THE NIGHT OF 1000 CARMENS! by Erin Mills based on characters owned by Broderbund Software and DIC productions PROLOGUE: Picture this. A large network of realities, an infinite number of choices, multiple versions of events, places and people. This is the Multiverse. It is composed of all the possible events that could happen in space and time. Don't believe me? Well, then, let's look at one person in particular and see how she has turned out in her various universes... **** Stan Packer, freelance P.I. under contract to Acme, entered the room with Li Non Mee, one of Carmen's lackey's that had gone off on her own. He noticed with grim amusement the grand piano in the corner with the intials "L.V.B." carved on the top. Behind them, Santo Moniker, the delicately featured mystery man who had been dogging Packer through this whole case entered behind them with his henchman Damien Neimad. The wall of flesh had them covered with a pistol. "This way, please, Mr. Packer," said Moniker, with his Middle European accent. "Clever, Moniker, very clever." Packer said. "But how did you know to be here at the same time both Li Non and I?" "Oh, please, Mr. Packer. One hears things, you know. One reads the New York Times, one watches CNN, one intercepts top secret governmental satellite feeds, one practices mental telepathy, one channels the spirit of a 3000 year old Macedonian shepherd named Tony," At this Moniker straightened up and uttered in a completely different voice "'The Universe is in reality, a giant sheep.' A parlor trick but occasionally useful." "What's your game, Moniker?" Packer demanded. "Any game featuring the pop-o-matic dice. But that is not why I'm here. Tell me, Li, why did you steal Beethoven's piano? Did you do it to prove to me that you're a big girl?" "I've never seen you before in my life!" Li snapped. "And I was a big girl long before I ever stole that piano!" Li's eyes widened as she realized what she had said. "There's your confession, Mr. Packer." Moniker smirked. "Not that it will do you much good. The piano comes with me." "Think again, Moniker. " Packer replied. "You cart off that piano and you and wall-boy over there are looking at hard time as accessories." "Oh, but Stan," Moniker said, reaching up to take off his dark glasses. "Sometimes accessories are all..." He removed the sunglasses revealing two fully mascaraed brown eyes. He, or rather she, flung her hat off her head and a cascade of chesnut hair flowed down her shoulders. "...A girl really cares about." Carmen Sandiego finished with a devilish smile... **** "Get back!" Carmen yelled as she fired on the approaching Daedelus MegaCorp. shocktroops pursuing them. Her fellow comrades from the new V.I.L.E. ran down the alley. Carmen waited for them to get clear, then reached into her jacket and pulled out a grenade. It was only a flasher, but it would buy them time. She pulled the pin and tossed it out of the alley. The grenade exploded with a flash of light, noise and smoke. Carmen grinned and tipped her hat to the coughing soldiers and ran off, following her friends. One of the soldiers sputtered into a communications device. "Sir, we lost her again. Repeat, Project 3AL/X has escaped capture." From down the alley, Carmen laughed at having successfully eluded the security forces from the MegaCorporation that had given her a second lease on life... **** "I don't care what it takes!" Carmen Sandiego snarled into the phone. "Dr. Mobius has gone too far this time! Between him and the Gaunt Man, we've lost several of our best agents! Get a hold of Li at our Nippon Tech branch, and see what she's managed to get from 3327's databanks...Yes, I know the Kanawa Corporation has the best security systems on the planet right now, but we've broken in there once, we can do it again!" She slammed the phone down and rubbed her temples. It had been two years since she had declared war on the Possibility Raiders and she was no closer to cracking their defenses than she had been ever since escaping from the Gaunt Man's clutches. Her fingers idily traced the scar running down her cheek. A gift from one of the Gaunt Man's ravagons on her way out of Ororrsh, what was formerly Indonesia. It hadn't healed properly and served as a reminder of the dangers of the game she was playing. War was not pretty. The phone rang again. "Yes?" she said. "Carmen," came the voice of Dr. Bessie Mae Mucho, her top scientific aide. "We have a problem." "What is it, Bessie?" "IT'S acting up." Carmen straightened up in her chair. "Are you sure?" she asked. "Positive. It hasn't acted like this since..." "Alpha Complex." Carmen finished. "I'll be right down..." **** "Hmmm..." Evan Sawyer said as he looked up at the Eiffel Tower. "Now, I'm no expert on steelwork, but it seems to me that the top of the tower should NOT be drooping like that." Bazooka Mel, the twelve year old sleuth's senior partner, strode up to him, his eyes hidden (as always) by the oversized combat helmet he habitually wore. "No wonder, since it's made of plastic." Mel reported. "It's melting in the sun. Looks like Carmen's already been here." "But what would she want the Eiffel Tower for?" Evan asked. "It isn't good for anything except transmittng television signals!" As if in answer to his question, a loud obnoxious voice blared from a nearby display TV. "Hi, friends! Vic the Slick here with the greatest news in television history since Roseanne lost her voice! Presenting the V.I.L.E. Home (and Hideout) Shopping Network!" Evan and Mel stared at the screen in disbelief. **** "Stop her! Bake the higher clearance traitor!" cried Ourob-O-ROS-5. The collected groups of Red and Orange clearance citizens opened fired on the female clone hanging from the top of the former DOA Sector IntSec headquarters. "Vatdamnit!" cursed Carmensand-I-EGO-3. Her disguise as a Yellow clearance Tech Services worker hadn't covered her as well as she thought. It was at times like this that she wished The Computer hadn't crashed. Or at the very least that she had been demoted to a lower clearance before it had. She reached into the pocket of her Yellow jumpsuit, and pulled out a small, round object. She really hated to do this, but better them than her ending up as statistics on the tote board of The Great CPU Turkeybot Shoot. She dropped the sphere into the crowd below. It exploded, showering the clones with a thick, green slime. The rampant lower clearances slipped and tripped over themselves as they tried to get a bead on her. Laser blasts of every color in the spectrum flew everywhere, singing holes in walls, scrubots and the occasional unlucky clone. During the confusion, Carmensand pulled herself to saftey. She looked down at the ensuing carnage below. "'Stay Alert. Trust No One. Keep Your Laser Handy.'" she recited. "Sorry, boys, two out of three just ain't good enough." **** "Timenet's on your trail." Carmen said to Baron Wasteland. "I suggest you hie thee hence to Shakespeare's home century." "Done and done Carmen." The Baron replied. "And while your at it," Carmen continued. "See what you can do to get those cursed Time Pilots off your trail." "So you order, so shall it be done." Wasteland ended the transmission. Carmen leaned back in her chair. "Soon, the history of flight will be changed forever, all thanks to me." she mused. "And Timenet won't be able to do a thing about it." **** "And we still don't know where she is." Warren the Warrant Robot reported to the Chief. "On the upside, we captured Nick Brunch and got Ghandi's glasses back." "It's getting difficult, Warren." The Chief said, looking out the window. "V.I.L.E. is even more active than ever, but no one has seen Carmen. I know she prefers to send her henchmen to do her dirty work, but occasionally she runs a heist herself. It's really very disturbing." The Chief's VideoPhone rang. "Yes?" he said. "Hello there, Chief." came a suave female voice. "Carmen!" The head of Acme blurted out. "What the devil are you up to?" "Just a litte note to say hello, and to let you know that I've finally hit upon the one method of transport that you won't be able to follow me in." Carmen said with a superior little laugh. "What do you mean? You know we have the capability to follow you around the globe, out into space and through time, Carmen! Where could you possibly go next?" "Somewhere where Acme doesn't exist, Chief. Ta-ta!" The master theif disconnected. She turned to her henchmen. "You know the orders. When you find a place where Acme doesn't exist, report back here. You've only got one hour in each place so make the time count. " The henchmen saluted and walked into the room marked Cross-Dimensional Isotuner... **** Lee Jordan slid out of the hotel's laundry chute, the necklace of the Queen of England in hand. He smirked up at the sounds of the police "wotsallthisthen"-ing coming from the upper levels of the hotel. He climbed out of the laundry basket. The car should be where he left it... ...if only his feet weren't stuck to the floor. Lee looked down in disbelief at his feet, which were held fast in some sort of sticky foam. He struggled to free himself. "Having problems, Lee?" came a familiar voice. Lee looked up to see a woman dressed in gray pants, a white shirt, red vest and a gray fedora standing at the entrance to the laundry room, a smile on her face. "Carmen!" he snarled. "How did you get here?" "You used the same trick in Greece last year." Carmen replied, striding over to him. "I made sure that you couldn't get away this time, however." She pulled a pair of handcuffs out of her bag and slapped them on Lee's wrists saying, "As a member of the Acme Detective Agency, I place you, Lee Jordan under arrest..." **** MacDougal felt the bag being ripped away from his head. He was in some sort of darkened office. The only light came from a nearby picture window. He swallowed in fear when he saw the female silohuette standing in front of it. "You owe me money, MacDougal." the woman said. "I've lent you a considerable sum. It is time to collect." "Please, it's been a bad month. I'll get you your money. I just need a little more time." "I've given you six months past your expected deadline, now I have to take serious action. Guido?" MacDougal turned and began shaking as he saw a giant of a man come up from behind him and take his arm. "No..please..." MacDougal screamed as he felt the pressure on his arm, and then screamed louder as he felt the bone snap under Guido's powerful strength. "You see, MacDougal," the woman continued. "I simply cannot have persons in my employ double crossing me. You stole from me and have failed to make resititution, therefore disciplinary action is called for. Guido?" MacDougal's voice raised to a pitch most men's can't when he felt his other arm break. He curled up on the floor in the fetal position. The woman stepped from the window towards him. She elevated his chin with the tip of her red high heel. "I take it that we understand one another?" she asked. MacDougal nodded. "Mercy..." he whispered. "Please..." The woman appeared to consider it for a moment. "Yes...all right. I will show you mercy." MacDougal sighed in relief. Then he heard the unmistakable click of a revolver being cocked. "I'll give you a quick and painless death." Carmen Sandiego said, as she drilled the unfortuane lackey between the eyes... **** One woman, nine different possiblilites. All fortunately separated from each other by the boundaries that hold the universe in check. But all that's about to change. And these nine aspects of the same woman are about to seriously hamper the lives of a tenth, and the people she engages in her battle of wits with. Let's sit back and watch the fun, shall we? ---- Erin 2.5