Phineas blinked slowly. "Were those superheroes?"
The gang exchanged a bleary glance before Baljeet nodded. "It would seem so."
They sat in silence for a moment as the mumbles of the dancers slowly filled the room.
"It feels like my head has turned to mush," Buford said eventually.
"Yes," Phineas agreed. "It feels like everything about me has gone down the drain."
"I don't feel very smart anymore," Baljeet added.
"I feel like maybe," Phineas trailed off with a giddy smile across his face. "I feel like maybe it would be ok to just sit here forever."
They transcended into quiet again. Except something about Phineas's last words didn't sit well with Isabella. She couldn't quite put her finger on it but it just seemed as though his words were not ringing true to the boy she knew him to be.
"No." She muttered. The boys swivelled their heads to look at her.
"Did you say something, Isabella?" Phineas asked.
"I said no," she repeated slowly. "I refuse to believe that you will voluntarily sit here and do nothing for the rest of your life."
"Isabella," Phineas shrugged. "I don't think I can do anything else. That machine took all my talent!"
"Maybe your talent has been taken from you," she conceded. "But your talent is not your personality! That machine can't take away your kindness or your fun-loving nature. And it definitely can't take away your creativity. You're Phineas Flynn! There is no problem you can't find a creative solution for!"
Phineas frowned mulling it over. Something was sparking in his brain, "Isabella you're a genius!" He declared. "Ferb, I know what we're going to do today!"
"There he is," Isabella smiled.
"We're going to rebuild the PF 5000 Animatron to bring our superhero avatars to life!"
"We're what?" Buford asked blankly.
"Isabella is right," Phineas continued, picking up speed. "The talent sucker…. The talent stealer, the… the… whatever you wanna call it, it can only take away talent. But superpowers are not talents, they're part of the hero's genetic structure. The talent sucker can't take them away making the avatars immune to it."
"And what if they aren't?" Buford demanded.
"Then they're made from code which can be rewritten," Ferb answered.
"Exactly!" Phineas exclaimed. "We can bring Team Improbable to life and use our gaming controllers to control them. That way we can help the Cyber Crusaders to defeat the villain without even being in danger!"
"It will still be dangerous though," Baljeet countered. "We'd have to be on site in order to see and control our avatars. If we had it linked to a satellite, it would be delayed putting us at a disadvantage."
The gang looked at him weirdly. In response he simply shrugged. "My brains are not my talent, they're a part of who I am."
"Right on," Phineas grinned. "Where's Dad? We have to get home, now!
"Ok Gang," Phineas declared. "I give you the PF 5000 Animatron mark 2!"
"Equipped with all of the old features as well as a 3D printer that will bring our avatars to life," Ferb added.
"Since it's the Mark Two," Phineas continued, "we'll have to input our superhero personas into it again so the process can begin. So," he looked around at his friends eagerly. "Who's going first?"
"I'll do it," Buford said. He stepped up to the console spoke into the microphone, detailing what he wanted of his super powers. "Belchman: fights crime with different burps!"
"Ok me next!" Baljeet paused. "Can I change my superhero?"
"I don't see why not," Phineas shrugged before Isabella interrupted.
"If you're trying to steal mine, you're too late," she smiled sweetly. "The Rainbow, who can harness the power of rainbows, unicorns and sweetness to defend all that is good and just, is already taken."
Baljeet frowned in disappointment. "Well then, I suppose HanumanMan will have to do. I would think it's pretty cool to be a flying blue monkey that can grow as massive as he desires in order to crush all in his way!"
"That just leaves me and Ferb," Phineas said. "Or Multiman with the power to be everywhere at once and Ferbguy, who has a utility belt and loads of crazy gadgets."
He finished inputting the instructions before stepping back. The machine started whirring and shaking as five beams of lights shot out, lingering a few centimetres above the ground. The beams slowly made their way up, and the gang watched their superhero avatars becoming real in front of their very eyes. Finally, Multiman - clad in Phineas's signature orange and white shirt and blue shorts but with knee high boots and a sleeveless vest, Ferbguy – wearing Ferb's clothes but, like Phineas, with a vest top, Belchman – looking a lot like Buford himself, but about three times bigger and with a steel collar around his neck, HanumanMan – a giant blue monkey in Baljeet's overalls with golden bangles around his wrists and ankles, and The Rainbow – blue boots, a purple dress and a mane of jet black hair stood before them.
"Ok Team Improbable," Phineas said approvingly. "Let's go help the Cyber Crusaders take down the talent stealer!"
"We really need a better name for him," Ferb mentioned idly.
"Regardless of the name," Isabella interrupted. "How are we going to find them?"
Phineas stroke his chin before turning to Baljeet, "The Cyber Crusaders get their powers from special space amulets. Is there some way we could locate their energy traces?"
"Yes," Baljeet answered thoughtfully, "there're bound to be emitting an energy signature unlike anything else on Earth. It should only take us a few moments to build it."
"Ferb's way ahead of you," Phineas grinned and gestured to his step brother who was already getting to work. "The rest of us should get our bikes, we're going to need a means of transport to get down to wherever they are."
Ten minutes later, the team all assembled back in the yard. Ferb was brandishing a GPS tracker with a strange satellite dish attached to an antenna that was slowly spinning around.
"According to the tracer, we need to be heading down to the city centre," Phineas said. "I've also upgraded our controllers. Now our avatars can retract into them so they're more portable."
"What are we waiting for?" Isabella said. "We've got a city to save!"
"Let's roll out, gang!"
"That's him," AJ confirmed, lowering the binoculars from his eyes. "It's definitely Repikon in there and he's huddling over some sort of glowing orb."
"You've encountered him before," Brian said. "Any tips?"
The team of heroes was gathered on the roof of a building overlooking the abandoned warehouse that they had tracked the talent stealer to. After some reconnaissance they had discovered the true identity of the villain: Replikon. AJ was familiar with him since a few years ago, Replikon had posed as the singer in order to sell himself a record deal. AJ had stopped him with the help of Static and hadn't heard of him since.
"Well, he's a shapeshifter," AJ explained. "He can turn into anything he wants."
"Yay," Nick rolled his eyes. "Shapeshifter."
"I think we can handle him though," AJ interrupted. "We've faced worse."
"Ok," Brian nodded. "Here's what we do-"
Before he could detail the plan, however, the squeal of the warehouse doors opening cut him off. Seemingly out of nowhere, swarms of robots stamped outside.
"That's not what I was expecting," AJ frowned. "Why isn't he facing us directly?"
"Probably a distraction so he can get away," Howie suggested. "Either way, these robots don't look like they're here for autographs."
"Let's make this quick," Brian said. "We want to catch Replikon before he makes a run for it."
The team, readied themselves before landing on the ground and facing the oncoming battle. Power Lord was the first to act, using his strength to clear a space around himself and Top Speed who leapt into the air and flung energy spheres in all directions. Meanwhile, Ninja Man was ducking and weaving attacks and slashing with his swords while Ordnance picked off any that got past his defence.
"I don't suppose my illusions will work in this situation," Illusioneer sighed. Either way, he shrugged his shoulders, closed his eyes and at least ten exact replicas of the team appeared amid the chaos. Some of the robots pulled of their attack of the real time in order to engage with the fakes, lightening the barrage.
But it wasn't enough.
"There's too many of them," Nick said through gritted teeth. "I don't know how much longer I can keep this us."
Before long, the team found themselves being slowly backed into a corner. They formed a semi-circle, sending robots flying with lasers, energy spheres, punches and slashes but while they were tiring, the robots just kept coming.
"We're pinned down!" Howie yelled.
"What do we do?" AJ shouted over the clanks of the advancing metal army.
Before anyone could answer, there was a squeal of bike tires and suddenly, five figures appeared it the sky. They struck a hero's pose mid-air before leaping into action amid the robots. A giant blue monkey thudded into three of the metalloids and The Cyber Crusaders watched in shock as the robots crumpled like paper beneath the monkey's hands and feet. A huge man with a black T-shirt landed in front of the pinned superheroes and after patting his chest with a fist let out a roaring belch that sent the robots before him flying. In the sky, a woman flying on a unicorn was lassoing her enemies with a rope made of rainbows and knocking them into each other while a man with green hair was floating on a hoverboard throwing grenades that froze robots in ice. As the Crusaders watched on, he reached down to his belt and a large fan-looking gun appeared from nowhere. The green haired man pointed his new weapon at the approaching wave of robots and pulled the trigger sending a sonic wave over them that frazzled their computer brains and sent them fizzling to the floor. The remainder of the robots were being taken down in a flurry of punches and kicks by a group of what seemed to be clones of one man, wearing an orange and white striped vest.
Eventually, the final robot fell and the team of superheroes stood before the Cyber Crusaders in all their glory.
"That was amazing!" Nick cried. "We owe you one!"
Strangely the heroes did not reply.
"What do we call you?" Brian asked to fill the silence.
"We're the Cyber Crusaders" Howie added helpfully.
"We're Team Improbable." The voice came from behind the group. The Crusaders turned and were met by a bunch of kids.
"I'm missing something here," AJ muttered.
"Well," the boy in the middle of the group, a redhead wearing the same colour scheme as the clones gestured to the superheroes. "They're Team Improbable, but we're the ones controlling them."
"You lost me," Nick admitted.
"Show 'em, gang," the redhead said to his friends. The kids all pulled gaming co ntrollers out of their pockets and to the Crusader's surprise, the superheroes disappeared in a flash of light before reappearing as mini holograms above the controllers.
"I'm Phineas," the redhead introduced. "And this is my brother, Ferb, and our friends, Buford, Isabella and Baljeet."
"I'm Top Speed, and this is Ordnance, Ninja Man, Power Lord and Illusioneer. We're the Cyber Crusaders."
"We know," Buford said. "You were at the 'Let's All Dance Until We're Sick' studio."
"Yeah," Isabella added. "You said you were going to get our talent back and we thought we could help."
"Well, you certainly helped us," Brian smiled. "It was quite a sticky situation you caught us in."
"I assume these robots are from the Talent Stealer?" Phineas asked, crouching beside one.
"The Talent Stealer?" AJ frowned before realising what he meant. "Oh, you mean Replikon?"
"Is that his real name?" Baljeet asked.
"We think this is his work," AJ confirmed. "Let's just say I've had a run in with him before and this whole 'stealing talent thing' is totally his style."
"We had tracked him down to this warehouse," Brian admitted. "But he saw us coming and set his guard robots on us. If you hadn't shown up, I don't know what we would have done."
"Maybe we can help," Phineas offered. "We tracked you guys by building a tracer that could locate your amulets unique energy signatures. Maybe we could modify it to find more of these robots."
"Yeah," Isabella agreed. "I'm sure wherever they are, we'll find this Replikon too."
"Sounds like a game plan," Brian nodded. "How long will this tracer take to-"
"Done!" Phineas declared before shooting his brother an approving look. "Nice work Ferb!"
"Wow," Nick muttered beneath his breath. "Where is he then?"
"Looks like he's downtown," Baljeet said peering over Ferb's shoulder.
"We'll go and get our bikes," Phineas gestured where their bikes lay.
"Umm," Brian tiled his head, trying to work out the best way to phrase his next words. "We're kind of in a hurry and I'm not sure how fast those bikes will be."
"If you give us a few moments we can supe them up," Phineas suggested.
"We don't have the time," Brian shook his head. "We'll have to give you a lift on ours."
"You what?" Buford demanded.
The Crusaders shared a smile before Howie closed his eyes and a moment later the sounds of engines filled the air. Five motorbikes screeched to a hold beside the group.
"I give you the Cyber Cycles," Nick grinned. "Illusioneer here has telepathy and is linked to them so that he can summon them whenever he wants to. Pretty handy, huh?"
"Ferb make a note," Phineas said out of the corner of his mouth. Ferb was already jotting the idea down in his notebook.
"Let's get going," Brian ordered, straddling his bike. "Phineas, you ride with me."
"Okay!" The redhead agreed, jumping up behind him.
The rest of the group onboard the cycles and then they were off, roaring towards downtown and their next confrontation with Replikon.
With the tracer aiding them, it didn't take the two teams too long to track Replikon down. He had based himself in another abandoned warehouse although this one was much smaller and better hidden. The teams dismounted the Cycles and scouted the building.
"I'm seeing twenty of those bots," AJ reported. "Should be short work."
"We'll handle this," Brian said to the gang. "Consider it a thank you for saving our butts back there."
"We'll be on standby," Phineas promised as the Crusaders made their way towards the warehouse, keeping to the shadows.
When they were about ten metres away, Howie closed his eyes and exact replicas of the team appeared from thin air. When they spotted the approaching team, the robots advanced. When they were gathered around the illusions, the real Crusaders surrounded them and the fight began. This time, it was clear the Crusaders were triumphing. Power Lord was sending robots flying with his powerful punches. Ordnance was back-to-back with Top Speed, the former shooting lasers through the heads of any robot in his range while the latter was hurtling energy spheres at anything metalloid that moved into his line of sight. Illusioneer was still projecting the lifelike illusions of the team and while the robots were distracted, Ninja Man would whirl in with his swords, slicing them in half before flipping way to engage with other robots.
It was all over in a matter of moments and the team was barely breathless when the final robot clanged to the ground. Phineas, Ferb, Baljeet, Isabella and Buford approached from where they had been watching all looking impressed.
"Ready?" Brian asked. "This is going to be dangerous, maybe you should," he mimed a controller. A moment later, Team Improbable stood before them.
"I'll never get over that," Howie muttered.
"Jealous?" Nick sniped. "These illusions beat yours any day."
"They're not illusions," Phineas corrected. "They're 3D superhero avatars."
"Come on," Brian interrupted. "We can discuss this later."
The Crusaders and Team Improbable sneaked inside the warehouse while Phineas, Ferb, Baljeet, Isabella and Buford hung back. Phineas gestured to one of the storage containers and with the help of Top Speed's jumping ability, they settled themselves on top so they had a clear view of the confrontation.
Replikon stood hunched over a box that was gently emitting a warm, orange glow.
"Replikon!" AJ yelled. The villain jumped and spun around. "We're here to face you!"
"Cyber Crusaders," Replikon spat. "I thought my robots would have delt with you."
"We had some help," Howie explained gesturing to Team Improbable.
"Don't come any closer!" Replikon threatened. "Or you'll never retrieve the talent for those dancers."
"You wouldn't dare," Brian cried incredulously. "Why are you doing this?"
Instead of answering, Replikon tried to make a break for it. He didn't get very far, however as twenty Multimen surrounded him. As he skidded to a holt, The Rainbow's lasso tightened around his body and Ordnance flicked two Chinese throwing stars that pinned Replikon to wooden door he was trying to escape from.
"I won't lie" AJ mused. "I thought you'd be harder to take down."
"Well why do you think I took everyone's talent?" Replikon screeched. "I'm not good at anything!"
The Cyber Crusaders advanced on the captured villain while Phineas, Ferb, Baljeet, Isabella and Buford jumped down from their vantage point and Team Improbable disappeared back into their controllers once more.
"You really think we can excuse you for stealing talent just because you yourself don't have any?" Brian demanded. "That's ridiculous!"
He reached forward and pulled off Replikon's mask. The group gasped in unison and took a step back. Nikki Stars' scowling face stared back at them, hatred pooling in her eyes.
"You're not Replikon." AJ was the first to recover. "You're not Replikon at all."
"No," the voice came from behind them. The Crusaders and Phineas, Ferb, Baljeet, Isabella and Buford spun around and were met with a man with dark hair and even darker eyes, wearing a purple hoodie, flanked by four guard robots holding blasters that were levelled at the two teams of heroes. "That would be me."
"Marvin," AJ greeted. "Good to see you again."
"I don't believe I know you," the real Replikon replied. "But that's ok, I'm sure we'll get acquainted while I take you out!"
"I'm confused," Nick butted in. "This doesn't add up. Why are you working with Nikki?"
"Because I'm his wife," the TV host spat.
"And I'd do anything for her," Replikon further explained.
"But why?" Nick asked. "Why would you want to take away everyone's talent?"
"Because I've spent my entire life being told I'm good for nothing," she answered. "I thought I'd found refuge in my beloved Marvin. He was told he wasn't as good as Adam Evans so couldn't sign that record deal. But then he was affected by the Big Bang and became a shapeshifter! The only person who could possibly know what I was going through became unique in a way I never could. So, I thought that if I can't be unique then no one could."
"And I was only too happy to help," Replikon added. "Evil is a good colour on my baby."
"Ok, gross," Howie sounded disgusted. "But, how many people have you stolen from?"
"No one yet," Nikki replied. "Those dancers were a test run. Now I've perfected the machine, I'll steal the talent from the whole world and then put it in me! I'll be the most talented person in the world!" She descended into a fit of evil cackling.
"We'll stop you," Kevin said defiantly.
"And how," yellow rings appeared around Replikon's body and in an instant he was twice as tall and eight times as buff. "do you intend on doing that?"
"Sneak attack!" Buford yelled. Replikon's eyes flicked over to him and while he was distracted, HanumanMan and Belchman appeared behind him. While the giant blue monkey crushed the robots, Belchman sucked in a breath before letting rip a burp so forceful it sent Replikon shooting forward straight into Kevin's fist. The villain gasped and stagged backwards before falling to the ground. Nikki let out a shriek of outrage as Nick plucked her husband up and pinned him next to her.
"Nice work," Brian grinned at Baljeet and Buford who exchanged a high five.
"Baby," Replikon said to Niki. "Let's never have kids."
"Agreed," she sighed.
"We've stopped you," Brian interrupted bluntly, "and now you're going to tell us how we return everyone's talent to them."
"And why would we do that?" Nikki scowled.
Brian generated an energy sphere in his hand, "I'm known for my butterfingers," he said lightly. "Wouldn't want to drop this somewhere that hurts, would I?"
"You think you can scare me with a little ball?" Repikon laughed. "Face it, I won't talk, neither of us will!"
Brian levelled the sphere at Nikki's head, "Are you sure?"
"Fine, fine!" Replikon blurted. "I'll tell you, just don't hurt her."
"If you hadn't cost me everyting I'd almost call that romantic," Nikki scowled. Her husband dropped his head.
"Even chit chat," AJ said. "How do we return everyone's talent?"
"You just need to break the globe," Replikon answered. "The energy will be returned to its rightful owner."
Kevin went over to talent stealing machine and placed his palms flat on the globe. He gradually applied pressure until the glass cracked then shattered beneath his hands. The orange energy within contracted a couple of times before exploding out across the room. Ten ribbons of light swirled in the air above the Crusaders and Phineas, Ferb, Baljeet, Isabella and Buford before settling into their bodies.
"Did it work?" Isabella dared to ask.
"How do we know?" Phineas worried.
The Cyber Crusaders exchanged a glance before, much to the kids' surprise, breaking out into song and sliding into dancing formation.
"Everybody
Rock your body
Everybody
Rock your body right
Backstreet's back alright!"
"I'd know that choreography anywhere," Isabella squealed. "I can't believe the rumours are true! You're the Backsteet Boys!"
"We are," Brian confirmed before gesturing to Howie who waved his hand causing the blurs over their faces to melt away. "But you can't tell anyone, ok?"
"Our lips are sealed," Phineas assured them. "It's an honour to meet you, though."
"Likewise," Howie winked. "Now, back to work. There's a cell calling your name." He added to Nikki and Replikon who both snarled.
"What about my show?" she whined. "Who'll host it?"
"I've been thinking about that," Brian answered before turning to his band. "How would you guys feel about us buying it?"
"Buying it?" Kevin grinned. "I love that idea!"
"It makes sense," Howie nodded. "Our manager is telling us we need more publicity and this could be our way of getting it."
"Not to mention," AJ added. "that we'll get to help aspiring dancers realise their true potential!"
"I have always wanted to host a TV show" Nick joked. "Let's do this."
"Excellent," Brian smiled. "As for you guys, we owe you a huge thanks. We could never had done this without you."
"It was our pleasure," Phineas said and his friend nodded in agreement. "What happens now?"
"Well," Howie stroked his chin. "We should get back to the studio and make sure everyone's alright. Then we can announce the news!"
"Does that mean we get to ride the Cyber Cycles again?" Buford asked displaying uncharacteristic excitement.
"Definitely," Howie nodded.
Phineas, Ferb, Baljeet, Isabella and Buford exchanged excited grins. "Best. Day. Ever."
Disclaimer: I don't own Phineas and Ferb, The Backsteet Boys, the Backsteet Project, Replikon or this idea.
Anyways, I hope you enjoyed this oneshot, once again, a huge thanks to mary. okeeffe. 16. for the idea. For any diehard Backstreet Boys fans, I will apologise if I didn't get some things quite right; I don't listen to a lot of music but I did my best regardless.
Go check out mary. okeeffe. 16's account – thanks again for the idea :)