~o~o~o~o~o~
Perry was in hot pursuit, and his blood boiled.
A truck carrying thousands of stolen dollars was flying down a vacant highway, while gunshots were spewing from the passenger seat. Somehow the agent managed to avoid them for the first few minutes, using the speed of his motorcycle to zip in and out of the truck's blind spots.
Once the shooter took a moment to reload, Perry pressed on the accelerator and caught up, neck and neck, with the truck on the driver's side. Smirking, the platypus pelleted his grappling hook and latched onto the roof. His motorcycle crashed onto the side of the road as he flung onto the vehicle.
Using a blowtorch buried in his fedora, Perry forced an entranceway from above and landed in the backseat.
The armed criminal immediately lurched backwards, startled, but Perry was faster, jumping onto his face and brutally slapping him with his tail. The gun slipped out of his hand and hit the floor.
The driver grabbed him and tried to pull him off his partner. Perry bit his hand in protest. The truck suddenly swerved and jolted Perry into the backseat once more.
The second criminal recovered and shot. Perry ducked, but the bullet still scraped his arm.
Perry whined in pain as hot blood ran down his side. The criminal cackled and raised his weapon once more. Enraged, the agent pulled out his grappling hook and struck the shooter in the forehead. The truck dangerously swerved again.
White pain caused his vision to go blurry, and the agent clutched his arm. He could only hear the driver desperately trying to pull the truck back into control. Perry grabbed the front seat and forcefully lurched forwards with the taser. Just as he was about to land his final attack, the driver screamed, and the truck ran into the side of a mountain.
Perry blacked out.
~o~o~o~o~o~o~
"Agent P! Guys, he's awake!"
The lights were blinding. Perry blinked, seeing nothing but swirling shapes. For a minute he thought he was at the Flynn-Fletchers, but upon trying to move, hot pain burst all the way up his right side. Perry groaned.
"Try not to move, Agent P." A voice spoke gruffly. "You've been through a lot."
Perry opened his eyes wider, and finally focused on Carl and Major Monogram. He blinked, confused, until memories began to flood back. The truck, the chase, the money…
He sat up and immediately regretted it. "Agent P!" Carl tutted. "Everything's okay. It's lucky we were able to get to you as quickly as we did. Without my ingenious, completely homemade tracking device.."
"That's enough, Carl! Can't you see he's exhausted?"
"Sorry, Sir."
Perry opened his beak, in a questioning expression. "Ah, no need to worry." Major Monogram chucked. "The criminals took a worse hit than you did. They are currently on their way to state prison. You've saved the day again, Agent P. Well done."
Perry blinked and laid back down. Now that his boss mentioned it, he was exhausted. His world diminished into a blurry haze of darkness and beeping noises, and before he knew it, he was out.
~o~o~o~o~o~o~
A loud clap of thunder brought the agent awake again. He jumped and immediately grabbed his fedora. His arm spasmed and the platypus bit back a groan.
He was still in O.W.C.A.'s medical ward. The door to his room was shut, and the window curtain's closed, but shadows were dancing at the threshold of his door. He pulled the monitors off his skin and forced himself to inspect the room.
Were those voices?
He couldn't make out what they were saying amidst the pounding rain. All he could tell was that the noise seemed to be getting violently closer.
Perry retrieved his taser from a little cabinet and tiptoed with his back against the wall, his bandaged right arm held gingerly against his chest.
Suddenly, the door swung open, and Perry squeaked, jumping back in shock. The taser slid out of his hand and flew across the floor. Light flooded into the room.
A figure rushed over the help him up. For a moment, Perry held up his good hand in defense, but was quickly relieved when he recognized the face.
It was only Lyla. Lyla Lolliberry. An agent. A friend.
"Hey, it's okay!" She smiled shakily. "It's just me. What were you doing, you dork? You're supposed to be in bed!"
Perry chattered grumpily.
"It is not too early in the morning!" She scoffed. "You should be thanking me. I'm here to bust you out. Hospitals suck, don't they, eh, Perry?"
Perry lifted an eyebrow but didn't argue. He grabbed his things and followed the girl through the darkened hallways. They snuck out the back door, where Lyla had parked her car. O.W.C.A. would be notified of his disappearance, but he doubted the major would do anything about it. It wasn't often that Lyla got to visit.
Rain washed over his body as they bolted for the safety of the car. Once inside, Lyla brushed her hair out of her face and laughed. Perry couldn't help but endearingly roll his eyes. It was nice to know someone that didn't mind the rain.
Lyla rolled the car away from O.W.C.A. and drove across the street to an empty gas station. She shut the car off and let the lights dim. Perry watched the stretching arms of morning shoot glowing pink lights all across the sky.
"Do you want to change?" Lyla inquired.
Perry glanced at her for a second before nodding.
The girl turned away and snickered. "I really hope you're wearing something this time."
The agent stuck out his tongue, but only because she was already covering her eyes and wouldn't see it. With a deep breath, he held up his watch and released a small microchip from the back. Instantly, his platypus body began to melt away, and reform into that of a man. The DNA scramble didn't scare him as much as it used to; the feeling now was rather tingly and familiar.
"Is it safe now?" Lyla laughed.
Perry sighed, his vocal chords already feeling very tight and uncomfortable. He coughed. "You're.. such a dork."
Lyla turned to look at him and smiled. "Nice black t-shirt. Do you ever wear anything different?"
"I have one with a skull on it."
The two of them drove off into the sunset. Perry wished he could say 'the end', but the agents knew better than to think evil for going to rest, even for just one day. There would always be another villain, another threat.
"How's your arm? Did you want more pain medication?"
"It's fine." Perry tried not to touch it as he cradled it in his lap. It hurt like hell, but he wasn't going to tell her that.
Lyla murmured something intelligible. She obviously didn't believe him.
"How's your latest mission?" Perry blurted, trying to move the conversation away from him.
Lyla rolled her eyes. "Oh, you know, another day in the life. Although I think I finally got a sweet new lead into this mysterious gang that's been crossing the borders and selling illegal weapons."
"It's still unresolved?"
"I'm not the only agent in C.O.W.C.A." Lyla chided. "You think I wouldn't come and make sure you were okay?"
"I'm not a child." Perry muttered. "What was that?" Lyla laughed. "I heard whine."
Perry sighed, earning a victorious glance from his companion. The two lapsed into a momentary silence, until Lyla turned to him again.
"Do you want check in on your host family?"
Perry shrugged. Honestly, his life with his host family had been rather sporadic. Ever since the incident with the 2nd Dimension, dealing with the repercussions of wiping their memories had been difficult. Everything was exactly the same as it was, and that bothered him. He'd begun spending more and more time away from his host home. With enough time, his family had finally decided he was off chasing squirrels and butterflies, and stopped worrying, since he always came back one day or another.
Lyla nodded in response. "If you're sure."
Summer morning danced in full swing as the agents passed into downtown Danville. Perry could feel exhaustion flooding his body again, but his instinct kept sending shivers down his spine. Looking in the rear view mirror, the agent was sure he'd seen that same car for almost ten minutes now.
"Turn here." Perry snapped.
"Eh? Your place is still a few blocks away.."
"Please?"
Lyla shrugged and did as he said. Perry kept his eye on the unfamiliar car, and watched with held breath as it slowed. However, it didn't follow them. Perry stared as the car fell farther and farther into the background. He took a deep breath.
"You okay, partner?"
Perry nodded. "Yeah. Sorry."
He dropped the subject and tried to ignore his paranoia, but he couldn't shake the weird feeling from the pit of his stomach. That car had definitely been following them.