"Back then, Ivy and I were like fire and water." Carmen sat down. "We tried to make the other feel worse."
[Flashback]
(Acme Headquarters, dormitory division)
"Come back here!" yelled Ivy, sprinting down the hall.
Carmen stopped in front of Room Six. "I wonder if Batty's still around." She yanked open the door.
Ivy screamed and ducked the swarm of ten thousand bats. "Carmen, that wasn't fair!"
"Whoever said life was fair?"
"Life got unfair?" asked Ivy. "Why wasn't I told?"
"Your temper is like alcohol," replied Carmen. "It clouds your judgment. If I were you, I'd control it."
"I'll show you how I control my temper!" Ivy took two handfuls of Carmen's black hair and yanked.
"OUCH!" wailed Carmen.
Ivy released her grip. "That'll teach you to taunt me!"
Carmen ran down the hall and escaped in a helicopter.
"ARGH!" fumed Ivy.
Carmen landed her plane outside a small house on the outskirts of San Francisco. She grinned slyly and slipped in through the front door. Tiptoeing through the kitchen, she opened the living room door.
Troilus sat on an armchair, reading a book in Braille. "Don't even think about it!"
Carmen stuck out her tongue. "How late am I?"
"The Dow Jones dropped twenty five points."
"WHAT?"
"Kidding. That won't happen for another six years."
Carmen grumbled.
"A certain red-haired detective got on your nerves again, I take it?"
"Yeah, not to mention my hair."
"Why am I reminded of Acme's production of The Merchant of Venice? You were cast as a bush while Prina Lott played Portia, and right when Prina was about to do her 'quality of mercy' speech, you leaped out and yanked her hair?"
"You're never going to let me forget that, are you?" sneered Carmen. "But I've changed since then. I keep my temper in check, I worked on my physical skill, and I now know how to work coffee machines!"
"Couldn't Ivy learn to do the same, minus the coffee machine?"
"She's stubborn and hotheaded, but she reminds me of someone."
Troilus snickered. "Yeah...you!"
"And I thought you seeing the future was a curse. Remind me. How did you go blind?"
"I was writing some reports for Acme," began Troilus. "I got a vision that there was going to be an accident at the Gleamin' Cleanin' products lab, so I rushed over to warn the chemists. I managed to get everyone out of the building, but a beaker of acid exploded in my face. I tried to get to a basin of water to rinse out my eyes before they were permanently damaged, but some ammonia spilled and I passed out."
"I'm sorry."
"Don't apologize. You're not to blame." Troilus put his book back on the shelf. "If you were to die suddenly, would Ivy mourn you?"
"I don't know."
"You'd be surprised."
"She would?"
"I won't tell you. You'll have to find that out for yourself?"
"Please?"
Troilus stepped back. "Never will the future unfold! Not even for the Queen of the Crime World!"
"By the way," replied Carmen smugly. "Did you foresee me bringing Beatrice?"
Beatrice came in. "Carmen!" She hugged her friend. "I'm sorry I haven't written! I've been so busy!"
Carmen returned the hug. "So you're not mad?"
"Mad? Because you left Acme? Never. I was counting the days until you'd find another line of work. I didn't expect you to become a thief, but hey, I never guess right."
"Bea, Troy refuses to give me a prophesy."
Beatrice laughed. "Don't mind him. He once made a wild prediction that I'd make a fool of myself in public." She climbed to the roof. "But I don't care! Because I'm hopelessly devoted to him!" The neighbors stared. "What are you looking at?"
"Is any wonder Daley Bred targeted her?" asked Troilus.
Carmen wrinkled her nose. "Daley even got under Suhara's skin...which was no easy task."
(Flashback)
Carmen sipped the green tea. "I'll find another way to deal with Daley."
"Good," replied Suhara. "He's not worth your aggravation."
Daley burst in. "What better way to celebrate the joy of daily life at Acme than with the joy of me?"
"Then again, that kid's practically wearing a 'Smack Me' sign." Suhara took his tea and poured it down Daley's shirt collar.
"YEOWCH!" The obnoxious young sleuth ran away.
Carmen glared.
"What?"
(End flashback)
Beatrice snickered. "And the next day, you pounded Dale right through the floor!"
"It was beautiful!" added Troilus.
"Interesting. I've never seen your sadistic streaks before."
"Sadistic streak?" retorted Beatrice. "If only you had seen your expression when you pulled Prina's hair onstage."
"What can I say? She hated me!" protested Carmen.
"So observant, and yet so oblivious."
"I beg your pardon?"
Troilus sighed. "You tell her, Bea."
Beatrice coughed. "I don't think anyone's told you this, but before you joined Acme, Prina was the top detective. She was jealous of you. And you were jealous of her."
Carmen folded her arms. "You were the one who poured lavender hair dye in her hairspray can."
[Present]
"No wonder Acme never invites you back for Reunion Weekends," joked Martin.
The Chief looked thoughtful. "I remember Zack was less, um, determined than his sister. Talked about skewed genetics! It's what you humans get for studying a science started by some eccentric monk who sat around playing with pea plants in his backyard."
[Flashback]
(Acme Headquarters)
"Great, Ivy," snapped Ivy's younger brother. "Your little outburst played right into Miss Sandiego's plans."
"You mean she wanted me to pull her hair?"
"She wanted to find your weakness...and you gave it to her on a silver platter!"
"Zack, what are you implying?"
"That you can't let every little thing upset you. You've got to stay calm, cool, and composed...like me!"
"Like when you were on that case with Armando in India and you fainted because you saw a King Cobra?"
"Hey! I can't help being afraid of reptiles!"
Ivy snickered. "Yeah, but can you help keeping your fear a secret from Carmen?"
"Meaning?"
"Don't you realize she knows that you're afraid of snakes, lizards, turtles, and crocodilians? And you say I gave her my weakness on a silver platter."
"Oh, shut up."
(Present)
(Shapiro Mansion)
Zack moved his pawn diagonally to capture Mickey's bishop. "How's school?"
"Pretty good. We had a substitute teacher. Strange fellow."
[The day before]
(The classroom)
"Class, settle down. I'm Mr. Peterson, and I'll be your substitute teacher today. Let's start with math. You in the front row, write the numbers from one to ten, then write underneath them the numbers from eleven to twenty, and so on and so forth. Keep going until you get to 100."
Mickey got up. "Yes, sir." He began to write the numbers. "You'll note that the numbers 1, 4, 9, 16, 25, 36, 49, 64, 81, and 100 are each a product of a number multiplied by itself. Mathematicians call these "perfect squares". Squaring simply means multiplying the number times itself. In algebra, geometry, and trigonometry, radicals are used in equations. A square root of say, 49, is equal to 7..."
"Zzzzz..." snored the rest of the class.
Mr. Peterson frowned at the role card. "Shapiro, Michal....AAUGH!" He ran out of the classroom.
Mickey shrugged. "What did I say?"
[Present Day]
(Acme)
"I first matched wits with Zack and Ivy as a pair when I stole the eyes off Van Gogh's self-portrait, the nose off Picasso's Portrait de Jaime Sabartés, and the Mona Lisa's smile."
"Van Gogh, Picasso, and da Vinci were meant to be viewed separately, not together," Martin commented.
"No doubt!" interjected the Chief.
"In retrospect, putting the three of them together was a stupid plan, but I got a rise out of everyone."
"If I remember correctly, you locked Zack and Ivy in the basement of the Louvre!" snapped the Chief.
"And there was that awful orange scarf." Carmen shook her head. "Blech! That was not one of my good days!" She reached into the trunk. "Ivy gave me this."
Martin laughed at the silly caricatures of Zack and Ivy. "That's adorable!"
Carmen stuffed the drawing back into the box. "As embarrassing as that was, that was nothing compared to the time I stole genetic research, the Taj Mahal's roof, and a dinosaur skeleton."
Martin thought a moment. "Let me guess...you tried to recreate a dinosaur."
"It was a dumb idea."
"I bet the animal control agency was bad."
"And I wouldn't have liked to see Carmen get eaten!" added the Chief.
"I did manage to prove I am the greatest thief of all time," retorted Carmen. "I have even bent history."
The Chief rolled his eyes. "And you gave me a bloody British accent."
"Time travel," smiled Carmen. "The wave of the future."
Martin shrugged. "You have the waviest future I've ever seen."
"Sara was sore for a week after getting smacked," said Carmen. "She and I had an argument afterward."
[Flashback]
Sara got on her knees. "Carmen, I know I signed a fifteen year contract, but may I please get a raise?"
Carmen faced her. "Didn't I just give you a ten-percent raise?"
"Yes," answered Sara meekly. "But that was before my hovercraft crashed in Fenway Park."
"Sara, we agreed."
"But Carmen...never mind." She stormed out. "I'll show her who's boss..."
[Present]
"Like I said. Sara should have read the fine print on that contract," noted the Chief.
"What happened?" asked Martin.
"Sara snapped and attempted to take over VILE," answered Carmen. "She stole the Spruce Goose, 9500 weather balloons, and a solar furnace disguised as me. She then captured Zack, Ivy, and me at the LePaige museum."
[Flashback]
"You bit the bait hook-line-and-sinker, detectives. Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha!"
"Whatever you're up to, Carmen, we'll figure it out and stop you!" Ivy yelled to the counterfeit Carmen.
Carmen entered. "And I'll help you."
Zack looked around, confused. "What?"
"Two Carmens?"
[Present]
"And they thought having one of you was bad," joked Martin.
Carmen rolled her eyes and popped a tape in the VCR. "This is footage from Sara's mad scene, courtesy of the museum surveillance cameras."
[Ivy: We knew there was something weird about this case from the beginning. The real Carmen would never have trashed that airport to steal the Spruce Goose.
Sara: I hate to break up this meeting of the Carmen Sandiego Admiration Society, but I'll be the one collecting all the kudos as soon as the sun comes up.
(Sara takes off her disguise)
Ivy: Sara Bellum?
Zack: But you work for Carmen! You make all her high-tech gadgets.
Sara: Well, I got a little tired of being Carmen's main brain all right, Zackary? Nice Jacket.
(Sara pulls his shirt over his head)
Zack: Hey!
Sara: Maybe I'll get one!
Zack: You get the feeling maybe Sara's finally gone one glazed doughnut short of a dozen?]
"Sara's scheme failed. I escaped, of course. Ivy was angry as usual, but Zack pointed out they had a consolation prize."
[Flashback]
Ivy stomped her foot. "She got away! We had her! Ugh! We had her and we lost her!"
"Forget her for now, Ivy! We've got a certified wacko to take care of."
[Present]
"Or the time your plane went down and everyone thought you were dead? The Chief sniffled. "That scared the bazeus out of me!"
"Oh, yes," remembered Carmen. "My plane went down in Nepal and I was assumed dead. My lawyer, Lee Galease, told the VILE agents whoever could discipher three clues I left behind, that person would take over the organization."
"And Zack and Ivy were the ones who solved them?" asked Martin.
"Yes. How did you know?"
"A certain blind prophet told me."
By now the Chief was sobbing. "WAAAAAHH!!!!"
"Chief, get a hold of yourself. You'll short-circuit! And I'll be here for years!"
The Chief stopped crying. "Could I get that in writing?"
"Trade you for another story," replied Martin.
The Chief thought a moment. "There was the time Maelstrom escaped from prison, but everyone believed he died, including Carmen. So Carmen prepares this lavish funeral just as Zack and Ivy arrive. Maelstrom nearly killed them and they tracked him to Williamsburg--"
"Chief? Could we skip this part?!" Carmen looked nervous.
"Payback, right?"
"I worked with Acme...temporarily." Carmen closed the trunk. "This is why I didn't want you to see any of this! Now you're going to think of me as nothing but a traitor. I want you to think of me as someone who had to throw down her cards rather than lose the game."
Martin hugged her. "Oh, darling. I don't think any less of you." He cleared his throat and began to sing:
"You were orphaned without a dime, a little unsure
Had a case of the clumsies that needed a cure
But the most precious gems have their roots in the rough
Just like my lady, the woman I love.
Made a few blunders, but haven't we all?
Still you've always worked wonders with your back to the wall
Though I'm duly impressed with this grandeur stuff,
It's just a small part of the woman I love
There've been hits, a few misses, one or two in-betweens
A couple of kisses, and some scary dreams
You've fought great adversaries, made some narrow escapes
But I'm much more in awe of your character traits.
Because you're gentle and kind, and you never give up.
This is what makes you the woman I love.
I thank Avalon for this gift,
Who's stolen my heart
My number one thief,
The woman I love."
Zack and Ivy came in.
Ivy held up the yearbook. "Special delivery."
"What's that?" asked Martin warily.
Carmen smirked. "When I figured out what you were up to, I sent Zack and Ivy on a special mission to retrieve mementos from your past. We'll start with the high school yearbook."
Martin rushed forward. "No! You wouldn't!"
"Come on, Martie," teased Carmen, flipping through the yearbook pages. "There can't possibly be anything embarrassing in your past, can there? Well, looky here! Our little Martin was..." she gasped mockingly. "A chess player!"
Martin glared at the sibling pair.
"Don't hurt us!" cried Zack.
"She made us do it!" Ivy said in defense.
"We're out of here!" The siblings ran out.
Carmen held up the yearbook. A photo showed a young version of Martin shoving Endymion Jones in the cake at the Blue Academy's Senior Prom. "Is that you? Pushing a 200-pound football player into a cake? For a guy with a 205 IQ, you did some silly things." She turned the page. "Ha! Look at your clothes!"
Martin reached for the yearbook. "That was the style at the time!"
"Checkered vests and breeches? For nerds, maybe."
"Give me that!"
"Not a chance! You were in the math and science club?"
The End
[Flashback]
(Acme Headquarters, dormitory division)
"Come back here!" yelled Ivy, sprinting down the hall.
Carmen stopped in front of Room Six. "I wonder if Batty's still around." She yanked open the door.
Ivy screamed and ducked the swarm of ten thousand bats. "Carmen, that wasn't fair!"
"Whoever said life was fair?"
"Life got unfair?" asked Ivy. "Why wasn't I told?"
"Your temper is like alcohol," replied Carmen. "It clouds your judgment. If I were you, I'd control it."
"I'll show you how I control my temper!" Ivy took two handfuls of Carmen's black hair and yanked.
"OUCH!" wailed Carmen.
Ivy released her grip. "That'll teach you to taunt me!"
Carmen ran down the hall and escaped in a helicopter.
"ARGH!" fumed Ivy.
Carmen landed her plane outside a small house on the outskirts of San Francisco. She grinned slyly and slipped in through the front door. Tiptoeing through the kitchen, she opened the living room door.
Troilus sat on an armchair, reading a book in Braille. "Don't even think about it!"
Carmen stuck out her tongue. "How late am I?"
"The Dow Jones dropped twenty five points."
"WHAT?"
"Kidding. That won't happen for another six years."
Carmen grumbled.
"A certain red-haired detective got on your nerves again, I take it?"
"Yeah, not to mention my hair."
"Why am I reminded of Acme's production of The Merchant of Venice? You were cast as a bush while Prina Lott played Portia, and right when Prina was about to do her 'quality of mercy' speech, you leaped out and yanked her hair?"
"You're never going to let me forget that, are you?" sneered Carmen. "But I've changed since then. I keep my temper in check, I worked on my physical skill, and I now know how to work coffee machines!"
"Couldn't Ivy learn to do the same, minus the coffee machine?"
"She's stubborn and hotheaded, but she reminds me of someone."
Troilus snickered. "Yeah...you!"
"And I thought you seeing the future was a curse. Remind me. How did you go blind?"
"I was writing some reports for Acme," began Troilus. "I got a vision that there was going to be an accident at the Gleamin' Cleanin' products lab, so I rushed over to warn the chemists. I managed to get everyone out of the building, but a beaker of acid exploded in my face. I tried to get to a basin of water to rinse out my eyes before they were permanently damaged, but some ammonia spilled and I passed out."
"I'm sorry."
"Don't apologize. You're not to blame." Troilus put his book back on the shelf. "If you were to die suddenly, would Ivy mourn you?"
"I don't know."
"You'd be surprised."
"She would?"
"I won't tell you. You'll have to find that out for yourself?"
"Please?"
Troilus stepped back. "Never will the future unfold! Not even for the Queen of the Crime World!"
"By the way," replied Carmen smugly. "Did you foresee me bringing Beatrice?"
Beatrice came in. "Carmen!" She hugged her friend. "I'm sorry I haven't written! I've been so busy!"
Carmen returned the hug. "So you're not mad?"
"Mad? Because you left Acme? Never. I was counting the days until you'd find another line of work. I didn't expect you to become a thief, but hey, I never guess right."
"Bea, Troy refuses to give me a prophesy."
Beatrice laughed. "Don't mind him. He once made a wild prediction that I'd make a fool of myself in public." She climbed to the roof. "But I don't care! Because I'm hopelessly devoted to him!" The neighbors stared. "What are you looking at?"
"Is any wonder Daley Bred targeted her?" asked Troilus.
Carmen wrinkled her nose. "Daley even got under Suhara's skin...which was no easy task."
(Flashback)
Carmen sipped the green tea. "I'll find another way to deal with Daley."
"Good," replied Suhara. "He's not worth your aggravation."
Daley burst in. "What better way to celebrate the joy of daily life at Acme than with the joy of me?"
"Then again, that kid's practically wearing a 'Smack Me' sign." Suhara took his tea and poured it down Daley's shirt collar.
"YEOWCH!" The obnoxious young sleuth ran away.
Carmen glared.
"What?"
(End flashback)
Beatrice snickered. "And the next day, you pounded Dale right through the floor!"
"It was beautiful!" added Troilus.
"Interesting. I've never seen your sadistic streaks before."
"Sadistic streak?" retorted Beatrice. "If only you had seen your expression when you pulled Prina's hair onstage."
"What can I say? She hated me!" protested Carmen.
"So observant, and yet so oblivious."
"I beg your pardon?"
Troilus sighed. "You tell her, Bea."
Beatrice coughed. "I don't think anyone's told you this, but before you joined Acme, Prina was the top detective. She was jealous of you. And you were jealous of her."
Carmen folded her arms. "You were the one who poured lavender hair dye in her hairspray can."
[Present]
"No wonder Acme never invites you back for Reunion Weekends," joked Martin.
The Chief looked thoughtful. "I remember Zack was less, um, determined than his sister. Talked about skewed genetics! It's what you humans get for studying a science started by some eccentric monk who sat around playing with pea plants in his backyard."
[Flashback]
(Acme Headquarters)
"Great, Ivy," snapped Ivy's younger brother. "Your little outburst played right into Miss Sandiego's plans."
"You mean she wanted me to pull her hair?"
"She wanted to find your weakness...and you gave it to her on a silver platter!"
"Zack, what are you implying?"
"That you can't let every little thing upset you. You've got to stay calm, cool, and composed...like me!"
"Like when you were on that case with Armando in India and you fainted because you saw a King Cobra?"
"Hey! I can't help being afraid of reptiles!"
Ivy snickered. "Yeah, but can you help keeping your fear a secret from Carmen?"
"Meaning?"
"Don't you realize she knows that you're afraid of snakes, lizards, turtles, and crocodilians? And you say I gave her my weakness on a silver platter."
"Oh, shut up."
(Present)
(Shapiro Mansion)
Zack moved his pawn diagonally to capture Mickey's bishop. "How's school?"
"Pretty good. We had a substitute teacher. Strange fellow."
[The day before]
(The classroom)
"Class, settle down. I'm Mr. Peterson, and I'll be your substitute teacher today. Let's start with math. You in the front row, write the numbers from one to ten, then write underneath them the numbers from eleven to twenty, and so on and so forth. Keep going until you get to 100."
Mickey got up. "Yes, sir." He began to write the numbers. "You'll note that the numbers 1, 4, 9, 16, 25, 36, 49, 64, 81, and 100 are each a product of a number multiplied by itself. Mathematicians call these "perfect squares". Squaring simply means multiplying the number times itself. In algebra, geometry, and trigonometry, radicals are used in equations. A square root of say, 49, is equal to 7..."
"Zzzzz..." snored the rest of the class.
Mr. Peterson frowned at the role card. "Shapiro, Michal....AAUGH!" He ran out of the classroom.
Mickey shrugged. "What did I say?"
[Present Day]
(Acme)
"I first matched wits with Zack and Ivy as a pair when I stole the eyes off Van Gogh's self-portrait, the nose off Picasso's Portrait de Jaime Sabartés, and the Mona Lisa's smile."
"Van Gogh, Picasso, and da Vinci were meant to be viewed separately, not together," Martin commented.
"No doubt!" interjected the Chief.
"In retrospect, putting the three of them together was a stupid plan, but I got a rise out of everyone."
"If I remember correctly, you locked Zack and Ivy in the basement of the Louvre!" snapped the Chief.
"And there was that awful orange scarf." Carmen shook her head. "Blech! That was not one of my good days!" She reached into the trunk. "Ivy gave me this."
Martin laughed at the silly caricatures of Zack and Ivy. "That's adorable!"
Carmen stuffed the drawing back into the box. "As embarrassing as that was, that was nothing compared to the time I stole genetic research, the Taj Mahal's roof, and a dinosaur skeleton."
Martin thought a moment. "Let me guess...you tried to recreate a dinosaur."
"It was a dumb idea."
"I bet the animal control agency was bad."
"And I wouldn't have liked to see Carmen get eaten!" added the Chief.
"I did manage to prove I am the greatest thief of all time," retorted Carmen. "I have even bent history."
The Chief rolled his eyes. "And you gave me a bloody British accent."
"Time travel," smiled Carmen. "The wave of the future."
Martin shrugged. "You have the waviest future I've ever seen."
"Sara was sore for a week after getting smacked," said Carmen. "She and I had an argument afterward."
[Flashback]
Sara got on her knees. "Carmen, I know I signed a fifteen year contract, but may I please get a raise?"
Carmen faced her. "Didn't I just give you a ten-percent raise?"
"Yes," answered Sara meekly. "But that was before my hovercraft crashed in Fenway Park."
"Sara, we agreed."
"But Carmen...never mind." She stormed out. "I'll show her who's boss..."
[Present]
"Like I said. Sara should have read the fine print on that contract," noted the Chief.
"What happened?" asked Martin.
"Sara snapped and attempted to take over VILE," answered Carmen. "She stole the Spruce Goose, 9500 weather balloons, and a solar furnace disguised as me. She then captured Zack, Ivy, and me at the LePaige museum."
[Flashback]
"You bit the bait hook-line-and-sinker, detectives. Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha!"
"Whatever you're up to, Carmen, we'll figure it out and stop you!" Ivy yelled to the counterfeit Carmen.
Carmen entered. "And I'll help you."
Zack looked around, confused. "What?"
"Two Carmens?"
[Present]
"And they thought having one of you was bad," joked Martin.
Carmen rolled her eyes and popped a tape in the VCR. "This is footage from Sara's mad scene, courtesy of the museum surveillance cameras."
[Ivy: We knew there was something weird about this case from the beginning. The real Carmen would never have trashed that airport to steal the Spruce Goose.
Sara: I hate to break up this meeting of the Carmen Sandiego Admiration Society, but I'll be the one collecting all the kudos as soon as the sun comes up.
(Sara takes off her disguise)
Ivy: Sara Bellum?
Zack: But you work for Carmen! You make all her high-tech gadgets.
Sara: Well, I got a little tired of being Carmen's main brain all right, Zackary? Nice Jacket.
(Sara pulls his shirt over his head)
Zack: Hey!
Sara: Maybe I'll get one!
Zack: You get the feeling maybe Sara's finally gone one glazed doughnut short of a dozen?]
"Sara's scheme failed. I escaped, of course. Ivy was angry as usual, but Zack pointed out they had a consolation prize."
[Flashback]
Ivy stomped her foot. "She got away! We had her! Ugh! We had her and we lost her!"
"Forget her for now, Ivy! We've got a certified wacko to take care of."
[Present]
"Or the time your plane went down and everyone thought you were dead? The Chief sniffled. "That scared the bazeus out of me!"
"Oh, yes," remembered Carmen. "My plane went down in Nepal and I was assumed dead. My lawyer, Lee Galease, told the VILE agents whoever could discipher three clues I left behind, that person would take over the organization."
"And Zack and Ivy were the ones who solved them?" asked Martin.
"Yes. How did you know?"
"A certain blind prophet told me."
By now the Chief was sobbing. "WAAAAAHH!!!!"
"Chief, get a hold of yourself. You'll short-circuit! And I'll be here for years!"
The Chief stopped crying. "Could I get that in writing?"
"Trade you for another story," replied Martin.
The Chief thought a moment. "There was the time Maelstrom escaped from prison, but everyone believed he died, including Carmen. So Carmen prepares this lavish funeral just as Zack and Ivy arrive. Maelstrom nearly killed them and they tracked him to Williamsburg--"
"Chief? Could we skip this part?!" Carmen looked nervous.
"Payback, right?"
"I worked with Acme...temporarily." Carmen closed the trunk. "This is why I didn't want you to see any of this! Now you're going to think of me as nothing but a traitor. I want you to think of me as someone who had to throw down her cards rather than lose the game."
Martin hugged her. "Oh, darling. I don't think any less of you." He cleared his throat and began to sing:
"You were orphaned without a dime, a little unsure
Had a case of the clumsies that needed a cure
But the most precious gems have their roots in the rough
Just like my lady, the woman I love.
Made a few blunders, but haven't we all?
Still you've always worked wonders with your back to the wall
Though I'm duly impressed with this grandeur stuff,
It's just a small part of the woman I love
There've been hits, a few misses, one or two in-betweens
A couple of kisses, and some scary dreams
You've fought great adversaries, made some narrow escapes
But I'm much more in awe of your character traits.
Because you're gentle and kind, and you never give up.
This is what makes you the woman I love.
I thank Avalon for this gift,
Who's stolen my heart
My number one thief,
The woman I love."
Zack and Ivy came in.
Ivy held up the yearbook. "Special delivery."
"What's that?" asked Martin warily.
Carmen smirked. "When I figured out what you were up to, I sent Zack and Ivy on a special mission to retrieve mementos from your past. We'll start with the high school yearbook."
Martin rushed forward. "No! You wouldn't!"
"Come on, Martie," teased Carmen, flipping through the yearbook pages. "There can't possibly be anything embarrassing in your past, can there? Well, looky here! Our little Martin was..." she gasped mockingly. "A chess player!"
Martin glared at the sibling pair.
"Don't hurt us!" cried Zack.
"She made us do it!" Ivy said in defense.
"We're out of here!" The siblings ran out.
Carmen held up the yearbook. A photo showed a young version of Martin shoving Endymion Jones in the cake at the Blue Academy's Senior Prom. "Is that you? Pushing a 200-pound football player into a cake? For a guy with a 205 IQ, you did some silly things." She turned the page. "Ha! Look at your clothes!"
Martin reached for the yearbook. "That was the style at the time!"
"Checkered vests and breeches? For nerds, maybe."
"Give me that!"
"Not a chance! You were in the math and science club?"
The End