Something's Not Right

By: Spiritofdawolf

Summary: Something was wrong with his nemesis. Very wrong. And the scary part is he had nothing to do with it. But if he wasn't the cause, then….who was? He wasn't sure, all he knew was that he wanted his real nemesis back. Oneshot. Based on a little saga I'm trying to put together called "Caliginosity." The first story in the saga will be called "Corrosion".

AN: This oneshot is mostly to get my foot in the door, until I finished figuring out how to start out "Corrosion" and submit it. Don't you hate it when you got the main gist of the story down and you have a few little excerpts from the story written, but you just can't find out how you want to begin the story? You got everything else figured out, but when it comes to the beginning, you're stuck?

I hate that. I can't submit it until I figure out the beginning. After all, what's the point of submitting a story with no beginning, that starts somewhat near the middle and you don't know what's going on? It sucks too, because I want to post it so bad.

This is my first Phineas and Ferb fic, so hopefully it's not too bad.

0000

My gut had told me something might be wrong when I had gotten up today. But I wasn't sure if it was just me or if it was the eggs Norm made for breakfast again this morning. It wasn't unusual to feel like something would backfire on me. It was a daily occurrence.

Every day I would come up with schemes to try to take over the Tri-state Area, only to be foiled by one Perry the platypus.

Granted, he was my nemesis, I've always felt a kind of connection with him. He was actually kinda fun to hang out with when I wasn't up to anything. Of course, I'd never tell him that. I do have a reputation as an evil scientist to keep after all.

But something about today seemed different. That uneasy feeling kept eating away at me, even long after breakfast. Something wasn't right. And I know wrong. I'm a villain for pete's sake!

As I waited for my nemesis to come thwart my latest scheme, I just couldn't shake that sick feeling in the pit of my stomach.

What was I so worried about? My routines with Perry the Platypus were fairly paced, with the thwarting and the occasional beating. But nothing too horrible. So, why did I feel so scared?

I shook my head to clear it. I'm probably worrying over nothing. Perry the Platypus would just crash through that door like he usually did and we'd just go on with our usual routine. Yeah, that's exactly what would happen. Stop worrying yourself, Heinz. Nothing is wrong.

To distract my thoughts, I glanced over at my newest inator. Today I planned to take over the Tri-state area, by syphoning Danville of electricity and people would have to plead me to give it back and be forced to crown me the leader in return for their precious electricity.

It was simple enough. If Perry didn't thwart him, he just might have something here. He might succeed.

Speaking of Perry; where was he? It usually wasn't like him to be late.

This thought turned my attention back to the door, expecting the platypus to break through any second.

I held my breath as I expected the fast paced telltale footsteps of said platypus running to the door to knock it down.

I finally heard said footsteps, but they didn't seem as fast paced as they usually did. It sounded more like he was taking his time.

Suddenly, BAM! The door fell off the hinges leaving the platypus in its wake.

I jumped slightly, even though I had expected that much.

"Ah, Perry the platypus, what a surprise." I said in my usual villain tone as I addressed him.

"Just in time…to be TRAPPED!"

A large capsule came out of seemingly nowhere and sealed the platypus in.

"Ha ha! Got you! Now, you're probably wondering what I have planned today. Well, I'll tell you. I plan to use my new inator to zap the town of its electricity, and without electricity the town will be forced to have to resort to the hassle of doing things old school. They'll get so desperate that they'll beg me to give it back and they'll have to crown me their leader in return for their precious electricity!"

I stopped and looked for Perry's reaction and to my surprise he seemed almost bored. He didn't harbor that usual glare he normally gave me during my monologues. It seemed almost like he didn't care.

"Imagine everybody going crazy because they can't cook or keep their food fresh. The businesses will have to shut down, because their produce would be ruined." I pushed, hoping for a change in his expression.

Not much change.

"And all the computers and data systems will collapse too!"

Finally, a small glare. It wasn't much of one, but it was something at least.

I smiled and headed over to the inator. "Here we go, Perry the platypus!"

I hovered my hand over the big button. "Just try and stop me now!"

As expected I heard a crash and knew he'd escaped the capsule. I didn't really feel like asking how. It got kinda monotonous when I did so. I just continued, trying to savor the moment while I could.

I expected him to body slam me and wrestle me away. But nothing happened. Frowning, I hovered my hand over the button a little longer.

"I'm gonna do it, Perry the platypus."

Nothing.

"Any time now!"

Nothing. Nothing but silence. I couldn't take it. I had to see what was keeping him.

"Perry the platypus, aren't-." I started to say as I turned around but stopped short when I didn't see him anywhere.

Other than me, the room seemed deserted. "P-Perry the Platypus?" I asked.

I heard a brief snap and looked behind me at my inator. To my surprise, all the wires had been cut disabling it from doing anything. But I still didn't see him. This was strange. He usually fought with me and finally pressed the self-destruct button on my inator. But it appeared he went a different route this time.

A little thrown off by this, I jumped a little when I heard a chatter that sounded like it was right behind me.

I whirled around only to find no one there. I was starting to feel slightly creeped out.

"Perry the platypus?" I spoke again looking around trying to find him.

Another chatter nearby. I once more looked at nothing. Then the lights blew out in my lair.

Okay, now this was getting creepy. I fumbled around in the dark, looking for a flashlight.

I finally rested my hand around something that appeared to be what I was looking for.

I hit the switch to turn it on, but nothing. Did I really forget to put batteries in the thing? I was pretty sure I'd put them in.

I heard the rapid patter of webbed feet on the floor again and whirled about. It was hard to make anything out in the dark. But I could tell at least one thing.

Something was wrong here. Perhaps my gut had been right.

I heard a soft click and a small flare of light flickered from a device somewhere on the other side of the room.

"Perry the platypus, this isn't funny!" I said, trying not to sound nervous.

I heard another chatter closer to the flare of light, but this chatter sounded more like a giggle.

I squinted my eyes at the faint light trying to make out something, anything. It almost seemed like a small electric current surging from a hand held device of some sort.

Suddenly the light brightened, revealing a little more of the area I'd seen it.

It was across the room, closer to a fuse box. The light shifted ever so slightly revealing that the device emitting it was being held by my nemesis.

There seemed to be an eerily calm expression on his face. But I could've sworn I saw a ghost of a smile trying to peek out as if to mock me.

I felt the hair stand up on the back of my neck as I continued to stare at him, in that strange state. I saw his bill turn up into a small sneer and something about his eyes seemed off. There didn't seem to be a sense of kindness in those eyes; which usually seemed so protective and sweet, yet firm and determined.

He leered at me with a sense of sinister hostility.

It was then that I knew something was wrong with my nemesis. Something was very wrong. A sick feeling crept into the pit of my stomach at the realization.

"P-Perry the platypus, what are you doing?" I squeaked as I eyed him uneasily.

He appeared to scoff slightly and roll his eyes before stepping towards me with that device still in his hand.

As he got closer, I could finally make out what it was. It appeared to be some kind of tazer.

Startled, I started to back away, when he let out an aggressive chatter that made me freeze in place. I'd never heard him growl like that. I wasn't sure what to think, much less what to do.

Other than the light from the tazer illuminating a patch of light where my nemesis was, the rest of the room was still dark.

I swished my hands around trying to look for something I could use to ward him off if I had to.

I mostly just found a few nuts and bolts and an occasional shard from a past inator. But nothing really useful.

He was getting closer, that look in his eyes making it prominent that sweetness no longer existed in him.

I swished my hand in the dark a little more desperately and finally found a broken rod on the floor. I gripped it tightly.

I gazed back at the platypus as he was practically right in front of me. I shook a little as I looked at him.

"I don't know what's gotten into you, Perry the platypus. But you're freaking me out!" I admitted hoping I wouldn't have to swing at him.

Perry's sneer grew slightly as if to say. 'I know'.

"Stay away from me!" I said backing up a little. "I don't want to have to hurt you."

Perry seemed to snicker again as if to say. 'Yeah, right.'

"I warned you." I said as he continued to advance on me with that creepy grin.

I gulped slightly and swung the broken pipe at my nemesis, just happening to make contact with his hand and knock the tazer out of it.

The only source of light sailed across the room, covering us both in darkness again.

I heard him hiss and then snarl. I then felt a sharp stabbing pain near my hip as he knocked me onto my back kinda hard.

It felt as if I'd been stabbed with a small knife or at the very least stung by a large insect.

Pain soared through my torso and through my legs and even my stomach from the strike. I doubled over, not having the energy to move. The pain was unreal.

Groaning, I finally opened my eyes to see my nemesis right in my face snarling. He'd retrieved the tazer and it was sparking with more energy. I noticed an enraged look on his face. It was so threatening, that had I not been paralyzed with pain, I'd have more or less been just paralyzed with fear.

I could barely get a word out as I gripped my side and felt for the injury. My fingers brushed over a small spot that seemed pierced slightly as if some kind of barb had been shoved into it.

My eyes widened a little. He didn't….did he? I chanced to look away from his face quick and down to his ankles. His one barb seemed a little wet.

I couldn't breathe for a second. I quickly looked back at his face and into those threatening eyes.

"W..W-why?" I managed to whimper out.

Perry didn't answer. He just tightened his grip on me as if wanting to strangle me with one hand as he raised the tazer to my face with the other.

My eyes went as wide as they could. Tazing me with that much voltage, and in the head no less, could kill me! What was he thinking?

"Perry….Perry no." I squeaked, my eyes pleading him.

He raised the tazer as if to bring it down on me. I closed my eyes. But before anything could happen, I heard a beep come from his watch. I snapped my eyes open to see him retract the tazer and switch on the watch to take the call.

I couldn't see who he was talking to, but one thing was certain. It wasn't Monogram or even Carl. A strange voice I hadn't heard before was speaking to the platypus from the watch.

"Perry, we need you to head back to HQ. We've infiltrated some more information from one of our other spies that I think you'd be interested to see. So wrap up your little fun there with your so called nemesis and head back."

The platypus chattered and switched the watch off. He looked back at me and I could see the evil gleam in his eyes through the eerie light from the tazer against the pitch blackness.

Then just like that, the tazer switched off plunging the room into complete darkness again. I heard him skitter away and then there was dead silence.

I yelped in surprise when the lights suddenly flared back on in the room a couple minutes later.

I panted and looked around. Perry appeared to have vanished again. But this time, it would appear he'd actually left.

I was shaking like a leaf all over and sweating. I couldn't believe what just happened. I struggled to my feet and nearly had a heart attack and hit the deck when out of nowhere an explosion roared through the room coming from what had been my inator.

As I stared at the wreck in front of me, I once more struggled to my feet and gaped in horror at it.

I stood there for a couple minutes, my legs threatening to collapse out from under me. Not wanting to fall down again, I quickly limped over to my chair and sat down.

I don't know how long I sat there paralyzed in disbelief.

I nearly screamed and flew through the ceiling when Norm clattered in.

"DON'T DO THAT!" I screeched at him.

"What's wrong?" he asked me.

"Nothing."

"Geez, what happened in here?"

"Nothing!" I barked at the robot.

Norm looked at me a little surprised.

"Sir, you're shaking. What happened?"

"Nothing Norm!" I said my voice cracking a little. "Just leave me alone!"

Norm looked down. "Okay dad. If you say so." He sounded hurt that his creator didn't want to confide in him. He could tell something was wrong. But with how stubborn the doctor was, chances are he wouldn't say what.

He sighed and lumbered over to his closet.

"I'm not your dad!" I called out to him irritably.

As he disappeared inside and closed the door, I felt a few tears leaking out of my eyes.

What had happened to my nemesis? This wasn't him. What was wrong with him?

I thought about that evil gleam I had seen in his eyes. Something had definitely happened to him. Something bad. And the scariest part was that I wasn't involved in his change. Someone else was.

I don't know what the heck is going on. All I know was I want my old nemesis back. There had to be a way to snap him out of it. But how?

I went rigid as I tried to process this and came to remember something. My mind had been racing too much with fear to think clearly and remember it before, but now I did.

Perry had just started working again a couple days ago after a strange 2 month absence. Nobody seemed to know where he was. Now, he finally returns and he's so different.

Then something else came to my mind. I do recall Norm telling me that somebody had entered my house while I was away. Perry had come to see what was going on, and not long after he wasn't heard from.

I remember now why I'd been such a nervous wreck lately. I was worried sick about my nemesis. When he'd gone missing, I had felt almost empty and was swamped with a concern from which I hadn't expected I had in me. Since that day, everything seemed as if it was falling apart.

I recalled being relieved to hear that Perry had returned, but I'd never expected this outcome.

I hugged myself a little as I tried to make sense of this all. Perry was no longer Perry. Where had he been those 2 months? Why hadn't anyone been able to find him? And most importantly, who did this to him?

I felt a small flare of anger stir inside me. Whoever had did this was going to pay. Pay big time. Nobody hurt my nemesis but me. One way or another, I had to get him back. I had to save him from this insanity.

I may be a villain, but I'm not going to let him suffer like this. He may be my nemesis, but he's also my best friend. I'll do whatever it takes to free him from this.

Perry the platypus will not stay like this. I'll see to that!

A spark of determination reached my eyes as I knew what I had to do. I had to be the hero this time and win. Not just for Perry the platypus, but for me.

Nobody takes my nemesis away from me. Nobody.

-R&R. What did you think?

Personally, I think Doof would try to save him in this situation. His bromance with his little frienemy is unmistakable and it's clear to me that Doof needs him.