It was two weeks after the six friends had met at Bueno Nacho to discuss future plans.
Amy "DNAmy" Hall sat at the desk of her control console, tapping her fingers while thinking. She was in her underground laboratory, beneath the quaint, oddly-decorated cottage where she lived.
One of her living Cuddle Buddies came over to her, and she scratched its head absently. It was a cross between a rabbit and a porcupine. Its quills didn't cover its head, so she didn't get stuck.
Months ago she had gone to the debris of the building destroyed by Dr. Drakken (was he M.D. or dentist? She couldn't remember) to find a sample of blood from that "Jinx" girl, but had no luck. They had already started clearing the wreckage, so she had lost her chance.
But she REALLY wanted that sample! Cotton-candy-pink hair, pink cat-eyes, and gray skin were simply not normal, and she wanted to study the differences so she could fine-tune her control over the characteristics of her creations. They could be even more cute and cuddly than ever before!
The creature by her made an odd noise, and she looked at it. "Feeding time? Already?" She looked at a clock. "Why, so it is! Come on, honey, I'll take care of you and everybody else."
She got up and skipped through another door into a huge kennel where she kept all of her pets, humming all the time. The rabbitpine followed her, nose twitching. A number of odd animals of all descriptions, and quite a few that couldn't be described, started making noises in anticipation of dinner.
"It's okay, babies," she crooned, "Mama's here, and she'll feed you!"
She threw open the door to where she stored the animal feed, to discover a problem-- it was empty! "What in the world happened?" she wondered as she stepped inside. Empty 50-lb bags lay around in disarray, with just a few pellets left in them. She found the answer when she nearly stepped into a manhole-sized tunnel partially hidden under the empty bags.
She instantly knew who the culprits were. She put her hands on her hips, leaned over, and shouted into the hole, "Bad! Bad molebears! You ate everyone's food, and now mama's got to get more before everyone gets hungry!"
There was a contrite growl from the hole, that sounded vaguely like 'sorry'.
"Now you fill that hole, and get back to your caves! And I mean now!" she said firmly.
The sound of digging soon began, and the hole began to fill up from beneath.
Amy walked out of the storage room, and closed the door behind her. The animals began to enquire about their dinner.
"I'm sorry, babies, those meany molebears ate it all," she said, "But don't worry, mama's going to fix it!"
As she went up the stairs to her kitchen, she wondered where she was going to get that much feed in a very short time. She sat down at the kitchen table and absently munched a home-made cookie not long out of the oven.
"Ahah! I've got it!" she exclaimed, "And maybe I can light two fires with one match!" Most people would have said, 'kill two birds with one stone', but Amy wasn't one of them.
Going to a hall closet, she pulled a box out of the back corner and opened it. A medical pressure gun was in it, along with several vials of tranquilizer. She grinned. Now all she needed was to decide which of her babies would help, and steal a big truck...
kpkpkp
"Have you talked to your friend Bonnie lately?" asked Jenny. She was sitting at Tara's vanity while Tara brushed and combed her hair. Tara was taking her time, and Jenny was really enjoying it. Tara was thinking about getting into cosmetology, and was using Jenny as a 'guinea pig' to practice on.
"Not since last Tuesday," replied Tara. She sighed. "Ever since that fight we had, our friendship has never been the same."
"What was it about, anyway?" asked Jenny, looking at the blonde in the mirror.
Tara stopped brushing and turned a bit red. "You," she replied.
"Me? What did I do?" asked Jenny, surprised.
"You existed. She kept putting you down for being a freak, and hanging with Ron and Kim, and I finally had enough of it. Her and her stupid 'food chain' nonsense," Tara replied.
Jenny's cheeks turned pinkish. "I'm sorry, Tara. Looks like my bad luck got you anyway."
"Maybe, but don't worry about it," she replied, and resumed brushing, "She was my best friend for years, but she kept getting worse and worse about putting people down, and playing mean tricks on them. I guess I finally had my fill.
Remember the first time we met at Bueno Nacho and the way she acted? God, I was so embarrassed. She snap-judged you solely on who you were with, and how you looked."
A small smile graced Jenny's lips. "I'll let you in on a secret," she said.
Tara stopped brushing, put her hands on Jenny's shoulders, and leaned in so her ear was by Jenny's mouth.
"Remember Bonnie's accident with the food right after that?" she said.
Tara stood up, eyes wide. "You didn't!"
When Jenny nodded, Tara cracked up. "She SO deserved that! Thanks! That makes me feel a lot better."
"I was afraid you might be mad," said Jenny.
Tara chuckled. "Nah. She got what she deserved, and never knew how it happened. I guess what they said in Space Passage II is right; 'Revenge is a dish best served cold'. "
This time Jenny chuckled, and Tara resumed her ministrations on her hair.
After a few minutes of silence, Jenny said, "You're really into my hair, aren't you?"
Tara's face turned lightly red. "Yeah. I don't know why, I guess it's that natural pink color." She ran a hand through it. "And it's so soft."
A devilish grin crossed Jenny's face. "I have pink hair elsewhere, wanna see?" She undid the button on her jeans.
Tara turned ever redder, and slapped Jenny's shoulder lightly. "NO!"
"Kim's seen it," said Jenny, eyes sparkling with mischief.
"JENNY! TMI!" said Tara, turning even redder. But she couldn't help but smile, seeing her friend's expression.
"Okay, okay," Jenny laughed, buttoning up, "I just wanted to see where we stand."
"I'm not gay, Jenny," said Tara, turning serious.
"I didn't think you were. You've always shown too much interest in boys," answered Jenny, becoming serious in her turn, "But I've also noticed you like touching me."
A gamut of emotions crossed Tara's face, ending in embarrassment. Once again her face turned red. "Yeah, I do," she said, then hastily added, "And it doesn't have anything to do with you being a girl!"
Jenny made no response.
Tara turned away from Jenny. "I dunno why, but you're so... so exotic, and unique. I guess I like touching you because of that." Tara hung her head, and tears started trailing down her cheeks. "Do you hate me now?"
"TARA! NO!" said Jenny, turning to her. "Look, most people who know what I am and what I can do are AFRAID to touch me, like my bad luck is gonna rub off on them. Felix has told me the same thing has happened to him, like people think they're gonna get 'cripple germs' from him."
Tara turned and looked at Jenny in shock. "You're not serious!"
Jenny nodded. "I'm afraid so."
Tara shook her head. "Never heard of such a thing..."
"Look, I'm not gay either. You can play with my hair and touch me when you want to. I don't mind because it's harmless, and you're my best friend," said Jenny.
"I am?" asked Tara, eyes wide.
"Uh huh. I think of Kim as more of a sister, and Ron as a brother," said Jenny.
They got together in a fierce hug. "I'm gonna miss you so much when you leave for Japan," said Tara.
"I'll miss you too," replied Jenny, "But we'll never stop being friends, no matter how far apart we are."