Prologue: A New Journey Begins

"Joanie, what's happened to you?!"

"My name is Dawn, creature! And you and your companions will keep silent if you know what is best for you!"

…..

"Joanie! Please don't do this! This is not you!"

…..

"How does it feel? Enjoy your last moments of existence!"

…..

"We will meet again. Whether it's by this new face of yours or by one of your old ones, our business is far from over."

Genevieve awoke with a loud, terrified gasp. Her forehead was drenched with her own sweat from the horrible nightmare she took a moment to recover from. But it was not a nightmare – it was a series of memories…memories of one woman who haunted her, no matter how hard she tried to forget about her. Dawn.

The first time Genevieve encountered her, during her original life as Sean Thomas, was an unforgettable moment. To see a woman who looked like Joanie Navarro but acted like a completely different person – a psychopath nonetheless – still sent chills through her. Dawn nearly killed Robin the Frog on their first encounter; it was something Joanie, after awakening from the sinister alter ego that nearly controlled her life, was unable to forgive herself over until she made things right by becoming the first Guardian of the Disneyverse.

For the previous eight months since she and Victoria had taken solace in the Muppet Theater, Genevieve had these recurring nightmares. It did not help her sleep status much by being in the basement – the former site for Muppet Labs and a living reminder of her first adventure with the Sphere. She wondered if there was some "ghostly residue" left behind in its banishment from the Muppets' realm, its original home. Maybe that is what's haunting me, she thought while sitting up and staring at the brick wall where the Magic Gateway used to be housed.

"Another night terror?"

She looked to her left and saw Victoria, lying in her cot and staring up at the ceiling in annoyance.

"I'm sorry." Genevieve told her, wiping away her sweat with her bed sheets.

"It's the seventh night in a row." Victoria remarked, finally turning her eyes to Genevieve. "What is it that's got you all riled up?"

Genevieve swallowed hard before she answered. "It's Dawn. I don't know why she's been on my mind so much these past months."

Victoria sighed, knowing exactly how she felt. "I've been a bit concerned myself since we last saw her, during the merge. I mean, what she said about us seeing her again…none of us really know when or where that'll happen."

She was not doing much to ease Genevieve's anxiety, only making it worse by reminding her of that fateful moment when both of them, along with many other reincarnations, were merged as a new entity, self-named "JeniLynn." It was a moment that she had not forgotten and left her on edge ever since.

"When will the nightmares end, Genevieve?" Victoria asked, though Genevieve was not certain if it was for her own benefit or hers.

She shrugged with a look of uncertainty. "I think they're directing me somewhere."

"Somewhere in the Disneyverse?"

Genevieve shook her head. "Someplace outside the Disneyverse."

"Here?"

"I don't know. But it is someplace very close."

A new morning, a new start.

Ever since arriving back into the home realm of her original self, Genevieve took much pride in following that old motto.

Paula Abdul's "Promise of a New Day" playing in the background, she freshened up with a hot shower and put on the clothes she deemed suitable for her time back in the Muppet Theater – a grey sleeveless top, black leggings, a black bra (the straps of which showed with those of the top at times), and black knee-high boots. They were not just her usual threads, but her work clothes as well.

She and Victoria were helping hands at the Theater – the deal they struck for taking up residence there. While Victoria worked as "assistant-gofer-assistant" (a job that involved her working as an assistant to Scooter and most everyone else), Genevieve worked maintenance.

The two women found their jobs to be less than stellar compared with that of Sean Thomas, who worked as producer, director, and writer of the Muppets' shows in the Hollywood-based Theater (originally Orlando-based before moving production to California at the request of theater owner, Joan Navarro-Thomas). The current show he was responsible for producing, directing, and writing was "The Muppet Telethon," the intended comeback show for the Muppets.

In recent weeks, the stress of making the program perfect began to take its toll on Thomas. There was pressure from oil baron Tex Richman threatening to tear the theater down if the money needed to save the theater was not delivered in time. Then there was the fact that Thomas's wife, Christina, was just a month from her due date.

Genevieve remembered how the overwhelming pressure led into the ultimate failure in making enough money from the telethon to save the theater – something Thomas had to live with the rest of his life. As much as he deemed necessary not to interfere in the events of her original timeline, she delicately altered certain moments to ease tension for her "original," as she sometimes referred him as. Victoria did her share to help as well, such as taking Christina out to shop for baby clothes – a task that originally sidetracked Thomas from his work on the show.

In working maintenance at the theater, Genevieve was assigned to be the protégé of the janitor, Beauregard. She felt as if she hit rock-bottom; one day she was the all-powerful Guardian of the Disneyverse, and the next she was shown "the ropes" to "good mopping." It was an embarrassment, but she accepted it as long as she could keep a low profile. Of course, the unnecessary tutorials bore Genevieve to no end, especially when the task was not even required – Beauregard often mopped on a floor that was already clean.

That morning, during another dull tutorial, Beauregard fell asleep, standing and slumbering away on his mop.

Genevieve took advantage of this to do some real work.

Heading out the backstage alley, she took care of a pile of old wooden crates that had been in desperate need of being dumped for some time. She handled the task all on her own, lifting heavy crates that were as light as a feather while she was in her Guardian mode and disposing them into the nearby dumpster.

After a few crates, she started to make the time-consuming job more enjoyable for herself, going as far as performing a number of tricks with the crates, such as twirling them on the tip of her index fingers and treating them like basketballs – scoring three-point shots with them.

She couldn't remember when she last had so much fun while working at the Muppet Theater. With no one watching her every move, she felt like she was free to be what she usually was in the Disneyverse.

"Wow."

As she was in the process of lifting one of the last three crates, she turned her head to look back from her bent-over position to see Gary, Mary, and Walter staring right at her from across the alley. Frozen in place, with her backside facing directly at them, she felt more awkward than she cared to realize. Did they see her juggling those crates just a second ago?

"Uh…Genevieve?" Walter said. "A-Are you alright?"

Letting go of the crate, she turned to face them and did her best to hide her humiliation. "I'm…I'm fine. H-How are you all?"

"We're just getting back from a little sightseeing." Mary said; her surprise still evident in her demeanor. "Do you need anything? You barely look exhausted from all this heavy-lifting."

"Yeah, a job like this normally has two people doing it," Gary indicated, "but you're doing it all by yourself?"

"In the sweltering heat?" Walter added.

Genevieve gave a chuckle, waving off their concern. "You're all so sweet, but I'm fine. It's no sweat." She made that last statement sound more literal from the lack of actual perspiration from her clothes and body.

"Well, I still wouldn't want you to finish alone." Gary said as he approached one of the crates. "Let me help you ou—" He made an attempt to lift the crate but barely managed to get it to budge. He gave one more effort, gathering all the might his six-foot, four-inch body had in it, and…

CRACK!

Gary's body stiffened in its hunched-over posture as the sound that was as clear as a bell resounded from his back, which strained the instant he made his attempt in lifting the crate.

"Oh, no." Walter muttered. "G-Gary? You O.K.?"

All that came out of Gary's trembling mouth were whimpers.

"Oh, my." Mary said, greatly concerned. "Walter, help me get him inside."

As he did so, Walter looked back to Genevieve and said, "This work doesn't need just two people – it needs a dozen!"

Genevieve shrugged. "Guess I'm stronger than I look." Even as she jokingly flexed her arms, Walter remained unconvinced and even a little suspicious of her. Once he, Mary, and the injured Gary were out of sight, she finished dumping the rest of the crates and returned inside.

She entered to find Beauregard still asleep in the same standing position she left him in. She shook her head, smiling, and moved along towards the stage area to see what progress Sean had made with the dress rehearsal.

To say that rehearsal was a disaster would be the understatement of the year. Due mostly to the spat between Miss Piggy and Kermit the Frog, brought on by Kermit's inability to admit that he needed her to come back for the show, the rehearsal led into a chain reaction of events that sent the whole thing spiraling into catastrophe. Gonzo had plans for an impossible stunt, many other Muppets missed their cues (with some of the bigger ones knocking over set pieces or getting stuck in them), and a few just were not getting into the rehearsal, opting instead to converse and have coffee with each other.

It all brought back memories of dread for Genevieve, watching her original struggle to maintain order over a bunch of characters who didn't know the meaning of the word. Once he realized that he was not getting anywhere, he yelled, "Take five!"

His loud, frustrated tone brought silence over the busy stage. The only one who made any further noise was Fozzie, whose "fart shoes" released their unsanitary sounds as he stepped forward and asked, "What five should we take?"

Unable to deal with Fozzie's ridiculous question (or his ridiculous shoes), Sean walked off stage right. He headed right in the direction of Genevieve; due to looking down in his despair, he accidentally bumped shoulders with her.

The bump was hardly much to be concerned about, yet something gave her a powerful jolt in reaction to the contact their bodies made. Visions flashed before her eyes of people she met and places she had been to during her time in the Marvel Universe so long ago, when she was Sheryl – her second reincarnation. In her visions, she saw Nick Fury, the Avengers, Ciciley Livingston, and Ciciley's son, Sean Livingston – Sean Thomas's counterpart – as well as the Helicarrier and its battle with the Facilier-controlled Sphere.

Genevieve was so preoccupied with the visions that she failed to recognize the concerned voice repeatedly calling her name. She felt a pair of warm hands firmly grip her shoulders and shake her out of her trance. She finally noticed the alarmed Thomas, whose face was a blur for a brief moment before it came into focus. He looked directly into her dazed blue eyes and asked, "Are you alright?"

Blinking a few times to regain awareness, she replied, "Oh, yeah…I'm fine. Sorry. Just a bit off today, I guess." She reminded herself of the earlier scene she witnessed and followed up with a question of her own: "Are you alright? I saw all the insanity that went on that stage."

Hearing this, he deeply inhaled and exhaled. "I don't think I'll be able to save the theater. But I want to keep hope alive for everyone…especially Walter. I see so much of myself in that little fella. He's a true Muppet fan, like I was before I worked with them."

Genevieve smiled at him. "Sit down."

"Why?"

"Just sit."

He did as she requested and sat on a stool near Kermit's old desk. She stood right behind him and placed her delicate hands tightly upon his shoulders, which she was surprised to see how broad they were – her hands looking slightly small while they were pressing down on them. He felt extremely tense, more than Genevieve remembered when she used to be him. Her massage seemed to have made him more relaxed from the way he moaned with satisfaction.

"Tomorrow's my birthday," he randomly told her.

Genevieve was caught off guard by this, shocked that she failed to even remember the day. I've lived for so long as many different people that I've forgotten the date of my original birth, she mentally reflected.

"Oh. That's cool." She remarked, feigning nonchalance. "Asked for anything nice?"

Sean chuckled, taking her question as a joke. "No one here has the time or money to get me anything…not with all that's been happening between Richman and the telethon." He added with a flare of grimness, "The only birthday surprise I'll be getting is Richman laughing in my face."

"But Richman never laughs."

"That would be the surprise."

The two laughed just as they heard the stage door open and turned to see an incredibly exhausted Victoria enter, carrying every single one of the bags from Christina's "shopping spree" – half of them containing food she ordered.

Both Christina herself and the scent of barbeque followed Victoria in; she held only a Styrofoam tray of BBQ chicken, ribs, and coleslaw.

Watching the winded Victoria nearly on the verge of collapse, Sean went right to scolding his pregnant wife: "Christina! You know better than that!"

"What?" She reacted with a mouthful of ribs.

"You got some strength to help this poor girl with all your stuff." Sean said, taking some of the bags away from Victoria.

Swallowing the bits of ribs in her mouth, Christina fired back, "I'm hungry and I'm having a baby – sorry." She went on to give the exhausted Victoria another order while taking another bite of the ribs: "Put all the baby stuff in the car outside but leave all the food in here, m'kay?"

"Yes, ma'am." Victoria wheezily acknowledged.

Sean shook his head in annoyance. "Victoria, don't worry about that. You just take a load off – literally."

She gave him a weak but grateful smile, plopping herself right onto the stool he sat in earlier. "Thank you, sir."

"And as for you," he pointed to his wife, "we need to have a word."

"Can I bring the chicken fingers with me?" Christina asked.

"Now!" He beckoned through gritted teeth, showing her how serious he was.

Following her husband's demands, Christina departed from the backstage area with her tray of barbeque. Once she was alone with Genevieve, Victoria exhaustedly dropped the shopping bags to the floor with a collective clump. "That woman…has royally…kicked my butt…today," she uttered between breaths.

Genevieve gave an understanding nod. "Yeah, she's somethin' else. Sorry you had to take the brunt of her attitude."

Victoria casually waved it off while removing her slippers and rubbing her sore feet. "Oh, it's quite alright. As long as that little one is sitting comfortably in her tummy, I'm willing to take whatever madness she sends my way."

Genevieve nodded. "I swear that I'm going to make things right here in the past for them. But first I have to make things right elsewhere."

Victoria reacted in confusion and wonder to this sudden declaration of hers.

"Where is it that you're going?"

"I realized where Dawn will be next. It's somewhere I've been before…when I was someone else. And I'm going back as someone else again." She then added with a skeptical smirk, "I just hope skintight leather will agree with me."