THE DISNEY EXPERIMENT
Scene 23 – The Start of Something New

DISCLAIMER: This Scene contains characters and references from Disney's American Dragon: Jake Long, Lilo & Stitch, Fillmore, Kim Possible andPhineas & Ferb. I do not own any of these characters. For storyline purposes, the crossover episodes ofLilo & Stitch never took place in this continuity. And apparently, neither did the 'stoning' of Monkey Fist (my bad).

"C'mon on, Ron, we're gonna be late!"

"I'm coming!" shouted Ron Stoppable.

With growing impatience, Kim Possible watched as her boyfriend emerged from the bathroom door, looking like he had just woken up, his unkempt blonde hair standing on stubborn ends.

"You took half an hour to look like this?" she asked incredulously.

Ron bore an expression of sincere disappointment. "You don't like it?"

She walked over to where he was and smoothed down his hair with her palm, wiping off a thick layer of gel. "That's better."

"Thanks," he said, smiling.

Packing up their stuff, the young couple got into the car and took a short drive down to the Middleton National Park, a quaint stretch of greenery between Middleton and Upperton, which sat in wondrous contrast to the concrete jungle around them.

It was early morning, and the sun beamed generously down upon the windswept fields. Two other groups of people were already at the park: Lilo and Stitch, and the boys from Fletcher & Flynn's. Stitch was warring with a pack of squirrels while the boys were in the midst of setting up a picnic mat; Kim had to admit she was a little disappointed when they didn't do it with the help of robots or some sort of levitation device. Their pet platypus sat lazily under a nearby tree, fast asleep.

When Kim and Ron arrived, Ferb was just about finished with the mat. They waved at one another. "Hey guys," said Kim. "Where're the rest?"

"On their way," replied Phineas. "Is Wade coming?"

Kim shook her head. "He's busy hacking into the Pentagon to look for top-secret data regarding some illegal genetic experiments of the alien kind."

Phineas blinked. "Sounds fun. What'd you guys bring?"

"Nachos!" said Ron, displaying his and Kim's offering for the potluck proudly. "And dip!"

Stitch must have smelled the cheese, because he retreated from the squirrels immediately and rolled over to where Ron was, his eyes wide with expectancy. Rufus emerged from Ron's pocket and made angry squeaking noises at the alien dog, staking claim to his nachos.

"Calm down, you guys," Ron said, keeping the basketful of chips and dip out of their way. "Plenty to go around."

They laid out the food and sat down for their picnic. Other than the nachos, there was mashed potatoes, lamb kebabs, shrimp, peanut-butter and jelly finger sandwiches, as well as apple cider kept ice-cold by F&F's patented portable cooler—the works. They waited for about ten minutes, then conveniently decided that the food would get cold if they waited too long. Half the finger sandwiches were gone by the time Major Monogram arrived with Carl and Betty Director, both dressed in civilian attire.

"Betty!" Kim exclaimed. They had all learned of her momentary incarceration, and she, personally, had been quite worried. No doubt, she trusted that Betty was the kind of woman who could definitely take care of herself, but it made her shudder to think what sway the Dark Dragon held over Global Justice, to make the entire organisation turn against their leader like that.

"No worries, Kim Possible," said Betty, as if reading Kim's mind. "All's well. The Dark Dragon had stirred up quite a mutiny, but I've put things in order. As I always have." She winked with her good eye, though with her eye-patch it could have just been tired, exaggerated blinking.

Monogram coughed. "Well, I did have a hand in getting you out."

"You definitely did, sir," said Carl. "Without you, we'd never have gotten the security clearance to free Miss Director. But then again, I myself also have said security clearance."

Monogram's brow wrinkled with annoyance at his aide's words. He snapped, "Alright, Carl! No one asked for your opinion."

The two officers and the intern sat down as, from the direction of the lake, two figures moved slowly towards the picnic site. One was clearly a boy with spiky hair, dressed in a maroon jacket and faded jeans. He was holding on to the other slender, more feminine silhouette. Her long curls were tied up in a neat ponytail and her eyes shone a mesmerising sapphire. She moved with some difficulty, which was to be expected from anyone using crutches.

While Stitch wolf-whistled cheekily, Lilo was the first to greet Jake Long and his plus one: "Hey Jake! Who's your lady friend?"

"Hi, everyone." said Jake, rather sheepishly. "This is Rose."

He helped her to sit down and, after placing his pork buns in the spread, they began the meal. They talked about the weather and each other, and shared about their own individual adventures. Some stories were met with expressions of disgust or horror, but most merited laughter and awe. Monogram shared embarrassing anecdotes, mostly involving Carl, and the earlier adventures of Fillmore. When he was done, they paused for a moment of silence and toasted cider in his memory.

With Stitch providing the sound effects, Lilo told them about the first time she met Stitch, how he had been an illegal alien experiment created for evil, and how he worked his way to becoming a decorated hero of the Galactic Alliance. Kim and Ron shed some light on the enigmatic Monkey Fist, as well as the whole gallery of villains they had encountered over the course of their high school years.

Then they listened intently as Jake told them more about the magical world, how the Dragon Council saw it as the duty of dragons to maintain the fragile balance between magical creatures and humans, and how some sought to destroy that balance. Then he told them about the Manticore, about Trixie and Spud, and they shed tears and sympathies for two people they had never met before.

After a while, Rose, the platypus and Carl went off to the lakeside to feed ducklings, and Stitch resumed his game of combating squirrels. This time, however, the little alien had Rufus the naked mole rat on his side.

"She finally agreed to do physio," said Jake, his eyes never leaving Rose. "She's strong, and getting stronger every day."

"She's gonna make it," assured Kim. "I'm sure of it."

Jake smiled appreciatively, and it would have gotten awkward if Monogram hadn't coughed.

"Something in your throat, Major?" asked Lilo.

"There is some debriefing I need to do with you guys," said Monogram. "First of all, great job, all of you. I'm sure the people of Argon's village will rest easy now that the, err, Dark Dragon has been subdued. I would offer you all permanent jobs in the Organisation but I know you guys don't really swing that way, if you know what I mean."

"Let's just keep things free and easy for now," said Ron.

Monogram nodded. "Well, we've retrieved the Dimensional Rift Inducer as well as the Sword of Argon. Both are safely under lock and key in the Org."

"Shouldn't we get rid of those things?" asked Phineas, genuinely concerned. "We wouldn't want them falling into the wrong hands."

"They will be destroyed, soon as we de-process them," said Betty flatly. "We don't know what kind of traps the Dark Dragon might have set. One wrong move, and we could spark another apocalypse."

"Right," Monogram continued. "That said, Fillmore's name will not be tarnished; it was clear he was possessed by an external force. We're keeping an eye out for the Dark Dragon, and if he comes back, we'll knock him right out again. All in all, you guys have saved the world, not for the first time, I'm sure."

Betty said, "Just goes to show, when a group of outstanding people come together, they can accomplish anything."

"True that," said Jake, sipping his cider.

Just then, Kim's wristwatch Kimmunicator beeped. She tapped the screen and brought Wade's holographic face to life.

"What's the sitch, Wade?"

In as many complicated words as possible, Wade explained the 'sitch', and Kim and Ron exchanged a quick glance before turning to the others, posing a silent question.

Jake smiled. "You don't even have to ask, yo."

"Count me and Stitch in!" said Lilo excitedly.

Phineas turned to his brother. "Ferb, I know what we're gonna do today."

Monogram sighed, but Betty just smiled.

The adventurers, the intergalactic heroes, the inventors and the dragon: this was the start of something totally new, and thoroughly exciting.

A/N: Thank you all for your support and kind reviews. This story-my first fanfic-has been a wonderful journey for me. I hope you have all enjoyed this little adventure. Please let me know if you'd like to see more, and perhaps suggest a name for this ragtag team of heroes. Again, thank you and Merry Christmas :)