I do not own Phineas and Ferb.
Regret
"I'm sorry," Candace squeaked, shrinking back from Perry's harsh glare. "It was an accident!"
Perry grabbed his hat and pulled on it in frustration. "An accident? You knocked out the power in the entire Tri-State Area! You are extremely fortunate that hospitals have backup generators. Do you know what might have happened?"
"Hey, hey," Phineas said quickly. He had gotten over the awe of seeing his pet talk and tried to calm Perry down. "Candace would never put anyone's life in danger on purpose. If she says it was an accident, it was an accident. It was her first day. We all make mistakes."
Ferb nodded in agreement.
"That mistake could have cost Candace her life," Perry said slowly. He was trying to be calm, he really was, but when the lives of his owners were put at risk he got agitated and angry.
Phineas paled at the very possibility. "That's true, but she's here. Stacy's fine and so is Agent S, right?" he said optimistically.
Candace nodded and kept her eyes on the grass. It had never occurred to her that she could have killed herself and her teammates. What kind of agent was she? A crappy one, that's what kind. Monogram had been right to threaten her with suspension if she ever pulled a stunt like that again. Heck, he should have suspended her then and there. She deserved it.
Ferb sensed her despair and patted her hand comfortingly. Candace gave a small smile of thanks. Perry let out a long sigh. "Candace, I'm sorry for yelling at you. When I heard what you did, I got scared. I don't want to lose you anymore than Phineas and Ferb. Please, try to think things through next time, okay?"
"I will," Candace promised. She bent down and gave Perry a quick hug. "It won't happen again."
"Good girl."
Phineas squatted down and stared at the metal device on Perry in interest. "Do you get to keep that?"
"No. It's only for emergencies. We don't have many of these and they cost a fortune to make," Perry explained. "And we don't have enough in the budget to make over three dozen animal translators."
"But we have the resources." Phineas grinned in excitement. "We have Sunday off, so we can get to work then!"
"I don't know if that's a good idea," Candace said quickly.
Perry grinned teasingly. "Why? Are you afraid I'm going to start embarrassing you?"
"No," Candace said hotly. "I just don't want Agent S to get one. He'll have a few choice words for me that's for sure."
Phineas and Ferb laughed. "I'm sure the whole event will be forgotten by then," Phineas pointed out. "And Ferb, it looks like we're going to have another campout. It's going to be boiling in that house by tonight."
"I don't believe so. Baljeet's house has a generator, does it not?" Ferb asked. "Perhaps we could stay over for the night."
"That's a great idea! Let's call and ask before Buford barges in and takes over the place." Phineas pulled out his red cellphone and started dialing.
Candace shook her head. "I'm not going to Stacy's. Agent S has now taken up residence with my best friend. Apparently, he didn't have a host family and Stacy volunteered to take him in." She groaned. "Guess I'm frying in the house tonight by myself. Mom and Dad won't be home until late tomorrow afternoon."
"Drat." Phineas clapped his phone shut. "Buford got dibs on the guest room. But Baljeet said we could crash on his bedroom floor if we wanted to."
Ferb nodded in agreement.
"We're going to pack and head out," Phineas told his sister. "You can come, if you want."
"There is no way I'm spending the night at the computer nerd's house with that angry wall of meat a few rooms over. No way, no how. I'll wake up with a magic marker mustache." Candace crossed her arms. "I'll stick it out here with Perry. We can have a movie marathon."
Phineas arched an eyebrow. "On what device?"
"My fully charged laptop with a DVD drive," Candace retorted. "Duh."
"No chick flicks," Perry said firmly. "Or romantic comedies."
Candace rolled her eyes. "Sheesh, you're pretty picky for a platypus. Are regular comedies okay with you?"
"Who can say no to a comedy?" Perry asked. The group headed inside the dark house. Phineas and Ferb departed minutes later with their duffle bags full of sleepover supplies.
Despite the darkness, all was well in Danville.
...
In Second Dimension Danville, however, the same could not be said.
Doctor Heinz Doofenshmirtz of the Second Dimension sat in his cold, dark cell. The feeble light filtered through the bars on his tiny window and spiders hung from the corners. The former ruler of the Tri-State Area was slouched on the metal cot, staring into space.
He had been ecstatic upon seeing his beloved Choo-Choo again. It was his companion through the hard times, the one thing that had always been there for him. And when he lost it, he grew furious at...well, just about everyone and everything.
Taking over the Tri-State Area had been no easy feat. But after the transformation of Perry the Platypus into his own Perry the Platyborg, everything went smooth sailing from that point on. He had an army of Normbots and a kick-butt lackey to do his bidding. The Tri-State Area didn't stand a chance. Even his fellow villains couldn't do anything to overthrow him as leader. It wouldn't do any good.
He was feared. He was in control. And he gave up everything for a wooden train with chipped wheels.
"Dummkopf!" he shouted angrily. The sound echoed off the narrow space and Doofenshmirtz threw the toy train against the wall. It cracked slightly down the side but did not split in half for which he was grateful-he may have regretted his decision to give up control of the Tri-State Area for the toy, but he still wanted it.
"I had it all," he whispered. "And I gave it up. I could have smashed those stupid kids and Perry the Platypus into a pulp. I could have taken down that pesky First Dimension Resistance with ease. Then when I had both Tri-State Areas under my control I could ransack the First Dimension Heinz's place for the train. Ugh, why do all the good ideas come after they could have come in handy?"
His one eye roamed around the cell. The rest of his life would be spent in this dinky cell. In one second he went from being large and in charge to being arrested for life for crimes against humanity.
Bah.
Heinz stared at the steel bars on his window. Those bars were all that stood between him and freedom.
Well, that and the entire O.W.C.A. But he defeated them once. He could do it again.
Both the Tri-State Areas would be at his mercy once he was free.
A clatter against the bolted steel door caught his attention. "What?" he snapped in annoyance.
A plastic tray filled with mush slid through the tiny slot. Heinz wrinkled his nose at his dinner and scowled. "You guys are getting government funding. Shouldn't you be able to afford-no, never mind. I took that funding. Carry on."
An irritated bark was his answer and the agent moved on. Heinz stared at the tray for a moment before grinning wickedly. He had an idea.
A deliciously horrible, terrible, awful idea.
"Hoo-boy! Look out, Platyborg. Your master is about to make his grand return!"
...
Unaware of the danger about to happen in the Second Dimension, Phineas and Ferb arrived at Baljeet's. Mrs. Tjinder opened the door and smiled at them. "Hello, boys."
"Hey, Mrs. Tjinder," Phineas greeted. Ferb waved. "Thank you for allowing us to come over. It's sweltering at our place."
"Yes, it is rather odd how the entire Tri-State Area went out of power." Mrs. Tjinder frowned. "It's a good thing Baljeet convinced me to buy a generator. Come on in. He's upstairs with Buford."
Phineas and Ferb entered the house and jogged up the wooden stairs. They pushed open Baljeet's bedroom door and found the bully sprawled on the cold hardwood floor. "Aw, come on!" Phineas complained. "I thought you were getting the guest room? Cause if you don't want it-"
"Heck no!" Buford clambered to his feet. "I already threw my stuff on the bed. I got dibs!"
"Then let them make their beds for the night!" Baljeet cried in exasperation, hustling Buford aside. Phineas and Ferb spread their sleeping bags on the floor by Baljeet's bed.
"Try not to step on us in the middle of the night," Phineas joked.
Baljeet smiled. "I will try. Do you happen to know the cause of this odd power surge?"
Ferb turned his chuckle into a cough and Phineas grinned. "Er, let's just say Candace made a mistake."
"As long as it wasn't my fault." Buford collapsed on Baljeet's bed. "Are you dweebs gonna fix it?"
Phineas hummed in thought. "I suppose we could go take a look and see what we can do. Jeet, Ferb, what do you say?"
"I didn't mean now!" Buford cried but his three friends took off to see if they could help fix the problem. "Man! Now what am I gonna do? Isabella's probably having a makeover party with the rest of the girls, Irving-ew! No, not even gonna consider him."
The phone rang and Mrs. Tjinder picked it up downstairs. Buford could hear her muttering and soon she came up into the bedroom. Confusion crossed her face when she saw only Buford. "Where are Phineas and Ferb? And Baljeet?"
"They went out to do something I didn't understand," Buford answered. "Is that Candace?"
"Why, yes. She wanted to know if her brothers made it here safely."
"Can I speak to her?"
"Sure. I have to tend to supper anyway. Do you like chili?"
"I do like chili," Buford answered. He took the phone. "Yo, Candace?"
"Ugh, Buford! I just wanted to talk to Phineas and Ferb!" Candace snapped.
"Well, they ain't here right now."
"What?"
"What's the matter?" an unfamiliar, concerned male voice followed Candace's screech.
Buford frowned. "Who's that?"
"Perry," Candace said dismissively. "If my brothers aren't there, then where-"
"Whoa, whoa! Since when can Perry talk?" Buford interrupted.
"Buford! Where are my brothers?" Candace hollered, her patience thin.
"I told you. They went out. They're trying to see if they can fix the power problem."
"Typical," Candace scoffed. "No point in trying to bust them. Mom and Dad aren't even here."
"Can we go back to the Perry is talking thing?" Buford asked.
"No. I'm on my cellphone and its running low on minutes and battery."
"...can I come over and see? It's kind of lonely here."
"...fine. But if you do one thing weird or something that grosses me out, you're getting kicked out. And you have to be back at Baljeet's for supper. I am not paying for extra food so your bottomless pit of a stomach can eat," Candace said firmly before hanging up.
Buford grinned and jumped off of Baljeet's bed. "Yes! I get to see a talking platypus!"
A brief pause.
"Now that is not something I thought I would ever say in my life."