Where on Earth, Spies



""She had such a tiny frame it was hard to believe she could kill a man seven ways without the use of a weapon. Eight if her fingernails didn't count as weapons.""

Waldo, a Tall, Dark, And Handsome Frenchman spy, works for the World Spy Organization, combatting the dastardly designs of an evil entity called VILE. Carmen, the sultry Russian daughter of the original Carmen Sandiego, is the VILE agent Waldo has sworn to stop. She traverses the world in pursuit of artifacts to steal and has been eluding Waldo for a while by the time the story begins, their first meeting face-to-face.

Where on Earth, Spies is a Fanfic written in Web Serial Novel format by Pentharis, published on Deviant ART. It's essentially a Mega Crossover Alternate Universe Spy-Versus-Spy Fic centered around the Foe Yay-charged antics of Carmen and Waldo. Their respective spy teams are comprised of a number of Darker and Edgier iconic advertizing mascots including Erin Esurance, her partner Erik, the GEICO Gecko (Martin), Progressive's Flo, the Taco Bell Dog (Carlos), and Allstate's Mayhem. All of them are interpereted by the author from their perspectives as spys, but they're kept in some line with their source material to fun effect. While the story itself is indeed amusing, with most things underlined by snark and interspersed with both action and character interation, there's not really anything particularly notable about it. Maybe that Waldo wears a fedora.

It can be read starting here, continuing backwards through that gallery folder.

"Waldo: A bruise is temporary, but a scar is forever. You know what else is temporary?
 * Action Girl: Carmen. Erin as well.
 * Affectionate Gesture to the Head: Carmen pats Mayhem's head to remind him of his place as her servant.
 * Flo also pets Mayhem's head.
 * Martin pets Erin's head in Chapter 30.
 * Aggressive Negotiations: Waldo tries this when Carmen calls him to China.
 * Air Vent Passageway: How Carlos leaves the VILE base. He's a small dog, so it works.
 * The Alcoholic:
 * : A light example. In Chapter 21,
 * And This Is For: Carmen stabs Waldo for strip searching her, but not fatally.
 * Animorphism: The Doctor collected spies and swapped their minds with animals
 * Arson, Murder, and Jaywalking: Things amiss in Erin's life include Carmen, a criminal on the loose; ; and waiting for her hair to grow out so she'll know what shade to die her hair next time.
 * Carmen listing Waldo's positive attributes: "Determination, inner strength, intelligence, patience, cleverness, and maybe I just like your accent."
 * Badass Longcoat: Carmen, naturally.
 * Badass Normal
 * : Chapter 21 begins with one. It comes back.
 * Bearer of Bad News: Waldo doesn't want his friends to die. He doesn't want to have to be the one to tell their families.
 * Becoming the Mask: Flo in her Backstory. She inserted herself in a spy agency, becoming the character from Progressive's commercials: peppy, perky, and an nice woman with many friends.
 * Berserk Button: Only carmen can call Alik "moi krolik."
 * Beta Couple: Erin and Erik to Waldo and Carmen. The couple making work work. They are on the same side, however.
 * Betty and Veronica: Waldo (Veronica) and Alik (Betty) to Carmen. The suave, intrepid rival spy or the sometimes timid, closed in coworker?
 * Beware the Nice Ones: Alik is a nice guy, but he's also a fully trained spy and he doesn't like being messed with by Mayhem.
 * Big Brother Is Watching: Referenced in Chapter 27.
 * Big "What?":

Carmen: Pregnancy?

Waldo: Quoi?!"

"Carmen: Birds of a feather, my sweet. Birds of a feather.
 * Bilingual Bonus: Every chapter begins with something said in either French or Russian. Various exclaimations are given in these languages throughout the text. The author uses Google for these and has asked for an interpereter. She found one for her Russian characters and the person receives a credit in every postscript.
 * Blackmail: In jest, Carmen claims she has a cameraman observing Waldo and her in China that will transfer pictures of them flirting in a park to ACME, because of their Dating Catwoman relationship, to secure the WSO's help in
 * Blasting It Out of Their Hands: Carmen does this to Waldo in China.
 * Blonde, Brunette, Redhead: In the literal sense, not as a symbol of womanhood. Zack is the blonde, Waldo the bruno, and Ivy is the redhead.
 * Blue Eyes: Waldo and Carmen. Carmen's are Icy.
 * Brother-Sister Team: Zack and Ivy, as in their source material.
 * Burn, Baby, Burn: Carmen threatens to dispose of the Doctor's journal in this way, one page a day, if the WSO doesn't produce results on.
 * Captain Obvious: Alik notices himself do this when.
 * Cerebus Syndrome: A touch of this, but the author still tries to keep things light.
 * Chekhov's Skill: Carmen's bartitsu training.
 * Cheese-Eating Surrender Monkeys: Waldo and Carmen banter about each others' country's stereotypes. For Waldo, topics included that the French are weak, can't punch worth a damn, suck at war, and smell like moldy cheese.
 * Christmas Episode: Chapter 30. Incorrectly called a Christmas Special, or|Pentharis was referencing the British usage.
 * Classified Information
 * Code Name: No one uses their real names. They feel the codenames are more convenient and they become Nom De Guerre.
 * Cold-Blooded Torture: Carmen to.
 * Color Coded for Your Convenience: The Doctor marked his wiring so he could remember the system because he was growing old. This worked to Carmen's advantage.
 * Continuity Nod
 * Cool Car: Carmen likes Waldo's Camaro.
 * Martin is given a small car based on the Austin Powers mini-coop.
 * Criminal Amnesiac: Carmen takes advantage of Mayhem's amnesia, augmented by his debt to her, to make him join VILE.
 * Cyanide Pill: Standard practice if a WSO agent is captured by the enemy.
 * Dating Catwoman: Waldo and Carmen.
 * Deadpan Snarker
 * Deep-Cover Agent: Flo in her Backstory.
 * Department of Redundancy Department: Justified when Alik tells Carmen what happened on the boat, he lists that she was shot, dove into the water, and that she was shot. She was shot twice.
 * Dog Stereotype: The Mexican, Carlos, became a chihuahua. He's the Taco Bell dog.
 * Dreaming the Truth:
 * Dressing as the Enemy: Carmen incapacitates and steals a security guard's uniform while in the spy boat.
 * Drowning My Sorrows: Waldo when he fails to capture Carmen. Also to keep himself from smoking. Yes, he knows that's bad.
 * Duel of Seduction: Waldo and Carmen.
 * Either or Title: Chapter 28: "Apparently I've forgotten that this used to be a funny story" or ""
 * : The beginning of Chapter 21.
 * Elaborate Underground Base: Inverted as the ACME base is above ground and so garish that Waldo can compare it only to moderna art and wonders how they can hide in plain sight so well.
 * Emotionless Girl: Ivy.
 * Equal Opportunity Evil: VILE, in the sense that no matter your condition you can join, but you have to pass the same spy tests as everyone else. Even in a wheelchair.
 * Exact Eavesdropping
 * Exactly What It Says on the Tin: The World Spy Organization is an international spy organization.
 * Chapter 30, the Christmas Episode was titled the Christmas Special, trope nomenclature aside.
 * Face Heel Turn: The original Carmen Sandiego to the World Spy Organization.
 * Also Mayhem, but it's part of his debut. Flo too.
 * Fainting: Carmen takes her flirting a bit too far and Alik can't handle it.
 * Femme Fatale: Carmen. Also Flo.
 * Fiery Redhead: Inverted with Ivy, who's calm and in control.
 * First-Name Basis: Martin tells people his real first name, rather than his code name.
 * Carlos takes pride in his first spy name basis with Flo. All the VILE agents call her by "Flo" as well.
 * Flat What:

Waldo: I hate birds.

Carmen: So do I, I prefer cats. You?

Waldo: Dogs.

Carmen: Pity. We could have gotten a pet. I guess we'll have to have children instead.

Waldo: ...What."

"Carmen: "You and I are a lot alike, Wally.""
 * Foe Yay: Waldo and Carmen. Pentharis is open about her extravagant love for this trope when it's played well.
 * Forceful Kiss: Carmen to Waldo. Then.
 * Foreshadowing: Invoked by the narrator, saying Mayhem and Michief's names were "almost prophetic" before they encountered Waldo.
 * French Cuisine Is Haughty: Waldo indulges in a glass of vodka early on as a toast to Carmen's ability. He speculates that she enjoys French wines in the same way and because she's classy.
 * Fun with Acronyms: "CARMEN" is actually Carmen's job title: "Careful Aquiring, Ranged Monitor, Espionage, Negation."
 * VILE stands for . "They mostly just wanted the acronym to sound evil."
 * Gay Paree: Carmen visits here to steal the Mona Lisa from The Louvre.
 * Gender Bender: In Real Life, the Taco Bell dog was female, while Carlos is a man.
 * Genius Cripple: Alik with technology.
 * Get It Over With:
 * Goggles Do Something Unusual: Waldo's glasses take pictures.
 * Good Cop, Bad Cop: Martin compares his treatment by Carmen (Bad) and Alik (Good) to this. He later asks his WSO friends to not be too hard on Alik because he was kind to him.
 * Good News, Bad News: The narrator on the WSO's boat base. Good News: Avoiding detection is easy. Bad News: Spies get seasick.
 * Good Smoking, Evil Smoking: Waldo is a smoker (and French), but he's trying to quit. Sometimes with Alcohol. Yes, he knows that's no better.
 * Gratuitous Foreign Language: Pentharis uses Google Translate for the foreign dialogue, so not all of it is perfect. The negative aspects of this trope are averted because it does still makes sense.
 * Gunpoint Banter: Mayhem and Waldo have a good example during their Mexican Standoff in Chapter 23.
 * Hair of Gold: Alik subverts Blonde Guys Are Evil (this is a White and Grey Morality world) to the point where he becomes this. Characters comment upon his innocent demeanor.
 * Hand Cannon: Erin's gun from Chapter 15.
 * Handicapped Badass: Alik is a certified spy for VILE, an organization whose training does not accomodate any handicaps. He passed their tests in his wheelchair.
 * Hand Wave: Martin is in a gecko body and his long life for a gecko doesn't neccesarily make sense, but he's just very long lived.
 * Happily Adopted: Carmen. As happy as you can get being raised to become a spy.
 * Heroic Fire Rescue: Ok, Carmen caused the fire and she did it to indenture Mayhem to her, but she saved the dog!
 * Herr Doktor: The Doctor is German and is referred to as this by Martin.
 * Hidden in Plain Sight: The WSO time machine when Waldo takes it to Russia.
 * I Am the Noun: Mayhem gives a speech based upon his source commercials.
 * I Can't Believe A Spy Like You Would Notice Me!: In the opening chapters, Alik's reaction to Carmen's flirting is like this. As it progresses, this is tweaked to there existing an implicit trust between them, but he still thinks she'll never notice him as more than a coworker or sidekick.
 * Icy Blue Eyes: Carmen, as illustrated in the page pic.
 * Identity Amnesia: Mayhem.
 * I Do Not Own: "Legal bull."
 * I Need a Freaking Drink: Waldo will turn to cigarettes when things go wrong, but he's trying to quit. He also goes on drinking binges when he fails to catch Carmen.
 * Insecure Love Interest: Alik, as a Non-Action Guy of sorts, doesn't think he's good enough for Carmen and just wants her to be happy, even if it means Waldo gets her.
 * Insecurity Camera: Mayhem gives Carmen a code that will disable the WSO's camera system, putting them on a loop.
 * Also subverted because VILE already knew about and had used the code, before she ever became a spy, so it had already been fixed.
 * Interspecies Romance: They were together before he was turned into a chihuahua and Flo's sparing Carlos's life hints at this.
 * Involuntary Transformation: Spies were captured and turned into animals by the Doctor. Mayhem, Martin, and Carlos were among those affected.
 * In Love with the Mark: Waldo, a completely professional spy, is accused of this by his coworkers. He wonders about it himself.
 * In the Blood: Carmen Sandiego II works for the same side her mother did, though she's adopted.
 * I Owe You My Life: Mayhem is indebted to Carmen this way, so he pulls a Face Heel Turn.
 * Is This Thing Still On?: Alik leaves his microphone running and Carmen hears him sing.
 * It's All My Fault: Waldo blames himself for.
 * It's Personal: Between Erin and Carmen there exists bad blood. First for Holland, then for . Also some with Waldo's fixation on catching Carmen, because of so many failures.
 * It Amused Me: Carmen flirts with Alik far more than he's comfortable with because he liked to see him squirm a bit.
 * Alik wears a suit to amuse himself and Carmen.
 * Alik hacks into social networking sites when he's feeling puckish.
 * Carmen muses hypothetically about leaving a card on Waldo's grave that says "At least now you're not cremating your lungs" if he died of lung cancer before catching her. This was her reason.
 * I Want My Beloved to Be Happy: Alik for Carmen.
 * Just a Stupid Accent: Averted. All the characters speak their native tounges, but the auther doesn't type their accents into their English.
 * Legacy Character: Carmen is actually Carmen Sandiego II. The original was her mother.
 * Lemony Narrator: Pentharis makes parenthetical asides at times, more in some parts than others. Not to the point of her being a character herself though.
 * Like A Daughter To Me: Martin's relationship with Erin.
 * Like Brother and Sister: How Mayhem and Alik interperet Carmen's feelings towards the latter. That doesn't mean he doesn't secretly pine for a Relationship Upgrade.
 * Like an Old Married Couple: Waldo and Carmen.
 * Lima Syndrome: Alik treats well.
 * Little Miss Snarker: Ivy is a mild example.
 * Love Triangle: Waldo, Carmen, and Alik are in a Type 7 Triangle, with Carmen being point A. However, Carmen rates her feelings for Alik higher than those she has for Waldo and tells her rival so. Alik just wants Carmen to be happy.
 * Mad Scientist: The Doctor.
 * MacGyvering: How Carmen protected Martin's file from the water.
 * MacGuffin: The Mona Lisa.
 * Man Child: Sometimes Alik thinks Carmen sees him ass one of these.
 * Master of Disguise: Carlos, before he became a chihuahua. He doesn't mind much, beacuse people tend to underestimate chihuahuas.
 * Mexican Standoff: Chapter 23 is one between Mayhem and Waldo.
 * : Not a death, however.
 * The Mole: Flo, in her Backstory.
 * Most Fanfic Writers Are Girls
 * My Grandma Can Do Better Than You: Carmen's grandmother can hit harder than Waldo.
 * My Name Is Not Wally: A small Genius Bonus if you're aware of Wally's name change when he came to the States.
 * Never the Selves Shall Meet: The engineer from Chapter 33 completes the time machine after a few weeks then time travels back to the start, where his younger self directs Waldo to the room with the completed time machine and the older engineer.
 * New Meat: Erik.
 * Nice Guy: Alik.
 * Nom De Guerre
 * Non-Action Guy: Erik E., more before he became a spy, but he's an information gatherer so he's less active than other agents. Also, expects all he'll be good for is a desk job of some kind.
 * Also Alik, but he has techie skills.
 * Not Blood Siblings:, as established in Chapter 33. Let the Shipping commence.
 * Not So Different:
 * Not So Different:

"Merry-friggin'-Christmas to you too, rat-ears."
 * Number Two: Alik to Carmen.
 * Off the Wagon: Waldo with his smoking habit.
 * Oh Crap: Martin,.
 * Omniglot: Justified as it being neccesary for international spies, but also averted because they do not have native fluency and references to imperfect translating ability are made. For example, Carmen tries to translate Martin's file from German, but she can only get the jist of the document. Waldo knows several languages: French, German, Chinese, English, and Russian.
 * Only One You Allowed Right Now: Alik doesn't want Carmen to screw up the past and make him have to talk to two of her through the timestream.
 * Original Character: Alik, Mischief, and the Doctor.
 * Overt Rendezvous: Carmen and Waldo meet for the first time face-to-face this way.
 * Passing the Torch: Carmen Sandiego I to her daughter.
 * Pay Evil Unto Evil: Mayhem's Revenge on the Doctor for transplanting him into a dog.
 * Pet the Dog: Carmen rescued Mischief and adopted him as Team Pet.
 * Photographic Memory: Zack.
 * Pistol-Whipping: Waldo knocks Carmen out this way.
 * Poor Communication Kills: Erik notices something's wrong with Waldo, but he won't press him about it for two reasons: first, because he's a man and men don't ask other men about their feelings and, second, because Waldo's a man and he likely won't talk about it.
 * Post Dramatic Stress Disorder: Carmen after.
 * Precision F-Strike:

- Waldo to Carlos.

"They had no building plans, no plans of action, no idea how to find out where she was, and indeed: No idea if Carmen was still there. Surely there was no possible way this could go horrendously wrong and he was going to have to explain to two children's families why they wouldn't be coming home from work that day."
 * Real Name as an Alias: Martin is in a gecko body. He gives out his real first name as an alias because who could track down his family based upon "Martin" and a UK accent?
 * Red Oni, Blue Oni: Zack is passionate about his desire to be a spy and is outgoing while Ivy us quiet and focused. Played with a bit as Zack is better at standard medical care while Ivy considers herself a "Macguyver Medic."
 * Rescue Introduction: Mayhem and Mischief.
 * Retcon: Originally, Erik was named "David Doe" because Pentharis couldn't find out his name was. Soon after he debuted, a fan found out for her and she corrected it retroactively.
 * Riddle Me This: How Carmen gets Waldo to return to France in the first chapter.
 * Running Gag: Referring to Mayhem as a dog in varied contexts.
 * "My name is not Wally."
 * Sarcasm Mode: When symptoms of the Lemony Narrator arise, this is generally among them.
 * Say My Name: Erik's introduction is him calling out Erin's name several times.
 * Scary Black Man: Dennis, who outranks Waldo at the WSO, intimidates the Frenchman quite a bit.
 * Secret War
 * Security Cling: Erik and Erin hold each other when they find out and later spend the night in each others' arms to support each other while.
 * Ivy holds Zack's arm when they travel to Russia, where she's intimidated by not knowing the native tongue.
 * Seen It All: Mayhem, then a dog, could talk, but Carmen didn't think that was so wierd considering everything else going on.
 * Sensual Slavs: Carmen.
 * Sequel Hook: Some chapters more than others.
 * Series Hiatus: The author is in college, so there was a few months between Chapters 32 and 33.
 * She Is Not My Girlfriend: Waldo on Carmen.
 * Shout-Out: Both Waldo and Carmen are stated to have uncanny aptitudes for hiding in plain sight despite garish clothing.
 * Upon Carmen's arrival on a forty-second floor, the narrator muses that the answer to life, the universe and everything would be guarded by sentient singing dolphins there.
 * There are some explicit mentions of James Bond.
 * "Big Brother would like you to call home more."
 * If you know that Where's Waldo is not the franchise's original name, you'll see more in Waldo's aversion to being called "Wally".
 * In her source material (Well, after some retconning), Carmen defected from ACME, as she did to the WSO.
 * Mayhem gives one of his now famous I Am the Noun speeches.
 * Erik, the black-haired Love Interest from Erin Esurance's commercials gets involved with the WSO because he saw the same pink-haired girl far too often for it to be a coincidence, as in the commercials.
 * Martin is the animal mascot of a car insurance company. Does This Remind You of Anything?
 * Carlos is named after the voice of the dog in the commercials, Carlos Alazraqui.
 * Dennis, who is the black Allstate spokesman, is also named after the actor who portrays him, Dennis Haysbert.
 * Special Agent Rudolph is a reindeer. From the Christmas Episode, naturally.
 * Martin likes the Austin Powers movies.
 * The engineer in Chapter 33 says "Can you still hear me? Good!", implying he's the famous Verizon mascot.
 * Shoe Phone: Waldo's glasses take pictures.
 * Show Some Leg: Waldo doesn't outwardly take the bait, but Carmen tries this when he captures her.
 * Snark to Snark Combat
 * Sneeze of Doom
 * Soap Opera Disease: Alik lost his legs because of one.
 * Spy Fiction: Martini Flavored.
 * Spy-Versus-Spy
 * Stable Time Loop: During Carmen's time travelling, she set a fire in the Doctor's lab, killing many agents trapped in animal bodies. Carlos, turned into an animal and present there, references this event in the present.
 * The engineer constructing the time machine brings it to Waldo while his younger self is still working on it.
 * Stealth Pun: Just before she boards the Chronoskimmer, Carmen tells Alik that she'll see him "in time."
 * Stockholm Syndrome: Mayhem's joining VILE after Carmen saved his life. She plans to indoctinate him so he'll want to work for them.
 * Sympathetic P.O.V.: Half the story is from VILE's perspective and they aren't made out to look like bad people. Rather, they are Not So Different from the WSO and merely have different aims.
 * Tagalong Kids: The ACME kids to Waldo, but they pull their own weight.
 * Take That: "It sounded horrifying, 'teaching' someone to like something. But honestly, how what that any diferent from public school in the States?"
 * Talking Animal
 * Tall, Dark, and Handsome: Waldo.
 * Team Pet: Mischief.
 * Tempting Fate:
 * Team Pet: Mischief.
 * Tempting Fate:

"Waldo: "How goes the building of the time machine?"
 * Terrible Trio: Carmen with Alik and Mayhem. Flo doesn't count because she's just another member of VILE, not part of their team.
 * Texting: The engineer is something of an addict.
 * Theme Naming: Mayhem and Mischief.
 * Animal Theme Naming: Carmen calls Alik "moi krolik", meaning "my rabbit" in Russian.
 * The Mind Is a Plaything of the Body: Mayhem seems to have picked up a few traits from his time as a dog.
 * This Is No Time to Panic: When Erin starts panicking, Waldo buys her a drink so she'll calm down.
 * Throw It In: While writing the Christmas Episode, Pentharis asked fans what they would get Martin for Christmas, since he's a gecko. One suggested gloves and she though it was a good idea, so she included them.
 * Time and Relative Dimensions In Space: Carmen considers for a moment that the chronoskimmer might not teleport over space, but it does indeed.
 * Time Machine: The Chronoskimmer, a TARDIS type.
 * Time Travel
 * Time Travelers Are Spies
 * Time Travel Tense Trouble:

Engineer: Great, we should be done by next week, so you can leave any minute."

Waldo: What? Is this one of those things you have to be drunk to understand?""


 * Timey-Wimey Ball: Carmen time travels to the Doctor's lab where he's turning spies into animals. There was intended to be a somewhat lengthy gap between that point and the present, but Geckos don't live long enough for that. The author noticed and she decided to play through without more exposition than that Martin thinks he's near death because of his gecko body's age.
 * Neither is she certain about how Carmen Sandiego I's Heel Face Turn fits on the timeline because the given date of March 1973 may not be far enough in the past.
 * Token Minority: While the story is international, the main charcaters originate from caucasian countries. One of the WSO higher-ups, Dennis, is a black man, however. He's Allstate's primary spokesman.
 * Torture Always Works: Subverted when
 * Also Averted as The Doctor's torture of Mayhem was unsuccessful.
 * To the Batpole: How Carmen escapes from Waldo's clutches in the opening chapters.
 * To the Pain: "If you ever call me 'Moi krolik' again I will harvest your organs while you sleep and sell them on the black market." - Alik to Mayhem.
 * Trash Talk: Between spies, naturally. Lots of snark.
 * Tracking Device: First Carmen plants one on Waldo, then Waldo plants one on her car later in the series. Every WSO agent has one either on their person or under their skin. It stops broadcasting when they die.
 * True Art Is Incomprehensible: An Invoked Trope. Upon seeing the ACME base, Waldo can only compare it to Modern Art, which he appreciates in general. However, thinks it looks rather weird and can't quite understand why the secret base is so blatantly garish.
 * Turncoat: Carmen Sandiego I and Mayhem.
 * The Unfavourite: Mayhem has lower standing tha Michief in Carmen's eyes.
 * Underestimating Badassery: Mayhem speaks with repect when talking to Carmen, but not so when addressing Alik. He learns.
 * Underwater Base: The WSO spy boat.
 * Unresolved Sexual Tension: Much. Mostly between Waldo and Carmen, but also present in some scenes from Alik's perspective. Also towards Carmen.
 * Well-Intentioned Extremist: VILE
 * What Did I Do Last Night?: Carmen upon waking up in a cot with Alik, though it was benign. Also Waldo,
 * When She Smiles: Alik for Carmen.
 * White and Grey Morality: WSO being White and VILE being Grey.
 * Worthy Opponent: One way Carmen and Waldo view each other.
 * Would Hit a Girl: Waldo.
 * Written Sound Effect: Mayhen trudging throught the snow: "Crunch. Crunch. Crunch."
 * Vodka Drunkenski: Waldo and Carmen joke about this.
 * You Can Talk: Mayhem's debut as a talking dog. Carmen takes it in stride.
 * You Gotta Have Pink Hair: Erin Esurance.
 * Your Mom: The conclusion of Mayhem's I Am the Noun speech to Waldo.