Disclaimer: Justin Doofenshmirtz is not an OC. He is mentioned in one of the Christmas Specials, but he has not made an appearance. His characterization is based on my own interpretation.

Chapter Sixteen: An Alternate Explanation

Roger Doofenshmirtz hardly reminisced on his past in Gimmelshtump. He had a great childhood, and he was proud to be the man he was today. There was no reason to dwell on the past, except in those instances when his older brother intruded on his life, and especially when these instances involved his older brother's weird antics.

As children, Roger could not recall his older brother smiling very often, if at all. He could remember that narrowed gaze and infallible scowl that always graced Heinz's face. It was the same resentment that Heinz continued to hold towards him; a petty feeling of jealousy that was pushed by the most minor of details, and if there was anything Heinz bested him at, it was holding grudges.

When Heinz met Charlene, Roger was shocked, to say the very least. His eccentric, older brother had finally found someone who could and would deal with his crazy antics. Roger could not have been happier, but then Vanessa was born, and he found that he could. For the first time, Roger was proud to be related to Heinz.

Then, when things mellowed down, the divorce happened. It was a slap back to reality, and Heinz was incredibly lucky that Charlene had more tact in handling the situation, especially since Vanessa was involved. Whatever hobby Heinz had, including that "wannabe-evil" career, took up a lot of his time, so he had not fought for more time with Vanessa, and Roger secretly thought that this was what kept his niece as such a low-key, well-behaved child.

And now this levelheaded child was missing.

Roger sighed, putting his head in his hands for the tenth time since the police had contacted him. He had heard of the missing children long before, yes, and he had been a part of the search party. Not once did he think of his older brother as having a hand in this twisted scheme. There was no reason to even suspect that he might. Heinz just was not the type to keep quiet about serious situations, and he never had set out on a crusade against children.

He would never willingly put the life of his own daughter in danger.

"Roger," Charlene murmured, hugging herself. The mayor of Danville stiffened his upper lip and straightened his shoulders back, clearing his throat of the lump that kept forming in it.

"Charlene," he calmly addressed before motioning to the well-suited man sitting across from them in the dark limousine. "This is my uncle, Justin Doofenshmirtz."

Giving his ex-sister-in-law a crooked smile, Justin reached forward and grabbed Charlene's hand, proceeding to give her a firm, enthusiastic handshake. "Pleasure to meet ya!"

Narrowing her eyes, similar to the skeptical look her ex-husband gave people who Roger introduced him to, Charlene quickly returned the handshake and nearly yanked her hand away from him. "Under these circumstances?"

He shrugged. "I've had worse first introductions. Just be thankful that we're all on the same side."

Roger and Charlene shared a quick, troubling look that went unnoticed by the third occupant. His ex-sister-in-law cleared her throat. "Yes, well, do you know my ex-husband?"

"Littly Whinzy-Heinzy? Yeah. We keep in contact with each other. I'm guessin' he has got himself into quite the pickle here."

Roger frowned. The aloof tone his uncle was using suggested that this type of circumstance was normal for his older brother, which he and Charlene knew to be untrue. Then again, maybe his uncle was referring to Heinz's ability to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. Trouble seemed to just come looking for his older brother.

"I've never seen you at one of the family picnics." Charlene seemed really troubled by this, for she continued to skeptically eye the lanky, brown-haired man. "Are you not close with the family?"

"Nah, I travel a lot. And work. Don't got time for those." Justin absentmindedly fixed his tie and checked his cellphone. "Gonna have to make a, uh, business call when we get to your office, Roggie."

"It's Roger," Roger grounded out. He turned to Charlene, not wanting her to think that he had placed their trust into the wrong hands, though perhaps he was only trying to convince himself of this. "Uncle Justin does a lot of work in criminal justice. Whatever mess my brother and your ex-husband has gotten himself into, Uncle Justin can clean up."

"Legally?" Charlene asked, not backing down from her skepticism over the man.

"'Course!" Justin leaned back in his seat before popping forward. "We're here! Now, don't talk to any of those reporters. They'll twist your words faster than a Democrat in a Republican debate."

Carl's nerves had him on edge and ready to heave at any moment, but his simultaneous excitement kept his stomach from doing anything more than flip-flops. As he navigated his scooter through the streets of Danville, he tried to avoid looking at the utility poles and broad side of buildings. Fliers coated every surface, all relaying information about the missing children, and it felt weird seeing the kids' faces everywhere when they were no where to be found.

He had tried contacting Major Monogram before he left headquarters, but only static answered him. For the past hour he had been telling himself that he was on his own now, but it was not until he actually left the safety of their lab had he realized the precarious position he was now in. There was no going back, and there was no waiting for a bailout.

Major Monogram would not be monitoring him closely to make sure that, above all else, Carl was safe. He would not be appearing in the knick of time to use his amazing leadership and spy skills to defeat the enemy. Everything rested on Carl's shoulders.

"C'mon, Carl," he whispered to himself as he turned a corner sharply. His blue helmet shifted slightly, reminding him that he had forgotten to tighten the straps in his hurry to get on the road. "Get a hold of yourself. There are lives counting on you."

This, surprisingly, didn't make him feel any less nervous. His hands were clammy and tightly holding onto the rubber-coated handles. "You've had more than enough training to handle this. You can do it."

Carl had worked for O.W.C.A. for years. He was the best, unpaid intern that the agency ever had, even if Major Monogram never liked to admit it. He had been a field agent before, and he had watched Agent P complete his missions hundreds of times. More than 104 times, at least.

Still, now that everything was up to him, he had to think about the big and small details that could affect every moment of his mission. What if Professor Poofenplotz had set a trap for them? What if her other dimensionator was malfunctioned? What if his helmet gave him helmet hair and everybody was too busy laughing at him to do their job? What if he was somehow captured in a cage while wearing a squirrel costume?

There were just too many things that could go wrong, and Major Monogram had always considered these possibilities and weighed each and every risk. He wasn't perfect at it, but Carl wouldn't want anyone else to take over the position, especially himself.

Professor Poofenplotz's lair came into view, as most of their evil scientists preferred to have their lab stories high above the ground rather than safely hidden beneath the earth. He didn't pay much attention to the lab, for at the bottom of the building was Agent Pinky and Agent Peter the Panda. Carl revved up his engine and rode his scooter to their location.

Both of the secret agent animals saluted Carl as he parked the scooter in front of the building and took his helmet off. Carl waved them off, as now the three of them were acting as rogue agents. Formalities and respect could be reserved for after they completed what they set out to do.

"All right. We need to secure the premise and find the other dimensionator," Carl ordered, placing his helmet on the seat of his scooter. "We should try to keep a low profile so that we can avoid confrontation with Professor Poofenplotz."

Agent Pinky and Agent Peter the Panda caught themselves before they saluted, instead choosing to nod their head in order to convey their understanding. At least, Carl figured Agent Pinky was nodding. It was difficult to tell when the tiny Chihuahua normally shook its entire body.

As both agents took off, Carl decided to take a more "human" approach to entering the building. He walked up to the front door, studied it for a moment, and then knocked on the solid, metal texture. If Professor Poofenplotz answered, then he could serve as a distraction for Agent Pinky and Agent Peter the Panda.

A minute went by before Carl tried knocking again, but this time he busied himself with looking around for an intercom. Professor Poofenplotz did not live in an apartment complex similar to Dr. Doofenshmirtz, though the old woman tried to keep up with the newest technology. She was an evil scientist, after all.

On the side of the doorframe was a tiny panel that easily flicked open when Carl touched it. The corner of his lip twitched upward when he realized that the panel was a basic security system. All he had to do was enter in the correct password in order to release the lock.

"Or disable the system," he noted as he grabbed his disabler, which also doubled as a universal remote, from his coat pocket. He pointed the antenna at the panel, entered in the task, and waited merely seconds for the disabler to do its job. The lock clicked, and Carl showed himself inside Professor Poofenplotz's lair.

Almost immediately Carl noticed the video cameras placed around the entrance to the elevator. He was in clear sight of them, and the motion detectors had already zeroed in on his form. For a moment, he cringed, awaiting the sound of alarms or sirens to go off, but nothing happened. Professor Poofenplotz had to have been out, which was weird considering how inactive she had been for the past few weeks. Of course, Carl had to remind himself that Professor Poofenplotz was a very elderly woman. It would be hard for her to keep as active as Dr. Doofenshmirtz and the others.

Using his wristwatch, Carl communicated with the animal agents. "I'm in. The witch is outside her hull. I repeat, the witch is outside her hull. Over."

He grinned widely as he stepped into the elevator. It felt so cool to be able to say things like that!

The excitement dampened when the elevator doors opened once more, revealing a partly destroyed lair to the ex-unpaid intern, and fear tore into his shocked mind when Carl realized that Professor Poofenplotz's inactivity could be explained by whatever happened in her own home.

"Focus, focus," Carl hissed to himself, trying to fall back on his limited training as a field agent. He brought his wristwatch back to his lips, knowing that he had to give the animal agents fair warning. "There has been a past breach in the hull. The witch is still outside. Over."

A piece of debris fell from the ceiling, startling Carl, but no one was around to hear his rather unmanly shriek. He recovered, moving closer to the wreckage that spread from one side of the lair towards the center.

Blown to pieces, but still recognizable, in the side of Professor Poofenplotz's lair was Dr. Doofenshmirtz's hovercraft. As shocking and revealing as this was, Carl's focus was on an even larger discovery. Right in the center of the lair was a familiar, open portal that only required three guesses as to where it led, and the first two didn't count.

Stiffly, Carl held the wristwatch back up to his mouth. "Uh... The w-witch has already brewed—oh forget it! Professor Poofenplotz is involved in the kidnapping! They've already reached the second dimension! Report here now!"

It had been a long time since Major Monogram had been knocked unconscious. Probably not since his time at The Academy when a fellow agent-in-training kicked him in the back of his head and knocked him unconscious.

Once the echoing of his flashback stopped, Major Monogram peeked his eyes open, almost immediately regretting the decision when he found himself under a bright, white light. He quickly squeezed his eyes shut and tried to turn away from the light, but his entire body was immobile. He could only move neck to look a little ways over his shoulder.

He felt extremely envious of their nocturnal Agent O.

"You are the commander in charge of Agent P's squadron, are you not?"

Major Monogram furrowed his eyebrows, still refusing to look at the light again. "... Is a little girl's voice interrogating me?"

There was an indignant huff from somewhere alongside him. "Really? That's all you have to ask? I don't sound that young!"

The girl sounded younger than his son, but that only proved to him that he was, indeed, being interrogated by a child and not by an adult. And this little girl had a striking familiar voice. If Carl were here, he would have been able to place it right away.

He thanked his lucky stars that Carl wasn't here and was safe back at HQ while he was the one strapped to what seemed to be a metal chair in order to be interrogated by whomever this person was. Carl was far too young and inexperienced to have to suffer through an interrogation at such a stressful time; he would crack, and the sound of Carl cracking would make him crack. After he let Carl know how disappointed he was in him, of course.

"What do you want with me?" Major Monogram decided to ask after the prolonged silence. If he was able to get some answers, maybe he could find a way to relay them back to HQ.

"Hey!" the little girl snapped. "I'm asking the questions here! Now I'm going to ask you once more: Are you the commander in charge of Agent P's squadron?"

"What do you want with Agent P?" He decided to press his luck. The little girl hadn't followed up with a stereotypical threat, and if it was only a little girl who had him tied up, then he could take her. She no longer had the element of surprise on her side.

"I said that I was asking the questions!"

A hand that was definitely not a little girl's hand grabbed the short hair on the back of his head and forcefully pulled the strands up, pulling Major Monogram's head back as well.

"Hey," a male voice breathed into his ear. The male voice cracked, as though still going through puberty, and as the boy spoke, Major Monogram realized that it contained a German accent. It was definitely not Doofenshmirtz's voice, even if his thoughts went to Agent P's nemesis first. "The lady asked you a question. If you don't answer her from now on, then you're going to have to answer to me, and I don't ask nicely."

Major Monogram finally opened his eyes, glaring under the bright light at the shadowy figures off to his side. "I won't answer anything unless I'm told why I'm being interrogated."

"We know O.W.C.A. is behind Candace's brothers' kidnapping!" the little girl's voice wasted no time in filling Major Monogram in. "You had us fooled, thinking Dr. Doofenshmirtz had been trying to take over both dimensions once again, but it was really the agency!"

Something clicked in major Monogram's mind. "Both dimensions? You know of the second dimension?"

There were whispers, alerting Major Monogram that there were more than two people present. He couldn't make out what they were saying to each other, and they each kept their tone neutral, showing that whoever had captured him were highly trained in these sorts of matters.

The bright light in front of him dimmed, and as Major Monogram's eyes adjusted, he was able to make out the figures of two of Agent P's owners' friends: Isabella and the Bully.

"You two!" Major Monogram looks at them with wide eyes. "You've been reported as missing! What are you—"

"We're from the second dimension," Isabella cut him off. "We are not 'your' operatives."

"'MY' operatives?" Major Monogram emphasized the claim of ownership. "You're not my operatives. You're children! I only work with animal agents, and Carl."

"But our counterparts have been reported as missing?" Isabella and the Bully shared a look. All Major Monogram could think was that the two must have worked together an awful lot because they didn't speak a word to one another and still seemed to be on the same page. Carl had tried that with him, but it ended with disastrous results.

"What is going on?" Major Monogram had to ask out loud.

"That seems to be the question here," an electronic voice with an Indian accent jumped in. "My breach into this dimension's O.W.C.A. reveals no involvement in our ongoing war. We may have projected too much of our dimension's people onto theirs."

"Well, shit," the Bully swore. "This sucks. We got the wrong guy!"

"Chief!" another little girl's voice called out, causing Isabella to look over. "The police are here!"

"All right." Isabella turned back to Major Monogram. "We're going to need you to come with us. We'll provide a better explanation in our dimension."

Was he being given a choice? "Fine. But I want a full report."

Dr. Bloodpudding paced back-and-forth in his lair as he waited for the other members of L.O.V.E.M.U.F.F.I.N. to arrive, minus Dr. Doofenshmirtz for obvious reasons and Rodney for less obvious reasons. He actually wasn't sure what kept Rodney from gloating over his human nemesis' undeserved doom. It could be allergies.

"What is the meaning of this?" The nasally voice of Dr. Diminutive took Dr. Bloodpudding's thoughts away from Rodney's absence. "You called a meeting because that stupid Dr. Doof is going to get what he deserves?"

"No." Dr. Bloodpudding fought his urge to smack his tiny colleague. "I called a meeting because I fear that we are about to deal with a far greater evil than ourselves."

"Preposterous!" one of the evil female scientists shouted. Her hair bounced as she talked, which was rather distracting. "If someone were eviler than I, wouldn't they have already taken over the Tri-State Area?"

"No," Dr. Bloodpudding repeated. "Dr. Doofenshmirtz is only the first victim. They are obviously wiping out the competition by using our evil flaws!"

There was an instantaneous murmur of agreement. Every evil scientist knew that those who had children put their children first, so someone had to have been using Dr. Doofenshmirtz's own daughter against him. The only other option was to accept that Dr. Doofenshmirtz really was pure evil, and that was a thought that was a bit more than difficult to accept.

"So, who is behind this?"

That was the question of the evening. "I do not know, but I do know that a giant robot was seen flying over to the Quad-State Area."

The Quad-State Area was a place that most of the evil scientists tried to ignore. A truly terrifying man had managed to nearly take over it, destroying his nemesis in the process, until Dr. Doofenshmirtz managed to put a stop to it. Though the details weren't known, there had been much concern over the fact that a person existed whom was more evil and capable than them, and that someone was still brought down by Dr. Doofenshmirtz.

"Well, then," Dr. Diminutive spoke up. "It's obvious that we should destroy them!"

"Yeah!" a few more evil scientists agreed. Most members already had their diabolical scheming faces on, but this always procured mixed results.

"Obviously," Dr. Bloodpudding droned, "but we need a plan."

The best and most mediocre villains were all here, so concocting a masterminded plan on such short notice shouldn't be too difficult. Working together, though, was another story.

"At least Doof and Rodney won't be at it." Dr. Bloodpudding sighed to himself. Everyone seemed to take solace in that fact.

It was the climax of the movie when Ferb rushed forward, wrapping his arms around the smaller body in front of him and internally promising to never let this person out of his sight ever again. In his arms, Phineas stiffened, but after a few more moments, he returned the hug. It was considerably less enthusiastic than Ferb's, but after being kidnapped almost twenty-four hours ago and forced to survive in this godforsaken place, Ferb could not begrudge his brother for it.

"Never, never, never again," Ferb whispered into Phineas' ear. He held Phineas tighter, gripping desperately at his brother's slightly tattered and dirtied shirt. He could breathe now. The hard part was over.

"Y-Yeah, but I'm a little confused." Phineas pulled back from the embrace, trying to look Ferb in the eye. "How did you get out? You told me that you couldn't—that only one of us could, an-and just why would you say that?"

"Who are you?" Doofenshmirtz questioned from behind them. "You can't be the kid who's been abducted, right? We're not that lucky."

Dread moved its way back into Ferb's mind as he doubted the person in front of him. He slowly released the fabric of Phineas' shirt and also took a step back in order to get a good look at his brother. The energetic gleam that was always present in the redhead's blue eyes was absent, leaving behind two vast pools of ocean blue with no sun reflecting off the top. Everything else looked the same, but the scientist was correct: They were not that lucky.

"Wait..." Phineas backed away from Ferb, getting a good look at them as well. "You're the other dimension guys, aren't you?"

"Well, we're from another dimension, yes," Doofenshmirtz answered, looking down at Perry for some sort of confirmation. The platypus didn't make a move to help him out. "Why? You know there's another one? Does everyone know there's another one? Is this some sort of cosmic joke that we're not in on?" He paused, glaring down at Perry. "Though, I bet you're in on it. Just, curse you, Perry the Platypus!"

For a moment, all three of them stared at Doofenshmirtz, who finally felt awkward and explained: "It makes me feel better when I get to say normal things when I'm away from home."

Normal was overrated, Ferb wanted to tell him, but he just couldn't find the words. He normally didn't feel a compulsive need to speak, but now that he had gotten so close to having his brother back, only to have Phineas torn away from him once more...

Ferb was tired.

"I'm the Phineas from this dimension," Not-Phineas, yet Still-Phineas, explained. Ferb went along with it, trying desperately to comprehend what else life decided to throw at him. "Huh? Why do you look confused? Don't you remember when we took down that dictator? You know, him."

Ferb looked at the person that Second Dimension Phineas was pointing towards, which happened to be their adult ally. Doofenshmirtz blinked, sharing Ferb's look of utter obliviousness as to what Second Dimension Phineas was talking about.

"Dictator?" Doofenshmirtz repeated. "I'm not a dictator!" There was a pause. "Yet." Perry glared at him. "Don't you start with me, Perry the Platypus. And I would prefer the term Evil Overlord, anyway."

Instead of paying attention to the insane man's ramblings, Perry emitted his trademark noise, shaking his head at Second Dimension Phineas as though to say whatever point he was trying to make was futile.

Obviously, Perry knew even more than he let on, but Ferb was too tired and emotionally drained to deduce anything further. Besides, he trusted Perry. His longtime pet and friend probably had a good explanation for what was going on. If only he could talk...

Ferb realized the irony of that statement only moments after he thought it.

"Look, we'll talk more later." The Second Dimension Phineas nervously glanced behind him.

"Yeah," Doofenshmirtz agreed, "or did we all forget that we were running for our lives?"

Apparently, they did forget for that short period of time that they were running for their lives for another figure jumped down from the same concrete wall as Second Dimension Phineas had, followed by even more figures all dressed in dark red military uniforms. There was a short cry from Second Dimension Phineas and Doofenshmirtz as the figures wasted no time in grabbing them. Perry did not even have time to leap towards Ferb, finding his arms and legs quickly immobilized by chains.

"Well, well, well. If it isn't the great and powerful Agent P. What a pleasure. And look, you even brought the ones we've been looking for."

It chilled Agent P to the bone to hear a reminiscent of Carl's usually friendly tone used in such a mocking manner. The unpaid intern stepped out from behind numerous soldiers who wore uniforms identical to Carl's. Perry did not even have to physically see him to know that this Carl was not the dorky, unpaid intern who was devoted to working for Major Monogram. The cold voice could only belong to a Carl from another dimension.

"Sorry about not personally retrieving you from your dimension, but we have to keep that old hag busy somehow. Exercise is good for old age." A teasing smile spread across Second Dimension Carl's lips. "O.W.C.A. will take over now."

Still smiling, Second Dimension Carl turned to the soldiers who were gathered around the others. He approached Second Dimension Phineas, and Perry watched as the boy trembled more and more as Second Dimension Carl focused solely on him.

"My, my, Phineas. Escaping your prison cell? Naughty, naughty. You even left your beloved brother behind—how selfish of you!" Second Dimension Carl giggled to himself in a gleeful manner. "I wonder, would you even care if I made Ferb take your punishment for you?"

"No!" Second Dimension Phineas' eyes were wide as he shrieked. "Don't touch him! Please, don't touch him!"

It hurt. It hurt both Perry and Ferb to hear the terror and desperation in Second Dimension Phineas' voice. Second Dimension Carl clearly did not share this sentiment. With his toothy grin and predatory gaze, he leaned forward and pinched Second Dimension Phineas' cheek, overly delighted when tears welled up in the boy's eyes.

"Hm, that's interesting. You see, I recall specifically telling you to not cause me any problems, but here we are." Second Dimension Carl let go of Second Dimension Phineas' cheek. "And yet, you want me to listen to you? Now, how is that fair?"

Perry blinked, and just in that millisecond Second Dimension Carl's disconcerting grin had dropped, and the false happiness that the curly-haired man presented had changed to a death glare.

"Oh, I see. It's okay to not listen to Carl. It's okay to ignore pathetic, little Carl." The alternate version of Carl gritted his teeth. He roughly grabbed Second Dimension Phineas' chin, forcing the boy to look up at him. "After your punishment, we'll see if you feel the need to be such a troublemaker."

"How is he the troublemaker when you're the one holding him captive?"

Ferb's harsh tone jolted Perry from his own seething rage over the treatment of his other owner's alternate dimension self. He struggled to free himself of his binding, especially when he saw Second Dimension Carl turn his attention to Ferb. This Carl made his skin crawl, and he did not want him anywhere near his owner.

Instead of glaring or even threatening Ferb, Second Dimension Carl broke out in his cruel smile once more. He uncharacteristically let out an evil cackle, holding his side as though something humorous had happened.

"Oh, man!" Second Dimension Carl struggled to breathe. "This must have been such a disappointment for you!" He stopped laughing, but his creepy smile remained in place as he sauntered over to Ferb, who unconsciously tensed as Second Dimension Carl neared him. "Getting all the way to the second dimension and running into your lost brother, only to discover that he's not your brother at all! I am so sorry I missed your expression when you realized." Second Dimension Carl laughed a bit more.

"Where's Phineas." Ferb demanded to know with no inflection in his voice. He bravely stared the crazed man down. "Where's my brother!"

Second Dimension Carl stopped laughing and remained cavalier as he shrugged his shoulders. "Dunno. I heard rumor that he was dead—the boss doesn't take too kindly to uncooperative kids—but he's probably just near death. Beaten to a bloody pulp, struggling to breathe, in so much pain that he wished he could die already." Second Dimension Carl paused for a moment to smirk at Ferb. "He screamed a lot for you, you know? Cried and begged for his brother to come save him." He ruffled Ferb's green hair; Ferb just glared up at him while Perry growled, unable to do anything else from his position. "It was really quite endearing. He must love you a lot."

"Aren't you Major Monobrain's kid?"

Disregarding the tension in the atmosphere, Doofenshmirtz had a look of enlightenment upon his face as though he had spent the entire duration of the chilling conversation trying to figure out who Second Dimension Carl was. His obliviousness was enough for Perry to direct his ire at him for a moment.

Like before, Second Dimension's Carl carefree expression vanished. A shadow seemed to cast over his face as he addressed Doofenshmirtz, "What did you say?"

"Yeah," Doofenshmirtz continued to ignore the mounting tension. "You're that intern of his—Kyle!"

"It's Carl," the curly-haired man snapped.

"Yeah, yeah. Whatever. But help me out here; I'm confused. Aren't you a good guy? I mean "good" as a subjective term for "good versus evil," but aren't you, like, Major Monobrain's puppy?"

There was little in the world that could frighten Perry, most of which revolved around harm coming to his family. Second Dimension Carl's dark expression froze the blood in his veins as he stared down Doofenshmirtz.

"Kid. Puppy. Is that all I am to you? An intern?"

Doofenshmirtz stared blankly back at him. "... Yes?"

A thick block of tension descended upon them, making it hard to breathe let alone feel terror for the fickle, mad scientist. Second Dimension Carl stared unblinkingly at Doofenshmirtz whose own eyes grew wide with confusion.

"If you weren't marked..." Second Dimension Carl began, but he quickly composed himself before he could finish, turning away from a still-befuddled Doofenshmirtz. "Bring Phineas back to his cell. Put the rest in the S-block."

Not one of the dark figures wasted a moment in dragging the group off towards the prison. Perry watched Second Dimension Carl continue to glare at Doofenshmirtz until he realized that the no-longer-a-secret agent was staring at him. There was a brief moment when the anger and cruelty disappeared behind dark blue eyes, replaced with an unreadable expression that Perry had only seen his Carl with once, and that had been after a particularly tiring day on the job where all of them just wanted to go home and crawl into bed.

Perry didn't know what the sudden expression meant, but he also knew he had more pressing matters to attend to, especially since Second Dimension Carl was still working under somebody.