Disclaimer: I do not own the Arthur characters. Marc Brown owns them, and I don't own him either.

The setting: Manhattan. The present day.

Among the rush-hour throngs of pedestrians, a smartly dressed woman strolled down the sidewalk, munching on a chocolate bar. Not far away, a man in a blue suit was making his through the crowds. In one hand he held an open jar of peanut butter; in the other he held a spoon, with which he eagerly shoveled peanut butter from the jar into his mouth.

"Mmm...chocolate," said the woman dreamily.

"Mmm...peanut butter," said the man ecstatically.

So absorbed in culinary pleasure were the man and woman that they walked right into each other. The impact caused the woman to drop her chocolate bar, which landed in the man's peanut butter jar.

"You got your chocolate in my peanut butter," the man complained.

"You got your peanut butter on my chocolate," the woman retorted.

As the man and woman gazed into each others' eyes, they suddenly forgot about their little snack mishap. They smiled rapturously. Their lips drew closer and closer together...

CRUNCH!

Their expression of newfound mutual affection was interrupted by the sound of gigantic footsteps. An enormous shadow covered them.

Only half a block away, a fifty-foot tall anthropomorphic rhinoceros was charging in their direction, kicking aside cars and knocking over lamp posts.

The man and woman screamed and ran away from the approaching beast with all the speed they could muster. They were soon joined by a mass of terrified, fleeing citizens.

"Run, run, as fast as you can!" cried the giant rhino with a booming voice that sounded vagely like Binky's. "You can't escape me, I'm the Incredible Rhino Man!"

The creature continued its rampage down Fifth Avenue, leaving a swath of crushed vehicles, fallen signposts, and broken windows.

It stopped for a moment, bent over, and picked up a car that was sitting next to the curb. "Hey, look, everybody!" it roared. "An empty parking space!"

Meanwhile, hundreds of miles above the Earth, an alarm sounded in the Bunny League's space station. The sudden noise startled Fast Bunny, who had been asleep in front of the control console.

"Who's there?" he asked as he whisked around the control room at super-speed, looking for the source of the disturbance.

As Bionic Bunny and Hawk Bunny hurried into the room, a large viewscreen on the wall blinked on, showing a picture of devastation in downtown New York.

"Great Scott!" cried Bionic Bunny as he stared at the screen in disbelief. "A giant rhinoceros is destroying Manhattan!"

"This is in very bad taste," said Hawk Bunny, "considering it's only been two years since..."

She was interrupted by the arrival of the rest of the League, consisting of Dark Bunny, Amazon Bunny, Green Bunny, and Martian Bunny.

"Why are you all standing around?" said Dark Bunny. "We've got a city to save!"

Moments later, the lovestruck man and woman were still running down Fifth Avenue, but the monstrous rhino was still in pursuit.

"It's still coming after us!" cried the woman, looking behind her.

"If we can make it to the subway..." said the man breathlessly.

Then, as the terrified citizens watched in wonder and relief, three costumed figures swooped down and landed in the center of the street. They were Bionic Bunny, Green Bunny, and Hawk Bunny.

"Hawk Bunny, you take the left side," Bionic Bunny ordered. "I'll take the right. Green Bunny, make a force shield to protect the citizens."

As Bionic Bunny and Hawk Bunny flew directly at the giant rhino, Green Bunny used his power ring to generate a protective field of green energy between the monster and the helpless bystanders.

As Bionic Bunny repeatedly punched the right side of the beast's enormous head, and Hawk Bunny swatted at the left side with her mace, the rhino raised its hands and effortlessly flicked away the two heroes.

"Ha ha ha! Puny rabbit people!" the rhino exulted.

In the meantime, the remainder of the League had disembarked from their jet, and was preparing to join the fray. Amazon Bunny tossed her lasso at the creature, who caught it and began to spin it rapidly around its head, as she held tightly to the other end.

"Aaaaaaaarrrrgggghhhh..." she cried as the centrifugal forces tore at her body. Finally she let go and was hurled toward the street, making a fifty-foot-long hole in the asphalt where she landed. She struggled clumsily and dizzily to her feet.

"Are you all right?" asked Dark Bunny as he rushed to the side of the visibly nauseous Amazon Bunny.

She didn't answer, but sank to her knees and vomited.

At the same time, Fast Bunny was running circles around the rhino at supersonic speed, producing a tremendous updraft. The beast, however, continued its destructive march down the avenue, unfazed.

Fast Bunny finally came to a stop and wiped his brow. "It's no use," he lamented. "I've only air-conditioned the darn thing!"

Nearby, Martian Bunny's eyes glowed as he held his fingers to his temples. "Must...make...telepathic...contact..."

"Any luck?" Green Bunny called to him.

"None," he replied sadly as he lowered his hands. "The creature's skull is too thick!"

"I heard that!" growled the rhino angrily. It raised a gigantic foot and stomped on Martian Bunny...who escaped unhurt with the help of his phasing ability.

The monster began to home in on Dark Bunny, who threw one bunnyrang after another at it, until he had expended several dozen...and they all bounced off of its rough hide.

"Oooohhh..." moaned Amazon Bunny as she drunkenly walked up to Dark Bunny's side. "How many of those things do you have?"

"I think this is the last one," said Dark Bunny as he heaved another bunnyrang at the approaching rhino, who effortlessly deflected it. He then reached into one of his pockets and pulled out another bunnyrang. "Oh, wait..."

Several minutes later, the giant rhino was reclining on its stomach in the middle of Central Park. Bionic Bunny, Amazon Bunny, and Martian Bunny were punching it furiously along the spine, while Hawk Bunny struck it repeatedly with her mace between the shoulder blades.

The rhino smiled obliviously. "Ah, there's nothing like a good back massage."

Then it drifted peacefully off to sleep...

...and Binky woke up.

He rubbed his eyes and muttered to himself. "Whoa. That was a cool dream. I defeated the whole Bunny League."

It occurred to him that his voice sounded rougher and hoarser than before. "Maybe I'm coming down with a cold," he said to himself.

Then he sat up. As soon as he did, the boards holding up the mattress split with a crack, causing him to sink down in the bed.

"Oops," he mumbled. "Too many hamburgers."

As he stood up, walked across the room, and fumbled for the light switch, he couldn't shake the feeling that he was somehow much heavier...and larger... than before.

The light finally came on. Binky turned...and looked in the mirror...

...and screamed.

(to be continued)