[Present]
(Acme Headquarters)
"They say no one believes the most disastrous prophesies," continued the Chief. "And it was certainly true in this case."
[Flashback]
(Back lounge in Acme HQ)
Troilus sat on the couch, arms folded. "I foretold you so."
Suhara said nothing, only stared into the leaves floating in his tea.
Beatrice stroked the urn Carmen had given her the night before. "This vase...fascinates me." The pot crashed to the floor with a loud crash as it shattered. "Heavens! It was so slippery! As if it had been oiled!"
Prina Lott flounced in, her blonde curls bouncing. "I always knew that Carmen Sandiego was a bad egg! But did you listen to me? Nooo..."
Troilus stood up. "I'm going home. I have to help my brother Paris with his homework."
Prina continued. "She had a home and prestige here, and she throws it away!"
"You may beg and plead and argue with your logic," snapped Beatrice. "You could mention all the things she'd lose that really have no value. I doubt you'll ever come to understand Carmen's meaning, but in the end you'll surely know--" her voice cracked.
Suhara noticed a piece of white paper sticking out from underneath a broken pottery shard. He reached down and snatched it up.
Prina strode over to him. "Honey, I feel sooo sorry for you."
"Three dollar bill," muttered Beatrice under her breath.
Suhara donned his hat. "I'm resigning from Acme."
Prina folded her arms. "Why give Carmen the satisfaction?"
"Prina! Can't you see the man is in pain?"
"Well, I wouldn't blame him! He could have been my partner, but nooo, he had to choose Carmen. He gave the best years of his career, and he gets this slap in the face?" Prina waited until Suhara was gone, then cheered. "Yes! I'm rid of Carmen Sandiego at last!"
Beatrice rolled her eyes. "There's always going to be someone better than you. It's practically a law. And none is above the law."
"Unless you're me. There I was, racking up new track records of solved cases and then this yutz comes in and I'm tossed aside. Forgotten like a black and white TV that's been ditched for a fifty-inch cable-ready widescreen color entertainment system! But now she's gone and I hope she never comes back."
"The past is not dead. It isn't even past," replied Beatrice, walking out of the lounge.
[Present]
"Wow," commented Martin. "And I thought I had a jealousy streak."
"Yes, it is a bit of a tragedy that Prina was overshadowed by Carmen," added the Chief. "She's remembered as being a priss and a snob, and the only one at Acme who would go near Daley Bred."
"So, what happened to her?"
"She eventually left Acme to found her own detective agency. You've probably seen ads for Apex Private Eyes."
"And Troilus?"
"Soon after Carmen went bad, Troilus was blinded in an accident. His career at Acme was ruined, but the loss of literal sight seemed to make his psychic foresight stronger, so Troilus hooked up with the Psychic Friends Network."
[Shapiro Mansion]
Ivy flipped through the yearbooks, laughing. "I should do favors for Carmen more often."
"Oh, is that so?" A figure dressed in an old-fashioned white dress appeared. "You should see my pictures. Look under 'Anderson'."
Ivy flipped to the front and stopped at a photograph of a thin girl of fair skin and auburn hair. "Francesca? That's you?"
"Yes, I've seen better days." Francesca sighed. "Martin was my high school sweetheart. I was the class president and he was the only one in our school who understood advanced mathematics. We were a perfect pair. At least, I thought so. The captain of the football team, Endymion Jones, didn't see it that way."
[Flashback]
(Blue Academy)
Martin took his chalk and guided it across the blackboard. "A woman goes shopping in Seattle. She looks up to see a Boeing 747 hovering over Sea-Tac International Airport at an angle of depression of 50 degrees. If she's 500 meters away from the airport, approximately how high is the plane off the ground?"
"Zzzzz..." snored a large student in the front row.
"Great Euclid and Pythagoras," muttered Mr. Peterson, the math teacher. "Mr. Jones, wake up!"
Endymion's eyes snapped open. "Quick, Watson! Give him the antidote before it's too late!"
Martin tapped his foot. "Mr. Jones, why don't you answer the question?" He drew a right triangle on the board. "Will you use the tangent, sine, or cosine ratio to solve this problem?"
"Uh...why are you speaking Greek?"
Martin sighed. "If you don't understand basic right-angle trigonometry, you will not be able to pass Calculus. And if you fail a class, you'll be booted off the football team, won't you?"
Endymion yawned. "I'm so good, they'll change the rules even if I fail the course, pipsqueak."
Francesca Anderson, in the seat next to Endymion, slapped him. "You leave him alone! Ten years from now, he'll be happy and successful and you'll be homeless and wandering the streets, penniless and babbling."
"And if Shapiro continues teaching my class, I'm gonna have to go back to college," sighed Mr. Peterson.
[Present]
(Acme Headquarters)
Core Rier came in. "Boss! I found this trunk and I figured you wanted it stored here!" He dropped the trunk.
Carmen screamed. "No!"
Too late. The trunk's contents spilled out.
Martin picked up a poster. "Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego?" He frowned at the picture: Carmen having her hand kissed by one of her henchmen. "So this is the real reason you didn't want me to see this stuff?!"
"His name was Vic the Slick," informed Carmen. "Don't waste your jealousy streak on him."
Martin poked through the trunk. "What is this?"
The Chief studied the contents. "Newspaper articles...wanted posters...souvenirs from thieving exploits...yup! Artifacts of Carmen's decade-spanning crime life."
Carmen stuck out her tongue.
Martin held up a rubber mask. "So, are you going to come clean or do I have to squeeze Marcus Aurelius?"
Carmen sighed. "When I quit Acme, I founded the Villains' International League of Evil. I soon formed a team of criminals from around the world with various skills and capabilities."
"Uh huh. Some geniuses if one gets caught every ten minutes."
"I said 'various capabilities'. That doesn't mean they're perfect. The smartest cookie in my jar is without a doubt Sara Bellum. How I met her was a funny story, really..."
[Flashback]
(Lab C5 at Forward Technologies)
Sara Bellum held up a test tube triumphantly. "And now, I, Sara Bellum, the greatest scientific mind of all time will find--"
A lab assistant came in. "The thief struck again. He or she's been plundering several lab supply warehouses and stealing ideas from some of the greatest inventors and scholars in the world. It's corrupting the name of science!"
"Stop ranting, you estupid normal-IQed..." Sara stuttered. "Uh...guy."
"She's in one of her 'I am the greatest scientist in the world' moods. I hate it when she gets like that..." hissed the assistant.
"I smell Nobel! My name will be synonymous with discovery and championship. I'll be all over Time, Newsweek, Scientific American, even Popular Mechanics! First Curie, next Einstein, then Bellum!" Sara laughed maniacally.
"Professor, what do you get out of that laughter?"
"What can I say? It's cleansing!"
"You're mad, Bellum."
"Mad?! I'm not mad...a little angry maybe...but not mad!"
"I came here to pick up your research." The lab assistant put on a football helmet and walked toward the closet.
"NO!"
The lab assistant opened the closet and was immediately buried by an avalanche. He sorted through the mess. "Titanium transistors...genetic research...copper wires...silicon chips...ideas for crazy inventions from some of the most well-known inventors in the world? Sara, you're the thief! SECURITY!"
The guards entered.
Sara moaned. "You're probably going to ask me why I did it. I blame society...pressuring creative geniuses like me to lead the illusion of perfect lives! They drive me to insanity, make me want to overthrow those above me and..."
The guards rolled their eyes.
Sara sighed. "Okay, I admit it. I'm just a klepto! Happy now?"
(A month later)
A tall woman wrapped in a long red trenchcoat approached the deck. "Sara Bellum, I presume?"
Sara whirled around. "What are you doing here?"
"Don't you know who I am?"
"Carmen Sandiego, the world's most wanted thief. But do you know who I am?"
"Yes. Sara Bellum, one of the greatest scientific minds of the twentieth century. You were almost immortalized, but something happened. You got benched."
"Look," Sara snapped. "What happened happened. I can't change the past."
"But what about the future? Your future, Sara? Think. What if you could have it all over again? And this time, for keeps. And all it takes is a favor for me."
"Name it!"
"Running a worldwide criminal organization requires healthy and intelligent minds like yours. If I make you Head Inventor of VILE, you'll regain the fame you lost when you were caught stealing."
"Where's my contract?"
Carmen pulled out a scroll. Sara took out a pen and signed on the dotted line.
[Present]
"So that's why Sara went nuts!" the Chief cried. "She didn't read the fine print!"
"What about Zack and Ivy?" asked Martin.
Carmen sighed. "Ivy and I didn't like each other much when we first met."
[Flashback]
(Alexandria, Egypt)
Carmen took the delicate device from the stand. "The first hydroscope, created by the first influential woman in mathematics -- Hypatia of Alexandria."
"Drop that device, Carmen!" came a voice.
"Well, well, if it isn't Acme's newest recruit." Carmen smiled. "I'll be obedient this time, but next time will be much more challenging." She dropped the hydroscope.
A tall, thin redhaired detective jumped across the floor to catch the device before it hit the ground.
Carmen ran up the fire escape ladder.
Ivy set the measuring device on the stand and replaced the lock, and took the steps two at a time. "Sheesh. How can she run up a flight of stairs in those high heels at that speed?"
"Persistent, aren't we?" Carmen climbed into a small helicopter.
Ivy grabbed the door. "Hold it right there!"
Carmen sighed. "Temper, temper, temper."
Ivy grabbed the helicopter key.
"Do you like ejection seats?" Carmen smiled softly and pushed a button on the control panel. Her seat popped up, sending the master thief through the air. Carmen pulled a string on her coat sleeve. A parachute opened and carried its passenger off into the distance. "Determined one," she whispered. "I'll have to watch her."
(A week later)
(San Francisco)
"Al, hurry up!" Dara Riska complained.
"I'm trying!" retorted Al Loy. "Did you know titanium's melting point is 1667...CELSIUS?!"
"Stop it, you two," muttered Carmen.
"Why don't you stop, Carmen?"
Carmen turned around. "I missed you."
"Missed me?" Ivy repeated. "What did you throw at me?"
"I'll throw you a curve you'll never hit."
To be continued
(Acme Headquarters)
"They say no one believes the most disastrous prophesies," continued the Chief. "And it was certainly true in this case."
[Flashback]
(Back lounge in Acme HQ)
Troilus sat on the couch, arms folded. "I foretold you so."
Suhara said nothing, only stared into the leaves floating in his tea.
Beatrice stroked the urn Carmen had given her the night before. "This vase...fascinates me." The pot crashed to the floor with a loud crash as it shattered. "Heavens! It was so slippery! As if it had been oiled!"
Prina Lott flounced in, her blonde curls bouncing. "I always knew that Carmen Sandiego was a bad egg! But did you listen to me? Nooo..."
Troilus stood up. "I'm going home. I have to help my brother Paris with his homework."
Prina continued. "She had a home and prestige here, and she throws it away!"
"You may beg and plead and argue with your logic," snapped Beatrice. "You could mention all the things she'd lose that really have no value. I doubt you'll ever come to understand Carmen's meaning, but in the end you'll surely know--" her voice cracked.
Suhara noticed a piece of white paper sticking out from underneath a broken pottery shard. He reached down and snatched it up.
Prina strode over to him. "Honey, I feel sooo sorry for you."
"Three dollar bill," muttered Beatrice under her breath.
Suhara donned his hat. "I'm resigning from Acme."
Prina folded her arms. "Why give Carmen the satisfaction?"
"Prina! Can't you see the man is in pain?"
"Well, I wouldn't blame him! He could have been my partner, but nooo, he had to choose Carmen. He gave the best years of his career, and he gets this slap in the face?" Prina waited until Suhara was gone, then cheered. "Yes! I'm rid of Carmen Sandiego at last!"
Beatrice rolled her eyes. "There's always going to be someone better than you. It's practically a law. And none is above the law."
"Unless you're me. There I was, racking up new track records of solved cases and then this yutz comes in and I'm tossed aside. Forgotten like a black and white TV that's been ditched for a fifty-inch cable-ready widescreen color entertainment system! But now she's gone and I hope she never comes back."
"The past is not dead. It isn't even past," replied Beatrice, walking out of the lounge.
[Present]
"Wow," commented Martin. "And I thought I had a jealousy streak."
"Yes, it is a bit of a tragedy that Prina was overshadowed by Carmen," added the Chief. "She's remembered as being a priss and a snob, and the only one at Acme who would go near Daley Bred."
"So, what happened to her?"
"She eventually left Acme to found her own detective agency. You've probably seen ads for Apex Private Eyes."
"And Troilus?"
"Soon after Carmen went bad, Troilus was blinded in an accident. His career at Acme was ruined, but the loss of literal sight seemed to make his psychic foresight stronger, so Troilus hooked up with the Psychic Friends Network."
[Shapiro Mansion]
Ivy flipped through the yearbooks, laughing. "I should do favors for Carmen more often."
"Oh, is that so?" A figure dressed in an old-fashioned white dress appeared. "You should see my pictures. Look under 'Anderson'."
Ivy flipped to the front and stopped at a photograph of a thin girl of fair skin and auburn hair. "Francesca? That's you?"
"Yes, I've seen better days." Francesca sighed. "Martin was my high school sweetheart. I was the class president and he was the only one in our school who understood advanced mathematics. We were a perfect pair. At least, I thought so. The captain of the football team, Endymion Jones, didn't see it that way."
[Flashback]
(Blue Academy)
Martin took his chalk and guided it across the blackboard. "A woman goes shopping in Seattle. She looks up to see a Boeing 747 hovering over Sea-Tac International Airport at an angle of depression of 50 degrees. If she's 500 meters away from the airport, approximately how high is the plane off the ground?"
"Zzzzz..." snored a large student in the front row.
"Great Euclid and Pythagoras," muttered Mr. Peterson, the math teacher. "Mr. Jones, wake up!"
Endymion's eyes snapped open. "Quick, Watson! Give him the antidote before it's too late!"
Martin tapped his foot. "Mr. Jones, why don't you answer the question?" He drew a right triangle on the board. "Will you use the tangent, sine, or cosine ratio to solve this problem?"
"Uh...why are you speaking Greek?"
Martin sighed. "If you don't understand basic right-angle trigonometry, you will not be able to pass Calculus. And if you fail a class, you'll be booted off the football team, won't you?"
Endymion yawned. "I'm so good, they'll change the rules even if I fail the course, pipsqueak."
Francesca Anderson, in the seat next to Endymion, slapped him. "You leave him alone! Ten years from now, he'll be happy and successful and you'll be homeless and wandering the streets, penniless and babbling."
"And if Shapiro continues teaching my class, I'm gonna have to go back to college," sighed Mr. Peterson.
[Present]
(Acme Headquarters)
Core Rier came in. "Boss! I found this trunk and I figured you wanted it stored here!" He dropped the trunk.
Carmen screamed. "No!"
Too late. The trunk's contents spilled out.
Martin picked up a poster. "Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego?" He frowned at the picture: Carmen having her hand kissed by one of her henchmen. "So this is the real reason you didn't want me to see this stuff?!"
"His name was Vic the Slick," informed Carmen. "Don't waste your jealousy streak on him."
Martin poked through the trunk. "What is this?"
The Chief studied the contents. "Newspaper articles...wanted posters...souvenirs from thieving exploits...yup! Artifacts of Carmen's decade-spanning crime life."
Carmen stuck out her tongue.
Martin held up a rubber mask. "So, are you going to come clean or do I have to squeeze Marcus Aurelius?"
Carmen sighed. "When I quit Acme, I founded the Villains' International League of Evil. I soon formed a team of criminals from around the world with various skills and capabilities."
"Uh huh. Some geniuses if one gets caught every ten minutes."
"I said 'various capabilities'. That doesn't mean they're perfect. The smartest cookie in my jar is without a doubt Sara Bellum. How I met her was a funny story, really..."
[Flashback]
(Lab C5 at Forward Technologies)
Sara Bellum held up a test tube triumphantly. "And now, I, Sara Bellum, the greatest scientific mind of all time will find--"
A lab assistant came in. "The thief struck again. He or she's been plundering several lab supply warehouses and stealing ideas from some of the greatest inventors and scholars in the world. It's corrupting the name of science!"
"Stop ranting, you estupid normal-IQed..." Sara stuttered. "Uh...guy."
"She's in one of her 'I am the greatest scientist in the world' moods. I hate it when she gets like that..." hissed the assistant.
"I smell Nobel! My name will be synonymous with discovery and championship. I'll be all over Time, Newsweek, Scientific American, even Popular Mechanics! First Curie, next Einstein, then Bellum!" Sara laughed maniacally.
"Professor, what do you get out of that laughter?"
"What can I say? It's cleansing!"
"You're mad, Bellum."
"Mad?! I'm not mad...a little angry maybe...but not mad!"
"I came here to pick up your research." The lab assistant put on a football helmet and walked toward the closet.
"NO!"
The lab assistant opened the closet and was immediately buried by an avalanche. He sorted through the mess. "Titanium transistors...genetic research...copper wires...silicon chips...ideas for crazy inventions from some of the most well-known inventors in the world? Sara, you're the thief! SECURITY!"
The guards entered.
Sara moaned. "You're probably going to ask me why I did it. I blame society...pressuring creative geniuses like me to lead the illusion of perfect lives! They drive me to insanity, make me want to overthrow those above me and..."
The guards rolled their eyes.
Sara sighed. "Okay, I admit it. I'm just a klepto! Happy now?"
(A month later)
A tall woman wrapped in a long red trenchcoat approached the deck. "Sara Bellum, I presume?"
Sara whirled around. "What are you doing here?"
"Don't you know who I am?"
"Carmen Sandiego, the world's most wanted thief. But do you know who I am?"
"Yes. Sara Bellum, one of the greatest scientific minds of the twentieth century. You were almost immortalized, but something happened. You got benched."
"Look," Sara snapped. "What happened happened. I can't change the past."
"But what about the future? Your future, Sara? Think. What if you could have it all over again? And this time, for keeps. And all it takes is a favor for me."
"Name it!"
"Running a worldwide criminal organization requires healthy and intelligent minds like yours. If I make you Head Inventor of VILE, you'll regain the fame you lost when you were caught stealing."
"Where's my contract?"
Carmen pulled out a scroll. Sara took out a pen and signed on the dotted line.
[Present]
"So that's why Sara went nuts!" the Chief cried. "She didn't read the fine print!"
"What about Zack and Ivy?" asked Martin.
Carmen sighed. "Ivy and I didn't like each other much when we first met."
[Flashback]
(Alexandria, Egypt)
Carmen took the delicate device from the stand. "The first hydroscope, created by the first influential woman in mathematics -- Hypatia of Alexandria."
"Drop that device, Carmen!" came a voice.
"Well, well, if it isn't Acme's newest recruit." Carmen smiled. "I'll be obedient this time, but next time will be much more challenging." She dropped the hydroscope.
A tall, thin redhaired detective jumped across the floor to catch the device before it hit the ground.
Carmen ran up the fire escape ladder.
Ivy set the measuring device on the stand and replaced the lock, and took the steps two at a time. "Sheesh. How can she run up a flight of stairs in those high heels at that speed?"
"Persistent, aren't we?" Carmen climbed into a small helicopter.
Ivy grabbed the door. "Hold it right there!"
Carmen sighed. "Temper, temper, temper."
Ivy grabbed the helicopter key.
"Do you like ejection seats?" Carmen smiled softly and pushed a button on the control panel. Her seat popped up, sending the master thief through the air. Carmen pulled a string on her coat sleeve. A parachute opened and carried its passenger off into the distance. "Determined one," she whispered. "I'll have to watch her."
(A week later)
(San Francisco)
"Al, hurry up!" Dara Riska complained.
"I'm trying!" retorted Al Loy. "Did you know titanium's melting point is 1667...CELSIUS?!"
"Stop it, you two," muttered Carmen.
"Why don't you stop, Carmen?"
Carmen turned around. "I missed you."
"Missed me?" Ivy repeated. "What did you throw at me?"
"I'll throw you a curve you'll never hit."
To be continued