Perry the Platypus had never expected that his daily routine would ever look like this. After that one summer that felt like it had gone on forever, his missions had still been daily and with a similar goal: stop Doofenshmirtz from causing chaos, albeit accidentally this time. But by the time Christmas vacation came around, Doof had quit his job as a teacher and because of that, there wasn't really much for Perry to do anymore. LOVEMUFFIN seemed to have buried its head in the sand after Doof's retirement from evil and no other significant threats had risen enough to bother an agent of Perry's calibre. As a consequence, Major Monogram had assigned Perry to the night shift.

This definitely came with benefits and drawbacks.

"Perry!" called Phineas sleepily, patting the bed next to him. "C'mon, boy."

Perry waddled over to Phineas's bed and hopped up, settling down at the bottom near the boy's feet. Phineas had already stopped questioning why Perry no longer slept right next to him, to the platypus's relief. He hated not being able to sleep with the boys anymore, but duty called.

He waited until he was certain the boys were asleep before hopping up off the bed and slipping out of the room. Donning his fedora, he slid down the bannisters and straight into a secret chute hidden behind a painting.

His lair was deserted, a sight he still wasn't used to. Most of the equipment was still there, but some had been moved to other places for more efficient use. The most striking difference was that the giant face of his superior officer was not waiting for him on the screen with the latest information on what Doofenshmirtz was up to. If he was being honest, he missed it. A lot. That summer was filled with some of the best memories of his life.

Not many memories to be made behind a desk.

Perry's journey from his lair to OWCA's main headquarters was a very short one. Just before Christmas, Major Monogram had unveiled a new system of chutes connecting every agent's lair to the main base. Apparently, this was where most of the year's budget for the organisation had gone. Perry couldn't say he was surprised, but he had to admit it made his commute quicker and therefore more enjoyable than it otherwise would have been.

He clocked in with his ID card that he now kept alongside his badge. Why the agency couldn't combine both functions into one item, he didn't know. As usual, he was at his desk five minutes early and already halfway through his unread emails by the time OWCA's intern came around to deliver his daily paperwork.

"Here you go, Agent P," said Carl brightly. "Just gotta sign each page at the bottom."

Perry stared at him.

Thankfully, it clearly wasn't too hard for Carl to guess what he was trying to say. "Yeah, Major Monogram's got me working nights cuz I'm the only intern not back at college yet." He sheepishly rubbed the back of his neck. "I'd say it's messing up my sleep schedule, but... well... I'm a college student. I don't HAVE a sleep schedule."

Perry continued to stare at him until he gave an awkward grin and said, "Well, I'll leave you to it, Agent P," before backing out of the cubicle.

Sighing and rubbing his temples, Perry decided to just get on with it. Paperwork was by far his least favourite part of the job, but every agent had to do it, from the rookies to the veterans. At least this time, it was just signatures.

"I swear, I am going to die by paper cuts one of these days," came a grumble from the cubicle next to him.

"It'd be less painful than the paperwork itself," Perry responded dryly.

After a moment, the tawny owl he had been expecting flew up and perched on the wall of the cubicle between them. "Perry," she said, by way of greeting. "I didn't hear you come in."

Perry raised an eyebrow. "You have super hearing, Orla. Were you in the bathroom?"

"Ah, yes, that must be why I missed you." Orla cleared her throat, before hopping down to perch on Perry's computer. "So, er... How are the boys?"

"We don't have to do small talk if you don't want to."

Orla blinked. "Oh... I, er... Thank you."

With that, she fluttered back over the cubicle wall.

Perry gave a quiet chuckle. He may only have known Orla the Owl, AKA Agent O, properly for a week or so but it was obvious to anyone with eyes that Orla hated small talk. It was one of the ways the two of them were so similar.

"The boys are great, thank you," Perry called after a minute. "How's your family?"

"Knock it off," was Orla's reply.

Perry grinned. "I have a question for you. An important one."

Orla reappeared atop the cubicle wall. "What is it?"

"When you commute to work, do you take the tubes or do you just fly?"

"Really?" Orla shot him a withering look. "That's your question?"

Perry shrugged innocently. "I don't have wings so I can't answer it myself."

"I don't know why this is so important, but if you must know, I take the tubes. There's no point tiring yourself out if there's an easier method of travel available."

"Huh." Perry casually leant back in his chair. "If it were me, I would fly."

"What exactly is the point of this line of questioning?" Orla demanded.

"What, can't an agent ask another agent a silly question to prove he's finally found someone more uptight than himself?" asked Perry with a grin.

Orla stared at Perry in silence. Finally, she laughed, to Perry's relief. "They do tend to describe us as the two most uptight people in the agency, don't they?"

"Kids can be so cruel," Perry deadpanned.

"Can yours?" asked Orla.

"Oh, not a chance. My boys couldn't be cruel if their lives depended on it." Perry shot Orla a frown. "I thought you didn't like small talk."

"This is not small talk, this is conversation," Orla pointed out. "Do you want me to stop?"

"No, no, not at all. I love talking about my boys."

But before Perry could pull out the plethora of pictures he kept in his wallet, he heard the door to the office floor open and close.

Perry frowned at Orla. "You think that's Carl?"

Orla shook her head. "I can usually hear Carl breathing; it's not him."

"You can-." Perry blinked. "What?"

"He has asthma," explained Orla. "His breaths are usually slightly more wheezy than other people."

"Oh." Perry craned his neck in an attempt to see over the top of the cubicle. "Who do you think that is, then?"

Orla shrugged. "I don't know. Why don't you go find out?"

"Me? Why me?"

"Because you appear to be the one who cares."

With that, Orla hopped back down into her own cubicle.

Scoffing, Perry got up from his seat and ventured out into the office space, flicking a paperclip at Orla's back as he passed her cubicle. He glanced around as he moved around the room but there was nobody in sight, animal or human.

Until he got to Major Monogram's office and realised there was a light on inside. Perry frowned. It was unlike the major to be working so late, and even more unlike him to not announce himself if he was.

Perry knocked on the door to the office, making his usual chattering noise to tell whoever was in there that he was outside.

"Come in," came a familiar but miserable-sounding voice.

Frowning, Perry opened the door and peered into the room. To his surprise, his brown-haired teenage friend was sitting on the floor under the window, leaning against the wall. His face was the picture of misery.

"Monty?" Perry edged closer, unsure if the major's son had been given a translator or not. He knew only a select few humans had them. "Uh... you okay?"

"No, not really," sighed Monty. "Vanessa and I broke up today."

Perry's eyes widened. Out of everything he expected Monty to say, he never would've seen that coming. "Really?! Why?"

"I dunno, I just..." Monty hesitated, massaging his temple. "We'd been arguing a lot lately and with her dad going back to evil, I think it was a lot for her to handle. We tried to make it work, but..."

Perry hesitated as Monty buried his face in his hands, his shoulders starting to tremble. He wished he was better at providing comfort but the truth was he was far better at facing physical threats than emotional ones. After a moment, he moved closer to his friend and awkwardly patted him on the arm. "I'm sorry," was all he could think of to say.

"I just don't know what to do now," came Monty's muffled shaky voice from behind his hands. "We were planning to do so much when school went back after Christmas and now..."

"Um..." Perry cleared his throat. "Have you... tried getting some sleep?"

"Yeah, but I'm not tired."

Opening his mouth to try again, Perry glanced up as the door opened and Orla poked her head through. "What's going on?" she asked.

Perry helplessly shrugged. "Um... emotions."

"Oh." Orla grimaced. "That is... not my specialty."

"You think it's mine?!" hissed Perry. "Help me!"

Orla dithered by the door.

Just as Perry was about to go over and physically pull her over to help Monty, both the agents' phones started making an urgent alarm sound. Perry dug his phone out and a chill ran down his spine as he registered exactly what the emergency alert was.

"What is it?" Monty asked quietly.

"OWCA-Traz escapee," Orla reported, looking down at the same emergency alert on her own phone. "Threat level: Alpha."

"We only have one Alpha-level threat contained at OWCA-Traz," said Perry, his voice low.

Orla stared at him in shock. "Wait... you don't think...?"

Perry didn't think; he knew. He could feel it in his bones. There was no doubt in Perry's mind exactly who had escaped from that prison.

"Dennis."