Summary: The entire time, she'd been a pawn in someone else's competition.

Standard Disclaimer: I'm just a fanfiction writer. All hail the rightful owners.

Content Disclaimer: There is violence, sexual content, and copious misuse of power in this work of fiction, and not of the cartoon variety. The characters as portrayed here are neither invincible nor morally flawless. If you've read Endgame and Play On, you know where this is going. If you haven't, I suggest you start with those so you don't get confused. However, if you are too young or attached to "beloved childhood" versions of the characters… you've been warned.

"I think I feel a little better." Carmen commented against Ivy's shoulder.

Ivy made a sound that might have been agreement. "You fell asleep."

The thief considered for a moment. "You didn't wake me."

Trying to be casual, Ivy remarked. "You looked like you could use the rest."

Carmen pulled back and shook out her hair. "True story that."

Ivy stretched out her cramped legs. "Any nightmares?"

"No…" Carmen smiled. "I dreamed I was on a heist."

When they looked up, they saw Suhara and Zack standing over them. "How are you feeling, Carmen-Chan." The mentor asked.

It took Carmen a moment to decide how to explain. "Do you know that feeling after a really bad thunderstorm, Sensei." She finally ventured. "Where everything's destroyed and the branches are strewn everywhere and you think it ought to be such a mess… but somehow…. The whole world is clean, and it's fresh, and it even smells sweet?"

The master nodded wisely. "I do indeed."

"Well," Carmen said. "It's like that."

"We need to look through this castle, top to bottom." Ivy announced, standing. "If we don't get another clue we're stuck."

As Carmen moved to stand also, a voice seemed to come from nowhere, shocking them all.

"If it were all a dream." The voice sang, "Then waking would be less a nightmare."

"Did you sleep well?" Another operatic voice interjected.

"As heavenly as death." The first voice finished.

Ivy shouted. "Found a tape recorder."

"Turn it off!" Carmen exclaimed.

Zack complied. "But we have to listen to the rest to figure our where Leanne's sending us."

"No we don't." Carmen answered. "She's sending us to Rome."

All three detectives hesitated. "Inside joke?"

"Mutual cultural reference," Carmen explained. "That music was from an opera by Benjamin Britten."

"Care to explain?" Suhara suggested gently.

"Not particularly." Carmen said, standing up and carding a hand through her hair. "Do an infosearch on The Rape of Lucretia."

"You trust infosearch now?" Ivy asked.

"Not really." Carmen said coldly, massaging her temples as though her head hurt, "But just do it."

Chief materialized, looking somber, and his usual flow of words was less than peppy. "Ok, so we're talking about an opera that was written about a historical event. Roman sources such as Livy tell us that the sexual assault of a Roman noblewoman named Lucretia by a member of the royal family was the reason that kings were expelled from Rome."

"Wow," Ivy said. "I didn't know rape victims were cared for that well in ancient times."

"They weren't." Carmen interjected acidly. "Lucretia killed herself."

Zack looked horrified, and Carmen made a tetchy gesture for Chief to continue speaking.

"In um…" He stammered. "In the histories it says that she did it to um… to prove that she never consented. And to err… set a precedent."

"The whole thing obviously points to Rome." Carmen said casually. "So I say we get going."

"And the reference to the suicide?" Suhara asked gently.

"A not too funny suggestion, probably aimed at me." Carmen interpreted caustically.

Zack conspicuously flinched.

"Relax, detective." She instructed. "Leanne can make suggestions until the world ends. I'll just ignore them. Some cultures take a different view of suicides than yours, detective. Ancient Roman society was one of those."

Ivy swallowed nervously at Carmen's expression. "We have some ground to cover."

"Hey Carmen." Zack asked nervously.

Carmen kept her eyes on hill as they descended, carefully choosing where she placed her stillettos. "Yes?"

"Can we talk about the whole… Lucretia thing."

Glancing over her shoulder Carmen said casually. "You worried about me detective? Don't be."

"But why would Leanne...?"

"I don't know." Carmen said, "I would never be so off-base with a clue. The women she chose... they were all defeated, ready to welcome death. I'm not. And Leanne's going to get a hot surprise if she thinks I am."

Zack scanned her face for signs of deception. Maybe he wasn't doing a good job, but he couldn't find any.

"Nicholas and Morroco was one year, detective. One dark horrible fear-ridden year…. Out of thirty."

The detective was confused.

"My point is, detective, for every horrible thing that happened to me in that year, there have been equally good things, before and after."

"I'm not sure I get it…" Zack muttered.

"Can't you?" Carmen mused. "You are an optimist, detective."

"Um…."

"I've had people try to kill me." Carmen said. "But I've also had people risk their lives to save me."

Zack looked over her carefully.

"I've been locked alone in the dark…" Carmen said. "But I've also been able to do this…" She pulled off her hat and leaned her head back… letting the morning sun shine on her face with a sigh.

The bright light really brought out her eyes. "But all of that stuff…." Zack said.

"The world has been wonderful to me…" Carmen said quietly. "Because even though I've been hated, I've also been loved."

Zack smiled.

"Leanne's going after people I love." Carmen said firmly. "And she has my attention. So she better watch out!"

Rome, Italy.

Their communicator rang.

"What's up Ceria?" Zack asked.

"First off… Our murder victim was most definitely shot with Nicholas Moskvani's gun."

Carmen flinched, her jaw tense.

"Second, the fingerprints we have on the photographs matched two separate identifications. One is registered to Ray Sting, a wanted hit man. The other ID is for a top secret agent that I don't have the clearance to access. Your murderer is an undercover agent."

"I am an idiot." Carmen said hoarsely. "How didn't I see this?"

"See what?"

"Thomas Jefferson once said." Carmen quoted darkly. "The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time, with the blood of patriots and tyrants"

"Where are you going with this?" Ivy asked.

"Nicholas was their tyrant…" Carmen explained. "And I was their patriot. I was not supposed to live through that op because I wasn't their main attempt. Only a decoy."

"Carmen what are you talking about?"

"If Ray was a Acme agent all along… then they had two attempts at Nicholas going at the same time." Carmen explained.

"So?"

"So Ray had advanced training, a deep cover, and he was authorized to commit crimes, including violent ones. Those contacts of mine, the Acme agents that Nicholas had killed, Ray carried out those murders."

"You sure they weren't fake murders like Ivy's?" Zack asked.

"I saw them. Nicholas put a knife on me and made me watch." Carmen said in a hovering voice. "Most of Anthony's head was shot clean off. Nicholas dragged my hand through the still warm gore. You can't fake that."

Ivy shifted her feet uneasily.

"Relax, detective. I'm over it. Which do you suppose they expected to succeed? Ray or me?" Carmen said rhetorically.

"You were the best detective Acme had." Ivy protested.

"I was…" Carmen clarified. "The most famous detective Acme had. But my cover was weak." She was nodding her head slowly as she pondered. "So they probably expected Nicholas to see right through it. That narcissist" She muttered bitterly, "Would be expecting them to send their best. So I'd die and Ray would have an easy in to earn his trust by killing me."

"You were bait?" Zack asked.

"But then I made it work." Carmen continued, "And threw off their whole plan. They had no way for me to renter the agency."

Ivy said passionately. "They should have just taken you back."

"And admit that they orchestrated the whole thing?" The thief questioned. "Would you like to explain to China, Russia, of Afghanistan that the United States government deliberately sent someone to steal their national treasures?"

"Those would be quite the headlines." Zack admitted.

Carmen spoke softly, as if already resigned to the new idea. "I don't blame them for wanting to keep me away. And I was stubborn. I kept insisting that I was a double agent, even when they didn't believe me." She looked at the ground for a moment "Leanne wasn't torturing me for information. She was trying to get me to recant. So I would never try to tell my story again."

"So when she knew you were keeping the op a secret, she left you alone." Ivy inferred. "But then, we… I… I started digging into your past."

"And now Leanne's out to get you again." Zack finished.

"Exactly, Detective. This all could have been very easy for me if I just kept my mouth shut." Carmen replied. Then she looked around. "Where's Suhara?"

"Hello Ray." Carmen said, crossing the forum with confidence.

"Fancy meeting you here." T\he hit man commented.

"You have my partner." Carmen said firmly. "And I want him back."

"If you wish to see him alive, all three of you need to follow me."

Carmen looked at the two youngest imploringly. "I won't force you."

Zack answered for both of them. "We're with you Carmen."

The three of them followed the hit man down into an unfamiliar section of the roman catacombs.

"Did you know about me?" Carmen asked conversationally as they stepped through the dark pathways.

"Yes." Ray answered, escorting her by the arm. "They told me to expect Nicholas to require me to commit some murders. You and your contacts were among the names."

"So you threw me in there with no knowledge of anything, just to muddy up the waters." Carmen muttered bitterly.

"Do you know why your method worked?" Ray asked, a bit condescendingly stopping in front of a door.

They could see that the pathway was wired with strong electromagnets. Chief's hologram could probably get through, but there was no way they would be able to open a C5 into whatever was beyond that door, even if Leanne didn't control the system.

Ray continued. "Because you weren't taught."

The thief tossed her hair over her shoulder, angrily. "I don't follow."

"Nicholas Moskvani figured whoever we sent after him would be elitely trained. He knew about your detective record. He had you made, Carmen. Then…" Ray chuckled.

If he expected Carmen to be intimidated, she certainly wasn't.

"Nicholas…" Ray continued, laughing under his breath. "Tells me one night to be ready to kill you. The next morning he comes back and says never mind. He said…" The hit man dissolved into outright laughter.

"Stop wasting my time." Carmen said shortly, trying to push by him.

He grabbed her arm to stop her. "That you must be for real, Because no self-respecting agency would send a virgin to seduce him."

Though Zack gasped and Ivy flinched, Carmen didn't miss a beat. "Let me by." She said steadily. Carmen glanced over her shoulder. "Oh really now detectives, that can not have been a surprise."

"Wow." Ray commented. "You are cold. I would have gotten a rise out of most people on that statement."

"The facts do not distress me. I don't have to explain my improvisations to a brute like you. Acme left me to burn and I worked with what I was given." She answered in a vinegar tone.

"You were a liability then and you're a liability now." Ray answered.

"Nice attitude. Certainly explains why you burned me. And then when Nicholas didn't kill me for you, that became your problem as well did it?" Carmen inferred icily.

"I would have done it quickly. So it didn't hurt."

She retorted coldly. "Very considerate, I'm sure."

"You and I are a lot alike." Ray reflected. "I felt bad for you."

"I never killed anyone." Carmen snapped, her mouth curled in disgust.

"Well I couldn't exactly do what you did now could I?" Ray responded with a smirk. "I needed other ways to earn his trust."

Contempt flashed across Carmen's face. "You watch out, Ray." She responded, as she strode through the door. "Anything she's willing to do to me, Leanne would gladly do to you too."