THE DISNEY EXPERIMENT
Scene 11 – What Are We Gonna Do Today?

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

As Kim pulled up in front of the Fletcher & Flynn Facilities, Captain Fillmore and Betty Director were waiting for them at the entrance of the building, which was in fact three separate buildings conglomerated together. If Kim hadn't known any better, she would have thought the two war veterans strangers. They kept a respectable distance from one another, avoiding eye contact altogether. Yet there was no awkward tension between them. Like a pair of well-trained bodyguards, they simply stood there, cool and watchful. Even in civilian clothes, they appeared deadly; Kim was certain that the description wasn't an exaggeration. Of course, it did help that Director wore an eye patch, and Fillmore had on a pair of expensive-looking shades.

Kim got out of the limousine, not really caring where she parked. With Lilo, Stitch, Jake and Ron, she ascended the polished marble steps that led to the glass double-doors of Fletcher & Flynn's.

Fillmore said. "What took you so long?"

"We were attacked," Kim replied.

"By creepy shadow things!" Lilo added for good measure. Beside her, Stitch made an impression, lolling about like a zombie and making hissing sounds.

Kim instinctively ran a hand over the scratch marks on her forearm. That fight—less than an hour ago—had not been her finest hour. Never before had she faced a situation so one-sided, a foe she was unable to even touch. She thumbed the torchlight strapped to her belt, her thoughts straying to Ron. He had come shining through in her moment of helplessness, as he always did. Ron: her underrated knight in shining armor.

As if he read her mind, Ron appeared by her side, placing a hand around her shoulder. He looked at her and smiled, and that was all she needed. Parts of his sweater were torn and scratched up, but he seemed fine, for the most part. Kim allowed herself to breathe easy.

"They were shade demons," Jake Long was explaining. "I was on my way over here when I sensed that felwing. He was driving those wheels." He jabbed a finger at the limo. "Luckily I managed to trace it by its scent. Felwings give off a nasty stank."

"Apparently, there's a whole secret world out there in which these magical things live," said Ron, matter-of-factly. "Jake told us all about it. Did you guys know he's a dragon?"

"Are you kids alright?" asked Betty, ignoring Ron.

Kim nodded. "We managed. We thought you sent the car."

"We did," said Fillmore thoughtfully. "The driver was probably compromised, though. This is bad. Whatever we're dealing with, it knows we're onto it."

"That doesn't have to be a bad thing," said Lilo. "It means we're on the right track, right?"

Director smiled thinly and nodded.

"I'm sorry for getting you into that," Fillmore said. "It was a situation we overlooked. Rest assured it won't happen again."

He turned and flashed a silver card before a security scanner, and together they headed through the automatic doors and found themselves in the middle of the biggest science fair Kim had ever seen. This wasn't some geeky high school competition, or one of those college career road shows where the engineering kids tried to impress bored potential employers. This would have made Wade drool a pool in awe and envy.

In one corner of the octagon-shaped lobby was a giant robotic arm, busy writing complex formulas on a touch-screen wall. In between equations, the arm would pause and make a peace sign for a class of touring students. The gaggle of youngsters whipped out their cameras and snapped several photos, before moving on to the next attraction, an elaborate chemical fountain which spewed forth clouds of pretty, iridescent vapor. Streams of colorful liquids flowed along transparent tubes that crisscrossed around several oversized beakers and test-tubes, creating a wondrous playground that would have gotten Kim excited about chemistry classes a long time ago. Those days, thankfully, were behind her now; her major in media and social economics hardly required her to know about the periodic table or creating gaseous explosions that smelled like rotten eggs.

Right by the mega chemistry set was a talking holographic head comprised of a million other tiny faces. It spoke a multitude of languages all at once, its many voices booming across the building's PA system. Interestingly, though, Kim found she could pick up each distinct voice and even make out what they were saying—the languages she understood, that is. A floating neon sign above the head read 'The Collective'.

There were other things Kim wished they had more time to gawk at: robot snakes playing soccer; an impressive fort made up of recycled material; a telescopic device that generated rainbows. She had seen many amazing things in her short lifetime, but being in this place made Kim feel like a child again. Everything was new and exciting, and the world was one big wondrous playground just waiting to be explored.

"Whoa…" Ron breathed beside her. His hand found hers, and they let themselves be lost for a moment, taking in the amazing, larger-than-life sights before them.

"Alright, kids," said Director, snapping her fingers and the kids out of their stupor. "This is all very nice, but we have work to do, remember?"

"C'mon, Director," said Fillmore. "It's not every day you get to visit the biggest scientific theme park in the world." The Captain almost smiled a genuine smile, and Kim decided it looked good on him.

"You should visit this place more often," she told him.

He shrugged and led them towards what Kim had presumed were elevators. When the doors parted, however, they stepped into a small enclosure lined up with cushioned leather seats. A pair of visors was placed on each chair, which were equipped with beeping control panels on the armrest.

Lilo was the first to claim a seat, with Stitch hot on her heels. The duo put on their visors and looked hard at each other, before breaking out into individual air-guitar solos. Ron took the next seat and proceeded to make the appropriate sound effects, drawing a sigh and headshake from Kim. She walked up to a chair and sat beside Ron, cautiously putting on the visors. Betty, Fillmore and Jake looked each other, then shrugged and surrendered themselves to the beckoning of the leather seats.

Suddenly, a computerized voice said, "Where to, adventurers?"

At the sound, Kim jumped in her chair. Then her visor went completely black, and she was lost in darkness. It reminded her of the shade demons, and she came close to prying off the visors. But then something spectacular happened, and now she was hovering in white space, holographic displays all about her. She realized, then, what this was all about, and said, "Take me to Fletcher and Flynn."

The holograms disintegrated and reassembled, and Kim was now standing before a doorway which led into an office composed of blue, neon light. It looked like a typical office setting—four walls, a couch and bookshelf in the corner, a birch desk by the window and one of those wheeled chairs on either sides. Kim had to admit—she was a little disappointed.

"Please step in, adventurer," said the computer.

Kim shrugged and put one ungrounded foot forward, heading towards the holographic room. But as she passed the threshold, the simulation came to an end, and the white nothingness became black again. Slowly, Kim peeled off her visor and blinked; she was in the elevator-cum-experiential-theatre again. Her body was tingling, her vision blurred. There was a strange buzz of euphoria in her head, and she felt like she was still floating in that otherworldly white space. Unwittingly, she caught herself grinning, and tried in vain to stop. She looked around; the others seemed equally disorientated, wearing the same silly grins—except for Director and Fillmore, that is.

"That was so cool!" exclaimed Lilo and Ron in unison. Jake nodded in agreement, though his smile faded quickly.

They exited the elevator and walked along a stretch of winding corridor. The walls were clear glass, a vast aquarium filled with a wide spectrum of exotic fish. Flounders, clownfish, lionfish and seahorses darted behind beautiful corals and undersea rocks. Stitch found pleasure in scaring the aquarium's residents by ramming himself against the reinforced tampered glass. Upon further inspection, Kim realized that the glass also doubled up as a touch screen panel, and that touching the panels would bring up blueprints of various inventions designed by, Kim assumed, Fletcher & Flynn's.

The portfolio was, simply put, nothing short of breathtaking. If the lobby had been any measure of the company's success, it was only the bottom of the meter. Floating theme parks; life-size RC vehicles; robotic pets; compact snow-making machines; a shrinking submarine; satellite dishes that doubled up as weather machines.

"This is...impossible. None of these can be real, can they?" said Kim. She looked to Fillmore for an answer.

"Officially, they're not," he replied, a half-smirk on his face. "The Organization pays them not to be. They have other projects that actually exist, though. Amusement parks, video games, designer toys. Stuff like that."

"They also run a chain of lemonade stands," said Betty. Ron laughed, but the sound faded to a miserable hiccough when her expression remained vapid.

At long last, they arrived at an ornate door marked 'F&F' and, below that sign, 'I Know What We're Gonna Do Today'. Kim decided not to ask. As Fillmore raised his hand to knock, the door swung open, revealing the same four-walled, typical office setting they had all seen on the simulator. Again, Kim couldn't help but feel disappointed. She had expected more. A lot more.

Behind the birch desk sat a young teenage boy who couldn't have been older than a high school sophomore, fiddling with a Rubik's Cube. He had an angular face and a nose like a hawk's beak, and when he looked up to regard his guests, his big, round eyes sparkled with intelligence and inquisitiveness. There was a platypus on the desk beside him, though whether it was real or a wooden statue, Kim had to admit it was hard to tell. It just laid there, motionless, eyes creepily locked in a staring contest against a Newton's cradle.

"Ah, Captain Fillmore," said the teen with a profound air. He got up and shook the Captain's hand. "We've been expecting you." Then he turned to Kim, Ron, Lilo, Jake and Betty. "You'll have to forgive my brother, Ferb. He's tied up with one of our personal projects at the moment."

"Wait, wait," Kim interjected. "You're saying this is…"

Fillmore nodded. "Everyone, meet Phineas Flynn: co-owner of Fletcher & Flynn Inventions."