~o~o~o~o~o~o~ Major Monogram had assigned Perry a mission involving Doofenshmirtz, even though Perry was sure Doofenshmirtz wouldn't be up to anything much this week because of the recent events with Vanessa. And sure enough, when he popped down, Heinz and Vanessa were sitting at the kitchen table, drinking tea and talking.
Perry didn't disturb them. He didn't even announce his arrival, just watched them for a few minutes before sneaking away.
Vanessa was looking better than ever before. The girl finally had some color in her cheeks. And Heinz was looking better than he had in days, probably because he'd finally been getting enough sleep.
Once he sent a report to the major about Heinz's rather normal day, he set his hover-car's GPS west and settled back to watch the clouds pass him by.
Seattle was only a few hours trip by flying car. Perry entered a very dreary, rainy atmosphere when he arrived in the city. It still boggled him that he used to live in this place every single day and deal with it's naturally dismal mood. Maybe it really had contributed to his overarching depression throughout his childhood.
Perry continued through the city, eyes set for the mountains, unable to look at the sites below him. There were too many memories here that threatened to send his emotions over the top. So he pushed them as far back as he could, and focused on his purpose for coming.
His father's evil lair was hidden deep in the mountains, only accessed by the key he'd held onto for so many years. Perry could still remember the same path he used to find it, skimming along the mountain's side until he located the dip inside that marked the entrance.
Once Perry parked the car on a ledge, he jumped out and felt around the wall until his hands landed on the disguised key pad. He entered in the code, then inserted the key. Once turned, a huge metal door began to open from deep within the mountain's cave, letting him in. Perry walked inside, and let the door stay open for when Peter would eventually arrive. He clapped his hands, triggering the lights to turn on.
Perry released the microchip from his watch, turning himself into a human, and watched as the lair grew smaller and smaller. He couldn't help but chuckle to himself. The height difference was always so funny to him.
Perry stood there, paralyzed. This place gave him chills. The memories circled around him, attacking him all at once.
"Wow, it's been quite awhile, hasn't it?"
Perry spun around, weapon drawn, only to find Peter standing there, in his human form, smirking. The man's hair was shaved on both sides of his head, colored midnight black, with a mane of hair he left long swooped across the top of his head, colored with small strands of white. The man could literally swipe his hands across his head and achieve a perfect, wind-blown look. His skin was dusted tan, accented by the camo-colored clothes he wore. He had two full sleeve tattoos down his arms, and dog-tags around his neck. Perry still had no idea what they all meant.
Perry let out a sigh of relief and retracted his weapon. He motioned for the man to step forward, and closed the door.
Peter looked around at the empty room, hands in his pockets. "We had so many battles here, didn't we? All of which I won, if I remember correctly."
"Not true." Perry scoffed. "There were technically two battles that I won."
"What? You aren't seriously counting the time I was rushed to the hospital for an allergic reaction that I didn't even know existed?"
Perry laughed. "I still won."
"Unbelievable." Peter muttered under his breath, rolling his eyes. But it wasn't malicious; they were both smiling.
Yes, there were many, many memories in this building. Perry could still remember where he'd placed all kinds of traps for the panda bear years ago. Hopefully they were all deactivated. And he could also remember the very place where Peter had left a panda-shaped hole in his front wall.
"So, you said you had something here?"
Perry shrugged. "It's a safe place to meet. I burned almost all of my plans, but there were a few blueprints that I still kept around. Some of the weapons I created I was too proud of to destroy. Maybe we could build them, but update them to be stronger."
"It's a start." Peter sighed. "I'm sorry, I'm still not understanding about this evil twin you keep talking about. Who is he, and how does he exist, again?"
"Help me grab spare parts out of my hover-car, and I'll tell you."
As the two men unloaded Perry's vehicle, the agent explained the whole story again, trying to remember every detail. Peter listened carefully, asking a question here and there, before finally making the connection.
"So this person doesn't really exist? He's just an exaggerated version of your worst fear. Which is your evil self."
"Basically." Perry cringed. "It's lame, I know, but I.."
"You're not a monster, Doc." Peter sighed. "I know you've made some bad mistakes, but you've already more than made up for them, in my opinion. I believe you can defeat these demons you keep holding onto."
Perry let out a long breath as he set down the last box and began unrolling the dusty, slightly ripped blueprints. "I've been a better person, I know. But.. that doesn't mean that the evil in me just.. disappeared. It's still there. I can feel it. What if I lose control again, like I did that day.."
He trailed off as the memories flooded him. The headlines had been devastating. He remembered waking up from a particularly bad rage, to find that he'd gone way too far, and had unleashed armies of horrors onto the people of Seattle. The whole city had been torn apart, ruined, and destroyed. There were people running, crying, hurting, dying..
Peter snapped his fingers, pulling Perry from his horrific trance. "Hey." He spoke softly. "I know, it was a rough day. But you can't focus on those moments. Let's.. just focus on this, yeah? We have a world to save, remember?"
"Right." Perry sighed, pushing the memories away. "So my evil self recreated my own version of rocket boots. They're pretty high tech, but he is terrible at turning corners. I was thinking maybe we make boots with higher levels of control."
"Sounds good. Whoa.. what's this?"
Peter had pulled one of the blueprints from the bottom of the pile, and held it out to the light. "Is this a prototype for a real life light saber?"
Perry inwardly cringed. Unfortunately, he'd always been something of a Star Wars fan, and had spent years trying to come up with a way to create an actual light saber. The prototype was very close to working, but there were still a couple bugs to figure out.
"It's unfinished." Perry sighed. "I forgot all about it."
"Cool! Well, I guess we better get started."
The two agents dumped out the boxes of spare parts and began assembling pieces together. Peter had always been something of an amateur inventor. Perry had to correct him on a couple of simple instructions. But, it was still better than no help at all. The two worked in silence for awhile, enjoying the sounds of metal against metal.
"So. Heinz." Peter smirked, breaking the silence. "What's up with you two?"
"Nothing, ever since you so rudely barged into our nemesis-ship and tried to ruin my career." Perry snapped.
Peter blushed. "I said I was sorry. I didn't mean it. I had no idea he'd actually want to fight me again! I just wanted to see what you'd found in Doofenshmirtz that you liked so much. Professor Mystery is such a bore. Seriously, I'm almost convinced the man just does evil because he has nothing better to do, and covers that fact with a false sense of trauma."
"Hm, am I hearing that you miss me?" Perry raised an eyebrow teasingly.
Peter growled, but it wasn't threateningly. "No, you aren't. I, for one, certainly do not miss being glued to your back wall while you ramble on and on about your miserable life."
"Wow. I'm going to pretend like I'm not at all offended."
The two ex-nemesis laughed. Perry remembered when he'd first joined the agency, and had been on very strict terms with the panda. They used to squabble and argue all day long, until they wanted to pull each other's hair out. They'd come a long way since those years.
As the laughter stretched into silence once more, Perry thought back on the moment when Peter had confronted him and asked for a human body. He remembered pouring over old blueprints, ideas, and prototypes, before finally creating a machine that could actually achieve such a scientific feat. Peter had been so ecstatic. "How's your wife and kids?" Perry asked suddenly.
Peter smiled. "Oh, they're wonderful. You know, Emily has been asking where her Uncle Perry is recently. She's performing in a play for summer school later this month. Would you.. be interested in coming? It'd make her so happy."
The platypus hesitated. Despite the fact that he actually adored Peter's kids, he always felt so anxious around them. They were so small and innocent. He was afraid of losing control and hurting them without meaning to.
But he could tell by the look on Peter's face that there was no way he was getting around the situation. So he sighed, and nodded his head. "It would be my honor. But just know, that I promised her a jetpack next time I saw her."
Peter stuttered. "Whoa, whoa, whoa, you are not giving my ten year-old a jetpack."
But before the panda could threaten any further, Perry gave the rocket boots a yank, and felt them begin to warm up. He urged Peter to try them on. Hesitantly, the agent tied to shoes on and stood, feeling the engines begin to kick him, lifting him up into the air. He flew around the space, smiling and yelling. Perry gasped. They actually worked!