"Guys! Guys! You're not going to believe it!" Howard exclaimed as he busted through Leonard and Sheldon's apartment door.
Sheldon looked at the uninvited guest with a scornful look. "Have we lost all civility? Do we no longer knock?"
"Sorry. But you're not going to believe it!"
"If it involves you then you're probably right, we won't believe it," Leonard said sarcastically from the kitchen.
"No! Seriously! I've invented a liquid that will make a woman do anything you ask!" Howard held out a vial of clear liquid.
"You're right. We don't believe you." Leonard went back to making his sandwich.
"Howard, you're not a chemist. You're an engineer," Sheldon pointed out.
"But Bernadette's a microbiologist at a pharmaceutical company. She has access to all kinds of cool, experimental stuff. Thus, I have access to all kinds of cool, experimental stuff!"
"I'm with Leonard. I don't believe you," said Sheldon waving a dismissive hand at Howard.
"I'm telling you it's true! I tried it out on Bernie last night. She did anything I asked! And I mean
anything
," Howard said with a naughty tone in his voice.
"Ok, prove it," Leonard said sarcastically.
"Let's see," Howard said scratching his chin. "Oh! I know! Let's get Penny over here!"
"You want to use Penny as your guinea pig?" Leonard asked incredulously.
"Why not?!" Howard could barely contain his excitement.
"It can't hurt, Leonard. It'll be fun watching Howard fail," Sheldon said as he shrugged his shoulders. Howard shot him an exasperated look.
"Fine. I'll go get her." Leonard put his sandwich down and headed towards Penny's apartment across the hall.
Penny answered the door, a vision of loveliness, dressed in a thin blue v-neck top and cut off jean shorts, her long blonde hair flowing past her shoulders. Of course, she could be dressed in a burlap sack and Leonard's heart would melt. He's had a crush on her for several years.
"Hey! What's up, buttercup?" she asked.
"Hi, Penny. We're about to order some Chinese and wondered if you'd like to join us."
"Oooooo, Chinese! I love Chinese! But I'm a little short on cash." She was always short on cash.
"Don't worry, my treat." It was always Leonard's treat.
"In that case, heck yeah I'll join you guys!"
Penny had been waiting for this all day, ever since Bernadette called her this morning. She was going to enjoy this.
After the usual greetings with Howard and Sheldon, Leonard asked Penny if she wanted something to drink. He poured two glasses of water, one for himself and one for Penny. Joining Leonard in the kitchen, Howard quickly dumped his vial into Penny's glass.
"This water tastes weird," Penny said after a couple sips of her water, staring at the glass.
"Yeah, mine, too," Leonard quickly answered. "I think they added more chlorine to the water supply or something recently."
"Really? They can do that?" asked Penny, still staring at her glass.
"Oh yes. You'd be surprised at what they put into our water supply," Sheldon said matter of factly, not meaning to refer to what they had added to her water. Leonard and Howard shot him a look as if to say "Shut up!"
"No kidding?" Penny asked, then took another sip of her water.
Penny continued to finish her glass of water over small talk, not even noticing that food was never ordered. The boys watched intently to see if there was any change in her mood.
Howard finally decided to test the waters.
"Hey, Penny, do you have any cheesecake in your refrigerator?"
"Yes. Why?"
"Will you go back to your apartment and get me a slice, please?"
"Sure!"
Leonard and Sheldon's jaws dropped. Any other time Penny would have told him to get it himself or flat out said no. Howard looked like a child at Christmas.
"I told you!" he said triumphantly as she left.
"Maybe she's just in a good mood," Leonard said, even though he knew deep down, even in the best of moods, Penny would have told Howard of all people to go fly a kite.
She came back with a big slice of cake and handed it to Howard. They decided to test it further, asking her to do other things she normally wouldn't do. Make Leonard a sandwich, bring Sheldon his slippers, fluff the pillows on Leonard's bed, etc.
Howard looked at Leonard and Sheldon. "OK, gentleman, we've got about 30 minutes left before it wears off. It's time to kick it up a notch." He looked at Penny. "Penny, will you remove your top and give it to me, please?"
Leonard was mortified. "Howard!"
"What?! You know you were thinking it. I just said it," Howard said, pointing out the truth.