Julia had checked over all their ACME gadgets before the mission and decided to pack the Better Retention Easy Air Through Hazardous Encounters for both her and her partner. A nifty contraption that looked like a clear face mask that filtered out all fumes.
When she packed it (along with several other tools) Devineaux scoffed at her. “Ms. Argent, VILE and the Red Menace do not need all these contraptions. They will only slow us down!”
Despite how he dismissed her sometimes, Julia hoped he was able to get the mask on in time, wherever he was. Approximately fifteen minutes after they entered the building he thought he saw a flash of a red coat and chased the shadow through the maze of hallways. Twenty minutes after that was when the alarms began.
When the noise became too much, Julia put her ACME brand earplugs in. They were nifty things that were able to selectively filter out ambient noise, but allow human voices to be heard. She quickly, but carefully, cleared all the rooms she came across. It was the dead of night, so all civilians had left the research center by that time VILE decided to break in and steal their cutting-edge research.
“It has to do with the complexities of the neuron pathway,” Chief said during the briefing. “With this information VILE could be able to remap the human brain. It wouldn’t just be brainwashing, it could make people their utter slaves.”
Most likely it would be a long time before they got to that point, but Julia didn’t want to be responsible for the start of that.
The mask hugged her face in a way that made it feel like she wore a plastic bag and she was slowly suffocating. Julia went to open a window, but it was as if it was glued shut. She rolled her eyes at her line of thinking. A security system based on a neuron gas wouldn’t work if one could just open a window.
There was laughing down the hallway.
Julia pressed her back to the wall. It didn’t sound like an evil victory laugh or one that came from being in so much pain the body needs to relieve stress (don’t ask her how she knew that). Cautiously, she peeked around the corner and saw a VILE operative sitting on the floor, and laughing at their hand in front of them.
Once she realized they were preoccupied in their own world, Julia was able to walk past them without them even looking at her. It was both a good and bad omen because where there was one VILE agent, there was always more ready to swarm. A distinct possibility as she moved closer to the main research lab. The doors were open and inside, Julia could see papers in disarray and furniture flipped over.
She was too late.
Her breath picked up, and she could feel her mask heating as she slowly stepped inside. The suffocation increased. Perhaps there was a chance VILE had not found the research? They were usually much more careful about-
“Oh, hey Jules.”
Julia froze and turned. Carmen Sandiego came out from behind the door, holding herself up with the aid of the wall. Her coat was partially opened, her hat was crooked, and her hair was messier than usual. What was most startling was her face, with her lidded eyes and easygoing smile. Julia often saw her as smug, in control, or even flirty , but never this relaxed.
“Here for this?” Carmen held up a USB drive between her thumb and pointer finger. “Me too.” Her smile didn’t change as her legs wobbled and she began to lurch forward, sliding against the wall as she fell.
There was just enough time for Julia to grab her shoulders and prevent her from hitting the floor. “Are-are you alright?” her voice was muffled from the mask, but clear enough for the other to understand her.
“Now I am since I’ve fallen for an angel,” Carmen said. She had what Julia recognized as her flirty smile until she squinted her eyes and tilted her head. “Wait. I think I messed that up.”
Julia blinked and felt a blush heat her cheeks, but she ignored the statement. “You’re the one who destroyed the room? You’re usually a lot more…tactful.”
“Had to improvise, Jules. The alarms were going off and VILE was on their way.” She carefully opened Julia’s lapel and slipped and drive into her pocket. Her fingers traced the edge of her dress shirt and Julia could feel the heat off the other woman’s leather gloves. “But now it’s safe.” Carmen’s arm looped around her neck and it almost caused Julia to stumbled when the thief leaned her entire weight into her.
“Ms. Sandiego, this may not be the opportune time to-”
“I think we’re on a first-name basis by now, Jules.” Carmen giggled and moved her head to be on Julia’s shoulder. Her lips were scalding on her neck and her breath tickled her ear. “But you can call me Black Sheep, and if you want, I’ll let you be my shepherd.”
Julia almost dropped her.
“What?” she croaked out. Carmen became dead weight in her arms, and Julia had to hug her close so they both didn’t end up toppling to the floor.
“Red? Carmen?” A small voice said. “Are you alright? What’s your status?”
If Carmen wasn’t so close to her, Julia wouldn’t have been able to hear Player. She used one arm to hold Carmen in place, almost as if she was hugging her, and the other moved to her hair. “Do you mind if I use your communicator?” Julia asked. Her voice was slightly higher pitched than normal, but she thought she did a bang-up job keeping her body straight.
“You can take anything you want from me.” Carmen sighed when her hand combed through her hair. Julia's movements faltered for a moment, but she was able to get the earbuds.
“Hello? I know Carmen uses these to communicate. I’m Julia,” she said when she put on the earpiece.
There was silence on the other end and she could hear typing. “Oh, um, hello, it's nice to talk to you, I’ve heard a lot. I'm Player. Has something happened to Carmen?”
“Er, it appears the laboratory’s security system’s job was to pump the area full of gas and make everyone inside a tad…loopy.”
“You can say high, I’m not twelve.”
She wanted to say he sounded almost that young, but she kept that thought to herself. “She’s fine, but in no condition to be by herself. Is the rest of your team inside the building?”
“They’re outside in the getaway vehicle.”
Well, Julia didn’t have to find two high Bostonians and somehow get them out of the building along with their boss. Small blessings. “Tell them not to come in unless they have something to block out the gas. Something professional, not just a cloth. I’ll bring Carmen down to them and they’ll be able to escape.”
“You’re the best ACME agent for a reason,” Player said. There was more clicking of his keyboard. “The cameras have been disabled since red entered the building, and I’m working on shutting the alarm and gas off now. It shouldn’t be long.”
Great. It should be an easy trip to the ground floor. “Thank you, anything else?”
“Be careful, Tigress is in the building with some VILE goons. She could still cause a lot of damage even if she’s high.”
Bullocks. ”Understood.”
"Press the large button on the earpiece if you need to contact me," he said before the line went quiet.
It wasn’t the first time Julia noticed how much taller Carmen was than her, but it was the first time it was important information (other than in fleeting fantasies). She had to hold the thief close so they could hobble out of the main research area.
“Mmmm, Jules. Where are we going?” Carmen asked. She sounded sleepy rather than flirty but her whole body was plastered against her.
“We’re going to find your team so they can get you out of here. Player informed me they’re right outside.”
Carmen laughed. “He’s so good. Best almost little brother I could ask for.”
Julia’s heart melted at the admission. “You should tell him. I’m sure he’d love to know,” she said softly. And she could say things softly now as the alarms had finally turned off. The air was still clogged by the security fumes, but she couldn’t hear any of the vents working to pump more of it into the hallways.
“You’re right.” Carmen let herself be half carried around the mostly empty building.
They managed to get to the elevator, but it refused to come to their floor. “Bloody hell,” Julia swore to herself. They’d have to find the stairs in the labyrinth to escape.
If they happened across any VILE agents, Julia would gently put Carmen on the floor, investigate the person, make sure they were drugged, and then move past them. Most seemed content to sit on the floor, dance, sing, or ignore them completely. Some of the friendlier ones would wave at Carmen, who waved back.
“They used to be my family,” Carmen explained happily. “They…used to be my family,” she repeated. This time her voice was quieter and there was pain in her eyes.
“But now you have a new family,” Julia prompted.
The easygoing expression returned. “Yeah. And, you know, Jules,” Carmen began, “there's always room for another Sandiego.” During the time they walked down the hallway, Carmen moved her hand to Julia’s waist and squeezed it gently.
The motion made something flutter in her and gave her confidence. “Whose to say there couldn’t be another Argent?” Julia flirted back.
Carmen stumbled, which almost made them fall. “If I’m going to be Carmen Argent, we’d have to adopt Zack and Ivy.”
Before Julia could respond to that interesting scenario, her attention turned to the sound of heels clicking from down the hallway. They weren’t loud, but they were there and they had a normal rhythm indicating that whoever they belonged to was not under the influence. Julia subconsciously held Carmen closer and quickly surveyed the area. She could go back, duck into a room, or face the problem head-on.
Seeing as their mobility was limited, it would have to be option three.
“Stay down,” Julia said. She placed the thief on the ground gently.
“Don’t leave,” Carmen mumbled. Her hand was outstretched as she tried to reach Julia.
“I’ll be back in a moment,” Julia said as she turned away. “Hopefully,” she whispered to herself. The footsteps were getting louder and she decided to surprise whoever it was before they turned the corner and saw Carmen. It was nerve-wracking, to face the unknown, but she was a secret agent and she needed to protect someone important. She rounded the corner and drew her gas gun. “Identify yourself!”
The second Julia saw her, she knew who it was. With her white hair and mask that made her eyes glow green, it was obvious. Her normal mask extended down to cover her nose and mouth. Tigress immediately went into a fighting stance and brought attention to her pointed claws. “They don’t pick smart ACME agents, do they?” she asked condescendingly.
Julia pulled the trigger as Tigress lunged at her. The opaque gas gave her just enough cover to dodge the attack. Tigress only fumbled for a moment before growling and jumping at her again. The woman was relentless and Julia knew she could only dodge for so long before she inflicted a serious injury.
“I can’t wait to carve up Black Sheep’s favorite plaything,” Tigress said after another unsuccessful attack.
They were both breathing heavily from the constant movement but it was clear the other woman had the upper hand. But Julia had the benefit of not being overconfident and appearing to be weak.
When Tigress lunged again, Julia pulled a metal baton from her jacket pocket. As the other woman got close, she thrust the baton into her abdomen and turned on the shock feature. Tigress let out a pained yell as she fell to the floor and twitched, and while she was stunned, Julia struck her on the head to knock her out.
Electrocution was painful and the blow's reverb made Julia's body ache with sympathy. So once she was sure the VILE agent was down, she moved her mask to allow the gas to seep in. Once Tigress woke up she should be too high to care about the pain. She placed the baton back in her lapel and walked back to Carmen, who was sprawled out on the floor.
Carmen smiled at her. "You're back!" It took considerable effort to get her off the ground this time and even in her inebriated state, Carmen noticed immediately. "You're hurt."
"They're surface wounds," Julia reassured her. During the fight, Tigress managed to shred parts of her clothes and slice her skin. They weren't deep cuts, but it stung to move and her shirt was doubly ruined by soaking up blood. "Let's go before anyone else shows up."
As they walked by the unconscious VILE agent, Carmen remarked, "she was always kind of a bitch in school." She was critical as she said it, but Julia could still sense a longing in her words.
They moved slower than before, mostly because of Julia's wounds, but also because the gas had an increasingly immobilizing effect on Carmen. "We need to keep going," Julia encouraged.
"Or we could lay on the floor together," Carmen suggested.
The temptation was there for her to take off her mask, get as high as everyone else, and cuddle on the floor, but the logical part of her brain won. VILE could send more operatives or ACME would come to collect her and Devineaux and then where would that leave them? Dead or captured. "Maybe one day, but not now."
The rest of the walk down reminded Julia of her time at University walking her drunk friends home. Carmen babbled about anything that came to her mind whether it was about a caper or some element of a foreign culture she experienced. And she clung to Julia again, but this time it was more like they supported each other.
It was refreshing to be close to another person again.
Eventually, they were able to make it outside and a beat-up white van pulled up in front of them a second later. Julia moved Carmen behind her and reached for her baton again. It was unneeded seeing as the van's back doors popped open to reveal a young redhead. "There you guys are! We were starten ta get worried!" Ivy said as she jumped out of the van.
"Not that we didn't think you two couldn't get outta there," Zack said from the front seat. "But Player told us Tigress was stalkin' the halls."
"She was but Jules took care of her," Carmen said. She shifted closer to Julia's side and sighed.
Ivy grinned. "Was she able ta take care of other-" Her eyes darted down to Julia's front and her expression changed to one of panic. "Woah, do ya need any help with that?"
"I'll be fine, thank you. You lot should get going before officials show."
"You can come with if ya want," Zack said. "We can make up a wicked story about how we kidnapped you and got away."
"I'd prefer to not fabricate my day as much as possible, but I appreciate the sentiment," Julia said.
"One day I'll steal you from ACME, Jules," Carmen said with a laugh before kissing Julia. She pulled away and pouted. “That didn’t feel how I thought it would.”
Both Ivy and Zack hooted and hollered. “You sure ya don’t wanna come with us?”
They ignored the pair. “You-you did kiss me over my mask,” Julia managed to get out. Her body went rigid and she could feel her face heating to the point it was difficult to breathe.
Carmen’s fingers moved up her face to her ears where the straps held it in place. It was a bad idea considering they were still near enough to the doors where Julia could become intoxicated. And there was the distinct possibility that if they started something Julia would willingly go into the van and leave everything behind.
The front doors of the building burst open. “La Femme Rouge!” His suit and hair were unkempt, there was a small cut on his cheek, and most importantly, he was not wearing the mask Julia packed for him.
They froze and they turned to the man.
“Inspector, there you are!” Julia said before anyone else could.
“Agent Argent.” He took a wobbling step forward. “We can finally arrest these criminals.”
“What are you talking about? We’re the only ones here,” Julia said. She heard the Bostonians say, “what?” And from the corner of her eye, she saw Carmen looking at her with confusion, but she kept her face forward. “You’re not wearing the mask I packed you,” she said with fake realization.
His hand slowly went to his mouth as he stared at her. “I am not, but that does not matter. We must capture Carmen Sandiego,” he responded, but this time with less confidence.
“There is no one else here but you and I,” she assured.
“That is impossible! I can see her van of miscreants and you holding the Crimson Shadow as we speak!” He reached into his lucky jacket and pulled out his gas gun.
“If they were here, I would be arresting them or they would be trying to get away,” Julia said logically. “The gas inside causes an altered state of mind, Inspector. I think we should go back to the car so you can clear your head.”
Devineaux’s eyes darted between her and Carmen. He rubbed his eyes and then his temples. “I…suppose you are right Ms. Argent. Let us wait for backup to arrive.” He stumbled towards their dented ACME-issued vehicle.
Julia let out a relieved breath and she led Carmen to the van and helped her get inside. She briefly wondered why Ivy didn’t help her until she saw the redhead’s crooked smile. She cleared her throat and stepped away from the vehicle. “I’ll leave you to it. I hope you feel better, Ms. Sandiego.”
Carmen waved at her. Her eyes were hooded and her smile made Julia feel warm. “Bye Jules.”
“See ya, Agent!” Zack called out.
“See ya next caper,” Ivy said with a wink.
She watched the van drive away and twenty minutes later backup came along with medical attention. As the medic was cleaning her wounds, Chief contacted her.
“Was there any sign of Carmen Sandiego, Agents?”
“Non,” Devineaux said. He was laid on the ambulance’s bench and had an ice pack on his head.
Chief’s attention moved to Julia and she hoped her face hadn’t turned crimson. “None whatsoever.”
“Odd that she wasn’t here, but not unheard of,” Chief said. Her eyes scanned over Julia. “Good work recovering the research. You’ve earned some rest, Agent.”
The pen fell to the floor after Chief disappeared and let her head hit the wall of the ambulance. She’d have to make up a story for her report later and she’d have to remember to add more injuries inflicted by Tigress to account for the ‘wounds’ on her neck and ‘blood’ on her mask. A small bit of good fortune that Carmen’s lipstick was red instead of any other color.
In her report, Julia would have to say Carmen hadn’t even been in the building. After everything that happened that day, Julia was sure she’d be seeing the thief in her dreams.