Hello again, dear readers. I may be sounding like a broken record (for those of us old enough to remember records) but I have to thank everyone who has read this story. I would like to offer a special thanks to everyone who has taken the time to leave a review. Finally, my biggest thanks go to Joe Stoppinghem, my ever-patient beta reader. Thanks Joe.

Chapter 5: Legal Proceedings and Departures

"So, your honor, I submit that the defendant, Lord Montgomery Fisk, is mentally incompetent to stand trial." Mr. Longwind concluded his presentation.

""What is the state's opinion?" Judge Dreven asked, looking around his chambers at the small group assembled for this discussion.

"The state concurs, your honor." Dr. Phillips, a clinical psychologist and psychoanalyst in the State of Colorado's employment, answered him.

"That seems a little odd," the judge commented with a wry grin. "Usually the defendant's expert witnesses and the state's experts can't even agree on the day of the week. Would either of you care to tell me, in layman's terms, just what's wrong with Mr. Fisk?"

Dr. Meadowbrook, the expert Bates had hired, glanced at his counterpart before responding.

"If neither you nor Dr. Phillips has an objection, you honor, I'll give you my interpretation and let my colleague explain where his opinion differs, after I'm finished."

At Dr. Phillips's nod, the judge motioned for Meadowbrook to continue.

"The subject, Lord Montgomery Fisk, has constructed an elaborate fantasy world," the good doctor began. "In my learned opinion, Lord Fisk suffers from, in layman's terms, a superiority complex. Mr. Fisk was a highly educated archeologist who had gained the respect of his peers in this field. Mr. Fisk had also mastered a martial arts discipline known as monkey kung fu. Unfortunately for Mr. Fisk, he lived a highly isolated existence. His only constant companion, Mr. Bates here, is Fisk's paid servant. The years Fisk has spent with his only constant, human contact being subordinate to him has convinced him that all humanity should be subordinate to him."

"This belief in his own superiority," Dr. Meadowbrook continued. "Caused conflict during his infrequent contacts with persons other than Mr. Bates. While other archeologists and martial artists respected him, they did not subordinate themselves to him. To this end, he constructed an elaborate reality in which he could combine his two successful undertakings, archeology and kung fu, to gain mastery over all primates, including human beings. He believed that he could use four ancient idols to gain a magic force he calls the Mystical Monkey Power. He even went so far as to request assistance from Kim Possible to retrieve one of these idols."

"He faced another conflict when he collected the four idols, but did not become an all powerful magician. He resolved this conflict by believing that Mr. Ronald Stoppable, Kim Possible's assistant, stole this power from him. He then constructed the reality that he could still gain this magic by killing and dismembering Mr. Stoppable. He was attempting to play out this fantasy during his actions in Middleton a few weeks ago."

"Dr. Phillips, do you have any contradictions to offer?" Judge Dreven asked.

"Nothing of substance, your honor," answered Dr. Phillips. "I take some minor issues with how Fisk got to this point, but I agree with the assessment. Fisk is delusional, believing that Stoppable holds magic that's rightfully his."

"I heard that if you were to give five psychologists the same patient, you'd get at least four diagnosis," the judge mused. "And if you were to give ten psychologists the same patient, you'd get eleven diagnosis. How is it that the two of you agree?"

"We're not in complete agreement, your honor," Meadowbrook corrected the judge. "But we agree on the substantial issues. Our biggest disagreement seems to be legal. For instance, it's my opinion that Fisk feels that he's justified in attempting to kill Stoppable, since he believes that Stoppable stole magic from him."

"While I've come to the conclusion that Fisk understands his attempts were wrong, but he feels himself to be above our laws," Phillips added.

"I hear attempts, as in plural," Judge Dreven frowned. "What all has Fisk done?"

"In addition to his assault in Middleton, he instigated an attack back in February." The DA informed the judge. "He apparently kidnapped a Japanese high-school headmaster and used the man as bait to draw Mr. Stoppable into a trap. The Japanese Embassy informed the FBI that they wouldn't press charges and asked everyone here to drop all charges. Team Possible didn't file charges either."

"Which makes the entire incident inadmissible and therefore irrelevant." Mr. Longwind pointed out.

"So, requests and recommendations," Judge Dreven announced. "Defense, I'll let you go first."

Meadowbrook shared a glance with Longwind before speaking. "Prison isn't the answer for Fisk," he said. "It won't have the desired effect. In his fantasy world, he'll perceive it as another injustice, an attempt to keep him from Stoppable and the magic that's his birthright. I recommend confinement in the state's Human Services Center until such time that he's deemed competent to function in society."

"State?" The judge looked to the DA and Phillips.

"The State concurs with one addition," the DA announced. "We want him in the maximum security wing. He's dangerous. He will escape and attack Stoppable, and anybody who's in his way, if he can."

"Agreed," Meadowbrook jumped in before the judge could prompt him. "In addition, his estate has hired me to provide therapy, beyond what the staff will provide. If I have regular access to him, I believe that we can get him to accept reality. State personnel will be welcome to observe all such sessions, of course."

"The State accepts," the DA announced.

"Very well, all parties are in agreement." Judge Dreven rose to his feet, prompting all others present to do the same. "Mr. DA, write up this agreement and get it to the defense attorney. Gentlemen, this has been about the quickest I can recall such a high profile case being resolved. I commend all of you on your cooperation. I'll expect this agreement on my desk, for my acceptance, no later than Tuesday Morning."

Judge Dreven was very satisfied. He had scheduled two full days to deal with the Lord Fisk issue, but it had taken less than two hours. He called his secretary and instructed him to reschedule work to take advantage of the suddenly free time. With any luck, he'd actually get to do some fishing this weekend.

"So, Lipsky, you're ready to make a statement?" Dr. Drakken's tormentor looked at him with bored contempt.

"Indeed I am," Drakken replied, ignoring his lawyer's glare. "Provided you fulfill your side of the bargain I instructed my lawyer to pursue.

The general nodded to the man to his left.

"We have an agreement," Mr. Ulithi, a representative of the UN's World Court, informed him. "If you provide us with the information needed to expedite your underlings' trials, you will be transferred to The Hague, immediately, and face all subsequent legal proceedings in Holland. As the Dutch will not allow an execution on their soil, you will face, at worst, life imprisonment with no possibility of parole."

"We find this acceptable," Drakken's lawyer said, without much enthusiasm.

"Let's hear the story." The general sounded almost bored.

"Very well, it's time that I, as you say, came clean. I want you to know that I was the only individual who knew the full extent of my plans. While several of my subordinates were key in executing various elements to my overall strategy, none knew the full extent until the final phase."

"Riiiiiight, Lipsky," the General had an almost amused expression to match his condescending tone. "You put it all together yourself. You're going to have to be a lot more convincing if I'm going to believe that."

"Just what does my client have to gain," Drakken's lawyer snapped. "By taking responsibility for the entire incident?"

"I find myself agreeing with the attorney," Mr. Ulithi confessed.

"Mr. Ulithi," the General's tone showed that he could show respect and proper protocol when he wished. "You do not have a great deal of experience dealing with this…man. I, on the other hand, have received extensive briefings and have studied his past actions. Mr. Lipsky is attempting to manipulate us at this moment. He has already avoided the death penalty. Now, he's attempting to lessen his subordinates' sentences. Say that he trivializes that green woman, Shego's, part in all this. She'll get a sentence of about five years. After that time, she'll make contact with her extensive network of informants and underworld figures, and find out where you're holding this man. After that, she'll break him out and we're all back to where we were a couple of months ago."

"That's pure speculation!" Drakken's lawyer interrupted.

"This isn't a trial, mister," the General responded. "I'm free to speculate all I want."

"I will admit that you paint a logical scenario," Drakken admitted. "And I admit that Shego and myself have utilized similar tactics in the past. However, General, there are a few things that you either do not know, or simply fail to appreciate."

"The first thing that you are not taking into consideration, General, is that I operated a criminal organization. Yes, I freely admit that I am a criminal. This means, General, that I could not trust my underlings since they were, by definition, criminals themselves. Had any of my major assistants discerned my complete plan, he or she may have eliminated me and executed the plan themselves. Therefore, the only way I could be sure that I remained alive long enough to conquer the world was to make sure that none of my subordinates knew exactly what I was up to. The only thing any of them knew was what I expected of them, my ultimate goal, and the rewards they would reap once I attained it."

"That brings up another point," Drakken continued. "You probably don't grasp the concept of 'promotion by elimination.' You attained your four-star rank by faithfully executing your duties as a three-star General. A criminal organization does not work like that, General. In a criminal organization, you only move up the ladder when someone up higher falls, usually with fatal results. Therefore, I constantly faced the very real possibility, even before I implemented my scheme, that some underling would eliminate me in order to move up the ladder. One of my defenses against this was to make sure that I was the only one who knew the summation and location of all of my assets. That way, everybody knew that if I were to catch a serious case of death, the entire organization would fall apart."

"Finally, there's my own sense of current, self-preservation. I'm a wanted man, General, and I'm not referring to law enforcement. My lawyer informs me that my recent activities have proven a catalyst for international cooperation against crime. My former colleagues are not fools, General, they know that I'm the root cause of their current difficulties. These are not the sort of people who sue or make threats, General, they will kill me. My only hope of survival is to find sanctuary, and a maximum security prison is my only current option."

"Therefore, I am ready to speak," Drakken concluded. "I have no more loyalty to my underlings than they have for me. I'm not determined to see the mission through, like you would be. Instead, if I cannot rule the world I would rather nobody manage the feat."

"Very well," the General nodded. "Tell us the whole story."

Drakken spoke for the better part of an hour, telling his audience how he had formulated the strategy. Once he had developed the diablo toys and the method of powering them, he had executed several undertakings, simultaneously. He had formed a separate team for each undertaking and had carefully limited the interactions between the teams.

"So you say that the toy company team, the reactor team, the distribution team, the synthodrone team, and the tactical team didn't know anything about each other?" The General's tone was equal parts disbelief and admiration.

"Not exactly," Drakken replied. "They all knew that there was someone out there, either providing them with, or making use of, their resources. I was the only one who coordinated between the teams."

"Okay, I can accept that," the General conceded. "What about Shego? She seems to have known the entire plan."

"Again, not exactly," Drakken corrected. "First of all, Shego knew that I intended to take over the world. However, she and the rest of my tactical team didn't know the full details until I executed the worldwide attack. Secondly, you must know that Shego isn't interested in controlling the world. She realizes that she isn't emotionally suited to deal with the numerous, irritating details that such control would require. Instead, she is my enforcer. She takes care of security, performs the dangerous, crucial tasks that come up, and makes sure that my other underlings do their jobs."

"Did she or did she not know your plan?" Ulithi was the one asking this time.

"I briefed her on the entire plan one week before I panicked and executed my attack, prematurely. She knew some details about each of my teams but she hadn't put all of the pieces together until I informed her."

"She didn't figure it out, or you don't think she had figured it out?" The General wasn't making this easy.

"General, I'm reasonably certain that you've been observing her, and that you've availed yourself of the opportunity to review all observations, of her, that numerous law enforcement agencies have compiled. You know her limitations as well as I do. She is competent, frighteningly so, at straightforward tasks. Give her a task and resources, and she will execute the task with incredible efficiency. She isn't, however, given to deep thought. She doesn't bother with why I give her tasks, she simply concentrates on doing her work and acquiring her rewards. Believe me, she was gratifyingly surprised at the scale of my assault."

Ulithi and the General shared a long look.

"You'd better write your mother and any friends you may have," the General informed his prisoner. "You're going to Holland as soon as we can arrange transport. You're still going to be testifying in front of congressional committees, but you'll be doing that via a television camera. I'd like to wish you good luck, Drakken, but I just cant' bring myself to do it."

Drakken nodded to his audience before following a guard from the interview room back to his cell. He hoped that the plan, which the General had come very close to describing, would work out.

"Possible-san, would you accompany me on a short walk?" Yori approached Kim, as the redhead was packing for the next day's departure from Yamanouchi.

"Is there a problem?" Kim asked, immediately joining the Japanese girl.

"There is no problem, Possible-san, but I wished to show you two…analogies…that Stoppable-san used to describe the two of you. I feel that it may provide you with some insights to his thoughts."

Kim followed Yori, flinching a little bit at the tightness in her thigh muscles. The morning had been the last conditioning exercise the American teens would endure this visit, and their hosts seemed determined to make sure that they would remember it for weeks to come. Despite Kim's soreness, they soon found themselves on Yamanouchi's outer wall, where a pair of telescopes waited them. Kim frowned slightly; the late afternoon was far too bright to observe the stars and the telescopes were pointed downward, towards the lower foothills.

"First, Possible-san, I would like you to look through both telescopes," Yori instructed Kim. "Then we will discuss what you have seen."

"I saw a bridge, under construction, through the first telescope," Kim reported, a few minutes later. "And I saw a bridge, being used, through the second one."

"Very good, Possible-san," Yori conceded. "What else can you tell me about the second bridge?"

Kim thought hard for a few minutes, then looked through the second telescope again.

"There's some sort of maintenance crew working on it" she reported. "It looks like they're painting the metal parts."

"Can you guess why they are doing so?"

"Routine maintenance would be my guess," Kim actually rolled her eyes a little. "I mean, they have to keep the bridge repaired, or it will fall down."

"Excellent, Possible-san," Yori nodded. "I will now tell you what Stoppable-san told Sensei. Sensei had asked Stoppable-san to pick out two examples of the two of you. One of the examples he picked out was the two groups of men working on the bridges. He said the crew building the new bridge represented you, while the crew maintaining the second bridge represented himself. Do you care to know why, Possible-san?"

Kim nodded.

"Stoppable-san considers the crew building the bridge to represent you. Much like them, you have a feat to accomplish. Once you accomplish your feat, much like the construction crew with the bridge, you move on to the next feat."

Kim drank in the wisdom of this observation. She saw her life as a series of one-shot challenges: Stop Dementer from stealing that Vortex Inducer, then start studying for the Chemistry test. Win a cheerleading competition, then plan the Winter Formal. While Ron…"

"Stoppable-san considers the maintenance crew on the second bridge to represent himself," Yori continued.

"Because he holds one task important," Kim interrupted. "Covering my back."

Kim appreciated the analogy. While she was no maintenance expert, she could guess some of the tasks that the maintenance crew needed to perform. Whether they were painting, resurfacing the roadway, or inspecting the load-bearing structure, the task remained the same; keep the bridge in operation. Ron might have to run around a dozen henchmen too reach a self-destruct button, travel to South America too find a rare flower, or help decorate the gym for a dance, but his task remained the same; support Kim Possible.

"This analogy has another, accurate aspect," Kim continued. "I noticed the work crew building the bridge right away. I didn't notice the maintenance crew until I was specifically looking for them. Most people are the same way; they notice me saving the world but they don't notice Ron helping me do it."

"He did not mention this aspect to Sensei," Yori confessed. "And I, myself, did not consider it. It is good that you recognized it."

"Sensei also instructed him to find an analogy for the relationship the two of you share," Yori said, moving on to the next topic. "He chose the lake you see below us."

Kim looked down, outside of the wall, at the same lake that she and Ron had recovered the figurine from. At the upper end of the lake, where Yori pointed, a mountain stream rushed into the calm body of water.

"I hate to admit it, but I really don't understand it." Kim confessed.

"Perhaps a bit of verse Stoppable-san used to explain his reasoning will help," her companion offered. "The wild torrent meets the docile lake, where they merge with tumultuous harmony."

Kim thought about that, having a little trouble associating such a saying with Ron, while she studied the scene below her. It seemed very appropriate for them. She was constantly involving herself in just about everything she could and would likely wear herself to nothing if he didn't occasionally make her slow down. On the other hand, he would very likely go stagnant if she didn't occasionally kick him out of his stupor. The 'tumultuous harmony' part of it was pretty accurate, as well. They had their disagreements and arguments, but they never pushed the two of them apart. As for the 'merging' part…

"Yori, that statement is both apt and beautiful," she told her companion. "And maybe just a little erotic," a slight blush found its way to Kim's face.

"Much as the two of you," Yori giggled at Kim's discomfort. "It is nothing to be ashamed of, my friend." Kim smiled at Yori's term. "The two of you are exploring your compatibility, much as myself and Felix-kun."

Kim chose to not ask any questions about her and Felix. Ron's best human, male friend was an all-around good guy, and Yori seemed to be a truly wonderful young woman (wonderful enough that Kim still didn't like the idea of her and Ron in close proximity, at least when she wasn't close at hand). They had a big obstacle to overcome, in that they were teenagers pursuing a very long distant relationship, but the two of them seemed extraordinarily patient. She smiled, thinking that it was nice to see Felix actually indulging in some dating activity.

Kim looked over the vista arrayed below her. This had been a hard, but very beneficial month. While she hadn't experienced the self-discovery that Ron had during his first visit, she had learned more about herself, her BFBF, and them, than she would have thought possible. Because of this month, he was a better assistant; they were a better team, and they were a stronger couple. Sure, they hadn't had any opportunity for 'alone' time, but the shared hardships and triumphs had somehow drawn them even closer. Now she, like Ron, would always have fond memories of Yamanouchi.