A/N: the full name of this episode couldn't fit in the chapter title box.
...
Dude, We're Getting The Band Back Together
As Mavis headed towards the lair, she was listening to music on her iPod and humming along to Love Handel's greatest song.
Perry met her on the way in. "Morning."
"Hey." Mavis took out her earphones. "You good?"
"All good. How's things with Apollo?"
"Mostly good. Is it weird that we haven't had our first kiss yet?"
Perry thought for a moment. "Not for you two. You seem to be going at your own pace, which is the best thing for any relationship. Nothing ruins a budding romance quicker than trying to rush things."
Mavis smiled to herself as she sat down in her seat. Perry's answer had comforted her, but at the same time, she now felt an urge to find Apollo and kiss him there and then.
But by the time Apollo actually joined them in the lair, Mavis's shyness had suddenly overcome her.
You'll know when it's the right time, she told herself. Don't rush it.
Major Monogram's face quickly appeared on screen. "Ah, there you are, agents. We've learned some alarming information. Several suspicious items have been purchased by the Doofenshmirtz Corporation. They include: an industrial-grade air compressor, 20 canisters of helium oxide and 400 pounds of fireworks. Get right on it."
"Jetpack time!" Apollo crowed. "Not taking no for an answer!"
Perry snickered. "Alright, alright. It's the quickest way there, anyway."
...
The three agents got into the warehouse through an open skylight and abandoned their jetpacks where they landed. They immediately spotted Doofenshmirtz standing on a stool over by a makeshift wooden stage. He was holding one end of a banner.
"Hey!" called Apollo.
Doofenshmirtz turned his head and gasped when he spotted the three agents. "The Monoteam! Quick could you hand me that staple gun right over there?"
Perry fetched the staple gun from the workbench and handed it to Doofenshmirtz, who used it to fasten the other end of the banner onto the wall. "Ah, thank you."
""Happy Birthday, Vanessa"?" read Mavis.
"Yes, it's my daughter Vanessa's birthday!" Doofenshmirtz's face was glowing with happiness. "I try to throw her a party every year, look."
He pulled out a roll of pictures and showed them to the agents. Each picture showed Vanessa on each of her birthdays, at an excessively girly party each time. Vanessa did not look happy in any of the pictures.
"Look, I know we usually go about our daily battle of good versus evil, but instead, could you maybe help me set up the party for my little girl?" pleaded Doofenshmirtz. "Please?"
Perry glanced up at Mavis and Apollo. "What do you guys think?"
"I think if nothing else, I want to do something nice for Vanessa," said Mavis. "Apollo?"
"I like decorating," was all Apollo said.
"Count us in, then. I'll go blow up some balloons," said Mavis, spotting a pile of them in the corner.
"I'll make the punch," Apollo offered.
"Ooh, I'll decorate the cake!" Doofenshmirtz said eagerly.
Perry glanced around the room and spotted a glitterball sitting nearby. "I guess I'll... put up the disco ball?"
Doofenshmirtz beamed like an excited child. "Great! With all four of us, we'll be done in no time!"
...
Sure enough, it didn't take long for everything to be ready. Apollo had finished making the punch, and now Mavis found herself sitting in a giant pile of pink and purple balloons.
"This is the most female-gendered party ever," she remarked quietly.
Doofenshmirtz sat down heavily on one of the chairs. "Ooh, that was exhausting. Ah, I have one last surprise for our lovely guest."
He headed over to the stage, which was blocked by a purple curtain. "This will be the finale of Vanessa's party: the world's largest firecracker!"
He unveiled a giant rocket, with fireworks and pinwheels tied to it.
"All we need now is a victim to be tied to the rocket so they'll explode up in the sky in a grand display!" Doofenshmirtz turned to Perry. "So... here's the awkward part. Uh..."
Mavis happened to glance over at them and saw that Doofenshmirtz had tied Perry to the rocket with a pink bow.
"And when I say "awkward," I mean for you, not so much for me," the evil scientist finished."
"Oh, come on," sighed Mavis. "Perry, what do you want us to do?"
Perry just shrugged, so Mavis took that to mean he had a plan.
At that moment, the door opened and Vanessa Doofenshmirtz herself walked in.
Doofenshmirtz, who had procured some party hats from somewhere, waved his arms excitedly. "Surprise, baby girl! Happy sweet 16th birthday, my little Vanessa!"
Vanessa groaned and buried her face in her hands. "Oh, not again...!"
Doofenshmirtz hurried over to her and tied a party hat onto her head. "Come on in, come on in. Check the place out. I decorated it all myself! Well, mostly."
"Mostly, it was us," said Apollo, sounding a little downtrodden.
Mavis just shrugged from where she was sitting among a pile of pink and purple balloons.
"Ooh, wait until you see this!" Not hearing his daughter's protests, Doofenshmirtz hurried over to the stage and unveiled the giant firecracker. "And now, without further adieu, the grand finale!"
Vanessa blinked. "What, a big firecracker?"
Doofenshmirtz shook his head. "Oh, no. Perry the Platypus tied to a big firecracker. Together we will launch our nemesis into the sky!"
"He's YOUR nemesis!" Vanessa snapped back.
"Oh, and I also took the liberty of going through your address book and inviting all your little friends!" Doofenshmirtz was still smiling widely, apparently oblivious to his daughter's true feelings. "Including a nice fella named Johnny. He had hearts by his name." He grinned teasingly at her. "I think I know what that means."
"You did what?!" yelped Vanessa. "I don't want them to see this! I'm a teenager. This... This is for a little girl! Don't you know me at all?!"
She stormed off to one of the tables and sat down, clearly annoyed.
After a moment, Mavis approached her and offered her a black balloon she had managed to find in the pack.
Vanessa stared at it for a moment, then snorted. "My own dad doesn't know me. What kind of teenage girl would like a party like this?"
"I guess I would when I was fourteen, maybe." Mavis sat down in a chair opposite Vanessa. "Look, I know it's really frustrating that he keeps doing this year after year, but he really only has the best of intentions. All he wants is to make you happy."
Vanessa's expression softened, but only for a second. "Yeah, well, I'd be a lot happier if he actually listened to me and tried to understand what it is I like. Because THIS?" She gestured angrily at the warehouse around her. "This is NOT it."
Mavis fell silent, unable to come up with further words to comfort her friend.
"Guys, Perry and Doof are fighting!" Apollo's alarmed voice sounded suddenly. "What do we do?"
"Just leave them to it," Mavis called back. "It'll be fine."
After a moment, Apollo screeched, "The rocket's going off!"
Mavis whirled round to find Doofenshmirtz, his hand stuck in the ropes around the rocket, struggling to free himself while the rocket counted down from five.
She and Vanessa dived under the table, while Apollo did the same on the other side of the room.
The teens held their ears as the rocket deafeningly took off, with a screaming Doofenshmirtz tied to it.
When Mavis was brave enough to emerge, she saw that the blast had transformed the pink, overly girly decorations into more gothy ones. "Whoa."
Vanessa crawled out next to her, staring at the new look of the warehouse. "Wow..."
"Whoa," came a voice from the doorway.
Vanessa and Mavis spun round to find a group of Vanessa's friends entering the warehouse. The boy at the head seemed to be the "Johnny" that Doofenshmirtz had mentioned.
"This is, like, the coolest-looking party ever," he said in awe. "Hey, Vanessa. Did you do all this yourself?"
"Well, actually, my dad put it together." Vanessa gave the three secret agents a smile. "With some help from Perry the Platypus and friends. Thank you, guys!"
Mavis and Perry both tipped their fedoras to her at the same time.
As the group soared away on their jetpacks, Mavis noticed a concert going on below her.
"Oh my gosh, that's Love Handel!" she gasped. "Love Handel is back! Apollo, follow me!"
She soared down to a spot on the roof of a building overlooking the concert venue. Discarding her jetpack, she rushed to the edge of the roof and stared out, already starting to sway to the music.
Apollo appeared next to her, his face lit up with a wide smile. "Gosh... They're so amazing. You know, we did something really nice today, didn't we? We helped Doof throw the best party ever for Vanessa."
"We really did," agreed Mavis happily.
The two held each other in silence for a while, just soaking up the music.
"I think it's time we had our first kiss," whispered Mavis.
Apollo laughed softly. "I agree."
After a moment, they turned to each other and closed their eyes. As soon as their lips met, Apollo drew Mavis closer to him, relaxing into her embrace.
Mavis couldn't help a giggle as the two drew apart. "That was the best kiss I've ever had."
Apollo said nothing as he again pulled her closer, resting his head on top of hers. "I don't say this very often, but this was absolutely a perfect day."
"I agree." Mavis sighed happily. "Completely agree. The only thing that would make things better is-."
As if on cue, Doofenshmirtz's rocket exploded into fireworks above them.
"-that," finished Mavis with a grin. "Poor Doof."
"He'll be fine; he blows up all the time," Apollo chuckled. He gave Mavis a kiss on top of her head. "Ah, I wish this moment could last forever."
"Shush, then maybe it will."
Apollo fell silent with a smile.
There was nobody he would rather go nowhere with than her.