Chapter Text
Chapter 1: The San Fransokyo Spillway
Inside the Headquarters of Mabel’s mind, the atmosphere was absolute bedlam.
Instead of the sleek, colorful control panels found in a human brain, Mabel’s console was a heavy-duty, chew-resistant block of cast iron. It featured four massive, glowing buttons: CHOMP, DAM, PADDLE, and TAIL-SLAP. In the center sat a single, flickering toggle switch labeled WALK LIKE A TALL HAIRLESS THING.
"Okay, team! First day in San Fransokyo!" Joy cheered, wiping a bead of sweat from her forehead as she hovered over the toggle. "We just need to locate the stolen forest artifact, act totally normal, and blend in. Simple!"
"Define normal," Disgust muttered, peering through the main screen at the towering concrete jungle outside. "There isn't a clean river for miles, and the air smells like exhaust and hot dogs. I’m going to throw up."
"There's no water!" Fear shrieked, sprinting in circles around the Memory Stacks. "How are we supposed to escape predators if there’s no deep water?! And look at those gigantic glass trees! What if they fall on us?!"
"They aren't trees, Fear, they're skyscrapers," Joy said, maintaining a strained smile. She grabbed the main steering lever and pulled up.
Outside, in a quiet alleyway near the San Fransokyo docks, a seven-foot-tall robotic human suit creaked to life. The synthetic skin stretched over a frame of heavy gears and hydraulics. Inside the suit's chest pilot-cabin sat Mabel, a furry, brown beaver wearing a pair of tactical aviator goggles.
Mabel twitched her nose, sending a sharp signal straight up to Headquarters.
CLACK!
Anger slammed his hand down on the TAIL-SLAP button out of sheer habit.
The robotic suit instantly bent at the waist and swung its reinforced steel rear-hatch violently backward, smashing directly into a brick dumpster. The metal crumpled with a deafening CRUNCH, echoing down the alley.
"Anger! What was that?!" Joy cried, jumping to grab his shoulders.
"It was a defensive maneuver!" Anger bellowed, his head bursting into red flames. "The loud noise behind us was threatening! We needed to send a shockwave!"
"It was a trash can!" Disgust yelled, pulling her hair. "Now everyone in a five-block radius knows we're here!"
Sadness sighed, leaning weakly against the DAM lever. "And the suit's left knee joint is making a grinding noise. We’re never going to find the artifact..."
"Yes, we are!" Joy said firmly, shoving Anger aside and grabbing the WALK toggle. "We just need to sync her motor functions. Left foot, right foot, left foot, right foot..."
Joy pushed the lever forward. Outside, Mabel’s robotic disguise took three incredibly awkward, stiff-legged strides out of the alleyway and onto the busy sidewalk. The suit bounced up and down on its springs, its artificial arms swinging in bizarre, uncoordinated windmills.
Pedestrians stopped and stared. A street performer paused his guitar strumming.
"See?" Joy panted, strain showing in her voice as she held the lever with all her strength. "We’re walking! We’re blending—"
Mabel’s real nose twitched again through the suit's internal camera feed. Right across the street stood a brand-new, high-end furniture store with a massive display in the window: 100% Solid Mahogany Dining Tables.
Inside Headquarters, a blinding alarm began to flash bright amber. A wild, primal instinct surged from the core of Mabel’s brain, completely overpowering the control board.
"Oh no," Fear whimpered, pointing a trembling finger at the main console. "She sees the mahogany."
"Joy, don't let her do it!" Disgust screamed.
"I'm trying!" Joy yelled, pulling back on the steering column with both hands. "Mabel, no! We do not chew the urban decor!"
It was no use. The primal urge of the beaver was absolute.
Anger grinned viciously and leaned his full weight over the center of the panel. "Deploy the primary tools!"
SLAM!
Anger hit CHOMP.
Outside, the suit's jaw unlatched with a loud pneumatic HISSS, revealing a set of gleaming, reinforced titanium front teeth. The giant mechanical disguise locked its eyes on the mahogany table, let out a deep hydraulic whine, and stomped straight into traffic.