Half Baked
XX
Upperton was a beautiful city, and the college campus in particular was gorgeous enough that Kim sometimes found herself walking aimlessly around just to enjoy the atmosphere. However, there were two things she disliked about Upperton. Number one was that, while she was there, she sometimes got nostalgic about Middleton and home, even though they weren't that far away.
Number two was the parking.
Wade had given her the location where he wanted to meet and talk about the mission, which happened to be near the center of downtown Upperton on an older street lined with a number of historic buildings. Kim was familiar with the street, having shopped there with Monique on occasion. Unfortunately, finding parking in downtown Upperton was about as likely as convincing Monkey Fist to pull off a reptile-themed scheme once in a while. Kim had forgotten to take this fact into account before leaving to meet Wade, and as she covered the last block to their rendezvous, she hoped she wasn't arriving too late.
Her worries about punctuality disappeared in a flash when she turned a corner and saw something even more worrying. Something in the form of a blond-haired boy.
Kim stopped for a moment and steeled herself for her first meeting with Ron in months. He looked the same as he always did, and Kim knew that he wouldn't have changed that much since she last saw him. It was just that, to her, it felt like it had been forever. Ron was sitting at a circular black table, set up beside several others within a patio circled by iron fencing. The patio lay in front of what looked like some kind of cafe. An opened umbrella jutted up from the center of the table, sheltering Ron even though the overcast sky was neither raining nor shining. He had not seen her yet.
By the time he did notice her, Kim was standing about a foot away from him. He looked up and nearly fell out of his seat in surprise.
"KP! I didn't see you there," he stammered as he got up from his seat.
"Hey Ron. Long time no see."
"You can say that again."
Kim gave Ron a smile which was returned by one of his own. To Kim, both their smiles seemed a little forced. A little artificial. Was she happy to see him again? It was hard to tell under the thick blanket of nervous silence that was in the process of suffocating them both. As the two of them stood and continued smiling, Kim began to realize just how awkward this first reunion was going to be. She couldn't imagine what their actual mission would be like.
Having failed to think of anything else to say, Kim looked behind Ron at the cafe. She didn't remember seeing it on this street the last time she and Monique had been around, so she decided it must be a new place. She wondered if Wade wanted to try it out while they were discussing their mission, although she was surprised that Ron hadn't persuaded him to go to one of the several Bueno Nachos scattered across Upperton. A moment after she looked through the cafe's windows, Kim looked up at the sign above the door.
"What's wrong?" asked Ron.
Kim narrowed her eyes as she read the sign, while Ron followed her gaze and gasped.
"What," said Kim, "you've been sitting there this whole time and didn't notice where you were?"
"Oh, I saw it when I got here. But I forgot and just remembered again."
Kim rolled her eyes. She was starting to get a creeping suspicion about why Wade had been so tight-lipped on the mission's details. Whatever was going on, Kim had the feeling that she was going to be very angry in the near future.
XX
"By the way, how did things go at the warehouse the other day? Any helpful info?"
Drakken looked up from his newest piece of equipment at the sound of his partner's voice.
"What do you think, Hank?"
Hank Perkins frowned. He knew the answer to that question from the tone of Drakken's voice, but the fact that a pair of tiny blue hands had temporarily clenched in frustration at the mention of the warehouse was also a good tipoff.
"Perhaps we should fire that Assad character," he suggested.
"You were the one who hired him!"
"That's true, although in my defense, he had some very good references and past work experience. But you know, they always told us in law school that a resume only gets you as far as the door!"
In the time Drakken had spent with Hank, he had learned to find his aphorisms both amusing and annoying depending on his mood. Today, Drakken wasn't sure what mood he was in. The warehouse incident was still bugging him, to be sure, but that would be taken care of soon enough. Hopefully today, in fact. And, at the moment, he was too absorbed in his shiny new toy to be worried about recent setbacks.
Drakken returned to the device he was inspecting as he thought about Hank's suggestion. He should fire Assad. After all, the man had let their warehouse get infiltrated under his watch, not to mention the stolen shipment the other week, and Drakken's budget only had so much money allocated for loading dock doors. Then again, he had never budgeted in the past. There would be no budget now if it wasn't for Hank Perkins creating one. One of the benefits of working with someone who had such a sharp mind for business, Drakken supposed.
In the olden days, Drakken would have meted out punishment on Assad in a form far worse than a simple firing. Perhaps something with actual fire, although Drakken knew he wasn't as ruthless as that Gemini character, at least from what he had read in his villain's periodicals. Still, why hadn't he fired Assad earlier that week? Perhaps he was getting soft. Or perhaps long years of supervillainy were making him realize that replacing one incompetent henchman with another incompetent henchman got you, well – an incompetent henchman.
"How does it look?" asked Hank as he peered over Drakken's shoulder at the newly-made piece of equipment. Not that new, technically, but Drakken had made some upgrades recently.
"Excellent," Drakken replied.
The two of them stared in rapt anticipation, their faces distorted with glee, as Drakken flipped a lever on the front of the machine and let out a mad cackle. A number of plastic buttons lit up with more colors than a bundle of Christmas lights. Electronic readouts flashed with information, power levels rose to ridiculously unsafe levels, lights in the room began to flicker, and the dials of various obscure meters swung to their limits. A glass viewing window in the center of the bulky piece of equipment let out a bright orange glow as the interior of the machine grew hotter.
Testing out a new invention had always been one of Drakken's favorite moments in life.
Just when it looked like the machine was about to explode and demolish the entire building in a towering mushroom cloud, the orange glow stopped abruptly as the machine turned off with a cheery 'ding!'. Drakken licked his lips as he put on a pair of baking gloves and opened the front. His grin of anticipation changed to a crestfallen frown, however, when he pulled out the baking tray and found a pile of ashes instead of the cupcakes he had been expecting.
Hank stared at the ashes with a rueful smile. "The Bakinator 2000 did seem like overkill for a baking oven," he said. "And the name makes you think it's for making bacon, you know."
"Nnngh! Not being supportive!"
"Sorry."
Drakken had to admit that Hank might have a point. The transition from supervillain to bakery owner had been a bit rougher than Drakken had anticipated, and sometimes it was tough to quell those old instincts. Drakken was still trying to teach himself that not everything needed as much power as humanly possible. Until then, they would have to keep using the regular oven at the warehouse. Drakken would have been designing his Bakinator 2000 at the warehouse, since it would eventually be installed there once they began centralizing their operations more, but he liked to spend as little time as possible around Assad, who had an annoying combination of obsequiousness and a tendency to talk incessantly about his personal life.
"I'll have to install a lower minimum power level," said Drakken as he fiddled with the Bakinator.
"You could keep using the regular baking oven at the warehouse. There's nothing wrong with it, you know."
"Hold your tongue."
Before Drakken could start making some adjustments to his baking oven blueprint on a nearby table, he and Hank were interrupted by a teenager who burst through the employee doors and into the room. "Sir!" he said. "It looks like the red-head girl and the goofy-looking boy you wanted me to watch out for just got here."
"Thank you, whatever your name is."
Drakken and Hank brushed past the teen and left the expansive employee room before the teen could tell them his name. The employee room opened up into a small working area behind some counters and registers where orders were taken and cupcakes and coffee were sold. The counters overlooked the cozy cafe area itself, where Kim Possible and Ron Stoppable were standing in the middle of the room. Drakken stepped out from behind the counters, extending a hand to greet Kim Possible, when she leaped back and threw up her fists in a fighting stance.
"Drakken!" she spat. "What's going on here? Another bakery? What are you planning now?"
"Probably something half baked," laughed Ron.
"Not now, Ron."
"Sorry."
Drakken was about to protest his teen foe's baseless accusations when he began to wonder if she was even a teen anymore. He hadn't seen her in a long time – ever since the Warlordians, really. Before he could ask, the bakery door opened and Wade Load came running in, gasping for breath. By this time, the other customers sitting around the room were becoming noticeably agitated at all the interruptions to their snacking.
"Hey guys," said Wade. "Sorry I'm late, but man – Upperton has no parking anywhere!"
"Do you even have a license?" asked Drakken.
Wade's answer trailed off as he noticed the look that Kim was giving him. If she had aimed the look at a tray of food, it would have produced an ashy result very similar to cupcakes created by the Bakinator 2000. Everyone in the room – Wade, Drakken, Hank, Ron, and various random customers alike – couldn't help but feel the prickly change in atmosphere.
"Hehehe," Ron chuckled nervously. "Wade – you got some 'splainin' to do!"
XX
Drakken took a step forward in between Kim Possible and Wade, hoping to defuse the situation before any more of a scene was made in front of his valuable customers.
"Kim Possible, Wade, sidekick whose name escapes me at the moment – please," said Drakken as he motioned to an empty booth. "Please, take a seat and I will explain everything."
Kim reluctantly sat down on one side of the booth and was immediately crowded into the corner by the window as Ron and Wade piled in. Drakken and Hank took a seat in the opposite side. The dining patio in front of the store could be seen through the booth's window, and beyond that, cars zipped by on the busy city street. Inside the bakery, however, the atmosphere was calm and pleasant. That is if Kim Possible's expression was not taken into account as a part of the atmosphere.
"First of all," said Drakken, "I'd like to welcome you all to my fine dining establishment: Doctor D Cups!"
"You should really consider changing that name, dude," said Ron.
"Why?"
The table was silent.
"Well, anyway, as I'm sure you all know already, I became a changed man after saving the world with the two of you," explained Drakken as he nodded at Kim and Ron. "It wasn't long before I forsook the path of supervillainy and chose to dedicate my life to legitimate business pursuits. And who better to join me in this noble path than a former partner in evil?"
Drakken smiled at Hank Perkins and gave his hand a squeeze, which caused three different sets of eyebrows to raise simultaneously on the other side of the booth.
"Hank and I reunited after I decided on my new path, and I told him I was interested in entering the restaurant business again, seeing as it worked so well when we were using it as a front for inducing the next Ice Age with those Atmosphreezers."
"It worked well?" asked Kim. "Didn't we blow up your cupcake making facility?"
"Yes, well, that was due to the evil scheming. The business itself was booming! Er, no pun intended."
"Sooo, let me get this straight," Kim continued with a smirk. "Your new and improved business plan is to – uh - not get blown up?"
"That is an excellent foundation to work from," said Hank. "But you know, I believe I told Drew here that his many defeats were just misunderstood opportunities. Clearly, he took that to heart!"
Hank received another warm smile from Drakken. "Indeed, Perky Werky. That kind of advice is why I turned to you in my new endeavor. And that, Kim Possible, is how we ended up deciding to co-found this new combination bakery and café."
Drakken thought of something and laughed as he looked back from Hank to his former teen foes. "You know, he wanted to name our little operation Hank's Gourmet Cupcakes, like last time, but I convinced him that Doctor D Cups had a more authoritative sound. A fuller, bigger sound. Not to mention that my shampoo has been off the market for a while now, so name brand association shouldn't be a problem anymore. But that cupcake graphic we used in place of the letter 'u' on the sign outside really grabs the eye, don't you think?"
Kim, Ron and Wade weren't sure which of them Drakken was talking to, but they nodded politely.
"Um, maybe you could at least change it to Doctor D's Cups, with an apostrophe and an 's'?" suggested Ron.
"I don't understand what problem you have with the name," said Drakken, a little petulantly. "I think it's stylish. Besides, 'D Cups' is the brand name we chose for our cupcakes. We thought it would be a good idea to sell coffee as well, but our cupcakes are our signature item."
"Is it really a signature item if it's your only item?" Kim wondered aloud.
"Yeah, you should really have more than just cupcakes," said Ron. "Why limit yourself?"
"Work with what you know!" Hank said.
"Exactly. So Hank and I joined forces in a business relationship and used our past experience together. And I suppose as time went on, our relationship turned into something much deeper. Life is just funny that way!"
Drakken looked lovingly at Hank, who loosened his tie a little in embarrassment. As their audience watched with increasing horror, Drakken made some kind of cooing baby sound at Hank and leaned forward to pull his partner in business and love closer, locking him into a deep kiss. Hank resisted for a moment, wanting to protest that public displays of affection were not very professional, but the lure of Drakken's touch was too much to resist.
Kim restrained a 'bluugh!' of revulsion so that it came out of her mouth quietly enough to go unnoticed. She knew it was rude, but it was a reflexive reaction.
"I'm surprised at you, KP."
Apparently Ron had noticed it.
"I would have thought you'd be more tolerant, considering your current, uh, romantic sitch!"
Kim rolled her eyes at Ron. "That's not why I'm grossed out, Ron. I'm grossed out because it's Drakken."
"Oh."
Ron stared at the fish-like face that Drakken was making as he continued to kiss Hank.
"Hmm, yeah, point taken."
"What are you two saying?" asked Drakken in a suspicious tone as he broke off the kiss. "You don't think I can get my groove on once in a while? I'll have you know that I can be quite the romantic when the occasion calls for it!"
"What does Shego think of the two of you together?" asked Kim. It was a blunt question, but she was trying to change the subject from Drakken's romantic mojo or lack thereof. She had been totally unaware that Drakken and Hank Perkins were in a relationship until now – and from Wade's expression, it looked like he had been caught by surprise as well. Sometimes Kim forgot that she had not seen Drakken and Shego at all since they had helped in saving the world during her high school graduation. Even when she and Ron had still been doing missions on their freshmen year, the two of them had dropped off the map.
"It's complicated," said Drakken.
A stony expression seemed to shut down further conversation, and before Kim could consider pressing him for any more information, he snapped his fingers at one of his employees over by the counters. "You there," he barked, "get us some cupcakes!"
The group fell silent, and Kim sniffed the air in the bakery. A familiar sent hung in the air around her, and while she had noticed it when she came into the room, she had been too busy by the appearance of Drakken and Hank Perkins to make much of a note of it. This place, she thought, must be where all those cupcakes she had been seeing on campus were coming from. Perhaps one of Drakken's schemes was actually turning out to be successful. Stranger things had happened.
The server arrived with a plate of cupcakes for the table, and Drakken grabbed one for himself and took a big bite before anyone had even reached for theirs. "I can't wait for you all to get a big mouthful of my D Cups!" he exclaimed, spraying crumbs on his guests.
Kim grimaced as a few crumbs bounced off her face. "Good God," she said, glaring at Wade. "Did you bring me here to torture me?"
Wade grinned, a little apologetically, and reached for his own cupcake. The smell was so delicious that even though Kim was not particularly hungry, she couldn't help but take one of her own. Ron, of course, needed no invitation.
"Drakken," said Wade as he swallowed a bite, "maybe you could get to the reason you called me to arrange a meeting with Kim Possible?"
"Oh yes. Well, you see, Hank and I set up this little shop in Upperton to test our product and see how well it turned out. And I am pleased to say that we've been running quite a successful little operation here. We've been planning on opening some new branches in Middleton, Lowerton, perhaps Go City, and possibly even Cleveland -"
"Why Cleveland?" asked Ron.
"Any successful cupcake-centered business must have a location in Cleveland. Everyone knows this."
Wade, Ron, and Kim shot each other quizzical looks.
"As I was saying, we are trying to expand our operation and see if we can establish a presence in a few other locations and turn this into a franchise."
"It's good to keep abreast of the competition," added Hank.
Ron stroke his chin, deep in thought. "I don't know," he pointed out, "More Doctor D Cups might be quite a handful."
Drakken slammed his fist on the table. "No more interruptions!" he snapped.
The booth fell silent, and a number of customers looked over at the source of the loud voice before returning to their own conversations.
"Now - in order to expand, we have already built a warehouse in Middleton which will be our center for production, distribution, and administration, and we are in the process of setting up the first of our secondary bakery locations. Unfortunately, we've hit a bit of a snag. Our warehouse has been attacked twice now by a group of unknown assailants. They keep stealing our cupcake shipments to the other branches, and while they have no chance of shutting us down, it is getting to be quite the annoyance.
"Which is why I wanted to ask for your help, Kim Possible."
Kim mulled over Drakken's proposition. It immediately struck her as fishy, but it was also strange enough that she could not help but feel interested. "Why don't you just call the police?" she asked. "This isn't exactly on par with the missions I usually take."
"That may be, but years of being foiled by your incessant do-gooder nature has taught me you are the best in your business. I do not trust the police to do a competent job, whereas I know that you will be able to find out who these people are, and why they insist on being all up in my business."
The flattery was blatant, but still, Kim couldn't help but feel flattered. Drakken had a point – she could do anything, and catching a bunch of small time cupcake thieves was pretty low on that list. While she knew Drakken had succeeded in stroking her ego a little, Kim wasn't taken in just yet.
"What's in this for me?" she asked.
"Well, you get the satisfaction of knowing that you helped my legitimate business succeed, thereby making sure that Hank and I are not forced to revert to our old, evil ways."
"So you're threatening to become a supervillain if I don't help you?"
Drakken sputtered a little as he realized he wasn't quite sure what he was threatening.
"Well, not exactly, I just – I mean, you never know! Desperate times call for desperate measures. Just as I was pushed into a life of villainy due to constant bullying and lack of appreciation for my genius, so could I be pushed back into it if this venture fails to-"
"Oh please," said Kim, her warm reaction to Drakken's flattery rapidly changing to exasperation. "Can it, Drakken."
"Okay, fine. I'll pay you, are you happy?"
"How much?"
"Fifty dollars!" Drakken said with a triumphant shout.
Kim stared blankly.
Noticing her expression, Hank put his hand on Drakken's shoulder, indicating that he would handle the issue. He leaned in confidentially towards Kim. "One hundred," he said with a knowing whisper and a wink. "We're a little strapped for cash now that we've been working on expansions, but I think we can make an exception when it comes to someone with skills as valuable as yours."
Ron had long since finished his cupcake, and was working on a few of the extra ones that were still sitting on the plate. He knew he'd have to buy a few extra to bring to Rufus, who had elected to hang out back at home while Ron got the down low on the mission. He listened to Kim and Drakken's talk of payment with interest – was Kim demanding payment because it was Drakken? Or had she warmed up to the idea of charging for her services?
"I didn't think you'd be asking for a payout," he said.
Kim shrugged. "College doesn't pay for itself, Ron."
Something about the tone of the comment put Ron off a little. As if Kim even needed to pay for college – she probably had a scholarship anyway. He returned to eating quietly.
"Wade," said Kim as she stepped out from the booth, "I need to talk to you outside."
"Sure. Please excuse us for a moment, guys."
Drakken and Hank nodded, while Ron shrugged indifferently and dug in to another cupcake.
Kim stepped outside into the small dining patio in front of the bakery, leaning against the iron fencing that separated it from the sidewalk. Wade followed her out and waited for her to voice her thoughts, half expecting some kind of tirade, although it was a good sign that she had actually been having a conversation with Drakken about the mission in the first place.
"What's the deal, Wade? Why are you trying to get me to do a mission for Drakken all of a sudden?"
"Drakken contacted me, and Global Justice agreed that it might be a good idea for you to go along with it and see what was up. Make sure this whole bakery thing isn't just a front for some world domination plan like it was last time. You already know Drakken's been keeping a low profile, and Global Justice hasn't heard much more from him than you have, so we were hoping you would get back into the game and check things out."
"And why does Global Justice need my help now, when they've been fine with doing their own thing for more than a year?"
"You have a lot of experience with Drakken," said Wade. "I think Dr. Director trusts your instincts in figuring out whether he's up to no good. And let's face it Kim, you're better than any single Global Justice agent at fighting supervillains and saving the world. I don't know if Dr. Director would admit that, but it's true. They probably tried to handle things without you and they're realizing they need you in the fold."
Kim knew that Wade was skirting the topic of why she had stopped going on the missions in the first place. Partly it was because of college, because Kim wanted to focus on something else. But she had wanted to focus on something else, in large part, because of the fallout of what had happened with Ron. And now Kim wanted to ask one last question. She felt a twinge of guilt for asking it – it was something that went without saying in the past – but things had changed.
"Why does Ron need to go on this mission with me?"
Wade was silent for a moment. The dining patio of the bakery was empty of customers, leaving the two of them with some privacy, although they had to speak up over the honks and screeches of cars passing on the nearby street. Kim waited for an answer.
Global Justice had specifically asked Wade to get Ron to go on the mission with Kim, but Wade wasn't sure if it was the best time to explain to her what their reasoning was. Kim needed confidence, and he did not want to undermine it. He knew that things were still sore between his two old friends, and perhaps she was not interested in rekindling her friendship with Ron. The last few times Wade had talked to her in the not so recent past, she had completely shut down the conversation when the topic turned to Ron.
"Can you just think of it as a favor? For me?" asked Wade.
Kim looked him over. It took a moment, but she finally nodded her head in assent.
"Great," said Wade. He couldn't help but grin at his success. "In that case, I think Drakken has some specific ideas about how to catch the cupcake thieves."
"You know, you should have just told me you wanted me to do a mission for Drakken before we got to this ridiculous bakery," Kim said as she looked up at the sign.
"Maybe, but I didn't think you'd jump at the idea of doing a mission for him. And I just used the phrase 'catch the cupcake thieves', Kim. I was worried you'd just laugh at me and hang up if I explained it over the Kimmunicator. I hadn't talked to you in a long time, after all."
Kim had to admit that Wade had a point. She would definitely be a lot more skeptical of going on such a ridiculous mission if she didn't have her suspicions that Drakken really did had something up his sleeve. But then, his cupcakes were amazing. Maybe she'd have to demand a few boxes in payment, since her cash reward would be so paltry. Which normally wasn't something Kim would ever demand, but if she was going to be doing Drakken a favor, her usual moral scruples relaxed a little.
"Okay, so maybe I would have laughed at you," she admitted as the two of them walked back into the bakery. "But I am glad to see you again, Wade."
"Me too."
"Now, let's see what ideas Drakken's got cooking."
XX
Inside the bakery, Ron was standing at the counter, looking at the bakery's numerous cupcake types and occasionally giving the cashier tips on good baking technique, as well as suggestions on what they could sell beyond cupcakes. The cashier nodded haplessly. He did not bake anything, but the sandy-haired young man talking to him had been talking to his boss earlier. Which meant he could be important, so the cashier did not want to interrupt the baking lecture.
Hank and Drakken smiled when they saw Kim Possible and her tech genius friend finish their conversation outside and return to the booth. Kim took a seat and gave her old foe a critical look, just for a moment, before speaking.
"Alright, Drakken," she said. "I'll help you out"
Drakken clapped his tiny hands together and wrung them excitedly.
"Wonderful!"
"So what's the plan?"
"Very well," said Drakken as he leaned in closer. "Hank and I have noticed that the last two times we were attacked by these intruders, they hit us about when we were packing a shipment of cupcakes to send to our little bakery here in Upperton. We make our cupcakes at the warehouse and ship them here at intervals, and we are on the verge of opening our satellite locations in our expansion. We would like to handle the creation and distribution of all our cupcakes from a central location in the Middleton warehouse."
"That's a bad idea," said Ron. "You should be baking things fresh at your store. And making more than just cupcakes too!"
"We need to be efficient if we're scaling up our operation," said Hank. "It's easier to have one product and to do it from one location."
"Where's the personal touch in that?"
"Wait," said Wade, "If you think pre-making and mass-producing their food is bad, then how do you explain eating at Bueno Nacho all the time?"
Ron grumbled, finding it hard to counter Wade's irrelevant point.
"Okay, so I don't mind mass produced food sometimes," he said, "but baking is different. And besides, what's the best item at Bueno Nacho? The Naco, which I personally designed, and which is still tastiest when I make it in my own kitchen. So booyah!"
"Excuse me!" said Drakken. "Can we get back to the plan now?"
Ron sat down at the booth and joined Wade and Kim in listening as Drakken outlined his plan.
"The fact that they keep hitting us during our packing and distribution schedule tells me that they must be keeping an eye on our operation somehow. Assad and I haven't been able to find any bugs at the warehouse, but they did hack into our security cameras, so perhaps that system is compromised. Either way, they know when we make new batches of cupcakes at the warehouse and ship them out to our locations.
"Which is why," said Drakken, "I was hoping you would accept this mission today, Kim Possible. And you as well, buffoon."
Ron nodded politely at being acknowledged.
"Today is Friday – one of our biweekly distribution days. We'll have another shipment of cupcakes ready to go at the warehouse later tonight. If I am right, our unwelcome visitors are aware of this, and they failed to steal a fully packed shipment last time. Which gives us the perfect opportunity to set up a trap!"
"Poison the cupcakes?" asked Ron.
"What? No! I am no longer a supervillain," snapped Drakken. "I am suggesting we catch them in the act."
Kim wasn't sure about Drakken's claim to be walking the path of righteousness, but his idea sounded as good as any. Waiting for cupcakes thieves to break into Drakken's warehouse was not exactly what Kim had in mind for an enjoyable Friday night, but something did smell fishy, so she'd do it. More importantly, she would do it as a favor to Wade.
XX
Notes - If anyone is interested in knowing, this chapter is basically the idea which set off this story. I thought the idea of Drakken and Hank Perkins owning a bakery together was cute and amusing, and then the idea of Kim having to help them look for stolen cupcakes also amused me, and of course Ron and his interest in the culinary arts ties in. And bam, that was the skeleton of the story which brought everything else together. Next chapter, after some visits to their families, the mission begins!