Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Chicago, Illinois, streets are busy at night, everyone's walking through the windy city. The mall is getting ready for Thanksgiving and the upcoming Black Friday sale. The twin sisters Tia Landry and Tamera Campbell walked down the road.

"I'm telling you, mom will like it." Tia said to her sister.

"You sure?" Tamera asked.

"Yeah, I mean. This is different." Tia said. "I'm sure Ray will love it."

"Well, I hope he'll love his present. And I..." Tamera said before seeing the readers. "Oh, hello!"

Tia sees the readers.

"Oh, hey! Welcome to this story. We're here to tell the story." Tia said.

"And just to finish our shopping." Tamera said.

"I'm Tia." Tia introduced.

"And I'm Tamera." Tamera introduced. "We're the narrators of this story and you arrived here just in time so we can tell you all this tale."

"That's right. But this story isn't about us. In fact, this is the story about someone else." Tia said before stopping to look at the apartment building. "And he lives in that place."

It all happened in a dimly lit bedroom in an apartment. Shadows are dancing across the walls to the haunting melody of "Take What You Want" by Post Malone ft. Ozzy Osbourne & Travis Scott. Just then, an FBI agent named Steven Quincy Urkel. Once known for his nerdy demeanor, Steve now exudes a cold, icy presence. He lies in bed, staring blankly at the ceiling. The weight of twenty-six years of unresolved emotions bears heavily upon him. His bedroom, once filled with eccentric inventions and scientific experiments, now holds only remnants of the past, gathering dust in the corners.

"So, here I am, laying in my bed. Unable to sleep after a long time. In a few days, it'll be twenty-six years after what happened. I met her 31 years ago when my ex-fiancée and her ex-boyfriend set us up. I'm sorry to say that, but this isn't me you knew. This story you are about to read is extremely unpleasant. If you want to read a story about my old self, then I'm sure you can find a couple of them here on this website. However, if you like stories about what happened to me after I went to space, then stay as I retrace every one of my steps. My name is Steven Quincy Urkel, and it is my sad duty to tell you this tale."

Steve's eyes flicker with a mixture of sadness and detachment as memories flood his mind.

Note: Hold on. This is a flashback that is going to be in first-person. So hold on for that. Thanks; you can continue.

Sunday, November 29, 1998. That's the day it happened. I woke up one morning to make breakfast for my ex-fiancée, Laura Lee Winslow. She came downstairs one morning.

"Morning, Steve. Something's smelling good." Laura said, smelling breakfast.

"Oh, it's your breakfast, my sweet." I said to Laura, pulling up the chair.

Laura smiles and sits down.

"Volla," I said, serving.

"Wow, my favourite stuff. What's all this?" Laura asked me.

"Because I wanted to wish you a happy birthday." I said.

"Oh, thanks, Steve, but you don't need to do that." Laura said she was smiling.

"I know, but I want to." I said, smiling.

Laura's best friend Maxine Johnson entered in exciting news.

"Laura, you're never going to believe this! He's back!" Maxine said, smiling in excitement.

"Who?" Laura asked.

"Who?" I asked as well.

"Waldo!" Maxine said, excited.

"Waldo? Um, didn't he break up with you?" Laura asked.

"Don't remind me, Laura. But more importantly, he's willing to take me back!" Maxine said, smiling. "Oh, and happy birthday."

"Thanks. I'm going to go to the mall for a quick trip I'll be back tonight." Laura said this before turning to Steve. "Oh, did you book our reservation?"

"Yep, six tonight. Like you wanted." I said.

"That's why I love you." Laura said, smiling. "Have fun."

Laura exited the house, leaving me and Maxine.

"Hey, Steve, Eddie told me that you're planning to make Laura's birthday the best one there is." Maxine said.

"Yeah, I got Carl, Harriette, Estelle, and Rachel to join." I said to Maxine, smiling.

"Well, Waldo and I can help out if you want." Maxine said, smiling.

"Sure, that's no problem." I said.

I give Maxine a high-five, saying that the plan for Laura's birthday has begun. It's also her last birthday before she and I get married; at least we were.

That afternoon, Carl was walking in the living room, looking at the mail. Rachel and Richie are back for Laura's birthday.

"Alright, Uncle Carl?" Richie asked.

"I'm fine, Richie." Carl said, looking at the mail.

"Carl, I have found a couple of more decorations for Laura's party." Rachel said.

"Good, put them in the kitchen." Carl said.

Rachel nodded, smiling, and walked into the kitchen. Eddie came in with 3J.

"Hey, Dad, what's going on?" Eddie asked.

"Nothing much, just reading some letters." Carl said. "Oh, you'll never guess who's coming home."

"Who?" Eddie asked.

"Judy," Carl said.

"Judy's coming home?" Eddie asked.

"Oh, no way! We haven't seen her since she left for boarding school." Richie said.

"That's right, boys. Listen, I'm going to need you to go pick her up from the airport." Carl said.

"I'll come too." Richie said.

"I never met her, but I'll come." 3J said.

"Alright, you go do that." Carl said. "You get to meet your sister, 3J."

"What time is her flight coming in?" Eddie asked.

"About four, you boys don't mind going there to pick you up?" Carl asked.

"Oh, no. Three boys having a quick road trip will be fun. Alright, boys. We'll head up there in an hour." Eddie said.

"Yes!" Richie and 3J said it in unison before heading upstairs.

I got dressed in my bedroom and put on my clothes. I saw 3J out in the hallway. He walked out of Laura's room.

"Hey, 3J, what are you doing in Laura's room?" I asked.

3J didn't speak to me; he just walked downstairs. Something's strangely going on in Laura's room, so I walked in to investigate. I checked everything, and that was until Richie sees me.

"Hey, Uncle Steve. What are you doing in Laura's room?" Richie asked.

"Did you talk to 3J, I saw him leaving her room, and something strange is going on." I said to Richie.

"That I agreed." Richie said before turning around. "Look, Uncle Carl and the others know what's going on. Laura has a problem. Since you didn't know, well,

"What?" I asked.

"She's been taking drugs." Richie said.

My eyes widened in shock at what Richie said.

"Drugs? Are you kidding?" I asked.

"She's been taking lithium to cover her bipolar disorder. She didn't take them this morning." Richie said, explaining the truth.

I was shocked that I didn't know that my own fiancée was dealing with bipolar disorder. "Oh, my god. I'll keep an eye on her; you, 3J, and Eddie can go on your road trip." I said to Richie.

"Okay," Richie said, walking out.

At the airport, Eddie, Richie, and 3J are waiting for her at the gate.

"So, guys, I gotta ask. Any tips you can give me to help me out so I can get to know her?" 3J asked.

"Let's tell him, Eddie." Richie said.

Eddie and Richie exchanged glances, a shared understanding passing between them. They had grown up with Judy, knew her quirks and idiosyncrasies, and now they were about to share them with 3J.

"Alright," Eddie began, leaning back in his chair and crossing his arms. "First things first, Judy loves honesty. She can spot a lie from a mile away, so always be upfront with her."

Richie nodded in agreement, adding, "And she's got a big heart, but she's no pushover. Stand your ground, but remember to be respectful. She appreciates a good debate."

Eddie chuckled, remembering countless dinner table discussions that had turned into friendly debates. "Oh, and she has a wicked sense of humor. Don't be afraid to joke around with her; just know she'll always have a comeback ready."

"And don't forget her love for music," Richie chimed in. "If you want to impress her, brush up on your classic rock. She's a huge fan of The Rolling Stones and Led Zeppelin."

As they continued to share their insights, 3J listened attentively, nodding along and taking mental notes. He was grateful for their advice and eager to get to know Judy better.

"Man, it's been so long since we last saw her." Richie said.

"Why's that?" 3J asked.

"She got into an arts boarding school because of her paintings." Eddie said. "You'll like her, 3J."

"You think so?" 3J asked.

"Oh, sure. You get to meet your sister." Richie said.

Upon arriving at the gate, Judy walks through and sees the boys.

"Eddie! Richie!" Judy said, smiling.

"Hey!" Eddie said, smiling and hugging his little sister for the first time in a long time.

"Hey, cousin." Richie said, hugging his cousin as well.

"Hi, Richie, look at you." Judy said, smiling, before looking at 3J. "Oh, and who's this?"

"Oh, Judy, this is your adopted brother 3J." Eddie said.

"Oh, nice to meet you, 3J." Judy said, smiling.

"You too," 3J said.

"How was your flight?" Eddie asked.

"Oh, bumpy as hell." Judy said, smiling.

Walking into the bustling restaurant, the aroma of sizzling food filled the air. The clatter of dishes and the hum of conversation were a symphony to the senses. Suddenly, a loud crash echoed through the room. Turning towards the sound, there was Laura, standing amidst a sea of broken plates, her face flushed with frustration.

Just then, Stefan Urquelle, my suave and charming clone, stepped in. His calm demeanor was a stark contrast to the chaos around him. He moved with grace, helping to clean up the mess and restore order. As he worked, he flashed a reassuring smile in my direction, a silent promise that everything would be alright. The day had been eventful, to say the least.

"Hey, thanks, Stefan. Sorry, you had to come all the way here from New York." I said to my clone.

"No problem at all," Stefan replied, his voice smooth as silk. "You know I'd cross the country for you, Steve. We're two halves of the same whole, after all." His words, though simple, carried a weight of sincerity that was comforting in the midst of the chaos.

"Listen, Laura has a huge problem. She's been taking something to cover her bipolar disorder." I said, explaining to Stefan.

"What? What is it?" Stefan asked.

"She's been taking lithium to treat mania because it's part of bipolar disorder." I said to Stefan.

"Did you tell Carl?" Stefan asked.

"No. I had to run out to keep an eye on Laura." I said.

"Okay, I spoke with Harriette; she said there's a hospital for her to stay at." Stefan said. "

"Is that the one where the patients were drugged and abused by the staff?" I asked.

"They were fired for that and were sent to prison, but the new ones happened to be nicer and more caring to the patients." Stefan said to me:. "I visited the hospital to check it out. A couple of staff members are girls who saw the picture of me in the magazines."

"Are you sure they can help?" I asked.

Stefan silently nodded at me. I know it's time.

"I'll take Laura home. Thanks, Stefan." I said, thanking Stefan for his help.

"No problem," Stefan said.

I took Laura back home.  The evening was drawing to a close as Laura and I made our way back to the house. The air was crisp, carrying the scent of the impending spring. Our dinner date had been a delightful affair, filled with laughter and shared stories. The restaurant we had chosen was a quaint little place, tucked away in a quiet corner of the city, Its ambiance was perfectly suited for a romantic evening.

As we stepped through the front door, Laura turned to me, her eyes sparkling with mirth. "I can't believe you told the waiter that it's my birthday," she exclaimed, her voice filled with a mix of surprise and amusement. "Thanks for doing it for me, Steve." Her words were sincere, and I could tell that my little surprise had genuinely touched her.

I couldn't help but smile at her reaction. It was moments like these that made all the planning and effort worthwhile. "Well, thank Stefan for helping me out," I replied, my smile broadening. Stefan was a good friend who had helped me plan the surprise. His suggestion to celebrate Laura's birthday at the restaurant had been a brilliant one, and it had worked out perfectly.

We spent the rest of the evening reminiscing about our date, the surprise, and the fun we had. It was a night to remember, a night filled with joy and shared experiences. And as we settled down for the night, I couldn't help but look forward to many more such moments with Laura. After all, every day was a celebration when spent with someone you loved.

As I stood there, my hand poised on the doorknob, I was engulfed in a moment of profound realization. I cared deeply for Laura; she was more than just a friend to me, but my heart was elsewhere. It belonged to Myra. This understanding was as sudden as it was unsettling. I loved Myra, and it was time to face this truth. Instead of envisioning a future with Laura, it was time to let her go. But not tonight. Tonight, we could still enjoy the tranquility of the evening. With these thoughts swirling in my mind, I pushed open the door.

"Steve? What's wrong?" Laura's voice broke through my reverie. Her eyes were filled with concern.

"Um, Laura. Maybe we can talk." I suggested leading her to the porch. We sat down, the cool night air enveloping us. "Do you want this?" I asked, my voice barely above a whisper.

"What?" Laura's voice was filled with confusion.

"Marriage." I clarified, my heart pounding in my chest.

Laura was silent for a moment. She had known this question was coming. But there was something else, something I hadn't known. Carl had failed to mention it. Laura had been diagnosed with bipolar disorder, a manic-depressive condition. She had been on the medication lithium for years. She had kept it a secret, taking her medication discreetly. I had stumbled upon her secret today when she was out shopping, and it had taken me by surprise.

The revelation added another layer of complexity to our situation. But it also brought a sense of understanding. It explained some of the ups and downs we had experienced in our relationship. As we sat there on the porch, under the starlit sky, we knew we had a lot to talk about. But for now, we just sat in silence, each lost in our own thoughts, the quiet night offering a comforting backdrop to our tumultuous emotions.

"Um, forget what I said," I said, my voice barely above a whisper. The words hung in the air, a stark contrast to the silence that had enveloped us just moments ago. I could see the confusion in Laura's eyes, but she simply nodded, accepting my request to change the subject.

"Okay, let's just go in," Laura said, her voice steady. She reached for the doorknob, her hand brushing against mine. The contact sent a jolt through me, a reminder of the complexity of our relationship.

As we stepped into the house, we were greeted by darkness. The living room was shrouded in shadows, the only light coming from the faint glow of the streetlights outside. "Steve, why's the house so dark?" Laura asked, her voice echoing in the quiet room.

"I'll tell you why," I said, a hint of a smile playing on my lips. I reached for the light switch, my heart pounding in my chest. As I flipped the switch, the room was suddenly bathed in light.

The sudden brightness was met with a chorus of "SURPRISE! Happy Birthday!" as our friends and family jumped out of their hiding places. The look on Laura's face was priceless—a mix of surprise, joy, and a hint of embarrassment.

"I can't believe it. You guys threw me a party," Laura said, her eyes welling up with tears of happiness. Her smile was radiant, lighting up the room even more than the overhead lights.

"And that's not all," I said, my voice filled with anticipation. Just then, Judy, Laura's younger sister, entered from the kitchen. "Laura!" she yelled, her voice filled with excitement.

"Judy!" Laura exclaimed, rushing over to hug her little sister. The two of them embraced, their laughter filling the room. "Let's party!" Laura declared, her voice filled with joy.

And with that, the party truly began. The room was filled with the sound of laughter and chatter, and the air was filled with the scent of delicious food and birthday cake. Everyone was having a great time, their faces glowing with happiness. As I watched Laura, surrounded by her loved ones, I couldn't help but feel a pang of sadness. But for now, I pushed those feelings aside. Tonight was about Laura and celebrating her birthday. And so the party went on—a night of joy and celebration that we would all remember for years to come.

The room was filled with the sound of laughter and merriment as everyone gathered to celebrate Laura's birthday. The decorations were perfect, the food was delicious, and the atmosphere was filled with joy and excitement. I looked around, taking in the happy faces, and my gaze landed on Carl.

I made my way through the crowd, a sense of accomplishment filling me. "We sure pulled it off, big guy," I said, clapping Carl on the shoulder. He was not just Laura's father, but also someone I had come to respect and admire.

"We sure did, Steve," Carl replied, his eyes twinkling with pride and satisfaction. His smile was infectious, and I found myself grinning back at him. "So, you said there's something you want to talk about?"

I took a deep breath, steeling myself for the conversation that was about to follow. "Did you forget to tell me about lithium?" I asked, my voice steady despite the turmoil of emotions inside me.

Carl's smile faltered, replaced by a look of surprise. He opened his mouth to respond, but no words came out. He looked at me, his eyes filled with a mix of regret and concern. It was clear that he hadn't expected me to bring this up—not here, not now.

"Let's take this outside," Carl suggested, leading me through the kitchen and out to the backyard. The cool night air was a stark contrast to the warmth of the party inside. We sat down on a bench, the moon casting long shadows on the ground.

Carl sighed, running a hand through his hair. "I didn't know how to tell you, Steve," he began, his voice barely above a whisper. "Laura has been dealing with bipolar disorder for a long time. She's been on lithium for years."

I nodded, taking in his words. It was a lot to process, but it explained a lot about Laura's behavior. I felt a pang of sympathy for her. She had been dealing with this all alone, all while trying to maintain a normal life.

"I should have told you sooner," Carl continued, his voice filled with regret. "But Laura wanted to tell you herself. She just... she just never found the right time."

We sat in silence for a while, each lost in our own thoughts. I knew that this revelation changed everything. My relationship with Laura, my feelings for Myra—everything was in a state of flux. But for now, I had to be there for Laura. She was my friend, after all.

"Carl, Laura needs help. You wouldn't believe what happened at the restaurant today. She's gone completely off the rails," I confessed to Carl, my voice heavy with concern. "And honestly, I'm having second thoughts about the wedding with Laura."

Carl looked taken aback, his jovial demeanor replaced by a look of concern. "Wait, hold on. Start from the beginning. What happened before you met up with her?" he asked, his voice steady despite the shock.

I took a deep breath, gathering my thoughts. "I found her pills; she must've stopped taking them. Throughout the day, she was acting erratically, like she was high as a kite. And then, at the restaurant, she had a meltdown and broke all the plates. Stefan came and had to step in to help me," I explained, the events of the day replaying in my mind.

Carl sat in silence for a moment, processing the information. He finally realized the gravity of the situation. "I see. I had no idea it was this bad," he admitted, his voice filled with regret. "We need to get her the help she needs."

As for my relationship with Laura, Carl understood my predicament. "Steve, I understand your concerns. This is a big decision, and it's important that you do what's best for you. If you're having second thoughts about the wedding, it's only fair to Laura that you be honest with her," he advised, his words filled with wisdom and understanding.

It was a difficult conversation, but it was necessary. As the night wore on, I knew that the coming days would bring more challenges. But for now, we had a plan, and that was a start. We were going to help Laura, and I was going to figure out where my heart truly lay.

"Alright, then it's decided; I'm going to have to break up with her," I said to Carl, my voice heavy with the weight of the decision. The words hung in the air between us, a testament to the gravity of the situation.

Carl was about to respond when his gaze shifted to something in the front yard. "Would you like me to tell her or...?" he began, but his words trailed off as he noticed the approaching figures.

I followed his gaze, and my heart sank. It was the orderlies. They had come for Laura. A sense of dread washed over me as I realized what was about to happen.

"Wait a minute. What's going on?" Laura asked, her voice filled with confusion and fear as the orderlies approached her. They didn't answer, instead reaching out to restrain her. "No! Let me go! This is illegal," she protested, struggling against their grip.

But the orderlies were relentless. They continued to restrain her, ignoring her pleas for help. "Somebody help me!" Laura shouted, her voice echoing through the silent night.

I turned to Carl, our eyes meeting in a silent understanding. We had no choice. "I'm sorry it's come to this, Laura, but you'll get some help now," I said, my voice barely above a whisper.

"It's true, Laura," Carl added, his voice filled with regret. "We're doing this for your own good."

"I'm sorry, sweetheart," Harriette, Laura's mother, said, her voice choked with tears.

Laura looked at us, her eyes wide with disbelief. "This is helping? This? I love you. Please," she pleaded, tears streaming down her face as the orderlies began to lead her away. "Oh, please, Mommy, Daddy. I'm not crazy. I don't want to go. I swear, I'm not crazy. I'm your little girl. Why are you doing this to your little girl?!"

As Laura's cries faded into the distance, I felt a pang of guilt. This was not how I had imagined the night would end. But sometimes, the hardest decisions are the ones that need to be made. And as I stood there, watching the car drive away, I knew that we had made the right choice. For Laura's sake,.

I turned to Carl.

"Carl, did you do that?" I asked.

"I didn't." Carl asked in shock before turning to the rest of the family. "Did any of you do it?"

Maxine and Waldo didn't do it, nor did Carl, Rachel, Richie, Eddie, or 3J. Judy wasn't involved and didn't do it. So it must lead to Harriette.

"Harriette?" I asked.

"Laura needed help." Harriette said. "Um, maybe we can end the party."

Harriette walked upstairs to be alone in tears. We saw her concerned and worried. Carl turns to me before walking into the kitchen.

"Steve, perhaps it might be a good opportunity for us to have a private conversation," Carl suggested, his voice carrying a hint of seriousness that immediately caught my attention.

"Sure," I responded, curiosity piqued. I followed him into the kitchen, a space usually filled with warmth and the comforting aroma of home-cooked meals. But tonight, it felt different, the air heavy with an unspoken tension.

Carl had a somber expression on his face, his usual jovial demeanor replaced by a look of concern. It was clear that he had something important to discuss.

"Carl, what's going on?" I asked, my heart pounding in my chest.

"Steve, I have some bad news," Carl said, his voice barely above a whisper. The words hung in the air like a dark cloud, filling the room with an ominous silence.

"What is it?" I asked, bracing myself for the worst.

"I just got a call from Laura's ex-boyfriend Ted. Myra… Myra has passed away," Carl revealed, his voice choked with emotion.

The news hit me like a punch to the gut. "M…Myra's died?" I stammered, disbelief and shock washing over me.

"He wants me to let you know that if you want, on Sunday, you can go to her funeral," Carl continued, his voice steady despite the gravity of the situation. "If you don't want to, that's fine."

I stood there, rooted to the spot, as the reality of the situation slowly sank in. Myra was gone. The woman who had been a constant presence in my life, who had shared countless laughs and tears with me, was no longer with us.

"When did she die?" I managed to ask, my voice barely audible.

"Now, Steve, listen, I..." Carl began, but I cut him off.

"When did she die?!" I demanded, my voice rising in volume. The question echoed around the room, a stark reminder of the harsh reality we were facing.

Carl sighed, running a hand through his hair. "Last week," he admitted, his voice heavy with regret.

"Last week? Everyone in this family knew about her death, and you didn't tell me?!" I exclaimed, anger bubbling up inside me. I felt betrayed and hurt that my own family had kept such a significant piece of information from me.

"Now, Steve, we all thought it would be best if we kept it a secret because we were worried that Myra would ruin the wedding," Carl tried to explain, his voice filled with remorse. "We're sorry, Steve."

"There's no way I can forgive you guys right now. I'm moving out," I declared, my mind made up. Without another word, I turned on my heel and stormed upstairs to my bedroom to pack up.

"Steve, come on," Carl called after me, but I was too angry to listen.

That day, I was filled with a rage like I had never felt before. I entered my bedroom to pack up my belongings, my mind a whirlwind of thoughts and emotions. As I looked in the mirror, I realized what had led to her death—my makeover. Last year, I had grown frustrated with Myra's refusal to let me change the way I look. In her eyes, she saw me as a perfect ten, just the way I was. But I didn't feel the same way. And then, a few months ago, we broke up over the makeover. Now that she was gone, I realized that having this makeover was a huge mistake.

Just as I was lost in my thoughts, Eddie entered my bedroom to talk to me.

"Where're you going?" Eddie asked, his eyes wide with surprise.

"I'm moving out," I replied curtly, not bothering to hide my anger.

"What? Why?" Eddie asked, clearly taken aback by my sudden decision.

"Why?! Myra's dead, and you guys knew about it and didn't even tell me!" I shouted, my anger getting the better of me. "If I ever find the killer, I'm going to punch him in the face!"

"See, that's actually what I wanted to talk to you about. I know who killed her last week," Eddie said, his voice trembling slightly.

"Oh yeah? Who?" I asked, my heart pounding in my chest.

Eddie hesitated for a moment, clearly struggling with his guilt. "It's me. I'm that guy," he confessed, his voice barely above a whisper.

"What?" I gasped, shock washing over me.

"You see, when I was working with another rookie, we saw Myra planning to make her attempt to win you back, and..." Eddie began, his voice filled with regret.

"And what?! You two trying to let her go?" I asked, my voice rising in anger.

"No, no, no! We shot her," Eddie admitted, his voice barely audible.

"You what?! That's even worse!" I exclaimed, my anger reaching its peak.

"Look, I know we messed up, but we made this plan. We came around the corner, saw Myra with an object that looked like a gun, and she got hurt. We did everything to save her," Eddie tried to explain, but his words only fueled my anger.

"You double-crossing snake! Here's this!" I shouted, my anger getting the better of me. I lunged at Eddie, punching him in the eye several times, before running downstairs to the kitchen.

I burst into the kitchen, my heart pounding in my chest. "Carl! Eddie and his partner shot Myra!" I shouted, my voice echoing around the room.

"He did what?!" Carl exclaimed, his face turning pale.

"No, Dad. That's not true!" Eddie protested, trying to cover up the truth.

"Don't listen to his lie!" I retorted, determined to expose Eddie for what he had done.

"Dad, we're police officers; we need to stick together," Eddie pleaded, looking to Carl for support.

But Carl was having none of it. He knew that I was telling the truth. He couldn't believe that Eddie was resorting to his irresponsible and immature behavior from high school rather than making decisions like an adult.

"Not in my jurisdiction. All criminals should be punished. I took an oath. You do the crime; you'll do the time," Carl declared, his voice filled with determination. "You brought this onto yourself, Edward. You're under arrest for corruption and the murder of Myra Monkhouse."

Everyone in the room watched in shock as Carl proceeded to handcuff Eddie and take away his gun.

"You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law. You have the right to an attorney. If you cannot afford an attorney, one will be provided for you. Do you understand these rights?" Carl asked, his voice steady despite the chaos.

"Yes," Eddie replied, his voice barely audible.

"Let's go," Carl said, leading Eddie out of the house.

Before Carl dragged him out of the house, Eddie turned to look at me one last time. "I'll get you, Urkel! I'll get even with you if it's the last thing I do!" Eddie vowed, his eyes filled with hatred.

I was furious at him for killing Myra, so after I packed up, I left the house without saying goodbye. I was angry back then, and now it's all over.

Note: Hey. Before we continue, we've switched back to normal. Thanks for reading the flashback in first-person.

Steve reaches for a framed photograph on his bedside table. It's a picture of him and Myra, their smiles radiant with promise. He caresses the photo gently before setting it down with a heavy sigh.

The weight of grief and regret presses down on Steve, suffocating him in the silence of his room. He turns away from the photograph, unable to bear the pain it evokes. The song's chorus echoes through the room, punctuating Steve's solitude with its poignant lyrics. He closes his eyes, allowing himself to be consumed by the melancholy melody.

Suddenly, a knock at the door interrupts the somber atmosphere. Steve's expression remains stoic as he slowly rises from the bed, his movements deliberate and measured. He approaches the door with a sense of detachment, bracing himself for whatever lies beyond.

With a resigned sigh, he opens the door to reveal Naomi, his wife of twenty-five years. Her presence is a stark contrast to the emptiness of the room, a reminder of life's relentless march forward.

"Hey," Naomi says, her voice a soft intrusion.

"Hey," Steve replies, the word barely a whisper.

Naomi steps inside, her gaze immediately drawn to the photograph on the table. She doesn't need to ask; the sorrow in Steve's eyes speaks volumes.

"Let me guess. You're unable to sleep again. Insomnia?" She probes, and her concern is evident.

"Yeah. I know, sorry. It's not healthy," Steve admits, the words heavy with fatigue.

"No, Steve, I'm sorry," Naomi responds, her hand finding his. "I spoke with my doctor, and I don't think we can have another baby, but we can adopt a child if you want."

"It's okay. Adoption won't be that bad," Steve concedes, a flicker of hope in his tone. "I got a call from Cornelius, he won't be coming home next week." 

"It's okay," Naomi says, her smile tentative. "How are we going to tell the kids about it?"

"Tell us what?!" Both Steve and Naomi are shocked when their kids are out of bed.

The second born son, Steven Aloysius Urkel, is a delinquent. He's too busy smoking weed and doing drugs with his friends.

"Dammit, Aloysius! Didn't I tell you not to smoke in here?!" Steve asked.

"Damn, dad. Relax." Aloysius said, walking to his room.

"Oh, no. Stay here." Steve said, grabbing Aloysius and putting him on the couch before walking into his daughter's bedroom. "Sue, come on, we need to talk, and also do you only consume dark media?!"

Stephanie Sue Urkel is Steve and Naomi's only daughter. She's a goth girl who's into video gaming.

"Reality is darkness, Dad. You avoid it, I run toward it." Sue said, walking out of her room.

As Steve turns around, he sees his youngest son, Steven Bertram Urkel, behind him. It gives him a startle.

"Bertram, we talked about this. Don't sneak up on people, it's creepy as hell, bud." Steve said, scolding his son gently.

"I wanted to say hi, but I didn't want to interrupt you, dad." Bertram said.

"Come on, we have something to tell you. It's not good." Steve said, guiding his youngest son to the couch with the others. "Alright, on the couch."

"Come on, dad." Aloysius said.

"I promise, it won't be that long. Now listen, your mother and I have something to tell you. And, it's bad news." Steve said, letting his wife do the bad news.

"I just came back from the doctor's, and we won't be having another baby." Naomi said in a gentle tone. "And Cornelius won't be coming home next week.

"And also, I spoke with your older sisters, Laurine and Melody, their grandmother's going away to Florida, and they texted me an hour ago. So, I let them come over." Steve said.

Aloysius, Sue, and Bertram are annoyed that their older half-sisters might be coming to see them.

"Dad, Laurine is always annoying." Aloysius said.

"And Melody's a bully." Sue said. "Why are we related to them?"

"Duh! My late ex-girlfriend was pregnant to them." Steve said. "Now listen, I think it'll be the best if..."

"Didn't the director called you while you're in bed, dad?" Bertram asked, cutting his dad off.

"No, no, why, son?" Steve asked in annoyed.

"I spoke with the director over at the FBI over the phone. He wants to have a word with you in the morning." Bertram said.

"Why?" Steve's brow furrows with curiosity before turning to his wife. "Why did he wants to have a word with me?"

"He says it's urgent. Steve, I know you want to be alone, but he really needs to talk to you," Naomi insists, her eyes pleading.

"Fine, I'll do it," Steve agrees, a reluctant acceptance.

"Good," Naomi says, relief washing over her features.

"Anyway, guys, it's late. I'm tired, just go to bed." Steve said, ending the family meeting.

She moves through the apartment with a familiarity that speaks of shared history, of moments and memories woven into the very fabric of the space.

Steve closes the door and returns to the bed, his mind a whirlwind of thoughts. He knows that whatever the FBI director has to say, it won't bring Myra back. But he can't shake the feeling that this new development might be the beginning of something else. Something better.

As the night deepens, the city outside falls into a lull, the usual cacophony of sounds fading into a hush. Steve sits on the edge of the bed, the dim light casting shadows across the room that seem to dance with the rhythm of his troubled thoughts.

Naomi watches him for a moment, her eyes reflecting a mix of concern and love. She crosses the room and sits beside him, her presence a silent offer of companionship in the quiet storm of his mind.

"You know," she starts, her voice soft but firm, "life has a way of throwing us curveballs. We can't always control what happens to us, but we can choose how we respond. And I choose to be here, with you, through whatever comes our way."

Steve turns to look at her, really look at her, and for the first time in what feels like an eternity, he sees not just the shadow of his loss but the light of his future.

Outside of the apartment building, Tia and Tamera looks up there before continuing to narrate the entire story.

"Steve Urkel, once a scientist and inventor, is now an FBI Agent." Tia said before turning to the readers. "After what happened that day, the Winslow family were driven apart. Eddie was fired from his job as a police officer and put on trial, which lasted a year. After a year, it was finally concluded, and he pleaded guilty. Eddie was sentenced to twenty-five years in prison, and he remains in touch with his longtime girlfriend Greta McClure, who is pregnant with his baby. Eddie made a promise to her that when he got out, he would marry her, to which she agreed."

"Laura was committed to a psychiatric hospital due to her bipolar disorder being out of control. Her best friend, Maxine, stays by her side." Tamera said. "She was strapped to a bed when she first arrived. In the year 2000, Laura escaped. After that, she kept looking for a place to hide and saw 3J walking home from school. Believing that he had admitted it was him who had her sent to the hospital, she attacked him and said that he wasn't her little brother. Carl, Harriette, and Judy found her with Maxine and Waldo's help before they sent her back."

"Worried that 3J isn't safe, they decided that Judy should take him in on a temporary basis. 3J accepted it." Tia said. "Rachel and Richie remain in Detroit. And Carl's mother, Estelle, died peacefully in 2002."

"In 2022, Carl and Harriette hit a rough patch when he's focusing more on work than family. Trying to work out on their relationship, they visited the Larry Smiley Institute for Love and Commitment. After successfully working it out as well after almost a year and a half, Harriette went missing." Tamera said. "Now, moving on with the story."

The next morning, in the Chicago branch of the FBI headquarters, Steve arrives at the building and prepares to work when he sees a new FBI rookie saying hi and meeting his new colleagues. He walks towards Steve.

"Hi, came over to say hello. I'm Tim Mulligan." Tim said, greeting Steve.

"Steve Urkel." Steve said, introducing himself and shaking his colleague's hand.

"Nice to meet you, Steve. How long you been here?" Tim asked.

"Twenty-six years." Steve said.

"Wow, that's a long time." Tim said. "And hey, at least we'll be working on the field together."

"Yeah, hopefully." Steve said, walking to his desk.

Steve arrived at his desk to begin to work. Just then, Director Thomas Garfield sees him.

"Agent Urkel." Director Garfield said.

"Director Garfield, my wife and my son told me you wanted to speak to me." Steve said.

"Yes, come into my office." Director Garfield said.

Steve enters the director's office and sits down.

"Steve, the reason you're here is because I wanted to speak to you. I've been watching you for the past twenty-six years after your duty as a loyal agent. Look, I know you've been dealing with personal issues since we hired you after your actions in space, but we've decided to give you a mission." Director Garfield said, giving Steve a mission.

"A mission? What kind of mission?" Steve asked.

"A solo mission. It's your mission, and you're going to do it alone." Director Garfield said, giving Steve a solo mission. "Now, I want you to think about Vanoss.

Steve raised an eyebrow; he had never heard of Vanoss.

"Vanoss? Who the hell is Vanoss?" Steve asked.

"Vanoss, as in VanossGaming, the Canadian Youtuber." Director Garfield said, explain who Vanoss is. "I watched his videos, and I found him and his friends, Wildcat, Delirious, Marcel, Nogla, and Terroriser, very entertaining. I arranged for you to speak with him."

"What the hell does he even look like?" Steve asked.

"Here." Director Garfield said, showing him Vanoss's appearance.

Vanoss has an owl's head. He usually pairs this with either a red and white jacket with a black undershirt or a makeshift Batman suit.

"He's an owl?" Steve asked.

"Yes. Steve, watch his videos on YouTube. They'll help you out." Director Garfield said.

"Are you sure?" Steve asked.

Director Garfield nods silently. Steve takes a deep breath and stands up.

"Yes, sir." Steve said.

Steve turns around and leaves Director Garfield's office. He walks to his desk to look up on the computer and starts with "Gmod Deathrun Funny Moments: Minecraft Edition! (Knowledge)" to do some research on Vanoss and his crew. He then looks at his webseries called Alpha Beta. His face lights up with determination. This is his chance to prove himself and move on from his past.

"This is going to be good." Steve said to himself, hoping to move on from his past.

In the city of New York, Tia was walking down the streets of New York to a studio.

"While Steve's doing his job, let's focus on another hero of this story." Tia said, seeing a boy riding on his motorcycle. "His name is Cillian Darcy. Once a superhero, now a podcaster, interviewer, and journalist. He retired from being a superhero after his team was killed."

Tia walked into the recording studio, where she witnessed a twenty-eight-year-old man named Cillian Darcy arriving at the studio to prepare for his podcast. He has pale white skin with red eyelids and black hair. He turns to his producer and Steve Urkel's firstborn son, Steven Cornelius "Cory" Urkel, to prepare to start recording.

"Bing bang bong! What is up, everyone? Cillian Darcy is here, and this is the Darcy report. That's right, the Darcy report. This is my last podcast for the winter break because I'm flying out to Chicago to interview the Kill Bill kid. That's right, the same guy who has become an internet sensation due to a viral video of him accidentally severing his leg with a katana, which was publicized by my coverage of it. It'll be a fun trip, and I'm going to enjoy it. I can't wait to tell you guys about it." Cillian said.

He looks at his boss, Jack, who is arriving to watch the podcast.

"So let's jump to our famous subject, the theory about Landor, the Maker of Monsters. As some of you all know or some of you don't know, Landor is a mad scientist obsessed with mastering the secrets of life. As the name indicates, he specialized in making monsters, mostly by combining body parts salvaged from various corpses and bringing the results to life. Just then, he was burned so badly that he was reduced to a ghastly, mummy-like creature. Wherever he is now, he might still be making monsters. My theory is that Landor was once an American scientist who worked for the government, which funded his experiments. However, when some agents found out what his experiments were, his experiments were deemed too inhumane, and he was exiled to his own place in France." Cillian said.

He looks at his boss, who is extremely impressed by what he's saying.

"Now, after my trip to Chicago, I'll be going to Australia for winter break next month and It'll be fun. But that's not what I'm also going to be talking about. In the nearest coincidence, Chicago police commissioner Carl Winslow is set to retire at the end of the month and has this to say in response:" Cillian said, showing the audio footage.

"I've got one more month at this job, and I'd love to spend it taking down the Phantom. If he wants to take me on, I'm delighted. Come and get me."

"That's right. The world was wondering. Who is the Phantom? What's his goal, and what is his plan?" Cillian asked before ending the podcast. "Alright, that's all we have for today, and I hope you all enjoy your winter break. I'll see you all on January 6, 2025. This is Cillian Darcy, and this is the Darcy report."

Cillian stopped recording and took a deep breath.

"Great show, Cillian." Cornelius said to Cillian.

"Thanks, Cory." Cillian said. 

At the director's office, he looks at the view of New York.

"You know why I love the view?" Jack asked.

"Never gets old, buddy." Cillian said, smiling.

"That's right. Another great show." Jack said, offering a drink to Cillian. "So, Chicago. It sounds like a fun trip."

"Yeah. Thanks for giving me this excellent opportunity." Cillian said.

"It's no problem. You earned your break." Jack said. "I've got something to tell you while you're in Chicago. I got you an exclusive."

"An exclusive? Cool." Cillian said, smiling. "What is it?"

"Carl Winslow," Jack said.

"Really?" Cillian asked, smiling. "No way!"

"So, you're going to do it?" Jack asked.

"Yeah, well, if I can do my first one with the Kill Bill kid, then I can do it." Cillian said.

"Cillian, when you had nowhere to go, we gave you a home. Now, you know we love your show. There isn't a better investigative reporter working today, but no one is above the network. You did great in your last show; you finally found your voice. Remember that episode?" Jack asked.

"Ah, the one where I expressed my anger and emotions that my brother died, my sister died, my ex-girlfriend became a nun, and all of my friends died. Jack, I was dealing with that. And me and Jake are not on speaking terms after the Rebels disbanded." Cillian said.

"Cillian, you made a huge rant in that episode. Everyone loves it." Jack said. "So, you seem to be okay with your plan."

"Yeah, I came up with it now; if something bad happens to the Kill Bill kid, I'll do the exclusive." Cillian said.

"Sounds like a plan." Jack said. "Enjoy your time off, and we'll see you in the New Year. We'll hold your spot for you, and we'll have a new assignment for you when you get back. Don't worry about it."

"Okay," Cillian said, smiling.

After that, Cillian leaves the office. He left the studio to head home to get ready for his trip.

At his house, Cillian's packing his bag for a trip to Chicago and takes a moment to look at a picture of his brother and sister before leaving. Cillian is feeling the pressure from his perfectionist parents, who believe that he is responsible for the deaths of his teammates and friends. They were also pretty furious that Cillian let his ex-girlfriend go to Italy and be a nun, ending his relationship with her. He grabbed his bag and hit the road, beginning his new journey.

Chapter Text

At home, Steve walked in and sees Naomi with the kids in the kitchen.

"Hey." Steve said.

"Hey." Everyone said in unison.

"So? What did the Director say?" Naomi asked.

"He assigned me to a solo mission." Steve said.

"Oh, a solo mission." Naomi said, unimpressed.

"What kind of mission is this?" Aloysius asked his father while vaping.

"He wants me to meet with Vanoss." Steve said.

Everyone in the family turned to Steve in shocked and amazed.

"Vanoss? Dad, that YouTuber is famous!" Sue said. "Do you think you can let us meet him?"

"Forget it." Steve said.

"Oh, come on, Dad." Bertram said.

"Come on, it's his decision. We're gonna respect it." Naomi said.

"Thank you." Steve said.

"When's your mission started?" Naomi asked.

"Tonight." Steve said.

"We're watching a movie tonight, Steve." Naomi said, displeased.

While Steve and Naomi are talking, Aloysius sees something on TV.

"Oh, shit. Check this out." Aloysius said.

Aloysius turns up the volume of the TV to see the news on TV.

"Good evening, I'm Jenny Thomas, live from the laboratory.

In an unexpected turn of events, a laboratory has been completely destroyed. The person behind this destruction is none other than Lena Flora, also known as Lena the Jungle Girl. Lena, a 28-year-old orphan who has the unique ability to communicate with animals and manipulate the elements of nature, is no stranger to controversy.

For those unfamiliar with Lena, she gained notoriety for her role in the destruction of a town in California, specifically Briarwood County. This county was once considered the perfect place to live, until it was revealed that men were replacing their wives and children with compliant robots.

However, tonight's news is not about the town, but about the laboratory that Lena has destroyed. Details about the laboratory and the reasons behind its destruction are still emerging. We will continue to follow this story closely and bring you updates as they become available.

Stay tuned to this channel for more on this developing story. Back to you in the studio."

The entire family is shocked at Lena's existence.

"Wow, Lena the Jungle Girl is actually real." Sue said.

"Why did they call her that?" Bertram asked.

"Didn't you hear that on the news?" Aloysius asked. "She can communicate with animals and manipulate the elements!"

While his kids are bickering, Steve walked into his bedroom to prepares to begin his solo mission.

Steve arrives at the location where he is supposed to meet Vanoss. It's a large abandoned mansion in the middle of a dense forest. The mansion is lit up with an eerie green light, and the air is thick with tension. Steve takes a deep breath and exits the car, his hands shaking slightly.

"This is it. This is my chance to prove myself." Steve said to himself as he exited the car.

Steve finds the spot and sees Vanoss. He's shorter than Steve had expected, but his presence is still intimidating.

"Ah, you must be Steve. I've been expecting you. Director Garfield told me you've been going through some tough times." Vanoss said.

"Yeah, well, I'm just trying to move on and focus on my work. I want to prove that I can still be a valuable agent." Steve said.

"That's commendable. Well, let me tell you about our little operation. You see, there's a diamond out there. A very special diamond called the Diamond of Fire. It's said to grant its possessor the power to manipulate, shape, and control fire." Vanoss said, explaining the Diamond of Fire.

"And you want me to retrieve it?" Steve asked.

"Exactly. We've been tracking its location to this mansion. We believe it's hidden somewhere inside. Our job is to find it and retrieve it to make sure it's safe." Vanoss said.

"Safe? From what?" Steve asked.

"There's someone else after the diamond. A shadowy figure known only as the Phantom. They're ruthless and won't hesitate to kill anyone who gets in their way." Vanoss said.

A chill runs down Steve's spine at the mention of The Phantom. He nods, determination setting in.

"Okay, let's get to work." Steve said, preparing to begin work.

With that, Steve and Vanoss enter the mansion to begin their search. They both begin to solve the mystery about the phantom.

"Okay, let's split up. We'll find out where the Phantom is, and we'll get the job done." Steve said.

"Okay. You take it upstairs; I'll do it down here." Vanoss said, compromising their plan.

"Okay," Steve said, walking upstairs to the next floor of the mansion.

He stops, and he feels his trauma catch up to him. He ended up hallucinating his crazy, clingy, possessive, and obsessive ex-girlfriend, Myra Monkhouse.

"Miss me, Stevie?" Myra asked.

"M...Myra? But you're..." Steve said it in shock.

"What? Dead? I am, actually. I'm a spirit only you can see. You're going to have to make amends with the Winslows." Myra said.

"How? I'm mad at me for not telling me." Steve said.

"I know. But can't you try?" Myra asked.

Steve thinks for a moment. Then he shakes his head.

"No, I can't." Steve said.

"Well, then you're just going to have to find a way to get past it. You can't keep running from your problems." Myra said to Steve:.

Steve knew that Myra would try to convince him to move on from the past by making amends with the Winslows, but he couldn't even do it.

Downstairs, Vanoss, who is also searching the mansion,. He comes across a hidden room and finds the diamond.

"Steve, I found it!" Vanoss shouted.

Steve runs to where Vanoss is.

"What is it?" Steve asked.

"Look!" Vanoss said, pointing to a hidden room that they had missed earlier.

There's a note on the floor. Steve picks it up.

"What's it saying?" Vanoss asked.

Steve realized who wrote the letter.

"Vanoss, I think this is from the Phantom." Steve said.

"What?!" Vanoss asked, swiping the letter before reading. "You've found our treasure. But be warned, it comes with a price."

"What else did it say?" Steve asked

Vanoss continues reading the letter. "Soon, with these six powerful diamonds, I will destroy the world and remake it in my image. I will be a god." He said.

"What?" Steve asked in shock before taking the letter. "Six diamonds? Well, we have to find the other five diamonds before it's too late.

"Wait, are you saying...?" Vanoss asked.

"Yes. We should join forces," Steve said.

"Well, if we're going to do this, we'll use my friends." Vanoss said, grabbing his phone to text his friends. "Because as of now, we're activated."

Vanoss texted his friends—Delirious, Marcel, Terroriser, Wildcat, and Nogla—that it's happening and that they've been activated for the biggest mission. Steve knew that he'll probably regret joining forces with him, but he has to deal with it. He texted his wife and kid through a group chat.

"Hey, guys. Something comes up. I'm going to be leaving town with Vanoss." Steve texted.

Arriving in Chicago, Cillian's nervous and excited that he's set to interview the Kill Bill kid. He hopes that he doesn't want to waste a trip here before his vacation.

"This is it. This is my big break. I can't screw it up." Cillian said, until seeing the ambulances at the house. "What the heck? What happened?!"

"The Kill Bill kid committed suicide." The paramedic said.

"What?! How?!" Cillian asked.

"He slit his throat with a katana." The paramedic said.

"Dammit. I was going to interview him for my podcast." Cillian said until he realized something. "Hey, do you know where Commissioner Carl Winslow lives?"

"He lives two blocks away." The paramedic said. "Why?"

"Well, I'm also doing an interview on him, an exclusive." Cillian said. "According to my schedule, I'm doing it at, what time is it?"

"It's about three thirty." The paramedic said.

"Okay, I can go there right now." Cillian said, walking away. "Thanks."

Cillian takes a long walk to his destination. He calls Jack on his phone through a video call.

"Hey Jack, the Kill Bill kid just committed suicide, so I have time to do the exclusive." Cillian said.

"Aw, that's a shame. Well, you can do the exclusive." Jack said.

"Thanks, but before I do that, I need to know what to say." Cillian said.

"The man's a police commissioner who's set to retire. He wants to talk about his life, and you can ask him a couple of questions involving the disappearance of his wife." Jack said, explaining the details.

"Okay, cool." Cillian said. "Thanks."

Cillian hung up his phone as he arrived at the Winslow residence. He stands at the door, knocking, and Carl promptly answers.

"Who's there?" Carl asked, opening the door.

"Hi there. I'm Cillian Darcy, and I'm a podcaster and reporter from New York. I'd love to interview Police Commissioner Carl Winslow." Cillian said, introducing himself. "Are you him?"

"Yes. That's me." Carl said, confirming that he's him before opened the door to invite him in. "Come on in."

Cillian steps inside and immediately notices the disarray in the house.

"Oh shit! What happened here?" Cillian asked.

"Ah, just the aftermath of '98." Carl said. "Coffee?"

"Sure." Cillian said. "Um, where can I set up for the interview?"

"Oh, go through there." Carl said, pointing at the kitchen.

"Okay." Cillian said, getting his gear from his duffle bag to prepare for his interview with Carl Winslow. He's nervous that it's his first exclusive interview. After drinking some coffee, he begins the interview.

"Alright, Carlton Otiz Winslow, born June 18, 1953, to Samuel and Estelle Winslow, both deceased, husband of Harriette since 1971, the father of Eddie, born in 1974, Laura, born in 1976, and Judy Winslow, born in 1980, and the adopted father of Jerry Jamal Jameson, aka 3J, born in 1988. You climbed the ranks to become a police commissioner." Cillian said. "After almost fifty years on the force, you're set to retire."

"Yeah, since '98, my focus has shifted more to my career than my family. It was quite embarrassing to have to arrest my own son for corruption and murder that day. He was sentenced in '99." Carl said.

"What led to that?" Cillian asked.

"It all started after November 29, 1998, Laura's birthday. Myra's passing and her ex's leaving her drove our family apart. Eddie ended up with a hefty sentence for corruption, set to be out on parole soon. Laura struggled mentally due to bipolar disorder and was institutionalized, with Maxine there for support. And Judy took 3J to Boston to keep him away from Laura's situation. Richie and Rachel stayed in Detroit, while Harriette vanished six months ago, likely due to Larry Smiley." Carl said, explaining that he and his family have drifted apart.

"Who's Larry Smiley?" Cillian asked.

"He runs the Love and Commitment Institute. But let's not forget the one who catalysed our downfall that day—Steve Urkel." Carl said, bitterly.

"That FBI agent?" Cillian asked.

"That's right, but unfortunately, I met up with him at the store last week, we spoke and he apologised, but instead of hating him, I rather forgive him." Carl said. "Cillian, I listened to your podcast, Before you signed off, I heard you were wondering about the Phantom."

"Yeah, whatever they're planning." Cillian said. "When I snuck into an abandoned mansion in the forest last week when I was here, I was trying to figure out what the Phantom was doing and decided to investigate."

Carl realizes that they can both hunt him down.

"You know, I've done some research on you about your previous life, Red Eagle." Carl said, revealing that Cillian was once a superhero called the Red Eagle. "Former superhero and a member of The Rebels."

"That's right." Cillian said in shock and amazement.

"I looked you up, and I have to admit, you're pretty interesting. How would you feel if we joined forces?" Carl asked.

"I think I can have time before my vacation. Let's do it." Cillian said, smiling. "Let's come up with a plan for capturing the bastard."

"First, we need someone close to Steve. Naomi's our best bet since his family's estranged." Carl said.

"Naomi?" Cillian asked.

"His wife." Carl said.

"Oh. Well, she's our first stop." Cillian said.

"You drive?" Carl asked.

"Yeah, I'll drive." Cillian aid.

Cillian and Carl head out of the house. They get inside Carl's car and start driving in search of Steve Urkel. They drove past the old Monkhouse residence as Carl looked at that house.

"Who lived there?" Cillian asked.

"Well, remember I told you about Myra's passing? Well, she used to live there." Carl said, explaining.

"Whoa," Cillian said. "You want me to pull over?"

"Please," Carl said, getting an idea of recruiting someone.

At the same time, at the old Monkhouse residence, two twin girls named Stephanie Laurine and Stephanie Melody were raised by their grandmother, Mavis Monkhouse, mother of the late Myra Monkhouse. Due to their same name, they both agreed to be called by their middle names. Laurel is the older twin who happens to be a geeky, nerdy, and playful twin, while Melody is the younger twin who's a normal bad girl with a wild personality.

"Enjoy Florida, grandma!" Laurine said.

"Call us when you land! Love you!" Melody said.

"She's going to have a good time seeing great-aunt Monica again." Laurine said.

"And it is so cool that she trusts us to leave us alone for the first time. Melody said.

Just then, both of them are going to enjoy themselves.

"Sucker!" Both twins said in unison.

Just then, they see Carl's car driving by until it pulls up. They walked towards the car.

"Commissioner Winslow, what are you doing here?" Laurine asked.

"I want to talk to your grandmother, where is she?" Carl asked.

"She's gone off to Florida to see her sister." Melody said. "Why?"

"Oh, right. She told me that I forgot. So listen, since she's gone off, you two girls are going to come with me." Carl said.

"Oh, okay." Laurine said.

"Laurel, we can't trust him." Melody said to her sister.

"Mel, we can. I mean, we do need to have a road trip." Laurine said until she realized something before turning to Carl. "Is this journey something to do with finding our dad?"

"Yes, so are you okay with it?" Carl asked.

"We'll do it!" Both twins said in unison quickly.

Laurine and Melody entered the back of the car, where they see Cillian driving.

"Hi, we're Stephanie, but we're Laurine and Melody." Laurel said.

"Hi, Cillian Darcy." Cillian said.

"He's just helping me find the Phantom." Carl said. "Okay, you can drive."

Cillian continues driving.

At the laboratory, where Cillian, Carl, Laurine, and Melody survey the wreckage.

"What the heck?" Melody asked in shocked.

"Holy... What the hell happened here?" Cillian asked.

"Beats me. It looks like it went up in flames." Carl said.

"Not quite." The voice said happened to be Naomi, who appears as she enters the lab and approaches them. "Someone with control over the elements wreaked havoc here—a girl from the African jungles named Lena."

"Lena? The Jungle Girl? I've heard of her. She's the one who blew up Briarwood County for replacing its children with androids." Cillian said.

"How'd you know all of this?" Laurine asked.

"It made headlines." Cillian said before turning to Naomi. "Where was she last spotted?"

"She disappeared into that tunnel." Naomi said, pointing at the tunnel.

Suddenly, they overhear voices nearby. It's Wildcat, Marcel, and Terroriser. Wildcat is a pink pig who wears a white motorcycle helmet, a white t-shirt with a pink wildcat logo, and zebra-patterned leggings/occasional boxer briefs. Marcel is dressed like Finn from Adventure Time but more realistic, being slightly taller and having a larger head, humanoid face, and big eyes. Terroriser as brown hair, black sunglasses, a white shirt, blue pants, and black boots.

"This is all your fault for us getting killed in Left for Dead Four!" Marcel said to Wildcat.

"Hey, I hate horror games, man! And that was before we can actually die!" Wildcat said angrily at Marcel.

"You hate horror games? Try being a black guy." Marcel said

"At least you weren't the only woman. I pressed the wrong body type!" Terroriser said. "I mean, come on! Who designed this?!"

Cillian, Carl, Naomi, Laurine, and Melody hide as Terroriser adjusts his attire.

"Ugh, can someone get him a jacket or something?" Marcel asked.

"Oh, so your male gaze is my fucking problem now?" Terroriser asked.

Carl, Cillian , Naomi, Laurine, and Melody see them heading to the tunnel near the entrance, leaving them to follow.

"What's the plan?" Cillian asked.

"We can follow them." Carl said to Cillian.

Carl, Cillian, Naomi, Laurine, and Melody follow them and slide down into the tunnel to the centre of a laboratory.

"Where di they go?" Carl asked.

"I don't know." Cillian said.

"Okay, let's find them." Naomi said.

Carl. Cillian, Naomi, Laurine, and Melody hope to find the three by following the voices.

"I told you I'd cash app you directly if you shut the fuck up, Marcel!" Wildcat shouted, echoing.

"You shut the fuck up, Wildcat! You and Vanoss used the chainsaws as a wake up prank!" Marcel shouted.

"I said I was sorry! All we have to do right now is find Vanoss, Delirious, and Nogla, and meet this Steve, whoever the fuck he is." Wildcat said, echoing.

Carl, Cillian, Naomi, Laurine, and Melody are shocked that they're trying to find Steve as well. Just then, they see a white diamond on the ceiling.

"What's that?" Carl asked, seeing the diamond.

"Some king of a diamond. I'll climb up and get it." Cillian said, preparing to climb up.

"Be careful." Naomi said.

Cillian starts climbing up to the ceiling to get the white diamond. He was almost there. He jumps down onto the path to walk carefully. When he's one step to the diamond, he grabs the white diamond.

"Cillian, did you get it?" Carl asked.

"Yeah, I got it." Cillian said.

Just then, both Wildcat and Marcel arrive and find them.

"What the hell?" Wildcat asked.

"What the fuck are you guys doing?" Marcel asked.

"Oh, don't mind us, we're just collecting that." Laurine said, pointing at the diamond.

While they were talking, the white diamond's glowing as a hole in the ceiling began to tear open. Cillian hears someone screaming in the hole as the person falls down towards Cillian, and they both fall down.

"Cillian, are you okay?" Carl asked.

"I'm fine, I'm fine." Cillian said.

"Who was that pushing you?" Melody asked.

The smoke makes it clear that the person who pushed him was none other than the past version of Steve Urkel, who was twenty-one years old.

"Did I do that?" Past Steve asked.

"Yeah, it's okay. No worries." Cillian said.

Carl recognizes the younger Steve Urkel. "Steve?" He asked in shocked.

Past Steve looks at Carl.

"Oh, hi, big guy. Nice look." Past Steve said. "What year is this?"

"2024." Melody said.

" Oh. I must've time-traveled here from 1997. Anyway, I was making some adjustments on my time machine on the eve of my twenty-first birthday, and I have this mysterious glitch that came from this time. I have this feeling that the Steve you knew needs my help." Past Steve said.

"He does. And none of us don't know where he is." Carl said before turning to Wildcat and Marcel. "Also, how did you three got here?"

"We had to escape from a mad scientist." Wildcat said.

"Oh wow, what did he look like?" Naomi asked.

"Well, his face is burned so badly, and he's reduced to a ghastly, mummy-like creature. He was obsessed with mastering the secrets of life." Marcel said.

"I know that freak! You described Landor, the Maker of Monsters." Cillian said.

Melody recognizes him.

"Hey, are you Cillian Darcy, the podcaster and reporter?" Melody asked.

"That's right. And, I came to help." Cillian said.

"I asked him if he'd be willing to join forces with me." Carl said. "And he said yes."

"Yeah, and it's an honour to hunt down the Phantom." Cillian said.

"Well, if you're trying to find Vanoss, Delirious and Nogla, then me and Marcel will help." Wildcat said. "We got separated from Terroriser."

"Then, don't worry. We'll find the Steve I know." Carl said.

"But, the only question is, where is he?" Laurine asked.

Carl, Cillian, Naomi, Past Steve, Laurine, Melody, Wildcat, and Marcel wonder about that question.

Tia walks down in the streets of Chicago.

"While there's two groups of our heroes beginning their adventure, let's focus on this mysterious hero." Tia said, narrating before seeing a Latino-American girl, walking to school. "Lorcan Bree Darcy. She idolized the Darcy Triplets as her heroes. Her favorite triplet was Lorcan Darcy, Cillian's late brother. Her friends called her by her middle name because her name was confusing. Now, look at her right now."

A Latino-American teenage girl named Lorcan "Bree" Darcy walks to school. She idolizes the Darcy Triplets as her heroes, her favourite triplet was Lorcan Darcy, her namesake, and she was dealing with grief that her idol was killed in the bomb explosion. She is a fifteen-year-old Latino-American girl with black hair with purple, blue, and green highlights. She wears a black shirt with a pink skull on it, blue jeans, and brown boots. Bree is a quintuplet and the youngest. Bree is the new girl in the city and is from a different Darcy family here. She never really hates her parents, they never truly got along. They argued, disagreed, and butted heads over almost everything. They didn't see eye-to-eye on politics, religion, lifestyle, and how to raise healthy, happy kids. Bree is Christian, while her parents are very devout Agnostic. Bree is very liberal, while her parents are very conservative. And Bree is also unapologetically bisexual, while her parents, not surprisingly, are extremely biphobic.

But, even though on the inside it was really clear that she didn't get along with her parents, she was never very public or vocal about her disagreements with them. She still needed a roof over her head, food to eat, and money in her pocket, and she was afraid that if she shared who she really was and what she really believed too strongly, they would kick her out of the house, maybe even disown her. Because of that, she formed what looked like a good relationship with her parents, but it was totally fake and artificial; on the inside, she just didn't get along with them. They saw her as being practically perfect, a good and trustworthy kid, but Bree saw that her parents were really flawed.

Her mom liked to hold grudges, was very quick to judge people, and liked to enforce really old fashioned gender roles, like that boys should do yard work and take out the trash and that girls only belonged in the kitchen and were destined to become subservient housewives. And her father was so invested and distracted by her work that she never formed real bonds with his children. She was also upset at the way her four older quintuplet sisters were treated. Her parents wouldn't allow her sisters to have friends outside of school, have phones, participate in extracurricular activities, or drive when they reached the legal age of sixteen.

When she met Lorcan, Bree was excited to meet him. What her family didn't know is that she was born with incredible reality warping superpowers. Lorcan taught her to control her powers and use them for good. Before he was killed, Lorcan told his namesake that she was ready.

Bree was in class, listening to her art teacher's lecture.

"Alfred Hitchcock famously called film, "little pieces of time" but he could be talking about photography, as he likely was." Her teacher said. "These pieces of time can frame us in our glory and our sorrows; from light to shadow; from color to chiaroscuro..."

Bree looks at her entry photo.

"Look at this crap! How can I show this to my teacher? I can hear the class laughing at me now." Bree thoughts to herself.

Bree takes a selfie with her camera as her art teacher sees.

"Shh, I believe Bree has taken a selfie. A wonderful photographic tradition. And she has a gift. Of course, as you all know, the photo portrait has been popular since the early 1800's. Your generation was not the first to use images for "selfie-expression." Sorry. I couldn't resist. The point remains that the portraiture has always been a vital aspect of art, and photography, for as long as it's been around. Now, Bree, since you've captured our interest and clearly want to join the conversation, can you please tell us the name of the process that gave birth to the first self-portraits?" Her art teacher asked.

"The Daguerreian Process. Invented by a French painter named...Louis Daguerre. Around 1830." Bree said.

"Well, someone has done their homework. Good for you, Bree." Her art teacher said, smiling. " The Daguerreian Process made portraiture hugely popular, mainly because it gave the subjects clear, defined features. You can learn more when you actually finish reading the assigned chapters. Bree is so far, way ahead of everybody."

Prinicipal Wells enters the class.

"Bree Darcy, mind if we have a word?" Principal Wells asked.

Bree grabs her backpack and walks towards the principal, who is out in the hallway.

"What is it?" Bree asked.

"Your teachers are concerned about your wellbeing. Does any of this has to do with your namesake?" Principal Wells asked.

"Yeah, after he died, I wanted to be alone." Bree said.

"How well did you know him?" Principal Wells asked.

"Oh, very well. He was my hero, my idol, and my role model." Bree said. "He taught me what it meant to be Lorcan Darcy."

"Lorcan was a kind and generous man. You're lucky to have a mentor like him. Let me ask you this, if a person wearing a blindfold picked the answers on a true or false quiz at random, do you know what score they would get?"

"Fifty percent." Bree said.

"That's right. The only way to get all the answers wrong, is to know which answers were right. I'm assigning you a personal essay. It's about you and what kind of person you want to be." Principal Wells said.

When she arrived home, Bree stared at her stack of homework. She takes out a legal pad to start on her Great Expectations paper. She sighs. That was until she hears the noises downstairs.

She walks out of the room and realizes it was the ICE. She noticed that her parents and sisters were arrested when a newly elected governor issued an executive order to arrest the children of undocumented immigrants. Bree knew that she couldn't stay here, so she had to escape from New York to be safe by hiding in the trailer of the truck as it drove off with her inside out of Chicago.

Driving out of Chicago, Steve and Vanoss are driving out in the middle of nowhere. They both remained quiet while driving the car. In the past, Steve got rid of the Urkelmobile to buy a new car. After a few minutes, Vanoss finally started speaking.

"So, Steve, how long have you been working for the FBI?" Vanoss asked.

"About twenty-six years, shortly after I return from space." Steve said.

"You've been to space?" Vanoss asked.

"Yeah, NASA bought the patent to one of my inventions, and I was sent into space with a pair of astronauts to test it out. My invention unintentionally caused a nearby satellite to crash into the space shuttle, and before long, I was sent hurtling through outer space. They were struggling to recover the astronauts and save my life. After that, I return to Earth as a national hero." Steve said.

"And how would you feel about that?" Vanoss asked.

Steve closed his eyes for a second.

"I was scared—traumatic, actually." Steve said.

"And how did you become an agent in the FBI?" Vanoss asked.

"After my ex-girlfriend died and angrily left the Winslows for good, I moved into an apartment, but then I walked down to the bar. I met one of the members of that street gang I know, the Piranhas, his name is Skull. He spoke, hitting it off as friends. It turns out he happens to be an FBI agent who went undercover as a gang member to find the drugs that Renaldo, the leader of the gang, kept and hidden, and waited for the right moment to arrest them with a secret help from me becoming Bruce Lee Urkel." Steve said.

"And he owed you for that?" Vanoss asked.

"Yeah, and when we spoke at the bar, he told me that he and his boss were talking about me during one of his meetings and offered me a job at the FBI." Steve said. "So, I took the job. That's why I want to prove myself and do this solo mission."

"What about your family?" Vanoss asked.

"My parents, Herb and Diane, moved to Russia back in 1995. They neglected, showed contempt, and mistreated me when I was young. My dad's a neurosurgeon and wants me to become one." Steve said. "And then, after my ex-girlfriend died, my parents had the nerve to call me and want me to come live with them in Russia, but I said no."

"Sorry to hear that, Steve." Vanoss said before changing the subject. "So, we're heading to where?"

"We're heading to New Orleans, we might be tracking down the Phantom there." Steve said while driving.

At the same time, Delirious was walking in the desert. He has black hair and normal skin. He wears a white and red hockey mask, a black shirt with a blue hoodie, black pants, and black shoes.

Delirious sees Steve's car and waves at it.

Vanoss sees Delirious.

"Hey, it's Delirious!" Vanoss said, seeing his friend.

Steve pulls the car up and sees Delirious.

"There you are." Vanoss said, smiling.

"I've been looking for you! Do you have any ideas how much I have to cancel my time with my daughters to come here to help you?!" Delirious asked, smiling and giving his friend a handshake.

"Sorry about that." Vanoss said.

"It's all okay." Delirious said, smiling as he got in the car before seeing Steve. "Hi, sorry about all of this."

"It's okay." Steve said, start driving again.

The trio continues their journey to New Orleans, where they can find the Phantom.

Back at the lab, Carl, Cillian, Naomi, Past Steve, Laurine, Melody, Wildcat, and Marcel are trying to get out. What they didn't know is that Past Steve's time machine on his left arm is having technical issues.

"Steve, what is it?" Carl asked.

"My time machine's sparking something. It didn't happen like this before." Past Steve said, trying to fix it until the device is glowing red. "Uh oh."

"What's the uh oh?" Cillian asked.

"It's triggering it's new teleporting update." Past Steve said.

"It can teleport?" Carl asked.

As a result, the time machine transmitted the teleportation and teleported them to a different location. Carl, Cillian, Naomi, Melody, Wildcat, and Marcel are in New Orleans and Laurine and Past Steve are in the middle of nowhere.

"Where the hell are we?" Laurine asked.,

"I... I don't know." Past Steve said until he saw someone. "Look!"

Past Steve and Laurine see someone walking towards them. It happened to be Lorcan Bree Darcy, escaping from Chicago, who jumped out of the trailer of the truck. They saw each other from across the road, and none of them had anything to say.

Chapter Text

In prison, Tamera walks down the hallways before turning to the readers.

"While Steve, Vanoss, and Delirious are heading to New Orleans, Laurine and Past Steve saw Bree in the middle of nowhere, and Carl, Cillian, Naomi, Wildcat, Marcel, and Melody are in New Orleans, let's focus on the rest of the Winslow family." Tamera said, narrating before seeing Eddie working out. "Edward James Arthur Winslow, long-time boyfriend of Greta McClure, is getting ready for his release. Like we said back in the beginning of the story, Eddie made a sweet promise that he'd marry her. And he stood by that promise."

Tamera sees someone ahead of her.

"Who's that?" Tamera asked herself.

Eddie's working out and sees someone. It's Dorothy "Tootie" Ramsey doing a story. She looks around and finds Eddie in his cell. Eddie was preparing for his release.

"Excuse me, Eddie Winslow? I'm Dorothy Ramsey from Wake Up with Dorothy." Dorothy said.

"Look, whatever it is, I'm not interested." Eddie said.

"I'm actually here about a story I'm working on. I was hoping we could talk about your work." Dorothy said.

"Okay, why?" Eddie asked.

"Look, there are a lot of crimes that the Phantom and his army committed. The Warden came to me and said that you've been investigating criminals who are on his payroll, so I would like to interview you for my show." Dorothy said.

"Oh, okay." Eddie said. "What do you want to know?"

"Everything." Dorothy said, holding up her tape recorder.

"My dad discovered the Phantom back in 1998. He told me that there were criminals on his payroll, so he and Commissioner Geiss arranged an arrest. My former best friend's ex-girlfriend witnessed a crime and told me about it. I alerted the FBI to take her away to put her in the witness protection program and fake her death, which led to my arrest. After the trial, I was sentenced to twenty-five years here." Eddie said. "It took me years to find more information on the Phantom."

"So, you've been hunting him down, huh?" Dorothy asked.

"Yeah." Eddie said. "After Geiss retired, my dad was promoted to commissioner in the year 2010."

"The warden told me you've been scheduled to be released." Dorothy said.

"Yeah, and while I was in prison, I felt guilty for hurting my former best friend's feelings. And I hope he can forgive me for what happened." Eddie said, expressing his remorse for Steve's feelings.

"And what would you say to him?" Dorothy asked.

"I would tell him that I'm sorry." Eddie said, continue to feel remorse.

Tamera nodded at Eddie's interview and his release from prison, before turning to the readers.

"Now, due to Eddie's being released, let's see what happened." Tamera said, continue to narrate.

Eddie arrives to the address where his longtime girlfriend, Greta McClure, is waiting for him. He remembers when Laura told him the whole story back in 1996 about how she and her father, Dave had a falling out with each other because she was still dating him. He immediately issued her an ultimatum: either she had to stop dating Eddie or be cut off without a cent. She chose to keep dating him, and she has struggled ever since her father not only disowned her but also cut her off financially. No money for textbooks, make up, clothes, everything. Greta had to take on two jobs to make ends meet.

Eddie knocks on the door and Greta answers it.

"Welcome home." Greta said, smiling.

"Thanks." Eddie said.

Both Eddie and Greta make out inside the house after he enters it.

Tia decided to look away to continue the story.

"Let's focus on another Winslow." Tia said, continue narrating the story.

Tia enters the door, which leads to the mental institute. She walks down the hallway and sees Laura Winslow sitting on her bed.

"Here we are in this hospital, where we can see Laura Winslow sitting on her bed in her room. She's been struggling mentally, like we said. Her best friend, Maxine Johnson-Faldo, stayed right beside her until she felt better. Let's see what's going on with her now." Tia said.

Maxine walks down the hallway to visit her best friend.

"Hi, Laura." Maxine said, gently.

"Hi." Laura said, calming.

"I heard that the doctor says you're going to be released later." Maxine said. "You seem excited, huh?"

"Yeah, I don't know if I can go home." Laura said.

"You can stay with me and Waldo if you want. We have enough room." Maxine said, offering Laura a place to stay.

"Okay. I'll try that." Laura said. "Any word from Steve?"

"No. But, he and his wife, Naomi, are away for the trip, so they asked me to mind their kids." Maxine said.

"Okay." Laura said. "You know. You never told me how did Waldo take you back?"

"Well, it turns out he had no intentions of ending our relationship. His cousin, Bob—you remember him—who we set you up for a blind date for that dance marathon? Well, screwed up the postcards. It turns out Bob wants to end his relationship with a girlfriend of his." Maxine said, explaining the real reason.

"So, all of that was a misunderstanding?" Laura asked.

"That's right." Maxine said.

As the conversation continued, Tia walked away. She sees Tamera walk by.

"Shall we?" Tia asked.

"Let's." Tamera said before entering the door.

Tia and Tamera walked down the hallway of an apartment building before turning to the readers.

"Judy Winslow, the youngest of the three kids. After 2000, she took in 3J like Carl and Harriette's orders to protect him from Laura's mental attack after her escape. She grew up and became a artist." Tia said.

"That's right, her artwork were amazing. She makes good storyboards." Tamera said to her sister before turning to the readers. "You guys ever see those big budget movies with their beautiful, fancy storyboards that are total works of art that belong in museums and art galleries long after a movie has been released?"

"Ours are not like that." Tia said to the readers. "We draw stick figures. Sorry."

"When 3J's became an adult, he got married and remained in contact with Judy." Tamera said. "She has her own art studio in, oh, she's in New Orleans."

Tia turns to her sister.

"She does?" Tia asked. "Oh, oh well. Let's see what Judy's been doing."

Judy is finishing up her artwork for the upcoming auction. She worked so hard on it. She hears her phone ringing and answers it.

"Hello?" Judy asked. "Oh, hey. Yeah, I'm finishing up painting my artwork. Is everything all set up for the auction tonight? Where? The nightclub, got it. Okay, thanks."

Judy hangs up her phone and finishes up her painting. She washes her paintbrushes and prepares for the auction. Tia and Tamera continues to narrate the story.

"Unlike Eddie and Laura who are trying to get their lives back on track, Judy's the only one who succeed in life." Tia said.

"Instead of keeping the money from selling her paintings in the auction for herself, she sent the half of it to her family." Tamera said. "Which it was the right thing to do. Let's see her right now."

Judy prepares to get change for the nightclub auction. She grabbed the dry artwork and head to the nightclub.

"And now, we'll leave the three Winslow kids there." Tia said. "Judy will join the heroes."

"What about their cousin? Richie?" Tamera asked.

"Oh, I forgot about him." Tia said, walking through the door and leave the apartment.

At the cemetery, Tia sees Richie looking at his father's grave before turning to the reader.

"After Laura's 22nd birthday fiasco, Richie discovers something from his mother, Rachel. She told him about his late father, Robert who died before he was born. He remain touch with 3J. After what happened, he went to college, got into law school, and became a District Attorney." Tia said. "And as of 3J, he became the assistant DA, allying with his own foster cousin."

"But, when 3J has an terrible car wreck, he lost his voice and became a mute." Tamera said. "Richie hires an interrupter to speak for him. The interrupter is a beautiful woman. And after that, she and 3J got married, while Richie marries Maxine's niece, Kelsey Webster."

"Now, we both don't have time to see what they're doing right now, but let's head back to see what happened after the previous chapter of this story." Tia said.

Past Steve and Laurine sees Bree from across the street and none of them had anything to say.

"Who is she?" Past Steve asked.

"I don't know." Laurine said in shocked before deciding to say something. "Uh, are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. Sorry, I just got lost." Bree said, seeing a car. "Who's that?"

Laurine and Past Steve sees a car driving by. It was Steve, Vanoss and Delirious who are in that car.

"Hey." Laurine said to Steve.

"Laurine? What are you doing here?" Steve asked.

"It's a long story, but can you give us a ride to wherever you're going?" Laurine asked.

"Sure, get in." Steve said before turning to Bree. "You too."

Laurine and Bree gets in the car. Steve sees his past self for the first time.

"Oh, whoever you are, stop copying me and get in the car." Steve said to his past self.

"Wait, hold on, I'm not copying you." Past Steve said as his future self grabbed him by the collar and threw him into the back seat.

"Not buying." Steve said before start driving the car. "Look, when we arriving to New Orleans, we'll staying in a bed and breakfasts."

"Where are we gonna find a room?" Laurine asked.

"I think we can find some that's vacant." Bree said.

"Alright, I think it's a good idea." Vanoss said.

"Fine! We'll find a room." Steve said, continue to drive.

Steve's car continues to drive away to New Orleans.

At the same time, Carl, Cillian, Naomi, Melody, Wildcat and Marcel are in New Orleans. The city is enjoying having fun.

"Oh man, I love New Orleans." Cillian said. "This city is the most party one. My brother loved this place."

"I know. So, we're going to have to spend a night here." Carl said. "Hotel, or bed and breakfast won't hurt for one night."

"I think it won't be that bad." Cillian said. "I'll pay for mine."

"No, no, no. I will." Carl said to Cillian. "It's a least I can do."

"No, Carl, I'll pay for my room, you can pay for yours." Cillian said.

"You sure?" Carl asked, smiling.

"I'm sure." Cillian said.

"Okay." Carl said.

"I'm gonna go to a motel. See ya." Melody said, walking away from the group.

Cillian and Carl, shrugs.

Steve, Past Steve, Vanoss, Delirious, Laurine, and Bree are spending the night in separate rooms at bed and breakfasts on the opposite side of New Orleans.

Bree is in their room with Laurine. Laurine, however, is unable to sleep.

"Shit." Laurine said.

"What?" Bree asked. "Can't sleep?"

"No, it's bullshit." Laurine said to Bree before turning the lights on.

"I know, right? I'm just being friendly to ask." Bree said.

"Oh, thanks for asking. My name's Laurine." Laurine said.

"I'm Bree." Bree said. "You live in Chicago?"

"Yeah, I live there with my grandmother and my twin sister." Laurine said.

"Cool! I live there with my parents and my four sisters." Bree said.

"Oh, cool! I always wanted to meet a quintuple." Laurine said, smiling. "I made be older than you, but you just became my best friend forever."

"Really?" Bree asked, smiling.

In the other bedroom, Steve, Past Steve, Vanoss and Delirious are trying to sleep. Vanoss's the first one to get up.

"Can you believe it, Delirious? There's two of him." Vanoss said to his best friend.

"I know. It's weird!" Delirious said.

"Can you imagine?" Vanoss asked. "Listen, no offense on making you cancelling your weekend with your girls."

"Ah, it's okay. I'll let Liz spending more time with them." Delirious said to his best friend.

"You two do know I can hear your conversations, by the way, right?" Past Steve asked.

"Oh, sorry." Vanoss said. "It's just we're shocked to see both versions of you."

"I mean, what year you're from?" Delirious asked.

"Oh, I'm June 12, 1997, the eve of my twenty-first birthday. You see, my time machine was acting up recently and it transported me to this time." Past Steve said. "If you don't mind me asking, who are you two? We never got a chance to introduce to each other."

"Oh, I'm Vanoss." Vanoss said.

"And I'm Delirious." Delirious said.

"Nice to meet you two." Past Steve said.

"Do you three idiots have to talk in the middle of the fucking night?" Steve asked, getting irritated before turning on the lights. "So how about you guys can shut up and go to sleep?!"

"Listen, Steve. It's only ten. Why not we go down to the nightclub and have a beer?" Vanoss asked.

"No." Steve said. "I just want to get some sleep."

Delirious turns to Past Steve.

"What about you? Gives you a chance to celebrate your twenty-first birthday." Deliroius said to Past Steve.

"Well, I could use a drink." Past Steve said. "I remember one time back in 1991, I was at Maxine's rooftop party, and a bully I know, Willie Fuffner spikes the punch with whiskey as revenge for humiliating me in a boxing match."

Steve turns to his past self.

"And we tumbles from the rooftop." Steve said, finishing what his past self say.

"Yeah, and then..." Past Steve said.

"Rachel must pull me to safety. She later admits she never has practiced tightrope walking but she succeeds in rescuing me." Both versions of Steve said in unison.

Steve was shocked that Past Steve really is his past self.

"You really are my past self." Steve said.

"And you're my future self." Past Steve said.

The door knocks and Laurine enters.

"Hey, me and Bree are going down to the nightclub to have a few drinks. Wanna come?" Laurine asked.

"Sure." Vanoss said, getting up.

"Yeah!" Delirious said, getting up.

"I can drink." Past Steve said, getting up.

Laurine turns to Steve.

"What about you?" Laurine asked.

Steve knew he has no choice and gets up.

"Come on then, one quick beer." Steve said. "You guys got your IDs?"

"Yeah." Past Steve said.

I got a fake one." Bree said, holding up her fake ID.

Steve examines it. "You do realizes that possessing a fake ID is against the law, right?" He asked.

"I know, but you can look the other way, right?" Bree asked.

"Alright, but I wasn't looking." Steve said, agreeing just this once.

"Okay, I'll see you and your past self were on the toilet." Bree said.

Vanoss, Delirious, and Laurine laughs as they left the room. After they left, the room's TV's turned on and Tia appeared on screen as an anchor-woman in order to continue narrating the story.

"This just in, the heroes left the Beds and Breakfast to go out to enjoy themselves in New Orleans." Tia said breaking the news. "That's right, they are going to the nightclub. But, not just any nightclub, no, no, no, no. This nightclub is owned by none other than a familiar face that Steve knows. Now, we turned to Tamera, reporting. Come in, Tamera."

In the nightclub, Tamera was reporting.

"Here we are in this lovely nightclub called Stefan's. I'm here enjoying the lovely place. I've heard about this club. Decent meal, lovely cabaret, you know, a magician, a singer, and a good comedian." Tamera said before seeing a couple of villains. "Oh, boy."

The members of the Phantom's group are Midnight Crawler, and Cillian's estrange relatives, his parents are Calvin and Marie Darcy, and his uncle Frank Darcy aka the White Dragon.

"Tamera, what'd you see?" Tia asked.

"I see the members of the Phantom's legion." Tamera said. "The members are Midnight Crawler and Cillian's estranged family."

Tamera turns to the readers.

"One of the relatives is Frank Darcy, aka The White Dragon. He's a racist supervillain." Tia said. "I don't know why Cillian's related to the guy."

"Me too." Tia said. "Where are our heroes?"

Tamera looks around and sees them.

"I found them." Tamera said.

Steve, Past Steve, Vanoss, Delirious, Laurine, and Bree are seated at a table eating. Their table is situated very close to the stage where a singer is performing.

"Amazing place, isn't it?" Steve asked.

"I know. So, since we're having a nice break, what do you guys say if we can get to know each other." Past Steve said.

"He's right." Steve said before turning to Bree. "So, let's start with you."

"Okay." Bree said. "I'm Lorcan Darcy, but my friends call me Bree. I was named after Cillian Darcy's triplet brother Lorcan, my hero, who may rest in peace. I'm a quintuplet, and I'm bisexual."

"Wait, Cillian Darcy?" Vanoss asked.

"Yeah, he was a superhero, and now he's a podcaster." Bree said.

"Oh yeah, he's pretty funny when he made fun of Terroriser." Delirious said before laughing.

"I listened to that. He's pretty good." Steve said before turning to Bree. "Listen, Bree. You're the fan of the Darcy Triplets, what's Cillian's story anyway?"

"Well, Cillian retired from being a superhero after his entire team died in a tragic bomb explosion. His brother/my role model was getting married there. He and his ex-girlfriend Emily Pond were the living two survivors. After the incident, Emily left him to become a nun. In Italy." Bree said.

"She joined the convent?!" Both versions of Steve asked in unison.

"Oh yeah. I heard that Cillian was planning on propose to her, but she left. Dumped him." Bree said. "Saddest story."

"Reminds me of the same break up I had. Back in January, me and my girlfriend Liz Katz, well, we broke up. We had bad bumps, but we decided to remain as friends. Right now, I'm gonna have to tell my daughters why I had to delay." Delirious said.

"I gotta asked. Who are your daughters?" Past Steve asked.

"Babylirious, she was born back in 2020, and Littlelirious, she was born a year later." Delirious said.

"Well, at least, you're pulling through." Laurine said.

"She's right, Delirious. Once we're done with this mission, you can go back to your daughters." Steve said.

"Okay, I appreciated it." Delirious said.

"Okay, Bree, what about you?" Laurine asked.

"Yeah, you're Lorcan's namesake, right?" Steve asked.

"Oh yeah, he was my hero. Lorcan taught me everything he knows. He was my role model and my idol. Right before he died, he told me that Cillian will finish up what he started." Bree said.

"Tell me, what were you doing out in the middle of nowhere before they showed up?" Past Steve asked.

"Has to escape from the governor because he ordered that all Latino citizens in Chicago to be arrested." Bree said.

"Joseph Finn?" Steve asked. "I hate that guy."

"Yeah, I heard he's Cillian Darcy's arch-nemesis because they've been fighting for years. After their last battle, they made a deal as long Cillian stop being a hero." Bree said.

Past Steve turns to his future self.

"What about you?" Past Steve asked.

Steve looks down and makes a fist in anger.

"Me? Well, I lost the first girl I ever know and loved." Steve said.

"Who?" Past Steve asked.

"Myra." Steve said. "She died. And I regretted getting that stupid makeover. I want to make things right by going after the Phantom."

"We'll get him, Steve. I promise you that." Vanoss said.

"Okay, come on. Drink up." Steve said. "We'll have another one here anyway."

Tamera smiles as she sees them drinking their drinks before seeing Carl's group arriving.

"Tia, this story's getting interesting." Tamera said, smiling. "Commissioner Winslow's group has just arrived."

"Let's see where this is going." Tia said.

Steve drinks his drink and sees Carl with Naomi, Cillian, Wildcat and Marcel arriving.

"Carl! Carl, over here!" Steve said, calling out to Carl.

"Hello, Steve." Carl said, greeting his old friend and shakes his hand.

Steve kisses his wife Naomi.

"It's good here, isn't it?" Steve asked, smiling.

"Stunning." Carl said, smiling.

"Yeah, they got a magician, a singer and a comedian. The singer will be on in a minute!" Cillian said.

The singer sings a few more words then reacts to Cillian's line, continues singing.

"Steve, this is Cillian. Cillian, Steve Urkel." Carl said, introducing Cillian to Steve.

Cillian shakes Steve's hand.

"Hi, nice to meet you." Cillian said, meeting Steve.

"Pleasure." Steve said.

"Hey, Vanoss, Delirious, how's it going?

"We've been looking for you." Marcel said.

"Sorry about that." Vanoss said.

"We've been trying to find you." Delirious said.

"Looks like you four can bicker when we find the other two. Cillian Darcy, Vanoss and Delirious. Big fans of your videos." Cillian said, introducing himself to Vanos and Delirious.

"Oh, nice to meet you." Vanoss said.

"And Delirious. I watched the video of you played Babylirious game. I agreed with you, you're dead, you're a dead dad." Cillian said.

"I know, I'm a dead Delirious." Delirious said, laughing. "I'm glad you enjoyed the video, Cillian."

"Oh, it's really funny." Cillian said.

"So, Steve. I heard you're also going after the Phantom." Carl said to Steve.

"You too?" Steve asked.

"That's right. We came here to find you because I was gonna get revenge on you. But, instead, I want to make a deal with you. We can forget the past if we decided to work together." Carl said.

"Well, I have this feeling that we can work together as well. When me and Vanoss investigate this abandoned mansion, we found this." Steve said, holding up a red diamond.

"You think you're the only one with that?" Carl asked.

"We've found this in a laboratory before your past self enters our time." Cillian said, holding up a white diamond.

"It's true." Past Steve said.

Just then, a hand shows a black diamond which was putted on their table.

"I found it in the caves a while back." A voice said. The others turns around and the voice is happened to be Stefan Urquelle, Steve's suave and charming clone.

"Oh, shit! That's Stefan Urquelle." Delirious said.

Tamera was shocked who she saw from her seat.

"Tia, I think I know why's the nightclub is named Stefan." Tamera said.

"Who?" Tia asked.

"It was named after it's owner, Stefan Urquelle." Tamera said, hearing Tia's scream through the microphone before continue the story.

"Well, I never. Stefan Urquelle, my handsome clone." Steve said, meeting his clone again.

"Steve Urkel, both past and present of the man who made me. We meet again." Stefan said, meeting Steve again.

"Oh, yeah. I remember you're a clone." Cillian said as Stefan sees him.

"Cillian Darcy, the man who interviews me. We meet again." Stefan said, smiling.

"Indeed we did, man." Cillian said, shaking Stefan's hand.

"You interviewed him, Cillian?" Carl asked.

"Yeah, I interviewed him when he was in New York for a photo shoot last year." Cillian said. "He was doing a Christmas one."

Past Steve turns to Stefan.

"Anyway, I didn't know you work here." Past Steve said.

"Actually, I own the place. I'm glad you all like the foot and drinks." Stefan said.

"Yeah, it's stunning." Stefan said.

"Yeah, well, we have an amazing cabaret. A magician, a comedian, see you make fun of the singer." Stefan said, giving Cillian a single punch in the arm for fun.

"We enjoyed it." Carl said, smiling.

"Well, I'm glad you all enjoyed it, because I hope you'll be sticking around for the auction." Stefan said.

"An auction?" Steve asked.

"That's right." Stefan said before entering the stage. "And now, Stefan's is very proud to announce a one of a kind auction for a painting. Please welcome Judith Winslow."

Judy enters on stage in the background with the painting while the group are talking.

"So, Steve, where're you staying?" Carl asked.

"Oh, we got a lovely little bed and breakfast." Steve said.

"Well, we booked into a hotel." Carl said.

"I got a room in a motel. Those pigs don't know I don't have a car." Melody said, snickering and winking at the group.

"I'd keep quiet about that if I were you, Melody." Naomi said.

Delirious was first to notice.

"Who's she?" Delirious asked.

They all look to the stage and sees Judith.

"Big guy, is that who I think it is?" Past Steve asked.

"Hey, yeah! It's Judy." Steve said.

"Oh yeah, she's a painter." Carl said.

Judy grabs a microphone and prepare to start the auction.

"Hello everyone, I'm Judith Winslow, and I'm happy to come here in front of you to auctioning off one of my paintings called Enter the Crave." Judy said, showing off the painting. "Now, we'll start the bid lower at ten dollars. Do I hear ten?"

A person from the audience raise their hand.

"Ten, I got ten. Do I hear fifteen?" Judy asked, seeing the person raising their hand. "Fifteen. Twenty?"

"I bid forty-five!" Cillian said, raising his hand.

"Forty-five, that's okay. Do I hear fifty?" Judy asked.

Carl decided to jump in.

"I bid sixty." Carl said, smiling.

Judy sees her father, smiling at her. She smiles.

"I have sixty bucks, come on. Do I hear seventy?" Judy asked.

"I bid a hundred grand." Frank shouted from his table in the back.

Everyone's shocked that Frank Darcy, aka the White Dragon has made the highest bid.

"One ten." Cillian said, bidding.

"Cillian, what are you doing?" Carl asked.

"Getting you that picture. I have a load of money I have from my podcast." Cillian said.

"One twenty." Frank said.

"One thirty." Cillian said.

"One forty." Frank said.

"One fifty." Cillian said.

"Two fifty." Frank said, making a highest bid.

Everyone's shocked. Two hundred and fifty thousand dollars is a highest bid yet. Cillian decided to end the bidding war by making a highest bid.

"One million dollars." Cillian said, making the highest bid than Frank's.

Judy smiles at Cillian for making a highest bid.

"I have a million dollar, do I hear two? I have a million, going once, going twice. Sold to Cillian Darcy for one million." Judy said, ending the auction as the audience cheers.

Cillian looks at his estranged uncle Frank and ignores him.

"My gift to you, Carl." Cillian said to Carl, smiling.

Judy walks down with the painting and give it to Cillian.

"Here you go." Judy said to Cillian before turning to Carl. "Hi, daddy."

"Hello, Judy." Carl said, hugging his daughter. "Look at you, making money off selling your paintings."

"Yeah, well. I see Cillian here made the bid. I'll go to the bank tomorrow and cash it." Judy said, smiling.

"Mind if I use the Urk-Pad?" Past Steve asked.

"What the? There's two of Steve?" Judy asked, smiling. "You know what? Who cares, come here!"

Judy hugs both versions of Steve.

"Hi, Judy." Steve said, smiling while hugging Judy.

"Hi, Steve." Judy said before hugging Past Steve. "So, what were you guys talking about?

"We're hunting down the Phantom, Carl's being interviewing by Cillian, and..." Steve said until realizing something. "Naomi, who's watching the kids?

"Oh, Maxine is. And Commissioner, you might wanna know, Eddie and Laura are released." Naomi said.

"Wait, Eddie and Laura are released?" Steve asked.

"I know." Carl said in shocked.

Stefan enters the stage again.

"Alright, unfortunately the comedian too sick to perform today, had a little COVID and all. So, anyone know good jokes, please come up." Stefan said.

Cillian decided to walk onto stage.

"Hello, everyone, I'm Cillian Darcy. I'll be your comedian for the night, filling in." Cillian said. "So, I had my old report cards one time from school and I showed them to my dad. He thinks they were my report cards and thinks the grades are terrible, but you know what happen then? That was his old report card!"

The crowd laugh even the group for finding the joke funny.

"Shout out to the commissioner of Chicago Police Department, Carl Winslow, who's sitting right there, for inspired me to write the jokes based on him." Cillian said, giving Carl a shout out. "Anyway, back in 1989, Carl and a female cop he worked with went undercover. When his missing wife, sister-in-law and late mother arrived at the love grotto, you know what his mom said? She said, Carl Winslow, you go straight home. You are grounded for the rest of your life."

Everyone laughs at the another joke.

"It's true, she does said that!" Carl said, laughing.

However, through the cameras, the Phantom, the world renowned jewel thief, is watching them. His allies, Agent Bowman, Penelope Cooper and Larry Smiley are watching as well.

"So, they have the three diamonds. Three down, three to go." The Phantom said.

"Landor's in France, let him make his monsters." Agent Bowman said.

"Good." The Phantom said.

They hears the footsteps. A young man in a red jacket walks towards them.

"Don't mind me. I'm interested in your little group." The young man said.

"Who are you?" Penelope asked.

"Me? I'm the guy had the technology for Briarwood County. As for finding you, it was a simple matter of tracing where the tech originated. And here we are. I need to carve my own path. So that's what I'm going to do. I want to help you plans for global domination." The young man said.

"So, you're that scientist." The Phantom said.

"Actually, I'm more of a roboticist. I designed my robots." The young man said.

"Well, I never be." Larry said in a southern tone. "What's your name, mister?"

"Doctor, actually." The young man said, evilly. "Doctor Robotnik."

Sometimes after Cillian done his jokes, the music's plays. The group have comes to a decision about joining forces in bringing down the Phantom.

"Okay, so, it's official. We'll combine forces." Steve said.

"That's right. And you two will join us?" Carl asked Stefan and Judy.

"Yeah, I know the world is in danger, so I've want to join." Judy said.

"Same here." Stefan said. "I want to make things right with you, Steve for spoiling your first date with Laura years ago."

"Hey, I'm here to help too. I'll join whatever it takes." Cillian said.

"Me too." Bree said. "And it's an honour to work by your side."

"Don't forget me and twin sister." Laurine said.

"It's true." Melody said.

"Don't forget me and the past version of you, Steve." Naomi said.

"Yeah, I want to help, and try not to be clumsy." Past Steve said.

"Okay, you can help." Steve said.

"Hey, we're here to help too. That makes fourteen of us." Vanoss said.

"Yeah, we've been activated for a reason." Delirious said.

"Okay, we're going to catch him." Steve said.

Just then, Naomi received a text from Maxine. She turns to Steve about something.

"Steve, don't freak out." Naomi said.

"Why?" Steve asked.

"Look at the text." Naomi said, showing Steve the text.

When Steve reads the text and gets angry.

"Aloysius, you are so dead!" Steve said in anger.

"Who's Aloysius?" Past Steve asked.

"Your son in the future." Stefan said to Past Steve before turning to Steve. "What happened, Steve?"

"That idiot along with the others are in Africa! Trying to find Lena the Jungle Girl!" Steve said. "Looks like we're gonna have to split up. I'm going to Russia to give my parents a little piece of my mind."

"I'll go with you." Carl said to Steve.

"Same here." Laurine said.

"Me too." Melody said.

"Yeah, I gotta go with that. I have to go to Italy to pick up a few stuff from that convent Emily joined." Cillian said, agreeing with Steve's plan.

"Hey, Naomi, right? I'll go with you to Africa." Bree said.

"Me too." Judy said. "Need to take a break from painting."

"Okay, you two can come."

"Me, Vanoss, Delirious and Wildcat will go with Stefan and Past Steve, we need to find Terroriser and Nogla." Marcel said.

"Okay, then it settle." Steve said.

The entire group will know what's going to happen. They will have to split up and meet up soon.