The annoying girl's voice poured from the speaker. "The Resistance consents to exchange Platyborg for the prisoner Doofenshmirtz captured this morning. He's waiting for instructions at the park."

It was a hassle to hook up the television, what with all the filters they had to put up to avoid detection, and all, but Charline was in a mood, so… as he connected the final wire, the screen sprang to life, filling with a picture of a very familiar cybernetic platypus.

The announcement kept repeating on a loop, on all frequencies. He grinned. This was going better than he'd planned. He hadn't even had to tell anyone that's the Pandonic had snatched the boy, and already, they were offering themselves to him.

But Platyborg was only their starting offer. He had a higher price in mind. Not that he was planning on actually selling them anything.

—

Annie couldn't trace the signal's starting point, but the message unscrambled beautifully. "What!?"

Candace and Perry turned towards her sharply. There was no hiding this one, and neither of them would agree to it. All of it, anyway. "He wants Perry, you, and Ferb."

Candace didn't even blink. "Counter for me and Platyborg."

Perry stepped in front of her with an angry chatter.

"We've got to find Phineas! If that's what he wants, so be it."

"I'm sending the signal." Perry shot her a look that would have scalded if he hadn't thought she'd just betrayed one of his kids. The message wasn't long coming back. "He's accepting. Candace, clear out."

"But…"

She stood up. "I offered him Perry and me. Now clear out. If you're here when Peter comes to pick us up, Ferb will have to track us by himself. Go."

Candace gripped her staff, looking torn between her two brothers. "Find him!" With that, she raced off.

She glanced down. The look on Perry's face had softened into something apologetic. She stooped to hug him. "We'll get him back."

—

The view on his screen changed as the Pandonic… it was growing on him, even if it did still feel a little off, eh, no matter. He'd have Platyborg back soon. Thinking of which, the view was changing because the Pandonic was landing at the meeting point in the park. He rubbed his hands together. Ah! There was his former general… hugging that mouthy O.W.C.A. agent he'd graciously agreed to capture.

He rolled his eye, and folded his hands behind his back. No matter. He'd seen how useful their devotion to each other was, and he's exploit that soon enough.

Some of the glee drained as the cybernetic platypus stepped back, offering a grateful smile. The little artillery unit looked so darn, vulnerable, and he hadn't even done anything yet.

Suddenly, the platypus snapped to action, spinning around to face the camera with a protective step in front of the girl, fists clenched, and that familiar glare hardening his face.

Good. So his soon to be former, former general was still in there somewhere. Useful information, if a little irrelevant at this point. The pandonic looked down at the controls on his bionic arm, and typed in the coordinates.

Suddenly, the three of them were zapped into the room he was standing in. "Oops. I hope you didn't have any plans for your little friends to follow you here."

Platyborg growled low in his throat, and the girl crossed her arms defiantly. "We have a deal, and we're sticking to our end, Doofenshmirtz."

He could have wiped that look off her face by pointing any one of the guns in the room at the platypus, by why get off to a rocky start?

"Well that's all just peachy then. I'm glad I won't have to lock you up or anything, but, yeah, forgive me if I do anyway."

"You've got us. Send the boy back home, and…"

"You're in no position to be making demands. I'm not letting that boy go until Platyborg's weapons are deactivated."

There was the smallest flicker of emotion from the cyborg, and he wasn't able to blink it away. He knew that those weapons were his last bargaining chip, but if he was here to save the boy, he didn't exactly have a choice.

He motioned to the operation table. "C'mon. I can't exactly just take your word of honor that you're not going to fry me, or at the very least, escape. I'll be needing your weapons, too, Missy."

She pulled her pockets inside out. "I didn't bring any."

"Couldn't trust yourself, eh? Probably for the best. The Pandonic's going to scan you anyway. Come along, Platyborg."

The girl's voice was a plea. "Do you have to do it on that stupid operation table?"

"Ease of access." He shrugged, not understanding why she was so upset, until her turned around, and saw Platyborg climb up on the table, and lie flat. His face was pinched with dread, and he looked sick.

Still, what was the big deal? This wasn't even the same room he'd dismantled the cyborg in, just the same table. And it also happened to be the same table he'd saved his life on more recently. Why couldn't they think of that? "Oh relax. "I'm just going to disconnect your weapons. No poking, no prying, no modifying." That sounded almost compassionate, so he couldn't resist adding, "For now anyway."

The Pandonic's search came up clean. Huh. The girl had been stupid enough to not try to trick him. He shrugged. Maybe she'd been afraid he'd take it out on Platyborg. He might well have in the past, but now… well, he'd gone too far, and he wasn't going to let it happen again.

He took off the panel and studied the wiring carefully. "What have they done to you? A grappling hook? What would you need one of those for? You can fly!" He traced the wires to the contact point on the weapon control, and unscrewed them, being careful not to damage anything, and Platyborg shot him a look. There was confusion in the eye that blinked at him.

"Yeah, I was telling the truth. Weren't expecting that, were ya? Well, you won't be happy to know that you were right."

Platyborg winced, but he didn't mean he was going to start being cruel. He carefully replaced the panel, then explained. "You see, Platyborg, I'm going to keep you here. And I'm going to keep the girl here. And I'm going to keep the boy here, too. Shocker, I know. But here's the bright side; if you all cooperate, I'm not going to have to torture any of you!"

A lie of course, but he didn't need to torture the boy until he had the other two kids. "You want to hear the best part? Next thing I'm gonna do is make that little resistance brat turn herself in. She wouldn't before, but let me think… who could have been stopping her?"

Platyborg exchanged a grim look with his little friend that confirmed his suspicions.

"And hey, if everyone wants to offer to turn themselves in, that's fine by me! Thanks for the surrender! And just to show you that I really can be a swell guy, I'm even gonna let you have the same cell as the brat. Weren't expecting that either, were ya? What can I say, I'm feeling generous, today. Have ya heard? The leaders of the Resistance just walked in, and handed themselves over without a fight!"

Platyborg didn't even dare to glare at him. His head hung as the Pandonic marched them both out of the room.

He resisted the urge to to a little dance, then figured, what the heck? This was going to be even easier than last time.

—

A/N: Doof: "You know you're a terrible person, right?"

I didn't think that was so bad!

Doof: "Yeah, but they're captured again! Defenseless. And just because that jerk is being all nice now, it doesn't mean he's not going to snap. What is with you and that operating table?"

It's not mine! You cant blame me! Alt. Doofenshmritz is the sicko that turned Perry into a cyborg! I never would have! Besides, aren't you late for mission training or something?

Doof: "Your trying to lighten the mood after another depressing chapter, aren't you?"

Well you're helping, so :P."

Doof: "Colon, space, P? What is… oh, oh I see it now. Yeah. You stuck your tongue out at me, and you think you're clever. Real mature."

Thanks for reading, guys!