Doctor Heinz Doofensmirtz looked upon his new Inator.
He had been a fool, exercising, trying to keep fit.
When the obvious solution was to build a gravity-magnifying-inator and zap everyone else with it, so they'd have to struggle against suddenly much harsher gravity, making him seem much more fit by comparison.
Since everyone else would be so slow with all those gravitons holding them down.
Or maybe that was quarks?
He forgot things like that sometimes. Well, not like it was that important.
He couldn't wait to show this to Perry the Platypus. After he was trapped, of course.
He turned to the treadmill on which his nemesis would be launched on by a hidden spring. To go with the whole 'health' theme. The little mammal would be trapped, forced to run on place while he explained his whole plan. He hadn't used that to trap him before, had he? He wouldn't like to repeat himself.
And considering how long they had been fighting, surely some repetition in traps and inators was allowed?
He stopped in his tracks.
Just how long had they been nemeses? Years, it must have been...
He could remember the first time they had met, as far as spotting the furry little mammal behind a mail-box could be considered a meeting. But he was certain that was one of the most important moments in his life.
But- Wasn't there something else, as well?
He frowned at the feeling.
A feeling that he had forgotten something, it was just there, at the edge of his mind, a memory that slipped through his grasp as soon as he almost caught a glimpse of it.
He approached the memory from another direction, like it was a wild animal. He couldn't exactly put his finger on it, but something about this was important. Much more important than being able to run faster than the rest of the city.
Important memories. Important people.
There was Perry the Platypus, but this wasn't about him, and it wasn't about his parents either, although that felt more close.
He let his gaze wander over his apartment, looking for clues, some memento that would refresh his memory.
It wasn't about his parents, but-
Vanessa.
How could he have forgotten? The first time he had held her-
His little baby girl had looked straight at him and smiled. Hadn't she? Or had she cried? He couldn't remember. This memory was old and worn. But surely it was as important as his first meeting with Perry the Platypus, right? Surely it was a memory that should be among his most important ones-
He suddenly felt like falling, his stomach twisting like he had lost all support of the ground.
He steadied himself, taking hold of the inator.
This wasn't really worth thinking about, he could go and see Vanessa after this was done.
For now, he would wait for Perry the Platypus. He'd get trapped, listen to his back story, escape, they'd fight, he'd destroy his inator.
And everything would be okay.