Maddy's Lesson

This is another size-changing story I decided to write, starring Maddy Murphy and introducing some important characters/concepts. If you're not into the size-change concept, feel free to skip this, but it has good development for Maddy.

Downtown Quahog

Chaos was taking place in Quahog one afternoon. "Faster, troops, don't let 'im get away!" Francis Drilovsky, Numbuh 686, yelled as he and his battalion of decommissioners sped after a runaway teenager, all wearing jetpacks. In the modern KND, operatives were no longer decommissioned simply for turning 13, but as it so happens, this newly-turned teenager decided to make off with top secret files. His treachery would earn him a memory-wiping. The teenager hurled M.A.R.B.L.E.s behind him and did his best to take down the pursuing operatives. Francis was able to dodge them okay, but his troops were having a rough time.

After making several turns around buildings, the teenager took cover in an alleyway and slipped behind a dumpster, watching as the troops zipped by without bothering to look. The teen took a moment to catch his breath, glancing up to see a Teen Ninja bike ship hovering overhead, with several ninjas standing in the open hatch. "Come on, before they come back!" an African-American ninja yelled, her face concealed behind her mask.

The teen smirked and was about to fly up, but a pair of eyes peeped out from inside a trash can. "YAAAAH!" Zach Murphy hopped out and grabbed the teenager from behind. The teen's jetpack zoomed out of control, but Zach was able to rip it off as they fell to the ground. "Hah! And Maddy said the trash can was so overused! All yours, Sis!"

"WHOOA!" the teens aboard the ship yelled as M.A.R.B.L.E.s suddenly hit their engine, forcing them to fly away. When the renegade teen recovered, he watched as Maddy Murphy landed firmly on the ground.

"Oh, crud." The teen kicked Zach off and attempted to make a run for it. Maddy ran at the teen and tackled him, but he was able to shake her off. He ran and tried to punch the Murphy girl, but she dodged his blows and kicked his shin, then uppercutted his chin to knock him back. Before he could get up, Maddy ran, kicked the teen on his front, and grabbed his wrists as she quickly tied them in rope.

Zach went to stand by his sister as she stood victoriously over the teen, taking in the cheers of her fellow troops.

KND Moonbase

The teen was immediately taken to the Decommissioning Chamber, where the troops watched as the plunger sucked away his memory. "Sigh, it's sad when operatives get like this." Francis sighed. He smiled at Maddy and said, "Another job well done, Numbuh 58x59." Maddy kept her proud smile. "If not for you, who knows what these traitors would do."

"Always happy to help." Maddy stated as she and Zach left. "Now if you'll excuse me, it's time for our well-earned candy and soda."

"Ehh, that guy wasn't that tough." Zach said as they pulled off their helmets. "I bet the janitor coulda taken him."

"Well, they aren't joining the Teen Ninjas for nothin'." Maddy said as they pulled off their uniforms (their normal clothes were underneath). "Hey, can you drop this in the closet for me?" she asked, handing Zach her uniform. "I'll go grab us the drinks."

Maddy got to the kitchen and grabbed two sodas. "Back already?" Maddy turned to find Chris Uno behind her, giving his friendly smile.

Maddy shut the door and replied, "You're not burning my butt, are you?"

Chris grinned, "Nah, I'll remember to do it next time. You really like your job, don't you?"

"Well, I am the best." Maddy stated proudly, popping her soda open. "And you know it."

"I won't deny that. Still, a lot of operatives would normally hate your job. Traitors or not, the idea of wiping memories is…"

"Yeah, yeah, but who cares? If someone doesn't capture these teens, you know they'll go traitor. That's why we have decommissioning."

"But doesn't it add insult to injury if you… you know, act like that? People will think you LIKE taking away everything they ever believed in."

"Of course I don't like it! It's just… you know, it's just the same as capturing villains. And when we do THAT, it's always fun! So… why not have fun with this?"

Chris chuckled. "Fighting villains is fun. Just be careful what you say, Mad. Don't want anyone getting the wrong idea."

"Eh, if something happens, I'm sure I can help myself."

"Still, why do you think the Teen Ninjas are still active? We stopped the overage decommissioning 20 years ago. They should've been gone with the Brotherhood."

"Well, the Brotherhood was unfrozen."

"The Teens weren't, but they disbanded. Why do you think they started a new faction? Holding onto old traditions?"

"If they wanna cling to the past, then we just have to do our end and stop them. Still… can't say I'm much different." She cast a narrow look at the firebender. "Later, Chrissie." She walked off with the sodas.

As she was leaving, Chris shot a little fireball at her bottom. "AAHH!" she turned and glared angrily at him.

"Hahaha!" he snickered softly.

Northern Icecaps, teen hangout

The Teen ship landed outside of an ordinary Wal-Mart in the middle of the snowfields (place must not be good for business), and the Teens stepped off and sat on the parking bumps, allowing them to shoot them into the secret slide that would lead to their underground hangout.

The Teen Ninjas deactivated their masks and took a moment to breathe. "Crap." The brown-skinned teen said with a frustrated look. With their helmets off, she was revealed to have long hair, tied in braids. She was Nya LaMar, the daughter of Maurice LaMar and Cree Lincoln. "Another teen lost thanks to that Maddy twerp. Maaan! ALL those chances to nab some info from the KNDorks WASTED."

"Ahh, calm down, Ny." A male teen said coolly. He had brown hair, a light-brown hat, and wore yellow goggles. He was Hoagie Gilligan III, oldest son of Hoagie and Abby Gilligan. "Why you so mad about Maddy, don't we have a problem with all of 'em?" Hoagie snickered at his little pun. "Mad at Maddy! Wonder how many of them thought of that?"

Nya rolled her eyes. "If you haven't been up to speed, Hoagie, the World Leaders consider her a special threat. I don't really know why, but they want her gone. And it's because of her we lost so many recruits! If we don't do somethin', she might have us all caught by the end of the month!"

"Why don't we ask Eldwin to lend us You-Know-Who?" a female teen asked.

"If we do something that extreme, it'll cause a lot of trouble for our superiors. Besides, I kind of wanna beat her myself. Not just defeat her, I wanna STICK IT to her. That little brat thinks she's so special, I wanna make her REGRET ever taking that job!"

"I'd sure like to cut her down to size myself."

Nya's face beamed, having gotten an idea. "Heeey, that's it! We'll shrink Maddy down!"

"What? How?"

"Don't you think the World Government would have a shrink ray or two, Tracy? I'm sure Eldwin could get one for us."

"Heh, if you wanna try. But, um, we're not gonna hurt her too badly, right?" Hoagie asked, half-curious and half-worried.

"Something wrong, Hoagie?" Tracy cocked a brow.

"I know the KND are our enemies, but like… I don't really wanna hurt any of them too badly."

"I guess so. But even if we get a shrink ray, it's not like we can just waltz up to Maddy, force her in a trash bag and bring her over. She's our main problem for a reason."

"Just leave that to me." The Teens looked over at a ninja that was hidden in the shadows.

Nya smiled. "Oh, there you are! We can trust you to take care of Maddy. Right, Shade?"

The mysterious ninja, Shade, stared at them with glowing, purple eyes through her strange armor, curved horns in the back of the head. "Of course. She'll be much too blinded by her pride to see me."

Murphy Household

"HA! Hwuh!" Maddy was in the backyard of her house, excitedly punching the air. The sun was setting over Quahog, but Maddy didn't seem the least bit tired.

Zach came out through the back door and called, "Yo, Mad, Mom wants you to come in soon, it's almost dinner."

"I will, Zach." Maddy panted, performing some dodge-rolls. "Just as soon as I take out this teen. Ha! Take THAT! You aren't stealing any info TODAY, pizza-face!"

Zach shook his head in disbelief. "Geez, and I thought I was crazy. Well, time to go feed my anteater-unicorn." He went inside.

"HA! YAH! Eeeeee-YAH!!" Maddy concluded her pretend-battle by punching the ground, then stood up to catch her breath. "Pretend-battles are almost better than regular battles! Almost. Huh?" She turned when she heard a rustling in the bushes.

The Murphy carefully stepped closer, squinting her eyes for a better look at the bush. Another rustle was heard, and Maddy stepped a bit closer. Suddenly, a shadowed being shot out at her. "AHH—mmph!" the ninja tackled her, cupping her mouth shut. The ninja forced its hands over her mouth and nose long enough until she lost consciousness. She slipped Maddy into a sack and performed several long, high leaps across the rooftops, disappearing in the night.

Teens' Hangout

The ninja dumped Maddy out of the sack as she gasped for breath. "Ladies and gentleteens, our guest of honor!" Nya exclaimed as Maddy looked up. "We don't bring many brats here, Mad. You should feel lucky! Too bad THIS is where we finally take you down!"

Maddy smirked. "So, you guys wanted a little more of me? I still got energy to spare, so I'll make it count! AYYYAH!" Maddy flipped up and kicked the two teens on her sides away. The others ran at her, but Maddy threw punches and kicks any way they came.

Nya nodded at Hoagie, who nodded back as he walked off.

Maddy began jumping around and kicking off all the teens' faces. A good number of teens were knocked out now as Maddy landed on her feet, looking fierce to fight. "Oh yeah! Who's next? I'll be glad to drag ALL of you to your decommissioning!"

"Then you better have Hercules strength, 'cause you'll need it after what WE'RE doin'. FIRE IT UP, Hoagie!"

Maddy looked up as a strange ray gun hovered overhead, charging a green beam. The beam launched and Maddy felt herself surrounded in green. The green blinded her version, so she couldn't see what was happening, but she felt really weird. The teens however smirked, watching as Maddy's height grew smaller and smaller.

Finally, the green vanished, and Maddy shook her head to regain her vision. She was a little confused what the ray did. But when she looked around, it seemed like the area grew a lot bigger. The ceiling was as high as the sky, and all of the fallen Teen Ninjas were getting back on their feet… except they looked hundreds of feet tall. She looked around and saw all of the Teen Ninjas were now gigantic, and smirking down at her.

"!!!" Maddy's eyes widened. The pride and confidence she felt moments ago was all gone. It was replaced with horror… and fear. As all the Teen Ninjas got back up and towered over her, she soon realized she stood only 1.68 inches tall, the size of a golfball.

Nya stepped forward, her feet making quakes at Maddy's height, as she smiled cockily. "Now, how many of us were you dragging?"

"Nnn!" Maddy immediately made a dash for the exit. She ran as fast as her tiny feet would run. She's never felt more determined to run away from anything. She didn't stop or look back for even a second, she just ran. But from the Teen Ninjas' view, she didn't get very far.

Maddy's running came to a halt when Tracy dashed over and snatched her in her hand. Tracy clutched her tight like a little doll as Maddy desperately tried to shake away. "Aww, wook at wittle Maddyyyy." Tracy cooed. "Not so big and tough now, huh?"

"Awww, dude I can't believe we got 'er!" the male ninja said excitedly. "After all this time! She's ours!"

"Yeah, I know! What should we do with her?" another female asked.

"We could lock her in a freezer until she… you know, freezes."

"OR we could bake her in a cake!" a female said.

Maddy decided to stop shaking, knowing it was pointless. But every word they said made her shiver with fear. Maddy looked around at all the giant, merciless Teen Ninjas, never feeling more scared in her life. She was so small and helpless now. She felt so weak in Tracy's tight hand. These ninjas could do whatever they wanted with her, and she could never defend herself. She was as helpless as a doll to their will.

"Why don't we just hold her for ransom and lead the others into a trap?" Tracy asked. "Then we can shrink them all!"

"Eh, those plans never work." Nya said. "I just wanna dispose of her quick."

Hoagie looked worried by this. "Um, but I thought we were gonna torture her or something?"

"Yeah, we can do THIS stuff with her!" the male exclaimed as he took Maddy, held her upside-down by the legs, and began to pull on them as if she were doing the splits.

"AAAAAHHH!!!" she felt immense pain as the teen bent her legs, praying that he would stop.

"Or THIS!" a girl said as she took Maddy and cupped her hand over her entire face. Maddy was desperately trying to shake away and breathe, but her hand was much too massive to be budged.

"Aw, STOP IT, you guys!" Nya yelled, taking the doll-size girl. "We aren't dungeon masters. We already tortured her by taking away her pride. And this way, she'll be easier to get rid of without making a big mess."

"So, what'll we do?" the male asked. "Stomp on her?"

"Not THAT big a mess. But since she's a special case, we'll use the BEST method we can of taking her out. Now, Little Maddy… how 'bout you tell us your biggest fear and we'll get this over with nice and easy?"

"No way!" Maddy yelled, trying to shake away again.

"Oh, don't worry. We know how to make you squeal." Nya walked over to the fridge and pulled out a glass of water. She set it on the TV, and held Maddy upside-down above it. "You must be thirsty after all your gloating, so how about a little drink? And the more you refuse to talk, the more you'll HAVE. Enjoy!"

"AHH! NOT WATER, ANYTHING BUT WATER- mmmm-mmmggg!" she was forced into the glass, struggling to shake away as she was held under the liquid.

"Wait a second." Nya pulled her out. Maddy immediately gasped for breath. "So, you hate water?"

"Maybe she can't swim." Tracy said. "Like one of those fruit users."

"Oh, this is perfect!" Maddy was shivering more at Nya's devious smirk. "If she had trouble swimming BEFORE… let's go, Hoags!" Nya and the other ninjas hurried for the ship, eager to finally be done with her.

Hoagie stayed behind for a bit and pulled out a watch, beginning to type something in.

Somewhere over the ocean

The Teens' ship was flying high over the ocean as Nya stood on the edge of the hatch, Maddy squirming in her hand. "This is for ALL the operatives that couldn't join our ranks 'cause of you! Say hello to Davy Jones for me! …Oh, and when you do, ask him if I might have any magic powers, mah uncle was Ursula's grandson. See ya, Mad!"

"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhh!!" Maddy was sent hurling to the ocean, making only a tiny splash upon her landing.

Maddy resurfaced above the water, but was struggling to swim against the waves. The waters were actually calm right now, but at her size the waves were huge, and her arms were too tiny to fight them. She breathed more heavily, panicking more and more. The ocean was just too strong, and it would soon claim her soul.

Soon, Maddy was sunk below the surface, and it became even harder to swim. The water quickly slipped into her tiny mouth, and everything began to fade to darkness. As Maddy's vision totally faded to black, a giant figure swam down and took her in its giant hands.

Later…

"Cough! Hu-uck. Huack!" Maddy sat on all fours as she did her best to cough the water out of her throat. Her tiny body had just ingested gallons of salt water, and the water was a lot more thick at her small size. She doesn't know where she ended up. She probably washed up along a shore or something. Either way, she doesn't know how she survived. But as Maddy regained her vision, her breath returning, she found herself on a strange, fleshy surface. This surface turned out to be two, very large hands. She looked to her right to find what seemed like a giant, soft blue sweatshirt, and as her eyes directed upwards, she finally found the massive, concerned face of Christopher Uno.

Maddy caught her breath before finally speaking. "Chris…"

"Are you okay?" Chris asked, lightly rubbing her disheveled hair. His voice was magnified at her height, so he tried to speak lowly. "I got a message that said you were in trouble."

Maddy sat on her rear and replied, "From who?"

"Beats me. But everyone else was either gone or asleep, and I was the only one who got it. I swiped my bro's R.O.A.D.S.T.A.R. and came as quick as I could."

Maddy held her chest and tried to catch more breath. She could still hear the gentle sea waves outside, the starry night sky looming overhead. Chris was indeed seated in Cheren's R.O.A.D.S.T.A.R., and it was floating in the middle of the ocean.

"You're still pretty wet." Chris said. "Let me warm you up." While Maddy sat in his left hand, Chris conjured a flame in his right hand and held it beside her. "Here."

Maddy's eyes widened at the sight of the massive flame, having spawned out of nowhere like that. "AAAAAHH!!" Maddy got to her feet and immediately jumped off Chris's hand, getting to the car's floor where his feet rested. "D-DON'T BURN ME!!" she yelled, cowering behind his brown shoe.

Chris dispersed the flame and moved his foot to look at her. "Maddy, why would you think I would burn you? We're friends, aren't we?"

"I HATE BENDERS!"

"Sheesh, Mad, I thought you'd know me better than that." Chris stated, sounding a little offended. Chris calmly reached down and took Maddy in both his hands, and the girl shuddered with fear as he lifted her to his face. "Maddy, I'm not gonna hurt you." He spoke more sympathetically. "I want to help you."

Tears began to water in her eyes as she stared at him. She started to sob suddenly, burying her tiny face into the side of Chris's huge hand. "I-I'm sorry, Chris!" she cried. "I-It was just… so scary!" a sniffle. "Those teens were BIG and…and HUGE and… I-I felt so helpless!!" she couldn't stop crying.

"Maddy, don't worry. You're safe now."

"Doesn't matter! What am I gonna do, Chris?? How can I fight when I'm like THIS?!"

"Maddy, it's okay-"

"I CAN'T be in the decommissioning team, I could be STEPPED on by anything… the only use I'll have for the KND now is to be a HAMSTER! I'll get my butt kicked by any villain 'cause I'm only as strong as a doll!" She began to cry more, wiping her tears along Chris's hand.

Chris couldn't feel more sad for his shrunken friend. Just yesterday, Maddy was sporting her strong-willed, powerful spirit. She was one of the toughest fighters in the KND, and was always eager to kick any villain's butt. Now, she looked so different. A whole different person. She never looked so small and feeble. Even in his hand right now, she looked so helpless. If he wanted to, he could squeeze the little life out of her. No, but of course he would never do that. …He wouldn't do that. Maddy was his friend. And he was going to help her. He didn't wanna see her like this anymore. He was gonna help her, no matter what.

"Maddy." Maddy looked, tears still dripping down her face. "I'm going to help you get big again. You're not going to stay like this. I promise."

Maddy sniffled, slowly calming down. As she wiped more tears away, she had a clearer view of Chris's face. His choco-brown eyes never felt more full of honestly. More full of trust. If she was going to stay like this the rest of her life… she knew she would always be safe in Chris's hands. His hands felt so warm. More warm than drinking a hot cocoa under her blanket beside a fireplace. His hands felt like the warmest substance in the world… and she wouldn't wanna be anywhere else right now.

Quahog, close to Maddy's house

It took about an hour or so, but the speedy water-worthy racecar made it back to Maddy's neighborhood. It was a long and boring journey across the sea, and the night air made Chris feel tired, making it hard for him to keep going. But he was determined to at least take Maddy home, where she would be safe. The whole journey, Maddy was lain asleep on Chris's lap. It was no doubt this whole experience made her very exhausted.

Chris parked the R.O.A.D.S.T.A.R. in Maddy's front yard as he shook the tiny girl awake. "Hey, Maddy. We're here."

"Mm, nnn?" Maddy groggily awakened, her eyes blurry from not fully recovering from her sleep. This sleep seemed to calm her down a lot, as Maddy wasn't feeling as upset or terrified as before. She still lay on her back as Chris scooped her in his hands, carefully hopping out of the car and going to ring the doorbell.

Zach answered the door, surprised at seeing Chris on his doorstep. "Chris? What're you doing here? Did you take Maddy out for a date?!"

"Actually, she's right here." Chris lowered his hands and revealed the tiny Maddy sitting up. Zach squinted his eyes and stared closer at the doll-sized girl, and Maddy stared up at his huge, green eyes with concern.

"…Mad?"

Maddy waved at him, still looking depressed.

"Hey, Mom, Dad, Maddy's back." Zach called to his parents. "And, ya might wanna see."

Doug and Gwen Murphy came over, curious what Zach meant. They bent down and stared surprised at their shrunken daughter. "Honey?" Gwen asked.

"Bark bark!" Zach and Maddy's little puppy, Sparky ("Hers." Zach said), excitedly scampered in at hearing his master's returned home. He sat happily before Chris, panting excitedly with his tongue stuck out. Chris smiled at the puppy's antics, bending down to show him the little Maddy.

Maddy looked worried as her giant dog loomed closer, sniffing her with its large nose. She could feel the wind generated by his sniffing, and could clearly see the inside of his giant nose. "Nnnnn-nn-nn!" Maddy backed away in fright, slightly afraid of her dog from this view. "E-Easy, Sparky!"

"Hey, bad dog!" Zach yelled, lightly smacking him. "My sister's not a chew toy! Maddy, if you want, we can take him back." He half-joked.

Gwen gently took her daughter in her own hands and asked Chris, "Any idea what happened?"

"The Teen Ninjas decided to get a little payback." He answered simply. "It shouldn't be a big problem. First thing in the morning, we'll call the spacebenders at GKND to stretch her back to normal."

"No!!" Maddy yelled hatefully. "I'm not accepting those aliens' help!"

"Maddy, can't you put your prejudice aside for ONCE?" Gwen asked as she carried her inside.

"It's not like you have a choice." Chris stated, eyes furrowed at her stubbornness. "Sector V's size ray has a time limit… though, I have to wonder if this one doesn't have a time limit, too."

"Hey, if she says she doesn't want 'em, she don't need 'em." Zach stated, looking just as spiteful.

"He's right." Maddy agreed firmly. "I can't let ANY benders or aliens see me like this."

"You trusted ME, didn't you?" Chris argued.

"W-Well…" Maddy stuttered, having been caught off guard, "y-you're my friend! So, you're an exception!"

Chris rolled his eyes. "Maddy, if you JUST gave Nebula a chance, you could trust her with your problem."

"Look, we'll just get the shrink ray back from the Teens and use it to biggify me." she said simply.

Chris sighed. "All right. If that's how you want it." The Uno child released a tired yawn. "I'm a little too tired to fight about it. You mind if I stay here, Ms. Murph? My brother can live without a R.O.A.D.S.T.A.R. for one morning."

"I don't mind." Gwen responded, still sounding ashamed in Mad's hatefulness. "You can stay in Mad's room, actually. You and Sparky can watch over her."

"Hold on, why doesn't she stay in my room??" Zach asked. "I don't trust her with that fire-freak! Not to mention the four-legged monster."

"Zach, if I stay in your room, I'll be bombarded with Bo-bobo all night. Chris, to my room we go."

Chris shook his head playfully. "Sorry, Zachy." He remarked, following them.

"You're just jealous because Bo-bobo's funny and you're not!" Zach argued.

Maddy's room

Gwen calmly set her daughter onto her bed, pulling her tiny shoes off and pulling her covers over her. Gwen gave a warm smile as she planted a kiss on Maddy's little forehead. "Good night, sweetie." The mother left and shut the door, leaving Chris and Sparky to watch her.

"Yaaaaawn." Chris pulled his boots off and settled into the sleeping bag left by Maddy's mom. "Boy, tomorrow's gonna be somethin'."

"W-Wait! Um, can you sleep with me, Chris?" she asked, blushing madly at her own words. "I'm afraid of sleeping by myself like this. What if a spider comes and eats me?"

Chris laughed. "Maddy, quit acting so afraid! You'll be fine!"

"Well, what if the TEENS come back? They might go for Zach next and find me in here."

"Maddy—"

"Pleeeeaase, Chris?"

Chris could see the pleading look in her teeny, blue eyes. Even if she was far away from her height, Chris couldn't help but fall for that look. …Heck, her small size might actually make that look stronger. "Oh, all right." He complied, shaking his head. Chris got up and climbed onto Maddy's bed, doing so lightly so as not to shake her too much. He helped himself under her covers and rested his head on her pillow, then picked Maddy up and laid her on his chest, under the covers. "Happy?"

Being in a position like this, at her size, Maddy went from warm to just plain sweaty. She was blushing madly, feeling more hot by the minute. Maybe this is how firebenders actually were, she figured. Chris's hands felt so warm, and his chest, even though it was under his sweater, felt sweltering hot. She couldn't think of any other reason she felt so warm, so it must've been a common thing. …Right? Yeah, yeah, that had to be it. Why else? (Although, for some reason, her heart began to race at a rapid pace.)

Maddy tried to ease her racing heart by taking a deep breath. "Oh, Chris…" she sighed, sounding depressed. "What if I never get big? What if all the operatives think I'm too weak to fight?"

"Maddy, you need to stop worrying. You'll be fine. And you're probably just as tough at this size. But tomorrow, we'll round up the troops, and we'll have that shrink ray back in no time. Now go to sleep."

Maddy could detect all the truthfulness in Chris's magnified voice. She didn't know if it was the heat from his chest… but for some reason, she had total faith in him. And she felt totally safe with him. Maddy smiled and settled onto her spot, falling into deep sleep on Chris's chest.

The next morning…

Early that morning, Gwen Murphy was up cooking soup as Chris walked in, yawning. "Morning, Miss Murph." He said, tired.

She chuckled, "Morning, Chris. Can you take this to Maddy?" she asked, holding up the soup.

Chris took it and said jokingly, "Is this for her to eat or to bathe in?"

"Ha ha ha!" Gwen laughed. "I don't think this will get her clean!"

In Maddy's room

Maddy Murphy lay slumped on her jagged bed, left messy after Chris got up. She awoke tiredly, feeling the surface she lain on was uncomfy and unkempt. It took a moment to realize Chris had left her; she must've really been out if she couldn't feel him. It made her sad, though, not to lay on the warmth of his chest, compared to her massive, messy bed. She may not've liked benders, but she had to admit sleeping with them felt so warm at that size. …She refused to admit that it was Chris in particular that kept her warm, and said it was simply because he's a firebender.

A huge light peered onto her as her door creaked open. She squinted her tiny eyes and sat up to see Chris come in to her dark room. "Your mom made you soup." He said with a smile.

Maddy stood up and stretched her arms and back, trying to climb onto the bowl. Chris chuckled and said, "Don't worry, I'll feed it to you."

"I don't need to be fed." Maddy stated angrily.

"Do you wanna risk falling in?"

Maddy remembered the bowl might be deep at her size, and the steaming soup would fry her puny body in seconds. "Okay…"

Chris scooped a tiny amount of soup in his spoon, holding it beside Maddy. Maddy looked angry and offended. Even if it was big at her size, she hated having to eat such a tiny amount to get full. Regardless, she bent over and stuck her mouth in the soup. Immediately, her tiny tongue burned incredibly, feeling as though it caught on fire. "AAAHH!! AAAHH!!" She frantically waved her hand by her tongue.

"Wuh-oh! Hold on!" Chris quickly grabbed the girl and spit on her mouth.

His huge glob of spit cooled the burning down, but she frantically shook it off, looking disgusted. "PUT ME DOWN!" He grinned sheepishly and set her on the bed. "I'm not hungry…" With that, she slumped down on her back.

Chris lightly put the soup on the floor and knelt to her level. "Well, aside from that… feeling better today, Mad?"

"A little." Maddy released a depressed sigh. "You know, Chris… I've been thinking. Maybe this is a sign."

"A sign for what?"

"That I've been too… you know, stuck up. I've always been the gloatiest one on the team; maybe this whole shrinking thing is a sign I shouldn't be so… gloaty."

"Come on, Mad, you just had fun doing your job. Confidence like that is what keeps us fighting."

"But what if I've been OVER confident?" she asked, sitting up. "I always felt like the strongest one on the team, just because… I was… and, this is a sign telling me, I'm not as great as I think I am."

"Maddy, of course you're great. And you can't let a little revenge plan from dirty teenagers make you think otherwise. You may be smaller, but you're still as strong as you've always been."

"I wasn't even strong enough to eat a millimeter of soup. I didn't last a chance against those buhmillion-foot teens. How am I supposed to defend myself?"

"Well… you've got me." Chris smiled warmly.

"Yeah. But we can't trust you." Zach Murphy said, suddenly coming into the room. "You might burn her. Trust your bigger bro, Maddy." The brother smirked. "No teen's coming near you."

"Bark, bark!" Sparky shot awake and jumped onto Maddy's bed, excitedly licking his tiny master.

"Hehe haha!" she giggled.

"And you've got the mutt, too." Zach said smugly.

"And the rest of the Decommissioning Squad, right?" Chris asked. "The Kids Next Door's job is to stick together. As long as you have friends by your side, it doesn't matter if you're big or small."

"Yeah, like we haven't heard that enough." Maddy remarked with a smirk. "But still… you guys are really nice."

"Anything for my little sis." Zach said, playfully poking her belly.

"Heey, stop it, Zaach!!" Maddy laughed, smacking his giant finger. She got to her feet with a look of pure confidence. "Let's go and teach those teenagers a lesson!"

"There's my little sis!" Zach exclaimed.

"We're twins, you moron." Maddy stated.

"Wasn't I born first?"

"Yeah, by like seconds! I'm still not sure how I'll fight like this."

"Well, you can have some training!" Chris suggested. "We can teach you how to fight like, well, Vweeb."

"Except if THOSE two fought, Mad would swamp him." Zach remarked.

"All right, guys!" Maddy declared as she flipped off her bed and landed gracefully on her feet, "To Moonbase we go!"

KND Moonbase

They had gathered in the gym on KND Moonbase, and Francis and his soldiers had joined, too; after he was given an explanation. Francis and his soldiers surrounded the tiny operative in a wide circle, all holding weapons ready. "Are you sure this is safe?" Maddy asked.

"Well, it might not be every day when one of our operatives gets shrunkified," Francis explained, "but when they do, it's important they get the right training. Each of our, um, downsized operatives need a good feel for battle in the more expansive field. We'll blast you with harmless darts, and you have to dodge them as if they were real blasters. At your size, one shot will make you explode."

"Hold on, just HOW many operatives GET shrunk around here??" she questioned.

"Actually, it's not just the shrinking ones. A few operatives are born 3 inches tall. Like Aeincha from Sector W7, for example. Since that makes 'em disadvantaged, we gotta make sure they're ready."

"I've never seen any tiny humans who weren't shrunk."

"That's because we never look DOWN!" Zach exclaimed jokingly.

"Ready, Mad?" Francis asked, readying his dart gun.

"Can we at least play 'Be A Man'?" she questioned.

"Sure, Mad, you can be a man!" Zach joked, and he snickered at her tiny glare.

"Someone else already used that, so we're playing the theme from Rocky. Ready arms, troops!" the room was filled with the simultaneous sound of gun-cocks. "Aim…" each troop focused on their inch-tall target. "Fire!" (Cue the workout song from Rocky. :P)

A storm of tiny, suction-cup darts came flying at the Murphy girl, who began to frantically dodge. Each dart that zipped past her made a breeze, considering their size. Eventually, a dart struck her face, swallowing it whole, and blinding her as she was pelted with several more darts. "Well, boys, way to annihilate a golfball-sized child." Francis joked.

"Ahem." A female troop coughed.

"Sorry."

Later, Maddy stood in a battle stance as she faced a giant, growling Sparky. The dog attempted to bite her (but not really), but she rolled to the side and ran away, and she could feel the pounding of his giant footsteps as he chased. Maddy stopped, and Sparky ran right over her by mistake, but she stayed between his legs. Once behind him, Maddy grabbed the puppy's back right leg and climbed to his back, sitting on and riding him like a horsie. She held onto his thick strands of fur like they were reins, and was rapidly bumped up and down as the giant dog ran around the room. He was too big to hang onto, and she ended up bouncing off. The massive puppy ran over and pinned her under his paw as he began to lick her miniscule face.

"Nnnnngh!" Maddy sweated tremendously, struggling greatly as Francis kept her pinned under his giant fist. He didn't add very much pressure, but his strength compared to hers was enough to keep her trapped. Maddy had no luck in budging the giant hand of her commander.

Maddy faced Chris as the giant Uno boy readied to attack her. He ran forth and began to stomp his feet in attempt to smash her, but she quickly evaded. Chris's shoes were off, leaving only his socks, so if he flattened her, it wouldn't be as hard. Maddy was fast on her tiny feet to dodge, but as fate would have it, she eventually slipped, and Chris had her pinned. She tried to shove his socked foot up, but it was far too big and heavy. The stench didn't really help either, and Chris gave a sheepish grin.

Maddy's arms and legs were wrapped tight around one of the metal poles from the ceiling. She did her best to climb straight up, but since her arms and legs were too small to wrap around the width of the pole, it made it very difficult. She had to inch up a few centimeters (to her) at a time, and she felt it would take hours. Eventually, her arms couldn't keep hold, and she plopped onto the matted ground, panting.

After another failed training session with Sparky, the puppy had taken his master by the shirt and began swinging her around in his mouth. Maddy tried to shake away, but Sparky's mouth held a tight grip, and Francis shook in disbelief as the dog began running around with her.

"Nnnnngh!" Francis had her trapped under his fist again. He wasn't sure, but it felt his fist budged a little.

Zach lied on his belly and held his right hand open as Maddy fiercely punched it like a punching bag. She didn't stop for a moment, and her fists kept flying, as if she was expecting to bruise the thick, giant hand. Francis was impressed by her fiery spirit, and how noticeable it was, even though she was so small.

Again, Maddy was surrounded, the band of giant troops fixing dart guns on their tiny target. They let fire, and Maddy swiftly dodged and flipped the massive projectiles. She used both arms to pick up one of the log-sized darts, and batted away other incoming darts before chucking her dart at an operative's goggled eye. She did the same and quickly chucked other huge darts at their faces, panting heavily after doing so.

Maddy and Sparky faced each other once again. The dog gnashed at his miniscule master, but she leaped quickly and got on his head, turning and sitting down as she tugged on his fur. Sparky ran around, but Maddy held tighter than before, riding the dog at high speeds around the room as her hair blew in the wind. Zach raised an arm in defense as Maddy made Sparky charge and bite his arm, and Zach yelped as he shoved him off. Sparky held a piece of his shirt in his mouth, wagging his tail as Maddy laughed, and Zach glared in annoyance.

Maddy faced Chris more confidently this time, and he returned the smirk. He began to stomp his socked feet, and Maddy jumped around and dodged like a grasshopper. She dashed between his legs, and when he reached down to grab her, he missed, looking upside-down between his legs as she ran. Maddy smiled excitedly, but Chris put on a devious smirk and leapt, crashing in front of her, the quake causing her to slip. He successfully pinned her under his foot, but Maddy opened wide and forced her teeth through his sock, able to breach and bite his toe, forcing him to step off. Maddy coughed and wiped her tongue, having caught a few tiny strands from his sock.

Maddy ran a good distance back, and dashed at the metal pole as quick as she could. She jumped, grabbed the bottom of it, even though it was several feet high, then flipped upside-down while holding the pole before jumping to the parallel one. For the rest of the way up, she barely used her hands as she performed a series of flawless Wall Jumps. The poles were a far distance at her size, but her light weight seemed to give her an advantage, as she took hold of the bell-ringer at the top, holding on with both hands as she swung and rung the bell.

Maddy was trapped under her commander's fist again. She sweated greatly, using every ounce of force she could muster to push him off. She never knew how strong Francis's fists were. If hers and his fists collided at the same time, while she was still big, she wondered how the impact would feel. This went on for a few more moments, but what happened next surprised them: Francis's fist was pushed upward, and Maddy smiled brightly. She quickly rolled out from underneath and got up, jumping on his hand, and then to his face as she bit his nose. He frantically tried to shake her off, her tiny teeth feeling like a bugbite, and ended up flinging her over to Zach, and then biting his nose. Zach clutched and yanked her off, rubbing his nose with an annoyed look as Chris and Maddy laughed.

Afterwards…

"Sooo was there really any point to that?" Zach asked. "I mean, if a bunch of us break into a teen hangout and kick all their butts ourselves, we can fix Maddy and she wouldn't-a NEEDED all that training."

"Well, it's not about helping her fight NOW, but, in case she gets smallified in the future. It never hurts to be prepared." Francis replied.

"All I know is, I don't want to spend ANY more time like this." Maddy decided, seated on Chris's shoulder. "But at least I'm strong enough to hold my own now."

"That's only if a couple of us are with you." Chris smirked. "You aren't as good as Vweeb, yet."

"Anyway, it's time for us to look for the Teens' hangout." Francis decided. "Did you see where they took you when you were captured?"

"No." Maddy shook. "But it felt kinda cold."

"It's a few miles from the Arctic Base." Chris told them.

"How d'you know?" Zach asked.

"I got a text from some anonymous guy." he said, pulling out a cellphone and showing a map. "He has it marked."

"Well, THAT'S obviously a trap." Zach concluded.

"Well, if ZACH knows it…" Maddy remarked.

"Heeey!" Zach glared.

"Sigh, we'll just have to risk it." Francis decided. "We'll bring all the decommissioners and take them all together. Kids Next Door:" he raised a fist, "let's move!"

Northern Icecaps; outside teen hangout

The Decommissioning Troops crouched behind a mound of snow as they stared confusedly at the Wal-Mart. "Are you SURE this is the place?" Maddy asked.

Chris looked at his map and said, "This is where he had it marked."

"TOLD you it was a trick." Zach stated.

"Hang on." Chris spoke, standing up and approaching the shop, with Maddy still on his shoulder. "I remember my dad telling me about this." He had a seat on one of the parking bumps. "I… think he said he and Mr. Dickson sat here, and some kinda-"

"WAAAAAAAAAHHHH…" Suddenly, the two of them went sliding down a trapdoor.

Francis and his troops exchanged surprised glances, before he shook his head to reality. "Okay, we found the entrance… I think. Remember the mission: take out all the teens you can, get the shrinkifyer, and escape, simple as that. Our strongest member might be downsized, but that shouldn't matter. Okay, let's move!" With that, the squad of troops ran and slid down the slope.

They found Chris and Maddy on their backs, and both operatives shook their heads as they recovered. "Well, LOOK who decided to join us!" Lights came on suddenly, and dozens of Teen Ninjas were shown to be around them. "Awwww, wook at bwave wittle Maddy." Nya LaMar taunted as she paced on her platform, with Hoagie III standing on the lower platform. "Survived the ocean, huh? And I guess your bratty friends decided to help their pwecious dowwy. HAA ha ha! Now you ALL can be SHRINKified! Brilliant plan, Hoagie!"

"Hey, it was MY plan!" Tracy yelled.

"That was before she survived. TEENS: CHAAAARGE!"

The swarm of ninjas gave battle cries as they ran at the operatives. The Decommissioning Troops immediately began shooting and fighting with each of them. Chris set Maddy onto Sparky's back and said, "Watch over her, boy." The Uno boy ran and did a spin as he lashed a wave of fire at a ninja, then began punching ninjas with fiery fists.

Maddy yanked Sparky's fur and said, "Go get 'em, boy!" Sparky let out rapid barks and ran around, leaping and kicking off all the ninjas' faces. The puppy then kicked off and sent Maddy flying, and she grabbed onto the male ninja's (the one who pulled her legs earlier) ear with her teeth.

"OOOOW! YOW! YOOOW!" he shook frantically and flung her away. Maddy landed on her feet and rubbed her teeth; she would never get them clean. She looked up as a group of gigantic ninjas charged her way, and she swiftly dodged to the left and right as they slid to try and grab her. Tracy readied a laser blaster and began trying to shoot her, but Maddy jumped every shot before getting behind a rock that was her size. She was able to pick the rock up, spin around and throw it up, breaking the laser turret on Tracy's armor.

"COME ON, guys, she's just one snotty little brat that's just THREE times the little and bratty!" Nya yelled.

"Nnnn! Oooow!" a male ninja yelled in pain as Francis stood on his back and pulled his arm behind him.

A ninja with a zit-face threw a punch at Chris, but Chris smirked as he caught his fist and began to burn it. The ninja struggled to push further, and finally let go as he shook his hand, crying. "Yow-ow-ow-ow-ow-ow-ow-ow!"

"YOU stop it!" a teen girl yelled to Zach.

"You stop it." Zach snapped back.

"I'm warning you!"

"I'm warning you."

"UUUUNNNN!"

"Nnnnnnn!"

"Pbblllth."

"PBBBLLLTH!"

The teen girl smirked. "I'm a snotty doody-head."

"YOU SAID IT! NOT ME!" Zach pointed. "HAHAHAHAHA!"

"GRRRRR, that DOES IT!" The teenager unveiled a series of laser turrets from her armor, making Zach look in fright. Sadly, she was punched from behind by Francis, and was knocked out.

"Nice mocking." Francis complimented.

"Siiiigh." Nya lightly face-palmed, disappointed with her associates. "Why do they make minions so low-level? Alright, Shade! GET IN there!"

The short, armored ninja with glowing purple eyes stepped out from the shadows. "Hokay then…" she sighed. The mystery ninja leapt forward and began to punch and kick many Decom. Troops in a matter of seconds. She then turned to face Francis, who looked at her with a surprised look, while Shade's expression remained hidden. "The leader, huh? Well, why don't you take someone around your level?"

"Gladly." Francis said. "YAAAAH!" The redheaded boy charged forward, ready to punch Shade, when-

"A punch from the left." Shade bent backward as Francis's right fist flew over her face, and she proceeded to kick him upside the chin. Francis stepped back and rubbed his chin, dashing at her again. "A dodge-roll behind, and then an upper-cut." Shade's prediction came true as Francis swiftly rolled behind and attempted to punch her, but Shade flipped overhead and kicked Francis in the face, knocking him back.

Francis panted as he said, "How is this girl reading my moves? …Is it Haki?" Francis ran at her, throwing a series of rapid punches, but Shade swiftly avoided each one before kicking the boy in the crotch, making him fall over.

"That should teach them." Nya smirked. "Hoagie: fire up the shrink ray. Target that group of troops."

"Ha ha! You rhymed! Firing up shrink ray." Hoagie pushed a remote, and the Great Puttinski's shrinkifyer levitated, preparing to unleash the green ray. He aimed and took fire at a pile of fallen operatives; however, he missed by a few feet and shot the buff male ninja who Maddy just bit. They watched as he shrunk to only slightly taller than a golfball.

"Heeeey!" he yelled, his voice squeaky.

"Hoagiiie!" Nya yelled.

"Oops. My bad." Hoagie activated the ray gun again, and this time hit the fallen operatives. The troops looked around in terror as they shrunk to the size of golfballs.

"Holy crud! We're tiny!"

"Thank Zero my sister isn't here."

"HA HA ha ha!" cackled Nya.

Shade still stared at the fallen Francis when- "Hey, mystery girl!" she looked over at Chris, who came running over. "See if that armor is FIRE-proof! Arraaaahhh-!"

"A midair horizontal flame-wave kick." Shade ducked the foreseen fire wave and avoided Chris's kick, grabbing his foot and chucking him away. Chris got back up, becoming angrier as he charged for another attack. "A jump, and then rainstorm of fire-punches." Chris jumped in the air and rapidly punched fireballs from his fists at the ninja girl. She dodged as fast as lightning, suddenly going above Chris and kicking him down to Francis.

"Gnnn…" Chris grunted. "What is this girl, a psychic??"

"Let ME try!" Zach declared, running in for a punch. "AaaaaAAAHH-" Shade grabbed his fist, bending it downward, and then throwing him over to the others.

"Hmm. I didn't even NEED to predict THAT one." Shade remarked.

"I think they've learned." Nya decided. "Fire it up, Hoags."

Again, Hoagie III activated the shrink ray, and shrunk Francis, Chris, and Zach down in one shot.

"Guys!" Maddy yelled. Her face filled with fright as the ground quaked, a group of towering Teen Ninjas surrounding her, all smirking.

"No one to protect, Bug?" Tracy smirked.

"Bark, bark!" Sparky leapt at the teenage girl, but she threw a punch back to his nose to knock him away.

"Sparky!" Mad yelled.

The puppy fainted, unable to stand. No one saw this, but his body sparked a little.

Maddy glared up at the towering teens as they raised their feet, preparing to stomp on her. They brought their feet down, but Maddy swiftly dodged, jumping her way up the ninjas' bodies and kicking their eyes, forcing small yelps out of them. Maddy landed and dashed away, feeling the ground shake as the giant ninjas chased, but as they swung their feet, they failed to kick the tiny girl, and ended up kicking each other.

"Oh, COME ON, guys! Can't you step on ONE silly rat?" Nya exclaimed.

"But Nya, why would anyone wanna squish a rat? The mess'd take forever to clean!" Hoagie joked.

"Ugh. I'LL do it myself!" With that, Nya leapt to the battlefield, taking a firm land in front of Maddy, causing a tremendous shake to the girl as she looked up. "Alright, brat, you may've gotten faster, but you STILL ain't gonna outrun me!" Nya began desperately trying to stomp the girl, but Maddy was still quick to dodge. Maddy jumped, grabbed Nya's leg, and attempted to climb up, but the teen swung and bashed her against a table leg.

"Uuuh!" Maddy grunted, dropping down in pain. She lie on her back, and felt great pressure as Nya placed her foot upon her. "Aaah!"

"You shoulda KNOWN ya couldn't beat us, Mad!"

Maddy tried to push Nya's foot off, but she added too much force.

"After all these years you've been stompin' us, looks like WE finally get to stomp YOU!"

"Nnnn…let me go!"

"Your reign is OVER, Maddy, and SO is the reign of yo' decommissionin' BRATS." Maddy looked as the Teen Ninjas were each holding a shrunken operative, with Tracy holding Zach and Francis (the shrunken male ninja was also standing on her head). "After we get done with you, we ain't NEVUH have ta worry about decommissionin' again! I'd like to just CRUSH you now, but I'll make you SUFFER first. WHO should we kill first? OOH, I know! HOW about your whiny little brother!"

Tracy brought the doll-sized Zach over and handed him to Nya. The tiny boy desperately tried to break free from her fingers, but Nya's grip was tight.

"Awww… wook at wittle Zachy-poooo." Nya cooed, making Zach furious. "REDUCED to a pesky little doll! The kind that little girls play with and BUG the crud out of us teens. And what do the big brothers and sisters do? TEAR their pesky little heads off! …The dolls I mean."

Maddy tried even harder to push Nya's foot off. "LET him GO!" She bit her teeth forcefully into Nya's toe, but the soft jumpsuit that protected her body was too thick at her size.

"We had so much trouble tryin' to escape you brats… but NOW it's as easy as RIPPIN' your HEADS off!" Nya exclaimed, slowly reaching over to clutch Zach's head, her massive hand fitting perfectly over him.

"NOOO! DON'T!" Maddy screamed, becoming more and more desperate.

"All I gotta do is just TURN his head a little to the right…" she very lightly turned Zach's tiny head; it now faced directly right, as his head wasn't supposed to turn more. "…then add a little MOOORE, and THEN…" Nya gently began to turn his head back MORE. Zach was absolutely terrified, fearing this was where it ended. Maddy stared with total horror, as only a few more inches would easily snap Zach's tiny neck. She didn't think Nya would actually do it, but she was on the very thin line. Zach's neck would crack at any minute, and even if Maddy escaped, she could never jump up there in time. Her mind filled with anger, rage, and sadness. Her twin brother was about to die, and she was too small to do anything. It was her fault she got captured, and it was because of her they ended up here. She would've gotten Zach killed, and she couldn't do anything about it. The only thing she had strength left to do is-

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" She screamed louder than her tiny lungs could have mustered. All of the Teen Ninjas, from Tracy, the shrunk ninja, to Hoagie III, and even all of the Decommissioning Troops, all lost consciousness, collapsing to the ground. The only ones still standing were Nya, Shade, Francis, and Chris.

Nya's eyes widened, surprised that someone so tiny could scream that loud, but was more surprised at how her ninjas all fainted. "W…WHOA! Tha's some loud LUNGS, girl!"

"She has… Conqueror's Haki!" Shade said quietly, shocked.

Maddy felt the pressure from Nya's foot die down, and immediately rolled out. Maddy jumped her way up Nya's body and grabbed to her face, punching her in the eye. "Aah!" she dropped Zach as a result.

Francis grabbed Chris's arm and yelled, "Come on!" as they quickly ran toward the fallen Hoagie III.

Nya began trying to step on Maddy some more, but the girl kept dodging, jumping her way up the ninja and biting her ear. "Ouch!" Maddy began slipping swiftly around her neck as Nya failed to grab her, then took a bite in the side of her neck. "Ooof!"

Chris and Francis climbed their way up the giant stairs, finding the collapsed, titanic body of Hoagie III. They looked up on the desk to see the shrink ray's remote control. "Ahhh man! He dropped it all the way up there!" Francis yelled. Unbeknownst to them, Hoagie cracked an eye open. "How're we gonna-" Suddenly, they were each grabbed in a giant hand, which lifted them to the desk. They were startled at this, but as they were set on the desk, they looked down to see Hoagie III still unconscious. They exchanged shrugs and ran onto the remote. "Okay, just set it to 'Biggify'." Francis said.

Nya frantically tried to grab Maddy as the girl began climbing around her head. "Gyaaah! Don't just stand there, Shade! Hurry up and grab her!"

Shade shook back to reality, seeing Maddy clutch to Nya's face. The ninja ran forward, leaping for a mighty kick, and Nya's eyes widened. "WAIT, DON'T-" Maddy jumped off just as Shade's boot came in contact with Nya's face, and the Teens' leader was knocked out.

"Umm…oops." Shade blushed.

"Alll RIIIIGHT!" Maddy jumped for joy. Sparky woke up just in time, running over to lick his master. "Ahh ha ha ha ha!" Still looking at her fallen leader, Shade backed away in embarrassment, and was quickly gone in the shadows.

"Yo, Maddy!" Chris yelled from the desk. "Stand still!"

Maddy smiled as the shrink ray was aimed at her. Chris jumped on the button as a red ray launched at his friend, and Maddy was back to normal in seconds. She smiled in extreme relief, seeing everything around her back to its regular size. She approached the desk, smiling at the tiny Chris, who smirked and gave a wink. Maddy picked him and Francis up and set them on the floor, taking the remote and unshrinking them as well. Afterwards, they unshrunk Zach, and the rest of the decommissioners.

The many fallen troops regained consciousness, holding their heads. "What just happened?"

"Maddy totally kicked butt." Chris said.

"She did?" Zach asked.

"Of course, Zach! Are you surprised?" Maddy winked.

"…Ehh… well, anyway, what'll we do about these teens? Take 'em for decommissioning?"

Maddy thought for a minute. "…Nah… maybe we oughta give 'em a break. You know, so we don't go out of business. Wouldn't you agree?"

Francis shrugged. "I guess. I don't think Cheren'll like it, though."

Maddy looked at the shrink ray, and a smirk came on her face. "Al-THOOOUGH!"

KND Moonbase

A bright smile was on Maddy's face as she approached the cafeteria's soda machine and dropped a quarter inside. "Hey, Mad." She turned around to see Chris. "Enjoying your day off today?"

"Yeah." She replied, taking her soda. "I'm glad we put aside that whole business… but I don't think I could've fought well if you guys weren't there to support me. Thanks, Chris."

"Don't mention it." Chris brushed off.

"That STILL doesn't mean I'll like firebenders any better."

"You know you enjoyed sleeping on me." He winked. "Anyway, I better go help Aurora with mission debriefing. Catch you later?"

"Yah. See ya!" Maddy waved as she began to walk out of the room. She jumped when Chris flung a small flame, looking back to see him smirking. She gave a disbelieved smile and continued the walk back.

She returned to the decommissioners' room and cracked her soda open as she sat down with her fellow troops. "So, where were we guys?"

"Pizza Man was trying to deliver his pepperoni supremes, to all the lovely ladies!" Zach exclaimed, holding his action figure (the zit-faced teen) high.

"Not if Big Boss Bully gives you a wedgie!" Francis exclaimed, holding the buff Teen Ninja.

"Oh yeah??" Maddy exclaimed, raising her own doll. "You'll have to face HIM and his sidekick, Delivery Gal!"

Nya LaMar felt utter humiliation as Maddy clutched her like a doll. "Let me go, you whiny brats! Ah'll tell all yo' parents and you'll be in so much-"

"It won't be so easy!" Francis exclaimed, pulling out another figure; Hoagie Gilligan III. "For Big Bully has GOGGLE MAN at his side! With his sooper VEGGIE laser!" He held his mouth closer to Hoagie and whispered, "Thanks. I owe you one." Hoagie smiled and nodded.

Zach's ninja began to lightly clash with the buff ninja, and Maddy made Nya clash with Hoagie. "Well, I've always wanted to be a superhero." Hoagie joked.

"Oh, SHUT UP, Hoags!"