It all started on a Sunday—Garfield Logan’s unofficial favorite day of the week. Not because there was any guarantee of waffles (although there usually was), but because Sundays were for community patrols. No evil death cults, no sentient alien fungus—just jogging in public parks, checking in on local shelters, and maybe, just maybe, sampling some cruelty-free donuts.

That’s when he saw it.

Nestled between rows of produce tents and oat-milk latte stalls, the Vegan Valley Food Fest was alive with indie acoustic bands, dogs in bowties, and oat cheese samples.

And in the center of it all—her.

She was laughing at something a vendor said, eyes crinkling just right, her sundress swaying with the breeze and an oversized canvas tote slung over her shoulder like she was born to be in a dreamy commercial for kale.

Gar’s brain promptly short-circuited. She was cute. Like, next-level cute. The kind of cute that made his stomach do animal flips he couldn’t identify. Cuter than a baby seal riding a unicycle kind of cute.

He was debating whether or not to shapeshift into something smooth—maybe a golden retriever with a flyer in its mouth that said “Hey, I think you’re rad”—when the robots attacked.

Three of them. Big, clunky, suspiciously refrigerator-shaped automatons stomping through the chia pudding booth and flinging tofu kebabs like medieval weapons. The air filled with screaming and oat-based projectiles.

Gar snapped to attention.

He launched himself into the chaos, morphing mid-run—first a cheetah to gain ground, then a kangaroo to bounce over a collapsing tent, and finally, with a roar that sent seagulls fleeing from several ZIP codes away—a giant green bear.

He landed between her and the robots just in time, all muscle and fluff and fury. One swat from his paw sent a bot flying into the “Tempeh for Tots” booth.

The robots went down fast. Probably allergic to gluten-free righteousness.

When the dust settled, she was still there, wide-eyed and adorable, holding a half-squished vegan cupcake. Gar, panting in his bear form, did the only thing his panicked brain could think of—he turned back human, covered in matcha frosting, grinned like a goofball, and said:

“…So, uh… do you come to these apocalyptic food festivals often?”