Gecko Gladiator Read Online Free

and boxes and Bunsen burners and test tubes and weird gadgets of every kind. A large mouse cage took up one corner. And in the center was a familiar square tent of plastic—the S.W.I.T.C.H.ing chamber.
    â€œWell,” Petty said, stepping out of the chamber and peering down at them in the dim light. “What do you think?”

Josh and Danny tried to tell her how impressed they were—but all that came out were those chirruping, clicking, and occasionally grunting noises.
    â€œAaah—geckos! The noisiest lizards there are!” Petty said, smiling at them appreciatively. “The only reptiles that can make noises humans can hear, don’t you know? Well—one of you
is
a pretty boy!” she added. She knelt down and patted Danny on the head. He growled.
    â€œBut I need you to S.W.I.T.C.H. back now so we can talk,” Petty said. And she swiftly squirted them with a bottle of antidote spray.
    â€œAa-aaw!” Josh was disappointed. “I wanted to walk across your ceiling!”
    â€œPlenty of time for that later,” Petty said.
    â€œHow come he got to be all cool with spots and I turned into Barbie Gecko?” snapped Danny, folding his arms with a huff.
    â€œWell, you’re very much the same—it’s just a skin pigment issue,” Petty said. “Although it does suggest that the formula is a little unstable … again.” She looked slightly concerned.
    â€œUnstable? That’ll be the third unstable S.W.I.T.C.H. you’ve let us try!” squeaked Danny.
    â€œThe second,” corrected Petty. “I didn’t let you try the TurtleSWITCH, you may recall. You stole it and tried it entirely of your own free will!”
    â€œBut the chameleon one was unstable too,” argued Danny. “And you let us try that even when your mouse ended up half-rodent, half-chameleon!”
    â€œI don’t know why you fuss so,” Petty said. “You’re always fine in the end. Cutting-edge science can’t be perfectly safe. I am a genius, and I must push the boundaries.”
    â€œHmmm,” Danny muttered. “Funny how you always push the boundaries from a safe distance! I’ve never seen
you
try the S.W.I.T.C.H. out!”
    â€œI’m much older than you. My bones are far too brittle,” Petty said with a dismissive wave. “Anyway—enough of all this. I wanted you to see my new lab—and here it is!”
    â€œWhy have it over Princessland?” Josh asked. “Are you trying to mess with our minds?”
    â€œWhat did you expect? A hollowed-out, extinct volcano? I am now based here because it is the very last place that government spies would think of looking for me,” explained Petty. “And if they see me coming into the store, they’ll think I’ve just come to buy something pretty for a … niece or something.”
    Josh and Danny stared at Petty. They could not imagine her ever buying something from Princessland.
    Petty held up a glittery pink bag carrying the store’s name. “See!” she said. “I always carry one of these out with me when I go.”
    â€œWhat’s in it?” Josh asked.
    â€œWadded-up tissues, dried calamine lotion, and chicken pox scabs mostly,” Petty said, peering into the bag.
    There was a short silence and then a further pause while Josh and Danny massaged the rigid masks of horror off their faces.
    â€œCome on, come on—over here!” Petty said. She led them to a corner of the room. There, in a pool of white light from a desk lamp, lay a microscope and several jars and boxes. “I’ve been studying the marbles. You’re right—all three of them contain code for MAMMALSWITCH. I recognize my own brilliant work! I must have made the formula … maybe years ago while I was still working for the government. And there are six marbles, the same way there were six BUGSWITCH cubes and six REPTOSWITCH