~o~o~o~o~o~o~
Dr. Doofenshmirtz watched the platypus-now-turned-human hurry out the door without so much as a goodbye or an "I'm sorry for the lies."
It was very off-putting. The man cursed himself for how heart-broken he actually felt. Of course, the one person he hated, and the one person he'd really grown to see as a friend, were actually just one and the same. That was just his life, wasn't it. Who could he really trust?
Doofenshmirtz kicked his Worst-Fear-Inator, then cursed himself again when he stubbed his toe. He danced around the room for a minute, muttering under his breath.
To be honest, he wasn't entirely sure what had happened in the last hour. So Perry's worst fear was.. another evil scientist? One that named himself as Dr. Tecton. The name actually sounded rather familiar. Now curious, the doctor sat down at his computer and typed out the name.
Articles upon articles came up, all with headlines titled something like Man Destroys Seattle or Seattle in Complete Ruin After Alleged Terrorist Attack.
Had Perry fought this man? What had he done to him?
Doofenshmirtz closed the tab and looked around at the mess in his apartment. He guessed he might as well start cleaning up.
The evil scientist spent the next hour trying very hard not to think about the man with the teal hair and the weird piercings, but his face kept popping up in his brain from time to time. Those memories, their hang out, the blushing looks Michael would give him from across the table.. those were all fake. Lies.
Lies. Lies. Lies.
Heinz wanted to point the blame at his nemesis, curse him until he could no longer speak. His nemesis had deliberately lied and manipulated him and his emotions. It was stupid Perry the Platypus's fault.
Or maybe.. maybe he was just unlovable. Maybe he didn't deserve anyone, not even his own nemesis.
With a sigh, Heinz turned on the TV and returned to the cheese horror movies he'd been watching, hoping to forget his dramatic thoughts.
About another hour later, there was a knock at his door. Heinz paused the TV, confused. He wasn't expecting Charlene, and it was too late for the usual solicitors to come by, trying to sell him something.
Grumbling, Heinz got up and opened the door.
"Hello?.."
Michael. Or Perry. Whatever his name was, he was standing in front of Heinz's door. However, he was barely recognizable, as blood was streaming down his entire face, dripping onto his shoulders.
Dr. D. was about to speak, when the man's eyes rolled to the back of his head, and he began to fall. Heinz caught him by his chest, and awkwardly pulled him inside, hoping the blood hadn't dripped where someone could see.
"Vanessa! Vanessa! Help!"
He managed to drag Perry to the couch before his daughter came walking into the room.
"What, Dad, I'm trying to study for.. Agh!" Vanessa gasped at the limp figure on the couch. "Dad.. who?.."
"It's Perry! I know, he's a human Perry, it's very confusing, I promise it's him! Just, help me close up his wounds. Get me some rubbing alcohol and a bunch of old t-shirts from my closet. Hurry!"
Vanessa's eyes widened, but she made no other comments. She darted into the back room and was back with several pieces of clothing. She ripped them into pieces as he applied the alcohol to the man's wounds. Then, together, they wrapped his shoulders and arms with the t-shirts.
The majority of the man's wounds were around his face, however. Doofenshmirtz carefully wrapped a cloth around his forehead, then proceeded to apply bandages to the man's cheeks. It didn't look like there were any bullets or anything. Thank goodness.
Once they were finished, they stood back and watched him breath. At least he was breathing fine. It didn't seem like he had any broken bones or internal bleeding. Doofenshmirtz considered calling the hospital, but something told him Perry would be very upset about that. Should he alert O.W.C.A.?
Apparently he had voiced this last thought out loud because Vanessa dramatically shook her head. "No, don't. I mean.. It's a little weird that Perry came here, instead of going to the agency, right? There must be a reason."
Doofenshmirtz nodded. There must be. Maybe it had to do with the mysterious Dr. Tecton.
"I guess we just have to leave him here." Heinz sighed. "I don't think we can safely move him at this point."
"No, probably not." Vanessa shrugged. "Do you want me to help you keep watch?"
"That's okay, Pumpkin. I don't think I was going to sleep much tonight, anyway."
"Everything okay, Dad?"
"Yeah, Sweetie. It's just been a long day. I'll let you know when he wakes up."
~o~o~o~o~o~o~
Perry groaned. He felt like he'd been run over by a train.
The room was dark, but oddly familiar. Perry opened his eyes, taking in small details as his vision focused. He examined his arms, which he been tightly wrapped up. They hurt like hell. And his head.. ugh. It felt like his skull was being forced into a kick drum.
The agent managed to sit up just a bit. He focused his vision even more, and his eyes landed on Doofenshmirtz's Worst-Fear-Inator.
Ah. Now he remembered.
Dr. Tecton. Dr. Gevaarlijk. The flash drive. The pain. Doofenshmirtz.
"Hey, how are you feeling?"
Doofenshmirtz was now standing over him, his brow knit with concern. Perry flinched, but kept his gaze focused on the man. He had never noticed how soft the doctor's hair had looked before. Interesting.
Perry quickly shushed those thoughts away. He groaned and laid back down. "I'm sorry."
"Look, I'm still mad at you." Heinz sighed. "But don't worry about that right now. Just rest and get better. Let me know if you need anything."
Perry wanted to argue, and ask lots of questions, but his exhaustion was quickly taking over. Closing his eyes, he decided to heed the man's advice.
~o~o~o~o~o~o~
When Perry woke again, the pain was even worse than earlier. He let out a frustrated sigh and lifted his arms to touch his head. It was hot to the touch, and very sore.
When he opened his eyes, he noticed it was pitch black outside. What time was it?
"You okay?" Doofenshmirtz. Had the man been watching over him the whole time? Perry managed to nod, closing his eyes again.
"I have some pain reliever. I think you should take some. Unless.. you aren't allergic to anything, are you?"
Perry shook his head and gratefully held out his hand. The doctor poured two pills out and handed him a glass of water. Slowly, the man sat up and swallowed the pills. He downed the whole glass of water. He hadn't realized how dehydrated he felt.
"Do you want any more water?"
"I'm okay. Thank you."
Perry was already laying down and falling asleep again. He immediately felt the pain begin to melt away, and it allowed his body to relax. He fell into a dreamless sleep, happy to forget the real world for a little while.
~o~o~o~o~o~o~
Doofenshmirtz watched his nemesis begin to fall asleep once more. The man looked so peaceful when he slept, nothing like the defensive, violent platypus or the stoic, guarded human he'd grown to know.
Vanessa snuck in at about ten o'clock and gave him a goodnight kiss. She handed him a bowl of grits and a piece of toast.
"You haven't eaten."
"Thanks, Sweetheart." He smiled, taking a bite of the grits and sighing contentedly.
"How's he doing?"
"He's still in a lot of pain, but he just took some medicine. Hopefully it'll help."
"Alright, Dad. Please wake me if you get tired, okay?"
He nodded. "Thank you."
He watched Vanessa slip out of the room, and slowly ate the food she'd made him. It caused his body to become heavy and tired, but his mind was still wide awake, racing.
He had so many questions to ask. He felt like yelling at the man and also hugging him. What was he supposed to do with all these confusing emotions? Usually he just dealt with them by coming up with some crazy inator that would fix the problem for him. But that solution wasn't going to work this time..
The man didn't even realize when his shoulders drooped and he drifted off.