Chapter 1

“What do you mean, you’re Barry’s pet?” asked Steve as he scrambled to his feet.

Kelly jumped up as well, and grabbed Steve’s arm.  “Careful.  Once you move away from the portal, reality rewrites you to something that fits.  At this size, something like a mouse.”

Steve rubbed his chin as he digested that, then his eyes lit up.  “Oh!  So that’s where the rabbit came from.  And why you still have fur and floppy ears.”

“Yep.  Still cute?”  Kelly wiggled her nose at him.

“Very much so, yes.”  To emphasize his point, Steve kissed Kelly on that cute mostly-human nose, which led to kisses elsewhere and increasing distraction until the ground literally moved under their feet.

Both stared up through the plexiglass roof to see a distorted view of Steve’s roommate, Barry.   He wasn’t looking at them, but they could see his hands on an enormous metal handle.  It took a moment for Steve to recognize it as the dolly that they’d used to move their props.  The rumbling they were feeling was the loose wheel chattering against the floor.

“Do you think he saw us?” whispered Kelly.

“He’s the one that put us in here!” hissed Steve.  “Of course he knows we’re here.  I’d rather not be here when he loads the van.  Where does that other portal go?”

“The hutch.  I’ll explain later.  First, and most important... think really hard about being a talking mouse.”  Kelly pulled Steve forward, her hand in his.  She closed her eyes as she felt the change ripple through her body, felt their linked hands become paws.  Once the changes had stopped, she looked over at Steve and started to giggle.  He had pale pink fur, an oversized head with a long blonde hair and a broad smile.  Most improbable was his lavender overalls, covering a curvy, feminine body.

“What the heck?” squeaked Kelly.

Steve peered down at himself, and his comically large eyes went even wider.  “You said to think of a talking mouse!  Gadget’s the only one that came to mind.”  His voice was high-pitched and distinctly feminine.

Kelly giggled again.  “Well, at least you can talk.  C’mon.”  She pulled him through the portal to the rabbit hutch.  The ground no longer rumbled beneath their feet, and no giant was watching over them.  Kelly sighed with relief.  “Okay.  Now we can talk.  Stay close to the portal for now, so you don’t change again.”

Steve nodded, his enormous ears bobbling with the motion.  “God, this feels so strange.”

“No kidding!  You’re a girl.  I didn’t know it could do that.”

“You turned into a rabbit, and girl seems improbable?  We’re way past improbable here.  What’s going on?”  Steve’s tail lashed back and forth, and he grabbed it between his paws.

“Beats me,” shrugged Kelly.  “The first time I moved away from a portal while tiny, I started going dizzy, like I couldn’t breathe.  Then I turned into a rabbit, and could.”

“Oxygen’s the wrong size, I guess,” mused Steve.  “So... the universe fixed it.  But why am I a cartoon?”

Kelly brushed her hand along Steve’s arm.  “Feels like fur and flesh to me.  Not a cartoon.”

Steve wrung his tail between his paws.  “You know what I mean!  I didn’t change into a normal mouse.”

“You would have if I didn’t get you to visualize something else.  I don’t know why it works, but it’s like we can make suggestions when we’re being adapted.  My first time as a bunny, I got caught up in its instincts.  The second time, the bunny had a patch of blonde fur on its head.  I practiced, got some control, and learned how to become a talking bunny.  Talked Barry into using me in the act.  Did you see?” she asked, eyes alight with eagerness.

Steve giggled and nodded.  “I thought the bunny was the best part of the show.  Especially the big bunny.”

“Do I look like Barry’s girlfriend now?” asked Kelly, moving in closer.

Steve shook his head.  “You look like a mouse.  A vaguely familiar one, what with that red cape.  Mrs. Brisby?”

Kelly nodded.  “I didn’t know that something more human was possible.  Let’s see how this works.”  She scampered a few steps away from Steve, then turned to face him.  He smiled as her ears grew bigger and her face cuter, and he applauded when she was done.

Kelly hopped up close to him on long lapine feet, her cape still trailing from her shoulders.  “Your turn.  Just... visualize a humanoid bunny.”

Steve fidgeted with his tail uncertainly.  “I’m pretty sure what’s going to happen...”

“You’ll be fine!” urged Kelly, tugging him away from the portal.  In her arms, he changed... into her identical twin, save for the overalls, and a substantial difference in height.  She tilted her head up to look at his worried face.   “Oh.”

“You made an impression.  How could I not think of you?”

Kelly snuggled up against him, rubbing her cheek against the fur exposed above his overalls.  “I guess that makes sense.  Do you mind being a bunnygirl instead of a bunnyboy?”

“Not so long as I’m with you.  Though...”  He looked out of the cage, into Barry’s room.  “Think you can manage the doorknob, if I lift you up?”

“I don’t think we’re anywhere near that tall.  Besides, the cage is locked.”  Kelly hopped over to one of the wire doors, and gave it a tug.  “See?”

Steve struggled with the latch for a minute, but couldn’t get enough purchase.  “Dang.  Designed for much bigger hands.  If I had some tools...”  He looked around the hutch, taking in the details of the three loft-like shelves and the giant silver disc taking up most of the back wall of the cage.  “Hey, is that another portal?”

“It leads to the hat.  At least, it probably still does...”  Kelly hopped over to it, and Steve followed.  They jumped through together, and found themselves in a dark, fabric-lined space.  While it was soon obvious that they couldn’t force their way out, being so close together was cozy enough that they stayed and snuggled.

Their idyll was interrupted by Barry once more.  He muttered about finding a conquest in the audience just before the van doors rumbled and slammed shut.  The bunnies tumbled back out of the portal a moment later.

“So.  No rescue any time soon,” mused Steve.

“He’s not going to rescue us,” said Kelly.  “He liked the idea of me as a pet rabbit, and now he has two.”

“No he does not,” growled Steve.  “I am not his pet.  Do you want to be his pet?"