EXT. WARNER BROS. BACKLOT — "FOREST" SET — DAY
The three of them—BUGS, DAFFY, ELMER—stand frozen, staring up.
The sky is normal again.
Which somehow makes the incoming problem worse.
A tiny speck grows larger.
It's spinning.
It's sparkling.
It's laughing like the laws of physics just told a joke.
DAFFY
(voice cracking)
…That is not a prop.
ELMER
(raising shotgun, still charred)
If it's a wabbit—
BUGS
(low, thoughtful)
It ain't.
The speck becomes a person.
A very bright, very rubbery person with white hair and a grin too big for the face it's attached to.
LUFFY (GEAR 5) swings into the set from the sky like Tarzan—except there are no vines.
His arms stretch and snap around invisible anchors: the air itself.
SFX:TWANG!
SFX:BOIOIOING!
SFX:SPROING!
He zips between cardboard trees, ricochets off a painted shadow, and bounces off the fake boulder labeled "ROCK A" like it's a trampoline.
The boulder squeaks.
ROCK A
(quietly, like it's embarrassed)
…Eek.
Daffy watches Luffy fly past in a blur and instantly fills in the only explanation his brain can tolerate.
DAFFY
(shouting at Bugs)
THIS IS A STUNT DUCK THING! YOU HIRED A NEW GUY!
YOU GOT A REPLACEMENT! YOU'RE TRYING TO PHASE ME OUT!
BUGS
Not everything's about you, doc.
DAFFY
EVERYTHING IS ABOUT ME! I AM THE VICTIM OF ALL REALITIES!
Luffy swings back through, this time at head level. He's laughing so hard his cheeks wobble. His eyes are shining with that childlike "I found a new toy" energy.
He slows midair—hangs there a beat, defying gravity like gravity is taking a smoke break.
Then he sees Bugs.
His whole face lights up.
LUFFY
(pointing, delighted)
BUNNY!!
Bugs' ears twitch at the word.
Not offended, exactly—more like a man hearing someone say his legal name in a crowded room.
BUGS
(eye twitch)
That's "Doctor Bunny" to strangers.
Luffy blinks, considering that with deep sincerity.
LUFFY
Doctor Bunny!
He laughs again like it's the funniest honorific in the universe.
A sound-effect bubble pops into existence beside his head.
SFX BUBBLE:"HYUK!"
It bounces off Daffy's face like a ping-pong ball.
DAFFY
OW! THE LAUGH IS WEAPONIZED!
Bugs steps forward, rolling up the "sleeves" of his fur with calm menace.
He plants his feet on the fake forest floor like he's about to do a dance number or a felony.
BUGS
Listen here, buster.
There's only one goofball king around these parts.
Luffy gasps like someone challenged him to a game.
LUFFY
Goofball king?!
He snaps his fingers.
A tiny crown pops onto his head.
SFX:PLING!
Bugs' eyes narrow.
He snaps his own fingers.
The crown on Luffy's head instantly changes into a bigger crown.
Then an even bigger crown.
Then a crown so huge it tips Luffy over like a loading error.
SFX:BONK!
Luffy hits the ground.
Instead of pain, he bounces like a rubber ball and springs back upright, laughing.
LUFFY
This is great!!
Daffy points between them like a sports commentator in a hostage situation.
DAFFY
HE SAID IT'S GREAT! HE WANTS THE LEAD ROLE!
HE WANTS MY SPOT!
BUGS
You don't have a spot. You have a… gravitational curse.
Elmer squints at Luffy, trying to decide if he should shoot him or file paperwork.
He shoulders his shotgun.
ELMER
I'm gonna shoot him.
Bugs holds up a single finger without looking back.
BUGS
Wait. Watch.
Luffy is already moving again. He winds up his arm in a goofy loop—his shoulder spinning like a cartoon crankshaft.
LUFFY
Gomu gomu—!
A giant, exaggerated fist inflates at the end of his stretching arm like a balloon.
It's not menacing. It's… playful. Like a kid making a big foam hand.
He swings the fist toward Bugs.
Bugs doesn't flinch.
He reaches out and catches the fist.
Not the hand—he catches the sound effect that appears beside it.
SFX BUBBLE:"POW!"
Bugs plucks "POW!" out of the air like it's a manhole cover and holds it up as a shield.
Luffy's inflated fist slams into the "POW!" shield.
SFX:PANG!
The word POW visibly dents.
Luffy's eyes go huge.
LUFFY
(starstruck)
YOU CAN GRAB THOSE?!
BUGS
I can grab whatever the budget allows, doc.
Daffy tries to copy the move immediately—reaching out for a floating "POW!" that isn't there.
He grabs nothing.
The universe punishes him for trying.
A "POW!" bubble appears anyway.
It hits Daffy in the back of the head.
SFX BUBBLE:"POW!"
DAFFY
(face-first into dirt)
WHY DOES REALITY HATE ME?!
Luffy laughs so hard he briefly becomes a scribble of himself—like the animator got excited.
LUFFY
I wanna do it too!
He reaches out and grabs a different sound effect bubble—one that appears for no reason.
SFX BUBBLE:"BOING!"
He holds it like a ball, squeezes it, and it squeaks like a dog toy.
SFX:boiNG! boiNG!
Then he hurls it at Bugs.
Bugs casually ducks.
The "BOING!" ball hits Daffy instead.
Daffy compresses into an accordion.
SFX:WHEE-OOH-WHEE-OOH
Daffy's beak extends like a trombone slide.
DAFFY
(muffled, furious)
I'M IN THE CROSSFIRE OF ARTISTIC GENIUS!
Bugs steps sideways, eyes locked on Luffy. He's smiling, but it's the smile of a man reading a contract clause in real-time.
BUGS
(soft, to himself)
…He ain't aggressive.
Luffy is bouncing in place now, vibrating with joy. The cardboard trees wobble from the air pressure of his laughter.
He points at everything like it's new.
LUFFY
This forest is funny!
That rock is funny!
That duck is REALLY funny!
Daffy, still accordion-shaped, raises a shaky finger.
DAFFY
Stop calling me funny! I have DEPTH!
Elmer finally commits to action.
He fires.
KABOOM!
The blast hits Luffy dead center.
Luffy's body bulges inward like he got hit by a giant thumb.
Then—without warning—he pops back out like a squeaky toy and the shot ricochets around the set in a perfect pinball pattern.
SFX:PING! PING! PING!
The pellets bounce off the fake boulder, the cardboard trees, the "NO TOON PHYSICS" sign, and—
—into Daffy.
Daffy instantly becomes a smoking silhouette with his bill facing backward.
DAFFY
(voice echoing, ruined)
I hate… teamwork…
Bugs shoots Elmer a look.
BUGS
Easy, Elmah. We're tryin' to keep the set in one piece.
Elmer lowers the gun, muttering.
ELMER
I don't like it when new things happen.
Luffy claps like he just watched a magic trick.
LUFFY
That was AWESOME! Do it again!
Bugs takes one slow step toward Luffy.
Luffy's grin widens—like this is the exact moment he's been waiting for.
BUGS
Alright, buster.
If you wanna play—
we play by my rules.
Bugs gestures with two fingers.
The painted forest backdrop behind them shifts slightly, like a theater curtain settling.
The edges of the set become more visible.
The world feels… thinner.
Luffy tilts his head, curious.
LUFFY
What rules?
Bugs smiles.
And for a beat—just a beat—you can feel it:
Two titans of nonsense, standing at the edge of their own genres, about to see who can make the universe blink first.
CUT TO: deeper into the woods as Bugs and Daffy start moving—Bugs leading, Daffy stumbling, Luffy swinging after them like a delighted meteor.