The sunlight crept in through the open curtains, filling the bedroom with a morning glow. If anyone had been in the room, they would have found it rather beautiful. The bedroom's occupant had left over an hour ago, for this was an important day.
Isabella Garcia-Shapiro had left her house well before sunrise, she had an appointment on the other end of town. It was her birthday, and for the past few years it had been a tradition for her to meet her friends for morning coffee. It was usually just her old Fireside Girls Troop, since her other friends were often busy getting some huge surprise ready.
Isabella was anticipating a massive event, since that was Phineas' usual style. Of course, what she really wanted was just some alone time with him. In the final months of the school year, having been encouraged (and pestered) by her friends, Isabella had finally told Phineas her feelings for him. As chance would have it, Phineas was going to ask her out that very same day. Of course it wasn't chance, it was their friends collaborating. They always said that if they lived in a tv show, that the entire fanbase would ship Phineas and Isabella.
Isabella was the last to arrive, but this was normal on these special outings. Gretchen and Adyson usually showed up first to make sure their usual booth was available. Isabella took a seat next to Gretchen, still amazed at how the girl who had been the shortest of them all was now easily the tallest.
"Happy Birthday Isabella." she said, giving her friend a hug.
"Thanks, to all of you. I know how much work goes into these meets."
"It's nothing, really." Holly spoke up.
"Anything for our great leader." Chell added.
"I haven't been your leader for years." Isabella chided. But she knew that these girls would follow her to the ends of the earth and beyond if she asked.
The arrival of drinks interrupted any potential response. Most of the girls had lattes of some sort, though Ginger had tea and Milly just had water, since she never really liked hot drinks. Isabella took her coffee straight black, if her spoon didn't stand straight up, she knew it wasn't worth drinking. Katie was the first to break the silence.
"So, have any idea what Phineas and Ferb are up to?"
"Yeah." Adyson said. "This isn't just any birthday, this your sixteenth birthday."
"And your first birthday since you and Phineas became an item." Gretchen added.
"I don't know anymore than you do, unless you're all in on it too." Isabella knew that the girls were often privy to secrets that Isabella didn't know, although it was often a risk to tell Milly any secret. She couldn't keep a secret to save her life.
The girls faked offense at the accusation, and they all had a good laugh.
On the other side of town, across the street from the bedroom Isabella wasn't in, another group were talking about Isabella's birthday celebrations. Phineas and his stepbrother Ferb had gathered their team (minus Isabella and the Fireside Girls) to their backyard.
"Alright everyone, listen up." Phineas said. "The girls will keep Isabella at the coffee shop for three more hours at most. That gives us two hours to get everything ready. Buford and Baljeet, you get the the outflow ditches ready. We don't want the yard flooding during phase 3. Django and Balthazaar, you're on decoration detail. A few things have places set up but for the most part just decorate however you'd like. Irving, start getting the backup generators in place. I don't want a repeat of last year. Ferb and I will handle the stage. Any questions?"
"Yeah," Buford spoke up. "Where's Perry?"
Perry ducked out sight behind the tree, quickly donning his fedora as he made his way through a secret door in the tree. He smiled to himself during the lift ride down to his lair. He knew how much Phineas cared for Isabella, and Perry knew the what the real surprise for Isabella was. After the big celebrations were over, Phineas was going to take Isabella for a totally normal walk around the neighborhood. That would be the perfect gift.
As the lift neared the bottom, Perry put on his usual austere persona. He took his job seriously, not quite as much as that old stick in the mud Peter the Panda. Still, sometimes Major Monogram and Carl's antics got a little tiresome. Carl had long since been promoted to paid facility manager for Monogram, though he still did much of the same work he always had. Although Monty and Vanessa were usually there to help him out.
Perry sat down in his chair as the image of Major Monogram appeared on the screen.
"Good morning Agent P. We've been monitoring activity on the Evil Scientist Network, and we've discovered something rather disturbing. It seems that someone is trying to refound L.O.V.E. M.U.F.F.I.N."
Perry grimaced. The League Of Villainous Evildoers Manically United For Frightening Investments In Naughtiness had been defunct for years, ever since almost the entire organization had been arrested for crimes against humanity. It wasn't a good day for OWCA either, as the agency had almost been destroyed along with L.O.V.E. M.U.F.F.I.N.
Monogram continued. "We've been trying to identify who could be behind this. A few members of L.O.V.E. M.U.F.F.I.N. escaped the arrests and went to ground, but they haven't been up to much in years. Just so we can cover all our bases, I'm sending you to Dr. Doofenshmirtz. I don't think he's behind this, but he might know who is. Good luck Agent P."
Perry gave his boss a salute before jumping into his hovercar.
Meanwhile and far away, a hooded figure sat alone. He glanced out the only window in sight, watching the rain pour down outside. The roof was leaky, so he could feel the occasional drop of rain on his shoulders.
Suddenly he felt a vibration in his pocket. Pulling out the burner cellphone, he answered.
"Yeah, I'm here."
"Good. The tracker just registered that the package has arrived in Danville, it should get to its destination by the evening post."
The hooded man breathed a sigh of relief.
"Are you sure this will work?" the voice on the other end asked. "What if she doesn't remember?"
"Oh she'll remember. She may not want to, but she will. I just hope she can crack it enough to raise the flag."
"We'll have to see. Is it raining where you are too?"
"Maybe. I think I've been here long enough. I'm going to the next place. I'll contact you with the new number once I'm there."
"Roger that. Good luck."
"Thanks."
The hooded man hung up and started gathering his things. He traveled light, and was soon on his way. Ordinarily he wouldn't have left any trace of his presence. But this time, he was hoping someone would discover that he had been there.
Let's just hope it's the right people he thought, as he tossed the phone into a nearby ditch.
Authors Note: Chell is the eighth member of Troop 46231. She is usually known as Unknown Fireside Girl Blonde.
