Chapter 3 - Be Prepared
(...the hallway...an hour later...)
Tara wears a smile on her face as she practically floats down the corridor.
'Oh, Ron. How I would love to get to know you; to be with you. If only you knew how I felt.'
The latter thought wipes the smile away and turns her float into a shuffle. She stops at a water fountain and takes a drink. After wiping her mouth, Tara continues her walk. So distracted is the blonde, she doesn't even notice Bonnie standing against the wall. The brunette steps forward.
"Hey, Tara."
Tara coughs a little. Bonnie runs behind her and pats her back.
"Why so jumpy?"
"Hi, Bonnie. I...guess they haven't removed all the lead from the water."
Tara accompanies her statement with a nervous giggle.
"So, where're you headed?"
"My next class. Algebra."
"That's rough. How 'bout we talk for a bit?"
"I don't know, Bonnie. I ought to get going."
"Come on, Tara. Let's talk a minute; cheerleader to cheerleader, friend to friend?", Bonnie mock-pleaded.
"All right", Tara sighs.
The two girls stand facing each other for a moment.
"So...what do you want to talk about?"
"Stuff, you know? What's happening in your life, your plans for the future?"
"Oh, you mean like the dance on Friday? Are you taking anyone?"
Bonnie's left eye twitched a little. Given the unexpected rejection by Josh and the fact that she's been unable to find anyone else to take, the questions were like salt in an open wound.
"Yeah. I'm still kinda working on that", Bonnie squeaked out through clenched teeth. She managed to quell her facial tic.
"O...kay."
"How about you? I'm sure you and Brick--"
Tara looks down sadly. This was a sore spot for her, too.
"Oh, right. Well?"
"I haven't made any plans either."
"Well, you shouldn't worry too much. A pretty girl like you should have no problems finding another guy."
Bonnie is taken aback by the hug Tara envelops her in.
"Thank you so much, Bonnie. That means a lot to me."
Tara walks down the hall.
"Of course there is the chance that the dance may interfere with your new hobby."
Tara turns around.
"What do you mean?"
"About an hour ago. I see you've taken to froob-watching."
"I was just watching Kim and Ron leave. No big."
"Maybe, but I couldn't help but notice the way you watched them..."
Tara bit her lip.
"...or should I say him?"
"Bonnie, it's...I...well..."
Tara exhales.
"Tara Marie St. James, don't tell me you have a thing for Stoppable?!"
"I guess there's no point in telling you, is there?"
Bonnie puts her hand to her mouth and nearly collapses against the wall. Her hand moves up to her face. Tara approaches her.
"Of all the guys in the school - in the world - why him?"
Tara was understandably nervous about divulging this information. She knew all too well of Bonnie's feelings about Ron. Truth be told, one would have to be blind not to see her hatred towards him.
"He seems very nice."
"He's a sideshow freak stuffed into human skin!"
"He's saved our lives...twice!"
"Yeah, through the dumbest of dumb luck and from a creature who was after him, not us. And need I mention that...thing he keeps in his pocket?"
"I think it's kinda cute."
Bonnie exhales in an irritated manner.
"If I were you, I'd be feeling nothing but shame right now."
Tara's mind boiled over with a number of responses: 'That's why I'm glad that I'm me and not you.' 'The way you treat people, it's a wonder you feel anything.' 'And you wonder why you don't have a date.'
Instead of acting on these soul-shattering comments, Tara simply shrugged her shoulders and sighed.
"I guess you're right, Bonnie."
"Of course I am. Don't worry. You'll find someone...someone who's not Stoppable...and you'll be happy again."
"Yeah", Tara half-heartedly stated.
Bonnie raises her arms, about to hug Tara, but lowers them and cups Tara's hands in her own.
"Trust me. I'm your friend."
Bonnie walks off.
"See you later!"
"See ya."
Tara ambles along. Bonnie's words stick in her memory:
'Trust me. I'm your friend.'
Tara had to think to herself: 'Wouldn't a real friend be supportive of who I want to go with?'
(...the streets of Lowerton...a couple of hours later...)
Wearing their mission clothes, Kim and Ron walk down the sidewalk.
"What I don't get is why we couldn't score a ride with someone you've saved."
"Ron, it's not like we're traveling across the world. It's just Lowerton."
"I know, but...did we have to take the bus? The people on it were so...weird."
"Creepy", Rufus added as he popped out of Ron's pocket.
"Lighten up, you two. We got here, didn't we?"
Kim stretches her arms out as if to say 'Ta-da!'. Team Possible looks at the supposedly abandoned bakery.
"There sure is a lot of smoke coming out for an 'abandoned bakery'", Ron observed.
(...the bakery...)
Kim and Ron sneak through the halls of the building. Ron sniffs the air.
"Whatever Drakken's planning sure smells delicious."
"Ron, we're on a mission. I'm getting a weird 'Spirited Away'-vibe here--"
"I loved that movie! Especially when the sludge creature was in the bathhouse and--"
Kim raises her hand, urging him to be quiet.
"Since you've seen the movie, I shouldn't have to tell you not to touch anything."
Kim turns back around and the pair continues their stealthy investigation.
(...a large area...moments later...)
Drakken sits patiently next to a series of ovens. A series of 'dings' alerts him to open one of the doors. He puts on an oven mitt and pulls out a tray of...cookies.
Shego stands over him and can't help but gawk.
"This is your big plan?"
"Isn't it wonderful?"
"Using cookies for world domination?"
"It's brilliant."
"Can I ask you something?"
"Go ahead."
"Are you cracked?! I never really said this to you the past. I figured it was pretty much implied, but cookies?"
"Your faith is incredibly reassuring."
Shego stands with a surprised look on her face; this was, perhaps, the first time Drakken had zinged her with a sarcastic comment. With a bright green glow, her hands assume a throttle position as she approaches him. Drakken turns around and as soon as Shego had raised her hands, she put them down.
"I'm telling you: this plan is genius. By synthesizing the elements within gases, people the world over will be helpless to stop us. Placing the trace elements of gases in cookies is the perfect touch; no one will ever suspect them."
"But why cookies?"
(...the hallways...)
"Everybody loves cookies."
Kim and Ron continue walking. Ron sniffs the air once more. He is drawn to a nearby room. The darkness of the room (the large area provides the only light) is enlivened by the heavenly smell of fresh-baked cookies. Ron treads lightly toward a plate of cookies sitting on a desk.
"Man, I wonder if they taste as good as they smell."
"Kim."
"I know what Kim said, but...aw, what's the worst that can happen?"
Ron forcefully approaches the plate. He takes a cookie and eats it.
"Hmm. Not too bad. Not quite Granny Crockett quality, but okay. I'm kinda disappointed."
Ron walks out of the dark room. He sees Kim about 50 feet ahead of him. He rushes to catch up with her, but quietly so she doesn't know he was away.
"...so stay on your toes. Did you get all that, Ron?"
"Sure did."
The teens approach a door and carefully open it. They end up on a scaffolding that looks down on the villains.
Drakken uses a spatula to remove the cookies from the trays. There had been several cookies made in the last few hours. They were packed into boxes and loaded onto a truck.
"Aren't we making an introduction?"
"It's just a matter of finding an 'in'."
Drakken places the last of the cookies in a box.
"Isn't it wonderful, Shego? The perfect plan, and nothing can stop us."
"That's it", Kim said as she jumped from the scaffolding. Ron soon followed. The two of them landed on different ovens.
"Almost nothing."
"Kim Possible! I swear, it's just like on 'Laverne and Shirley'. Shego!"
"I'm on it", the pale woman remarked as she went for Kim, her hands lit up like a green hellfire. The female adversaries engaged each other in a sort-of ballet; each of them circling, then jumping and flipping, while dodging the kicks, punches and slashes they tried to deliver.
"Ron! Don't let Drakken get away!"
The blonde boy did as Kim instructed. The blue would-be genius was making off with a pair of boxes when Ron stood in his way. A staring contest ensued, but after a few seconds...Ron broke down in laughter. A sinister smile formed on Drakken's face.
"My test run was a success."
"What are you...talking about?", Ron gasped out in between laughs.
"The plate of cookies in the office. The perfect distraction for anyone who might've wandered in."
Drakken takes the two boxes and loads them on the truck.
"Shego!"
With a final flip, Shego fled to join her employer. The truck carrying them and the cookies disappears down the street. Kim gives chase, but stops after 30 feet. She bends over and tries to catch her breath. She walks back to the bakery and looks to Ron, still laughing. Kim slumps down a bit. Rufus scurries out of Ron's pocket. Kim looks down at the naked mole rat.
"You wouldn't happen to know the bus schedule, would you?"
"Uh-uh. Sorry."
"Wonderful", Kim exhaled.
(...Bueno Nacho...an hour later...)
Monique sits patiently in a booth. She looks around, wondering to herself, 'Where could he be?' No sooner did the thought cross her mind that Brick walked through the entrance.
The jock caught Monique's eye and she waved him over. Brick walks to the booth and sits opposite her.
"It's nice to see you remembered our appointment."
"Sorry. I got held up at school."
"That's all right. We can start. Did you ever compliment Tara on anything?"
Brick thinks about it.
"Well, I...no. Wait, there was one time...no, never."
"Let's work on compliments. For example, pick something about me and give me one."
He looks Monique over. His eyes roam from her face to her chest. She catches him and, literally, snaps him out of it.
"Hey! Eyes up here, all right?"
Brick snaps his head up.
"Sorry. Wait, that's it. You have...nice eyes."
"That's...a start."
Monique sat there and thought to herself, 'We seriously need to work on eye contact.'
The "lessons" continued through the afternoon. Monique's crash-course charm school taught Brick the finer points of etiquette, chivalry and (of course) eye contact. Needless to say, given that first example, it took some time.
(...Bonnie's room...that night...)
The brunette had exhausted herself looking for other guys with whom to attend the dance. She lied on her bed and scowled.
"How can every guy in the freakin' school be taken?! Uhhhh!"
Bonnie got up from her bed and went to her computer.
"May as well check my e-mail."
She turned it on and went through the inane ritual of waiting for it to boot up. Finally, the monitor shone brightly. The wallpaper brought a smile to Bonnie's face: the picture of Kim with a ponytail and moisturizing cream on her face. She clicked on the 'Internet' icon and again had to wait. The window opened and just as Bonnie was going to click on the 'Mail' icon, a pop-up window appeared in front of it.
Bonnie watched as she was taken to a chat room. She was about to hit the 'back' button when she noticed a banner: 'Meet Me in Middleton'. Bonnie clicked on it. A screen appeared asking for a name. A few moments of thinking later, she decided on 'cheergoddess101'. The chat was surprisingly mundane and Bonnie's participation was limited...until a 'machone' joined the fray. He and Bonnie started off with just small talk, then moved on to more personal items.
"I'm into cheerleading, in case you couldn't tell. What about you?", 'cheergoddess101' typed.
"Well, I work with machines", responded 'machone'.
'Works with machines, hmmm? This sounds promising.'
"But mostly, I spend time at computers."
'Computers? Nerd alert!'
"Forgive me for asking, but you're not a nerd, are you?"
"I think not."
"That's good. You know, I think this is the beginning of something great."