Amazingly, I got this out this weekend! Yay! Now things are starting to get interesting… I'm not sure when I'll next update, but probably within the week. I'm having trouble with a chapter I'm working on so once that's been resolved, the next chapter will be posted.

Thanks as always to Vodonn!

WARNINGS: Violence, torture, and more which I'll update as the story is written.

I do not own Carmen Sandiego (Netflix). This story is a work of fiction that came from my own horrible brain because I have been searching for Player!whump and haven't found many fics like that.

…...

Player awoke in an unfamiliar room, but one that he could easily identify as a jail cell.

Or maybe a dungeon? Player thought, baffled by the cold stone room. All four walls, floor and ceiling were made of rough stone, a neon green light buzzed at the back of the room. At what was likely the front of the room was a metal door with no window, handle or knob.

His vision was blurry and his head was pounding, the urge to curl up into a ball and ignore everything was extremely tempting. Player knew he didn't have that luxury as memories flooded back.

Room service, Saint John's, "family vacation", his parents leaving for dinner…

Tigress. A tranq dart.

With a groan, Player tried to pull himself into a sitting position only to stop suddenly.

His wrists were tied together.

Player took a shuddering breath, slowly releasing it like Carmen had taught him to calm down. It helped, a bit, but his thoughts were a tangled knot, overwhelmed by emotions. He dimly felt the numbing realization that he should've expected it the moment the memory of Tigress had slammed into his senses. Immediately he began to struggle against his bonds, rough rope tightly binding his wrists behind his back, but quickly bit his lip to block any noise of pain. The slippery sensation of blood ran down his hands, halting his efforts. Sliding back on his butt, Player slumped against the cold wall.

This was when Player blamed his parents for going out to dinner and leaving him to order room service for his current situation.

And to think, Mom said our vacation would get me out to enjoy the sun, Player thought grimly.

The thud of the door slamming open made Player flinch, cringing away as he took in the duo before him.

Tigress and Paper Star. Neither of them appeared to be happy to be near each other again, but their scowls turned to predatory grins as their eyes settled on Player.

"Well the brat is finally awake," Tigress drawled.

Player forced his face to go blank as he studied the pair of VILE agents, staying silent.

"No words?" Tigress smirked.

"Give me three minutes with him and I'll have him singing," Paper Star murmured, eyeing Player the way a cat might eye a mouse.

Player stiffened but pressed his lips together. It didn't take a genius to figure out what they wanted him for; Carmen. If they thought he'd tell VILE even a smidge of information about his oldest friend, then they were truly brainless morons.

Tigress rolled her eyes as she strutted towards Player. He shrunk back as she grabbed onto his shoulder, claws digging into his flesh, and yanked him to his feet.

"Move it, brat," Tigress snapped. "Wouldn't want you to miss the party."

Tigress ignored Paper Star, pushing Player forward and out of the door. Player stumbled a bit, before regaining his balance in time for Tigress to shove him forward again.

"Walk," Tigress said; he could sense her smirking behind him.

With a shaky breath, Player started walking forward, Tigress' right hand gripping his shoulder while her left hand was held threateningly over his neck. A sharp prick of pain radiated from his neck as Tigress left a thin scratch, barely breaking the skin but giving Player an obvious message.

Try to escape and I claw your throat out.

Player faintly heard Paper Star mutter rather violent, uncomplimentary remarks behind Tigress, but either she didn't hear them or was ignoring them.

His mind raced as he was marched forward through what looked like a stereotypical castle dungeon, but with high tech metal doors and locks instead of metal bars.

It was fairly obvious to him that VILE had finally found out about him, Carmen's "secret weapon" and that he was seriously screwed. The big question was, how much did VILE know? Did they only suspect his involvement or did they know for certain? Player heard Carmen's voice echo in his head, a piece of information she'd told him years ago.

(If you get captured, don't say anything until you know, or have a better idea, of what your enemies know. Don't make the assumption that they know your deepest darkest secrets, or else you'll tell them yourself.)

Carmen's body had been tight, lips pursed as she relayed that information, but her eyes told a different story. There was fear in them, fear for her first and best friend. He knew she'd never blame him if he'd told whoever was interrogating him any information, but Player wouldn't be able to forgive himself.

Player adamantly forced himself to avoid using the more appropriate word for what would happen to him: torture.

He was pushed forward, going up steep stairs, making right and left turns, marching through random doors. Player quickly went blank, all but ignoring where he was going in favor of trying to calm his racing thoughts about what lay in his near future.

He was dragged into the present as Tigress walked him through a final door, removing her claws from where they'd hovered over his exposed neck.

The new room was massive, more like a great hall of a castle, which Player suspected was what the building was. The lights were an eerie green, casting murky shadows around and into the corners of the room. When his eyes flitted up to the end of the room, his suspicions were confirmed.

A long table that Carmen had once described to him, were the five faculty members of VILE Academy.

Coach Brunt, Professor Maelstrom, Countess Cleo, Dr. Bellum, and Roundabout.

Player had never wanted to be in a room with even one of them, let alone all five.

Tigress forced him to his knees when they stopped moving, keeping her claws digging into his shoulder as he sat back on his feet. Paper Star came to stand on his other side, a sickening grin playing on her lips. Out of the corner of his eyes, Player saw the Cleaners standing against the wall closest to Coach Brunt.

"Here's the brat, faculty," Tigress smirked.

"Well done Tigress, Paper Star," Professor Maelstrom nodded at each agent. Player wasn't sure why he thanked Paper Star, but figured she'd played some role in his capture after Tigress had knocked him out. "You're dismissed."

The moment the two agents left his side, the Cleaners took their places which wasn't much of an improvement.

The click of a door closing signaled the two agents' exit and Professor Maelstrom leaned forward, hands clasped together.

"So, you are Agents Lisa and Martin O'Connell's son," he murmured. Player jerked back in shock.

"Agents?" Player choked out.

"They never told you? I suppose that's unsurprising," Roundabout said, an infuriating smirk on his face.

"Telling a child that they are ACME agents would be ridiculous," Countess Cleo rolled her eyes.

"ACME," Player repeated, mind blank as he took in that piece of information.

Player would love to dismiss what Maelstrom had told him, would love to say he was lying, and wasn't fooling him. But he couldn't. Slowly the pieces began to fit together, completing the puzzle of what his parents' careers were that he hadn't cared to finish. Now he wished he had. Player wasn't sure how to react beyond shocked. There was fear and anger lurking at the back of his mind, but he couldn't process it at the moment.

"ACME. Agency to Classify and Monitor Evildoers, like our own beloved organization, VILE," Roundabout said, taking Player's dull repeated word as a question.

Mind racing, Player realized that his original assumption had been wrong; his capture wasn't about Carmen. Okay, at a stretch his capture was about Carmen, but not because they knew about Player, let alone that he was Jacob O'Connell. Assuming VILE thought Carmen was still on good terms with ACME, this was about his parents and the very important information they'd neglected to tell him.

"And a huge pain in the ass at that," Coach Brunt added.

"Yes, but one that may not be a problem very soon," Maelstrom said. He turned his attention from Coach Brunt to Player. "And I'm happy to say, Jacob O'Connell, that you will be assisting us in taking down ACME."

"I'm sorry, but if my parents didn't tell me about them being super secret agents, how exactly am I supposed to help you?" Player asked bravely, forcing his body to stay still.

"Oh so you do have a backbone," Dr. Bellum sneered, turning her full attention to him instead of the multiple screens that usually kept her attention.

"All the more fun for us," Coach Brunt smirked as she stood up, cracking her knuckles. At the other end of the table, Roundabout stood as well, twirling his cane as they both approached Player.

Yeah, Player thought weakly, Team Red should definitely avoid tropical islands from now on.

The Cleaners shoved Player onto his stomach, one pressing his shoulders and pinning him to the floor. The other stepped out of sight, sending chills up Player's spine as he wiggled helplessly, fear churning in his stomach. There was a clicking noise, and Player felt something cold snap around either ankle. The second Cleaner released Player, but before Player could sigh in relief, he saw the two shackles clasped to his ankles. Connected by a metal chain threaded through a small metal circle welded to the ground, Player couldn't move more than a foot or so from the anchor point. Finally, the Cleaners released him, backing out of view. His struggling had opened the cuts left by the rope that still bound his wrists together but Player kept his attention firmly on the two figures towering over him.

Player forced himself back onto his knees, trembling, but unwilling to lay sprawled on the ground before the two villains.

"Get ready for some pain," Coach Brunt's grin was all teeth.