5 days until everything changes.

Bull opened the door to his diner slowly, wiping the barrel of his giant gun as he greeted the customers. Behind him were some of his minions and his right-hand bird-man, Crow. The feathered fiend was wiping a strange liquid off his daggers' tips.

One customer (who seemed to be enjoying a bit of day drinking) called to the group. "Hey, Bull. Where you coming from man?"

Bull calmly turned to the tipsy man. "Just finished some work."

"Eh, right... 'work'." The man approached him groggily. His speech was incredibly slurred as he tried to converse with the owner. "I know what your 'work' is. Tell me, who you kill today?"

Crow reached into his sleeve for a few blades. His senses were on high-alert as he prepared for the drunk to make a sudden move. Bull spoke up. "No deaths, just tax collecting."

The drunk laughed wildly from his response, falling onto Bull as he lost his footing. Crow moved forward to dispose of the man until Bull raised a hand. He propped the man on his arm, signaling for a waiter, "Get this man a cold glass of water and a warm towel."

He softly shooed the man back to his seat at the counter. Bull signaled for his men to follow him to the back. As they entered the kitchen Crow spoke up, "What was that?" Bull hummed for him to continue, "Why did you let that creep talk to you like that?"

He turned to a waitress with a platter of dirty dishes. "Tell me, dear, how many drinks has that man at the counter had?" He pointed through the window at the drunk from before.

"I dunno, Mr. Bull sir. But at one point he just said to put two mugs in front of him and keep one full at all times."

"Has he paid?"

"Every time."

Bull turned back to Crow, "That creep... is a valuable customer."

As he and his men made their way downstairs, he could hear grunting coming from the other side of the door. When he opened it he saw a man get thrown across the room, his body sliding into a nearby wall. Bull turned to the direction he flew from, his cousin Bibi standing tall as she laughed at the man.

"See that... now you give it a try." She beckoned for another man to come to her side. She pulled him by his collar whispering in his ear, "You better make her believe she launched you to the fucking moon!"

Bull looked around the corner, his mood dampening at the sight. Standing beside Bibi, radiating a sickening amount of light was Nita. The wild child excitedly bounced up and down as the random minion walked up to her.

Bull dismissed his men, most moving about their day while Crow decided to stay and watch the show. Bull approached his cousin, "What's going on?"

"Took ya long enough... you gotta see this kid. She's amazing! A natural even." Bibi pushed the minion towards her. Nita was still bouncing with glee as she waited for Bibi's permission. "Go ahead."

"What's she gonna-"

Nita jumped up to the minion's chest, grabbing fists full of his shirt. "What ya staring at ugly?! Never seen a kid in a bear pelt? Wanna know how I got this pelt? Killed the bear with my bare hands!" Nita excitedly turned to Bibi.

The batter gave her two thumbs up, her pride visibly showing in her smile. She motioned for Nita to keep going.

The minion was confused as he tried to process her flippant emotions. Nita was unrelenting in her attack, "What's wrong tough guy? Got something to say?" The minion started to stutter out a response, Nita cutting him off just like Bibi taught her. "Uh-Uh. Oh, come on... you're not pretty enough to be this stupid."

Bull and Crow both recoiled from that line. Bibi took notice of their reactions, smugly nudging Bull's arm. The boss rolled his eyes, dismissing her taunts. Bibi didn't let Bull ruin her mood, "Atta girl. Now throw him as hard as you can."

Nita stopped her verbal assault at the request. She jumped down from his chest, a perplexed look directed at Bibi. "You want me to throw him?" Bibi nodded her head. Nita looked down, her cheek resting within her palm. Her pelt allowed most of her face to remain hidden. However, her eyes were still visible. Her pupils vanished from her corneas, those white husks convening most of her emotions. Currently, those bright white eyes were squinted, signaling deep thought. "As hard as I can?"

"Yep. Just like I did."

Nita seemed flabbergasted, "Max strength?"

Crow grew interested in the discussion. His voice was low, but he sounded strangely alive, "Give it everything you got kid."

Nita mumbled under her hand, "Huh... no one at the village ever lets me use max strength."

The minion was the only one close enough to hear her statement. The sound of subtle coughing caught his ear. He turned to Bibi, her eyes sharp as needles as she mimicked slicing her throat. A clear message no matter what language you spoke. He started thinking of how to launch himself across the room. Maybe the kid would grab him by his shirttail? Or perhaps she would just try to drag him?

His thoughts were halted when he felt his feet leaving the ground. His body shifted from vertical to horizontal, his world turned upside down. Nita had grabbed hold of his lower back, lifting him high above her head with ease.

Bull and Bibi's jaws dropped. The tiny child easily picked the man up as she smiled wildly towards them. The minion squirmed in her grip, but she didn't release. With an ear-splitting screech, she leaped into the air. The girl reached up to Bull's height even with the extra weight. Then like a giant beach ball, she tossed the minion across the room.

The three adults snapped their heads as he shot like a bullet. His body didn't touch the ground. Instead, he smacked against the wall with a painful splat. His body slowly ground down the cement partition onto his previously-chucked ally.

The two cousins stared slack-jawed in awe. Bull bent down to Bibi's ear, "Did you..."

"No... no I did not know that."

Crow seemed unfazed, "So I was right." Bull and Bibi both turned to the bird, "Did you not notice? When we first saw her, I noticed her arms were oddly powerful. And her teeth are sharp like an animal." Crow observed Nita, the young girl jumping with joy at the carnage she created.

"Yay! Yay! No one lets me throw them at home!"

Crow continued, "That's when I realized... she's like us. She's not normal."

Nita ran up to the three adults, standing at Bibi's feet. "Ms. B! Ms. B! How'd I do?"

Bibi was still recovering from the shock, "You... were... awesome!" Bibi snatched the child up in her arms. Nita giggled as she rubbed her cheek against Bibi's. Never in her life had she liked children; She shared those ideals with Bull. They were annoying and always in the way. But this kid, she was like the daughter she dreamed of having. Bibi stopped her physical affection to get some thoughts off her mind, "How are you so strong?"

"I dunno... Mr. Bo said that I have a spirit inside me." Bull silently listened from the side.

Bibi continued her praise, "Well that is the most badass spirit ever. You're the most badass kid ever!"

"What's 'badass'?"

Bibi smiled wickedly, "Oh I have so much to teach you. But first," Bibi took a peek at her clothes. The build-up of dirt was starting to ruin her village-princess look. "Your dress is a mess. Your tights are looking loose. And... where are your shoes?"

"What's a shoe?"

Bull had heard enough. He quickly walked back into his office while Crow joined in pampering the powerful pint. His body chilled when he noticed a genuine smile across his usually lifeless beak. He tapped Bibi on her shoulder, requesting possession of Nita. She gladly passed her to him, the tiny girl happily smiling up to the brute.

Bull calmly walked to her room. When he stepped inside, he noticed the mattress she was sleeping on had been fitted with sheets and pillows. There was a dirty plate sitting on a tiny table that he didn't remember putting in the room. He sat Nita down on the mattress. Bibi and Crow watched from the doorway as Bull showed his fatherly side.

"Did you have fun today?"

"Yeah! What else are we doing today?"

The sound of metal clinking was his response. Nita looked down at her wrists, strange metal hoops were locked around her hands with a chain linking them together. The chain reached down to her knees, allowing her mostly unhindered mobility. She looked back up to Bull, confused but interested in what these new toys would intel.

"We're gonna play 'Simon Says'."

Nita's eyes lit up, "Oh! I know this one! Bea showed me how to play at Rosa's glass home."

"Good... you ready to play?" Nita excitedly nodded her head, "Okay. Simon Says..." Bull tapped his chin as he pretended to conjure up a command. Nita was vibrating as she prepared for her instruction, "Stay in your room."

Nita froze at the declaration. "But..."

"Simon Says, be quiet." Nita shut up at the command. He smiled down at her, "Good. Now Simon Says, don't come out for the rest of the day."

Nita looked heartbroken at the list of commands. She didn't want to stay in her room, she was having so much fun with Ms. Bibi. But she didn't want to lose Simon Says.

Bull walked away from the small girl, his eyes showing genuine joy at her silence. When he turned back around, he saw her heartbroken face. Like a sad puppy wishing for someone to adopt them. And his smile grew even larger.

When the door shut, he felt a metal bar cracking against his skull. His instincts made him recoil and grip his head as he tried to soothe the pain. Standing beside him was his cousin. Her baseball bat in hand and an enraged scowl across her lips. "What is wrong with you?" he groaned.

"What's wrong with me? What's wrong with you? Why'd you do that?"

"Do what?"

"Lock her up! She didn't do anything wrong."

Bull grunted at her question, "Why do you care? She's just a hostage."

"I have been taking care of her for two days now. And I can confidently say that hanging with her is more fun than any of the boring shit you ask me to do in this diner."

"Then I'll let you go on more jobs with me. Happy?"

"That's not the point!"

Bull stood at his max height, his massive shadow swallowing his older cousin. "Listen, she's not our guest, she's not our friend. She's a bargaining chip. There is no reason to treat her any differently."

Bibi was stunned, "Are you kidding me? Did you forget what we just saw? She's amazing! She's literally like a gold mine of untapped potential. And you handcuffed her in the storage room."

"Our team is strong enough as is. Besides, I have the real prize coming in five days."

"Prize?!" Bibi pointed to the wall. The two men were now recovering as they observed the crack left by her throw. "We could own Brawltopia with power like that. Do you know what she's gonna be capable of in ten years?"

"In ten years she could be the queen of Brawltopia, and I still wouldn't care. You dream big, but you don't have any stability. You lack planning, precautions. Meanwhile, I seek stability. I don't want to rule Brawltopia, being the king of Retropolis is more than enough."

Bull moved away from his allies. While Bibi was seething with rage, Crow just silently watched from the side. She continued her rant, "That's your problem. You're scared. Scared you can't control that kind of power." Bibi paused at her realization, "You're scared you can't control her."

Bull calmly stood outside his office door. There was a dangerous tension in the air. Three conflicting emotions trying to find balance in the small room. Bull grumbled before speaking, his voice calm and controlled, "Have you ever had a lucid dream?" Bibi paused awaiting his response. "Lucid dreaming is having full control of the world within your mind. People who master lucid dreaming can change their location at will. Morph their bodies however they want. They can fly, they can move through space, they can warp time. They have full control of their reality and because of that can do whatever they want, whenever they want to."

Bull turned back to his cousin. Crow noticed the contemplation in his eyes. He was taking his time with this speech. This wasn't a rage-filled rant or a manipulative play on words. He was being honest.

"That is what I want. True control over my reality." He turned back to his door. Bibi was silent as she tried to process this new man in front of her. "And if you think that being the ruler of Brawltopia gives you unlimited power, you clearly don't understand politics." He cracked open his office door. "Five days. Five days and I will have the perfect recruit and the girl can go back home. She'll be happy there."

As he walked into his office he left with one final statement, "Now get back to work... rush hour is starting."