The Anti Thieving Duo

by Power of Magic

Raised on an island and trained in the arts of thievery, 'Dark Fox' (Naruto) and 'Black Sheep' (Carmen) find out the truth of the school. They then leave, and decide to steal back what was stolen and return everything back to the people.

14. The Crackle Goes Kiwi Caper

The Anti Thieving Duo

"Hello" - (Normal talking)

"What happened?" - (Thoughts)

"What do I do?" - (Flashback)

{"Hey, can you hear me?"} - (Communication)

":Now arriving at our destination:" - (Another Language)

"\Prepare for departure\" - (Radio and speakers)

Hope that you all enjoy this chapter.

Chapter 14 - The Crackle Goes Kiwi Caper

(Moscow, Russia)

Naruto, Carmen and Shadowsan were standing outside of a government building, before they went inside it. The three of them were dressed up as Russian government officials.

They walked in the building for a while, before they arrived at what looked like some kind of checkpoint, which had two soldiers.

"Credentials, please" the one behind the desk said.

The three of them handed over their ID's, which the soldier scanned in a machine, causing it to beep.

"Thank you, general" the soldier said, as he handed back their ID's.

Naruto, Carmen and Shadowsan then walked down the hallway, with the soldiers saluting them as they walked past.

":As you were:" Shadowsan said in a Russian accent, as they saluted the soldiers.

"Player, Red Hat is in Red Square," Naruto said with a grin.

{"Glad to hear the IDs worked out"} Player said happily.

"The server vault's on sublevel four. If our intel is accurate, VILE could already be inside" Player said with a concerned look, as he typed on his keyboard, with the screen showing a floor plan of the levels, and where the others were.

0o0o0o0

(Sublevel four)

The room was filled with multiple servers, and it was quiet with no one inside, only the hum of the machines at work.

Up on the roof, a vent cover was removed and carefully placed in the vent, before a male wearing a spandex suit came out, while grunting.

"Whoo! Easy-peasy." he said with a wide smile, as he pulled himself out of the vent, and carefully lowered himself to the ground. "Neal the Eel to Dr. Bellum. I'm in" he said into a comm in his ear, before he walked around the room, looking at the servers as he did.

It took him a while, before he smiled when he found what he was looking for. "Server 6609 located" he said, standing in front of the server.

{"Well done, Neal. You might make faculty yet"} Dr Bellum said with a pleased tone.

"Well, I hear there's an opening. And you know how much I enjoy worming my way into those" Neal said with a grin and a cocked eyebrow, as he pulled out a flash drive and plugged it into the server, causing it to show data moving across the small screen.

"Searching the database now," Neal said, before he heard a beep. "And Bob's your uncle."

{"I have seven uncles, none of whom are named Bob"} Dr Bellum said in a scolding tone.

"It's just a turn of phrase, love. Means 'I've found it' okay" Neal said with a grin, as he shrugged his shoulders.

"Then say that. I'm a scientist. Colourful vernacular only serves to confuse me" Dr Bellum said with a frown with a raised eyebrow, as she looked at a holographic computer screen.

The computer then gave another beep, as the data from the screen disappeared. "Download complete. Is that direct enough for you?" Neal asked sarcastically, as he took out the flash drive and placed it back in his pocket, before hanging up on her.

He then got ready to leave the same way that he entered, before he looked at a doorway, and saw Naruto, Carmen and Shadowsan entering the room.

":Do svidaniya, comrades!:" Neal yelled out in Russian with a smile, as he gave them a salute, before running off.

"I'll handle the Eel" Shadowsan said with a frown, as he ran after Neal.

"I'll help him," Naruto said, running after him.

"And I'll take the server," Carmen said, as she headed for the server.

Once she reached it, she took out her lipstick flash drive, and plugged it into the server, causing data to move across the small screen.

"Player, uplink's live. See if you can retrace Neal's slimy trail" Carmen said with a frown.

As this was happening, Naruto and Shadowsan had run down one of the isles, looking to cut Neal off.

They soon came out of the isle they ran down, and saw Neal had too.

They both glared at him, before they ran towards him, with Neal glaring back in return, as he ran towards them too.

The two of them tried to give Neal a jumping kick, but he slid down onto his knees to avoid them. Before Neal got too far away, Shadowsan quickly turned around, and grabbed hold of his wrist, stopping Neal from getting away, as he spun around to face them.

"Ah, Instructor Shadowsan. When they told me you defected over to the red side, I didn't realise they meant Russia" Neal said with a smirk.

Shadowsan glared at him. "We will take the data," he said, as Naruto moved to grab the flashdrive from his hand.

Neal gave a small laugh at this. "You'll try" he said, as he sat down and placed his feet flat on the floor, before he pushed himself backwards, slipping out of Shadowsan's grip.

Shadowsan and Naruto both looked surprised at this.

"Ha, butterfingers!" Neal yelled out with a cackle, as he rolled over onto his stomach.

Shadowsan grit his teeth angrily at this, as he clenched his fist before running after Neal, with Naruto right behind him.

Neal slid over to the open vent, before he rolled himself onto his feet. He then tried to jump up, before Shadowsan grabbed him, with his arms going under Neal's, while his fingers interlocked at Neal's neck.

"Now, if you don't mind -" Naruto was saying, as he reached for the hard drive, before being cut off.

"Oh, pretty slick. But I'm slicker!" Neal said with a mad grin, as he slipped out of Shadowsan's grip and fell to the ground before he spun himself on his back, making Shadowsan and Naruto fall to the ground.

"Hey, get a grip!" Neal said, as he sat up, before putting his hands and feet on the servers on either side, before using them to climb up to the ventilation shaft, and slid himself inside it, just as Naruto and Shadowsan stood up.

"Do you mind if I vent?" Neal said with a smug look, as he gave a coo while waving at them mockingly, vanishing into the vent as he did.

Shadowsan gave a growl at this, as he clenched his hands, just as Carmen ran over and looked up at the vent herself.

"Slippery little bugger, that one," Naruto said with a glare.

0o0o0o0

(Sometime later)

Naruto, Carmen and Shadowsan were inside their new headquarters at the Carmen Brand Outerwear building, which had some furniture inside it, with some of it covered in white sheets.

Zack was banging a hammer onto some planks of wood, stopping to eat a sandwich every now and then, while Ivy was caulking something, both wearing hardhats as they did, as Naruto and Carmen were kneeling on the floor, with the laptop on a pallet as a makeshift table, while Shadowsan stood off to one side with his arms behind his back.

{"It took some serious decrypting, but I pinpointed what VILE was after"} Player said with a grin.

"And that would be?" Naruto asked curiously.

Player typed on his computer, before some sort of mechanical ball appeared on the screen. "The technical specs for an experimental electromagnetic pulse generator, codenamed, 'TripWire.' The Russian government attempted to design the next generation of EMP device, long-range with ultimate pinpoint accuracy" he said, as an image of a city showed up on his screen, which then played out what would happen if the device was used.

{"Attempted to?"} Carmen asked curiously, as she and Naruto raised an eyebrow at this.

"Yep, they couldn't crack it, so TripWire was shuttered" Player said with a smile and a cocked eyebrow.

"Dr. Saira Bellum thrives on solving the unsolvable" Shadowsan said with a scowl.

"And if she manages to engineer a working prototype from the stolen plans, then VILE will possess the means of disabling any electrical grid in the world from anywhere at any time" Naruto said with a look of concern.

This caused Zack and Ivy to stop what they were doing upon hearing this. "As in cause instant blackouts?" Ivy asked in worry, with everyone looking at her.

"Create power outages that would shut down security systems and allow VILE to steal from the cover of darkness" Carmen said, as she and Naruto both frowned.

{"Sounds like the ultimate crackle rod. Any chance the electrician formerly known as Crackle is involved?"} Player asked curiously with a raised eyebrow.

Shadowsan stepped forward at this. "Crackle has no memory of ever being associated with the Villains International League of Evil" he said, as he leaned forward.

"Our old classmate Gray suffers from amnesia," Carmen said.

"Which we now know was caused by Dr. Bellum" Naruto said with a nod of agreement.

Player shrugged his shoulders at this. "Okay, fair enough. So, what's the caper?" he then asked curiously.

"What else? We disable Dr. Bellum's prototype before she can use it and delete the plans so she can't rebuild it" Carmen said, as she and Naruto both smirked.

"Judging from the involvement of Neal the Eel, Dr. Bellum's base of operations for this project would most certainly be her laboratory in New Zealand" Shadowsan said, as he stood back up with a hand on his hip, while Naruto and Carmen looked at him, both with slightly worried looks.

Zack and Ivy rushed over upon hearing this. "Yes! We're going back to Australia!" Zack said happily.

"Throw another shrimp on the barbie, mate!" Ivy said in an Australian accent, as she smiled and closed one of her eyes.

"Dudes, New Zealand is actually a completely different country" Player said with a cocked eyebrow, while smiling at them.

Zack and Ivy both looked clueless upon hearing that.

"Hold on. It's not the capital of Australia? Pfft, news to me" Zack said.

"Are you sure? After all, they're both 'down under' afterall" Ivy said with a grin.

Naruto and Carmen looked at them in bemusement, while Shadowsan raised an eyebrow.

Player cocked an eyebrow at this. "Uh, technically, I guess. But, yeah, I'm sure" he said, as he had a map come up on the laptop's screen, showing where New Zealand was.

"I must caution you" Shadowsan said firmly, as everyone looked at him. "The laboratory is Dr. Bellum's highest security facility."

{"Shadowsan's not kidding. I just pulled it up on the VILE hard drive"} Player said, as an image of the place came up on the laptop.

"The place is a fortress. To even get near Dr. Bellum's computer lab, you'd have to cross a series of four electrical fields with a fail-safe. If more than one field is deactivated at any given time, the entire building goes into lockdown" Player said with narrowed eyes, as he typed on his computer, while an image of said grid was on his screen.

"But we have our own ninja" Zack said, pointing his thumb over his shoulder at Shadowsan. "Ninjas can go anywhere they want, right?" he asked, as they all looked at Shadowsan.

"Moving unseen among the shadows is one thing. Passing through high-voltage electricity, entirely another" Shadowsan said with narrowed eyes, while raising an eyebrow.

{"Dr. Bellum's lab does have one vulnerability though. It draws all its power from a nearby electrical substation,"} Player said, as an image of the lab and the substation appeared on the screen.

"If we get into the substation, we can manually shut down the fields, grid by grid" Player said, as he leaned back in his chair, with the back of his hands on his head, before he went back to typing on his keyboard, with the image of the security shown being turned on and off.

Naruto rubbed his chin in thought at this. "So our movements would need to be perfectly synchronised," he said with a frown.

"Like a dancer," Carmen said with a nod.

"Or else crispy, fried Carmen and Naruto" Ivy said in worry.

Zack walked over to stand next to his sister. "What's the problem? Player has wicked awesome gamer reflexes" he said with a wide smile, as he gestured at the laptop screen.

"We can't risk the server lag or any voltage spikes that might blow a fuse. We would need someone on site who really knows their electric" Player said, as he raised and lowered his eyebrows a few times.

"Crackle was the finest criminal electrician VILE ever had" Shadowsan said, making Naruto and Carmen look at him.

"Gray's out of the game" Carmen said with a frown at this.

"Yeah, we can't pull him back in," Naruto said with a nod of agreement, as he folded his arms over his chest.

{"Not even to play for the good guys?"} Player said with a smile, before getting more serious. {"We know he has stage lighting experience."}

"Whoa, are we breaking into a lab or putting on a show?" Ivy asked with a raised eyebrow.

Carmen glanced over her shoulder slightly, looking at Ivy. "If Dr. Bellum were to lay eyes on Gray, his safety would be compromised" she said in worry, as Naruto nodded in agreement.

Player smiled widely at this, as he showed the substation and the lab on the screen again. {"Two completely different locations, remember? Problem solved"} he said with a shrug.

Naruto and Carmen looked at each for a moment, before they both sighed. "Alright. But we'll need a cover story" Carmen said firmly.

"Yeah. Gray can't know what he's actually doing" Naruto said with a nod of agreement.

"What?" Zack asked in shocked surprise, as he and Ivy looked at each other.

"And just how are we gonna pull that off?" Ivy asked curiously.

"Like you said, Ivy, we put on a show" Carmen said, as she and Naruto turned around and smiled at her.

They soon climbed into the car, and headed off to the airport, before getting aboard the plane.

Once they were all strapped in, the plane soon took off. Once they were high enough, and the seatbelt sign was off, they all got together, so that Player could explain about New Zealand.

{"Located way down in the southern hemisphere, New Zealand is made up of two main islands and about 600 smaller ones"} Player said.

"And the country is so remote, it was actually one of the last land masses on our planet settled by humans" Carmen said.

{"Whoa! And sheep, apparently. About 30 million sheep live on the islands,"} Player said in surprise.

"You're not pulling the wool over our eyes," Naruto said with a chuckle. "And that amounts to nearly six sheep for every Kiwi."

{"The fruit?"} Player asked curiously.

"No, the people. New Zealanders proudly refer to themselves as 'Kiwis,' named after the native flightless bird that's their national symbol" Carmen said with a smile.

"And they also have various different myths and legends too," Naruto said with a nod. "Along with their fruit, which is called Kiwifruit."

"So what you're saying is that New Zealand really isn't in Australia?" Zack asked with a cocked eyebrow.

"That's right, Zack. It's its own country" Carmen said with a nod.

"Which is over 1,000 miles southeast of the Australian continent," Naruto added.

"Then why are we flying to Australia?" Zack asked curiously, as he and Ivy stood behind the chair that Naruto and Carmen were sitting in.

"To wrangle our electrician" Carmen and Naruto said together, making Zack and Ivy look at each other.

0o0o0o0

(Sometime later, across from the Sydney Opera House)

Gray was sitting at a cafe while sipping a cup of coffee, as he looked through a book, when Naruto and Carmen approached him.

Gray looked over at them with narrowed eyes for a moment, before returning to his book. "You're both late," he said with a smile.

"Fashionably, we hope," Carmen said with a smile, as she and Naruto walked over, before sitting down.

"We're sorry that we stood you up, Gray," Naruto said with his own smile.

"Um, it's -" Gray said with a grin, as he cocked an eyebrow, before getting cut off.

"Graham. Right" they both said, as they looked off to the side with sad looks on their faces.

"Look, we were called away on business at the last minute" Carmen said, as Naruto nodded in agreement.

"Oh? What kind of business?" Gray asked curiously, as he raised an eyebrow while putting his book down.

"We run an international charity for abandoned children," Naruto said with a shrug, as he smiled.

"In fact, that's the reason we came to see you today," Carmen said.

"Oh?" Gray asked, with a cocked eyebrow.

"We're sponsoring a big fundraiser in Auckland, New Zealand, this week. Selections from Swan Lake" Naruto said as he shrugged, while Carmen nodded in agreement.

"Tchaikovsky. I've lit a few Russian ballets at the old Sydney Opera House" Gray said with a grin, as he raised an eyebrow.

"And, fortunately for us, our lighting technician dropped out," Carmen said with a smile, as she looked off to the side.

"So we're hoping that you can help us," Naruto finished with his own smile.

Gray thought about it for a moment, before he gave a nod. "On one condition. You both have that cuppa with me afterwards" he said with a smile, leaning forward as he did.

Naruto and Carmen both nodded at this, as they smiled at him with a raised eyebrow each. "We'll have the foundation book you a flight" Carmen said, as they stood up and walked away.

Once they were far enough away, they both gave a sigh of relief.

"Well, at least he's not angry that we stood him up last time," Carmen said, as she leaned her head on Naruto's shoulder.

{"Maybe some of the old Gray, before he went all VILE, is still in there"} Player said.

Naruto nodded in agreement to this, as he put his arm around Carmen's shoulder. "Let's hope that the caper goes off without a hitch, along with no VILE members spotting him" he said, as he kissed Carmen on the head.

{"Agreed"} Player said, as Naruto and Carmen got in a cab, to head for the airport.

Once they arrived, they got everything sorted, before boarding their plane, which soon took off, heading for Auckland.

Once they were on their way, Naruto and Carmen sat in their chair, with Zack and Ivy leaning on the back of it, while Player was shown on the laptop screen.

"All right, crew, let's review. We fly into Auckland, New Zealand's largest city, which happens to boast its most famous skyline, thanks to the Sky Tower. Dr. Bellum's lab is located just outside of the city limits, not that Gray will ever know it exists" Naruto said with a smile.

Carmen nodded at this, before taking over. "He'll be doing his part entirely from the nearby electrical substation, which we will lead him to believe is the backstage entrance of the children's theatre. This way, VILE never sees Gray, and Gray never sees VILE, which is the reason we opted to have Shadowsan remain at HQ" she said.

Zack gave a gasp at this. "He's waiting for the cable guy?" he asked excitedly, as he leaned over the back of the chair.

Naruto and Carmen both chuckled at this. "No Zack. Gray only knows Shadowsan from his time at VILE Academy" Naruto said, as he shook his head at this.

"Who knows what hidden memories spotting the face of any VILE instructor could trigger?" Carmen said, as she frowned slightly.

Player nodded in agreement at this. "And we can't risk awakening any memories or criminal impulses, especially not while Naruto and Carmen's fate is in Gray's hands" he said, as he too frowned.

Naruto gave a nod at this. "So, Gray will operate a lighting board from his control booth, shutting down Dr. Bellum's surveillance cameras and security systems, including the notorious electrical fields, one by one and in sequence, all while under the illusion that he's controlling the stage lighting of a live theatrical performance of Swan Lake" he said.

{"His cue sheets will be timed to a prerecorded ballet, the one you'll be hearing in your earpieces as you both pirouette your way through Dr. Bellum's gauntlets"} Player said.

"And, as a safety net, Gray will be in constant communication with the stage manager of the ballet, an efficient but friendly Kiwi we'll call 'Peter', who'll help out if there's any trouble" Carmen said with a grin.

Player cleared his throat for a moment. {"Hello, guys. Peter here"} he said in a New Zealand accent.

"And when the big show's over?" Naruto and Carmen asked together.

"We simply tell Crackle that the crowd's demanding an encore and have him switch off the grid in reverse order so our swans can take flight" Player said with a grin.

Naruto and Carmen nodded at this, as they sat back and relaxed the rest of the way, while Player got a flight booked for Gray, before sending a message to let him know.

Once they landed in Auckland, they went through customs, before heading for the substation across from Bellum's lab. They soon got everything set up, to make Gray believe that it was all part of the ruse.

0o0o0o0

(Sometime later)

A taxi pulled up to the substation, with Gray opening the door as he paid the driver before climbing out and closing the door behind him, as the taxi drove off.

Gray walked over to the substation, where Naruto and Carmen were leaning on either side of the door that had a gold star on it.

"Hey Graham," Naruto said, as he smiled at him.

"So, are you ready to rock?" Carmen asked, as she and Naruto pointed their thumbs at the door, while smiling.

"Anything for the kiddos" Gray said, as he smiled back while walking over.

"Good" Naruto said with a grin, as he pushed himself off the wall.

"Curtain's at 8:00, and we're needed in wardrobe" Carmen said, pushing herself off her own wall and stood before the door.

Gray gestured at the door, with Carmen pushing it open and went inside, with Naruto and Gray following after her.

0o0o0o0

(Later that night, in the lab)

Dr Bellum and Neal were both watching as the Trip Wire was being built in her lab.

"Tonight is the night, Neal. We are nearly ready to beta test" Saira said with a grin, with Neal smiling next to her.

0o0o0o0

(In Player's room)

Player stretched his arms over his head, cracking his knuckles as he did, before typing away on his computer, before he clicked on a file.

"Cue music" he said with a grin, as an orchestra began to tune their instruments.

Player then turned to another screen, and cleared his throat. "Okay Graham, you're on" he said in his New Zealand accent.

0o0o0o0

(In the substation)

Graham was sitting before an electrical board, as he adjusted the headphones on his head.

"Copy that Peter" Graham said into the microphone, with a smile.

{"Now remember, timing is everything"} Player said, as Graham got ready.

0o0o0o0

(Outside Dr Bellum's lab)

Naruto and Carmen both ran alongside the building, as they headed to the front door of the lab, and stopped before looking up at a security camera.

Graham then pressed a button on the board, which he believed was the stage light. But caused the camera to turn off.

Naruto and Carmen then ran to the door, waiting for Graham to unlock it

Graham then pressed another button, which caused the door to unlock.

Naruto turned the door knob, and held it open for Carmen to run inside before he followed after her.

Meanwhile, Graham watched a screen, as the curtain rose on the stage before him, before pressing the second button again, just as Naruto closed the door, as it was relocked.

"Player, the Swan's are in" Naruto said into his comms with a grin.

"En route to secure sublevel" Carmen said with her own grin.

They both then ran towards the elevator, just as it dinged open for them. They got inside it, and rode it down, before it dinged open for them again, showing they'd arrived at the sublevel.

They ran out of the elevator, and headed for the electrical fields, which were crackling.

"The Swan's have arrived at shock corridor" Naruto said into his comm with a grin.

"Copy that" Player said, as he looked at the screen, showing him their icons along with the shock corridor.

He then flicked a switch, and moved over to the other screen. "Okay, mate, fade up centre stage on 'Dance of the Little Swans'. Lets not keep the audience waiting" he said in his New Zealand accent into a microphone.

Gray raised an eyebrow at this, as he got ready. "Opera, ballet... Here's hoping the next gig involves stadium rock" he said with a smile, as he pushed a fader up the soundboard, making the lights come on, on the stage, along with pressing a switch, that made the music start playing.

Naruto and Carmen both moved their bodies to the sound of the music coming from their earpieces, before they watched as the electric fields began coming down, thanks to Gray lowering the faders in the substation.

"Shall we, ma'am?" Naruto asked with a slight bow.

"We shall, good sir" Carmen replied with a bow of her own.

They then quickly began to dance over the electric fields as they went down into the floor, before having to quickly jump over the last few as they began to go back up.

"Now, onto the second lot" Naruto muttered under his breath, as they turned the corner to the second set of electric fields, as Gray moved to the next set of faders, causing the electric fields to begin lowering, before going back up again.

"Watch out!" Carmen said in worry, as they barely hopped over the last one, before turning the corner to go through the third corridor of electric fields.

Naruto and Carmen moved their heads up and down to the beat of the music, as they waited for Gray to begin lowering the next electric field's down, as they danced their way over them, before they went back up again.

"And now, onto the final corridor" Naruto said, as they went around the final corner, and danced their way through it, before landing and gave smirks as they heard clapping in their comms.

They both stood up, and looked back at the electric fields, before sighing. "A nearly electrifying performance" Carmen said, as she adjusted her hat.

"Indeed," Naruto said with a nod, before they ran off.

They went through a double electric door, and entered what looked like a server vault.

"Looks like we're in the right place" Carmen said with a grin, as they walked over to a computer, with Carmen taking out her lipstick flash drive and plugging it into the computer.

"And we're live," Naruto said with a smile, as the computer screen showed the VILE logo and a loading bar for a moment, before changing to a bunch of files.

Player was typing on his computer, which showed the VILE files on his computer screen. "Okay, searching for Project TripWire files" he said, as he typed away before smirking. "Located."

Naruto and Carmen watched as code ran across the screen, with a loading bar moving across. {"Scrubbing database. And goodbye stolen tech"} Player said proudly.

Carmen grinned at this, as she unplugged her lipstick flash drive and put it away. "Off to find Dr. Bellum's prototype" she said, before her and Naruto left the room.

As they ran, they soon ran into Neal the Eel, causing them to stop.

"Well shit" Naruto growled out in annoyance.

"Of all the sheep in New Zealand to wander in, it had to be a black sheep. And a dark fox had to follow her, most likely in sheep's clothing" Neal said with a snicker.

Naruto and Carmen both frowned at him, before they got ready as Neal ran towards them. Neal then got on the floor and slid towards them, as he used his legs to knock them off their feet.

Neal stopped before the door they came out of and smirked at them, while Naruto and Carmen glared at him.

"Come on" Carmen said, as she stood up before running off, with Naruto right behind her.

Neal pushed himself forward, before getting on his stomach, as he slid on the ground towards them. Naruto and Carmen tried running as fast as they could, but Neal reached out and grabbed their ankles, sending them to the floor again as he stood up.

"Remember me? Neal. You two were the island mascots. And I was class of - Oh!" Neal was saying with a smug look, before he had to lean back to avoid a kick from them both. He got on his stomach again and slid underneath them, before he kicked them in the chest, sending them both into the wall behind them as they fell to the ground.

"How did you two slip in here anyway? Are you both part eel?" Neal asked with a grin, as he stood up.

Naruto and Carmen glared up at him, before they both looked behind him, seeing he was standing in front of the doorway into the electric fields. They then looked at each other, and nodded in silent agreement.

"Player, time for that encore" Naruto said, before he and Carmen jumped to their feet and rushed at Neal, as they grabbed hold of him and pushed him against the glass partition, causing Neal to groan in pain.

Player looked shocked at this, before he moved over to the microphone. "Okay, Graham, curtain call for 'Dance of the Little Swans', so let's do it" he said.

"Wait, already?" Graham asked in shock, as the curtains were raised on the stage.

{"I know, right? The crowd's going wild!"} Player said, as Graham began lowering the first faders.

Once Naruto and Carmen saw the electric fields going down, they ran through them once they reached the floor, while still holding onto Neal.

They reached the final electric field, and threw Neal at it, who quickly placed his hands and feet on the ground, so that his back didn't touch it, while Naruto and Carmen each had a hold of his suit and a foot each on his chest to hold him in place, so that he didn't get back up.

"Are you mad? You'll fry all three of us!" Neal exclaimed in worry.

Naruto and Carmen then let go of Neal and backflipped back the way they came from, causing Neal to be sent sliding on his back, just as the electric fields went back up, thanks to Graham moving the faders up.

Neal stood back up, and glared at them through the electric fields separating him from them.

"Hold faders now" Carmen said, as she and Naruto glared right back at him.

"Graham, lock faders in current position" Player said into the microphone.

"Wait, what?" Graham asked in surprise, as he cocked an eyebrow at this.

Naruto and Carmen walked out of the electric field area, and strolled past where Neal was arm in arm.

"I'd stay put unless you wanna be an electric eel," Naruto said with a smirk at Neal, before they both took off running.

"Slick," Neal said with a slight grin, as he watched them go.

In the substation, the screen was beginning to fritz out and produce static.

"Uh, Peter, there's something wrong with my feed," Graham said, as he watched the screen.

Player was looking at his screen, showing where Naruto and Carmen were. "Technical difficulties, mate. Please stand by. And don't touch those faders" he said with a slightly worried look.

Graham pulled his hands away from the control board, and looked at the screen with narrowed eyes, just as the ballet finished with the crowd applauding while the curtain fell.

Graham looked at the screen suspiciously at this. "Wait. Is this a recording? Why have I been lighting a pre-recorded performance?" he asked in surprise. "Peter?" he asked in a demanding tone, leaning forward slightly.

Player turned to look at his other computer screen at this. "Uh, there's a perfectly logical explanation. Just sit tight, Graham" he said with a nervous smile and a slightly raised eyebrow, while typing on his keyboard, before looking at the screen when he didn't hear anything.

{"Graham?"} Player asked, as the chair was empty while the headphones hung on the back of the chair, and the door was open.

Meanwhile, Dr Bellum was smiling as she'd finished making the device. "Neal, we are ready to launch" she said, as she looked to her side….only for her eyes to widen in surprise, seeing no one there. "Neal?" she yelled out, as she looked around. "Oh, where did that sea snake slither off to?" she grumbled before walking off.

Graham walked out of the substation, and looked around. "Carmen! Naruto!" he yelled out.

He then saw the lab, and narrowed his eyes slightly. "Must be the main stage" he said, before walking towards it.

0o0o0o0

(Inside the lab)

Naruto and Carmen were both running down a hallway.

"Player, we're warm," Carmen said.

"How's the ballet going?" Naruto then asked curiously.

"Uh, on indefinite intermission. Our lighting tech walked" Player said, as he looked away from his other screen.

This caused Naruto and Carmen to stop running, and look at each other in shock. "What?" they both exclaimed in surprise.

{"Zack and Ivy are combing the grounds for him now"} Player said.

Naruto and Carmen both frowned slightly.

"Find him," Carmen said with a firm tone.

"Yeah, we're too close to turn back now," Naruto said in just as firm a tone, before they continued running.

Meanwhile, Dr Bellum was walking along a hallway, before she stopped and looked back at Neal in shock, who was leaning against the wall, who soon pushed himself off it.

"Uh... Bob's your uncle?" Neal said with a nervous smile.

Saira's shock soon went away, and she glared. "And who would be my auntie?" she asked him, as she deactivated the electrical fields, allowing Neal to run over.

"Actually, an auntie along with another uncle. Carmen Sandiego, along with Naruto Uzumaki. And they took off that way" Neal said, as he ran off, with Bellum following him, just as Gray entered the room.

"Carmen? Naruto? Where are you guys?" Gray yelled, as he walked through the corridor.

Dr Bellum and Neal soon approached two guards. "Red alert! We have intruders!" Saira said in a hard tone, causing the guards to snap to attention, before they ran off down a hallway, with Neal going down the opposite one while Bellum continued forward.

Meanwhile, Naruto and Carmen walked into the lab, where they saw the completed TripWire. They looked around cautiously, before smiling as they ran over to it, and just as they reached to grab it….

"Carmen? Naruto?"

They looked to the side in shock, and saw that Gray was looking at them.

"Sandiego! Uzumaki!"

The two of them then looked forward, and saw that Dr Bellum was glaring hard at them.

Naruto and Carmen looked at each for a moment, before running towards Gray, as they each grabbed a wrist and dragged him along, causing him to grunt as they did.

"What kind of concert hall is this?" Gray asked, as he looked back for a moment.

"An experimental one," Naruto said, as they ran round a corner, going down another hallway.

Neal then entered the lab, before he ran over to the control console, with Dr Bellum joining him.

"If that's the game they wish to play, raise the sphere" Dr Bellum declared with a raised eyebrow.

Neal smirked at this, as he pressed a button, which caused the platform the TripWire was on to rise to the ceiling, which opened up as it went outside.

"Carmen Sandiego and Naruto Uzumaki will surrender, or tonight will come to be known as the night the lights went out in Auckland" Saira said with a smug look.

0o0o0o0

(In another part of the building)

Naruto, Carmen and Gray were slowly and quietly creeping down a hallway, making sure that they weren't spotted.

They soon stopped at a corner, with Naruto and Carmen carefully peaking round, seeing two guards walking in their direction, while holding a crackle rod each. They both pushed Gray back as the guards spotted them, with one charging up his crackle rod.

"Stay down" they both said firmly to Gray, before running off to take care of the guards, while Gray looked curious.

Naruto and Carmen ran out, with the guards shooting electricity at them from their crackle rods. They both dodged the shots, as they jumped off the opposite wall and used it to kick one of the guards down to the ground, while Gray cautiously peeked round the corner, watching them.

They then dodged the shots from the other guard by flipping and cartwheeling about, before they grabbed the crackle rod. The three of them grappled with it for a moment, before they smirked at the guard and faced the way they came before throwing him over their shoulders, causing him to slam into the other guard that just stood up, sending them both to the floor, and causing one of the crackle rods to roll towards Gray.

Naruto and Carmen saw this, as Gray looked at them, while they had worried looks on their faces.

"Thought you could give old Neal the slip, eh?" they heard from behind them, as they both cocked an eyebrow at this, before turning around, seeing Neal standing there.

Naruto and Carmen both had looks of surprised shock, as they slightly glanced at where Gray was hiding, before glaring at Neal as they ran towards him.

They both swung their fists at him, with Neal easily sidestepping them as he dodged, before they tried to hit him with a spinning wheel kick, which he dodged by sliding underneath them.

Neal then got behind Carmen and presses his hands against the back of her neck, locking her in place, while kicking Naruto towards the wall, causing him to fall to the ground.

"Little known fact: this eel has quite the grip" Neal said with a smirk, as he pushed Carmen's head down, causing her to grunt in pain.

"Carmen!" Naruto yelled out, as he tried to stand up, ready to help her get free.

But before he could, Neal got zapped from behind, causing him to let go of Carmen and cry out in pain, before he fell over, revealing Gray holding the crackle rod.

Carmen looked back in surprise at this, along with Naruto, as they both stood up, while Gray tossed the crackle rod aside.

"Um, you guys don't run a children's charity, do you?" Gray asked with a raised eyebrow.

Naruto and Carmen both gave small smiles at this.

"We'll explain over that coffee" Naruto said, as they both grabbed an arm before running down the hallway, dragging Gray along as they did.

Soon enough, they arrived at a stairwell, which they began running up.

"Zack, Ivy, bring the car. Graham's ready for pickup" Carmen said, with her finger on her earpiece.

"And be quick about it," Naruto added, with his own finger on his earpiece.

Outside, Zack and Ivy were standing in front of the lab, as they looked up at the TripWire device rising in the air, with electricity crackling off it.

"Uh, guys, we may have a bigger problem" Zack said in worry.

Naruto, Carmen and Gray continued to run up the stairwell, when they heard a crackle over an intercom. "\Carmen Sandiego and Naruto Uzumaki. You will surrender, or I will discharge an electromagnetic pulse from my very own Sky Tower, one that will disable every shred of technology in Auckland. Hospitals, emergency services, air traffic control will all be in disarray. Only you can avert this disaster by turning yourself in\" Dr Bellum's voice said over the speakers.

Naruto and Carmen looked at each other in worry at this.

Gray looked at them with a raised eyebrow. "Guys, who is that?" he asked them with a cocked eyebrow.

Naruto and Carmen turned around and looked at him. "Do you recognise that voice at all?" Carmen asked him, as they both looked concerned.

Gray thought about it for a moment, before he shook his head. "I don't think so. But what are we going to do?" he asked them.

Naruto and Carmen both smiled at this, before they smirked as they ran back up the stairs, with Gray following them.

When they reached the top of the stairs, Naruto pushed the door open, before they ran along the edge of the roof, as they appeared at the base of the TripWire tower, as they looked up at the device at the top of the tower.

"Are you afraid of heights?" Naruto asked Gray.

"What? No" Gray said in confusion, with a raised eyebrow.

"Then you'd better hang on tight" Carmen said, as they both grabbed an arm each, with Gray making sure that he was holding onto their arms.

"And don't let go," Naruto added, as they had their grappling guns come out, then shot them to the bottom of the platform at the of the tower, before reeling themselves up.

"Crikey!" Gray yelled out in shocked surprise.

Once they reached the platform, the three of them climbed up onto it, with Naruto and Carmen then unhooking their grappling hooks, and put the grappling guns away.

"Can you deactivate it?" Carmen asked Gray, as the three of them looked at the device.

"I-I'm just a lighting tech" Gray stuttered out slightly. "Plus, what makes you think I know anything about industrial-grade electric?" he then asked with a raised eyebrow.

"It's a hunch. Roll with it" Naruto said with a shrug, as he and Carmen both smiled slightly.

Gray grimaced slightly at this, before looking back at the TripWire. "I don't even know what I'm looking at," he said, before he sighed and got closer to the device. "It won't blow up in our faces, will it?" he then asked with a cocked eyebrow.

"Just focus and hurry," Carmen said, as she and Naruto both looked at the device with worried looks.

Gray pulled a panel off, which revealed some wires, as he looked around in confusion. "I just don't... Oh, wait, what's this?" he said with a smile, before he reached inside and grabbed hold of something, before pulling it out.

"That oughta do it" Gray said with a grin, as the machine powered down, along with alarms blaring.

Naruto and Carmen then held out a hand each to Gray. "Do you trust us?" Naruto asked with a smile.

Gray looked back over the edge of the tower, and groaned before smiling at them. "Hang on tight, don't let go?" he said, as he grabbed their hands.

"Yup" Carmen said with a nod, before they jumped off the tower.

"Crikey!" Gray screamed in terror, before Naruto and Carmen's gliders opened in midair, as they took off.

Dr Bellum and Neal then appeared through a door at the bottom of the tower, as they saw Naruto and Carmen flying off.

"Very well, then. Lights out, Auckland" Dr Bellum said with a smirk, as she pressed a button on the remote that she was holding….only for TripWire to explode instead.

"And Bob's your uncle" Saira said, as she and Neal looked up.

Meanwhile, Naruto, Carmen and Gray were flying over a forest, with Naruto and Carmen noticing that they were slowly losing altitude.

"I don't think that these two gliders were made for carrying three people," Naruto said, as he looked around.

Gray looked worried at this. "So, we're going down like a kiwi? Flightless bird, national symbol of -" he was saying, before he was cut off.

"Brace yourself," Carmen said, as she and Naruto held on to Gray tightly, as they flew closer to the ground, as their gliders folded away just before they all hit the ground, grunting and rolling when they did, with Naruto and Carmen's hats falling off.

A few moments later, both Naruto and Carmen groaned as they woke up.

"You okay babe?" Naruto asked, as he sat up while holding his head.

"Yeah, I'm good thanks" Carmen replied with a nod.

They both then looked around, and saw Gray was just lying there.

"Gray?" Naruto asked, as they both got up and ran over to him.

"Gray?" Carmen asked, as she rolled him onto his back, with her and Naruto looking worried.

After a few seconds, Gray's eyes moved before they opened. "It's Graham" he said, smiling up at them, which they returned.

"So, how did you know how to sabotage that device?" Naruto asked him curiously, as he and Carmen looked at each other nervously.

Gray sat up and looked confused for a moment. "It just felt very familiar. Do you ever get déjà vu?" he asked them curiously.

Naruto and Carmen looked relieved at this, before they smiled at him and stood up. "Come on, lets get outta here" Carmen said, as they held out a hand each to him.

Gray smiled back at them with a nod, as he grabbed their hands, and allowed himself to be pulled to his feet.

"Zack, Ivy, we're gonna need a pick up" Naruto said into his comm, while sending them their location on his phone.

0o0o0o0

(Sometime later, back in Sydney)

It was nighttime, and Naruto, Carmen and Gray were sitting at the cafe, each having a cup of coffee.

"Guys, I have to know... are you spies? Part of some kind of secret service?" Gray asked them curiously with a cocked eyebrow, as he smiled at them.

Naruto and Carmen looked at each other for a moment, before smiling back at Gray with a raised eyebrow each. "We do provide a service, and it is secret, so, yeah, something like that" Carmen said, as she shrugged her shoulders slightly.

Gray gave a grin at this, before he looked off to the side with an unsure look on his face. "But we are the good guys, right?" he then asked.

Naruto and Carmen both looked at each other for a moment, before looking back at Gray with smiles on their faces. "Absolutely" they said together, which caused Gray to smile widely at this, along with a raised eyebrow.

"Only you need to forget this ever happened" Naruto said with a cocked eyebrow, as he took a sip of his coffee.

Gray snorted at this. "No one would believe me anyway," he said with a chuckle.

Carmen took a piece of paper out of a pocket inside her jacket, and placed it on the table before sliding it over to him. "We wired funds to your account for your help" she said to him with a grin.

This caused Gray to look surprised at this. "What? H-how could you possibly get my bank account number?" he asked, as he picked up the piece of paper and unfolded it, causing his eyes to bug out at the number. "Crikey! Guys, I can't accept this" he said, as he looked up, and noticed that they were gone, causing him to grin. "You are cheeky ones."

Naruto and Carmen were walking down the street, hand in hand with their hoods up to hide their faces.

{"So, Gray figured out there's more to Carmen and Naruto than meets the eye"} Player said.

"Wasn't too hard, but we're convinced that he has zero memory of VILE," Naruto said with a smile.

"And we thankfully managed to pull off our little caper without VILE ever laying eyes on Gray" Carmen said with her own smile, as she laid her head on Naruto's shoulder.

0o0o0o0

(?)

While VILE hadn't found out about Gray, another secret organisation had.

"This surveillance was obtained less than an hour ago in Sydney, Australia," Zari said to Chief, as they watched footage of Gray, Naruto and Carmen sitting at the cafe.

{"Find out everything you can about Carmen and Naruto's friend. He may be of some use to us"} Chief said, as she narrowed her eyes.

0o0o0o0

Authors Note: To those who want me to lemon/sex scenes in every chapter or so, I can't as I need to find the right time/moment to do them. Such as, on their plane, in a hotel room or in a train's sleeping carriage. So please, stop asking me to keep adding them, as I'll do them when I please.

Hope that everyone enjoyed the chapter, and that you're doing what you can to avoid getting this COVID by following the rules, while any and all flames are no longer welcome. Also, for some reason, if I get a PM from anyone, it wouldn't show me the number(s) on fanfiction (so if you send me a PM, and I reply to it late, that's the reason why). Let's hope that now the vaccines are all done, we can rest a bit easier.

I have also posted a few story ideas on my home page, and if any of you want to use them please, PM me and let me know.