"Wow, this is really cool stuff," Terra remarked, running her hand over the wintergreen fabric.

[color=DarkGreen]"Careful!"[/color] Maddy yelped as her friend tried to lift the material from the knapsack. [color=DarkGreen]"It's a prototype, and a secret one at that!"[/color] Terra raised an eyebrow, skeptical that the small crowd at Pop's Malt Shop would care much about seeing something like this, but decided to acquiesce.

"So, the stuff changes size with you?" Terra said quietly, picking at a few of the french fries left on her plate as Maddy finished off the rest of her shake.

[color=DarkGreen]"Yeah, it was meant to respond to energy input. Complete accident that it turned out the way it did, really,"[/color] Maddy explained. [color=DarkGreen]"I tried it on bits of it, not the whole suit yet. I wanted to tweak the coloring so I didn't look like an Overwatch cosplayer."[/color]

"Watch as the next hero has the same color outfit," Terra said with a smirk. Maddy laughed and was about to snark back when a motorcycle turned the corner and ripped past the malt shop with a roar. Her heart leaping into her throat at the noise, Maddy instinctively jumped under the table, causing the silverware to rattle loudly as she slammed into the edge on the way down.

"Maddy?" Terra called out. "Maddy, what's wrong?"

Her head clearing a second later, Maddy timidly climbed back into her seat, the color previously drained from her face coming back in full force. Cheeks burning with humiliation, Maddy mumbled an apology as she halfheartedly poked at a few spare fries.

"Uh...what was that about?"

[color=DarkGreen]"Nothing, forget about it,"[/color] Maddy deflected, trying not to look Terra in the eyes.

"Maddy, come on..."

[color=DarkGreen]"I'm fine really, just drop it."[/color]

"Mad-"

[color=DarkGreen]"I SAID DROP IT!" [/color]

The malt shop went dead silent as every eye turned on the pair of them, Maddy fuming silently while Terra sat there staring at her. Undeterred, Maddy roughly tore herself out of the booth, swiping up her jacket with enough force to knock over her malt glass as she got to her feet. "Thanks for lunch," Maddy said in a clipped tone of voice. "I'll see you later." Spinning on her heel, Maddy strode out of the malt shop intent on running home and burying herself in a blanket for the next year or so.

"Maddy, wait!" Terra shouted as she ran up behind her, clutching the stitch in her side.

[color=DarkGreen]"Leave me alone,"[/color] Maddy sniped, deliberately staring at the sidewalk to avoid eye contact.

"Not until you tell me what's going on!" Terra sniped back, sounding angry for the first time.

[color=DarkGreen]"Nothing is going on."[/color]

"Bullcrap, Maddy. You dived under the table in a panic!"

[color=DarkGreen]"So what?"[/color] Maddy barked, spinning around to glare at her, Terra looking equally upset.

"So why are you acting like someone's going to start shooting?!?"

Maddy didn't know it happened until it was over. She felt her clenched fist fly out in anger, heard a yelp of shock and pain, and the next thing she knew Terra was on the ground clutching at her nose, her glasses lying a few feet away on the pavement.

[color=DarkGreen]"Oh God...I didn't..."[/color]

Before Terra could react at all, Maddy was gone, bolting down the street at breakneck speed. Running purely on adrenaline, she turned street corners at random until she was sure no one could follow her and made her way to the nearest doorway. Slamming it behind her with the last bit of effort she could muster, Maddy collapsed into a pile at the corner of the room, crying her eyes out. Maddy felt like a walking disaster, reliving every humiliating failing she had over the last few days, even going so far as to imagine the betrayal Terra must have felt for what she did. Sobbing hard into her hands, Maddy felt like a failure. A useless, pathetic failure, who couldn't do anything without getting reduced to a quivering, crying mess. 

Crying so loud, in fact, that she didn't hear the approaching footsteps and the door opening. Maddy heard the creak when the door stopped and looked up sharply. The man, gaudily dressed in leather, spikes, and long, shaggy neon hair, looked as surprised to see her as she did, and started reaching for something on his waist.

"Now don't move sugar, just come quietly and we-"

[i]*WHAM*[/i]

The man didn't have time to react as Maddy suddenly tripled in size and kicked at the man from her position, slamming him into the wall with her foot and letting off a resonating boom like a bass drum. Returning to normal size just as quickly, she watched with baited breath as the man fell to his knees and finally pitched forward and fell to the ground, unconscious. Quickly getting to her feet, trying to hold the remains of her clothes to her chest, a chill ran up her neck as she heard more voices coming. She glanced towards her bag, the green suit visible within.

Seconds later, two other men looking like they belonged in a Warrant tribute band burst into the room brandishing weapons, quickly finding their third unconscious on the floor.

"Dude, what happened to Rick?" 

"Dunno, man. Think someone got in here?" One of the guards glanced across the backroom barely noticing the shreds of what were once clothes piled with the trash in a corner as the other tended to their friend.

"I don't see no one man," the guard concluded. "Idiot probably tripped on something."

"But what about that huge bang, bro?"

"Slammed his face into the wall, obviously!" the guard concluded. "You know what Rick gets into on his off hours." 

"Oh yeah, right," the other guard said, a nostalgic look crossing his face. "Yeah, I remember now, we were at that concert with Rick and he jumped on stage and dropped his-"

"Man quit fucking around, Sarge wants us up front for when that pansy ass greaser shows up," the guard interrupted. "Bring Rick with you and lets go."

The second guard obediently picked up his friend and started dragging his unconscious friend out of the room. His companion followed slowly, pausing one more time to scan the room and letting a minuscule, humanoid figure slip through the doorway below him before he slammed it shut.