And that’s exactly where he was headed that day.
Out in the hall, with a quick glance over his shoulder to make sure nobody was watching, Perry popped up on two legs and ducked into the nearest bathroom.
The door closed—SLAM! — and with a flush, Perry was gone. He was whisked down through the plumbing to his secret hideout under Phineas and Ferb’s house.
Unlike Phineas and Ferb’s modest suburban home, Perry’s headquarters were outfitted in high-tech equipment and surveillance devices. There were jet packs and space suits and a closet full of clever disguises, plus an entire wall of high-speed computers and satellite feeds.
“Hello… hello? Anybody there?” A giant, white-mustached face stared out from an enormous high-def screen at the center of Agent P’s cave. It was Perry’s superior officer and mission-assigner, Major Monogram, looking lonely and a little confused.
“Oh!” he said, relieved, as Perry landed with a SPLASH! in front of him. “Good morning, Agent P! We’ve just received word that Dr. Doofenshmirtz has been buying up construction toys at an alarming rate. We need you to find out what he’s up to and… put a stop to it!”
Perry raised his front paw in an “aye-aye” salute and was on it in a flash.
He hurried over to his fleet of spy vehicles — he had everything from a jet-powered skateboard to a nuclear submarine — and chose a sleek-looking motor scooter. He leaped on and gunned the engine as a hydraulic lift in the floor began to raise him to the street. When he reached the surface, the road flipped to let him through. And with a deep BRRUMMM! he was off.
Of course, even supersecret agents on urgent missions have to stop at red lights. (It’s the law, after all.) The last thing he expected, however, was for Phineas and Ferb’s mom to pull up right beside him on her way to the mall with Candace and Stacy. He turned and—gulp! — saw Linda turn his way.
Good thing he had a fake mustache, nose, and glasses handy! Perry slipped them on and disguised himself just as Linda did a double take, mouth agape and eyes wide.
Huh? thought Linda, taking a closer look at the scooter rider alongside her car. He looked oddly familiar. Could it possibly be…
But the next thing Linda knew, the light had turned green and the mysterious character was gone.
Chapter 3
Later, at the Googolplex Mall, Candace and Stacy were ready to win!
“We’ll meet back at the entrance in an hour,” Linda told them.
“Come on, Stacy,” Candace urged her friend, practically dragging her past the keychain booths and sunglasses stalls. “We gotta hurry so we can get a spot in li—”
Candace’s jaw dropped to the floor as they stepped up to join a line that seemed to go on and on for miles. Her eyes followed the line as it wound its way to the spotlighted stage.
All of a sudden she felt… nervous! Nervous was not something Candace was used to feeling. “I’ve never sung in front of so many people!” she gasped.
Stacy tapped her on the shoulder. “Uh… Candace?” She motioned over her shoulder to the even larger crowd of spectators standing on the other side.
“Ugh!” Candace’s nervousness quickly turned to panic. “I can’t do this!” she squealed.
“Oh, yes, you can!” said Stacy. She took Candace by the shoulders and looked her in the eye. “You’re not a quitter, you’re a fighter!”
“I am?” said Candace meekly.
“Sure you are,” said Stacy. “You’re a lean, mean, singing machine.”
The pep talk worked. Candace squared her jaw and made fists with both hands. Then she attacked Stacy’s purse as if it were a punching bag and she were the heavyweight champion of the world.
“Grrrr!” she growled, working herself into a frenzy.
“That’s it!” Stacy encouraged her. “Yeah! Now you’re looking like a winner.”
Candace threw one more round of punches. Then she doubled over, exhausted. She was dripping with sweat, her hair was a mess, and she was panting like a dog that hadn’t had a drink for days.
“Hey, Candace.” She froze. No! It couldn’t be… she thought.
She looked over her shoulder. Yikes! It was!
Jeremy. The object of her biggest, most ginormous, crush ever! She hurriedly smoothed her hair and tucked her blouse back into her skirt.
“And that is what a gorilla looks like when you try to take away his food,” she said brightly to Stacy. She laughed and turned around. “Oh! Hi, Jeremy!” She hoped she looked convincingly casual and surprised. “Are you auditioning, too?”
“Nah.” He held up the small white music player he was holding in his hand. “I came to see this hot new band called P.F.T. I downloaded their song this morning. It’s tight! The hundredth contestant gets to sing onstage with the band!”
“Really?” said Candace. She checked the line to see how close she was to getting to the auditions. She and Stacy had moved pretty far along; there were just a few more people between her and the entrance turnstile. She sighed and kept smiling back at Jeremy as she followed the line in front of her. Funny that she’d never heard of this awesome new band before, she thought, as she finally passed through the contestant turnstile.
Ding-ding-ding-ding-ding!
All of sudden, a bell had started ringing, and a giant sign reading 100TH CONTESTANT began to flash on and off.
“Hey,” said Jeremy, “looks like that’s you!”
And sure enough, up stepped the Super American Pop Teen Idol Star announcer to grab Candace by the arm and whisk her away.
“Congratulations!” the announcer declared as he pulled her toward the stage. “You’re the one-hundredth contestant!”
The next thing Candace knew, she was standing in front of a microphone, facing an enormous crowd. She couldn’t believe it — she was about to live her dream!
“Ladies and gentlemen…” the announcer’s voice boomed, “… this young lady has the honor of singing onstage with P.F.T. So now… the band you’ve been waiting for… Phineas and the Ferb-Tones!”
At first, Candace was thrilled. But a moment later her mouth dropped open as the eager crowd erupted into screams and she realized what the announcer had said. She turned, and, sure enough, Phineas and Ferb emerged like rock stars from a thick, dramatic fog. This was no dream, she quickly realized. This was a nightmare!
“Phineas?!” she cried.
“Candace?” Phineas walked toward her across the stage, carrying an electric guitar. “You’re the hundredth contestant? How serendipitous!” He grinned and pointed back and forth between the two of them. “This’ll be like a brother-sister thing! Now,” he went on, pulling a sheet of music out of his pocket, “I’m assuming you’ve heard our single. I mean, who hasn’t? Right?” He shrugged. “It’s a big hit.” He handed her the paper. “So here are the words, but don’t worry if you get lost. The lyrics are meaningless anyway.” He winked as he strode back across the stage toward Ferb. “I’ll point when it’s your turn.”