~o~o~o~o~o~o~
"Hey Ferb, I know what we're going to do today! Let's make the biggest, baddest, most awesome arcade ever!"
The backyard was almost completely covered in blueprints and construction tools as Perry laid out on the lawn, watching the boys work. Candace had just disappeared into the house after a particularly loud and threatening rant, but her brothers didn't seem to mind, simply continuing with what they were doing.
While the boys were distracted, Perry slipped away to answer a call from headquarters. Truthfully, he'd been very restless and unable to relax, too worried about Vanessa to do much else. He pleaded with whatever god was listening that O.W.C.A. had found something.
Perry landed in his lair and opened the message from Monogram.
"Good morning, Agent P." The man coughed. "You're the first I've contacted. We managed to find a last known location of both Vanessa Doofenshmirtz and Todd Blood-Pudding, and follow them to the outskirts of Danville. It seemed to be a dead end, but one of our agents was able to maximize an image from the security cameras and make out this card."
An image appeared on the screen. It was blurry, but Perry could just barely make out the words "Expansion Inc." Confused, the agent looked back up at the major.
"Trust me, we didn't know what it meant either. Turns out it used to be an old laboratory that the government defunded years ago. The building was put up for sale, and was scheduled to be demolished, but was bought out by another company just last year. We don't know much about this said company, but there have been quite a few big evil scientist names tied to it.
I'm sure you're aware that Todd Blood-Pudding is one of the known attackers from our case last week, as were most of the faces we could make out through the security cameras. As you can imagine, the fact that they gathered somewhere and have not returned is worrying. We are planning to infiltrate. I've assigned four other agents to this case. Meet them at headquarters."
Perry's heart was thumping out of his chest. Hopefully, they weren't too late.
The platypus didn't know the other agents very well, other than the fact that he'd seen them around headquarters. They all saluted him when he arrived. Carl was waiting for them, with an array of new gadgets in front of him.
"Welcome, everyone." He squeaked. "I've updated our standard blasters. They now have a double feature which allows you to use them as a stun gun. One shot, and it will render your target unable to move."
The agents grabbed them.
"Because the building you will be infiltrating is made of brick, I've also added a feature which will make it easier to crack through. You just push this button, which releases a specifically designed hammer made at the end. It will weaken the brick, so you can break through. Any questions?"
Neither of the agents made a noise.
"Alright then. The location has already been plugged into your hover-cars. Good luck!"
Perry felt the weight of the new blaster in his hand. The hammer in the back made it a bit heavier to carry, but it wasn't too hard of an adjustment. He pocketed the device and ran out with the other agents into one of the company hover-cars.
To Perry's shock, the agents landed right outside the same office building he'd encountered when he'd tried to attack his evil self and been beaten. He gulped. This could either go really well or really badly. Should he warn them?
However, the agent didn't have much time to ponder the situation. His team was already skimming up the building, following the same simple infiltration procedure that he'd used to first time he'd visited this place.
The window that Perry had crashed through the first time had been repaired. One by one, the agents used their updated blasters to crash through a window and pop into the top floor. Perry pulled out his x-ray pen to take a look around the building. He couldn't see any figures moving around. Puzzled, the agent followed his team through the air vents.
Once they reached a couple floors down, the group split, hoping to cover more ground. Perry elected to continue downwards, hoping to find the room he'd spied on the first time. When he finally found it, it was completely empty. Perry jumped down and began surveying the room. There was simply no one. Was this another of Dr. Gevaarlijk's tricks?
Agent P held his blaster in the offensive position, hoping to find some sign of movement. However, after five minutes, when nothing jumped out at him, he moved on to another room.
The agents looked for what felt like hours, before Perry received an alert from Agent Timmy the Turtle. It flashed as a code black. Dreading what he'd found, Perry darted as fast as he could to his teammate's location.
What he saw made his body go cold.
Vanessa Doofenshmirtz was on the ground, white as a sheet, unmoving. She was dressed in her usual clothes, but they were ripped and wrinkled, as if they'd been forced back on her body. An agent was checking for a pulse and performing CPR. Perry stood paralyzed.
Please, please, please, just be okay. Hang on, Vanessa.
When O.W.C.A.'s emergency medical truck arrived, the agents had found all of the other children, including Todd Blood-Pudding, who were all in a similar state. One by one, the medical team transported them into the ambulance and began attaching them to an assortment of cords and devices. Perry jumped into the truck with Vanessa, watching the doctors work. He touched her forehead. It was ice cold.
~o~o~o~o~o~o~
After about an hour of worrying, Carl stepped into the waiting room and put a hand on Perry's shoulder.
"Hey, Agent P. The doctors are doing everything they can. They were able to restart her heart, thankfully."
Perry opened his beak. He wanted to scream. "They still have to do some tests." He continued. "All we know is that she is going to pull through. So that's good news, right?"
The agent nodded. Right now, he could barely focus on Carl's attempt to console him. His mind was still racing with guilt, confusion, and most apparent of all, anger, though at himself or Dr. Gevaarlijk, he wasn't sure.
Carl handed him a cell phone. "Is there anyway you can call Dr. Doofenshmirtz? We need his consent for the tests to be done. And I think it'd be easier to hear coming from you."
Perry wasn't exactly sure what the intern meant by that. Surely he would be the last person Doofenshmirtz would want to hear this information from, but he shrugged his shoulders and picked up the phone. Heinz was going to be a hectic mess. He just hoped the man could understand what needed to be done now that she was found.
As soon as the text was sent, the cell phone was ringing. Perry picked it up, and cringed when Heinz's loud, worried voice carried through the other line.
"I just got your text! You found her? Where is she? Is she okay? I need to see her?.." The man rambled on and on. Perry sighed and sent him another text, giving him O.W.C.A.'s medical ward location. The man wasted no time in grabbing his keys and heading out the door.
When the man arrived, he was checked by security before finally being let in. By this point, Major Monogram had arrived at the scene, and did his best to control the man and explain why he couldn't see his daughter at this exact moment.
"I don't understand!" Doofenshmirtz cried, exasperated. "Why can't I see her?"
"She's still unstable." Carl filled in. "We aren't quite sure what caused this amount of trauma. She's currently in a coma."
Doofenshmirtz put his head in his hands and started sobbing. Francis and Carl, clearly very uncomfortable, offered him a box of tissues. The man plopped down in the waiting room, sobbing into the tissues and murmuring to himself.
Despite his continuously cold, professional expression, Perry's heart hurt for the mental state of the man. He looked so lost and panicked. He didn't even notice Monogram and Carl exit the building, leaving the two of them alone. Perry knew there were security cameras watching their every move, but he felt a strange urge to comfort the man somehow.
"Oh, Perry the Platypus." The man sobbed. "I never thought this would happen to my baby girl. Maybe Charlene's right. Maybe I am a horrible parent. And now my baby girl is hurt and they don't know what wrong and she's going to die.."
The platypus wished he could have been able to use his words in this moment, but there was nothing he could do. Instead, he set his hand on the doctor's shoulders, trying to at least communicate that he was there for him.
The doctor sobbed for what seemed like hours, while Perry sat there next to him, wishing he could hug the man, but refusing to. Finally, the doors swung open, and a young nurse stepped forward.
"Dr. Doofenshmirtz? You may see your daughter, Sir. But I must ask you to empty all your pockets and put all items into this box for safe keeping."
Heinz wasted no time in grabbing his wallet and watch and dumping them into the bucket. Perry followed him to her room, wanting to see her as well. The doctors let them both step into the room, warning that she was unresponsive and still unpredictable.
When Heinz saw his daughter, he started sobbing once more, and reached out to run his hand gently down her cheeks, repeating various sentences in German. Perry's heart dropped. She looked so lifeless, so cold.
He made a vow to himself in that moment, that he would find her attacker, and make them all pay. Even if that attacker ended up being his evil self.