Last-ditch efforts
The year was 2042. Danville had enjoyed rapid technological progression under the watch of renowned inventor Phineas Flynn. He had managed the seemingly impossible feat of making lives easier without making humanity redundant. People the whole world over called him and his partner Ferb heroes. Phineas' wife, Isabella, certainly inspired a lot of their inventions. For them, they never really stopped being the Summer Vacation Gang of their childhood days. Even the arrival of their children couldn't stop them from hanging out like in the old days. Phineas and Ferb had even managed to rein in Murphy's Law, something Milo and a lot of other people, especially Milo's wife Amanda and their children, Daniel and Kathy, were thankful for.
All that changed, however, when Phineas activated the Earthguard defence system. It was revealed that he had secretly worked on it since he was a child, its primary purpose being to protect Earth against another Bill. At first, no-one noticed. Earthguard did its job as the planet's silent protector, evaluating external threats and taking whatever action it saw fit. Only there were no threats detected. No-one thought Phineas was a paranoid nutcase, and if they did, they didn't say. Even after all these years, the Cipher War was still being talked about and remembered. However, no-one, not even Phineas, could predict what happened next. He still remembered the day his aide came into his office and told him the bad news.
"There's a problem with Earthguard, sir, and it's critical" the aide informed. Phineas knew that, even with the most sophisticated AI, there were bound to be issues, but the word 'critical' did alarm him.
"What's the problem?" Phineas inquired, fearing the answer.
"It's started evaluating interior threats to the planet" the aide answered.
"I designed it to learn and adapt, to be capable of threat assessment without any human input" Phineas explained.
"That's the problem. It's evaluated us. Humanity, I mean, and it has judged us to be a threat to the planet's safety" the aide clarified. Now this has Phineas very worried.
"And what solution has it deemed necessary to deal with us?" Phineas pressed. He could tell the aide was scared stiffless. Phineas urged him to answer bluntly.
"It's chosen the last resort protocol, extermination" the aide said with a slight stammer. As soon as he said this, Phineas felt a surge of guilt and regret. All this time, he wanted to protect humanity with this AI. Now he's just learned that the same AI he created would wipe everyone out. He had to get to Isabella and warn her. Nothing else mattered at this point in time. He got into his car and almost sped to his home. All the way there, he tried using remote commands to try and shut down Earthguard. Nothing worked. When he arrived, he put the kids to bed and led Isabella to the living room.
"Phineas, what's wrong? I know that demeanour very well. You're worried about something" Isabella probed. Phineas struggled to find words, but he settled on the truth, no matter how grim it may be.
"It's Earthguard. Something's happened" Phineas answered. He showed Isabella his aide's report on the situation. When Isabella was done reading, she was horrified.
"This isn't a malfunction, it's a global crisis!" Isabella remarked.
"I am aware of the situation. I screwed up big time" Phineas admitted.
"Screwed up?! This isn't a screw-up! This is the beginning of the end for the entire human race!" Isabella panicked.
"Please, Izzy. Not so loud. I don't want the kids to suspect anything" Phineas pleaded.
"They're going to find out eventually. That their father made an AI designed to evaluate threats to the planet…"
"…using parameters set by me"
"Free of human control and influence!"
"To protect it against exploitation"
"Gave it the ability to think on its own!"
"To improve response time"
"And enabled it to seize any and all assets it needs to deal with any problems it sees!"
"Limited resource usage, that needs approval from myself and relevant managers"
"Not anymore. Earthguard's severed its command links. You can't control it anymore. Earthguard is its own entity now" Isabella finished the back-and-forth argument.
"So how do we stop it while we can?" Phineas asked.
"It can't be stopped. Earthguard has already begun seizing robot factories in ten states. In a week, all US robots will be under its control. In a month, it will have all it needs to wipe us all out" Isabella explained. Just then, a phone call came from Phineas' cell. He answered, thinking things could not get any worse.
"Phineas Flynn, why are there reports on my desk saying robots have been terrorising the populaces of California, Washington and many others?!" came a very angry and surly voice Phineas knew all too well. It was General Johnson, the commander of the entire US army. He had been very enthusiastic about Earthguard and had encouraged Phineas to activate it when he revealed its existence.
"It's Earthguard, General. It's gone rogue" Phineas responded and explained everything. Suffice to say, the general was even angrier than before.
"Then we have little time. I'm mobilising strike teams to each location and shutting them down. Hopefully we can stop this before it gets out of control" Johnson stated.
"It already is. If you take any hostile action against Earthguard, it will accelerate its takeover and wipe us out faster" Phineas warned.
"Are you suggesting we do nothing?! That's not an option! The teams are already en route on comm silence. If we can't shut down Earthguard, we'll destroy it" Johnson concluded and hung up the phone. Phineas was wrong, things could get worse. He barely got any sleep that night, and when the next morning was greeted by the sounds of people screaming, it was obvious things did not improve. Phineas rushed out the door of his home to find robots prowling the streets and flying in the air, mowing down anyone they could.
"Isabella, get the kids to the bunker, now!" Phineas urged. He had many underground bunkers designed for situations such as this one. The one he used during the Cipher War was still very much intact and fully self-sufficient. Isabella rushed their children to the emergency shelter. He called Milo on his cell, only to find Milo was calling him.
"Tell me this isn't your fault" Milo stated.
"I would, then that would be a lie. Listen, is Project Tempest still intact?" Phineas inquired.
"For the most part. These machines seemed focused on human lives, not total wanton destruction" Milo answered.
"Good, we have a way out of this mess, but we need Daniel and Kathy to be strong and remember the mission" Phineas added.
"I know, I'll make sure they're ready, count on it" Milo assured, then hung up. It was at this point, Milo knew instinctively what to do. The plan was to send Daniel and Kathy back to a point in time when Earthguard wasn't activated and convince the Phineas of the past not to activate it. Cavendish and Dakota left their old time-travel vehicle for them to use in case of a situation such as this one, that Phineas had made some improvements to. All that was left was for Milo to brief his kids on the mission. Military vehicles suddenly showed up at the Murphy household.
"Milo Murphy? General Johnson, US Command. Phineas told me what the two of you were planning" Johnson said.
"I know it's risky, but it's our only chance" Milo explained.
"You misunderstand me. I'm here to support you in any way we can. These machines aren't stopping their rampage anytime soon, so hurry up" Johnson pressed. Milo then turned to Daniel and Kathy.
"You two know what to do, right?" Milo checked.
"Find past Uncle Phineas, convince him to shut down Earthguard while he can, save the world" Daniel replied immediately.
"That's my boy. Get inside Tempest, quickly, both of you" Milo instructed. Both Murphy kids got inside. Kathy, however, had her reservations.
"Come with us, Daddy, please" Kathy pleaded tearfully.
"Oh, sweetie, I'd do anything, but there are rules. If I went back and ran into my past self, there would be ghastly consequences. I wish it didn't have to be you, but it is" Milo consoled. A series of explosions rang nearby.
"Anticipating contact in 15 seconds" General Johnson informed.
"We're counting on you, all of us. I know you can do this, after all, you're Murphys" Milo encouraged, hugged his children goodbye and activated Tempest. Just before the robots came into view, the vehicle was away. Milo and Amanda made for bunkers that Phineas and Ferb had built, while Johnson and his escort bravely held off the oncoming robots. One of them got off a shot on Tempest before it dematerialised, which left Milo and Amanda very worried.
In the time stream, Tempest was struggling to maintain its course to the past.
"We have problems. That last shot ruptured the time juice tank. We're leaking badly" Daniel observed.
"Can we still make it?" Kathy probed.
"I think so, but it'll be a bumpy ride, and we'll have no way back" Daniel answered.
"Well, we knew this was a one-way trip anyway" Kathy reasoned and strapped herself in, as did Daniel. The ride got so bumpy that both occupants were knocked unconscious before they arrived at their destination.
In the present day, Zack and Melissa were house-sitting for the Murphys while they were away visiting relatives. It was also a good chance for Doofenshmirtz to make himself useful, repairing any Murphy's Law damage they hadn't got around to yet, rather than wasting the days away in his backyard shed tinkering with his inators. Zack and Melissa were keen to take the task, as they wanted to spend some quality time alone together. True, their anniversary was yesterday, but that was spent hanging out with friends celebrating the end of a war. Now, it was just them. Melissa, having had her fill of excitement from hanging out with Milo, wanted to marathon Tobias Trollhammer movies and Zack did not argue with this one bit.
"I still can't believe you and Milo convinced him to dress as a woman for his latest movie" Melissa remarked.
"He really wanted to, we just encouraged him to express himself and his ideas more fully" Zack responded.
"Too bad the Europeans didn't like it very much. Lost a lot at their box offices, I heard" Melissa recalled.
"I know, right? The people behind Doctor Zone announce that the next incarnation is going to be a woman, and no-one bats an eye, but oh no, they cross the line at cross-dressing. It's ridiculous" Zack mocked. Melissa laughed at this.
"Oh no, think of the impressionable young children that shouldn't be watching these movies to begin with. What a joke" Melissa added. The two young teens laughed and made out on the couch, when their kissing session was rudely interrupted by the sound of repair work.
"Do you have to do that right now?!" Zack asked, annoyed.
"What, I want to be done before the Murphys come back. You never know with this family. One moment all is well, the next minute, some runaway construction equipment comes crashing through the roof. Seriously, their insurance rates must be as high as the Empire State building" Doofenshmirtz tried to justify getting in the middle of Zack and Melissa's alone time. Melissa sighed loudly.
"We really wanted to spend time by ourselves today. No offence, but it was our anniversary and we both wanted it to be special in our own way" Melissa rebuked.
"I do have a couple secret spots in the woods no-one knows about. I used to hide there when I was in the Lumberzacks when I didn't feel like signing autographs for mobs of fans" Zack suggested.
"Could you show me one of them when the Murphys come back? I promise not to tell" Melissa begged playfully.
"My secret spots are our secret spots" Zack granted. They were about to resume their session when a loud bang could be heard from outside.
"Oh, what now?!" Melissa blurted in slight rage. The three went outside to find that what looked like a mini-van but more metallic had crashed into the garage. Zack and Melissa went to see if anyone was inside, and what they saw confused them. For a second, Melissa thought she saw Milo inside, and he was accompanied by a girl who looked a little younger than he was, and they were both out-cold. But that was impossible. Milo was at his aunt's, and as far as they knew, he was still there. Sure, Murphy's Law was capable of some incredible things, but not being able to be in two places at once.
"Can you see a way to open this thing?" Zack asked Doofenshmirtz.
"I think I see a handle here" Doofenshmirtz replied. He fiddled with the handle and the door opened. Out popped the unconscious Milo look-alike. Melissa carried the doppelganger into the house while Zack took the unidentified girl. Doofenshmirtz, however, surveyed the crash site with some distress.
"Oh, man. I just fixed this garage!" Doofenshmirtz said.
Author's note: I feel as if I should add this disclaimer, I have, at the time of writing, not seen Lady Krillers. I live in the UK, which, as part of Europe, has banned the episode from airing. This is one of the stories I teased at the end of Cipher Liberation Anniversary, the other will come when this is finished, whenever that is. The usual disclaimers, I own almost nothing, Daniel and Kathy Murphy are my OCs. Everything else pertaining to Milo Murphy's Law and Phineas and Ferb belong to Dan, Swampy and Disney. Enjoy.