Thanks everyone for reviewing, I hope you enjoy this chapter as well.

Disclaimer: Kim Possible and related are the property of Disney which, contrary to common belief, I do not own.

Thanks to Slipgate for beta-reading this chapter and giving me some great suggestions.

Chapter 4: Bad Press

Kim looked at the paper on her desk, and then back at Zachary. "Well, they did it. I'm being called to court."

"Good thing we've been preparing then," the older man said with a smirk.

Kim sighed. "I'm not so fond of our tactic either, you know."

Z shrugged. "Welcome to real life."

Kim frowned. "I know when to pick between two evils, but that doesn't mean I like it. I won't stop having ideals just because the world refuses to hold to them."

Zachary smiled with a hint of sadness in his eyes. "I know… I'm glad for it. Why don't we go over this once more?"

Kim was a bit taken aback by the look Z gave her, but she decided to let it go for the time being; there were more important things going on at the moment.

"Order in the court." The command was unnecessary, as the few attendees were already silent, and the press that was allowed in knew better than to risk getting thrown out. "Everyone rise for the honorable Judge Aldenwood."

After the judge entered and asked everyone to be seated, the officer continued. "Today we have the case of Professor Hans Demenz vs. Miss Kimberly Anne Possible regarding the theft of Professor Demenz's invention, named…" the officer looked at his paper, "…A transportulator."

The judge nodded. "Thank you. The prosecutor may now state his case."

"Thank you," Professor Dementor's lawyer said as he stood up. "Approximately three years ago Miss Possible, while working for Dr. Drakken when he was still a wanted criminal, stole one of Professor Demenz's inventions, which he called a transportulator."

Kim's lawyer gave the redhead a warning gesture as she seemed ready to leap up and declare her side of the story. "Later," she mouthed. Kim nodded reluctantly and relaxed again.

Dementor's lawyer continued. "Miss Possible claimed that Professor Demenz stole the invention and invoked her vigilante right to reclaim it, even though she had no evidence that the device was actually stolen."

"Now, personally I favor Miss Possible's heroic acts very much," the laywer said, with a smile so perfectly innocent, and so foreign Kim was surprised he even managed to put it on. "However, her insistence on working alone or at least as the undisputed leader leaves no room for possible errors in her judgment."

The lawyer turned back to the judge. "So, I am putting two points forward. First of all compensation for Professor Demenz, and second a request to have Miss Possible removed from leadership functions in any official law enforcement until she can officially prove she is qualified."

Kim's lawyer, a young woman who already worked for GJ and had been recommended by Z, leaned over to Kim. "Meaning a college-level diploma and at least five years of experience on the job… more than enough time to destroy GJ."

"I would like to ask Professor Demenz to the stand so he can tell us what happened himself."

Dementor, clad in a good-looking and well-fitting suit, stood up and took his place on the stand.

"Could you tell us in your own words what happened?"

"Yes." Dementor coughed and mentally prepared himself for a moment.

"I had recently finizhed my invention, which I had named zhe Transportulator. I had not yet tested it out properly, but given my genius it was certain to work."

The short German glared at Kim as she rolled her eyes. "However, Fraulein Possible stole zhe Transportulator from my own home and even dared to call me zhe thief."

Dementor's lawyer smiled. "Thank you, I have no more questions."

"Does the defense have any questions?" the judge asked.

"We do." Kim's lawyer stood up and walked to the stand.

Kim, knowing what the next questions would be, sighed. "Why do I get dragged into this?"

"Professor Demenz, you claimed that the transportulator is your invention, correct?" the defending lawyer asked.

"Yes." Dementor stated.

"Have you placed a patent?"

"No, in zhe vi… in zhe community I work in, patents are normally encouraging colleagues to steal my ideas."

"I see. However, some brief research showed that the patent for the device that you call a transportulator is actually in the possession of the research department of Global Justice… an institute you have been proven to steal from."

Dementor jumped up. "Zhat is because Fraulein Possible gave MY INVENTION to Global Justice."

The female lawyer smiled slightly. "Do you have any witnesses to that allegation?" She turned away from the seething German and faced the judge. "Your honor, I have no further questions."

"I doubt if that is the way Miss Possible sees it," Dementor's lawyer said as he stood up again. "All the witnesses are right here, and even though she has a stake in this case, I highly doubt Miss Possible would want to lie in court."

The judge frowned. "Very well, you may call Miss Possible to the stand."

After Kim sat down and was sworn in, the lawyer quickly started off. "Miss Possible, did you take the device called a Transportulator from Professor Demenz?"

"Yes, I did," Kim said; there was no reason to deny that.

"And you knew it was stolen?"

Kim hesitated for a moment. "At that time, based on my usually very reliable source and based on Dement… Professor Demenz's track record I was certain enough to err on the side of caution and remove the device from his possession."

The lawyer smiled slightly. "Are you implying that the device might have been Professor Demenz's invention?"

Kim shrugged. "I don't know if it was truly his invention. All I know is that currently the patent resides with the Global Justice science department."

"But do you think Professor Demenz might have created the invention?"

"Objection," Kim's lawyer interrupted. "He's leading Miss Possible."

"Please rephrase your question," the judge said.

Dementor's lawyer thought for a moment. "I would like to withdraw that question and ask a different question. Miss Possible, when you come across a situation like the miscommunication that resulted in this case, who in your team makes the final decision?"

Kim though for a moment, but there was no real getting around the truth here. "I do."

"I see, and what makes you feel qualified for that?"

Kim smirked. "Team Possible happens to have a pretty good track record." Then she turned more serious. "However, our team has developed as well; for quite some time now our team has a more dual leadership." She quickly shot a small smile to Ron, who sat right behind the defense seats.

"Nevertheless, some people might think any member of Team Possible is still too young for the responsibilities you carry," the lawyer insisted. "And frankly, I have yet to see a valid and legal qualification for not only your performance as leader of Team Possible, but also of Global Justice, which is an agency that requires somewhat more expertise than just globe-trotting."

"Objection, this is no longer asking questions," Kim's lawyer stated.

"Is thiz even about my case anymore?" Dementor growled. "It iz MY DEVICE that haz been stolen!"

"Order in the court!" the judge demanded. "Professor Demenz, you should discuss case priorities with your lawyer before court. For now, I see this line of questioning as related to the second point put forward by this case, the question of whether or not Miss Possible is suitably experienced for leadership in law enforcement. If however I feel that there is lack of recognition of your status as plaintiff in this case I will act accordingly." He then turned to Dementor's lawyer. "Do you have any more questions?"

Before the lawyer could say anything, the roof of the courthouse burst open and a group of purple-clad henchmen dropped in.

"Gemini!" Kim and Ron shouted as one as the leader of WWEE descended down the hole in the roof while his henchmen took care of the guards and then blocked off the doors. The judge's demand for order in the court was ignored completely.

"I thought you would be satisfied now that your sister isn't in charge of GJ anymore," Kim said as she stood up and took a defensive position; she knew her odds were pretty bad with all the bystanders in the room.

Gemini shrugged. "I added destroying Glo…" A small growl from inside his jacket made him reconsider. "…GJ to my to-do list a long time ago." He aimed his bionic hand at Kim. "And now you are going to transfer all jurisdictional power of the organization to me, unless you prefer to be part of this court forever."

"I don't think KP wants to stay here for too long," Ron mentioned.

The one-eyed leader of WWEE smirked. "I meant that the janitor will never be able to remove all the pieces." He turned toward the judge, who took a quick step back. "I guess you can make sure this deal becomes legal."

"Vhat are you doing?" Dementor demanded. "This is my case, I should be the one…" he began, but was shut up when Agent Beta smashed him on the head with a heavy steel bar. Unfortunately for Dementor, his suit did not provide for a helmet, and he went down like a stone.

"What's with the legal thing?" Kim asked, carefully gesturing everyone behind her to move away so she had a better chance at dodging whatever rockets Gemini had up his sleeve this time. "Not really your thing, is it?"

Gemini locked his rockets on target. "Don't even try to dodge these. They will just follow you around." he said, then smirked again. "Don't you think it will be the perfect thing to do? Finally I have the ideal revenge, and even Betty has to admit that she is no match for her older brother."

"You're all just show," a voice from the back of the courtroom said. Kim recognized it as Mr. Du's. "You threaten and make demands, but I have yet to see you make good on even one of them."

Ron stared wide-eyed at Mr. and Mrs. Du, who sat relatively safely in the back of the courtroom. Kim didn't take her eyes off Gemini, but was equally shocked.

Gemini smirked. "Let me show you what I've got… I think you are next in line for GJ leadership, and I have no doubt you will sign it over to me after this." He fired the set of rockets.

Kim rolled backwards, causing the rockets to fly barely over her, but as Gemini had said, the rockets just turned around for the next strike.

As Kim dodged and weaved through the courtroom, trying to avoid the rockets without getting the others in the room in danger, Gemini laughed and added some more rockets to the bunch. That worked until Ron managed to take advantage of his distraction and smashed a chair down on his bionic hand.

"You little runt!" Gemini shouted as his hand shorted out, leaving only the remaining rocket on his index finger working.

Meanwhile, Kim had managed to dispatch the rockets that were chasing her by causing them to crash into the walls.

However, she could only look in shock from the back of the courtroom – where even the Dus had gone in hiding under the seats – as Gemini aimed his last rocket at Ron.

But as Ron backpedalled his Ron Factor kicked in and he stumbled over the chair behind him, causing him to fall backwards and the small missile to fly over him.

However, this put the missile right on course toward the bench where the Dus were hidden.

Not hesitating, Kim threw a chair in front of the rocket, thus keeping the blast away from the senator and his wife. But the blast knocked her away and caused her to crash down in the walkway that ran through the center of the room.

Too dazed to get up immediately, Kim looked up as Gemini approached her, his partially functioning bionic hand crackling with electricity. "Any last words?"

"I do," Ron said as he tried to untangle himself from a couple of chairs. "Global Justice! Global Justice! Global Justice!"

Immediately, loud barking and growling could be heard from inside Gemini's jacket, and a moment later Pepe burst out, jumping around and yapping loudly.

Kim sent Ron a grateful glance as she got up while Gemini chased after his dog, telling it soothing words and generally trying to calm the Chihuahua down.

With the surprise past, Team Possible had little trouble overpowering Gemini and his henchmen. However, due to extensive damage to the courtroom, the court was suspended until the next day.

"Can you believe it?" Ron growled as he and Kim went home. "They were practically convincing Gemini to shoot you."

Kim sighed. "All this has gotten us nothing but bad stuff. I'll be glad when this is over. And I still have to prepare for my interview at Aberystwyth University."

"Oh yeah…" Ron thought for a moment, trying to remember how much Kim had already told him about the university, other than the strange-sounding name. "Well, how hard could it be?"

"I don't know Ron," Kim admitted, "but I'm still nervous about it. What if they happen to see this whole mess?"

Ron smiled gently. "KP, they would be lucky to have you as their student…"

"Ron, we talked about this. I don't want my fame to influence anything."

"You get extremely high grades, you're very active in student life," Ron continued as if Kim hadn't said a thing. "You'll make a perfect student there."

The next day, things had changed from bad to weird. Dementor had dropped the case in order to prepare his revenge on WWEE once Gemini broke out of prison, leaving two very annoyed Dus with an increasingly weakening case they were still insisting on continuing.

Half a complement of GJ soldiers filled the courtroom to protect their leader even though Kim hadn't asked for it, but Zachary was there as well and she was pretty sure he had more to do with it. The rest of the courtroom was filled with soldiers since Mr. and Mrs. Du didn't want to be overshadowed by their opponent.

Since even the public area of the smaller courtroom was crowded – the one they used before was still under repairs – most of the assembled press had to take a standing spot.

Even though there was perfect order in the room with all the military-grade attendees, the tension was high and everyone felt at least slightly uncomfortable. The sole exception was Z, who sat completely relaxed between his own bodyguards and looked more like he was going to watch a play than attend a court proceeding.

The Dus' lawyer, after easily having switched from his case for Dementor to the real case against Kim and Global Justice, started again by questioning Kim's credibility to act as leader of Global Justice. He even managed to use what happened the day before against the redhead.

"Is it not so, that if we had similar protection yesterday as we had today, no attack would have happened?"

"I suggested bringing in guards," Kim objected, "but I was overruled because Mr. Du claimed all I wanted to do was intimidate him. And now I see he can raise half a battalion on a day's notice after all."

Kim felt the hand of her lawyer on her shoulder as she started to rise in her seat. She quickly realized that all that her opponent wanted was to get her agitated, which would show particularly bad in the current situation.

Relaxing, she gave the lawyer a half-smile. "I think it shows mainly that neither party was prepared for an attack like what happened yesterday."

Frustratingly for Kim, the lawyer showed nothing regarding how he felt about her claim. "Of course, we are all glad that no severe injuries were caused yesterday."

"However," he continued, "we feel that, in spite of the great potential you are showing, you are not yet experienced enough to take full reign of Global Justice. Therefore we, that is, my clients, have decided to support the return of Elizabeth Director as general commander of the organization."

Kim was completely taken by surprise by the decision. She shot a helpless glance at Z, but he only grinned slightly.

Fortunately, Kim's lawyer was quick to recover – even though Kim suspected her of having more information than she had – and responded quickly. "Thank you, your support will go a long way in the case against Dr. Director and our efforts to return her to her former seat."

Kim looked at the Dus for a moment and noticed they were not happy with it; it seemed more as if they had reluctantly agreed with the least damaging plan.

The Dus' lawyer turned back to the judge. "We would, however, like to obtain a written agreement from Miss Possible that she will do anything in her power to return Dr. Director to her former position, unless there is sufficient independent evidence that Dr. Director is no longer capable of commanding Global Justice."

"I already agreed to that," Kim said. "You too have a copy of that."

"You agreed to return command if and when Dr. Director was freed of the charges against her," the lawyer replied. "We want your agreement that you will not hinder the progress of lifting those charges in order to remain commander of Global Justice."

Kim shrugged. "Of course, that was my intention all along. I do, however, need some time to go over this contract with my advisors before signing," she added after the Dus' lawyer placed a prepared document on her table.

"Of course." The lawyer turned back to the judge again. "Upon receiving agreement from Miss Possible we will drop all charges and consider this a settlement."

"Okay, what's the sitch?" Kim asked later that day as she, her lawyer and Zachary held a meeting.

Z grinned. "They broke. The Dus are starting to realize that you are a worse opponent than Betty ever was. So they're trying to return the status quo to where they did have some leverage."

Kim frowned. "So, why did you two keep me out of the loop?"

"I'm sorry," Z replied, "we wanted to make sure the Dus thought this was their own idea."

Kim glared at the man. "You know, I'm starting to get sick of being used as a puppet everywhere. I do have a life, you know." She then tapped her fingers on the unsigned document. "I haven't yet signed the document, and you just pretty much told me I can hold practically unrivalled power if I want to."

For the first time, Zachary was taken aback a bit; but one look in the redhead's eyes told him she was not in the mood for more games, or vague statements for that matter.

"Very well," he conceded. "I've been in this business for so long that mind games have become a second nature."

Kim frowned, but said nothing.

"Global Justice is a power to be reckoned with," Z explained. "It's the single largest worldwide organization with the right to hold military-style operations. The power structure is very conflicting, even more so than between other organizations. So, many years ago an umbrella organization was set up to form the spill of balance between the multitude of law organizations, and that's where I come in."

"Even though I have technically no real power on my own, I do in principle hold a majority of votes between the organizations," he continued, "so no single organization can act out on its own. And even if they try, I have the right to obtain supreme command for a period of time, as happened with GJ."

Kim nodded; slowly she was getting the picture. And it immediately struck her that things like this didn't have to happen if the focus was a bit less on personal gain and a bit more on working together to a common goal.

She was now also starting to see where this system would fail. "And GJ has grown too big for its own good, right?"

"More or less," Zachary agreed. "Global Justice holds more power through their international structure than the other organizations. However, the main issue is in the pyramidal structure of GJ, ending in one seat of power for the entire organization."

Kim could see how that could cause problems, especially if that seat could be shaken like what had happened recently. "But I still don't get what the Dus want with GJ. They could be wedged out as easily as Dr. Director, right?"

"The Dus want to militarize Global Justice and focus it as a US power."

Kim shrugged, confused. "Don't we already have a military that makes a pretty big statement?"

Kim's lawyer had been silent throughout most of the discussion, but now she chimed in. "Global Justice has one more ace up their sleeve; they can enter a lot of countries with a large group of agents without declaring war to said country. It wouldn't even raise eyebrows with most other countries, because of pre-existing agreements."

Now Kim was getting it. "So they can build an occupying force whenever they like without hurting any convention?"

"Yes," Z said with a slow nod. "And that will open the organization to corruption."

"Okay… so decentralize the power," Kim replied. "That way, no one can just take over."

The GJ lawyer grimaced slightly. "We could do that, but this is both GJ's weakness and strength. The centralized power means that GJ can immediately respond everywhere."

"I guess," Kim said reluctantly as she pulled the document toward her to sign it. "But I don't think that made GJ too popular with some people."

Z smiled. "And that was another reason we needed you in the seat of power."

"So, this is how it's going to be?" Shego asked as she dodged a punch from her opponent and returned with a leg sweep. "One of us gets upset, calls the other, we have a fight and blow off steam?"

"Pretty much," Kim agreed as she pressed her attack, only to have Shego flare up her plasma and drive the teen back.

Shego smirked. "Fine with me. So, why not Stoppable?"

"I don't like to blow off steam against Ron," Kim admitted while nimbly dodging a series of plasma bolts from the former villainess. "I tend to hold back since I don't want to hurt him."

"So I'm just a punching bag?" Shego inquired as she tried to get a hit in.

Kim shrugged, making use of the fact that Shego needed a moment to recover after shooting a lot of plasma to get into the older woman's defense. "You can take it."

Shego grinned and kicked at Kim to keep her out of her direct range. "So now I'm the one having to hold back instead?"

Kim smirked. "You may have held back a little, but only to lure me in too deep. It's not like you're suddenly going to reveal you've been fighting with one hand behind your back all the time."

"I could be holding back," Shego huffed with a mocking grin. "There are things about me and my powers you don't know… yet."

"Try me," Kim replied as she circled her opponent. "Most of the time your plasma is just a lightshow to confuse your opponent, because actually powering up takes you more energy than several minutes of intense fighting. The plasma bolts are bio-energetic and tend to be able to only burn non-living materials while the shockwave of plasma transfer knocks over or knocks out living targets when you hit them. And when someone holds your hands while you flare up, the plasma dissipates harmlessly between you two, causing a tingling feeling."

Shego was impressed. "You've been doing your homework. Some of that I didn't even know before Drakken tried to figure out how my plasma worked."

Kim grinned smugly. "Wade has been scanning a lot during our fights… Drakken tried to understand your powers? Was that during the time he was bald most of the time we fought you two?"

Shego smirked. "Haven't seen many of his experiments go wrong that bad."

"Anyway," Kim said. "I also happen to know that you need quite a bit of rest after our more straining fights, even though you try to conceal it as being lazy. Your plasma use is draining you even right now. In prolonged fights I plainly have the advantage."

"Alright," Shego admitted. "You're pretty well-read on my powers, but there's still a lot more to me that you don't know. Like, just the other night, Dr. D and I tried page 56 of the Kama…"

"Not listening!" Kim cried and quickly covered her ears. She only found out her mistake a moment before Shego drove a knee into her stomach.

The redhead retaliated with a weak kick that knocked Shego back, but it was clear that the green-skinned woman had the advantage now.

"Okay… you're still full of surprises," Kim groaned as she tried to recover from the blow.

Shego grinned as she approached the redhead. "Say it…"

Kim glared at her opponent. "Fine… you win. You're the better fighter… this time." She couldn't help but add.

But Shego was already satisfied. "Well, you did fight reasonably well, you'll get there someday."

Kim grimaced as she sat down and drank a swig of water from one of the water bottles that stood on the gym bench. "At least you're not trying to kill me anymore."

Shego sobered. "That's a mutual feeling." She decided to change the subject. "So, how did they get you so riled up in the first place?"

Kim shrugged. "Turns out that the whole plot of making me leader of GJ was not only to mess with the Dus, it was also to give GJ a better image by associating it with me."

"So? They used you as a figurehead, big whoop."

Kim sighed. "Don't get me wrong, I don't dislike attention, and I enjoy getting appreciation for the work I do, but on a personal level. I don't like being a celebrity. No matter how much fun some people say it is, it completely messes with your life."

"I get that," Shego replied in agreement. "Hego likes to soak it up though. And people wonder why I split."

Kim wanted to ask why Shego had split and what happened afterwards – Hego's original story sounded pretty biased – but she was afraid that the older woman would just clam up. "Is he still bothering you about rejoining Team Go?" she asked instead.

"No," Shego said. "He's smart enough to only pick public places for that, where there is sufficient press around." The ex-villainess grinned maliciously. "Next time he tries it, I do have a reply ready though."

Kim frowned. "Do you really think smart talk will change anything?"

"You underestimate me Kimmie," Shego replied. "Two can play his game."

"So, after all our effort, we managed to get Dr. Director back in command?" Mr. Du asked angrily.

"We just weren't prepared for Possible to handle herself that well," one of his advisors said in apology.

"And that old man trying to polish up Global Justice during his little game didn't work out too well for us either," another added.

The senator seemed like he was going to explode for a moment, but then he composed himself. "Fine, what happened, happened. We just have to make sure Possible will never get into the seat of command again, not as long as she has the amount of public appreciation she has now."

"Dr. Director's days as commander are still numbered," Mr. Du's lawyer responded. "This fiasco will still make it clear that it is starting to become time for her to look for a replacement."

"But our goodwill gives Possible a good chance to obtain that seat anyway," the advisor objected.

"We just have to make sure she doesn't want that job," Mr. Du replied. "And I have the feeling that won't even be too difficult."

"Shego, are you all right?" Drakken asked as he walked out of his lab. Ex-villain or not, he did enjoy his experiments.

Shego frowned; she had just been sitting on the couch. "Why?"

"You're sitting on the couch, the TV is off, you're not listening to music and you're not laying down even though you had a pretty heavy fight… match with Kim Possible."

Shego stared at Drakken. "Who are you, and what did you do with Dr. D?"

Drakken shrugged. "Can't I be observant?"

"You never were before," Shego retorted.

"Just because I didn't mention my concerns because I was scared you would hurt me doesn't mean I didn't notice when something was wrong," the former villain replied.

Shego stared at him again for a moment, but then she sighed and slumped down on the couch again, gesturing Drakken to join her.

"Dr. D, what would you consider your best plan when we were still villains?"

Drakken frowned. "Considering they all failed…"

Shego rolled her eyes.

"Fine," Drakken conceded. "I'd say the Diablo plot was my best plan, it had everything, was perfectly orchestrated… basically, if I hadn't insisted on keeping Kim Possible around to rub my victory in more, we would have won."

Shego nodded. "That was my thought as well. Do you have the feeling that things changed afterwards?"

"What, with those two becoming a couple?" Drakken asked. "Oh, you mean for us," he added after noticing Shego's frown.

He thought about it for a moment. "Not that much for me actually, although failing my best plot and then having you leave me in jail two times in a row did hurt quite a bit."

Shego looked away, somewhat embarrassed. But Drakken was starting to get curious. "What do you mean? Why do you ask?"

The green-skinned woman sighed. "When we met Kim for the first time, I didn't really care; she was just a nuisance. But later on, as those two kept stopping our plans, well… I've been trying to get Kim out of the game, permanently."

Drakken shrugged, slightly uncomfortable. "It's not like you were best buddies, even I noticed that."

Shego chuckled, but quickly turned serious again. "She never tried that with me… until that moment at the tower."

Drakken knew immediately what she meant; the teens had pulled the gloves off for real there. But he also knew that Shego had been the one on the worse end of what happened.

"I saw the look in her eyes there," Shego went on to explain. "She was out for blood… and she reminded me of myself."

Drakken looked up; Shego had never mentioned that before.

But just as her talkative mood had risen, Shego shut down completely. "Oh well… I am pretty tired. See you tomorrow Dr. D."

For quite some time after Shego went to bed, Drakken remained on the couch, thinking about his former enforcer, current lover and, dare he say, best friend.

A/N: Sorry for the long wait, I'l try to speed up things, but work is eating up more time than I expected. I hope you liked this chapter though. Reviews are always welcome.