Carmen Sandiego (2019) One-Shots

The Silver Wolf

"Julia, you don't have to do this."

Carmen panted. Her side burned, and she felt warm blood drip down her back, starting from just above her right shoulder. There were some advantages to being dressed all in red, at least. Ivy and Zack wouldn't notice the blood when she returned.

She hoped not, at least.

She looked at the woman standing a few meters from her. She knew, logically, that it was Julia Argent. Her friend. Her confidant. Her girlfriend.

But a far more subconscious part of Carmen questioned this notion. It surely had something to do with the black, sleek bodysuit that the woman wore, and the lupine mask over her head surely played a part, but something else made her more uneasy.

Julia's eyes.

They glowed green. A sharp green. The green that had marked Carmen's childhood with its sickening hue.

Silver Wolf panted. A trail of blood drained from just above her left eye. Looking at it made Carmen's stomach turn. She hadn't meant to hurt her. But she had to defend herself.

"Please, Julia." She tried. "Are you listening to me? Hoor je me? Entendez-vous à moi? Julia, please."

And, for a split second, her eyes were no longer green. They returned to their normal color, and Carmen could barely hold herself back from running up to her friend, her girlfriend, and hugging her.

"Carmen, I-"

Beneath the mask of a wolf, Julia's humanity resurfaced. Her eyes glimmered with panic, then with fear, then with regret.

Carmen's heart nearly burst from joy. Her girlfriend was back. Everything was okay aga-

Julia's eyes flashed a new emotion: Pain. Sparks flew from a metal contraption that encircled her neck.

Her eyes became green once more, and a growl sounded from her throat.