Disclaimer: Penguins of Madagascar don't belong to me! Jojo does however.

AN: This chapter is dedicated to my top reviewer Drama sapphire as a thank you for inspiring another chapter from my lazy-tail muse.

--Slow.

Why was she so slow? Why now? She had been winning! She had delivered Skipper a savage blow and put him out of the fight. There was only Rico and that chainsaw now, he had no style, just swinging it wildly and forcing her to dodge.

There was something above her.

Slowly, so achingly slowly, she turned her gaze upward. There was Skipper. One eye was swollen, but the other, blue, cold and hard as arctic ice held her frozen. His body, spiraling like a stalled plane with ice-covered wings, plummeted toward his target - her.

Impact. Blackness.--

It was the grandmother of all headaches, including the one from that hangover last year when she and Russ ... sound flooded her ears, derailing that memory as she slowly became more aware of her surroundings.

"... so rough?" Baby sister?

"She's a skilled fighter, very skilled. In the end it took some good old fashioned teamwork to take her down." Male ... Skipper. The memory of the fight began trickling in.

"'Take her down?!'" Marlene. Indignant. "She's my sister! Not some enemy spy!"

"Well well well, look who's finally awake!"

That was right, Skipper had blindsided her ...! Fury surged through her body and her eyes snapped open, determined to blacken that other eye or slap that infuriating smugness from his face ... only to find she couldn't move. She was bound head to toe, even her tail was tied firmly against her legs.

"Skipper! You son of a bobcat! When I get loose you better watch your back because I'll pluck you bald for this!" She snarled.

"You'll do nothing!" Marlene grabbed her scruff with one hand and she was forced to face her. Jojo stubbornly looked away, Marlene looked so much like their mother just then ... "You owe me a full explanation and you're not getting untied until I'm satisfied! Skipper, thanks for everything, but this is between us. Get it?"

There was that scent again. Now she knew for sure.

"Affirmative! Good interrogations!" And he was gone.

"It's not ...!" Sigh. "Now as for you. Go on, I'm all ears." Marlene gestured before crossing her arms in front of her chest.

There was so much she had to say, but ... "I don't know where to start."

"The beginning, who trained you? Why?"

She sighed, it was going to be a long night. Resigned, she started talking. "Pop trained me. As for why; we are the Otter Clan, we're a neutral agency that deals in the collection and distribution of information. At a cost of course. Clients come to us when they want information. In the process of finding that information, things sometimes get hairy. We need to be able to defend ourselves." The silence that followed was heavy, behind Marlene's hazel eyes she could see the gears turning and processing.

"And you never told me ... why?"

"Look in my travel bag, there's a photo in the front pocket." She watched as the photo was found and withdrawn. It was a risky gambit, one she'd wanted to save for later, but this might just get Marlene to untie her. The picture was unfolded and Marlene's right hand flew up to her mouth in shock. The picture had been taken two weeks after Marlene had been born, her eyes weren't even open yet. Their mother was cradling pup-Marlene, pops was looking down at the new member of the family proudly, and she, only a year old, was clinging to pops' hand, looking up at mother and her new sister. "Mother saw the harsh training I was put through. She didn't want that for you and she made it known that you would be a civilian, that you would be allowed to enjoy your life, be free to find love and not be stuck with someone you could barely stand." Her tone was sour. The male the Clan had arranged for her was, in a word, nearly intolerable. She envied her little sister. "That picture is for you by the way. I know your memory of mother is hazy at best. I've been taking as many assignments as possible on the chance I might one day get close enough to drop it off."

In a daze Marlene walked over and released her bonds only to throw her arms around her waist. Gently, yet firmly, she returned the hug. After a minute, Marlene mumbled something into her fur. It was muffled, but her keen ears caught it.

"You still haven't told me why you never told me about all this."

"I couldn't. You were safer not knowing. We deal with all kinds, some of them have few, if any, morals." The next period of silence was much more comfortable as they settled on the pillows. A sly grin crept across her face, now it was safe to needle her sister. "So. Skipper is it? Wouldn't have been my first choice, but to each their own."

"Wha ... what are you talking about? What about Skipper?" Liar. She'd raised Marlene, she knew her little sister was terrible liar.

"You like him. And don't tell me you don't. Pheromones don't lie, and you were pumping out so much I'm almost surprised he doesn't pick up on them."

Marlene got defensive. No surprise. "Now look here! The guys and me are just friends!"

"Uh huh." Oooooh she was in deep. "C'mon, just between us."

Her sister hemmed and hawed a bit before caving, this had obviously been on her chest, rather, in her chest a while.