The Broken Silence

by MangoKat

A massive misunderstanding causes several operatives to defect from V.I.L.E. Carmen must now protect them before they're hunted down and killed. As Team Red fight against V.I.L.E, they begin uncovering a disturbing web of mysteries involving kidnap and murder. Everything always seems to point back to a certain mime. Who is Mime Bomb, and why does everyone seem to want him dead?

25. Fireworks

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The Broken Silence

Chapter 25

Fireworks

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Team Red

Team Red Base

July 3rd 2019

The car ride back to base was done in silence, and Carmen's expression was completely devastated. As soon as they entered the base, Carmen took a seat on the couch and then sat head in hands as she processed what had just happened. The others took a seat around her, and they exchanged a look, not sure what to say.

Zack was still looking noticeably pale, but none besides Mime Bomb and Ivy seemed to notice. They sat on either side of the boy, and he took each of their hands, squeezing so tightly, Ivy winced in pain. Mime Bomb had seen how close Zack had come to death, and the thought was enough to make him feel physically ill. Mime Bomb had no idea what he would've done if Zack had died at the lumbermill, but he knew it would have destroyed him. Mime Bomb loved Zack like a brother, and he couldn't imagine a life without the loud and gentle boy. Mime Bomb squeezed the hand back, and Zack offered him a shaky smile. Ivy threw an arm around her little brother, not saying a word, just offering silent support.

El Topo, Le Chèvre and Tigress were seated on the couch with Carmen, and they knew how close Carmen had been to Crackle during their academy days. She had practically followed him around like a little shadow, and Crackle used to jokingly call her his little sister. Everyone had known about the crush she'd had on him, and knew how much they had cared for one another. He hadn't taken her betrayal well, and had been bitter and angry for months afterwards. The next time he saw Carmen was their meeting on the train, and that was the last time Crackle had been himself. Now, the Crackle they met was a stranger and there was little resemblance to how he once was.

Carmen suddenly looked up fiercely. "We have to save him." she announced.

El Topo gave her a sympathetic look. "Crackle is one of us." he confirmed. "We will do everything we can to help him."

"I'm assuming he has been mind-wiped...again?" Le Chèvre asked.

"I don't know." Carmen admitted. "He was somehow different. He never said a single word to me the whole time, and he just wasn't himself."

"I bet that's what happens if someone's memory gets wiped too many times." Tigress suggested. "He's probably just...brain-damaged?"

"SHEENA!" Ivy scolded, angrily. "Not cool!"

Tigress looked unapologetic as she shrugged. "I'm just saying what everyone else is thinking. How many times can someone's brain be messed with before it causes damage?"

Carmen shook her head, refusing to believe it. She thought of the Crackle she knew, and pictured his cheeky grin, his easy laugh, his kind brown eyes, and the way he was always joking around. She had seen none of that in the Crackle she saw today, and it left her with a deep sense of loss. What was wrong with him? What had V.I.L.E done to him?

"We need to find him." Carmen said. "We need to speak to him."

Chase was confused about the whole thing and scratched at his chin thoughtfully. "That was the boy I arrested on the train a year ago?" he questioned.

Carmen gave him a nod. "His name is Gray, and he was my best friend at the academy."

Shadowsan seemed troubled. "Dr. Bellum was working on several mind experiments, and it's a possibility she used him as one of her test subjects."

Everyone stared at him in horror.

"What kind of experiments?!" Carmen demanded.

"I don't know all the details." Shadowsan admitted. "She's been studying several failed experiments from a lab in Russia, and she believed she had figured out the way to create the perfect V.I.L.E operative. Her first ten experiments killed her patients, but perhaps she finally figured out a way to make it work?"

"Dr. Bellum liked Gray!" Le Chèvre protested. "She used to favour him in class, and so why would she experiment on him like that? It doesn't make sense!"

"Dr. Saira Bellum does not think in the same way as most people." Shadowsan commented. "She would see this as a way to help her favourite student to better himself, and would think nothing of chancing his life by experimenting on him. In the case of Dr. Bellum, it's better not to catch her attention."

Carmen was horrified. "What can we do? How can we help him?"

Shadowsan shook his head. "I do not know." he admitted. "Until we know what was done to him, there's little we can do to help him."

"You don't even know for sure there was anything wrong with him." Tigress pointed out. "Maybe he was refusing to speak to you because he was mad at you?"

"He was trying to kill me, Sheena. Not injure or capture, but kill. He had the Crackle Stick on full power while we were fighting."

The other girl's eyes widened. No matter how angry Crackle was at Carmen, she knew there was no way he would ever try to really hurt her. He'd always been soft on little Black Sheep, and if what Carmen said was true, then there was something seriously wrong with him.

"What can we do?" she asked, her tone softening.

"We just have to make him listen to us. Maybe if I can get him to speak to me, we can find out what was done to him."

"A little bit hard to do when he's trying to kill you." Le Chèvre pointed out.

"Then we arrest him." Chase answered with a shrug. "We capture this 'Gray' boy and then he'll have no choice but to listen to us. Find a way to separate him from his team, and grab him."

Carmen turned to Chase in surprise. That was actually an excellent idea. "If we can get Gray away from the others, we might be able to talk some sense into him."

"How will we do that?" El topo asked in concern. "His team aren't going to just allow him to be taken."

"We'll have to come up with a plan to isolate him." Shadowsan said. "Distract the others, and then take Crackle before they know what we've done."

"Yes, this could work." Carmen stated, feeling a little sliver of hope. "I'm sure once he listens to us, we'll be able to help him."

Ivy glanced at Zack and could feel her brother shaking. She exchanged a look with Mime Bomb who was looking equally worried. Ivy tipped her chin in the direction of the bedrooms and Mime Bomb gave a nod, understanding her completely. Without a word, they both stood up and gently pulled Zack up with them. No one else seemed to notice them, and they ushered Zack out of the room and into his bedroom.

Once they were alone, they released Zack who sat down on his bed, his face still unnaturally pale.

"Zack, you're not alright." Ivy said, worriedly. "Is this about what happened at the lumbermill?"

"I'm fine." Zack responded, his voice unnaturally high. "Perfectly fine. No big deal...I was almost turned into liquid human, but it's all good. I'm fine. No big deal."

Ivy gave him a gentle punch in the shoulder. "You're not fine." she repeated. "We almost lost our brother out there, and we're not fine either!"

Mime Bomb sent Ivy a smile at being included, and he took a seat next to Zack, once again taking his hand. He couldn't say the words he wanted to, and instead just gave the hand a reassuring squeeze. Zack glanced at his sister and then over at Mime Bomb, seeing the worry in their eyes. He then let out a deep sigh, and raised a hand to his face.

"I almost died."

"We know, bro." Ivy said gently.

"I almost died , and I have a villain to thank for saving my life. If he hadn't grabbed me, I'd be a pile of mush right now. I can't even blame anyone for it besides myself. I was stupid and almost died."

Zack clutched at his hair and closed his eyes with a groan.

"It was an accident." Ivy said softly, sitting down at his other side. "The railing broke, and you had no way to know that was going to happen."

Mime Bomb reached out and pulled Zack's hand away from his head, forcing the other boy to look at him. Zack stared at him in silence, and then to his surprise, Mime Bomb threw his arms around him in a hug. It took him by surprise since Mime Bomb rarely initiated first physical contact, and he smiled down at the mime.

"Thanks, buddy." he said.

He was then further surprised when Ivy joined in the hug, squeezing her brother as hard as she could. Neither seemed like they were going to let him go anytime soon, and Zack laughed, just allowing the hug to happen.

"Please be careful from now on, Zack." Ivy begged him. "I couldn't bear to lose you. You're all I have."

Zack clenched his fists into the fabric of his jeans, and looked down at the floor.

"Ivy...I think I need some time off from missions."

Ivy looked at him in surprise, knowing how much Zack loved taking part with the others. When she stared into his eyes, she could see the fear that lurked there, and she worried for him.

"We should talk about this." she told him.

"I just need a bit of time to get over this, okay? The team won't fall apart if I take a week or two to get over almost being made into strawberry jam."

Ivy's brow furrowed in concern, and she laid her head on his shoulder with a nod. "If you need some time, then take all the time you need. The others will understand."

Zack nodded, relieved he wouldn't have to jump right back into missions right away.

"What will you do with yourself if we're all leaving on missions?" she asked.

Zack was silent for a moment, and then looked up with a steady determination. "I'm going to Wales." he announced.

Both Ivy and Mime Bomb stared at him in surprise.

"Wales?!" Ivy repeated. "What are you talking about?!"

Zack turned and looked over at Mime Bomb. "We're going to Wales." he announced. "We're going to take a bit of time off and go find your sister."

Mime Bomb stared at him in surprise and then glanced over at Ivy who seemed just as flabbergasted.

"Bro, you're not going to Wales."

Zack scowled at Ivy and pulled away from her. "I'm going to Wales." he repeated. "I just need to focus on something else for a while. Mime Bomb and I can use this opportunity to find his sister and set things right."

Ivy frowned at him, and crossed her arms. "No way am I letting you two go all the way to Wales without the rest of the team!"

Zack didn't back down. "Do you think Mime Bomb wants a whole crowd of people nosing into his family business?"

Mime Bomb winced at the thought of the whole crew tagging along, and had to agree with Zack. He shook his head, and Ivy glared at him.

"Not helping." she hissed at him.

Mime Bomb gave her a helpless shrug, and she let out an aggravated sigh.

"Anything could happen to you over there!"

"Like what?" Zack demanded. "I might get bitten by a sheep? It's Wales Ivy, not V.I.L.E island."

Ivy scowled. "Don't be so stubborn! You're not going to Wales and that's final!"

Zack narrowed his eyes at her. "I'd like to see you stop me."

Ivy blinked at him in surprise, Zack never stood up to her like this. "What if you DIE over there?" Ivy snarled at him in frustration. "What if something happens to you, and I'm not there to help you?"

Mime Bomb tugged on her sleeve and she glanced over at him. Mime Bomb pointed at himself and then made a motion like he was flexing a muscle.

"Oh, what are you going to do, Mime Bomb, mime at the enemies?"

He frowned at her and Ivy let out a deep sigh. "Sorry, that was mean, I'm just really worried. I know you would never let Zack get hurt."

Zack wanted to point out that he'd be more likely to end up protecting Mime Bomb than the other way around, but didn't want to embarrass the other boy.

"Ivy, I almost died today, and I want to take the time to get over it. Every time I close my eyes, I see the spinning blades of that mulcher. I know it's pathetic, but it scared me. It scared me bad."

Ivy's expression softened, knowing Zack had to be really upset if he was admitting to being scared. "I think you should join Mime Bomb's session with Dr. Brownswell tonight. Tell her what happened, but just leave out the details about VILE and why we were at the lumbermill."

Zack frowned. "If the doctor says it's fine for me to go to Wales, will you support the decision?"

"No." Ivy admitted. "I'm your big sister and it's my job to worry about you."

"Mime Bomb has a big sister too, one that's been looking for him for a long time. If you were in her place, wouldn't you want someone to bring me home to you?"

Ivy stared at Mime Bomb, just now seeing the similarities between their families. They both had parents that died in a car accident, and both had an older sister and a younger brother left orphaned. They both had a less than ideal childhood, and they were also all gingers. Ivy knew Zack was right, and if their situations were reversed, she'd want Zack to be brought home to her. She let out a defeated sigh.

"I will speak to Carmen and see what she says. If she says yes, then take Mime Bomb to Wales to his sister."

Zack grinned at her wildly, and to everyone's complete shock, Mime Bomb yanked Ivy into a hug, planting a grateful kiss on her cheek as he did so. He then seemed to realize what he did, and gave her a mortified look, and Ivy stared at him in surprise and then began laughing.

"You're welcome." she told him. "You're such a goof, Mime Bomb."

Zack laughed as well, but for a different reason. He stared at his sister and held a hand over his mouth as he attempted to stifle his giggles.

"What?" Ivy demanded, in amusement.

"Nothing." Zack answered, laughing harder.

Ivy frowned good-naturedly. "What?" she repeated.

"It's nothing, really." Zack responded, his gaze on her cheek.

Mime Bomb bit his bottom lip as he struggled to hold back a laugh and Ivy rolled her eyes. Standing up, she glanced in the mirror and saw a very prominent lipstick mark left on her cheek.

"Mime Bomb!" Ivy said, dissolving into laughter.

She reached up and wiped the lipstick from her face, still laughing about it as she did so. The mood had been lightened, and Ivy smiled at them as she made her way towards the door.

"I'll speak with the others about Wales, and be back in a few minutes." she promised.

As soon as she was gone, Mime Bomb turned to Zack and began signing. Zack frowned at him, trying to figure out what he was trying to say. Scratching at his head, he realized he only recognized the sign for 'Zack' and one that meant 'thank you'. Zack smiled at him, clearly seeing the nervous excitement Mime Bomb was showing.

"You're welcome, buddy." Zack said with a laugh. "We're finally going to meet Alys!"

Mime Bomb was honestly a bit terrified of the idea of returning to Wales after so many years, but nothing was going to stop him at this point.

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Team Crackle

Green Tree Motel

July 3rd 2019

Crackle had been gone for over an hour, and no one knew where he had disappeared to. They had expected Crackle to be furious over their failure, but surprisingly enough he had seemed fine.

Paper Star was the one who was frothing angry and they pitied that Interpol agent once she got her hands on him. He had left her in cuffs when Team Red fled, and Dash had to pick them unlocked during the car ride back to the motel. Paper Star was now seated cross-legged on her bed and was humming quietly to herself. She looked calm on the exterior, but no one missed the fact her hands were playing with a paper knife.

Dash was laying on the bed beside her listening to his ipod while drawing something in a massive sketchbook, and seemingly unconcerned that he was so close to danger. Neal had claimed the massive bag of candy that Crackle had purchased and he'd been working on it for the last two days straight not caring that most things already had a bite taken out of them.

Double Trouble were having a quiet but friendly argument between themselves and Neal watched in fascination, wondering what it was that had them so excited. He watched them for twenty minutes or so and then his nosiness got the better of him.

Getting up, he approached the twins and hopped up onto Theodore's back, knowing it bugged him when he did that.

"Heya, guys, whatcha talking about?" he asked, peering over Theodore's shoulder.

Theodore sighed in resignation, but didn't get angry and simply allowed Neal to cling to him like a baby koala, used to him being a nuisance.

"We're talking about tomorrow." Theodore told him, glancing over his shoulder at the other man.

"Tomorrow?" Neal questioned. "What's special about tomorrow?"

The Twins stared at him in shock and horror, and Neal was instantly confused. "What?"

"Tomorrow is the 4th of July!" Roosevelt said, aghast.

"Yeah, so?"

"It's Independence Day, you moron." Dash commented, not looking up from sketching. "Kind of a big deal here."

"Oh!" Neal said in realization. "I forgot about that!"

Theodore nodded with a smile. "It's been ten years since we've been here for the fourth of July!" he announced. "We were trying to figure out if there's a way Crackle will let us celebrate it…"

Roosevelt nodded his agreement. "We don't know how to ask though…"

Theodore's eyes suddenly widened in realization. "Neal!" he exclaimed.

"Yes, Teddy?" Neal answered in amusement.

"You're good at talking, do you think you could ask him?"

"I really doubt he's going to go for it, mate." Neal told him. "We didn't exactly do very well today."

The twins both looked completely crestfallen and Neal immediately felt bad. "I'll do what I can." he promised. "But don't get your hopes up too high…"

Dash set his ipod aside and scooted himself to the end of the bed where they were talking. "I'll help." he volunteered.

Neal gave him a skeptical look, and Dash frowned at him. "What?"

"That doesn't seem very like you, Dash Haber!" Neal responded, grinning at him.

"I wouldn't mind having tomorrow off either." Dash admitted.

Neal gave him a smile and then turned to Paper Star. "You in too?" he asked.

Paper Star glared at him, but there wasn't much venom in her gaze. "Whatever."

"Okay, good!" Neal said. "Then we're in agreement! We all want to celebrate the holiday tomorrow. When Crackle's back, I'll plead our case."

"Just try not to start off by immediately annoying him." Dash stated, crossing his arms.

Neal gave him a highly offended look. "Since when have I ever annoyed anyone?" he demanded. "I have no idea what you mean."

"You're literally hanging off Theodore like fungus right now."

"Naw, Teddy doesn't mind." Neal protested. "We're best friends."

Theodore rolled his eyes but didn't say anything. He honestly was getting used to Neal, and the other man's antics didn't annoy him quite as much as they used to. He wasn't used to people actually wanting to be near him, and it was strange. The twins towered over absolutely everyone at seven foot four, and most people were afraid of them. Even when they were children, the other kids and teachers always thought the worst of them just because they looked intimidating.

Theodore and Roosevelt were never the swiftest fellows, and they were bullied by adults their whole childhood. Their brother Delano was the one who defended them both. He was born with a genius intellect, and even as a child he didn't hesitate to stand up to adults that picked on his brothers. Delano, who was skinny and short, was always the first one to shoot off his mouth to anyone who displeased him. More often than not, Theodore and Roosevelt would have to save him from bullies after he insulted everyone around him.

Delano was two years younger than the twins but soon found himself in the same grade as his older brothers after they kept failing the second grade.

Everyone had always joked that while the Theodore and Roosevelt got all the muscle, Delano got all the brains. He was the only reason they were able to pass school, and although he could have easily skipped several grades, he refused to leave his brothers behind. He worked with them every single day after school and he always had a way of explaining things that made the twins understand. Although Delano had a foul temper and was always grouchy with them, he genuinely cared for his brothers and did everything he could to help them.

Delano had a mean streak a mile wide, and he quickly realized that with his brains and his brothers' brawn, they made an excellent team. They were in junior high when Delano first began stealing. He was clever enough to be able to break into lockers, and sneaky enough to not get caught. There were suspicions of course, and he was even accused a few times, but he was never caught with any stolen property and he was never seen.

The twins were awed at what he could do and soon they began wanting in on the action, seeing the constant flow of cash their brother had. Delano began planning bigger thefts and with his brains and his brothers brute strength, they began their life of crime. By the time they reached highschool they had already robbed dozens of houses and even some local corner stores. When they were in their final year of highschool, Delano decided to escalate things even further. The twins never quite understood any of his elaborate plans, but they followed their brother without question no matter what. He led them into this life of crime and they willingly became his henchmen.

A month before graduation Delano announced his plan to them. They were going to rob the large jewelry store on the other side of town. He very very carefully explained to the Twins their roles in this plan, and everything had gone smoothly. Delano disabled the alarms and cameras and the twins ripped down the back door using brute force. They had then taken every piece of jewelry in the entire store and fled to their base at an abandoned building on the docks. Delano stayed up all night melting down the jewelry into solid blocks of gold and silver, and he disposed of any gems with serial numbers. There was no physical proof where the precious metal had come from, and he knew they would be safe.

The next day they were tracked down to their warehouse and Delano had no idea how they'd been found. He'd disabled all cameras within a 2 block radius of the store, and he knew they'd left no clues behind. They were taken to an unknown location, and then to a room for questioning, and as trained, the twins didn't speak at all, simply going into dumb mode. Delano had denied all knowledge about the theft and insisted the precious metal was gathered over a period of several years of metal detecting and dismantling old electronics.

They had been questioned for 2 days straight, but Delano could not be swayed from his statement. It was then that Professor Maelstrom had introduced himself and made him an offer. Professor Maelstrom had been incredibly impressed with Delano's plan and his ability to lie as easily as he breathed. Delano was offered a place at V.I.L.E academy, and he had refused at first until the offer was extended to his brothers as well.

Delano had then accepted without hesitation and the three brothers quickly became known as Triple Trouble within the academy. Delano made a name for himself as a criminal mastermind, and the other students began to respect him, despite his short size. Delano was only a little over five feet tall, but his presence seemed to make him seem a lot bigger than he was. The brothers did well at V.I.L.E academy and Delano helped the twins with their homework, and they were set to graduate within a month.

Tragedy then struck. The twins were pulled out of class one day, and were then informed by Shadowsan that there had been a terrible accident. He told them Delano had been hit by the ray of an experimental weapon and was in critical condition. They went to visit their brother in the medical wing, and he was in a terrible state. All the way from his stomach to his knees had been severely burned, and Dr. Vess wasn't certain the boy would survive it. The twins had begged and pleaded with the doctor to save their brother, and the doctor promised to do everything he could.

Dr. Vess worked day and night to perform surgeries and skin grafts on Delano, and finally he managed to stabilize his condition. The twins had hugged the doctor in relief, and Dr. Vess had made a few mildly snarky comments, the doctor hating all physical contact. He had seemed proud of himself though.

It had seemed like Delano was getting better at first because he woke up a few days after the last surgery, and although he'd been in a lot of pain, he'd made light of the situation. He joked that it was probably a good thing he wasn't planning on having kids, considering the extent of his injuries. Theodore and Roosevelt visited with him several times a day for two weeks, and then suddenly they went in one morning, and Delano was nowhere to be found. They were then informed their brother had died in his sleep the night before.

The twins were completely devastated, and the death was so out of the blue, that they'd refused to believe it at first. It had taken powerful sedatives to stop their rampage through the academy, and several students had ended up in the hospital wing because of it. Dr. Vess had kept them sedated for 3 days until they were calm enough to speak with him about what happened. They had then fallen into mourning, their brother's loss cutting them deeply.

They had no idea what to do without Delano, as he had been their brains for their entire lives and now suddenly they were on their own. For the first time ever, they had to rely on their own thoughts and ideas, and it was terrifying.

The twins graduated just two weeks later, and had never felt more lost in their lives. They were extremely valued because of their massive size and strength, but it was no secret that they weren't the swiftest pair of operatives. V.I.L.E made up for this by always assigning them an intelligent partner to work with. It had been over a decade since the death of their brother and they still felt his loss immensely every time they thought of him.

Theodore glanced at Neal over his shoulder, and then asked. "Do you think Crackle's going to be really mad at us?"

Neal gave him a shrug. "Dunno, he was acting a bit odd when he left."

"He was." Dash agreed with a thoughtful frown. "He almost seemed pleased…"

"Maybe he's pleased that he finally has an excuse to kill one of us off?" Paper Star guessed.

Everyone stared at her in horror.

"Crackle's not you, love." Neal informed her. "Most people don't enjoy killing their teammates."

Paper Star shrugged and then gave a long and lazy stretch. "It was just an idea."

They heard the sound of the door being unlocked and a moment later, Crackle entered holding a bag.

"Heya, Graham the Lady Hunter." Neal greeted him to test the waters.

Crackle raised a brow at him and set the bag aside. "Hello." he responded.

"Ask him!" Theodore whispered a bit too loudly.

"Ask me what?" Crackle asked, removing his com from his pocket.

Neal slid down off Theodore's back, and then approached the other man. "Well, wombat, we just had a tiny little request…"

"Okay, just give me a few minutes. I need to contact V.I.L.E about today's mission."

Neal winced. "Er...yeah." he trailed off, having a feeling this wasn't going to go over well.

He glanced over at the others who were all looking decidedly unhappy. Crackle pressed a few buttons on his com and then waited patiently for the call to be answered.

"Hello Crackle." Dr. Bellum greeted as soon as the call connected.

"Hello, Dr. Bellum." Crackle responded, giving her a smile.

"You look rather pleased with yourself." she observed. "I'm assuming you have good news to report?"

"The first meeting with Carmen Sandiego went perfectly."

The others in the room all stared at him with wide eyes. Was Crackle lying to Dr. Bellum?!

"Oh?" Dr. Bellum questioned.

"Yes, ma'am." he answered, reaching over and grabbing the bag. Reaching inside, he pulled out a tiny camera and held it up for her to see. "We were able to successfully observe and record the whole interaction without Team Red's knowledge. They had no idea the heist was all a ploy. We now have footage of their entire team in action and can use this video to study a way to combat them. Team Red outnumbers us, but now we can begin formulating a plan of attack."

"Excellent." Dr. Bellum responded. "Send me your full report as soon as possible, and check in as soon as you learn anything."

Crackle gave her a nod as Neal leaned into view of the com.

"Hi, Dr. Bellum!" he greeted with a grin. "How're your inventions going?"

"Oh, hello Neal." Dr. Bellum greeted in surprise. "Everything is going fine on my end. I've been working on a new weapon that melts only the eyes when activated."

"Ouch." Neal commented. "Sounds nasty."

Dr. Bellum smiled proudly. "Very nasty." she confirmed. "All preliminary testing has been a success. The first prototypes will be created within a few weeks."

"Sweet as."

Crackle used a hand to push Neal back out of view of the com, and then addressed Dr. Bellum seriously. "You were right about Carmen Sandiego. She tried tricking me into having a conversation with her."

Dr. Bellum frowned. "And what did you do?" she questioned.

"Exactly what I was trained to do." Crackle responded. "I refused to interact with her at all, and ignored everything she said. I won't allow her to trick me."

Dr. Bellum seemed a bit relieved and she gave him a nod. "Good, good." she said, staring at him thoughtfully. "Do not speak to her unless absolutely necessary. She will weave all sorts of lies in an attempt to make you betray us."

"It won't work." Crackle vowed. "I am loyal to V.I.L.E until the very end."

"Make me proud, Crackle."

"Yes, ma'am."

Dr. Bellum ended the call and Crackle set his com aside as he carried the bag of cameras over to his bed.

"You knew we would fail?!" Dash asked in surprise.

"Of course we would fail." Crackle responded, distractedly. "It was nine against six and we didn't really know what to expect from them. This was just a mission to gain information."

"You could have told us that!" Dash protested, feeling put-out. "We were getting demolished during that fight!"

"I couldn't tell any of you because I needed to see Team Red fighting at their best. If all of you knew the mission was a fake, you wouldn't have tried so hard to win. This would have tipped off Carmen Sandiego that we were up to something. I needed an untainted fight."

"So, we're going to train to take on individual members of Team Red?" Neal questioned with a frown.

"I'm going to study these videos and then decide from there." Crackle responded, dumping the pile of cameras out onto the bed.

"When did you put those up?" Dash asked, knowing it would have taken a long time to place a dozen cameras.

"Yesterday." Crackle answered. "I snuck in before the lumbermill opened."

"Ask him!" Roosevelt hissed at Neal.

"Right." Neal said, turning to Crackle. "So, I just want to confirm...you're pleased with how we did today, right wombat?"

Crackle nodded. "You all did fine considering the circumstances." he confirmed.

"So, if we did alright, there's something we were hoping you could do for us…"

"And that is…?" Crackle prompted, getting a bit suspicious.

"Tomorrow is a holiday here in The States, and we were hoping to get the day off?" Neal asked hopefully.

Crackle furrowed his brow. "We don't have a mission planned for tomorrow, if that's what you mean."

"No, we want a completely free day, with no patrolling, no planning, and no restrictions." Dash cut in. "We want to enjoy the holiday as civilians."

"I want to see the fireworks in the park." Theodore said.

"And I want to eat nachos from one of the foodtrucks." Roosevelt commented. "And fries...and a corndog."

"It would be fun to check out the park when the celebrations are in full swing." Neal added. "I've never actually celebrated Independence Day before."

"It might be interesting." Paper Star agreed.

Crackle had no idea what to say to this and felt like this was probably against some sort of rule. "No." he answered by reflex. "We need to stay focused."

Five unhappy looks were instantly sent his way.

"We can't just take a day off from our mission to goof off. V.I.L.E is trusting us to remain on task, and do everything we can to take down Team Red."

"Call it a mental health day." Neal said. "We've been through a lot lately and could use a day to recover. Wouldn't V.I.L.E rather us be calm and ready, rather than stressed out and tired?"

Crackle frowned at him. "This isn't going to work." he informed him. "No holiday, and no day off."

"What if we patrolled in the morning and then just had the evening off?" Dash suggested.

"No. I don't think V.I.L.E would approve of this."

Neal grabbed up Crackle's com. "I could always give Dr. Bellum a quick call back to ask her?" he offered.

Crackle quickly snatched the com out of his hand. "No!" That was all he needed, was for his team to begin bothering the doctor with ridiculous requests. "The answer is no, and now stop pestering."

Crackle was very aware of the glares aimed his way but chose to ignore them. Instead he began removing the memory cards out of the cameras. Without a word to anyone else, he then grabbed the tablet and took a seat on the bed so he could review the first video.

Neal let out a sigh, and approached the twins who were looking incredibly disappointed. "Sorry guys, I tried."

"It's not fair." Roosevelt muttered quietly.

"You can't make people work on the 4th of July." Theodore grumbled.

Dash looked a bit disappointed as well, but instead of commenting, he simply became sulky. Paper Star said nothing as well, and her expression didn't give any indication of what she was thinking.

"Well, we could always watch the fireworks on tv…" Neal said, knowing it sounded lame before he'd even uttered the words.

"We should just go anyway." Roosevelt whispered.

"Think we could think of an excuse to sneak away?" Theodore whispered.

"Roose, Teddy!" Neal exclaimed with a grin. "I'm surprised at you. Yeah, you probably could, but he's going to be mad about it."

The twins exchanged a look and then nodded. "Worth it." they both whispered.

"Look, would you stop plotting over there?" Crackle demanded, not looking up from the tablet. "I can hear you."

The twins scowled at him and went silent. Neal was curious over the videos and approached Crackle, taking a seat beside him so he could see the screen. Crackle glanced at him out of the corner of his eye, but didn't protest, turning his attention back to the video playing.

"If you look closely, you can see the moment Le Chèvre climbs up to the rafters." he informed him. "Team Red were actually onsite much longer than we thought."

Neal watched as the camera caught sight of Le Chèvre stealthily climbing his way up on the far side of the building. "Did they know we were there?" he asked.

Crackle shook his head. "No, I don't believe so."

They watched as Le Chèvre watched whatever was happening below for a while and then he turned his attention to Paper Star. They saw him remove the asthma inhaler from his pocket and take a quick puff from it and Crackle paused the video.

"Le Chèvre is asthmatic! This was not in any of my reports!" he commented in glee. "This means his stamina is very limited!"

Neal gave a nod of agreement, knowing that must be frustrating for the athletic Le Chèvre to have to depend on such a thing.

"How is your stamina, Neal?" Crackle asked.

"Excellent." Neal responded.

"If you were able to get that inhaler from him, all you'd have to do is outlast him." Crackle stated, looking incredibly pleased. "This is good information. Very good information."

Neal knew he could probably do it and gave him a nod. It would be rather horrible to watch someone die of an asthma attack in front of him though, and it wasn't something he was going to look forward to.

Crackle watched the rest of the video and they saw Paper Star kicked solidly in the face and Neal winced.

"Ouch."

The camera angle showed nothing else of interest, and so Crackle switched to the next memory card. This time the camera angle caught the pretend fight Neal and Dash had staged as they crossed the catwalk. They watched as the guardrail broke and as Neal grabbed Zack at the last second, and pulled him to safety. Crackle gave him a questioning look and Neal just gave him a shrug.

"He was just a stupid kid. No point in letting him splatter himself."

Neal stopped talking very quickly however, when a moment later Carmen hopped up onto the catwalk to check on Zack. She hugged the boy, and Crackle's whole body stiffened. Neal's eyes widened in horror as he realized the boy was part of team Red, and he had just saved his life.

"Oh bugger... I didn't know, Crackle!" he protested in alarm as the other man slowly turned to face him. "I swear I didn't know!"

Crackle set the tablet aside and he had Neal by the throat in an instant. He shoved him facedown on the bed and then held him there, turning his gaze to the others in the room. "Hand me the Crackle Stick." he ordered.

Crackle was a good six inches shorter than Neal, but he was stronger and he easily pinned the taller man underneath him.

"Wait, wait!" Neal cried, struggling uselessly. "It was an accident! I really didn't know!"

"Now." Crackle ordered, holding out his hand. "Pass it to me."

Roosevelt very hesitantly handed over the Crackle Rod, not really knowing what Neal had done to deserve being punished. Crackle was completely enraged, and the second he had the crackle rod in his hand, he brought it down hard across Neal's back, eliciting an immediate yell of pain. Crackle held Neal still and brought it down again and then again, and Neal's yells quickly turned desperate as he was struck over and over. Crackle paused at the tenth blow, weapon still raised above his head as he stared down at Neal, the pained cries triggering something within him. Without a word, he turned on the weapon and gave Neal a powerful shock, and Neal screamed as the electricity coursed through him. He then fell silent as he lost consciousness.

Crackle tried to digest what this odd feeling within him was, and knew he didn't like it. Regret was a bitter emotion, and he closed his eyes as he fought against it. Crackle spent almost all his time in the company of his team, and he was starting to get very attached to them all. The feelings of desperate loneliness weren't present any longer, and he knew it was because of their constant company.

Hearing those cries of pain from Neal made him feel something deeply unpleasant. He didn't understand it, but it made him feel awful for being the cause of that pain. Grimacing, he slowly lowered the rod and then turned it off.

Crackle stared down at Neal as that unexplainable feeling only got worse, and for the first time, felt like he'd perhaps gone too far. He'd only done exactly what he'd been trained, but he'd forgotten for a second about how easily Neal bruised. He had let his anger take control, and realized he had probably hurt Neal a lot worse than intended. His training dictated that for such a serious offence Neal was to be struck no less than forty times, but Crackle didn't want to. It was an accident, and it didn't seem fair to be punished for it, but this was what he was taught. All serious mistakes were to be dealt with harshly and with no exception.

Why was he feeling like this? What was wrong with him? His hand began shaking a bit and he dropped the crackle rod to the floor. He was going against Dr. Bellum's orders, but he couldn't hit Neal any more. Thirty more hits would be devastating to someone with Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome, and he wasn't going to do it.

Crackle looked down at Neal and then reached down to unzip his slick suit. He yanked the suit down far enough so he could see his back, and then lifted Neal's undershirt so he could take a look. Sure enough, he could see ten lines across his back from where he'd been struck, and they were quickly darkening. Pulling Neal's undershirt off so he'd have full access to his back, Crackle reached for the jar of bruise balm.

Hoping that if he applied the balm before the bruises could fully form they wouldn't be as bad, he slathered a thick layer over the back. He gently worked the cream in and then approached the motel mini-fridge to get a few icepacks. Laying the icepacks on Neal's back, he took a seat beside the other man and then sat head in hand, not looking at the others who were all staring at him.

No one dared say a single word, and Crackle didn't move from his spot as he waited for Neal to regain consciousness. Dash exchanged a look with the twins who looked incredibly concerned, and then stared at Neal, knowing that beating was undeserved. Neal had no way of knowing that random kid was part of Carmen's crew. Dash's gaze shifted to Crackle who hadn't said a single word since the beating. He felt like something had just changed, and he wasn't certain yet if it was good or bad. Dash was going to keep a wary eye on things in case Crackle decided to take out his anger on the rest of them.

Neal regained consciousness after an hour, and when he realized Crackle was sitting right beside him, he flinched away in fear. Crackle didn't move however, and Neal relaxed after a few tense minutes. Neal then glanced over his shoulder and saw the icepacks were once again on his back. How many times did Crackle hit him after he was knocked out? Almost too scared to even think about the damage, he removed one of the icepacks so he could see.

Neal couldn't see much of his back other than his shoulder, but he didn't see any particularly black bruises within sight. Strange… Neal knew that with the force he was hit and with the amount of pain it caused, he should have had terrible bruising across his whole back. It was then that he smelled the balm. Had Crackle treated him that soon after he'd been beaten?

He glanced at Crackle and saw the way the man was sitting head in hand and not moving at all. Neal felt his anger and fear melting away to be replaced by concern.

"You okay, wombat?" Neal asked, glancing at the very still Aussie.

Crackle clenched his fists and Neal went quiet, certain he had pushed him too far.

"You can all have the day off tomorrow." Crackle stated, his voice sounding utterly defeated.

Everyone turned to stare at him in shock.

"Er...say again?" Neal questioned him skeptically.

"Take the day." Crackle repeated. "Do whatever you want."

Without another word, Crackle flopped down on the bed and faced the wall, turning his back to the rest of the room.

Neal exchanged a look with everyone else and Dash gave a thoughtful hum.

"Maybe you should be beaten more often." he commented.

Neal normally would have responded to that with a nasty comeback, but he instead slowly sat up and looked down at Crackle worriedly. He placed a hand on Crackle's shoulder, but the other man jerked away from him.

"Don't." Crackle snapped, his tone warning.

"Graham."

Crackle slowly turned to look at Neal, the sound of his name seeming to burn in his ears.

"What's going on?" Neal asked.

Crackle said nothing, simply looking away again. Neal gave him a nudge, and a tissue box suddenly struck the side of his head. He glanced over at Dash who was desperately motioning for him to cut it out. The twins were giving him pleading looks, and even Paper Star was glowering at him. It was obvious the others were worried he was going to make Crackle change his mind, and Neal rolled his eyes not really caring.

He gave Crackle another poke. "Come on, Graham, something's bothering you. If you don't tell me what it is, I can't help."

Crackle still said nothing. Hearing his old name was strange, but for some reason it was also a little bit comforting. Neal wasn't so easily dissuaded and he leaned over him until he was in Crackle's field of vision.

"What's wrong?" he demanded again. "Are you sick?"

"Neal!" Dash hissed at him.

"Come on, Graham, what's going on?" Neal persisted. "Just let us help you. Tell me what's wrong, what are you thinking?"

Crackle let out a deep sigh. "I don't know." he admitted.

Neal wasn't really expecting an answer, and wasn't quite sure how to respond to that. "You're looking a little bit...down." Neal responded. "Did something happen?"

Crackle turned his head slightly so he was making eye contact. "I think there's something wrong with me…"

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Team Red

Team Red Base

July 3rd 2019

11pm

"This is ridiculous!" Tigress snarled, crossing her arms angrily.

"This is really hard for him, Sheena." Carmen responded. "We just have to be patient."

Tigress glowered at her. "He's been in there for over two hours!"

"He's trying, okay?" Zack defended. "He's been working really hard to get better, and he just needs a bit of patience!"

"My patience ran out after the first hour." Tigress responded dryly.

"Bro, I gotta pee." Ivy complained. "Can you go check on him? My bladder is about to burst."

"Use the basement bathroom." Zack snapped.

"I can't use that bathroom." she hissed at him. "It's beyond nasty and I think that toilet has been there longer than Shadowsan's been alive."

Shadowsan made a disapproving sound in the back of his throat.

"Oh, no offence, Shadowsan." she quickly added. "Can't you just go see if he's even still alive in there, Zack?"

Zack frowned at everyone in the room. "Come on, guys. Show a little compassion here."

"I want to go to bed and I can't do that without removing my makeup and brushing my teeth." Tigress informed him. "I am tired, and I'm beginning to lose patience."

"Mi amigo, two hours is a little long…" El Topo said looking sympathetic.

"He's just being dramatic." Le Chèvre commented, not looking impressed.

"Okay, okay!" Zack said with a scowl. "I'll go check on him."

Zack left the living room and walked up the hallway towards the bathroom. He then knocked on the door.

"Mime Bomb?" Zack questioned. "Are you okay in there?"

Of course there was no response, but Zack still paused before continuing. "Can you let me in for a minute?"

The lock clicked open, and Zack slipped into the bathroom, not quite sure what to expect. He found Mime Bomb standing in front of the bathroom mirror with a towel around his waist, and tubes of makeup in his hands. To his surprise, Mime Bomb didn't have any makeup on at all and seemed to be struggling with something internally. Mime Bomb glanced over at him, his expression nervous and very uncertain.

It had been six weeks since Mime Bomb first arrived at the base, and Zack had only seen him out of makeup that first day. Mime Bomb had always obsessively reapplied his makeup anytime it got smeared or damaged. He'd forgotten the other boy had freckles, and he offered him a smile, hoping to ease a bit of Mime Bomb's anxiety.

"Looking good, buddy. You ready to get to bed?"

Mime Bomb glanced down at the makeup in his hands, and he silently shook his head.

"You don't want to put that on." Zack warned him. "Shadowsan swore he'd wipe it off himself if you did."

Mime Bomb grimaced, and Zack realized how much more expressive the other boy's face was without layers of makeup covering it.

"Come on." Zack urged. "It's going to be okay. You're safe here, and no one is going to stare at you if that's what you're worried about."

Mime Bomb shook his head.

"People need to get in here." Zack told him. "Ivy's about to leave a puddle on the floor. Come on, man, let's go."

Again Mime Bomb shook his head and Zack frowned at him.

"You're not ready?"

Mime Bomb nodded, his gaze still on the makeup.

"You just need a few more minutes?"

Mime Bomb nodded.

"Everyone's not going to like this." Zack informed him.

Mime Bomb gave no reaction and so Zack let out a sigh. "I'll be back to check on you in a few minutes."

Zack let the bathroom and headed back for the living room, knowing this wasn't going to go over well.

Tigress scowled over at him. "Well?" she demanded.

Zack rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. "Um...he's not ready to come out yet…"

Tigress' eyes flared in anger and she got up to her feet. "That's IT." she snarled, storming off in the direction of the bathroom.

Everyone quickly followed her in disbelief, wondering what the girl was about to do. Tigress didn't even bother knocking, just storming into the bathroom without invitation. A second later, Mime Bomb was thrown out of the bathroom with such force, he stumbled backwards into the wall.

"Ever take that long again and I'll drown you in the toilet!" she snarled at him.

Tigress then slammed the bathroom door closed and locked it. Mime Bomb stood there in shock for a few seconds, wearing nothing but the towel around his waist, and then he got mad. He angrily kicked the bathroom door and then turned to see everyone staring at him.

"That's what you look like?" Chase asked in surprise. "But you look completely normal! Why do you hide your face with all that ridiculous make-up?"

Mime Bomb was clearly furious, and to everyone's surprise, he didn't head for his bedroom, he instead stormed past them to the living room. They watched as he powered on the PS4 and then selected the save data. He then went down through the list of data and began deleting everything under Tigress' profile.

Zack let out a gasp of horror. "Sheena spent weeks on that game!" he cried out. "She's going to murder you! She was on the final level!"

Mime Bomb clearly didn't care because he deleted everything, and then tossed the controller aside, storming past everyone to his bedroom. A second later, they heard the door slam closed.

"Well, at least he's not wearing any makeup." Carmen said, trying to lighten the mood.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Team Crackle

Green Tree Motel

July 4th 2019

1pm

Team Crackle were all dressed as civilians, and were impatiently waiting for Crackle to give them the go-ahead to leave. Crackle was checking on a few last things on the tablet, and were making them wait until he was done.

Crackle had finally opened up to them about his missing memories and the experiments Dr. Bellum had done on him, and they'd been horrified. He told them of his training, of what was expected of him, and how he wasn't supposed to form any sort of emotions towards any of them. He explained how memories had slowly been returning to him, and how he'd begun to have doubts.

None of them had known what to say, but it was surprisingly the twins who vowed to help him in any way they could. They swore they'd help him remember somehow, and it had actually made Crackle feel a little better now they knew his secret. Neal and Dash had agreed to help as well, but Paper Star had said nothing at all.

Everyone knew how dangerous Dr. Bellum's experiments were, and no one had any idea what they could do to fix Crackle's mind. They all promised to research it and find some way to help him. The fact this was done to an operative made them uneasy, knowing it could have just as easily been any of them.

Neal glanced over at the twins as they waited, and he gave them a wide smile. "You two chose to dress exactly the same when you literally could have chosen any outfit to wear at all. That's cute."

The twins looked down at their matching jeans and t-shirts, not sure what the problem was. They'd always dressed the same, and the thought hadn't even occurred to them to wear different outfits.

"Even your sneakers match!" Neal exclaimed in delight. "That's adorable!"

"Like you have room to criticize." Dash commented, looking him up and down with frown. "What exactly are you wearing?"

Neal glanced down at his sweatpants and sweatshirt with a shrug. "Casual clothes."

Dash looked like he'd sucked a lemon as he glanced around at what all his teammates were wearing. "You all need help." he commented with a sigh. "Luckily, I'm here to make sure you don't walk around looking like disasters."

Neal raised a brow as Dash grabbed the twin's dufflebags and began digging through them. He frowned at the available selection of clothes and then grabbed blue t-shirts and hoodies out of the bag. He pressed them into the twin's arms, and then grabbed up Neal's bag.

Dash wrinkled his nose at the selection of clothes and compared them critically. "Why does every single casual shirt you own have a zebra on the front?" he demanded.

Neal gave him a shrug. "I like zebras."

Dash scoffed, but made no further comments as he tried to find something presentable. Finally, he grabbed jeans, a white t-shirt and a grey hoodie. He shoved them into Neal's arms and then turned to Paper Star.

Very cautiously he reached for her dufflebag and she watched him with narrowed eyes, but didn't stop him. Dash seemed more pleased with the selection of clothes in her bag and he selected a very colourful outfit of green jeans, a black band shirt and a pink leather jacket. He knew the contrast of colours would suit her very well.

"You should let me do your hair as well." he said, looking over her style thoughtfully. "We're supposed to be blending in, and your hair might be a little too intense for San Diego."

Dash seemed to be genuinely enjoying himself as he outfitted his teammates, and no one commented, simply watching in amusement as Dash looked over Paper Star's hair.

"I like my hair the way it is." she responded, a dangerous tone entering her voice. Her entire life everyone around her had always hated her hair and tried to make her have a more traditional style, and she detested normal.

"It's perfect for you, I like the two colours." Dash acknowledged. "I was just thinking that we could keep the two colours and separate your hair into ponytails to soften your look a bit for today's excursion. It will really compliment the punk look you sport, and draw less attention towards us. I have the perfect makeup in mind for you, and it would be nice to work with someone with such a nice face."

Paper Star narrowed her eyes, and Neal was expecting bloodshed at any moment. To his surprise, Paper Star gave Dash a shrug, her expression mellowing a bit.

"Do what you must." she said with a sigh. "But don't cut it, and don't colour it."

Dash looked like a kid on Christmas Day, and he gave her a pleased nod. He then glanced at everyone watching him, and then frowned when he saw no one had changed yet. "Well, do you want to look somewhat decent, or do want to look like hobos?" he demanded.

Roosevelt glared over at him. "I'm no hobo, I like girls!" he protested angrily.

Dash looked genuinely pained for a moment. "Just...just go change, please."

Neal was highly amused over the whole thing, and decided to humour him and headed to the bathroom to change clothes. The twins only had to change their shirts and so they did it in the room, putting on the t-shirt and the hoodies Dash had picked out for them.

A few moments later, Neal came out of the bathroom, wearing the new outfit. Dash wrinkled his nose at him critically and then circled him with a frown.

"Well, it's an improvement at least…" he commented. "That hair...though. Ugh. Couldn't you have at least washed it? It's disgusting."

Neal rolled his eyes. "Always so charming, Dash."

Dash frowned at the oily hair and then got an idea. Approaching Neal's dufflebag, he dug through it and a moment later pulled out a plain gray beanie. He then approached and yanked it down on top of Neal's head, hiding most of the hair from view.

"There!" Dash exclaimed. "Much better. Now you almost look presentable."

"Gee, thanks." Neal said dryly.

Dash looked at Double Trouble who were still dressed identically but looked better put together, and he gave them a nod of approval. "Much better." he commented.

"Okay, your turn to get dressed." he informed Paper Star. "I'll get my supplies ready while you change."

Paper Star didn't say a single word and headed to the bathroom as Dash glanced over at Crackle who was still staring down at the tablet. He grabbed Crackle's dufflebag and began digging through it, and within seconds Dash was quickly frowning.

"Why is every casual pair of pants you own capris?" he demanded.

Crackle glanced up. "I have no idea."

Dash sighed, hating capris but seeing no other option. Crackle was built a lot smaller than the other men on the team, but was too muscular for Paper Star's clothes. He would have to wear the capris if he wanted to dress casually. Dash selected the best outfit he could find which consisted of capris, t-shirt and hoodie and then tossed them at Crackle who was back to ignoring him.

Paper Star came back out and Dash grabbed his makeup bag and approached her, excited to get to work on her hair. Without comment, she took a seat on the bed and Dash sat behind her and immediately got to work removing the various pins out of her hair. As he began brushing out the hair, he quickly realized her hair was a lot longer than it looked. Wishing he was allowed to cut and style it, he settled for instead brushing it out and separating the hair by colour. Tying it into two even ponytails, he added different coloured hair-ties for contrast and left a single piece of dark hair to hang loose across her forehead to soften her appearance.

Removing a few different shades of makeup, he compared colours and then made his selections. Neal and the twins were watching in interest, and Dash ignored them, makeup being something he was an expert at. Paper Star stayed perfectly still as he worked, and he chose bright colours that would match her outfit as well as her hair. When he was finished, he gave a nod of approval and then put his makeup away.

"There, all done." he announced. "You're perfect."

Paper Star stood and approached the mirror to take a look. When she saw what he'd done, she looked pleasantly surprised, raising a hand to her face. Her face looked flawless and her eyeshadow was in a rainbow of subtle colours that brought out her brown eyes that matched her look perfectly. She normally wore a dark purple lipstick, but Dash had chosen a gentle shade of red and it made her look both feminine and fierce at the same time.

She turned her gaze to Dash who wasn't even paying attention to her anymore, and smiled. No one saw it besides Neal who gave her a thumb's up, causing her to roll her eyes.

"What about you, Dashie?" Neal asked. "What are you going to wear?"

Dash gave him a look like he was an idiot and then indicated the outfit he already had on. Neal stared at the designer slacks, leather boots, silk shirt with vest and then rolled his eyes.

"How in any way is that outfit 'casual'?" Neal demanded. "It looks like you're dressed for a posh gentlemen's club."

Dash gave him an impatient look. "This is casual." he snapped. "I'm wearing a cotton blend vest, with an eggshell white shirt instead of true white, no tie, and sturdier pants for is a completely casual outfit."

Neal looked skeptical. "Whatever you say, love. I still think you look like you're attending a wedding or something..."

Dash rolled his eyes and then glared over at Crackle who was still doing something on the tablet.

"Can we go now?" he demanded. "It's already after one! I want time to actually do something today! I'm feeling tired today and don't want to stay out long."

Crackle looked up. "I'm just finishing this report."

"What could you possibly have to report?" Dash demanded. "Our patrol this morning produced nothing!"

"I still have to report that we patrolled." Crackle explained.

Dash sighed. "Why do we have to wait for you when none of us are even going to spend the day together? We're all going to do our own thing."

Crackle gave him a nod. "Fine, go ahead." he said. "Remember that we are going to meet at the park no later than ten. We'll meet on the hill overlooking the sand pits."

His team all nodded, and so Crackle waved them towards the door. "Don't draw attention to yourselves, and no fighting." he said firmly.

Neal gave him a salute. "Aye aye, Graham the Lady Hunter, we'll be on our best behaviour."

"No fighting." Crackle repeated.

"Yes, fine." Dash responded, impatiently.

"No fighting." Crackle repeated, his tone firm.

Neal rolled his eyes. "No fighting." he acknowledged.

Crackle gave them a nod, and then watched silently as they left the motel room. Paper Star walked off without a glance back at anyone else, and to Neal and Dash's surprise the twins separated and left in different directions. Neal exchanged a look with Dash, shrugged and then headed off in the same direction as Theodore. Dash stared after them and rubbed at his eyes, feeling exhausted but not willing to give up a free day off. Giving one glance back at the motel, he sighed and then headed off, intending on making the most of his free time.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Team Red Base

July 4th

1pm

Ivy let out a yelp as she got shocked painfully and yanked her hand back from her invention. Sucking on her burnt fingers with a frown, she felt frustrated and a little bit disappointed. She was certain adding a new chip would fix the issue, but she was clearly wrong.

She'd been having trouble concentrating today and her inventions were paying the price. She didn't like the idea of her little brother traveling all the way to Wales without her, but she knew she had to remain behind. Carmen needed her here as both a getaway driver and also as her mechanic. Carmen broke a lot of equipment on missions, and Ivy was the only one who could repair them. She was necessary to the missions and couldn't be spared.

Wales was an incredibly safe country, but Ivy still didn't like Zack being so far away. Today they were going to celebrate the holiday as a team, and tomorrow Zack would be leaving with Mime Bomb on their private jet. This was the last day she'd see her brother before he left, and Ivy felt incredibly nervous, a thousand things going through her mind.

There was another huge spark, and Ivy winced as a plume of smoke hit her in the face. She needed to pay attention to what she was doing or she was going to hurt herself.

Grabbing a soldering iron, Ivy removed a damaged piece out of her invention and then began repairing the inside of the gadget.

Ivy knew that both Zack and Mime Bomb would actually be a lot safer in Wales rather than remaining in San Diego because of the current threat from Team Crackle, but she still didn't like it. She'd always been by her brother's side since the day he was born and him being that far away felt wrong.

Ivy began replacing the damaged wiring, and realized her mind kept wandering no matter how hard she tried to concentrate.

Pushing her goggles up onto her forehead, Ivy rubbed the bridge of her nose, and turned away from her workbench. She wasn't going to accomplish anything today other than blowing something up, and so she headed out of her little shop towards the kitchen. Passing by her brother, who was excitedly telling Le Chèvre about July the 4th, she headed for the fridge to grab a drink. Opening the fridge door, she frowned when she saw all her Pepsi were gone.

"Alright, who swiped all my soda?" she demanded, irritably. "I put six in there last night!"

Zack glanced over at her. "That would be Mime Bomb." he replied. "He's a nervous wreck and hasn't eaten since yesterday. I had to bully him just to get him to drink anything. He has been downing Pepsi like they're beer all morning."

Ivy let out a sigh. Mime Bomb had a really bad habit of swiping other people's food, but she was willing to let it go considering the circumstance.

"OY!" Ivy bellowed out."MIME BOMB! COME HERE FOR A SECOND!"

Le Chèvre glared at her from where he sat and made a show of rubbing at his ears. Mime Bomb popped his head into the kitchen a moment later, and then winced at the angry look on Ivy's face.

"Eat something." she ordered, pointing to the fridge. "Stop stealing my soda, and actually eat real food. There's some leftover pizza in there somewhere. Eat that."

Mime Bomb simply stared at her and so Ivy crossed her arms. "Move it, bub, before I decide to get mad over the Pepsi theft!"

Mime Bomb slunk over to where she was and then obediently grabbed the leftover pizza out of the fridge. Ivy watched him with narrowed eyes, and when it looked like he was going to actually do as ordered, she took a seat at the table with her brother and Le Chèvre.

"Where's your other half?" Ivy asked.

Le Chèvre made a disdainful sound in the back of his throat. "He went shopping with Sheena and won't be back for an hour. I wasn't invited."

"And how many times have you texted him since he left?" Ivy asked with a wide grin.

Le Chèvre's phone chose that exact moment to ding as a text came through, and Le Chèvre flushed.

"Ya got it bad, JP!" she said, clapping him on the shoulder. "I think it's sweet."

Le Chèvre grumbled something in French and then checked to see what the text said, immediately smiling in response.

"So, what're the plans for tonight?" Ivy asked.

Zack smiled happily. "We're going to the big celebration in the park once it's dark. I'm so excited! I'm going to gorge on every food truck in the area, set off pop-rockets, and then watch the fireworks after dark!"

"You sure you want to stay out that late? Your flight leaves at six tomorrow morning."

Zack gave a shrug. "Meh, we can sleep on the plane."

Mime Bomb took a seat with them with two slices of pizza on a plate.

"You going to the celebrations too?" Ivy questioned him.

Mime Bomb nodded, curious over how excited Zack was. He'd never celebrated the 4th of July, but he knew it was important to Zack, and by the sheer amount of decorations around the city, people made a big deal out of it.

"Carmen and Chase are going to be meeting with that Julia Argent woman at the celebrations. If it's a trap, there will be plenty of crowd cover to escape in." Le Chèvre informed her. "I personally wouldn't have taken the risk."

"Carmen trusts her, and so does Chase. If they think she will join us, then it will only make our team stronger." Ivy replied. "Carm knows what she's doing."

Le Chèvre let out a rude snort. "If you say so." he replied, turning his attention back to his phone.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Julia Argent

Starbucks at the edge of the park

7pm

Julia sat at the cafe table and glanced down at her watch. She was a bit early, but she had a feeling Carmen's crew were somewhere in the crowds, and they likely knew she was there. She sat stiff and straight as she waited, her eyes glued to the crowds walking past. The barista approached the table and Julia looked up, about to give her order. To her surprise, the barista placed a drink down in front of her and then left without a single word. Julia frowned down at the drink and hesitantly picked it up. Taking a very cautious sip, she realized it was a soy latte, her usual drink.

Julia gazed around the cafe, but saw no signs of Team Red. Knowing she was probably being tested, Julia remained calm and took another sip of the latte. She was about halfway finished the latte when someone slipped into the seat across from her. Julia looked up and met Chase's gaze with a smile.

"Hello, Chase." she greeted.

"Evening, Ms. Argent." he replied, setting his own coffee on the table.

"Thank you for agreeing to speak with me." Julia said, relieved Chase trusted her enough for this meeting. "It's good to see you."

Chase gave her a nod, and took a gulp of his coffee, saying nothing. Julia could see his nervousness even though he was trying hard to hide it. She found her gaze settling on his scar, and she could see how Chase's left eye was a bit red and was obviously healing from an injury. It looked like someone had slashed his face with a machete and she desperately wanted to ask about it. Instead, she took another sip of her latte.

"You remembered my drink." she commented.

Chase let out a snort. "I'm not that unobservant." he protested. "We used to get coffee every morning together."

Julia honestly did think Chase was that unobservant most of the time, but wisely didn't say so.

"I need to know that I can trust you, Ms. Argent." Chase said.

"I am not going to betray your trust." she promised him.

Chase frowned at her, and she reached out and took his hands in hers. "I swear on Yu Yan's memory that I will not betray you."

Chase's eyes widened and he stiffened, trying to pull his hands away. She tightened her grip and maintained eye contact with him. Chase knew Julia would never hurt him by using the memory of his wife against him, and so he slowly relaxed and Julia loosened her hold on him.

"I just want to talk." she assured him. "Right now, I'm not A.C.M.E, and you're not on Team Sandiego. We're just two friends having a conversation."

Chase stared into her eyes, and he found himself nodding. "I trust you." he told her.

Only moments after the words left his mouth, Carmen slipped into the seat beside him. Julia stared at her in surprise, and Carmen offered her a smile.

"Hi Jules."

Julia adjusted her glasses and gave the other woman a nod. "Hello, Carmen Sandiego."

"I'm here to answer any questions you might have about my team." Carmen explained.

Julia stared at her for a moment and then nodded. Turning her gaze to Chase, she asked. "Did you betray A.C.M.E and commit espionage?"

Chase nodded. "Yes."

Julia had been expecting him to deny it and her eyes widened. Chase would get life in prison for such an offense, and she knew he was perfectly aware of that.

"Why?" she asked him gently. "I know you must have had a very good reason, and I just need to know why."

"A.C.M.E and Interpol are corrupted." Chase replied. "Both A.C.M.E and V.I.L.E have agents manipulating Interpol and law enforcement to their every whim. They steal government secrets, they break laws, they hurt people, and they ruin lives. They are exactly the type of corruption that I've been fighting against my entire life."

Julia immediately shook her head. "A.C.M.E fights against the corruption." she insisted.

Chase shook his head. "They're willing to go to any lengths to get to V.I.L.E, even if that means hurting innocent people. A.C.M.E is a militaristic dictatorship where anyone who even questions authority is immediately removed from position and punished. A.C.M.E is one woman on a power trip, and I refuse to be a part of it. A.C.M.E is corrupt, and they need to be taken down."

Julia couldn't believe how Chase could say all that with so much certainty. "Chase, you're mistaken. A.C.M.E only cares about fighting against corruption as well. They help people, they don't hurt them."

Chase stared at her for a moment, and then reached down into his backpack. He pulled out a thick folder and plopped it onto the table in front of her. "These are all the people that were collateral damage in A.C.M.E's quest to take down V.I.L.E. The list is extensive."

Julia stared at the thick folder in surprise, and then pulled it towards her. She opened it and saw it was indeed full of reports and profiles of people she'd never heard of before. She frowned and then looked up at him.

"This can't be right."

"They are corrupt." Chase repeated.

Julia knew Chase had to be mistaken, but knew it would be something she'd have to prove to him. She'd research everything in this folder and then she'd be able to show him where he was mistaken. Until then, she would have to humour him.

"What information did you need from A.C.M.E when you hacked into their servers?" she asked.

"Proof of Michael Finnegan's corruption." he replied. "A.C.M.E knew all about him and did nothing to stop him. They allowed him to hurt hundreds of people when they could have put him behind bars at any time."

Julia's eyes widened. "You were responsible for taking down Michael Finnegan?" she asked in shock.

The reports had been all over the news a few weeks ago, and when it came out what the Finnegans had been responsible for, it had sickened her.

Chase nodded. "By taking down the Finnegans we were able to save thousands of lives."

Julia's gaze went to his scar. "Is that how you were injured?" she asked in concern.

Chase raised a hand to his face and then nodded, wincing at the memory. "We ran into some trouble when infiltrating Michael Finnegan's Poitiers base, and had to fight our way out of the building. We all made it out, but we were all injured."

"Oh, Chase." she said in sympathy. "I'm so sorry, but you should have told us about your plans to take down the Finnegans and we could have helped. I'm certain the Chief wanted them gone just as much as you did."

"No, I don't think so." Chase said, his tone growing bitter. "Don't you remember how our meeting went?'A.C.M.E does not negotiate' and I am simply a 'disgrace and embarrassment to France'."

Julia winced, remembering how horrible the Chief had been to Chase during that meeting.

"A.C.M.E is willing to take lives to further their own agenda and I won't be a part of it. They are planning on killing Carmen."

Julia's eyes widened. It was Carmen now, not Le Femme Rouge.

Carmen had been silent this entire time, and she now spoke up. "My team does not take lives, and we do not hurt innocent people. We may break a few laws, but we help people who are otherwise left to rot by V.I.L.E and A.C.M.E."

Julia took another sip of her latte, and frowned. "You're mistaken about A.C.M.E." she insisted.

"You're one of the smartest people I know." Chase told her. "Please just look at the evidence given to you and piece it together."

Julia was taken aback. Never in their whole partnership did Chase ever acknowledge her intelligence. He'd always been a bit rude and dismissive when she argued with him, and she'd honestly believed he'd thought she was an idiot. To hear him say this, made her feel both relieved and rather concerned. Chase was not acting like his usual self and it was worrying.

"I will look through the file carefully." she promised him.

If you decide to leave A.C.M.E, there will always be a place for you on our team." Carmen told her kindly. "We are not a dictatorship, we are a family, and we value everyone's unique skills and talents equally. Chase is part of our family, and he cares a great deal for you. He was the one that insisted you could be trusted."

Chase flushed in embarrassment. "I don't think she needs to know that!" he hissed at Carmen.

Carmen smiled. "No, I think she does." she replied. "Julia needs to know that she doesn't need to worry about coming to our side. She needs to know she will be valued, and that we will listen to her."

Carmen gave him a pointed look, and Chase's flush deepened.

"Oh...er...yes." he said, once again turning his gaze to Julia. "I...I wanted to apologize for how I treated you during our partnership. I was incredibly rude, and you did nothing to deserve it. I ignored you, dismissed your opinions, and was unpleasant in every way. I have a lot of issues I'm working through, and I unfairly targeted you. I just wanted to say that...I'm sorry. I'm sorry, Julia."

Chase averted his gaze as he said this and Julia was dumbfounded. It was true that Chase had been infuriating at times, but she understood he was going through a hard time, and she had never made a big deal out of it. Hearing him say the words though made Julia relieved in a way she couldn't explain. Chase seemed better than she'd ever seen him and realized that perhaps, Carmen Sandiego's team had done him good.

Julia reached out and once again took Chase by the hands. "I knew you were going through a hard time." she assured him. "I never took anything you said to heart. We're friends Chase, and I understand."

"Please don't stay with A.C.M.E." Chase begged her. "They're going to get you killed. They don't care about you, Julia, and the Chief won't hesitate to toss you aside the moment you can no longer be used."

Julia frowned. "The Chief would never do that." she insisted. "She has always looked out for me."

"Just like how she'd never do that to me?" he challenged.

Julia winced, knowing he was right. She hadn't agreed with what the Chief had said or done to Chase during the interrogation, and it left a seed of doubt in her mind.

Carmen offered the girl another smile. "Just take a few days and give everything a bit of consideration. We will contact you and you can give your answer then."

This seemed reasonable, and Julia gave her a nod. "Does your team steal?" she demanded.

Carmen nodded. "We steal from V.I.L.E to return stolen property back to their rightful owners." she replied.

This was exactly what Julia had suspected and she felt just a tiny bit smug. None of this showed on her face however, and she simply gave Carmen a nod.

"I will carefully research this." she promised.

"Chase, we should go meet the others now." Carmen whispered. "We're going to be late."

Chase gave her a nod, and then stood up from the table. "It was good to see you, Ms. Argent." he said, his tone falling back into formal.

"It was good to see you too, Chase." Julia answered.

"We'll be in contact, Jules." Carmen promised, turning towards the door.

"Goodbye, Ms. Agent." Chase said, following after Carmen.

"Goodbye..." Julia said, watching as they left the cafe without another word.

Chase fell into step beside Carmen and smiled down at her. "So I'm family?" he asked her, thinking of what she had said to Julia.

Carmen smiled up at him in amusement. "Of course you are." she replied, nudging him in the side.

"Which family member am I?" he questioned thoughtfully. "The father figure?"

Carmen made a face. "Er...no, not a father figure." she replied.

Chase grew thoughtful. "A brother, perhaps?"

Carmen laughed. "No, not a brother either. You're more of...an uncle." she said a bit hesitantly.

Chase considered that, and knew it fit him. "An uncle. I can live with that." he acknowledged.

Carmen gave another laugh at Chase's expression and nudged him again. "Let's get to the park so we can meet everyone for supper."

Chase nodded, and they walked along in a pleasant silence, both lost in thought about the meeting with Julia.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Team Crackle

4th of July Celebrations at the park

9pm

Neal limped his way into the park, surprised at how crowded it was. Celebrating families were all around him, and red, white and blue decorations were everywhere he looked. He grinned at the sight of people with facepaint and silly hats, and he caught sight of a baby dressed as a star. He decided right then and there that he liked this holiday after all. His day hadn't been ideal, but now it looked like things were finally looking a bit better.

Pulling out his phone, he snapped a couple selfies with the chaos of the celebrations behind him and then texted them to his brother, knowing he'd appreciate an update from him. Continuing on his way through the park, he winced as he walked along, knowing he'd have to find somewhere to sit down for a few minutes.

Finding a bench, he took a seat next to an old man, and glanced down at his phone as it buzzed.

'Are you at a party? Don't accept any food from strangers .'

Neal rolled his eyes at his brother's response. Leave it to Adam to immediately be a buzzkill.

'I'm at the local park. It's Independence Day in the U.S...Happy Eagle Day and all that. '

His brother's response came only seconds later.

'Parks are dangerous after dark. Are you there by yourself? '

Neal let out an exasperated sigh. 'Adam, I'm thirty-two, but no, I'm with five of my co-workers. I'm sure I'll survive the dangerous activity of watching fireworks. Relax .'

'You're not drinking are you? '

Neal gave another roll of his eyes. ' I've already downed four bottles of vodka and several dozen cocktails. I'm about to go home with some tattooed biker named Bubba .' he responded.

'Not funny, Neal .'

'Lmao :p Seriously stop worrying so much. I'll send you a pic of the fireworks once they start '

'Just be careful .'

'Will do .'

Neal pocketed his phone and then glanced down at his leg. It was still throbbing painfully, but he knew if he just rested it for a bit, he'd be fine. He'd dislocated his kneecap quite frequently in the past, and knew that it wasn't anything serious.

Neal sat there for about twenty minutes and then saw a familiar face in the crowd.

"HEY!" he bellowed out. "TEDDY!"

Theodore paused and glanced around in confusion.

"OVER HERE!"

Theodore's gaze settled on Neal and the huge man heaved a sigh and then approached him. "Hi Neal." he greeted.

"Hi, Teddy. Did you have a fun day?"

"It was great." Theodore answered, grinning brightly.

Neal's eyes immediately fell on the gap in the smile. "You're missing a tooth!" Neal pointed out. "Did you get in a fight too?"

"You too?" Theodore asked him in surprise, looking him up and down.

Neal laughed. "Yeah...kinda hurt my knee though."

Theodore looked down at Neal's skinny legs and frowned in concern. "You okay?"

"Yeah, yeah, just gotta rest my leg for a bit before I can walk. Just tell Crackle I'll be along in a while."

To Neal's surprise, Theodore knelt down beside him and indicated his back. "Get on." he invited.

Neal stared at him a moment and then grinned. "Aw, I knew you loved me, Teddy."

Theodore rolled his eyes but didn't comment. Neal was incredibly tall at 6'4 but Theodore still towered over him by nearly a foot. He easily hoisted Neal up onto his back as if he weighed nothing at all, and then began heading in the direction of the sand pits. Neal clung on as they walked along and Theodore held onto him by the legs, clearly worried he was going to drop him. Neal was amused by this, but didn't comment, just glad he didn't have to walk on his sore leg.

Neal then leaned in close to Theodore's ear. "Hey, Teddy, you should stop at that store over there so we can grab drinks."

Theodore glanced over at the convenience store and cocked his head as he considered it.

"It would be a shame to celebrate July the 4th without a few cold ones, eh?" Neal pointed out.

"We're not allowed to drink on assignments." Theodore pointed out.

"We're not on assignment today." Neal responded. "We have the day off, remember?"

Neal then spotted Roosevelt towering over the crowd nearby.

"HEY ROOSE!" he bellowed out. "ROOSE!"

Roosevelt glanced over at them, and then waved, making his way over. The blond was looking a bit ruffled and there was a bit of blood under his nose and Neal suspected he'd been in a fight as well, and he grinned in amusement.

"I'm lost." Roosevelt admitted as soon as he approached. "Where are we supposed to go?"

"Come help us carry some beer." Neal invited. "We still have time before we have to meet the others."

Roosevelt immediately nodded. "Yeah, sounds good. I could really go for a few beers."

Theodore was still a bit uncertain, but he was now outnumbered and so he gave a nod and then headed for the store. As they entered, Neal flashed the cashier a bright grin who eyed the twins with wary eyes, their huge size intimidating.

"Kia Ora." Neal greeted. "Don't suppose you carry Victoria Bitter, do you?"

"Import section at the back." the cashier hesitantly replied. "Not much left though."

Neal clapped Theodore on the shoulder. "Come on, let's grab a case!"

They headed for the back of the store and Roosevelt grabbed a 24 pack of Budweiser as Theodore took Neal to the import section.

"That's it there!" Neal told him, pointing.

Theodore wrinkled his nose. "Never heard of this brand." he complained. "It looks weird."

"It is weird." Neal confirmed. "It's Australian."

Theodore stared at the case of beer and then shrugged and grabbed one out of the cooler. Neal snagged a bag of cheetos as they passed by the chips and then they headed for the cashier. The cashier rang in their purchases, and then looked them up and down.

"I'm going to have to see some I.D since you all look under 40." he commented.

"Sure thing, love." Neal said, digging out his wallet. Pulling out his New Zealand I.D, he handed it over.

The cashier took the I.D and then stared down at it in confusion. "What is this?" he asked.

"New Zealand driver's license." Neal responded.

The cashier held the I.D up to the light and then frowned, not sure about it. "Neal Ferguson." he read out loud. "Can you tell me how old you are today?"

"Thirty-two."

"Birthdate?"

"November 15th 1987."

"Okay, fine." the cashier responded, handing the I.D back. "And you two?"

The twins exchanged a look and then handed over their . The cashier barely glanced at them before handing them back.

"$57.85."

After they'd paid, they made their way out of the store and began heading towards the sand pits where they were supposed to meet the others. Roosevelt paused for a minute to bend down to tie his shoe and Neal glanced around at the crowd, his gaze landing on Mime Bomb who was only standing about ten feet away from them. The mime was with the red-headed boy, and Neal knew they would make an easy target for the three of them. If he brought this to the twin's attention however, his day off would come to an abrupt end, because Crackle would make them scour the park for the rest of Team Red.

He met Mime Bomb's eyes, and then gave him a shrug. "Today's my day off, and I don't see anything." he stated, looking away. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Mime Bomb slip away into the crowd, pulling the red-headed boy after him.

"Hmm?" Theodore questioned, glancing over his shoulder at Neal.

"Oh, nothing." Neal answered. "Just looking forward to relaxing for a while."

Roosevelt straightened back up and then they were back on their way. The hill wasn't as busy as the rest of the park and they found Crackle and Paper Star sitting on the grass, watching the people below.

"Hey Team Awesome." Neal greeted.

Crackle turned to look at them, and he gave them a nod. Theodore helped lower Neal to the ground, and Crackle frowned at him.

"What's wrong?" he asked. "Are you hurt?"

"Just dislocated my kneecap a little bit." Neal told him. "Happens all the time. I'll be fine in a couple hours after my leg rests a bit."

Crackle narrowed his eyes. "How did you dislocate your kneecap?" he asked suspiciously.

"Tripped over a toddler in the park." Neal lied.

"Be more careful." Crackle scolded him, still suspicious. "We can't afford the time to wait for broken bones to heal."

Neal saluted, and then reached for a beer as Roosevelt ripped the two boxes open.

"Paper Star?" he questioned, holding up a beer.

She glanced up and then held out her hand silently. Neal tossed her the beer and she easily caught it, and cracked it open as Neal reached over and grabbed another one. Crackle stared at his team as they all opened a beer, and he frowned disapprovingly.

"You all know you're not allowed to drink." he stated, his expression quickly becoming annoyed.

"We're off the clock, love." Neal pointed out, taking a sip of his own can. He then held one out towards him. "Want one?"

"It's against the rules." Crackle said, knowing he would have to punish them for this.

"What V.I.L.E doesn't know won't hurt them." Neal commented. "I picked up some Australian beer. You want a little taste from home?"

"I don't drink." Crackle snapped.

Neal let out a snort. "You're Australian, love, of course you drink. Most Australians are drinking Victoria Bitter by the time they're 15."

Crackle frowned at the beer held out towards him. Was that true? Would he be familiar with this Australian beer if he tried it? Was it really such a crime if he allowed his team to have one night where they had a few beers? Even Dr. Bellum drank quite frequently, and she claimed she made some of her most creative inventions while drunk. If Dr. Bellum drank, then it must be alright for the operatives to do it occasionally too...right?

He very hesitantly reached out and took the can from Neal.

"There you go, love." Neal said, relieved Crackle was actually giving in.

Crackle stared at the can in his hand and then cracked it open. He gave the beer a careful sniff, and although it smelled foul, the smell was one he knew. Raising the can to his lips, he took a gulp, and he remembered many nights of hanging out with friends next to a lake as they drank and roasted food over an open fire. He remembered laughing and running along the sand as his friends chased him, and cans littered the beach from several hours of heavy drinking.

Crackle downed the can of beer like it was second nature, and Neal let out a laugh.

"Now, that's more like it." the Kiwi commented. "I knew you liked Victoria Bitter."

Crackle held out his hand, and was tossed a second one.

"Where's Dash?" Neal asked, glancing around. "It's after ten."

Paper Star gave him a disinterested shrug. Neal then noticed that her knuckles were bruised and one of her nails was broken. It seemed like Paper Star also got into a fight, and he smirked. Neal adjusted himself into a more comfortable position and silently sipped on his beer as he watched the men below beginning to set up for the fireworks.

"They wired that wrong." Crackle commented, also watching the men work. "They're going to end up detonating all those small ones at once."

"Oh man, we have to stay to watch that!" Neal exclaimed. "Will anything blow up?"

Crackle took a gulp of his beer before answering. "No, I doubt it. They have fail-safes for that sort of thing. Twelve or so little ones will go off, but it probably won't damage anything."

"Still fun though." Neal commented. "Oh, here comes fancy-pants now!"

Neal watched as Dash made his way up the hill towards them, and Neal waved at him, large grin in place. Dash rolled his eyes at him, but still made his way towards him.

"You're late, Dashie."

Dash's coat was wrinkled, he had a bruise under one eye, and his hair looked mussed and Neal grinning as he realized that they had ALL been in a fight that night. It looked like none of them were capable of following Crackle's one order for that day, and he laughed.

Dash's gaze fell on the beer in Neal's hand and he gave him a disapproving look. "You're drinking? Does Crackle know about this-" he cut off when he saw Crackle had a beer in his hand and two empties laying at his feet. "Nevermind."

"Take a seat!" Neal invited him, patting the ground beside him. "We're going to watch the fireworks."

Dash was feeling completely exhausted and would have rather returned to the motel but he reluctantly approached. Frowning at the thought of sitting on the ground, he removed his coat and then folded it, laying it on the ground beside Neal. As he carefully took a seat, being careful not to touch the grass, Neal smirked at him. Dash saw the look and scowled at him.

"Shut up, Neal."

"Didn't say anything, love."

Dash simply glared at him, and unscrewed the bottle of water he held without comment. Neal watched him for a moment and then held out a beer towards him.

"Here, fancy, unwind a little. You never know, you might actually end up having fun."

Dash curled up his lip at the sight of the beer. "What about me makes you think I would ever drink beer?"

"Don't be such a prude." Neal responded, setting the beer down in front of him. "Booze is booze."

Dash ignored the beer with a roll of his eyes, and Neal turned towards the twins with a grin. "Hey, you guys want to hear a funny story about Otterman?"

Roosevelt nodded as he cracked open his third beer. "Yeah. Tell us."

"Okay, so about five years ago, I was paired up with Moose Boy and Otterman for a mission in Sweden. Everything seemed to be going fine at first, but then the icicle incident happened."

"Icicle incident?" Theodore repeated in confusion.

"Let me explain." Neal said with a grin. "So we were approaching the museum to break in and-"

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Team Red

4th of July Celebrations at the park

10pm

Zack was startled when Mime Bomb suddenly grabbed his wrist and pulled him away into the crowd.

"Whoa!" he protested. "Where are we going?"

Mime Bomb shot a nervous glance over his shoulder and just kept walking, pulling Zack with him. He knew that if Neal and Double Trouble decided to attack, they wouldn't stand a chance against them. Zack wasn't a trained fighter, and Mime Bomb was better at defense rather than offensive fighting. He needed to get Zack as far away from them as possible.

"Wait, man, I'm not ready to go yet." Zack protested, yanking his wrist away. "I really wanted to watch the fireworks!"

Mime Bomb bit his lower lip and once again glanced behind them. It didn't look like they were being followed, but it still made him uneasy. Was Neal serious about it being the villain's day off? Were they really not going to come after them?

"What?" Zack demanded. "Did something happen?"

Mime Bomb knew how much Zack had been looking forward to today and really didn't want to ruin his fun, especially after what happened yesterday. Just one more day, and he'd have Zack safely away from V.I.L.E for a while. Giving one last glance around, Mime Bomb decided he'd just let Zack enjoy himself while he kept watch for any signs of danger.

"Let's grab some food!" Zack said, pointing towards the food trucks. "It's been a few hours since supper and I'm starving again."

Mime Bomb gave him a nod and Zack grinned and charged for the trucks, the mime following a bit reluctantly behind him. Zack loaded up on hotdogs, corndogs, popcorn, drinks and candy, and Mime Bomb helped him carry it to where the rest of Team Red were waiting.

"Hey, Mime Bomb, get a load of what I got." Zack whispered, showing him a bottle he'd hidden in his inside coat pocket. "They didn't even I.D me for this! I'm going to try wine for the first time and get sloshed. You in?"

Mime Bomb didn't have the heart to tell him it was sparkling apple juice, and simply gave him a nod.

Zack grinned at him and gave a conspiratorial wink. "Don't let Ivy find out. I don't turn twenty-one for another five months."

Mime Bomb made a zipper motion across his mouth and Zack smiled brightly, jogging over to where Team Red had laid down a few blankets on the grass.

"Hey, guys! This park is awesome! Mime Bomb and I checked out all the vendors, and we watched a music performance by a local band. I'm not really into metal, but Mime Bomb seemed to like it."

"Did you buy more food?" Ivy asked, aghast at the sight of all the snacks. "Bro, you're going to be spending the whole night in the bathroom if you keep eating that greasy garbage!"

Zack took a seat next to her and patted his stomach. "I have the gut of a champion." he replied. "I can never resist these spiral fry things."

Ivy rolled her eyes and reached out to steal a handful of his fries.

"When are the fireworks?" Zack asked, getting comfortable.

"Midnight." Ivy replied. "We still have two hours to go."

Zack gave a shrug. "Good, that'll give me plenty of time to have my snack and then go back for icecream."

"Ugh." Ivy complained.

Mime Bomb stared at the crowds all around them but still saw no signs of V.I.L.E. They were in a good position on the hill overlooking the golf course, and knew he'd be able to spot danger before it reached them. Relaxing, he took a seat on the blanket beside Zack and stole a fry.

Le Chèvre and El Toppo were sitting beside them, and the two men were having a quiet discussion between them, their fingers interlocked, as they watched the crowd below. Both seemed completely relaxed, and for the first time in days, Le Chèvre was smiling genuinely. The night was warm and pleasant, and he was finally able to relax and just spend a little time with his boyfriend without having to worry about anything else.

Shadowsan was sitting nearby, eyes closed, and seemed to be meditating. Carmen was chatting with Chase about something quite animatedly, and the ex-agent was listening with rapt interest to whatever she was saying. Tigress was playing on her phone and ignoring everyone around her, but she was at least sitting with them.

Everyone seemed so happy that Mime Bomb didn't want to ruin the moment, and decided not to mention V.I.L.E unless he was left with no other choice.

"Hey, Mime Bomb, want some of this 'soda'?" Zack asked, giving him another wink.

Smiling in amusement, Mime Bomb held out his bottle of Sprite and Zack topped it up with some of the sparkling apple juice.

"Enjoy, man." Zack said in good spirits.

Mime Bomb relaxed and leaned back on the blanket, content to simply enjoy his team's company for a while.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Team Crackle

4th of July Celebrations at the park

11pm

Team Crackle were having a great time and had been drinking for over an hour straight. Everyone except Dash were well on their way to getting drunk, and to everyone's surprise, Crackle let out a laugh at something Neal said. Crackle had been heavily drinking for the full hour and he was now on his 6th beer. He was 1 ahead of Double Trouble who were easily more than three times his body weight. Neal was actually rather impressed the smaller man was able to handle that much alcohol.

"Hey, I think that's the first time I've heard you laugh, wombat!" Neal said, throwing an arm around Crackle's shoulders. "I guess the beer is doing you a bit of good. We need to get you drunk more often!"

Crackle snickered and pushed him away. "S-Stop, I'm sus-susposed to be s-serious and s-stern with you-you guys."

Neal laughed. "Right. Well, I think you needed a day off from all that."

Dash stared down at the beer that still sat unopened in front of him. He had long since finished with his water, and he was honestly tempted by the beer, but didn't like the idea of drinking such a low-class drink. He was tired and feeling irritable, and wanted alcohol very badly. Letting out a resigned sigh, he reached down and cracked open the beer. Near glanced over at him and shot him a cheeky grin.

"Welcome to the dark side Darth Haber."

"Oh, shut up." Dash muttered, taking the straw from his water and sticking it into the can.

Neal squinted at him in disbelief. "You don't drink beer with a straw." he pointed out.

"I'm not putting that dirty can anywhere near my mouth." Dash responded, taking a sip of the beer.

"Whatever you say, Dashie." Neal responded in amusement.

A middle-aged woman suddenly stepped in front of them from a family nearby, and she crossed her arms disapprovingly. "Are you drinking?" she demanded. "There are children nearby! You're upsetting my boys!"

Neal glanced over at the kids who were too busy playing with sparklers to notice anything around them.

"Right." he stated with a shrug. "It's just Pepsi."

The woman scowled at him. "That is not Pepsi!" she snapped, raising her voice. "You're setting a bad example for my children, and I'd really appreciate it if you put away the beer!"

She received six unimpressed looks, and then they went back to their conversations, completely ignoring her.

The woman seemed to swell in fury and she snatched the can of beer out of Neal's hand and slammed it to the ground. "Do I have to call the park security?" she demanded, getting right in his face. "This s a family park!"

Neal leaned back from her and simply laughed, not intimidated in the least. Crackle however, didn't appreciate someone threatening one of his teammates. He threw an empty beer can at her, his expression furious.

"Bugger off, you bloody bogan before I knock you arse over tit!" he snarled, struggling to get up.

The twins each caught him by a shoulder to keep him sitting, and the woman gaped at him in surprise.

"Excuse me?!" she yelled at him. "How dare you-"

"You'd better just leave, love." Neal suggested, interrupting her. "No one wants any trouble. Just go back to your family, and everyone will be happy. Let's not ruin the night, eh? Let's all just enjoy the holiday."

The woman gave them a dirty look, but must have realized it wasn't a good idea to antagonize people who were drinking, and she stormed away without another word. Neal then glanced over and clapped Crackle on the back proudly.

"That was perhaps the most Aussie sentence I've ever heard." he complimented. "Good on ya, mate!"

Crackle muttered a bit angrily under his breath and reached for his seventh beer. The twins were grinning widely at their leader, and Neal let out a laugh.

"You should have killed her." Paper Star commented, from where she was laying at their feet comfortably.

"Naw, too messy." Neal responded in amusement.

They drank in silence for a few minutes and then Neal glanced up at the sky. The night was completely clear and there was a blanket of stars in the sky. Neal smiled up at the sky, remembering how he used to play a game with his brother when he was a child where he'd point to the first star that caught his attention and name something he wanted to do in life. They used to have a fun time coming up with the craziest things they could think of, and Neal felt a little bit nostalgic.

"If you guys could do anything at all without judgement, what would it be?" Neal asked.

Crackle seemed genuinely thoughtful as he considered the question. "Go fishing." he finally answered.

"Fishing, wombat?"

Crackle nodded. "My father used to take me fishing every weekend when I was a kid, and I loved it. I'd sp-spend a day fishing in Australia if I could."

"Nice choice." Neal acknowledged. "I'd choose to volunteer at a zebra reserve after doing a bit of travelling."

"Ugh, zebras again. What is with you and zebras?" Dash complained.

Neal shrugged. "I've just always loved them." he replied. "I think they're neat. What would you choose to do, fancy?"

Dash took another sip of his beer as he considered it. "Paint, I suppose."

Neal sat up. "Paint? Like a picture?"

Dash nodded, his gaze growing distant. "I've always been good at sketching, and I've always wanted to try my hand at painting, but I've never had the opportunity."

"What would you paint?" Theodore asked him in interest.

Dash shrugged. "I don't know, I'd probably just follow a Bob Ross tutorial or something. I don't know anything about painting or how to do it."

"Nice." Crackle responded.

"How about you, Teddy?" Neal asked.

Theodore blushed a little and looked down at the ground. "I'd like to sing." he responded. "On a stage."

Everyone except for his brother stared at him in surprise, definitely not expecting this.

"You can sing, Teddy?" Neal asked in delight.

Theodore nodded with a smile.

"Okay, let's hear it!" Neal exclaimed excitedly.

Theodore's eyes widened and he hurriedly shook his head.

"Oh, come on, Teddy. You can't just say that without showing us!" Neal protested.

Theodore frowned. "You guys will make fun of me."

Neal slapped a hand over his heart. "I swear we won't laugh, right guys?"

There was a murmuring of agreement, and Theodore frowned. "There's no music."

Neal clapped his hands together. "We can make you some if you like?"

Theodore glanced around at his teammates and saw he had their full attention. "But...what do I sing?"

"Well, it's the beginning of July…" Neal said thoughtfully. "So sing a Christmas song!"

Dash let out an amused snort beside him, but otherwise stayed silent.

"Come on, Teddy." Neal begged. "I need this! Sing for us!"

Theodore let out a deep sigh. "If you guys laugh at me, I swear I'll-"

"No laughing." Neal promised.

"Fine." Theodore said a bit grumpily.

Theodore cleared his throat, paused self-consciously for a moment, and then began singing 'O come, o come Emmanuel' in a strong and clear voice.

Everyone stared at him in shock, not expecting such a voice to come out of someone who looked like Theodore. His voice was crisp and clean sounding, and he gained volume as he went, his voice hitting every note perfectly. He closed his eyes as he sang, his voice filled with a confident passion, and Team Crackle sat transfixed, listening to the beautiful baritone notes in silence. The families seated around them all turned to stare, and Theodore sang on without realizing he was attracting attention.

When he finished the song just a few minutes later, Neal immediately let out a 'whoop' and clapped him hard on the arm. The whole team gave him cheers and drunken applause, even Dash clapping for him politely, smiling at the bigger man proudly. The crowd watching also clapped for him, and Theodore's entire face went scarlet in embarrassment.

"That was fantastic, Teddy!" Neal praised. "Who knew you had it in you!"

"I've always liked to sing." Theodore admitted shyly. "But I was never allowed to join a choir or anything as a kid. I've always wanted to sing on a stage just once."

"What about you, Roose, can you sing too?" Neal asked.

Roosevelt immediately grimaced. "No." he admitted. "I have no idea how to sing."

"He's terrible." Theodore confirmed.

"Well, what would you do, Roose, if you had the chance?"

Roosevelt smiled as he considered it. "I would like to play professional football. I would crush every skull on the Steelers team."

"Nice." Neal commented. "A noble dream."

Dash glanced down at Paper Star who seemed to be enjoying the interactions despite not really participating. "What about you, Paper Star? What would you do?"

Paper Star took a long drink from her beer as she thought about it. "I don't know." she admitted. "I suppose I would like to return to Tokyo…"

"Going home, how very human of you." Neal teased.

"I would kill my father by tearing out his heart while he watched me do it."

"...I take that back." Neal amended. "Yikes…"

Paper Star gave him a shrug and reached for another beer.

Crackle was now on his 9th beer and was looking pretty drunk as he swayed a bit where he sat. The more he drank, the less his emotions hurt and fog didn't bother him quite as much. Memories were slipping through the fog as his mind became impaired, and so he kept drinking, not caring about the consequences of the hangover he was sure to have.

Dash cracked open another beer, refusing to admit the beer wasn't nearly as bad as he was pretending it was. Neal was getting pretty tipsy at this point and he threw an arm around Dash's shoulder, much to the other man's displeasure.

"You know what, Dash? You're okay now that you finally pulled that stick out of yer arse."

"Let me go, Neal." Dash ordered, taking a very long drink of his beer. He wasn't nearly drunk enough to put up with Neal, and he reached for another beer before his third was even finished.

Neal didn't let go of him, and instead leaned against him as he took a swig of his own beer. Suddenly the fireworks began, and they all looked up as the sky lit up in a rainbow of colours. Theodore stared upwards in awe, a delighted smile on his face and Paper Star smiled as she watched, the fireworks reminding her of a happier time in her life. She didn't have many good memories, but fireworks were one of the good ones.

They laughed and talked as they watched the fireworks, and for a brief time, the whole team was smiling as they forgot their differences, simply enjoying each other's company. As Crackle had predicted, there was a massive explosion of fireworks as a dozen went off at once, and Neal cheered loudly snapping a picture of the sky as he did so. There was pandemonium below for a few minutes, and then the fireworks resumed at a much safer rate of fire.

As Neal had his arm around Dash's shoulder, he couldn't help but tease him a little bit, and he stole the straw out of Dash's beer when he wasn't looking. Sticking it into his own beer, he took a sip, simply waiting for Dash to notice. Dash went to take a drink of beer, then stared down at his can in mild confusion. He then glanced around on the ground before finally turning his eyes to Neal. His gaze fell on the straw currently in Neal's mouth and he flushed with anger.

"You stole my straw?!" he snarled. "That's disgusting, Neal!"

"Oh, you want it back?" Neal asked, pulling it out of his mouth and holding it out.

Dash glared at him and said nothing, simply raising the beer to his lips to drink straight from the can. The message was clear. Dash would rather drink from a germy beer can than touch anything that had been near Neal's mouth.

Neal laughed and clapped him on the back in amusement. "Oh, Dash, never change."

The city had obviously paid a fortune for the fireworks display and they continued to watch as the fireworks became more and more elaborate. Theodore was enjoying them the most and he stared upwards in child-like wonder, and Neal snapped a photo of him in amusement.

Crackle passed out before the finale, slumping heavily against Theodore, his twelfth beer dropping to the ground and spilling onto the grass. To Neal's immense delight, Dash was soon passed out as well, despite only having four beer, and he shot a grin over at the twins. Both Theodore and Roosevelt were heavily drunk and were cheering and yelling at every firework as they went off, much to the rest of the crowd's displeasure. Neal couldn't tell if Paper Star was drunk, but she seemed to be unnaturally serene, her gaze remaining on the fireworks until the very last one.

When the fireworks were over, Neal gave a long and lazy stretch, glancing down at Dash who was leaning against his shoulder.

"Where did Crackle park the van?" Neal wondered out loud.

"Parking lot beside the food trucks." Paper Star answered, getting unsteadily to her feet. She then fell back down, and immediately vomited onto the grass.

Neal stared at her for a moment, and then reached over to shake Crackle's shoulder. Their fearless leader didn't so much as stir, and so Neal reached into Crackle's hoodie pocket fishing for the car keys.

"Which one of us is the least drunk?" he asked looking over at the twins.

The twins exchanged a look with one another and then pointed at the other, both wavering dangerously. Neal glanced at Paper Star who was still hacking, and then frowned.

"Okay, looks like it's me." he said, slowly getting to his feet a bit unsteadily, gently laying Dash down on the ground as he did so. "Gotta go take a piss first though, be right back."

Neal staggered his way down the hill towards the park bathroom, not especially fond of just going behind a tree like the twins had been doing all night. His leg felt a lot better and it barely hurt as he walked along on the uneven ground.

Tripping over his own feet, he nearly fell but managed to catch himself on the wall of the bathroom as he entered. Way too wobbly to use a urinal without falling, he entered a stall. He left a few minutes later, washed his hands at the sink and then stumbled his way back outside.

As he walked back towards the hill, he tripped over a trashcan and fell flat on his face. Letting out a curse, he rolled over and looked up to see Mime Bomb staring at him from several feet away. Neal realized the mime had likely been headed to the bathroom as well, and the boy was giving him a wary look.

"Not looking for a fight." Neal told him, struggling to his feet, almost falling over again. "As far as I'm concerned, I never saw ya, love."

Mime Bomb's gaze settled on the car keys in Neal's hand, and then he watched as Neal fought to remain standing. Neal tripped over his own feet, and fell backwards onto his bottom with a curse, the beer really starting to kick in.

Mime Bomb slowly approached the villain and Neal watched him in confused silence, his mind too fuzzy to have any sort of rational thought process. Mime Bomb then plucked the car keys out of his hand and threw them as far as he could into the nearby duck pond.

"Aw, love." Neal complained, staring at the pond. "What'd ya do that for?"

Mime Bomb then turned and walked away, leaving the villain to stare after him in confusion. He struggled to his feet, and frowned at the pond, knowing he'd never be able to find those keys.

"Crackle's going to be pissed." Neal muttered, staggering his way back up the hill. "That's the second pair I've lost."

He stumbled and fell a couple times, but he finally made it back to where his team was waiting for him. Paper Star was now on her feet and the twins glanced over at him in question.

"Er...looks like we're walking guys." Neal told them, glad the motel was only a few blocks away. "The car keys are...somewhere."

No one said a word of complaint, and Theodore gently scooped Dash into his arms as Roosevelt did the same with Crackle. Neal helped support Paper Star, and then they began making their way down the hill, their steps unsteady and awkward. They walked in silence as they headed for the motel and twice they had to stop for Roosevelt to be sick in the street.

Suddenly hearing a siren, they froze and turned around as a police car pulled up beside them. The officer rolled down the window and observed the very drunk group in front of him.

"Everything alright?" he questioned.

"Just had a bit too much to drink, love." Neal responded. "We're walking back to our motel."

"That's an unusual accent you have there." the officer observed. "Where are you from?"

"I'm from New Zealand." Neal replied.

"You folks tourists?"

Neal staggered a bit but nodded. "Yeah, we're on holiday, and this is our first Eagle Day."

"Independence Day." the officer corrected. "Do your friends need an ambulance called?"

Neal glanced over at Dash and Crackle, and then shook his head. "Naw, they just had a bit too much to drink. We'll make sure they get to bed safe."

"You have far to walk?" the officer asked.

"No, we're just staying at the Green Tree Motel one street over. We're almost there." Neal assured him.

Although Neal was just as drunk as the others, he'd always been able to speak clearly when drunk which had gotten him out of a lot of trouble when he was young. The officer gave them a long and hard stare and then nodded.

"Just be careful." the officer warned them. "This can be a rough neighbourhood at night. We don't want any tourists getting hurt."

Neal gave him a nod. "We'll be careful." he assured him with a salute. "Thank you for keeping the city safe, officer!"

The officer smiled, gave him a nod and then drove off. Neal immediately gagged.

"Ugh, cops." he complained. "Worse than cockroaches."

They made it to their motel without further incident, and then Neal spent five minutes trying to get the key into the keyhole to unlock the door. When he was finally successful, he stumbled his way in and helped Paper Star take a seat on her bed. The twins laid Dash and Crackle down, and then they collapsed on their own bed, both passing out almost immediately. Neal kicked off his sneakers, and then flopped down beside Crackle, not looking forward to the hangover they were all going to have in the morning. Rolling Crackle away from him in case the other man threw up, Neal settled himself comfortably, and finally passed out.

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TBC