Author's Note: So I know I just started my other Phineas and Ferb story (Ever the Same) the other day, but then this idea came to me, and I just had to do it. I'll do my best to keep both updates consistent and quick! Oh, and I think you should all know that I'm on a Rob Thomas kick right now, so I apologize for all recent story titles. (:
"Ta-daaaaa!" Phineas threw his arms into the air, looking around at the bewildered expressions on his friend's faces as they stared down at what they had built. "What do you think?"
"It's… uhhh…" Isabella Garcia-Shapiro searched for the right word, before simply spitting out what was on her mind. "What is it, exactly?"
Turning back to their newest creation, Phineas stared at it a moment, taking in exactly what his friends were seeing. It wasn't very big compared to some of the things they had made that summer – it stood no taller than Phineas himself, and perhaps twice as wide. It was shaped like a flat square, standing upright against a small wooden stand. A blue rim around the gritty black surface gave it the appearance of an enlarged etch-a-sketch; with dials along the bottom completing the look.
Done staring at it, Phineas took it upon himself to announce loudly: "I call it, the Transpara-Ferb-ifier!" Glancing over at his stepbrother, Phineas grinned at the thumbs-up he received. "Ferb and I designed it this morning."
"What does it do?" Baljeet tilted his head curiously at the machine.
"It does exactly as the name implies;" Phineas said matter-of-factly, running over to the device and clicking the on button; "it makes things… uhh, transparent!"
"Like invisible?" Buford's face lit up for a moment as he considered the possibilities, but Phineas shook his head.
"No," he said, shrugging, "though that's a great idea. Did you get that Ferb?" Glancing over once more, Phineas smiled to see Ferb jotting the note down in a small coil notebook he'd pulled from his pocket. "Great."
Walking around so that he was standing behind the machine, Phineas waited a moment before continuing to talk. "It's more like an x-ray," he explained, watching the light dawn on his friend's faces as the machine did its job, "it lets you see inside of someone." Looking down, he confirmed what he had said – through the gritty black surface of the machine, he could clearly make out the bones of his torso, hips and arms. "It works!"
"Lame." Buford rolled his eyes, stomping out of the backyard and dragging the silent Baljeet after him. "When you invent something to make me invisible, call me!" He shouted over his shoulder before disappearing.
"I don't think it's lame, Phineas." Isabella said coyly. "It's neat. But why did you–"
"Perry swallowed something weird," Phineas explained quickly, stepping back from the Transpara-Ferb-ifier, "we wanted to figure out what it was. So we can take him to the vet if we have to."
"We don't want the little guy getting hurt." Ferb added, coming to stand behind Isabella.
Nodding, Isabella looked around the backyard. "That makes sense." She said cheerily. "But I see a bit of a problem with your idea."
"And what's that?" Phineas raised an eyebrow, and Isabella shrugged.
"Perry isn't here."
"Oh, that." Phineas frowned. "Hadn't thought of that. I guess now's about the time he usually takes off, isn't it?"
"Yup." Isabella craned her neck to look around the tree. "He'll be back later though, you can try it then, right?"
"Sure." Phineas agreed. "But in the meantime, I should probably turn this off." Reaching around the machine for one of the buttons, Phineas didn't hear Ferb's cry of warning until it was too late.
"Phineas! Don't touch that–!"
A sudden noise like a video game laser beam exploded from the machine, a physical wave of sound emitting forcefully from the Transpara-Ferb-ifier and knocking Phineas to the ground while forcing the others to cover their ears. Mere moments later the wave dispersed, and Ferb and Isabella rushed forward to find Phineas lying on the grass, staring up at the sky with a stunned expression on his face.
"What just…?" He started, but Isabella held up a hand.
"Slow down." She said, her tone suddenly teeming with authority. "Something weird just happened – don't move or try to get up."
"What?" Phineas blinked at her, confused, watching as Ferb clicked the machine off himself. "Why did that–"
"Shhh!" Isabella hissed, but Ferb shook his head.
"It's all right, Isabella." He said softly. "No harm done." To Phineas, he offered a hand and helped him up. "It was backfiring. Extra radiation. Completely harmless."
"R-radiation?" Isabella gasped. "Ferb! There is nothing harmless about–"
"It's just x-rays." It was Phineas' turn to interrupt, and he smiled at her comfortingly. "Couldn't hurt a fly. Besides, I feel fine. Honest!"
"…if you say so, Phineas." She frowned, but decided to let it go, and leaned back onto her heels. "So whatcha wanna do now?"
"I dunno." Phineas shrugged, glancing at Ferb. "We could… try to find Perry?"
"Sounds like fun." Isabella smiled. "Maybe we'll figure out what he does every day."
"Somehow I doubt it." Phineas laughed as the trio started heading out the fence, latching it carefully behind them. "He's a platypus; they don't really do much."
"Well, that's true." Isabella traipsed after her crush down the driveway. "But you never know. Maybe he does more than you think he does?"
"Maybe." Phineas turned onto the street. "I guess we'll find out sooner or later."
"Guess so." Isabella deliberately lined herself up with Phineas, so that her footsteps were falling in the same pattern as his. No matter what they were doing, any chance to spend time with him was good enough for her. Now if only he'd spend it with her and not just looking for his platypus…