Chapter 11 - Agents of OWCA
Around half-an-hour after the battle at the palace was over, some large helicopters started landing around the building, with OWCA written at the sides. While their field agents were all animals, the backup was composed of normal human soldiers, and, in this case, including a few anthros.
"Candace, are you alright?" Jeremy asked right after walking down from an helicopter and spotting the redhead doberman. "We all got a bit nervous when we couldn't find you."
"Heh, just a bit?" Candace grinned while embracing with him.
"Well, I know you, so I wasn't that surprised that you'd sneak away to 'bust' someone, but still…" Jeremy chuckled a bit. "Next time, can you at least tell us?"
"I make no promises." Candace grinned, the couple smiling at each other while Hunter and Blitz gave Major Monogram a quick report of the rescue mission and told him where to find the prisoners; the major sent most of the soldiers to the palace's dungeons while also sending a few of them to the nearby village.
"You surely didn't have time to tie-up or lock-up the mooks you found on your way to the palace, right?" The major arched his mono-brow at the canine anthros.
"Nah, we just knocked them out. Still, I've been doing some high-speed check-ups in the last half-hour, so I can assure you none have escaped." Hunter pointed out.
"That's good and all, but better safe than sorry." Monogram said while looking at the soldiers going to the village. "Hopefully they'll all be too tired or injured to fight back. We're getting the whole group this time. Speaking of injuries, we brought a medical unit with us; none of you is seriously injured? Or any of these men need urgent medical attention?"
"Uh… yeah, he will." Blitz nervously grinned before pointing back, where some soldiers were already checking on the badly injured Akatsuki.
"Whoa, what happened to that guy?" Colleen, who had arrived in another helicopter, joined the group now, and gave a look at Akatsuki as he was getting attended. "He looks like Muzzle's chewing toys."
"Uh… yeah, he had a… similar problem." Blitz obviously wasn't too eager to admit he acted like a wild beast, specially in front of Major Monogram. Luckily, the man seemed to be reasonable enough.
"Well, I'm pretty sure he didn't make things easy for any of you." The major nodded at Blitz before addressing all the anthro canines. "Anyway, the other Rovers, and also my son, Vanessa and Temari, are still at the penthouse where you left them, guarding that power stone or whatever you call it. We didn't get any other attack, and we already captured the men sneaking around the temple, so I think it's safe to return the stone to its original location now. A ninja temple with 24/7 protection is a very safe place for it, and we're now monitoring the place regularly, just in case… And we're making a 'fake transportation operation', pretending we're moving the stone to another place, so, even if Parvo and Akatsuki told someone else about the temple and its secrets, they'll not know if the stone is still there."
"Heh, and nobody is gonna risk entering a ninja temple for nothing. Smart." Hunter grinned at this.
Blitz nodded, glad that this adventure was over, and that the Ryu Oni Stone would be more well protected than before. While all this happened, one of the unit's medics was giving Mindy a quick check-up, as part of the routine protocol for any rescued kidnapping victim; Darek was with her, holding hands the whole time.
"You're apparently okay." The medic told her. "But I think you'd still need to take it easy for a while. No adventuring or fighting for at least a few days."
"Don't worry, I'll make sure she'll be safe and sound." Darek said to the doctor while sharing a look with Mindy, who blushed a bit at this.
"Heh, okay… still, you better get back in the medical unit's helicopter; don't worry, it won't be the same one where we're transporting the 'human chew toy'; I know, not very professional, but very accurate." The doctor told them while the duo nodded and looked at Akatsuki getting carried into a helicopter; despite being quite badly injured, the villainous ninja was still closely watched, and received a strong anesthetic dose, both to relieve his pain and to keep him docile and easier to handle; even in his current state, Akatsuki was still a highly trained ninja, and Monogram had insisted on being particularly careful when dealing with him.
"You go with Akatsuki too, Agent G. If he gets too violent, give him a hug." Monogram spoke to one field agent he brought along with the soldiers. Agent G, a huge silverback gorilla, nodded at him and entered the medical helicopter right after Akatsuki.
"Let me guess; he works for peanuts?" Hunter half-joked.
"Of course not; he's very civilized." Monogram smirked a bit. "Peanut butter, actually."
While the agents continued working, and Blitz and company entered their helicopter, Colleen walked aside with Hunter, more than a little curious about the mission's details. She knew Blitz was probably still giving Monogram more information via the helicopter's communicators, but she already had a little idea about what happened.
"Hunter, I gave that Akat-Chewy guy a good sniff before they carried him to the helicopter; he was covered in Blitz's scent. And Blitz wasn't at his best; he might be a ninja now, but he still can't fully hide his body language." Colleen whispered at her husband, low enough so nobody without canine hearing could get their conversation.
"Yeah, I would have liked if Blitz told you instead, but you're right; this is important." Hunter sighed, keeping his voice low as well. "Blitz and Akatski lost it with each other; they were fighting without holding back. Not trying to catch or humiliate the other, but downright killing; and once Akatski lost his edge, Blitz lost no time. You're right, he's a ninja now, meaning he's far more dangerous, but he's still as animalistic as ourselves; and you know what happens if we lose control of our instincts."
Colleen nodded; controlling her werewolf instincts was particularly hard at first, and even if now she could control herself quite well, she still could feel her feral impulses at times, specially in the middle of a hard battle. More than once she had actually tried to eat her opponents after knocking them out; the only reason she didn't do was because Hunter or some other Rover was close enough to help her keep some self-control. And this was when she was fighting a dangerous yet still random guy, usually a villain's henchman that got lucky enough to injure her before taking him down; if Blitz felt the same, and he was fighting someone he had legitimate reasons to hate, like Akatski, Colleen could only imagine how hard it was for Blitz to get a hold of himself, even if Hunter and the others were there for him.
"And it must had been very difficult to stop him… I mean, ninja or not, Blitz's primary combat style will always be biting and scratching. Even when he was part of our team, he always had to keep a hold of himself to avoid biting any vital spot." Colleen commented.
"No kidding. I cooled him down with some little motivational speech, my speciality and all, but I know I couldn't have been able to stop him without Candace, Mindy and, specially, Darek here; Blitz doesn't want them to see him as a monster. Since they were close enough, that helped Blitz calm himself down to the point I could talk him out of killing Akatski; without that support… even I wouldn't be quick enough to stop him from killing the guy that murdered the first man that gave him real support and respect."
"Don't tell me Akatski was still fool enough to insult his own father." Colleen groaned.
"Remember, neither one was holding back, and that goes for verbal attacks too. Akatski went with his usual tirade of insults against Blitz, adding some quite hurtful comments about the Sensei; and if we add that at that time he was also trying to cut Blitz's head off…"
"Got it." Colleen paused a bit now. "Well, Blitz and I are in better terms now. Maybe I'd be the one talking to him about self-control… Wow, that's ironic."
"Yeah, an unexpected twist, but still, you're right. You are the one with the most contact with her wild side, literally, so you'd be the best to help Blitz control his own; he already has a lot, I mean, again, he's a trained ninja, and he can't do those jutsu-things without enough focus, but the jutsus and ninja training in general are originally meant for human practitioners, and even if some humans can be quite violent, they aren't in real touch with their animal side. Blitz needs to re-learn how to control that part of his nature, so he doesn't use lethal force if he ever forgets his martial arts focus, and goes all… Muzzle… on an enemy."
"Heh… funny, we're trying to help Blitz control his animal side when we use Muzzle's as a secret weapon."
"Not so secret; it's more like a doomsday device." Hunter half-joked. "But even then, we're in charge of Muzzle; he can't control himself, so we have to give him a reason to attack and, later, to cool down. Blitz is his own boss now, so he's in charge of his own temper and instincts; the most we can do is trying to help him… REALLY help him, like we didn't do when he was a Road Rover… so he never does something he might regret later."
Colleen nodded as she and Hunter supervised the last group of felons being carried away. Since they were guarded both by human soldiers and two of Monogram's animal agents (a grizzly and an eagle), the Road Rovers' couple realized they weren't needed as back-up, so they boarded on the last helicopter, that would take them with the other Road Rovers and young recruits; they'd later contact Blitz, who was sure to join them later along with Candace, Mindy and Darek, so the couple could then talk with the doberman.
After a while, and once Blitz gave a very complete report to Major Monogram, he walked out of the OWCA's detention facilities, where they were temporarily stationed. Temari had already met him, and they talked about new security measures to protect the Ryu Oni Stone; Blitz agreed on having a few more 'decoy' stones, courtesy of Phineas and Ferb, so any potential enemy trying to steal the stone would end up getting the decoy instead. The doberman was about to contact the kids when he found Colleen at the corridor.
"Hey, Blitz, can you spare a few minutes?"
"As long as it's 'spare' and not 'spar', sure, no problem."
"Oh, that would be later. With that ninja training of yours, I'd be the one having problems sparring with you." Colleen chuckled a bit. "Unless we limit it to 'normal martial arts' and no jutsus or werewolf powers allowed."
"Yeah, in that case… thanks, but no, thanks." Blitz chuckled now as they walked to an empty room. "So, my guess is that Hunter already told you about my… Muzzling Event."
"Funny how we now use him as a verb, uh? But yeah, that's what I wanna talk about." Colleen said as they grabbed two nearby chairs. "My main question is, how are you feeling now?"
"Mostly… I'm angry; angry with myself for losing control, angry with Akatski for making me lose control; and I must admit, I'm also angry for not… finishing the job." Blitz groaned. "And what makes me angriest? That… when I lost it… when I really went all 'Muzzle' on him… without holding back… I liked it. A lot; no restrains, no rules, nothing stopping me from doing anything I wanted to do to him… It was great; and knowing I enjoyed it, well, it kinda scares me."
"Yeah, I see your point. In fact, you can join the club." Colleen rolled her eyes. "How do you think I feel when I go all werewolf? It took you guys a while to help me control my transformations precisely because I enjoyed my wild side a bit too much."
The collie placed a hand on Blitz's shoulder, letting him continue. She knew he needed to vent now.
"Argh, Colleen it was awful, I felt like I was taking my anger out on the whole world, my friends, my family... everyone in total."
"What do you mean by your friends and family?"
"Didn't Hunter tell you about why I left the team?"
"Yes, but I'd like to hear it from you. After all, it's always better to hear it from the source."
"Yeah… okay, as I said to Akatsuki, after you got married I felt like you were rubbing your marriage with Hunter in my face; and what was worst, after you had Darek I was afraid I would take my anger and frustration out on him, an innocent pup that actually looked up to me… so I had no choice but to protect him by leaving. Besides, any self respecting parent would see that not only am I a danger to Darek, but a bad influence as well, I mean, the night I left I could see the look of abandonment in his eyes, the same feeling I had when my father left me and my mother, but I knew that what I was doing for Darek was for his own good."
"And you thought your father probably left you for your own good too?" Colleen sighed. "Honestly, I doubt that."
"I don't know why my father left my mother and I, but this is different, I had no choice... it was the only way to protect Darek."Blitz groaned. "Besides, I've been angry at my father all these years because he abandoned me and my mother for no reason."
"And when Akatsuki made you angry, you didn't just attack him; in your mind, you were also beating up your father, or at least, the anger you felt against him."
"Not just 'felt'; I still feel it." Blitz groaned. "I've been using my martial arts training to help me relax and focus, but deep down, I know I have all this… inner rage, and at times I feel I'm gonna explode. There have been days when I've considered restraining myself like we do with Muzzle, so I don't end up hurting someone the day I finally lose it."
"Well, there's your solution; you have to 'lose it' once in a while." Colleen noticed Blitz was about to argue with her. "Let me finish. Blitz, you and I are here, sitting in chairs, having a civilized conversation, and discussing inner, deep thoughts, but deep down, you and I are still animals; even with this 'anthro-transformation' thing, we have wild instincts; the same goes for our friends, I mean, Candace, Mindy, Vanessa, Jeremy and Monty have to use restraining collars so they don't go crazy everytime they hear 'Squirrel'. And it would be particularly hard for you and I; in your case, you have a lot of deep, personal issues, plus even with your ninja training, your primary form of attacking is biting and clawing; you can't get more animalistic than that… unless you transform into a werewolf, like myself." To make emphasis on her words, Colleen changed into her lycanthropic form. Blitz wasn't scared, as he had already seen her doing this before, but he was still impressed at how well she could control her animalistic rage despite turning herself into one of Earth's fiercest creatures.
"So, the solution would be…"
"To half-quote a song, 'let the dog out', or at least the aggressive part, once in a while. Even a puppy needs to tear apart a newspaper or a shoe once in a while; that's why we have chewing toys. And remember what we do with Muzzle? We don't just unleash him on our enemies; we allow him to go wild on them until he's finished, and at that point he's cooled down well enough to let us restrain him again. If we tried to stop him at mid-destruction, you can bet we'd all get a few bites too."
Blitz nodded, finally getting what she was saying.
"As for myself, I often go werewolf on our training sessions, and I unleash the beast on the battle dummies; other times, I go to the forest just to transform and get a good run, howling, growling, and clawing a tree or two. That way, I can keep a better hold on myself when I transform to attack an enemy; I can go quite violent on him/her, but I keep enough control to stop before I go too far." Colleen continued. "When you train your ninja stuff, you only use your weapons and ninja attacks, right? Well, next time, use your teeth and claws; destroy a dummy, tear apart a tree log, bite something until you destroy it completely… allow your inner dog to get out and play."
"I see... " Blitz paused. "I still have a doubt; how does Hunter fit into that werewolf training regiment of yours?"
"Whenever I'm about to lose control of my werewolf side, despite my precautions… Hunter's my Plan B; the one who can snap me out of my enraged state, and help me cool down. And not just because I adore him, but also because he's a genuinely nice guy with a way for encouraging, supporting words." Colleen explained before getting thoughtful. "You might need a Plan B too."
"Someone that can cool you down even if you go all, well, Muzzle, again."
Colleen then got a sly smirk.
"I'm sure Temari wouldn't mind helping you with that."
"Colleen, I can't ask Temari to do that. What if..."
"Blitz, Temari is a trained ninja. Even if you go all wild, she surely can hold her own and keep her distance long enough to talk and cool you down." Colleen reminded him. "In fact, considering her skills, Temari is the least likely 'Plan B' to get injured by you."
"That… is a good point." Blitz admitted. Most people or dogs wouldn't stand a chance against him if he went all feral again, as he would attack anyone trying to cool him down, and if that 'anyone' wasn't quick or convincing enough, Blitz would severely hurt that person in no time. Temari, on the other hand, was fast and skilled enough to keep her distance while talking to him, even if he was attacking like a wild animal at that moment, giving her enough time to cool him down.
"You know, you can even practice some jutsu with her; one that can restrain you if you go feral, at least while Temari helps you calm down." Colleen pointed out. "Heh, maybe a water one; after all, what better way to stop a rabid dog than with a bucket of water?"
"Heh… talk about 'cooling down', uh?" Blitz chuckled.
"That's one way to say it." Colleen grinned. "And besides, I don't think Temari would need a lot of time to control you."
"What do you mean?"
"Blitz, why do you think Hunter can calm me down in almost no time, even at my worst?"
"Because he's very good at coming up with corny yet effective well-meaning speeches?" Blitz smirked.
"That, and because I love him; and even at my worst, when I'm more 'werewolf' than 'Colleen', I know that he loves me and he's the guy I can trust the most." Colleen grinned while pointing at herself. "So, even at your worst, and if you're literally acting like a mad dog, you have deep feelings for Temari, and you know she'd do nothing bad to you."
Blitz actually blushed a bit at this.
"Heh… well, yeah… and guess that… since Temari considers me a very good friend and mentor, and likes me as a very good friend, she wouldn't mind becoming my 'Plan B'..."
"Blitz…" Colleen rolled her eyes while morphing back to normal. "If that girl only 'likes you as a friend', then I'm a Siamese cat. Really, I think even Shag would see that she loves you… and the guy's eyes aren't even visible."
Blitz gulped a bit, as he already suspected that Temari had more than just a crush on him, but didn't know that it was obvious enough for others to notice.
"Still… uh… well, I don't know if Temari can handle a relationship with me, I mean… she has her own issues; not fair to make her deal with mine too."
"Issues? Uh, care to share with the rest of the class?"
"Look, sorry, Colleen, but it's very personal stuff we're talking about; I don't wanna betray Temari's trust, not even with you."
"I see… well, that's a very nice detail from you, and speaks a lot about your character." Colleen grinned at Blitz before getting serious again. "But, still, right now, we're dealing with the whole 'How to control an enraged Blitz and not getting bitten while trying' thing, and Temari will obviously get involved. If she has issues that would interfere with keeping you under control, we'll really need to talk about her issues too."
"I was afraid you'd say that." Blitz sighed and rolled his eyes. "Okay… look, I can tell her to discuss the whole idea with you, and maybe with Hunter too, since you two are the ones with the most experience at cooling down an enraged, feral canine with enhanced strength. And if she wants to discuss her stuff with you, well, that's great, but it must be her own decision."
"Fair enough." Colleen shrugged. "I'll tell Hunter, and then the both of us will discuss the plan with Temari. And now that you told me about her own problems, I really want to help her too. Heh, guess I have a Hero Complex or something."
"At least it's not a Chronic Hero Complex. That's Hunter's thing." Blitz smirked before he and Colleen shared a good laugh.
A while later, Major Monogram called all the rookie anthro canines for a special meeting. He also called Blitz, as he wanted to talk with him in private.
"Blitz, I already discussed this with Professor Shepherd; we have analyzed and diagnosed each and every one of Akatsuki's injuries… and let me tell you, even our most aggressive agents usually don't hurt anyone as much as you did; and we have lions and rhinos among our agents."
"I know… and… uh… I hope you don't think I'm too dangerous to… be around your agents." Blitz wasn't saying it openly, but by 'agents' he mostly meant the rookie canines.
"Well, just to play it safe, maybe I'll keep you away from Agents C and S."
"They would be..?"
"Cat and Squirrel."
"Yeah, I thought so."
"Anyway, we have a special room you might like to see." Monogram then opened a secret door, revealing a large room with several dummies and chew toys; most of them were at least partially destroyed.
"And this is…"
"The Instinct Relief Room. Every time one of our agents starts feeling too… wild, we bring him/her to this room, so the agent can attack and vent the aggressive instincts. I know you already have great self-control; after all, you didn't kill your enemy, even if this was a rare case of 'justified anger' that nobody would blame you for." Monogram paused. "So, I doubt you'll need to use this room too often, but it wouldn't hurt if you go wild for a while."
"Thank you, Major Monogram; I appreciate the offer and you can rest assure that I will be using it when the time comes; I'm already considering similar measures so I can vent my instincts at the temple. And about that whole 'justified anger' thing, of course my anger is justified, that little dummkopf murdered the only person who gave a care about me."
"Uncle Blitz!"
Blitz turned, realizing that Darek and the other rookies had entered the room.
"Note to self; we need to sound-proof these rooms." Monogram groaned a bit while Blitz sighed and explained himself to Darek. He knew he had to do it sooner or later.
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm still a little emotional over the loss of my late mentor, Takamura Yoshida, it's just that he was the only person I ever thought of as a father figure, now I feel like a Ronin."
"Uh, you feel like a Boy Wonder?" Jeremy arched an eyebrow.
"No, that's 'Robin'." Blitz groaned before continuing. " You see, in japanese culture, a Ronin is basically a Samurai who has no master, but since technically I'm a ninja that term probably wouldn't apply to me."
"Yes, well, Blitz, maybe you have ninja abilities, but you obviously have a samurai mentality and moral code of conduct." Monogram interrupted now. "It's not different from pretty much all our agents; they're all animals, and they still have their instincts, but they have secret agent's mentality and training. You being a 'ninja' or a 'samurai' doesn't depend on your abilities, but on how you use them."
"Whoa, that's very deep, Sir."
"Thanks, Carl… and when did you arrive?" Monogram and all the canines stared at the intern now.
"About five minutes ago; somebody has to clean up the Instinct Relief Room. Also, I brought these." Carl took out some badges.
"Ah, yes, thank you, Carl." Monogram grabbed the badges now, not noticing Carl almost fainting in happiness at his boss' thanking him. The major then turned at the rookies and gave a badge to each. "These are your official OWCA badges; usually, we give special hats to our agents, but I guess these work better in this case. Besides granting you access to our headquarters and working as communicators, the badges work as technological analyzers; every time you get close to some unknown piece of technology, call it a new vehicle or a doomsday weapon (you see a lot of both in this business), the badges will analyze it and send the information to our main headquarters, so our scientists can give it a very close, extensive analysis, and find ways to counter these devices in case a villain uses it again, or, in a better case scenario, finding non-evil uses for that technology. Many of Doofenshmirtz's 'Inators' actually have beneficial, legal applications; now that he has reformed, we're working with him, so his inventions will actually give him a healthy profit and help him gain some respect from the scientific community."
"Heh, Dad will surely love that." Vanessa commented, grinning while checking her own badge.
"Yep, and that's not all, I'll also be able to get revenge on all my former colleagues in the evil scientist community who saw me as nothing more than an incompetent boob, especially Rodney."
"You are using the badge to communicate with us, right, Dad?" Vanessa rolled her eyes, as she and everyone else could hear Dr Doofenshmirtz's voice now.
"Oh, yeah, but, hey, you weren't supposed to hear that… oh, wait, this thing is on. I always forget it. Curse you, complex on-off communicator buttons."
"Say Major Monogram, now that we're on the topic of Mad Science, what about my brothers?" Candace interrupted now. "I mean, you did say you would let them work here at OWCA."
"Yes, we'll have them working part-time with us. Also, Dr Doofenshmirtz will be working very closely with them, you know, for supervision."
"Oh, sure, I have no problem doing that…"
"They'll be supervising you, Heinz." Monogram interrupted the former evil scientist.
"Oh, come on, I signed the aphrodisiac, didn't I?"
Everyone at the room got very silent at this.
"Say what?" Candace arched an eyebrow.
"Yes, the aphrodisiac, that legal contract..."
"Uh, it's affidavit, Doctor Doofenshmirtz." Carl corrected him.
"Oh, right... Okay, now I'm glad you can't see my face right now."
"I can imagine how it looks like." Vanessa groaned.
"Hey, I'm a scientist, not a linguist. Whatever, I'm sure the boys and I can come up with some good stuff to help you all on your missions."
"Speaking of which…" Temari got a thoughtful expression. "Doctor Doof, I'm gonna be in charge of helping Blitz control his wild side at any time he gets too feral. Think you and the boys can come up with something to help me restrain him without injuring him while I help Blitz control himself, or at least a way to protect me in case he really loses control?"
"Oh, yeah, I think we can… Hey, Phineas, Ferb, I know what we're doing today!"
"Somehow, I know that Isabella sensed him saying that." Candace smirked while Major Monogram continued.
"Very well then. Apparently we're already all set up; you guys and girls will be full agents but, just like our 'full animal' agents, you'll all have normal lives, and we'll only contact you for missions, and special occasions like training sessions, meetings, and the Christmas party. We used to celebrate Thanksgiving all together but it became a sensitive issue after we lost Agent T."
"He was a Turkey, wasn't he?" Blitz correctly guessed.
"Yeah… that's the problem when the agent is a farm animal; in order to keep the facade of normalcy, they have to live on a farm, and you all know the risks of that."
"Note to self; get a full list of all the OWCA Agents." Jeremy thought out loud.
"I heard that Johnson and I'm afraid that's a no can do on our end, too much of a security risk."
"Okay, I get that; only said it because I don't wanna end up eating an agent by accident. Anthro or not, a dog is a carnivore." Jeremy pointed out.
"Good point, and don't worry; we're paying much more attention to our agents' facades to avoid those risks. We even moved Agent H to a petting zoo."
"Agent H?" Candace arched an eyebrow. "Hen. right?"
"No, that would be Agent CH, for 'Chicken'; Agent H is a hog. We couldn't name him Agent P because, well, we have no synonyms for 'platypus' so he needed to get the P."
"Heh, this is fun and all, but guess I'll tell Phineas and Ferb to start working on some stuff for Temari… " Dr Doofenshmirtz paused. "Oh. Wait, they already have the blueprints ready. These kids work fast… Come see us tomorrow morning, Temari, we'll have your stuff ready by then. And yes, I promise no self-destruction buttons… this time."
"Done." Phineas hollered.
"... Come and get it whenever you want. I'll just run the security scans and add some extras, like the communication system or whatever."
"I'll be right there."
Temari shared a grin with Blitz, both canines more than happy that they'd be able to start a relationship despite his feral issues. Then, Temari excused herself to go get her 'special stuff', while the new agents, along with Blitz, supervised the prisoners one last time before leaving themselves. While the prisoners were properly secured, most of them had high-level combat training, and some might start finding ways to escape already.
Blitz made a quick stop at the bathroom to wash his face before going to check on Akatski. He wanted to be at his best, completely alert and freshened out, before facing his enemy again. Not just because he had to be particularly careful when checking on the facilities and the prisoner, but also because he wanted to be sure his anger was completely on check before seeing the guy again.
Meanwhile, Temari was already at Phineas, Ferb and Dr. Doofenshmirtz new lab, the young ninja being quite impressed, not just at the technology level, but also how fast she arrived there.
"We added some alien-tech to the OWCA's transports. Still not good enough for routine use since, well, they're too fast; not that adequate for stealth missions. Still, they're very good for quick travels, specially for just one or two passengers at once." Phineas explained.
"Now my question is… how did you get access to alien technology?" Temari arched an eyebrow.
"Oh, we know several ones. Remind me to introduce you to Meep sometime." Phineas shrugged.
"Okay then, now about why I'm here now."
"Oh, you're gonna like this." Phineas said while pointing at Dr Doofenshmirtz and Ferb standing next to something covered with a blanket.
"That's right… behold…" Dr Doofenshmirtz said while he and Ferb pulled the blanket. "The Ninja-Suit-Inator!"
"We did most of the job so we allowed Dr D to name it." Phineas whispered at Temari.
Temari grinned at the sight; the suit looked like an armored version of a classic shinobi outfit, in dark blue and purple tones, plus having the Road Rovers' symbols; the canine silhouette on the chest, and the large yellow 'R' in a red belt. Temari touched it, noticing it felt hard on the exterior, but the suit's interior was soft and comfy; perfect for protection while still being comfortable to use for long periods, not to mention it would help soften impacts.
"This suit is great…" Temari stopped when finding some hidden compartments. "Hey, are these smoke bombs?"
"And we have other compartments for those ninja-star-like things and other weapons. Great, isn't it?" Dr Doofenshmirtz explained while Ferb showed those compartments, Temari already holding a shuriken and admiring how well made it was; like the suit, it seemed to combine resistance and lightness quite perfectly.
"Would you like to try it on?" Phineas offered.
"First of all, they're called 'shurikens', and second, Yes, I would love to try it on."
"Perfect. Okay, you're gonna need this too." Phineas showed her a hidden button. "Push it, and then stand in front of the suit."
Temari did as said, and then a green beam emerged from the suit and scanned her whole body. A second later, the suit moved by itself, and after a few moments, it was covering Temari, dressing her up.
"There. Now the suit will recognize you as its owner, and you'll be the only one who can use it. If anyone tries to steal it, the suit will pretty much escape by itself and search for you." Phineas explained.
"And the suit can sense and find you in a three miles radius, so you'll not lose it as easily as I lose my socks." Dr Doofenshmirtz added.
"Heh… Candace was right; you boys are geniuses." Temari grinned while admiring herself. "And Vanessa was right, Dr D; you're pretty handy yourself."
"Heh, thanks… and, well, how do you feel, you like?" Doofenshmirtz asked, rubbing the back of his neck. "It would be the first time I actually gave a girl an outfit she likes. Did you know girls stop liking to dress up like a pink Cinderella after their tenth birthday? Wish I knew that."
"Well, I can tell you guys did a wonderful job with this one." Temari jumped and threw a few kicks to test the suit's mobility. "It's pretty light. And feels quite well."
"That's not all, try on the helmet." Phineas pointed at Ferb, who was now handing Temari a dog head-shaped helmet.
Temari thanked Ferb and put the helmet on. Again, it felt as comfortable as the rest of the suit; she also found out it didn't interfere with her hearing or smelling senses.
"I feel so safe like I can take on a whole army without getting hurt, and warm like I'm wearing a blanket." Temari commented.
"And if you touch the sides of the helmet, you can trigger the 'Samurai' mode; it will increase the suit's resistance and your physical capacities, so, yeah, you'd probably take on an army without getting hurt." Phineas pointed out.
"Also, the 'samurai' mode only gets activated if you touch the sides of the helmet with both hands at once, and do a 'double click' pressing, like a computer's mouse, so you can't activate it by accident." Dr Doofenshmirtz added.
"Wait, what about swords, how can I carry my swords and melee weapons?"
"The same way you can carry more shurikens and smoke bombs than it should be possible; the compartments have miniaturization technology, so you can carry large weaponry there too. The sword compartment is on your back, right behind your right shoulder, so you can access it with ease." Phineas explained.
"I'm gonna try the Samurai mode if that's alright."
"Sure, go ahead." Phineas grinned. "Literally."
"Oh, I get it, because she has to touch her head… or the helmet… Yeah, I do that a lot; no more explaining the jokes or the slang, I get it." Dr Doofenshmirtz rolled his eyes.
"Heh, yeah, please." Temari chuckled before activating the 'Samurai' mode. The suit glowed in a purple light, and a moment later, she was wearing a bulkier, more impressive armor, in a different blue tone, while still having the Road Rovers' symbols. Temari grinned, and again, started doing some ninja moves, getting pleasantly surprised at how, despite the armor being noticeably bigger now, it still didn't mess with her speed and agility at all.
"Now I really want to try this armor. Do you have some training area?"
"Oh, I can actually help with that." Dr Doofenshmirtz grinned before revealing a dummy behind him. "Behold… The Super-Dummy-Inator!"
"It doesn't explode, right?" Behind her mask, Temari arched an eyebrow.
"Ah, Vanessa told you about me. Nice." Heinz chuckled a bit before explaining. "No, this dummy is an idea I had to test my Inators. You see, it's not easy to get practice targets for the mad science-weapons, and it's too expensive to buy them, because, well, you need to do it in volume to get a good price, and you have to pay the transportation and whatever. So, I invented this dummy that rebuilds itself. Watch."
The ex-evil scientist pulled an arm off the dummy, with some effort showing the dummy was actually resistant. Then, he threw the arm at a distance, and a few moments later, the arm levitated by itself and re-attached to the dummy's body.
"Hey, great invention, Doctor D." Phineas congratulated him.
"Thanks. I think this can save OWCA a lot of money since now the agents can train with the same dummy over and over again, and we can also use it to test the inventions. In fact I might need to make a few more of them so we won't have to worry about buying the regular ones."
"Yeah, one of these can easily replace dozens of regular dummies." Phineas commented before turning back at Temari. "Well, guess we're gonna test two things now; the armor's offensive capacities, and the dummy's capacity to recover from damage."
"Doesn't the armor have any defensive capacities as well, to balance out the offensive ones?" Temari asked, pausing a bit. "Then again, it's an armor; that alone makes it a defensive device."
"True, but we added some extras. The armor can rebuild itself to a certain extent; still, not as quickly as the dummy, but then again, the material is quite resistant so it's hard to damage it in the first place. Plus, it's made of a thermal alloy, so it will keep you fresh in a hot environment, and warm in a cold one." Phineas explained while Ferb used a hologram to show a previous test the boys did before Temari arrived; it showed the armor resisting a flamethrower attack, and later, when using a freezing ray on it, how the armor broke free without problems.
"Nice… but wait, who was wearing the armor for these tests? It wouldn't be necessary for the flamethrower one, but, to break the ice, someone had to be inside in order to move it." Temari pointed out.
"Actually, we added a remote control system on the armor. You can make it move from a distance, and even to fight, but not too complex moves. It's good for emergencies, of course, like, if you get injured despite wearing the armor, and you still have to battle; you get out of the armor, and make it fight for you; Ferb and I can also use this system to control the armor from here, again, in case of emergency." Phineas continued. "And, of course, it helps to test the armor's capacities without needing you or anyone else to wear it."
Temari nodded, realizing she'd need to practice with the remote control application later, but by now she was focusing on her own test. The boys and Doofenshmirtz took her to the tests area, along with the SDI (Super-Dummy-Inator) so she could start practicing on it.
"I should also warn you that the SDI can fight back." Doofenshmirtz added. "Again, it's like a robot, so it makes sense it can move… Anyway, I didn't add any weapons, and it's not stronger than the average person, but it still can move, throw punches and kicks, and even try to grab you."
"Got it. It will be like fighting a regular human; it's fine, I mean, normal humans are the usual opponents an agent fights with, like a master criminal's thugs." Temari shrugged, readying herself. A moment later, the test started.
As Doofenshmirtz said, the SDI didn't move too quickly or agilely, but it still made an effort to punch and kick Temari. The ninja canine had no problems to block and evade the attacks, and then punched back, at full force, smashing the head off and sending it flying several feet away. The head reattached itself a few moments later.
"Mmm… I need to pull back my punches when I use the Samurai mode. I don't want every attack to be a lethal one."
"You're right. Maybe you should test the suit's normal mode first, to get used to your speed and strength when wearing it, and see how much you need to hold back." Phineas commented. "To change back, just repeat the 'transformation process', clicking at the sides of the helmet twice."
Temari did as said, and soon the armor changed back to its normal mode. Then, she got back to fighting the SDI, this time punching back with pretty much the same force she used to fight a normal man; the dummy fell back and stopped moving for a few moments before standing back.
"Very good… according to these lectures, if the SDI was a real guy, you'd have knocked him out." Doofenshmirtz said while checking on some scanners. "Nothing lethal, just sending him with the dentist, and the guy would spend a little fortune on aspirin, but that's it."
"Heh, then I'll make many pharmaceuticals quite happy." Temari grinned, making Heinz to groan a bit.
"I really have to do something about that 'pharmaceutical' joke. It's getting older than my mom's socks. No questions, please."
Temari shook her head as she looked back at the SDI, and practiced a few other attacks; again, nothing lethal, but the hits were sure to cause fractures and other damages to a living target; she also noticed that her helmet gave her extra information on the damage she was causing on the SDI, or at least, the damage she'd be doing if performing these moves on a normal human, ranging from 'minor contusion' to 'fractured ribs'. Temari then decided to practice her jutsus; again, as the main reason to wear this armor was to prepare her to control or stop Blitz if he went berserker, she needed 'restraining' jutsus, that could stop Blitz without causing serious damages.
"I'm gonna try an advanced jutsu; it's not easy to perform, and it takes a lot of energy, but it's also a good way to stop Blitz without hurting him or even without needing to touch him." Temari said before changing to Samurai mode again. "This mode gives me a stamina boost, right?"
"Yes, and it will help you if you need extra energy. So, this jutsu can actually stop an enemy without collateral damage? That's great, why you hadn't used it before?" Phineas asked.
"Because, again, it takes a lot of energy, and I can only perform it in a not-so-mobile target. To use this on Blitz, I'll need to catch him by surprise, or corner him, or immobilize him somehow, at least for a few moments."
"Alright then. Well, the SDI will not move now. You can perform your Jutsu."
"Okay…" Temari concentrated for a few moments before performing an elaborate hands move, allowing her to focus her energy on the coming jutsu. "Shadow Possession Jutsu!"
To Heinz and the boys' surprise, Temari's shadow started moving by its own, and after a few seconds, it fused with the SDI's shadow. Temari then changed to a normal position, and the SDI mimicked it. The ninja canine continued doing more moves, the dummy doing exactly the same ones.
"Whoa… she really is moving the SDI?" Heinz asked the boys, Ferb already checking on the SDI's remote control and nodding at the older scientist after a few moments.
"This is awesome. The SDI is no longer under our control; Temari's the one moving it." Phineas added.
"Yes, and I can make him move exactly like me… or to stay immobile, as long as I do the same." Temari explained, now standing still like a statue. "This jutsu is particularly useful in a double-team attack; the one performing it stops the enemy, while the other ninja attacks him or her. Again, in this case, I can keep Blitz from moving, and talk to him to cool him down; he'd probably still resist, of course, so it's a good thing this suit enhances my stamina, so I can keep the jutsu 'on' for as long as I need to."
"That's great. Speaking of Blitz, maybe we'd call him now, so he can come and see you in the suit." Phineas suggested. "You can still practice your moves, or take a break, while he arrives."
"Good idea." Temari said before cancelling the jutsu, the SDI now back to Phineas and Ferb's direct control. "Just don't tell him that I'm the one wearing the suit. Heh, I want to surprise him."
"I helped with the suit's design, and even I am surprised… Well, I didn't do much, but I was nearby." Heinz shrugged before contacting Blitz himself. Temari nodded and decided to take a little break before practicing other moves on the SDI.
Blitz, who had been waiting for this call, arrived in a very short time after getting the call. He still took a few moments to get to the test area as he was a bit too distracted by the many inventions in the lab.
"Whoa, this place has more crazy inventions than… uh… some nerdy, science fiction thing I can't recall right now." Blitz thought out loud. "Wonder what thing they designed for Temari… I know it's some sort of weapon or device, but…"
Blitz stopped talking when seeing the suited canine ninja standing in front of him. Blitz was also very surprised at the very sudden appearance; considering his own ninja training and canine senses, it wasn't easy to catch Blitz by surprise these days.
"Whoa… okay, nice suit… But… uh… who's in there?" Blitz also realized the suit masked the wearer's scent, making it even better for stealthy missions. "Uh… eh… A platypus?"
The ninja anthro took a fedora out of nowhere, and put it on.
"Perry The Platypus? Wow, that suit makes you look taller!"
Blitz then heard some very loud laughter, recognizing Doctor Doofenshmirtz's voice almost immediately.
"Heh, this is actually very funny when I'm not the one doing it… Specially when you get it wrong." Heinz now cooled down a bit. Phineas and Ferb, chuckling slightly, walked beside him.
"No, Blitz, that's not Perry. Not even male."
"Oh, a female then... Okay, not that I have too many options on that one." Blitz shrugged before finally getting it. "Wait, you mean she is…"
"Hello, Blitz; do you like my new suit?" Temari removed her helmet, winking at the surprised doberman. Blitz blushed at this, and then finally realized that the suit accentuated her female form.
"Uh… eh… y-yes, it's a-a very nice… f-fitting… I mean, you look good with it… NOT THAT YOU DON'T LOOK GOOD WITHOUT A SUIT… NOT THAT I HAVE SEEN YOU WITHOUT A SUIT… Ach du lieber." Blitz face-palmed now, trying to stop his own rant.
"Heh, I talk like that sometimes. Wow, no wonder I can't get a date." Heinz rubbed his chin while watching the scene. Blitz, hearing this, groaned very loudly. Temari was about to say something when Major Monogram's face appeared in a nearby monitor.
"Sorry to interrupt this moment… seriously, I'm sorry to interrupt; I was enjoying it." The major admitted before getting serious again. "Anyway, we have an emergency right now, and Blitz and Temari are close enough to attend it. It's something kinda dangerous for most of our 'normal' agents, and we can't send the biggest ones to a highly populated area, so…"
"What seems to be the problem Major Monogram?" Blitz interrupted him, glad for the major's intervention cutting his silly blabbing.
"Get to your Rover Ship, and I'll give you details on your way there; we have to hurry up here. Agent P is already there and waiting for backup."
"Guess I'll give this suit a field test now." Temari grinned as she ran next to Blitz, the doberman already heading to the ship, feeling a bit nervous about Temari's new look yet also happy to have her at his side.
A few moments later…
"Hey, so, this is how you give the missions to the agents? Just 'something bad is happening, go stop it' instructions?" Heinz arched an eyebrow at Monogram.
"Uh… it works, doesn't it?"
"You know you're lucky most of your agents can't talk, don't you?"
"Eh… Monogram, Out." The major ended the transmission.
"I won't lie. That felt good." Heinz chuckled while Phineas and Ferb just smiled slightly, once again wondering about who were the real kids in the room.
As this happened, Blitz and Temari were already on the ship, and Exile contacted them.
"Comrade, Major Monogram contacted us too; we'll keep this channel open in case you need backup, and… Bolsha Moi, Comrade Temari, you look v-very good… n-nice suit there… I mean…" Exile was blushing now, noticing Temari's very form-fitting outfit. While Blitz didn't like this too much, he saw his chance to have some fun at Exile's expenses.
"Hey, Exile, don't be a weird boy." Blitz smirked at the Husky, who immediately got a shocked expression while Temari grinned, deducing this was a private joke between the two males.
"Heh… checkmate, Comrade. Good luck." Exile laughed loudly when finally recovering, and ended the transmission.
"You know how long I've been waiting to tell him that?" Blitz chuckled slightly.
"I can just imagine." Temari smirked as they waited for Monogram to contact them and finally give them the mission's specifics.