~o~o~o~o~o~o~ When Heinz woke the next morning, the movie had ended, the blankets were strewn all over the floor, and he was alone on the couch. Perry hadn't dropped a note or anything, just let himself out. It left Heinz a bit disappointed, honestly, but he figured after the strange conversation they'd had the night before, the agent was feeling vulnerable. That was something he could understand.
Memories began flooding Heinz's cloudy brain as he stood and stretched. He'd found out more about his nemesis in one night than he had in all of their five-year nemesis-ship, and he was still having a hard time processing it.
After turning off the TV and grabbing a cup of coffee, Doofenshmirtz sidled over to his computer and typed the name Dr. Tecton into the search bar once more. He hadn't paid much attention to the details, but now that he knew who this villain had really been..
Anonymous Attack on Seattle Leaves Many Injured By Diane Burr
On Sept. 14, 2010, Seattle was under siege by what the federal government is saying one of the most brutal attacks on American soil to date. The brunt of the terror left over three hundred people injured, 15% of which were almost fatal. The casualty number is uncertain, but the police did reveal that there were casualties.
Around three o'clock that afternoon, people ran in fear as downtown Seattle was attacked by several thousand violent drones, which crashed buildings, overturned fleeing cars, struck down bridges, and invaded civilians. Police were able to stop the attack, but the perpetrator, or perpetrators, were never discovered.
The investigation is still ongoing. The FBI thinks a terrorist group may be involved, but will not be revealing any updates until they have concrete evidence.
Heinz sat back, completely floored. Perry had done this? His Perry? It just didn't seem feasible, but the doctor couldn't think of any possible reason why the man would gain to lie about something like this. And if O.W.C.A. didn't know, then the man was keeping one hell of a secret.
But despite finally having an upper hand on his nemesis, something worth perpetrating as blackmail, the evil scientist found he had no motive to use it. It was true, he was in love with the teal-haired agent. They'd come so close to a true bonding moment, and Heinz had to, of course, ruin it with his endless curiosity and big mouth.
Hoping to escape his thoughts, the scientist turned off his computer and stepped into the bathroom to take a shower. He let the hot water wash over him, relieved to finally feel himself wake up. The water felt so good on his cramped muscles.
And then, the doctor began to feel woozy, almost like he'd just stepped off a rollercoaster after eating a whole bag of sugar pretzels. He grabbed at the wall, trying to balance himself. He managed to turn off the water.
The doctor attempted to step out of the shower, calling out Vanessa's name, but a wave of nausea overtook him, and he felt his world begin to spin.
He just saw the edge of Vanessa's panicked face, when he blacked out and fell to the ground.
~o~o~o~o~o~o~
Perry arrived at his apartment before dawn. Even though Heinz had eventually fallen asleep against Perry's shoulders, the agent hadn't slept, and didn't feel strong enough to face the man in the morning. So when the second movie they'd put on finally ended, he slipped out of the doctor's grasp, and headed into the darkness.
The agent knew he couldn't hide it anymore. He was crushing on Heinz Doofenshmirtz, and couldn't seem to get over the infatuation. It had even driven him to reveal some of his darkest, most personal memories. Perry almost regretted what he did, but at the same time, felt a sort of relief that the man finally knew. Now their relationship would be based on a true relationship, and not just a hard-hearted, professional persona.
As Perry was changing into different clothes, his watch began to beep. Strange, what did Major Monogram want with him at six in the morning?
Perry quickly transformed into a platypus, put on his fedora, and answered the call.
"Agent P! How are you feeling?"
The platypus chattered confusedly.
"Thank goodness. We've had a lot of disturbing calls from quite a few of our agents saying that they've been feeling rather sick. I would have assumed that it was a contagion going around with a strain only dangerous to animals, but it seems all of Danville has been experiencing this sickness. Scientists are saying it might be a new virus, but here at O.W.C.A., we have our suspicions."
"You mean you have your suspicions, Sir." Carl interrupted in the background.
"I'm paranoid, I can't help it!" The major snapped. "It's even on my horoscope. Anyway, we suspect that evil is involved. Our sources-"
All of a sudden, the background at headquarters began flashing bright red. "Carl!" The major cried. "What's going on?"
"I don't know, Sir!" Carl rushing into view, typing furiously at the computer. "It seems the spy cameras have picked up some sort of major disturbance in downtown Danville. Giant robots.. people in lab coats.."
"Change of plans!" Major Monogram sighed. "Head downtown and put a stop to that nonsense. I'm sure they are the perpetrators. I'm sending recruits."
Perry saluted, and grabbed his gear. He had a bad feeling in the pit of his stomach.
When the agent reached downtown, the scene was already completely out of control. Giant robots in the shapes of mutant-like elephants were storming down the main road, demolishing everything in their path. Perry noticed that the police were already on duty, shooting at the metal object, trying to stop it, but the machines were built with incredible strength, and remained indifferent to the attack.
Around the corner, Perry made eye contact with Pinky, and a few other agents, who nodded, wordlessly conveying that they would follow his call. Sighing, the agent watched as the metal elephants got closer. If only there was a secret way around them..
Suddenly, the massive robots stopped in their tracks. The police held their fire, waiting with bated breath, as one of the heads began slowly ascending, and two evil scientists stepped into view.
Perry groaned. Dr. Gevaarlijk. And his evil self, Dr. Tecton.
The two walked forward, grinning with uncontrollably smugness. Perry waited until they were crossed right beside the hidden agents, before letting out a huge whistle, signaling the attack. Pinky and the others immediately jumped forward, and grabbed at the two evil scientists, bringing them to the ground. The police raged forward, ready to attack the robots.
Perry held his evil self in a immobile position. But the doctor just grinned. One by one, the police cried out as the elephants let out an electric field, almost fatally shocking the authority.
"Let us go, and they'll stop." Dr. Tecton snarled.
Perry reluctantly stood back, as did the other agents. Dr. Gevaarlijk cried like a hyena, and pulled out a small remote, which she immediately pressed. Perry suddenly gasped, feeling his head begin to spin. He felt sick. What was happening?
His knees grew weak, and he collapsed to the ground. Desperately, the agent tried to look around, and was horrified to see his comrades, and other civilians, passing out all around him. He tried to force his body to get up, but something was holding him back. He felt heavy and light-headed.
Dr. Tecton grabbed him by the neck and lifted him up, letting his beaver tail waver in the air.
"I win." The man snarled, before Perry felt the world go black.
~o~o~o~o~o~o~
When Perry awoke, he couldn't move. His head was propped against the wall. He was human, and his fedora was missing. He tried to look around the room, but everything was dizzy and blurry. He tried to shake his head and move his arms, but it was like he was paralyzed. His heart pumped in fear. What was happening?
In front of him was a fireplace, and a nightstand full of books. The fire had been reduced to embers at this point, leaving the room cold and uninviting. It wasn't familiar to the agent.
Suddenly, a door slammed open, and Dr. Tecton entered the room. The man was wearing a brand new black suit, with a flowing train that swayed as he walked. He adorned the mask, and was wearing eye liner. He looked disgusting, in Perry's eyes.
Dr. Tecton pulled up a chair, setting himself to Perry's height, and stared at the agent. Perry's breath hitched.
"I know you're in there." The doctor laughed. "Even though I have complete control over your mind, I know you're still conscious. It's how we designed the drug; even though you have no free will, you can still watch everything that's happening."
The scientist leaned in closer, and whispered. "I asked for special permission to keep you."
Perry couldn't move, and he certain couldn't speak, but his mind was racing. Drug? Mind control?
"It's all thanks to you, by the way." Dr. Tecton laughed, as if reading his mind. "If it wasn't for that information regarding Operation Kur, Dr. Gevaarlijk wouldn't have been able to do it. I guess good guys really do lose after all. Too bad you had to learn it the hard way."
"I'm sure you're wondering how we did it."
Perry would have rolled his eyes if he could. He forgot how prone he had been to monologuing.
"It was all Dr. Gevaarlijk's idea. She knew about Operation Kur, and knew once you got the information for her, all she had to do was follow the instructions and create the famous mind controlling drug." The doctor smirked. "Who knew O.W.C.A. was so devious back in the day? Trying to create drugs to control people's minds? Makes you wonder, doesn't it.."
Operation Kur.. So, the information had been about a historical, top secret experimentation lab that had tried to create drugs used to control people's minds. Perry had heard rumors of such a history, but had never actually believed it to be true. He briefly wondered how Dr. Gevaarlijk had figured out of its existence.
"But what she doesn't know.." The evil scientist continued, "is that once victory is gained, I'm taking over her evil scheme. And I'm going to use you to do it, since you so obviously can't achieve anything on your own.
I really just don't understand." Dr. Tecton was now up and pacing about the room. "We had so much potential. I was going to give you everything. We could have been great. And then you.. tossed me away, like some broken machine, and kept me locked away from my true greatness. I could have given you the world." He stopped and slid a finger down Perry's chin. The agent knew his face remained stoic, but inside he was growling.
"How hard is to it admit that you actually do need me?"
It was creepy, looking so deep into his own eyes, and knowing that they held nothing but blackened contempt.
"Oh well. I guess now it doesn't matter if you admit it or not!"
Then the doctor was gone, his laughter echoing through the room as the last of the embers faded out. Perry groaned, helpless. If he didn't stop this nonsense, there was no telling what his evil self would do..