Leela woke up in an empty concrete room, with no memory of how she'd gotten there.
She hadn't reverted back to adulthood. Her clothes still felt loose around her teenage figure. But she'd fallen asleep in her parents' house, in a room they'd built decades ago, months before she was born. The bed was built with discarded pipes and the sheets were stiff and sewage-stained, but she'd slid into it feeling like she belonged.
In this new mystery room, the lighting was considerably better. The structure seemed a bit more stable. No cracks, no leaks, no unholy smell.
This wasn't right.
She rubbed her eye, but the surroundings didn't change. The girl stood up and got a better look. Not much to notice besides concrete, until she turned towards the fourth wall. Or rather, where she assumed a fourth wall – and maybe a door? – would be. Instead, parallel lasers stretched from wall to ceiling, leaving no room for even a teenage girl to slip through. Leela reached a hand out, but a familiar voice echoed, "I wouldn't bother if I were you."
Fading in seemingly from nowhere, an older man appeared on the other side of the bars. Gray suit, gray hair, kind eyes that may have once reassured her, but later became synonymous with bad news. Her old warden. "Unless you want to get stunned. In which case, go ahead."
"Mr. Vogel?" Leela asked. "Where the hell am I?"
"Hey, watch your mouth there!" Mr. Vogel scolded. "It's already an uphill climb for you to get adopted without adding a nasty attitude to the pile."
"Adopted?" Leela could hear her heartbeat in her ears. "Are you senile? I've been out of the orphanarium for years."
"I had legal jurisdiction over you as long as you were a minor. And, due to recent events…" The warden gestured to her body. "...you're technically a minor again. So we took you back while you were sound asleep." The room suddenly shook, though Mr. Vogel stood oddly still. "The cargo ship's on its way to the Orphanarium as we speak. Should be there within the hour."
"But I already found my parents!" Leela shouted. "Parading me around is just pointless!"
"Technically speaking, you weren't re-adopted. In order for that to happen, your parents would have to visit my office and file some paperwork, but they'd be arrested the second they stepped on the surface." He shrugged and frowned. "Sorry, Leela. I don't make the law, I just tell you about it. This hurts me as much as it hurts you." The ship hit turbulence again, throwing Leela roughly into the concrete ceiling, then back onto the floor. Vogel remained perfectly still and grounded.
"I won't stand for this!" she yelled from the ground. "I'll get a lawyer, or a letter from my boss–"
"You don't have anybody. You ran away cuz you thought you'd get your life back. Kind of stupid if you ask me." He threw a small juice pouch through the bars. "Anyway, here's some Capri Sun to keep you from starving. They've upgraded the pouch and straw for maximum fun and flavor. Have fun re-living your adolescence!" He waved and then walked into nothingness.
Leela stood up, shook herself off, and stared hard at the laser bars. They seemed closer than usual. Had the walls closed in on her? Didn't matter. No way she was wasting four more years as a ward of the state. Maybe this was all a bluff?
She took a sip of her Capri-Sun for energy (mmm, strawberry-kiwi), then took a few steps back, and ran towards the lasers. When the time felt right, Leela raised her leg to try and jump-kick her way out. "Hi- yah!"
Then her whole body went stiff and she fell to the ground, stunned. The lasers were active, and she was not strong enough.
Her parents were trapped underground, unable to help her. Her warden wasn't willing to fight for her. And her friends probably had no idea she was in danger at all.
She was alone. Just like she always had been.
As Leela lay unable to move, trying her best not to cry lest her prospective foster family notice the tear marks, the Capri-Sun straw extended towards her mouth, allowing her to take some refreshing sips. The delicious sweet taste of real fruit juice was probably the only silver lining of her situation. She heard another voice echo through the small cell:
"Even if you're all alone, let the flavor be your friend! Capri-Sun, now made with 10% real fruit juice and extendable straw technology!"
What?
And then Leela woke up in a smelly dank room, under a stiff comforter sewed together from discarded fabrics with no regard for style.
Thank God.
She was still in her younger body. Maybe that's why she felt more nervous and sweaty than usual. Logically, she knew her dream was just that – a dream. Usually she could shake off her orphanarium nightmares and go back to sleep (with the help of a night-night pill if she was really having trouble relaxing). But there were too many uncertainties with the new house and the new body. She didn't even have Nibbler to cuddle.
This time, Leela didn't just feel young and vulnerable again. As far as some people were concerned, she actually was. What if her fear came true?
All she wanted was one simple thing.
"Mom? Dad?"
Leela slowly crept into her parents' room, heart still racing from her dream. She hoped she was going about this the right way.
"Leela?" Turanga Munda's eye flickered open, focusing on the small figure in the doorway. "Is something wrong?"
"If you need rat poison for your room, it's under the couch," Turanga Morris added as he slowly stirred.
"I couldn't sleep," Leela said. Her mom patted the bed, presumably a sign that it was okay for Leela to step inside and stick around. "I had a nightmare, and I just…" She sat down at the end of the bed. "I just wanted to see you. Just to remind myself that I'm still here with you."
"Oh, sweetie…" Munda stroked Leela's bangs. The feeling of her slimy tentacle on her face was all Leela ever wanted. "Would you like to sleep in here?"
"Really?" Leela reeled her excitement back in. "I mean, is that weird? I thought fourteen was too old to sleep in your parents' bed."
"Well, you're not gonna get any younger, right?" Morris said. "At least I don't think so."
He and his wife scooted towards opposite sides of the bed, making room for their little girl. Leela carefully crawled under the musty blanket, settled onto the grimy mattress, and let her eye close. Within seconds, she felt her mother's tentacle on her shoulder and her father's hand on her hair.
Leela felt like a little girl again, but for once, it wasn't scary at all.