Chapter Text
The cold wind sliced through the air like a knife blade. The city’s alleys were engulfed by a composed line of the general buzzing of the inhabitants, dressed in their most elegant clothes for the special occasion. The lights faded between the pale contrasts of blue and green, from the individual villas in the suburbs, to the sumptuous buildings and shops in the center, as if to disfigure the natural splendor of the full moon that soared over a clear sky as black as peace.
Traveling along the main road that perfectly split the city, a wall divided the inhabited areas at the foot of a tall hill made up of two massive structures facing a small field respectively. Continuing the way uphill, a single central building soared culminating in three unique turrets distinct in three alternating colors; two black at the ends and a light green central one, higher than the others. On the right side of the central building, there was a small turret, from which someone would be able to look at every alley and citizen, as big as a pin, of the megalopolis, glimpsing the border wall not far from the residential area.
The only lucky one who could enjoy that show was a tall, burly man with short brown hair. He was dressed in a smart green suit, which mirrored his alert bearing and the fierce expression on his face behind his half-moon glasses. He stood behind the wooden podium equipped with three microphones and with a wave of his hand, he turned on a pair of spotlights that beamed directly at him, illuminating his figure that appeared recorded in all the screens of any existing screen. He took a deep breath adjusting the left sleeve of his jacket before looking directly at the camera and starting his speech.
“My dear citizens of the Thri-State Area, in my name, Mayor and President, Roger Doofenshmirtz, and my fellow Oligarchs, we officially welcome the start of a new year.”
A general roar of applause rose from the metropolis, dying out shortly afterward so the man could continue.
“So, before returning to the celebrations, I gently ask the attention of all the inhabitants to hear the important announcements and some new directives on the management of the individual areas.”
Miles away from where the man was delivering his live speech, in the streets of a large city as poorly maintained and unkempt as its inhabitants despite the festive climate, a hooded figure walked indiscreetly on a sidewalk avoiding snow-covered cracks on the ground. The snowflakes were slowly falling from the dark sky and the cold wind gently carried them around. He made his way among the citizens who were closely guarded by security who, once noticed, forced himself to stop in front of one of the large screens placed around, freezing at the sight of the figure and holding his shortened breath.
“Useless to remember, but necessary to remain aware, we are still in the midst of a crisis that forces us to triple our work with meager earnings for fifty years now. My intent, however, is not to dishearten you by repeating every year and at peak times that our own capital has had to face, also given the tricentenary of the unification of our country in two years. Indeed, I am here to inform you that we may have found the key that will open the doors to the next level and this turning point is all in the hands of a new group of researchers who will deal, already today, with distributing themselves among the various cities of the three states and do the research necessary to solve the problems of each individual city.”
As if he knew of the reaction that would follow, the man pressed his lips together, letting the buzz of the population rise so anxiously that the police intervened and dissuaded the crowds in the cities from quieting down. In some places, the poorest ones, the warnings were followed by well-aimed threats by displaying the batons to silence everyone in fear, including the hooded figure who insistently covered the collar of his jacket taking continuously agitated breaths.
Once the general order was restored, the speech was able to proceed.
“My citizens, please keep your composure, despite this being a celebration night. The good news I have just given you is not an invitation to abandon your duties and leave it to the new Research Team to solve the problems that plague our country. Otherwise, where would your duty as citizens go, inhabitants of the Thri-States Area? What would your purpose be? If there is one good thing that led to this crisis, it was seeing how each of you, in your tasks, managed to make the most of it, albeit limited by the resources we have available. The reason we are still here to celebrate, tonight more than any other as has not been the case for decades, was to fulfill the rules and raise your voice to yourself and so to the group you belong to. If we have reached this turning point, it was thanks to the efforts of each of you and for this, I can only hope that your dedication to duty can always translate into diligence to your behaviors that must reflect observance of yourselves and thus on us.”
Taking a deep breath, the man continued as if to want to pass over an unpleasant argument “Going back to the distributions of the Research Group: there will be three groups for each area, which will be located in the three main capitals where special residential areas have been established along with all the equipment needed to carry out their work. Accompanying them, there will be new squadrons of Moderators to deal with the other important problem that hit us in the previous months, namely the flight of children from the Correctional Institute.”
A series of agitated hums swept through the listeners as the hooded figure clenched his fists, motionless in place staring at Roger who continued to speak in a pressing tone of voice with a hint of repressed bile.
“Although we managed to find some of the absconders as mentioned earlier, we realize the mediocre approach with which we have tried to tackle a problem that has never occurred before. But I guarantee you citizens that the remaining uncontrolled monsters that jeopardize your self-control will soon be captured, and brought back to the Institute that we have efficiently refurbished and rehabilitated by making them pay for the time they wasted in creating havoc and uncontrolled chaos. Particular attention will be paid to the city of Coat Side City due to the presence of the most dangerous subject among those who escaped so far. However, I remember maximum demeanor and trust for the new police forces.” A vibration in the inside pocket of his jacket made his composure escape for a millisecond and he decided to hurry to conclude the live broadcast solemnly.
“With this news, I conclude my year-end speech by wishing you all a good continuation of the evening. Enjoy the fruits of this past year by looking forward to the new resources of the next to come given this new rebirth. Wish you all a good night.”
A roar of composed applause escorted the man who left the spotlights to enter the elevator behind him. He pressed one of the buttons and the teleportation system made him appear in another area of the large structure where, opening the doors, he found himself in front of a large man in a dark green military uniform, irritating him even more.
“Colonel Contraction, couldn't you wait another five minutes?”
The soldier's response revealed the tone of urgency that overcame the displeasure.
“I apologize sir, but they called from Coat Side City and they say they got it.”
Amazement chased away the dissent on Roger's face and with a wave of repressed frenzy he squeezed his trembling left arm and flanked his colleague, marching into the large room occupied by about ten people sitting in front of computers and stopping in front of the larger screen, waiting for the link.
“When?”
“Right now, maybe this could be the right time.”
Roger stifled a skeptical snort.
“Just like all the previous ones. I want to see him now.”
The colonel ordered one of the guards to connect and request real-time viewing on the big screen.
The head of the Moderators turned on the micro camera placed in the collar showing those present the scene that presented itself in front of her: in the middle of the street, evacuated by citizens unaware of the situation, there was a Moderator who was trying to keep a hooded small person writhing trying to free himself from the handcuffs that had been locked on his wrists. Behind him, another guard nervously watched the scene, visibly younger than the others, holding a large shoulder bag in her hands.
Colonel Contraction addressed the chief through a transceiver.
“Lolliberry, make sure the other beast is also immobilized.”
The woman took the chains from her belt and quickly approached the prisoner.
“Yes sir, I'll take care of it right away-!”
A scream interrupted the conversation and the leader showed on the monitor a small teal creature that, growling furiously, slipped out of the hood of the handcuffed figure and attacked the soldier's face who was thrown back. Before they could even intervene, Lolliberry and the young recruit were also attacked, stormed by the animal that started scratching and beating its tail in the face of the Moderators, who found it hard to even touch it without being injured.
Meanwhile, the small figure seized the opportunity and within a second, rolled on himself, jumped to its feet, and presumably with two springs under the soles of the shoes jumped at least thirteen feet in the air to throw himself at the Moderator with the bag, isolating her a few meters from the fight against the creature and pinning her to the ground in terror, showing off a pair of long sharp canines with wide open mouth.
Meanwhile, the animal, taking out a key from the belt of the guard who had handcuffed the boy, knocked the two guards to the ground and shot toward him to free him from the handcuffs. Lolliberry nervously raised her eyebrows and stood up ignoring the wounds caused by the animal and turned to her colleague.
“I won't let it get away one more time. On your feet, prepare the chains!”
“Shall we call reinforcements?”
“I’ve got this, move!”
The hooded figure stopped growling at the still hostage, turning to peer with an eye over the hood at the woman who was about to attack him with a truncheon raised in the air, furious. The release of the free handcuffs allowed him to tighten the animal to the chest, preventing him from attacking the woman and taking the backpack still in the girl’s hand before jumping back a few meters just before being hit.
Lolliberry wasn’t impressed and stopped to snatch from her colleague's hands a long chain culminating in a small prehensile iron hook that she threw at the boy about to touch the ground. Shortly before landing, however, the latter had extracted a small fluorescent blue object with an indefinite shape from the backpack, throwing it with force to the ground and letting out a blanket of white smoke which, as if pushed by a jet of strong artificial wind, flared up quickly all around the road reaching the citizens supervised by the Moderators so as not to let them panic.
From the control center, Colonel Contraction addressed the soldiers controlling the screens.
“Connect to the street surveillance cameras. Lolliberry, find it and immediately call all nearby Moderators to assist you!”
“Yessir!”
She promptly replied, angrily withdrawing the chain thrown empty to herself to blindly put it back in the belt and give orders to her team.
“Split up and try to dispel this fog.”
About twenty guards carried out the order by occupying the entire deserted street, relying only on hearing and isolating unusual sounds. There was a general silence, tense due to the concentration of every guard in the area, blinded by the only vision of a white wall wherever they looked.
In a short time, however, the strong icy wind helped to dispel the white smoke and thus restore sight to the Moderators, one of whom spotted the fugitive, crouched on the ground a few centimeters from one of the alleys with the animal that enveloped his neck.
"It's over there!"
The alarm caused the boy to jump with a surprised leap to enter the alley, followed shortly afterward by about fifteen Moderators, some missing by the leader who ordered them to enter into other alleys and the remaining ones to look after the civilians.
The fugitive ran frantically turning two alleys and with a fleeting glance behind him, took a small spherical object from his bag and stopped kneeling on the ground, taking the Moderators by surprise. Once the invention was activated, a shock to the ground similar to a small earthquake reached the guards who led the group, causing them to lose their balance and thus hit by those behind, causing almost half of the squadron to fall. In addition, disturbing cracks formed in the ground and walls of both buildings next to them.
Meanwhile, the hooded boy had scattered a series of cords on the ground before resuming his escape, hastened by two other groups who surprised him on both sides of the intersection. But when the guards reached the point where the cords were scattered, these, as if they had a life of their own, tightly wrapped the closest guards, tying them together as if they were salami and pinning them to the ground.
At the same time, the little one had crouched away from the action to let the animal hide, reluctantly, again in the hood, while he was welding on the sides of both shoes two black rectangles which, once activated, allowed him to run on the wall of the building. A move that cost him too long as, a few meters from reaching the top of the roof, a metal hook hit him in the right foot. He was not captured, but the blow made him lose the device and thus make him fall dangerously to the ground where more and more Moderators were reaching him with chains ready in their hands.
With no apparent escape route, instinctively, just before ending up in the hands of the guards, he spun on himself, placing his feet against the wall, leaning towards the exit on the right, and activated the springs on the shoes that shot him sideways like a bullet. Such a force created a shock wave that caused the wall to crack and bring down an imposing wall of rubble, blocking the exit to the street and forcing the agents to back off and look for another way out.
The boy shot out of the narrow alley almost by a miracle, darting obliquely across the wide main road and stopping on the opposite side, bumping into the back of a van. Passers-by and motorists froze to watch the scene in astonishment. The driver of the hit vehicle restlessly opened the door to find the cause of the crash in shock.
A child with a very large brown jacket that came up to his ankles was sitting up cautiously, massaging his affected shoulder and a small beast that was clinging to the back of his head, almost hidden by the wavy and flaming red hair of the young man. As soon as he realized he was staring, the boy looked up and smiled broadly at the man, highlighting his long, sharp canines. The man blanched in horror and seized with a fit of hysterical fear, threw himself out of the car, shaking his arms wildly in the air.
“IT'S THE LITTLE RED MONSTER!!”
His screams were enough to spread uncontrolled panic from any corner of the street. People fled screaming and scattering in any direction, including alleys into which the Moderators were rejected. Lolliberry hardly dodged the civilians and ten meters across the street, she saw the hooded boy again on the roof of the van he had hit, intent on dispersing the ranks of screaming civilians.
His arms were raised above his head, he uttered menacing, scream-like noises in an open voice with a wide and sly smile, his face red-cheeked. From his head emerged the green creature surrounded by tufts of hair, the mandarin orange beak wide open, exhibiting two pointed canines and a hanging tongue while he emitted low gurglings.
The citizens continued to disperse, crowding the alleys and blocking the road to the Moderators who barely dodged them to reach the little one who, after a few more hoarse screams, addressed them directly with a broad amused smile.
“Sorry guys, maybe you’ll do better next time. Happy new year y’all!”
He turned his back to them and with two sharp jumps he leaped on a lamppost, crashing it to the ground, to the roof of the condominium, and with one last fleeting glance, he disappeared even when they finally reached him. The police split up, to look for the boy now dissipated in thin air. Most of the Moderators were gathered to restore order and control among the citizens in agitation and report public damage to the body in charge of repairs.
Meanwhile, the chief Moderator was arguing with his superior from Danville.
“Sir-!”
“I refuse to hear any more excuses from you Lolliberry! You've been letting it slip out of your hands for five months and tonight's performance was shameful, to say the least! Why didn't you call the reinforcements?!”
With a moment of hesitation, the woman replied bitterly.
“I thought we could get it.”
“No, you thought you could get it and out of all the many mistakes you’ve made tonight, this is the biggest one out of all of them! Take all the materials that are scattered and put the civilians in line to the best of your meager abilities.”
The Chief Moderator nodded, containing her shame as it was tightening her throat.
“Yes sir.”
The call broke off abruptly, leaving the woman disconsolate and impassive to the wind and chaos that she would soon have to face again. A shy clearing of her throat brought her back in alert, turning to see the young recruit nervously raise her back before speaking.
"Commander, we’ve covered the entire area but there is no trace of him anymore."
Lolliberry snorted with a disappointed expression on her face.
"Of course, there’s not." She turned her gaze to the building where the boy had been spotted just before his disappearance. "I still can’t believe how such a monster could even exist, I didn't think they’d have so many abilities ... this shall be a rare case. Some sort of mistake or something … damn little riffraff.”
The young recruit, staring at the roof along with her superior, bit her lip, holding back the embarrassment.
“Yeah … about that, I'm sorry for not having done anything when he attacked me. If I had intervened, we could have got him.”
Lolliberry turned to look at the Moderator, thinking seriously before drawing her conclusions with a clear bitterness in her voice.
“It would surely have found another way to attack us. I'm sure that with the new squadron, we could finally catch it." The woman turned to put all the attention on the young recruit in awe of the hard gaze of her superior “However, make sure you no longer allow your emotions to interfere with your work, Flynn. That being brings out what we have managed to overcome, but this should not stop us from fulfilling our duty. We will be able to catch it. At any cost."
The girl pursed her lips, swelling her chest with a huge sigh that she released to compose herself and take on a determined expression on her face.
"Yes, sir."
"Good. Call the troops and let’s take care of the civilians."
The two women reunited with the group of Moderators to restore order to the city, still agitated by what had just happened. All were eager to recover and finally go back to celebrate and rest.
Colonel Contraction abruptly ended the call, letting out an exasperated sigh before referring to his colleague, who was sitting at one of the desks in front of a computer.
“President Doofenshmirtz, again, I am dismayed to have disturbed you during your speech, if I had known that we would have witnessed a pitiful scene like this...”
Roger was reviewing the recordings of the chase he had just witnessed, so completely absorbed that he didn’t seem to pay attention to the colonel's apologies. He looped many clips that had the boy as the protagonist during the escape and the attacks until his inexplicable disappearance on the roof.
Realizing that he didn’t have his full attention, the colonel waited in trepidation for Roger to cover the entire scene until he stopped the video showing the child on the roof of the van, intent on terrorizing the crowd.
“To be pitiful were the forced loans of the Moderators, although this is now normal administration for all the attempts of capture tried so far. Contrary to this, it is fascinating to see that little pest in action that uncontrollably terrifies that town without even bothering to maintain discretion among the inhabitants.”
Colonel Contraction nodded as he approached the screen.
“Yes, at the beginning it was much more discreet and only took care of escaping and later on knocking out the Moderators with its inventions.”
“This is because he is running out of resources.” Roger smiled slightly, hiding the mischief as he scrolled through the video to the point where the child was scattering the strings on the ground.
“Even his machines lack the ingenuity and originality that so distinguishes him. Little by little, by limiting his access to food, hiding places, and material with which he can build those tools, we pushed him towards a corner he will neither escape nor defend himself and with the new squadron of Moderators we will give him the coup de grace.”
The pleased gaze was shared by both men until Colonel Contraction suddenly raised his eyebrows.
“But it knows now. It heard the speech you gave tonight. Will this not allow it to devise an escape route?”
Roger looked at him, snorting amused.
“In a sense, his awareness of the situation he has found himself in will only be useful to be able to control him more later.” On the screen, he stopped the image of the boy shortly before being captured by the Moderators. His face was pale and horrified, seemingly absent from what was happening around him.
“Look at him. He knows he has no way out, he knows he cannot hide for long and even if he tries to come up with something, it will never be enough to hinder the new squadrons, especially if led by his supervisor. Also …” he scrolled through the video at the moment when the child had caused the blanket of thick fog. By activating the thermal vision, they discovered the hook that was about to catch him had managed to hit his leg so that he fell to the ground, squeezing his mouth with both hands to hold back a scream before scrambling to his feet and limping blindly towards the alley. The video went on again until the crash against the side of the van and his painful attempt to climb on the latter “His recent escapes have certainly given him many kinds of physical complications that he is unable to cure without the assistance that he continues to refuse. He is just making it easier for us and by the end of the month we will finally be able to welcome him here.”
The Colonel smiled in admiration and with renewed determination.
“Sure sir, I'll make sure that happens myself.”
Roger got up from his desk, adjusting his left sleeve, and with a nod walked slowly towards the elevator.
“I'm counting on you, Colonel. In the meantime, make sure you take back the machinery that the boy has lost and for the rest, we can declare this parenthesis over. I wish you a good continuation of the evening.”
“Likewise to you President Doofenshmirtz. See you …” the realization hit the face of the man who lowered his shoulders disconsolately while Roger nodded understandingly.
“Yes, tomorrow morning. At least it will be the last show before he goes away.”
“My only thought is that he won’t blow up that city.”
Roger entered the elevator and answered the colonel with a deep breath.
“Not for nothing did I decide to send him there. As long as he does not waste resources and hinder the operations concerning the boy, for me he can also raze that city, at least it will be a way for the team to perfect themselves.”
With this, the man pressed another button of the elevator and was teleported in front of a door behind which came a distinct classical music and a chorus of buzzing. He was about to enter when he felt his jacket pocket vibrate and rolled his eyes to see the name of the person he answered after a moment of preparation.
“Heinz.”
The answer was a high-pitched, croaking voice that tried to contain the agitation.
“Hey Roger! Sorry if I may disturb you, I passed by just now but I didn’t find you at the party.”
The man moved away from the noise by leaning his back against the wall, drawing a patient sigh.
“I was called by Colonel Contraction for quick advice on a nuisance still to be resolved. I just arrived.”
“Ahhhh that's why you looked a little annoyed at the end of the speech. Still great though! I mean, the speech, as usual, like all kinds of speeches you do. Even if there was a bit of noticeable annoyance, but I’m sure none noticed that at all-!“
“Heinz. Manner.”
He harshly warned the man with a disappointed expression on his face. On the other end, the voice stopped and a series of breaths were taken before speaking.
“Y-yea you’re right, sorry, uh ... anyway you got it.”
“Of course I do. So I guess you didn't last too long at the party.”
The man cleared his throat embarrassed.
“Well … enough to say hello to Rodney and to the other members of the Oligarchs. As soon as I found out you weren't there, I flee myself out.”
"Good. Are you at home now?"
"Not yet actually. I passed by the lab to complete the final checks on the machinery for tomorrow's presentation."
Roger snapped away from the wall, forcibly contracting a surge of strong agitation.
"Heinz-!"
“Relax relax, there’s Admiral Acronym here with me and Poofenplotz too, even if she minds her own business. Better on this way tho.”
“As the explosive incompetent says.”
The old woman commented sourly on a distance to which Heinz replied irritably.
“I am the incompetent?? Talks miss ‘I don’t even know what an atom is made of’."
“At least I don't blow up the laboratory twice a day and force the colleagues to clean up their own mess.”
Tired of hearing that discussion useful only to waste time, Roger took a breath and cut it off, drawing the interlocutor's attention.
“Heinz, please. Are you a man or a schnitzel?”
The man on the other end recovered and returned to focus on the call.
“Oh yeah, uh, sorry Roger! Anyway, yes, I checked everything” a little pause with several machine sounds in the background “aaaaand I have nothing more to do here so I'm going home now. Unless you want me to come-! "
“No forget it, I feel like you're pretty shaken tonight. I’ll see you directly tomorrow morning, counting that you have regained a little more self-control.”
Heinz remained quiet for a second, leaving the sound of buzzing and distant music in the background, before agreeing resolutely but with a certain shame hidden in his voice.
“Of course. You’re right. I think it must have been the general celebrations mood or one more drink played a bad joke on me. Or maybe both who knows eheh. Also, I’m not in the best conditions dress-wise since I’m all sweaty and such and-!” he interrupted himself clearing his throat, realizing it was too much information. “Well, you got it. Then see you tomorrow Roger, have a goodnight.”
“Goodnight to you too, Heinz. Please, I recommend you for tomorrow.”
And with that, he ended the call with a weary sigh, thinking about the many things that happened all at once that night. Fastened his tie to his collar, the mayor made his entrance into the large hall where a great party was being held, where various people with their elegant clothes participated politely, dancing around the room and occupying various tables set with high-quality dishes.
The general celebrations for the last night of the year had lasted for another few hours before their conclusion, leaving the streets isolated, only invaded by the snow and by patrols of Moderators in their rounds of surveillance, lightened by the street lamps. Everyone was in their respective houses, resting and preparing for the work that awaited them all in just a few hours.
Everything was quiet. As it was supposed to be.