Always Your Backup
It was a normal day in Danville. The sun was shining, the birds were chirping, a triangle headed boy was destroying the laws of physics and a pharmacist was in a desperate struggle against a platypus in a fedora.
Yes this was a normal, non eventful day in Danville.
In fact it was so non eventful that it could almost be considered a rather forgettable day, a day that no one would look back at and remember.
The triangle headed boy's invention disappeared. His semi mute brother said a line. The pharmacist got beaten up, his invention ...sorry inator was destroyed and Carol had been rejected for another audition.
It was just too much for her, she loved singing so much, why wouldn't anyone just give her a chance? She worked so hard, put so much effort in, she would be great if someone would just give her a shot. It didn't have to be a starring lead in a musical or a record deal or anything, heck she would be happy with work as a background singer or anything. 'Look at me, sitting in a park crying,' she sniffed. 'Mom was right, I should just give up.'
Carol looked down at the audition disc in her hands before getting up off the bench to throw it in the bin. Today it was time to grow up, to admit defeat. Dreams were just that dreams, never to be real.
Then a pharmacist fell from the sky, landing right in front of her.
'Aaah my face,' he screamed in a nasally voice. 'Why is it always my face? Also curse you Perry the Platypus yada yada.'
'Ummm excuse me are you alright?' Carol asked nervously. This was the first time she had met a man who fell from the sky before, maybe he was an angel?
The pharmacist pulled himself to his feet, cricking his neck and stretching wide. Carol's first thought upon seeing him was that he definitely wasn't an angel, not with that face. Poor man, his face had been completely destroyed.
Carol's thoughts were interrupted as he spoke again, 'you know it's nice to find someone with manners, you don't see that in many people these days. Thank you lady but i'm alright. I blow up all the time, in fact my doctor says two more broken bones and the next is fixed for free,' he gave a big smile at that.
Carol froze, her mind stuttering to a halt. How did one react to that? What was up with this man, two more broken bones and his next was fixed free? Blows up all the time? What the hell?
The man's eyes seemed to light up on something in her hand, 'hey is that the new Love Handel album?' he asked snatching her audition disc out of her hands, popping it open and putting it in a walkman, seriously who had a walkman these days? Also he stole her disc.
'Hey that's mine you can't just steal that,' Carol shouted though the man just held up a finger shushing her. 'What how dare you shush me!?' What was up with this man?
The man lifted one ear of his walkman up, 'look lady will you be quite. This is a good song,' he snapped, glaring at her?
Carol wanted to scream at him some more, how dare he talk to her like...wait good song? 'You think the song is good?'
'Yeah, who ever sung this is great a real genius! I mean not as great a genius as me but still she's pretty good,' he told her.
'You..you think I'm a good singer?' she asked hopefully, sure it was pathetic and a bit sad but Carol had never been as hopeful as right now, this creepy pharmacist who fell from the sky may like her music. Wow that was really sad, wasn't it?
The pharmacist looked very confused, 'why would I think you're a good singer? Ohhhhh this is you singing?' he asked, realization filling his face. 'Hey lady you're perfect, just what I need. I've been looking for a new back up singer for ages what agency do you work with? You know what forget it here's my card,' he shoved a card into her hand. 'I gotta pick my girl up from school, let me know if you need any work,' then he rushed off.
It took Carol a long time to react to that. Today was such an unusual day. But eventually she turned the card over and had a look at it.
Doofenshmirtz Evil Incorporated
432 Boulevard Avenue Way
Danville
(555)555-5555
Okay a weird card, but a cute name.
Wait Doofenshmirtz like Mayor Doofenshmirtz?
...
It had been a week since that fateful day and Carol had only gotten up the courage to call Doofenshmirtz Evil Incorporated but there was no response on the other side.
A week later she finally gathered the courage and actually made her way to the building.
She dressed as nicely as she could, hoped that no one would notice that her shirt was a little too small and after nervously checking her make up in a little hand mirror, she rang the doorbell.
Boom
Crash
'Honey can you get the – Zzzzappp – door please? Daddy's a bit busy right now?' came from the other side.
They must do special effects for movies or something too.
'Come on Carol, this is your shot. Don't blow this. You can do this. You're not a failure, no matter what mom says. You are not throwing your life away, you can do this and you're talking to yourself,' she sighed.
'Very loudly too,' came a reply.
Turning her head slightly Carol saw that the door was open and a punk/rock teen was standing there, looking Carol up and down. 'I'm a, I'm sorry,' Carol muttered blushing bright red, god she looked like such an idiot.
The teen seemed to pay no attention to Carol's word.
'Blonde, pretty face, great body,' she mused before poking her head through the door, 'Hey dad it's another back up dancer here for an interview,'
'Tell her I'll be right - Bang – there,' came the pharmacist's voice.
The teen turned back to Carol, 'he'll be a minute. Come on in, Norm should have finished the cake by now.'
Carol followed behind to a beautifully decorated foyer and eventually a wide open room filled with lots of machines, clearly some high-tech recording devices or something, there was a small kitchen off to the side where a robot in a pink apron was pulling a cake out of the oven.
'You have a robot?' Carol asked in surprise.
The teen shrugged, 'yeah that's Norm, I'm Vanessa by the way.'
'I'm Carol, Carol Danvers,' Carol replied absently. They had a robot and it was making cake?
'Cool. So the practice routine and lyrics are on the table, if you need anything then let Norm know. Later,' and with the Vanessa walked out, leaving Carol alone with the robot in a pink apron.
Eventually the pharmacist walked out, in the same clothes she saw him in the other week but he smelled of smoke and looked to be singed a bit. 'Hey you're that park lady. The one with manners. Good to see you,' he said with a big smile. 'You're hired. Five hundred dollars a job.'
'Five hundred dollars?' Carol asked in more shock, seriously this guy kept just surprising er. He hadn't even asked for an audition just offered her five hundred dollars straight up for a job, that was too good to be true.
'Fine, fine seven hundred dollars but that's my final offer!'
'Deal' Carol screamed excitedly.
'You drive a hard bargain, eight hundred take it or leave it!'
'I'll take it, I'll take it!' Carol shouted excitedly.
'Excellent, I still got it!' the man grinned, clearly proud of himself for some reason. 'Well anyway lady here's the song and dance routines I'm going to need you to learn by Friday,' he said pulling out several sheets of paper.
Wait dance routines? 'Ummm sir?' she asked hesitantly.
'Call me Dr Heinz Doofenshmirtz,' he said, waving off the sir.
'Okay um, Dr Doofenshmirtz. I. I um can't dance,' Carol muttered.
Dr Doofenshmirtz stared at her for what felt like hours, good job Carol another job ruined, before he gave a shrug. 'Alright then just learn the words.'
Wait seriously?
And that's how Carol got a job working as a back up singer for Dr Doofenshmirtz.
...
Carol had been working for Dr Doofenshmirtz for a few months now and the job was great. Odd but great.
He paid well.
The other backup singers were great
He even signed her up for BackUp the Back up dancer and singer union. Carol didn't even know they had a union?
The job was almost perfect.
The platypus in the fedora was a little odd and while she wasn't hostile, Dr Doofenshmirtz's daughter was very dismissive of Carol.
Dr Doofenshmirtz even offered to give her dancing and singing lessons as well, resulting in her getting more work, not just from him now. It was amazing. A dream come true.
Stil she had been only working for him for a few months so she was hesitant to ask this but she really needed to.
'Excuse me Dr Doofenshmirtz?' she called out, poking her head through his door to see he was still fighting with that weird platypus. It seemed that Dr Doofenshmirtz was losing too.
'Woah, woah woah. Perry the Platypus time out,' he called out, holding his hands up in a 'T' symbol. The platypus surprisingly enough stopped.
'Hey Carol what's up,' Dr Doofenshmirtz asked.
'Um well, you see,' Carol muttered nervously. 'I was wondering if you could give me next Wednesday off, you see it's my birthday and my mom's coming in from out of town and well,'
He just held up his hands, 'say no more. Perry the Platypus do you want to go bowling next Wednesday?'
The Platypus just give a chittering sound in response.
'Excellent!' Dr Doofenshmirtz beamed. 'Anything else I can help you with Carol?' she just shook her head no, and Dr Doofenshmirtz went back to fighting the platypus like nothing had happened.
...
It was Carol's birthday and she was surprised when Norm showed up to her apartment with a present box in his hands, he passed it to her and walked off. By this point Carol was starting to get used to some of the weirdness from working for Dr Doofenshmirtz and as such she barely batted an eye at Norm. She was however surprised that he had given her a gift.
Opening the box Carol saw inside was what looked to be a garage door opener with only one button.
She pressed it once but nothing happened.
Again.
Again.
Again.
Giving it up for lost she continued on, getting ready for her day. It was only when Carol went for her morning walk that she saw what the button had done.
The clouds in the sky were pink and spelt out 'Happy Birthday Carol!' just to confirm she pulled out the button and pressed it again, the clouds turned green.
He literally wrote her a birthday message in the clouds. Carol had to admit, Heinz's gift was amazing.
...
'What's got you so annoyed?' Vanessa asked as Carol stomped into Doofenshmirtz Evil Incorporated, to get her things, change and leave.
'It's your father and his stupid Handsome song.' she steamed. 'What's the point of having back up dancers when you ignore them like that. He's to busy looking at his reflection or flirting with stranger women. I mean come on, I have some professional pride. He didn't even notice when I missed a line!' Carol was so mad at this point. She worked her butt of for him, she tried harder than the others, worked more shifts and he didn't even seem to notice! 'He's too busy with his stupid adoring fans, it's not like they even know or care about him. They are only there because he's handsome now, not that he wasn't handsome before..' Carol could have kept ranting but she was interrupted.
'Gross!' Vanessa yelled. 'You like my dad.'
'What? No. No I don't,' Carol denied furiously, her face heating up.
This was the first time Carol had seen a normal smile on Vanessa's face, one of happiness and amusement, too bad it was directed at mocking her. 'You like my dad, Mr receding forehead, Mr jutting jaw and vacant expression. You like my dad!'
'I don't like Heinz!' Carol shouted, desperate to be believed.
'You're jealous that he's popular now and not paying you any attention. Oh my god!' Vanessa probably said more but Carol had rushed out at that point, too embarrassed.
...
Heinz had been kidnapped and when he called did he ask for help, no. He instead sent her a location and lyrics for a song. He was kidnapped. He was kidnapped and his first priority was a song, not his safety or freedom but a song?
Carol couldn't do this. She was too nervous, too upset, too scared for him to drive properly. Which probably explained how she ended up in the hospital.
When she came too, it was the middle of the night and while it took her a little while for her eyes to adjust she could see that her entire room was filled with flowers, balloons, card and stuffed bears, all with a tag from Heinz, he was also fast asleep in a chair next to her.
Carol couldn't say it, he was asleep but she couldn't say it. It wouldn't even matter, he wouldn't hear but she just could not say it.
Her mouth couldn't form the words.
To say it would be to acknowledge it, to accept it and it was pointless. He was too amazing, too wonderful, too pure.
She couldn't say it, she did not deserve him.
Carol had received multiple record offers over the time while she worked for Heinz, always turning them down.
She was always waiting for the best offer, the one that was worth it all but she knew it wouldn't come.
The offer would never come and Carol was okay with that, she may never be able to say it aloud, but she loved Heinz.
He would never notice or be interested in her but that's okay.
She loved him and while being his partner would be a dream come true, back up for him was a close second.
'Carol,' Heinz murmured in his sleep.