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Maddy's collar itched like crazy. Considering she designed it specifically so it would not itch, it had to be the nerves getting to her again. Why did it only take fifteen minutes into the first day to feel like something was dreadfully wrong?

Standing off to the side by herself, the lobby of the SPARK center was otherwise packed, flooded with at least a couple dozen young heroes in flashy new costumes milling about and showing off their superpowers. Gouts of flame and bursts of energy went off like firecrackers at random intervals, and quite a few heads bobbed up and down as their owners demonstrated flight powers. Maddy winced as a loud thud echoed across the area and someone dressed like a ninja pirate slammed into a far wall.

"Hey, calm the fuck down!" came a sharp Irish-inflected voice from the front area. "We need Team Leaders up front, A Group!"

That was her, Maddy thought. Pushing up through the crowd, she came to the front desk, where a handful of security guards in brand new outfits flanked a frazzled looking redhead violently sorting through some files.

[color=DarkGreen]"Wait a moment,"[/color] Maddy said, feeling around in her pockets. [color=DarkGreen]"I have my-"[/color]

"I know it's you Caliber, you're local," the redheaded guard said. "Head on back, first door on the right past the entrance."

[color=DarkGreen]"Th-thanks..."[/color]

Maddy quietly made her way towards the door in question, glad that no one seemed to have noticed her just yet. Shouldering open the double doors separating the tumultuous lobby from the main halls, she found that the door in question she was due for was already open.

"Well well, if it isn't Caliber."

Maddy flinched as something large dropped from the ceiling right in front of her, with a barely visible outline. It reminded her briefly of the Predator before a pair of yellow slit eyes suddenly appeared in front of her.

[color=DarkGreen]"Eep!"[/color]

"Oh...did I scare you?" The intruder's voice was harsh and rough, but distinctly feminine all the same, and as she came into view and Maddy got a good look at her, it was a suitable fit. What was a mysterious cloaked figure turned out to be a large, reptilian girl, with pale green skin and a punk hairdo. Her heavy tale swished back and forth as the lizard girl approached, standing a few inches taller and flashing her sharp, glistening white fangs.

[color=DarkGreen]"You just...surprised me,"[/color] Maddy defended herself, trying to take a step back. The lizard girl made a harsh sound that might have been a chuckle on a second listen.

"Gotta stay on your toes if you're gonna order people into a scuffle," the lizard girl retorted sharply. "Fame can't get you everywhere."

[color=DarkGreen]"What are you talking about?"[/color]

"I mean..." the lizard girl continued, coming threateningly close to her. "If you keep coasting on your brand, people are gonna get hurt."

[color=DarkGreen]"What brand? What on-"[/color] Maddy gasped as the lizard girl clamped a hand around her wrist, her talons coming close to scratching open her skin.

"I'll go as slowly as possible," the lizard girl leaned in within inches of Maddy's ear, animosity practically radiating off of every threatening, drawn-out word. "You're not posing for pictures and getting autographs like the squid bitch, princess. So you'd better straighten up, before someone else straightens you out."

[color=DarkGreen]"G-get off of-!"[/color]

"Hey, wh-what's going on here?"

The lizard girl hissed and immediately backed off. Before Maddy could react, the threatening reptile had vanished and stalked away, leaving her more then a little unnerved. Was it a test, some weird measurement of how she handled being under pressure? If it was, she REALLY didn't want to know her grade there. Good thing there was someone else to scare her off.

"Miss, are you okay? You, uh, look kinda scared..."

[color=DarkGreen]"N-no, I'm fine,"[/color] Maddy said dismissively, fighting to regain her composure as she turned to face her savior. [color=DarkGreen]"Just dealing with a crazy rep-"[/color]

Maddy caught herself as she found herself thanking a rather familiar face; another reptile lady, only this one was short and stocky, dressed in a lab coat and round glasses, a clipboard clenched in her claws.

"A crazy what?" Dr. Alphys asked nervously. "Is there something loose from the labs again?"

[color=DarkGreen]"No, nothing like that!"[/color] Maddy waved her hands defensively. [color=DarkGreen]"I didn't mean to scare you Alphys!"[/color]

"How did you...oh, right. From the game!" Dr. Alphys tilted her head slightly. "Still getting used to a lot of strangers knowing who I am. Weird."

[color=DarkGreen]"I have the same problem, allegedly."[/color] Maddy thought back to the comments the meaner lizard said to her. [color=DarkGreen]"I take it you showed up with the Game Genie."[/color]

"Oh yes, I've been laying low since that whole thing blew over, just...searching for a few people, doing some odd jobs," Alphys recounted, a hint of sadness in her tone. "Then SPARK contacted me and asked if me and some of the other characters with science backgrounds could come and help out, and so far it's been pretty good! The food's better, lots of nice people, and it's so easy to find good anime!"

[color=DarkGreen]"I'm surprised no one else is hiring the video game characters,"[/color] Maddy mused out loud.

"Well it's not perfect, some of us are having trouble adjusting to a new set of physics and universal rules and all that," Alphys recounted. "Like, there's an alien singing show tunes who's having trouble because he keeps forgetting this world doesn't have a zero element, or something."

[color=DarkGreen]"Gilbert and Sullivan, right?"[/color]

Alphys' eyes widened in surprise. "How did you know?"

[color=DarkGreen]"Had a hunch,"[/color] Maddy shrugged.

The two nerdy girls flinched as something exploded, blowing the door that Maddy was supposed to enter open.

"Well, uh, good luck with that," Alphys waved as she backed away. "I'll be around if you need me for anything!"

What I need right now, Maddy said to herself as smoke poured from the room...is an adult.