Carmen Sandiego Traitor AU

By: FunahoMisaki

(A/N: I own nothing and read last chapter)

After being scanned for trackers and the likes and being deemed clean, apparently she had 'accidentally' shorted out all of them when she dove into the water briefly, Ivy was led to another room that contained all manner of weapons and outfits.

"As you noticed over the cases, each member of V.I.L.E. has a special area of expertise. Often times they change their names to reflect this and have outfits that also reflect a bit of their occupation. Now there are some who generalize and the common thug of course has no specialty and is more brute force than any type of brain." Carmen explained and Ivy gave a small snort as she recalled a certain incident when she and Zack had teamed up on one of their first Carmen Capers.

"Considering one of them was distracted and outwitted by Zack who was impersonating the Three Stooges? I can believe it." Ivy said and Carmen paused for a few seconds and just stared at her while Sara, tagging along out of curiosity and boredom at the moment, snorted.

"Of course they were." Carmen said sighing heavily and pinching the bridge of her nose at that as she slowly shook her head in disbelief.

"If you're wanting to know if I plan to specialize then…no. No I won't be specializing in any particular thing." Ivy said smirking at Carmen although she was moving towards the outfits curiously to see what she could find.

"After all why be the Queen of one field when you can instead be the Duchess of many?" Ivy asked smirking wider while Carmen's eyebrow rose.

"Is that like being a jack of all trades master of none?" Sara asked curiously, after all science was her forte not idioms and other English sayings.

"In a sense. A Queen of one field can tax the people of that field, can be the master of that field and all within it. She can openly rule that field with an iron fist…but it is just one small field and that taxation can anger those within." Ivy said and she picked up a dark grey cat suit that had a black utility belt going down the left side sown into the suit and a white one going down the right side. She grabbed a pair of mismatched heels to go with, a black heel with white laces and a white heel with black laces and a pair of mismatched tights to go with them. One tight would go to her thigh and have a small rip in it on purpose but the other would only go about halfway to her knee with no rip or tear.

"The Queen is the one with the crown who moves in the spotlight. The duchess however. The duchess has no crown, has no spotlight and no eyes constantly focused on her. The duchess can be a part of more than one field without the need for hostility or subterfuge. While the Queen is the one who gets the money from the taxes, she also gets the peoples anger even if she was merely following the advice of the trusted Duchess." Ivy smirked at them as she kept pursuing the racks apparently looking for something in particular.

"The Queen is the one with the power in the light but the Duchess? She can have the true power in the shadows. The Queens rule only one field but the Duchess is a part of many. The Duchess is the one who whispers in the Queens ear, who listens to the cries of the people, knows the strategies and tactics of the army and spies. The Queen might get the crown and glory for things that go right. The praise when taxes are low, wars are won, food is plentiful and the people are healthy… However she is also the one blamed when things go wrong." Ivy said and there was a glint in her eyes as she glanced at the two women and they wondered how long she had these thoughts in her mind.

"The Queen is the one blamed when taxes are too high, when food is too scarce, when wars are started and lost, when a plague wipes out the people. Who do they all blame? The Queen of that field. But the Duchess? The Duchess who whispers in the ears of the court and the peasants, the one who even whispers to the queen at times? Why she has no crown and gets no glory when things are well…however she also gets no blame and no anger when things are rough. If there is a mutiny, a rise and rebellion of those living in that small field the Queen commands? The Queen is the one attacked but the Duchess is untouched generally. In fact the Smart Duchess is the one leading the rebellion, not in the open of course no the smart one is not that foolish." Ivy said as she moved among the racks disappearing from view of the two frozen women as her words echoed around the room.

"The smart Duchess is the one who supports both the Queen and the Rebellion, the one who advices the Queens forces if they should listen but also gives aid to the Rebellion that way no matter who shall win the Duchess emerges the victor. Whether as the Queen of the new Rebellion won territory or as the higher ranked Duchess in the eyes of the Queen it matters not. The Duchess has won. And unlike the Queen, she doesn't just have that one field to work with. No the Queen, to get other fields, must take over those fields with wars and violence and is seen as a conqueror and tyrant. The Duchess however? The Duchess can rule many fields from the shadows and none will know she's the one in charge until it is far too late for them to do anything about it." Ivy said and she was coming back towards them as she rounded a rack with three dresses in her arms.

One was pure white with beautiful white roses on it and pearls accenting it and laces and frills. It was similar to a bridal gown actually but missing the veil and train.

Another dress was pitch black with deep blood red roses and had rubies accentuating it and a light amount of lace.

The final dress however was a grey color, with both white and black roses dotting it and there were several opals and onyx on it as well. A perfect mix of the other two dresses.

"So…what are you then?" Sara asked staring at Ivy and there were goosebumps going down her arms and a slight sweat on her brow.

"Like you said. Ivy of ACME was considered the White Queen." Ivy said smirking as she looked at the white dress in her hands.

"Most of ACME will now expect me to become the Black Queen of V.I.L.E." Ivy said looking at the black dress.

"You're going to play up both sides of their thoughts. Going to pretend to be both the White and Black Queen of V.I.L.E. That's why you have those two dresses. You're going to disguise yourself as two different people and see how long it takes them to realize that you aren't a set of twins or something." Sara said eyeing the girl appreciatively for the deception.

"Close there doctor. Yes I'll be acting as two separate people…but they'll be two halves of one whole. The Black Queen who is the most ruthless member of V.I.L.E. under Carmens watch and the White Queen who is the most reluctant and caring member of V.I.L.E. ACME will believe me to be two separate people who are at odds with each other and try to find some way to tear us apart from the inside using those two personas and never know that I'm neither the Black or White Queen." Ivy said smirking widely and Carmen began to chuckle darkly at that, appreciating the mind games the girl was going to play.

"Then…if they're two halves then that means that you're neither White nor Black. You're Grey." Sara said her eyes sticking to the grey dress that had a gloomy but beautiful air to it.

"Exactly. They will be expecting Ivy the White or Black Queen. However I am but a mere pawn." Ivy said with a wicked grin on her face.

"No. Not a pawn." Carmen said with a wicked grin of her own, looking forward to all of this.

"You're not going to be Ivy the Queen. Or a pawn. You wanted us to call you Ivory right? So that's who you're going to be." Carmen said with a dark delighted glint to her eyes as she stared at Ivy who looked surprised but smiled wider at her now, a semi-insane glint in her eyes.

"You're going to be Ivory. The Grey Duchess and the Left Hand of V.I.L.E."