Doofenshmritz watched his general. The platypus stood at attention, the spike now added back to his tail, and the black 'helmet' in place of the baseball cap. The cowboy boot had been disposed of completely.
The most notable change, though, was the look on his face. He no longer looked like he might burst into tears at any moment. He had a ways to go before he looked like he had with his mind wiped, but he was getting there, slowly but surely. Each new order would break him a little more, until he'd learned to control his own thoughts.
He shoved away a feeling of guilt. He wasn't torturing the cyborg. He'd been very careful when he'd finished adding to his armor. So why did the ungrateful little twerp look like something inside him was slowly being crushed?
"Platyborg, go, feed the prisoners, or something."
His general saluted, and left to obey.
—_
The Resistance
Isabella poured over the plans beside her. "We went wrong here, sir. As you can see, the plan went bad here, and here. When we put it together, we didn't count on…"
"Perry." She sighed, shaking her head. "And we don't have time to come up with a completely new one now. We need to evacuate the rest of the city, and this is still our best option."
"But…"
"I know. Someone's going to need to distract him. Come on. We need to move out."
_—
Doofenshmirtz Evil Headquarters
—_
There was a lot more food to make now, and the prisoners were less forgiving than Phineas and Annie had been. Not that it mattered. His cooking skills were probably improving, but that wouldn't make a difference.
He brought the food into the cell and stopped. All the agents and civilians were hanging to the back of the cell Monogram was in. The major looked like he'd been waiting for him.
He slid the tray under the door, and looked questioningly at his former commanding officer.
"Hello, P."
He tried not to let the lack of title bother him. He'd given up being an agent the moment he'd decided to put his family first. He'd known that.
The man crouched down, speaking softly. "Look, I know you have your reasons. But I still have to ask you to remember who you are, and let us go."
He stared down at the ground, and shook his head.
"P, someone needs to stand up to Doofenshmirtz. You've got to understand that!"
I'm sorry. I can't help you.I work for Doofenshmirtz now.
He gave a hiss of exasperation as the hope drained from his face. "Why? What hold could this man possibly have over you after all he's done to you?"
He tried to give a dismissive chatter, but it sounded broken, even to him. Unable to stand the look on his former commander's face any longer, he turned, and went for the next tray.
"P, I… oh P…"
His wrist beeped and he pressed a button. Doofenshmritz appeared. "We just got an intelligence report about members of the resistance gathering in the south side. Get the troops, and take care of it, right now."
He saluted.
—_
The South Side
_—
From what his scans were showing, it was the same situation as before. Sloppy, Annie. He swooped ahead of his ground troops, and blasted the cables meant to fry the robots. Real sloppy.
A laser pinged off of that post beside him.
He spun, just able to make out a boot as it vanished around the corner. He ignored it, until a second shot rendered two of his Normbots inoperative. Now was as good a time as any to capture another Resistance fighter.
He flew around the corner, only to find that the shooter had retreated again. They were headed straight for the tunnels. It was a simple matter to cut them off. He jetted up ahead, and landed. A smug grin on his bill as his quarry raced around the corner, looking back over her shoulder.
The grin vanished as his blood froze. Annie…
Her eyes met him as she stopped, standing where she was. "Hey."
You lured me out here on purpose? Why… to let the others escape. And knowing that, was reason enough to head back to his troops.
"I can't let you do that."
He rolled his eye. We both know you can't shoot me.
Sure enough, she didn't reach for her blaster. She touched a button on her wrist… Wait…
"Now!"
Two motors started up, and a chain net spread over the top of the alley they were in, a small blast sealing the entrance to the tunnels at the same time. Now the only way out, was past Annie.
A warning light flashed in his cybernetic eye as he was warned that his troops were in trouble.
She stood at the ready, about ten feet away. "I'm so sorry."
He shrugged. Technically, she was more fighting for the resistance than directly against his family. But that didn't mean she hadn't forced him to fight her now.
He raced forward, trying to get the jump on her. She was ready for him, dodging as he swiped the spike on his tail under her. She'd put her gun away, and he wasn't planning on activating his. They were sparring, and yet, they weren't.
If she lost, he was going to have to take her in, and the part of him that suggested he should just let her win was instantly silenced by the knowledge of how defenseless that would leave his family.
His fist connected, knocking her back against the wall.
It was like the wind had been knocked out of his lungs, too, as she slid to one knee, wincing in pain. Her hand shot to her hip, and she whipped her blaster out, shooting over to the side.
Great. His Normbot's had come to his assistance.
He stepped back, letting them surround her, until a bullet from one of their guns found her bad leg.
He reacted instantly, swooping over to break up the fight, shoving aside the Normbot that was pointing a gun at her head, even as he snatched her weapon.
He pressed the button on his chest. "Just surrender already!"
Weaponless, she slid back to the ground, clutching her leg. It wasn't really a surrender, but it was the best he would get. He cuffed her, and wrapped a tourniquet around her leg, forcing her to her feet.
He'd transport her back to her cell personally.
It was all he could do for her.
_—
A/N: Thanks for reading!