Looking back, Artemis couldn't pin point when they suddenly got so cookie hungry that they had to try making them. Maybe it was when they cracked open their laptops to finish their essays before the weekend started. Perhaps it was when the Pillsbury Dough Boy giggled on their T.V. screen. Or Wally could have been looking at pictures of cookies. Again.

Deciding that they needed a treat for being such good students they ended up in the kitchen, the aprons that M'gann gave them on. Artemis examined a cookie recipe she found that claimed to be the easiest in the world while Wally got out the bowels and measuring cups. They took out all the ingredients and made a few harmless substitutions.

Right off the bat it was a mess. Wally skimmed over the measurements, tossing in the flour and sugar without checking the measurements. Artemis pushed him out of the way and took over the operation. She only gave the bowel back to Wally so he could mix it up with his speed.

The batter turned out with a play dough consistency and smell. They still placed batter on the sheet, agreeing that it was normal for cookie batter to be that way. They set the timer and went to the living room to watch a show while the cookies baked. Half way through they dozed off.

It was the barking of Brucely that alerted them of the hell that their kitchen was turning into. Black smoke was seeping out of the oven door, curling up to the ceiling. Wally sped ahead and turned off the oven while Artemis jumped over Brucely to get the oven mitts. Wally opened the windows, blowing out all the smoke. Once everything had passed Artemis took out the cookies.

If they were just burnt Wally could have persevered and eaten them, but they were worse than that. Someone – Wally – mistook the salt for sugar, baking soda was definitely not the same as baking powder, and somehow the chocolate chips turned into raisons. There were many more problems that they couldn't figure out by examining the charred remains. Those substitutions weren't as harmless as they thought.

But they weren't going to give up, not after all they've been through. They grabbed their slippers and left to go to the corner market. They didn't care if they were in their pajamas or that it was two in the morning. They wanted some goddamn cookies.

"There's three options," Artemis crossed her arms over her chest and hunched over. "Just pick one and let's go."

So maybe her resolve had faded when she saw the look the cashier gave them when they walked in. Wally on the other hand was just as determined as before. The cookies they picked had to be perfect.

"There's actually five, babe." His hand hovered in the air as he made his choice.

Wally reached for the package of white chocolate chips deliberately slow to annoy Artemis. She started tapping her yellow slippers on the tiled floor, letting out a sigh when Wally swerved to the right and got snicker doodles instead. Wally grinned victoriously at her and strutted to the front of the store.

As Wally struck up conversation with the old, grandpa – type man at the counter Artemis looked at some other shelves. She passed by a section of shiny tubes in metallic colors, something tugging at the back of her mind. Going back she picked a packet and headed to where Wally was taking out his wallet.

She set down the batteries next to the package of cheap cookies. "For the fire alarm."