I'm back! Some explanation, but some story. Thanks for reviews, green lion and aptasi.

Pixie knew that some of the agents would be wary or even cold towards her. After a week, she already knew who to avoid and who to approach if she needed help. Most of the agents were part-time, sometimes chasing criminals around the world, or through time. The best thing about the job, she would admit to herself, is that some of the agents and the guides (called Good Guides) accepted her, and at least she was around, so the Chief obviously accepted her. Most of the agents were younger than her, though, which could frustrate her with their naivety. However, she had vowed not to end up like her mom, and just dealt with it. Some of the ones that had accepted her were her flatmates.

Rachel, the youngest at fifteen, had bunked off school and convinced the Chief that she was sixteen with a fake ID, which got her into ACME. She looked up to Pixie as an older sister figure, and Pixie found that a little annoying, since she didn't like being the good girl. She was a rebellious girl, even if it wasn't rebelling against the law. Rachel's rank was Investigator.

Janie, who was sixteen, had dropped out of school as soon as she could. She loved working at ACME, but sometimes got called out for listening to music and not paying attention while she was on missions. She always had the only Good Guide who noticed with her, Kim Yoonity, so she could stay focused. Janie nicknamed Pixie "Avril" due to her pink streaks, and they got along pretty well. Janie was still ranked as a Gumshoe.

Nineteen-year-old Sophie was one of the brightest agents. She and Pixie made a good team when they took on missions, and they hung out together most of the time, anyway. They didn't even need to have a Good Guide most of the time, but the Chief got them keeping in touch with one at ACME headquarters when they didn't send one with them. Sophie had already been working for six months and had reached the rank of Detective. (Pixie herself was a Gumshoe, but gained the rank of Sr Investigator after a month).

The Good Guides were all different in the way they reacted to Pixie. Some of them were professional, some of them were quite friendly, and others were downright cold. The youngest Good Guide, Polly Tix, was one of Pixie's least favourite Good Guides. She was the most cold towards Pixie, and if she had the chance to talk to Pixie, she would usually make a "like mother like daughter" implication that really hurt Pixie. Herman Nootix didn't speak to Pixie often, but he was only slightly friendlier than Polly, and could be worse when he was in a bad mood. Kim Yoonity tried to be professional, but Pixie sensed a bit of wariness when she was around. Rock Solid, Kim's nephew, was purely professional. He appeared to neither like nor dislike her. Likewise was Ann Tickwitee, who was a couple of years older than Pixie, and was completely professional in every situation, although she seemed in a better mood than Rock most of the time. Dee Plomassy was inbetween Ann and Rock, professional and sometimes in a good mood, sometimes not. Renee Santz was one of Pixie's favourite Good Guides. When she was Pixie's Good Guide, she'd always greet her with a friendly smile. Pixie saw her a bit like a mom figure, much more than Carmen ever was. But her very favourite Good Guide was Ivan Idea. He was the same age as her, and was always friendly. In fact, if he wasn't working at the same time as Pixie wasn't, he'd sometimes hang out with her.

The good news for Pixie was that a lot of her missions concerned inventions, Ivan's specialty. The bad news for her was that an equal amount of her missions concerned politics, Polly's specialty. For most of the missions, she and Sophie worked together, so they only had Good Guides via videophone. Sophie would usually let Pixie off and talk to Polly most.

After a fortnight of missions, the two girls were on another political mission when Sophie stopped doing that. "You should stop being so childish." she told Pixie. "Just talk to Polly. She's not gonna hurt you."

"Oh, yeah, and she would never imply that I'm exactly like my mom!" Pixie said sarcastically.

Sophie lowered her voice so the videophone's figure wouldn't hear her. "Just keep at it. I've known Polly for six months, since I started working here, and I know she'll come around if you talk to her. She'll respect you more if you face her." At that point, the girls weren't sure what to do.

Pixie took the videophone and looked at the redhead on the screen. "Polly, we really have no idea where to go next." she said. "Do you have any idea what we should do?"

Polly's expression was a little comtemptuous, the way it always was when she talked to Pixie. She gave a sigh. "Guess you won't be your mom's double in brains, huh?" she muttered, before giving advice in a bored tone.

That mission was a little humiliating for Pixie. She'd done all her training, and did what she knew to do to catch the criminal, but as they got her back, she recognized Pixie. "Racquel Sandiego!" she exclaimed. "Does your mom know you're working for ACME?"

Pixie scowled. "For a start, you have no right to ask that. Second, I go by Pixie. And third, yes, I've told Mom. Anyway, it's ACME prison for you, so if you don't believe me, you can ask her yourself." Pixie knew that Carmen was still in the ACME cell, serving her two-year sentence, but also knew that Carmen usually escaped within six months, so she was on her guard.

When they got back, Pixie had a little free time until her next mission, and the first person she saw was Ivan. He grinned at her. "Hey, Pixie." he greeted her. "Hard mission?"

Pixie sighed. "Doubly hard, considering my surname is Sandiego. My Good Guide hated me, and the criminal was one of Mom's lackeys and recognized me."

Ivan grinned sympathetically. "Oh well, all of ACME'll realize your intentions are legit soon enough. I have. Who was the Good Guide?"

"Polly." Pixie answered. "And I'm not sure she's ever going to stop making sneaky comments about my mom."

"Polly's OK." Ivan assured her. "It might take her a while, but she'll soon leave you alone. She's just had a few experiences with Carmen before." His cheeks suddenly became torches. "Forget I said that. I'm not supposed to tell anyone."

"Who am I gonna tell?" Pixie asked. "I can keep a secret. Maybe it'll help me understand Polly better, and withstand a few more verbal attacks."

Ivan believed in Pixie's ability to keep a secret, and he knew that her logic was right. Besides, he knew that if she asked Carmen, she would probably tell her daughter. It was better that she heard it from someone unbiased.

"OK." he relented. "But don't tell anyone, especially not Polly or Carmen, and if you do, you didn't hear it from me. Got it?" Pixie nodded seriously, and Ivan began to tell her the story.

You'll have to read the next chapter to find out about what happened between Polly and Carmen! Until next time, my readers!