Author's Notes: This is pre-Doof, from the fedora/ballgown/you 'verse. (recap: Perry is trans, half brothers with Lawrence due to an affair, Lawrence's parents took him in after he was was kicked out of the family he was raised with.)
(We're also pretending this is set in the late 2010's and not in the 2007ish era the show is set in)
"Good evening, Agent P."
Agent Perry Fletcher nods a greeting. It had been a good day today- he had helped the boys out in building a giant pirate ship. (It had unfortunately crashed, but the boys had loved having him around. Even Candace had joined in the fun, since Perry was supervising.)
He had been getting ready for bed when his watch had gone off.
"Today, we need you to team up with an agent from COWCA. That's the Canadian Organization Without a Cool Acronym."
Perry's pen pauses over his notebook.
Monogram continues. "The American ambassador to Canada has been kidnapped from his embassy by the Canadian evil scientist Doctor Grim. Your job will be to rescue the ambassador, Bruce Heyman. Your partner will defeat the scientist."
Perry raises his hand.
"Yes, Agent P?"
Who is this Canadian agent? he signs.
"Ah, yes. You will be working with-"
The Major is interrupted by a face on the screen. A woman, around Perry's age. She looks familiar. Is she..? No, that's impossible.
She waves at Perry. "'Ello there!" Her accent is distinctly Canadian.
"As I was saying, before I was interrupted," the Major shoots a glare at the agent on the screen, "you will be working with Agent Lemur."
"Oh, he's a friend," Agent L says. "He can know my name. My name's Lyla, Lyla Lolliberry."
Perry's eyes go wide.
"Agent P? Is something wrong?"
Perry shakes his head. After a second he adds, My name's Perry Fletcher, being sure to spell out his name. Hopefully Lyla still knows sign.
Apparently she does. "Nice to meet you, Perry."
Perry nods. Likewise. Lyla waves, then her image disappears from the screen.
"Agent P, you will meet Agent L at the Grand Portage-Pigeon River crossing in Minnesota. Paperwork for your travel is in your car. Good luck, Agent P!"
Perry salutes. The screen winks to black.
Lyla Lolliberry. Even before she introduced herself, Perry had recognized her.
His half-sister (who had, unsurprisingly, been treated much better than he ever had). The only person who had ever been on his side at home.
Obviously, she hadn't recognized him. Should he tell her?
Yes, yes he should.
After the mission.
Perry pulls up to the Grand Portage-Pigeon River checkpoint in his car. Obviously, he's not flying right now, so the glamour is (his personal favorite) a black Mazda Miata with the top down.
A bored-looking customs agent leans out of a booth. "Name?" she asks.
Perry hands her his pre-written note, along with his driver's license, passport, and vehicle identification.
"Anything to declare?"
Perry shakes his head.
"Enjoy your stay in Canada."
The gate lifts, and Perry drives through. A few minutes down the road, there's a Denny's. Lyla's car is in the parking lot.
Perry pulls in and parks, putting the top up and changing the glamour to a much more conservative Camry. Even in the best of towns, it's best not to draw suspicion.
He slides into a booth directly opposite from Lyla, who's finishing a plate of pancakes. How was the game? he signs.
"We lost, seventeen to three." Perry relaxes, now that he's sure that it's her.
Well, he would know her anywhere. It's just OWCA policy to check.
"You want anything?" she asks. Perry shakes his head. "I've got a big thermos of coffee in my car. Got a feeling we're going to be up all night."
inwardly, Perry groans. He's managed to avoid pulling all-nighters since training. Well, if the fate of democracy rides on this, so be it.
Lyla flags down a waiter and pays, and the two leave.
"Get anything you need out of your car, we're taking mine."
Perry grabs a few bits of tech out of the trunk, then presses a button on the key fob. The car shrinks down to the size of a matchbox car, and he puts it in his pocket.
Lyla sighs. "You guys down south have the coolest tech."
Don't you know it, he signs.
She laughs and unlocks her car. It's an unassuming Honda Accord, although Perry's certain that her glamour of choice is much cooler. "I'm still driving. You're running the tracker."
Where are we headed?
"The ransom note calls for the money to be delivered at an address about an hour away from the US embassy to Canada. Normally, that's a fifteen hour drive, but my ride's got some modifications, so we'll be there in about two. From there, we can pick up the trail."
Perry checks his watch as he puts gets in the passenger seat. It's only ten PM. Hopefully, if things go right, he'll be back to the house before the boys wake up.
As Perry buckles his seat belt, Lyla gestures at the various tech lining the dashboard. "I've got that tracker checking security cameras all over Canada for his face. Haven't gotten any hits yet."
Lyla drives a bit down the open road until there's nobody else around, then presses a few buttons. The car lifts off the ground, and the glamour tweaks the car into a convertible. She puts the top down, then leans back.
"There's really nothing like flying with the top down on a warm night."
Perry grins. Now you're speaking my language.
They've been flying for about an hour and a half now. The moon has fully risen at this point.
"You know, Perry, you remind me a lot of someone."
Perry looks up from the tracker, where he's flipping through various feeds from across Canada. Who?
"I had a sister, when I was younger. Her name was Perrine." If Perry had even an inkling of doubt before, this settles it. How many people are named Perrine?
Lyla continues. "I lost track of her because my parents threw her out when she was thirteen. I don't know where she went, or why they threw her out."
And...I remind you of her?
"Well, she was mute, so she talked in sign, like you. And she had the same color of teal hair that you have."
Perry churrs.
"Yeah, and she made that same noise all the time too! Do all mute people do it?"
How is this even possible? She's taken two plus two and gotten X. He's dropped every hint he can at this point, so he just shrugs.
"I wonder what she's doing right now?"
Well, based on statistics, probably sleeping.
Lyla laughs. "Yeah, you're right."
Perry keeps flipping through feeds, like the world's most uninteresting TV programming. Convenience store. Apartment. Office building. Apartment. A long moment of silence passes.
"I wish I had kept in contact with her, really. Mom and Dad disowned me when I revealed I was engaged to a girl. Coulda used some advice." She laughs harshly. "Why am I telling you my whole life story?"
You know, if they disowned you for that, you're really better out than in.
"Man, you don't say much, but when you do..."
People say I'm insightful.
"I agree. So, what's your life story?"
Perry has to think about that for a moment. What should he tell?
Well, I was homeless and on my own in middle school and part of high school, long story, until my half-brother found me and took me in. Joined JOWCA for the scholarships, realized I actually wanted to be an agent, the rest is history.
"Huh. Wait, did you say you were homeless? In middle school?"
Yeah. Lawrence, my half-brother, he found me at the library. He was at Danville U at the time. We became good friends, then he realized I was homeless, so he took me to his parents house. His dad...recognized me.
"Man, that sucks. If you don't mind me asking, why?"
What, why I was homeless? Lyla nods. In the battle between my parent's conservative Christianity and their trans kid, the Christianity won.
"Ouch. Same thing with the Christianity here. Wait, I have been using your preferred name and pronouns and stuff, right?"
Yeah. Thanks for checking though.
"Okay, good." She pauses. "Man, it's kinda weird how similar we are."
It is, isn't it.
"Yeah. It is. On that note, do you like Love Handel?"
The car is somewhere over the Great Lakes, the sun well on its way up. The mission had been a success, even if it had taken a while. The ambassador is safe and sound in his embassy, the evil scientist is in prison. And Perry only needed a few stitches. (Giant robots with swords are annoying.)
Perry yawns. It's almost 9 AM, and he still has to get back to Danville after this.
Maybe he can get some sleep on the way home. You good if I take a nap? Perry asks.
"Yeah, go ahead. You've earned it."
Perry grins. He did grab the ambassador from over a lake of lava, keeping him from being burnt alive. It did mean getting cut pretty bad on his forearm by the robot, (that's where the stitches are), but it was worth it.
He leans back, letting the exhaustion of the day finally claim him.
When he wakes up again, Lyla is shaking him.
"Wake up, sleepyhead."
Perry blinks his eyes open. They're parked out in the middle of an empty parking lot. The air is still somewhat chilly, but it's getting warmer. Perry gets out of the car and stretches his stiff muscles.
"I suppose this is where we part," she says, pulling some of the tech out of the trunk. It's a little singed from their earlier escapades, but otherwise fine.
It was nice working with you, Perry signs, accepting the equipment.
"Yeah, we make a pretty good team. If you ever need something done in Canada, you know who to call!"
I sure do. Perry pulls his car out of his pocket, then presses a button on the key fob. The car slowly starts to return to its normal size. This part always takes a while.
"Ah. Say, if you happen to ever run into a Perrine Lolliberry, or whatever last name she's going by, who's mute and has teal hair, you'll contact me, right?"
Perry grins. Now that you mention that, I might have something for you.
Perry pulls out his credentials from his back pocket. Behind his current card, he has all his old ones. All the way in the back is his first trainee card, the one from his JOWCA days.
The one that says Perrine Fletcher, with an F under that. Perry hands it to Lyla.
For a moment, Lyla's face is unreadable.
She looks up. "Wait...so my sister who's actually my brother was sitting there the whole time I was talking about how much you reminded me of my sister? And you're the same person?"
Well, that's one way of putting it, he signs, smiling. (Inwardly, he's sighing in relief.)
"Oh god, I've called you your old name that whole time! I'm so sorry," she exclaims.
It's okay, you didn't know, he signs. As an afterthought, he adds, although I dropped about a million hints.
Lyla laughs, then envelops him in a tight hug.
Perry's pretty sure she's crying, and he is too. It's been so long since he'd seen her. He's glad that she knows too.
Even if their tearful reunion is in the middle of an empty Walmart parking lot after rescuing a diplomat from an evil scientist.
Hey, who ever said Perry was normal?
Eventually, they separate.
"What are the odds that my brother would end up on the same mission as me?"
I don't know, but it happened.
"It certainly did."
In the background, his car honks.
"Oh, yeah, you should go. Hey, stay in contact this time, alright?"
Perry laughs. I will. Promise.
(Years later, when Perry gets married, Lyla and her wife are sitting in the front, right next to Lawrence and Linda.)