Vanessa Doofenshmirtz groaned. "Susan, I get it. I really do. She was attractive."

Susan just would NOT let this go. "Girl, this woman was buns of steel and sex appeal! She did NOT skip leg day!"

Eugh. "Can you just let me get these orders ready for pickup? Please?"

She waved her hand. "Meh, it's a part time job we're doing for some spending cash, and the boss is laid back as hell! He won't care. Besides, if HE had seen that goddess he'd be JOINING us ranting about how hot she is!"

Vanessa glared at her. "Well, I don't want to be stuck here after work doing stuff that we SHOULD be getting paid for! So less gossip about the hot woman who may or may not be into you, and MORE double checking these orders!"

The other girl rolled her eyes. "Fine, killjoy. You sure you aren't even a little bit tempted? Super toned, super hot, I promise!"

Sigh. "Look, I'm just not into dating right now. Male or female, I am trying to save up a bit and get some emergency funds built up."

Susan blinked. "Why? Isn't your mom like super rich or something? And your dad runs that company."

Vanessa grunted, staying on task. Dad's 'company', Doofenshmirtz Evil Incorporated, was… A controversial topic. She knew her mom didn't care about the massive alimony she kept sending to her dad after they divorced, and she knew that 'Doofenshmirtz Evil Incorporated' actually made a lot of money on its own… Somehow…

But her dad kept spending at such a massive rate building so many 'evil inventions' that it came up roughly net zero. You'd think that such immature spending, his quirky nature, obvious evil habits and profession, and endless strange circumstances would be the source of massive conflict between him and her mom, but…

Nope.

In fact, if it wasn't for dad's 'annoying hand puppet named Mr. Tomato', her parents might have remained married even till today.

Point is, her family's money situation was a bit complicated and odd.

She sighed as Susan kept poking her side. "If I just went to mom every time I needed something, I wouldn't be showing her that I'm growing up. That I can do stuff on my own!"

Susan waved that off. "Girl, independence is fine but money is money! Just not having any debts or loans and stuff is already a massive boost, why not just ask for a bigger allowance or something?"

Because even though everyone cared for her, including her mom and dad, and even mom's new boyfriend… She still wanted to make them proud. "Because I don't need to. I can do this on my own! I am a mature, independent almost-woman and I can do this without asking for help."

Susan gave a golf clap.

She GLARED a look her dad would be proud of. "And if you keep making me DO this on my own, I'll see if the boss will let me keep YOUR paycheck as well!"

Susan 'eeped!' and finally got back on task.

For a few minutes at least.

Vanessa wasn't sure how far above 10 the hot woman who ordered yesterday had been, but judging from Susan's random daydream expression while 'working', her coworker would be sharing the whole scoop.

Again.

For the fourth time today.

Sigh.

~~~Pocket System~~~

Jessica woke up to… A conversation? Huh?

John was at the door. "And I just sign here?"

A gruff voice grunted. "Yeah. And initial there, the mayor's people always get on me for not marking that section, it's so they know we did the groundwater check."

She was up and clothed, but said nothing yet as John smiled. "Great! You guys do amazingly fast delivery, I'm really impressed!"

The other subject was male, around six foot tall, unarmed… To know more, she'd have to change position and get visual. Her monitoring equipment reported no police activity or deployed agencies yet, at least.

The guy chuckled. "We better be fast by now! It's thanks to Practice, mostly. This comes up more than you'd think."

John tilted his head. "Really? I thought I was a little young to be establishing a new construction project in a residential zoning area."

The unseen man snorted. "Maybe to some of the new guys, but we know better. You have a good day, sir."

John grinned and waved him off, closing the door.

What exactly was going on? "John?"

The young seeming boy blinked. "Oh! Good morning Ms. Smith!"

Sigh. "You can just call me Jessica, or if you want 'Big Sis'." Not like her real name was Jessica OR Smith, but introducing yourself to everyone as 'Agent J' got complicated on paperwork. Most coworkers would have an alias or two to match their letter.

He blinked. "Huh. I don't think I've had a family before… It could be fun! And you can call me John, and we are now officially friends. I… I'm pretty sure that's how it works? I mean, you've been in my pocket already like Wedgie and Spike…"

That… That tugged her heart a little bit with sadness. Had THAT been why he'd been calling her 'Ms. Smith' all this time? "Honey, you can always ask people if you are not sure about what name you can use… And of course I will be your friend."

And bodyguard, field agent, parental guardian, technical legal guardian in another reality, and now older sister. Which really said something about the man being able to get a signature from a child under her care without concerns about legal issues.

Her attention drifted back to the door, even as she moved to get clothing so she could take a shower and change out of her pajamas in the other area of the hotel room. "So who was the nice man at the door?"

Because none of her makeshift equipment had gone off, so no trackers, hidden weaponry, or explosive patterns or signals had been detected from the recent visitor. None of her other 'wake up and fix shit' alarms had alerted either.

John was moving stuff to the table, some sort of pamphlet bundle. "Well, you know how last night you were doing all that research and stuff about how to get a more stable base setup while I heal and stuff? Turns out there are procedures for that!"

She paused on her way to the bathroom. "Oh?"

He nodded. "It's a bit complicated and you have to read a LOT of legal stuff online, but it's surprisingly easy to apply for those funds you mentioned last night and request all sorts of services and funding and stuff like labor and delivery of materials. I used the id's you got yesterday and was only going to get the forms together…"

The boy shrugged. "But uh… Yeah, it was shockingly easy to get this done. For some reason, it was even EASIER to get the ball rolling since I'm so young…Some sort of 'help the children grow' initiative or something? Most of the suggested activities and projects are like organizing local book clubs and stuff, but it was just as easy to get construction permits and crews to tear down a property and begin making a super awesome secret base."

Jessica blinked at the boy. "A super awesome 'SECRET' base?"

John grinned! "Yeah! There was a checkbox for it and everything!" He waved at the pamphlet. "I asked for SUPER secret, since I know you might get worried someone might find out about the new place, and the legal team online assured me that it was all done right. Good people."

She felt a headache trying to punch her mind.

Right.

John Doe might be very powerful and surprisingly talented, but in the end he was still a kid. And apparently a bit gullible. "Don't touch those pamphlets, don't call anyone or answer the door, and don't let anyone in the hotel room until I can get back and research what's been going on, alright?"

Shower first. Anything that could have gone wrong from this had already happened, and her emergency procedures and setups weren't compromised yet… She had time to get clean and do some hygiene routines. Maybe find some coffee?

For a moment she considered a world where an eight year old requesting a 'super awesome secret base' had become a routine needing paperwork. One provided absurd funding with no concerns and was allowed to legally sign documents without any adult being involved on their end.

Yes. Definitely coffee. After the shower.

~~~Pocket System~~~

Candice Flynn had finally found it! Evidence! "Mooom!"

Her mother was putting groceries away. "Yes Candice? Oh, here, put this in the pantry."

She… Well, first accepted the cereal box and THEN pointed outside! "Mom, Phineas and Ferb have purchased that run down house down the street and have excavated a MASSIVE hole on the property!"

Her mother paused. "Really? That doesn't sound like them… Not to mention I know they were busy today." She raised an eyebrow. "Did you see them do this?"

Uh. Well, actually no, not this time. It wasn't like they hid their plans or tried to avoid her when they did stuff, just that… Well, it all vanished or whatever whenever she tried to show her parents.

Still… "Come on, Mom, a whole house and stuff is gone! I'm sure the boys were involved with this. Who else would try and build an underground super awesome secret base!?"

"Actually, we were planning to direct and put on a play today… But that's a great idea too, sis!"

EEP! When did the two of THEM get here!? "How are you HERE, when they…"

Her mother smiled at the pair. "Oh I took them with me to go shopping for groceries, and help me carry the bags. Like I said, I really don't think they are involved with whatever is going on… Which house was it?"

She gazed in confusion at the two boys who were helping put away food. Maybe they actually WEREN'T involved with this. That felt… wrong somehow. "Uh… The house down the street? Red roof, the one with the messy and overgrown lawn. Well, back when it had a lawn. And dirt. It's like a hole now."

Mom blinked. "Oh, the Pinkerton house! They've been trying to sell that place for years!"

Ferb was a bit stoic like usual, but seemed intrigued. Phineas on the other hand… "Hey sis, how do you know that they are building an underground base there?"

Candice sighed. "The construction sign just says 'Super Secret Underground Super Awesome Secret Base' and the estimated completion times and stuff like that. How long street parking will be blocked off, there was a lot of stuff. Oh, and the workers on site gave me a flier and warned that power and water would be shut down for an hour or so later."

That flier was SUPPOSED to be hard evidence that the boys were up to something crazy, but now had only turned out to be a useful informational blurb and… Sigh.

Mom blinked. "Hmm… Thank you for telling me dear, we should make sure to tell your father as well at some point. You know he's been reenacting bathtub naval war scenarios with his 'rubber duck brigade' recently, and… Well, we should let him know."

Phineas blinked. "Huh… They must have filled out form J323KM7's checkbox for Super Secrecy… I hope they remembered to initial that box for the groundwater check."

HUH!?

Mom didn't even blink. "That's nice dear. Could you put this bread in the pantry sweetie?"

Phineas glowed! "Of course, mom! And me and Ferb can go check out the construction site later too. Maybe that's where Perry went!"

But! He just said… MOM! "Mom, didn't you… The forms…" No, wait, he had done that report about the governing system for the local Tri-State area, hadn't he? Of course Phineas would know about all those random forms and stuff that had almost sent her to sleep when he asked her to help proofread that thing.

None of that actually counted as evidence! NONE of it! EUGH!

Mom passed her a bag full of boxes of pasta. "Top shelf, alright Candice?"

Fine. "Sure Mom."

Still, she'd keep an eye on that place. She was SURE she recognized some of the guys from the construction crew from the groups that worked with her brother last week! Or had they been the crew that had delivered those pallets of steel for the roller coaster? Either way, those boys were going to be busted this time!