Fights, Demons, and Friends

*October 27 2020, Undisclosed Area in or slightly outside of Halcyon City*

Maria talks on the phone to Laura “Thanks for handling everything, I really didn’t want anyone trying to jump Friðr while they're here. And they know not to mess with anyone too, so no worries.”

Laura assures Maria that they are good and that this place was Maria’s as well as hers so they didn’t need to worry. Maria blushes a bit and they talk sweetly at each other for a minute before Maria hangs up. They were dressed in light blue flannel, a matching plaid skirt and some kick ass boots.

They were inside Lipstick HQ, aka what appeared to be an abandoned warehouse that under the surface was a place where a collection of Villains, Vigilantes, and associated friends of Maria, Laura and Lia. Illusion magic made the place look trashy and empty but there was an easy spell to see past it and see the wonder of their customized place.

The walls were painted pink and blue in alternations matching the hair colors of Maria and Laura, there was a large area in the center with spell gilfs marking an arena for sparring. There was a couch right past that for watching people train or giving advice, also a counter if you wanted to work on a laptop or something. The place had sectioned off rooms to the sides that under the illusion would look like piles of debris to explain why you couldn’t go into them.

Maria was leaning against the door waiting for Boon, their eyes darting around to make sure the area was clear.

One of the doors into the room opens tentatively. Boon pokes their head in and the rest of them follows. They're wearing skinny jeans with suspenders, a slouchy beanie, and a bandana tied loosely around their neck. They look around but don't immediately see Maria. "Maria? It's Boon! You around?"

Maria jumps out at Boon grabbing them on the shoulder teasingly attempting to scare them with an aggressive “Watch out it’s a criminal.”

Boon instinctively wheels around and grabs Maria by the collar, raising a fist in defense. Their eyes widen in surprise when they see that it’s only Maria and they drop her. “Maria! You scared me! Sorry about that.” Boon rubs the back of their neck nervously.

Maria giggles and teases “Boon, you're too hot to do stuff like that, what’s a demi-girl to do.”

They laugh a bit more then take it more seriously taking a deep breath “But for real, I’m glad you here. ”

Maria pats boon on the back and activates the spell removing the illusion so that Boon could actually see the inside of Maria’s secret base.

Boon blushes at being called hot and tugs at their sleeves a bit. “Of course! It’s been a minute since we hung out.” As the illusion drops Boon whistles. “Nice illusion work! Full-room’s are fun to set up. I’ve uhhh… used those to make my room look clean before for my Mom. It… it didn’t work, she’s perceptive.”

Maria nods their head asking “How’s the binder working out for you by the way?”

They move over to the couch, Maria had a sword on her side but it wasn’t the normal Fearless sword, it was an older one she was using mostly for show since they couldn’t fight unfused. Maria sits down so they could have this conversation more comfortably.

Boon follows Maria and sets down on the couch themself. "It's amazing! Way more comfortable than the non-magic kind. It's hella nice being able to fight and do hero stuff with it on." They scratch the back of their neck "Also I get this like, nice, fuzzy feeling when it's on, which I guess is gender euphoria? Maybe? I don't think I really have a gender though, so that's confusing. Gender is hard."

Maria had the biggest smile on their face, it honestly made her super happy to hear that their friend was getting gender euphoria from something that she worked so hard on. Maria said “You can totally have gender euphoria with no gender, I got friends in all sorts of gender or lacking, it’s just a perfect feeling when the euphoria hits, I’m glad the binder can help.”

The demi-girl leans in cheerfully musing “I am really lucky, Lia helped me with the groundwork for the enchantment, it was based on the spell we and her made to make Fearless split into me and Elena.”

“Hell yeah, tell Lia she did a great job on it! I’m still learning how to enchant so I’m always eager to see it put to cool new uses, especially ones so affirming. Oh speaking of enchanting!” Boon holds out their hand and an ornate spear materializes in their hands. “Don’t know if I showed you this one yet.” Their grip tightens and their face contorts with a look of focus “Niflheimr” they utter. as they say this the end of the spear fades away into what looks to be solid mist. “I made it so that the blade can change structure, I use this mode for when I’m really trying to be careful not to hurt someone. I’m working on adding a Muspellheimr mode later for uhhh- the opposite purpose.”

Maria was impressed with the spell work, Boon totally kicked ass with the spell. They say “Oh, nice, it took me a while to get the right enchantment on the Harmonized Blade to not hurt people too bad. Fighting with weapons and being a hero is hard.”

Maria groans a bit but then a devilish grin cracks her face “Ohhh, now enchanting things to hurt someone, well that’s my speciality. I got a whole collection of enchanted, cursed, etc weapons.”

They pull up the sword they had on their belt and stroke it “This beauty has some nice armor piercing enchantment, dealing with mech suits can be a total pain as a sword fighter. I’m totally down to help you, assuming I can and it’s not like inherent to your powers?“

Boon’s eyes light up. “I would absolutely love to compare notes! I need something for those times when you’re fighting mechs, or kaiju, or abyssal horrors, and can just absolutely let loose. It’s harder with people, I’m so strong it’s easy to go too far sometimes. Honestly a lot of what my Mom’s taught me is about learning when to pull my punches rather than just outright winning at all costs… although we have had some pretty no holds barred sparring sessions.” They smirk.

Maria takes a moment to imagine what it would have been like to have a supportive warrior mom, a soft smile broke their face but they had Jill who was a great aunt so she couldn’t really complain. Maria notes “Ya, those are the big guns and extra fun since they are easier to test your limits on.”

The scratches their chin “So, not totally sure what to call it but Elena is Atlanta's Grandparent. So that’s weirdly ironic, Elena’s probably talked about it or is about to."

Boon has a look of confusion on their face. “I… fail to see how that’s possible. I mean I believe you and that’s hella cool but… how?”

Maria shrugs "Just like, Elena's mom is Hikari's age, they like went to school together."

They stand up and open one of the doors asking "want anything to drink or eat, we got a kitchen although it's mostly junk right now?"

Boon nods "Right. Time shenanigans. Forgot about those, they make my head hurt." Boon thinks for a moment "let's see, do you have any tea? Herbal tea actually, I can't have caffeine."

The kitchen was fairly normal, Maria started brewing the tea saying “Oh ya, Herbal Tea is Lia’s favorite, that old demon likes a classic.”

They muse right after a hint of their nerves in their voice “Time is very complicated, it’s even weirder when you're the time shenanigan.”

Boon doesn’t hear the second part of that, their ears perk up when they hear the word demon. “Umm, sorry. You said Lia was a demon, is that like, good? She hasn’t like, made you sign any sketchy contracts for magic help has she?”

Maria, not really picking up on the potential distress of Boon, hanging out with demons just being so normal for her that she says flatly “Lia’s totally demon, I was for a while too, but Fearless stuff happened so I’m human again for some reason. Lia’s a contract demon but we’re friends we don’t really do contracts unless we have to enhance the magic.”

Boon’s distress becomes a bit more visible “She hasn’t hurt you has she!? Maria, demon contracts are super dangerous, you can- you can lose your soul from those. Or worse… Sorry, I don’t want to like, assume things about your friend but, I just- are you sure you can trust her?”

Maria can see the distress and tries to understand it so that they can like, engage that distress properly. They try to say assuring “I’m fine, Contract Demons are like people, some are assholes and some are nice.”

Then Maria attempts to shift that tone more to explain their relationship “Lia’s the reason I have this place, we’ve worked together for years, she was the one who got me my jobs. Even after I stopped working with her on jobs she still helps me. ”

Boon tries to calm down a little bit. They clutch at their necklace a bit, a pair of metal d6’s, a keepsake from their father. They start to slow their breathing a bit, but are still clearly distressed. “Sorry. Sorry. I have a bit of a panic response to this kind of stuff sometimes. I um. Remember when I told you about my bad experience sharing body? I got pressured into a contract while I was mourning my father, while I was very much not in a good position to be pressured into a contract. I ended up being possessed for over a year by the demon that got my dad killed.” They sigh. “I’m sure Lia’s fine, as long as she doesn’t like, mind control people or trick them into contracts. I just, you know, don’t want what happened to me to happen to anyone else.”

Maria listens intently to Boon’s story, visibly disgusted by what Sapphomet did. Maria clutched their sword instinctively, mind controlling kids was the worst. They regain focus taking a second then pouring them both some tea. Handing Boon their cup she says “That is so messed up, I wish I could have been there to help you.”

Maria sips their tea trying to calm their own nerves, focusing on Boon while engaging the conversation. Oh ya, they had to make sure Boon felt assured about Lia. Maria couldn’t say Ms. Manipulation had never tricked anyone into a contract but they were never for those kinds of ends.Instead Maria says “Lia’s got her own code of conduct, it would never allow for that kind of stuff, Lia’s not a fan of people dying, her contracts are mostly to help people change. Lia’s a good person, even if she isn’t exactly Big Team morally aligned.”

Boon sips their tea and takes a deep breath. “Okay. Okay. I think I’m good. Sorry, just, old wounds. I’m glad Lia is trustworthy. And uh, yeah sa- she would’ve been quaking in her boots if she had to deal with you too in addition to Tay, Ellen, Atlanta, and Ernest. We roughed her up good, she *should* be somewhere in Helheim right about now so she won’t be able to prey on anyone for a very long time.”

Maria wasn't sure what to say for a moment, so they were quiet. Sipping tea and nodding their head. Maria puts down her cup and finally says "Ya, that's like an impossible place to break out of."

They remember operation treasure and smirk. Maria adds extra reassurance "If you ever need help I got friends in low places."

Boon smiles “Friends are good, no matter what height you find them at, so to speak. I’m not one to discount someone based on that. Especially after that one time that uh” They scratch the back of their head nervously. “That one time Mel and I robbed a casino to see if we could. Spoiler alert, we could not.”

Maria’s eyes light up the thought of Boon and Mel robbing a Casino, having their own little flashback. They giggle a bit and say “Oh, you thought you could do that with only two people, it takes a whole sting, it’s not too hard, the real hard part is getting the person running it if your...”

Maria cuts themselves off there and says “Robbing a Casino, complicated but fun, glad you didn’t get in too much trouble for that.”

“Three of us actually, and not too much trouble no, what happens in Vegas right? Got a nasty taser to the ribcage though. Anyway you’d *think* my plan of sneaking a couple teenagers in as vacation dads and then hacking the slot machines with technopathy would be fool proof. We had some older heroes around to bail us out though, have you heard of the Millenium Dawn? They used to be heroes but we helped them go into hiding out in California for a bit.”

Maria’s jaw drops and they take a second to say oozing excitement “Wait, Millennium Dawn, like Tio Zane and Julio Millennium dawn. Wow, we really have been running in the same circles just avoiding ever talking to each other. They are kinda, us and EliZe’s tios. Uncles, found family type situation. They come over all the time. ”

Boon’s eyes widen “Wait you know Zane and Julio!?!? No fucking way! They’re my boys! How are they? Are they doing okay? You said they’re your tios, does that mean they’re married!? Ahhh I have so many questions and also want to hit them up sometime.” Boon’s obvious excitement has broken through all of the signs of the previous panic. “Your found family is so cool! I finally met Elize the other day and she says confusing stuff sometimes but overall she’s awesome and a total sweetheart.”

Maria attempts to answer the quests in order holding up a finger for every question to make it easier for them to remember how many they answered “Okay, so they are good, they are married, they have jobs and are living here like it’s normal although, you know, watching their back in case.”

The lesbians face turns a bit red when Boon mentions EliZe, they were feeling some, complicated feelings about their relationship to EliZe but they still werewere in love. Maria says “EliZe is weird but in a good way. Glad you can see how awesome she is, she’s made so many friends on the team, I’m really happy for her.”

Maria stuffs her face with a cookie Elena had baked for everyone here trying to avoid thinking about her own feelings.

Boon’s eyes light up. “Gods I just love love so much. I’m so happy for Zane and Julio. Oh and speaking of EliZe making friends I think she might have a space dragon girlfriend now? So that’s fucking wild.” boon grabs a cookie for themself. “I don’t know where I’d even be right now if I hadn’t fallen in love with Atlanta, she’s just so perfect and I’m excessively gay.”

Wait, are they like, actually girlfriends, Maria grabs her sword and puts it aside, be cool Maria, you have company and also Elena is hanging out with Atlanta talking about important stuff, you can’t teleport her cuz your having a fit. Maria’s voice shifts to a higher pitch then her normal lower butch tone “Ya, she seems super into her and she’s intro Astra but Astra’s into A-vis and I think they are a thing now so, I guess lucky her that she found dragon girlfriend. ”

Maria rubs her temple internally reminding themself that they aren’t that person anymore, they need to stop, jealousy isn’t cute. Maria smiles focusing on Atlanta and Boon which they genuinely found so adorable together saying back in her normal tone “I am glad, you two seem like soul mates, that’s super rare. It’s real cute.”

Boon smiles “Ahh, I’m glad some of the newer team members are finding people. I just hope people aren’t running into too much drama over it, that can get really messy. I’m always thankful that Atlanta and I don’t get too jealous. This one time I like, almost got jealous over their crush on this consortium wizard, but then I actually met them and was like ‘Oh. Oh I get it now’ now we just like mutually swoon over them. Ahhh she’s so perfect.” Boon blushes thinking about their partner.

Maria giggles thinking about how wild it was so many people were finding love on the big team but high stakes will do that to you they guess. They say cheerfully “Ya, it’s nice. The three of us haven’t been so lucky, a lot of rejections since joining the team but honestly, I am happy to see all the young love.”

Maria thinks about themself and Morgans dynamic the the jealousy thing, it’s what really made this whole, complicated feelings with EliZe thing make no sense. Maria never felt that with Morgan, Laura, or her older ex. Maria giggles a bit, this was ridiculous, they just needed to get over it “Being Polyamarous is a gift really, when I was dating Morgan if we saw someone hot we would just let whoever wanted them go at it and even help each other out. ”

Boon frowns. “Aww, I‘m sorry you three have been having a rough go of it. Y’all are wonderful though, and I’m sure you’ll find an arrangement you’re happy with soon.” Boon chuckles “I like being ambiam, I don’t have to like, discount someone based on if they’re mono or poly right off the bat. Not gonna lie though there have definitely been times where I’ve been like ‘damn it would be nice if ‘Lanta and/or I could date them’ though. But like, poly isn’t a requirement for me, I’m satisfied being with only Atlanta” Boon trails off at the end and blushes realizing that they count Maria among the people they’d date if Atlanta were polyamorous.
Maria smiles at Boon’s assurance, they were great, honestly Maria felt lucky to count them among their friends despite having somehow avoided any Big Team chaos together. They smirked seeing the blush on Boon’s face, their mutual attraction was noted, perhaps in another reality, who knows? Maria nods their head saying “Totally, that’s so valid. Honestly, I wish I could be more comfortable in a monogamous relationship, but especially now that I am like fused to Fearless and Elena it’s just kinda too complicated if they aren’t at least down for me to be able to date other people since what me and them have is really deep and intimate even if we wouldn’t call it dating.”

Boon smiles “That’s really special. Yeah I mean, a QPR is still a relationship right? If- I don’t know if you’re calling Fearless and Elena a QPR or not but still. It’s important to be upfront with people about your needs and boundaries! And there’s a ton of different types of relationship structures, like if exclusivity is something you want but you don’t want it to get in the way of your relationship with Elena and Fearless that’s certainly something you can talk about you know? And yeah that’s going to discount a lot of people right off the bat and that sucks, but the last thing you want to happen is to start dating someone and then months in realize they resent your other relationships right? It’s just hard because when you’re gay the part of your brain that says ‘hey this relationship can’t work’ gets replaced by pure sapphic overload.” Boon giggles after hearing themself say the words ‘pure sapphic overload’. “That’s- that’s a good band name...”

Maria smiles, Boon might have had a reputation for being a thembo but honestly they were pretty wise. Not that Maria was any better, after all they never even finished high school, they were probably less book smart than most people on the team. The demi-girl giggles and says “Ya it wasn’t a big issue before I started the whole hero thing. Honestly though, we’re cool with it. Like if something doesn’t work it doesn’t work right?”

Maria made a pure sigh to follow up with “but the Pure Sapphic Overload, that is very relatable.”

Then with a cool tinge of excitement they finish “Also agreed, that be a badass band name. Wish I had that before Rainbow Revolution but we already got Albums.”

QPR, maybe that was something to think about as a term. Defenintally fit Maria and Laura’s whole current deal, they would keep that in their head to think about for later.

“Okay but let’s not discount Rainbow Revolution here though, that’s a great name too.” A sudden flash of recognition crosses Boon’s face. “Oh! I nearly forgot, you said you had a friend that could help me with my like, bird problem? Everytime I sneeze or get startled there’s like a 50/50 chance, in fact I’m surprised it didn’t happen when I walked in.” Boon punctuates their sentence by turning into a falcon at the end of it. They flutter over to Maria and perch on her shoulder.

Maria nodsa, it was a very rad name. Watching Boon turn into a Falcon was new but they were a very cool looking bird. Maria pets Boon’s head and tells them "Yes, Jill, she's my Tia. Her powers let her turn herself and others into birds. She can literally control if people are birds or not normally so she should be able to help."

They pull out their phone with their arm that didn't have Boon on it and text them *"I need bird advice for my friend. Can you help them?"*

Boon rests on Maria’s shoulder for a moment enjoying the pets before fluttering back over to their spot on the couch and turning back into a human so they can respond. “Damn! That’s a really cool power. And yeah any advice would be appreciated, it’s a lot easier to turn into a bird than when I could turn into a gargoyle, which, yeah, I just need enough control to not do it by accident. Mel and Ernest have already jumped out at me to make it happen so many times now.”

Maria looks over her text and tells Boon sitting on the leg of the couch feet up on the Pillow looking at Boon “Okay, so Jill says she can help you in person but has some tips in case you can’t meet up.”

Maria draws their sword but oddly for them stumble with it. They look confused but then put it back. Maria tries to excuse themself “I was going to use the sword as like a metaphor but I think I should just say what Jill wrote.”

They move closer and say “So, she said that being a bird is this second nature thing to a shifter. When you're in tune with your instincts it’s easy to go primal, like, Flight or Fight. So the best thing to do is be more in tune with your Falcon self. When you are in sync it will be easier to be more active in choosing when it turns on or off. At least that’s her guess.”

Bon nods along “Okay, okay word, so in other words I need to practice. I can work with that. But yeah anytime she’s free I wouldn’t mind getting some instruction in! Does she like… fight much? It might be worth learning how to use this in combat! I figured out that I can do it when some wolf jerk swiped at me and I dodged it by going into falcon mode. So that was hella nice.”

Maria grins leaning over "Can she fight, I've fought a lot of tough fuckers, like gods and all that. No one kicked my ass as hard as Jill the first time we met."

They weren't ashamed of their loss, their voice clearly showed how much they admired their tia gushing further "I didn't think birds would be such a powerful power but she's a total badass. She doesn't fight too much anymore but she can totally help. "

It was hard for Maria to admit but Jill was basically exactly who Maria wished they could be when they grow up.

Boon’s eyes light up “I would be delighted to meet her in that case!”

Maria nods their head “Cool, I’ll arrange that for you then. She’s good at teaching, you’ll be the most badass falcon in no time.”

"I can't wait!!" Boon says enthusiastically. They shift around on the sofa. "So uh, you got anything you wanna do? We can talk magic? Or spar if Elena is free to re-fuse?"

Maria grins “hell yes, sparing, let me check if Atlanta and Elena are done with their hang out.”

They check their phone and look concerned for a moment they text Elena *“Ya, I felt that, we’ll be fine, let’s refuse, Boon wants to spar.”*

Maria holds onto her phone and says “Looks like they're done, just waiting for a thumbs up for the fusion.”

Boon cocks an eyebrow at Maria's concerned expression but decides not to pry. "Sweet! Whenever you're ready." They stand up and do some light stretches, then crack their knuckles in front of them, their armor manifesting from their arms out as they do so. When the armor is done summoning they recall the spear to their hand. They flourish it and tap it to the ground by the handle.

Maria steps to the sparring area and swings her blade against the floor, her form was off, like someone who has watched Maria fight trying to copy it. They suddenly flow for a moment, bright orange and blue, it was maybe a millisecond before Fearless’s body stood in Maria's place. The ends of the hair turn Blue and Maria grins and winks "let's have some fun, let's see how well I can keep up."

The sword Maria was holding is sheathed and she drew their signature blade ready to fight Boon. It was always a blast. Maria felt everything rushing back into them, everything was fine.

Boon waits for Maria to ready themself and makes the first move. Boon decides not to pull anything fancy for the first move, instead starting with a quick light thrust towards their midsection to test her reactions a bit.

Maria was fast, she had to be, she was already enchanting the harmonized blade, using it to help amplify their own abilities. The gap between someone like Boon and someone like Maria was massive in power, Maria knew how much stronger, faster, etc Boon was so she would have to fight perfectly. They focus on Boon’s next attack ready to counter instead of dodge the next move.

Satisfied with Maria’s dodge, Boon decides to step it up a Notch. They retract the spear and then pull the handle in close to their waist, planting their foot to the ground and pivoting to bring the blade swinging in an arc around their body and at Maria with full force.

Maria’s fighting style was complicated, they understood their position, very rarely had Maria fought a battle they should have won yet very rarely has Maria ever lost. The warrior fought like a spider, she was aware how easy it would be to squish her so she simply had to not get hit. Beyond that the play was either get someone in a big enough web or finish them in one venomous bite. Sparing with Boon was thrilling, Maria couldn’t help but get into it.

Boon fought with a ton of passion but a lot of care, it was a beautiful style. Maria was ready to give the agender thembo their best shot. With Boon giving their full weight it was something Maria could leverage, the move scratching at their clothing but rolling forward for a sudden counter hit.

Boon grunts as Maria lands a solid blow on their armor. The armor begins to “crack” with light and then becomes incorporeal, only it’s image left behind for aesthetic purposes. Boon’s one-time shield has been taken out of commission. If all goes according to plan however, they’d only need the one. Boon isn’t known for their decision making, but when it comes to battle they think quickly. *Damn she knows how to spot an opening. I’m not gonna be able to win this by just being good at fighting, I need to treat this like I’m fighting Mom. So, let’s give her an opening, courtesy of the All-Father.* Boon pulls their best poker face and channels energy into the spear to make use of it’s illusive powers. An exact copy of Boon takes position where Boon just was as the real Boon turns invisible. Boon’s illusory copy begins to telegraph a thrust with about the same amount of power as the last strike. *Just like fighting Mom, expect her to see through it, and plan accordingly.* Unseen, except for by the perceptive or strong of will, the real Boon prepares a low sweep at Maria’s legs, watching her movements closely all the while.

Maria had to hide the smirk on her face, Boon probably didn’t really get how their only actual super power worked. Since Maria was a kid, they saw the world differently, the magical auras of everything were all around them, stuff no one else ever seemed to be able to see. It was the one edge Maria had against supernatural foes, Maria could get past most tricks and was able to tell through training what particular magical readings meant. They could see Boon’s very stunning magical aura clear as day, it stood out in a crowd, it was a thing to behold for sure.

Of course it was best to pretend to have fallen for the illusion pointing their blade towards the fake Boon “You're gonna have to try harder than that, I’ll counter you every time, I beat gods before.”

Maria realizes that probably wasn’t the one to use, given that Boon was tied to norse gods they might have pissed off so they cut themselves off and moved for the fake counter only to shift their move to avoid the sweep from Boon and go for a cheap punch to show Boon they saw through it.

Maria pretending to fall for the illusion causes Boon to let their guard down slightly, they know better than to assume that they’ve fooled her, but it nonetheless throws them off when Maria sends a punch straight at their jaw. *Fuck, I can’t dodge this, I’m committed to the strike. Unless…* Boon focuses all of their attention on a form that can dodge the punch. And where Boon was previously, is a much smaller and faster target, a falcon. Boon swoops past Maria’s fist and darts up above and behind her. Boon reassumes their human form and raises their spear above their head. “Dodge this!”

Boon was reminding Maria of Jill now, turning into a bird for a dodge and then moving an attack. The biggest grin went across Maria’s face, it was like something clicked, Boon had the potential the be the greatest hero around, and they got to fight them, how fucking rad. Maria took the hit, no dodge or counter but Maria wasn’t going down either. Maria moved back and split the harmonized blade into two. Maria tosses one of the swords at Boon and then rushes them where they predict they will move, focused on making a decisive hit.

Boon feels satisfied at the success of their gambit, almost a bit too satisfied, as they almost don’t see the sword coming for them. They only have milliseconds to make their next move. They begin to let their instincts guide them, but before they can follow through a thought crosses their mind: *she expects you to dodge. Surprise her* Boon shuts off the part of themself that wants to dodge the sword and instead catches it, unmoving. They have enough time to see Maria’s attack coming from a mile away and uses her momentum to pin her to the ground with her own sword and with the end of their spear. The adrenaline wears off, and Boon finds themself breathing heavily.

Maria bursted out laughing for a moment celebrating their own loss. They said thrilled "That was good, I love sparring with you."

Maria playfully teased "I look forward to the future when you have to super heroically stop my super evil shenanigans."

Boon finishes catching their breath and then joins in the laughter. “If it means I get a fight like *that* again I’m looking forward to it too.” Boon winks. “Seriously though. How’d you learn to fight like that? Normally I don’t get a challenge like that unless I’m sparring with my Mom. And you saw right through my illusion!”

Maria winked back, they did hope they only ever fought on friendly terms. They really liked their friendship with Boon.

They thought for a moment, it was hard for them to even explain it. Maria spoke as if this was a puzzle "well i had my base when I was a cheerleader, strength, acrobatics, reading people. After I blew up my parents home, Laura taught me how to fight. Then a raw desire for revenge probably helped. Extra magic training from Lia. Fighting off way stronger foes who would kill me if I messed up. Jill helped too."

Finally Maria stated more confidently "It was collective strength and pain. I had to survive a lot and I got a lot of help even if others wouldn't see it as good."

“I hear you on the raw desire for revenge bit. I’m not super proud of my own personal quest of retribution, but it’s an important part of my history, and it taught me how to fight. Of course my powers are different now so I’ve been learning how to use polearms instead. My Mom has been a big help with that. She’s precognitive, so she can be difficult to beat, but I’d say we’re roughly 50/50 at this point.” Boon looks at the floor for a moment “Collective strength and pain though. Yeah, I’ve been through a lot, but I have so many amazing friends and family that have helped me. I’m so much stronger for it.”

Boon got it, at least to an extent, maybe that’s why they got along so well. Maria nodded their head with a somber understanding “I’m glad you could get over your quest. It’s hard.”

They pat Boon on the arm and teased “I’d say more like 60/40 in my favor but, you know, I never finished high school and you did so you probably better at math.”

Maria stopped teasing and said “I look forward to seeing where all the love and trails of the future take us, hopefully to more exciting fights between us.”

“Here’s hoping!” Boon sighs. “I had a ton of fun today Maria, thanks for inviting me over. I hope we can do this again sometime.”

“Anytime, I love hanging out with you.”

Maria brushed themselves off a bit making sure they didn’t go overboard and damage anything.

Boon runs their hand along their arm where they noticed a scrape from the fight, a golden light spreads out across their skin as the scrape disappears. “Need patched up at all?”

Maria stretched out their arm “Sure, I got a nice cut here.”

Boon walks over and runs their hand along Maria’s arm, carefully channelling their healing magic to patch up the cut. “All better! See that’s the best part about sparring with a healer, no lasting injuries.” Boon steps back a bit. “Anyway, I’ve gotta get going, Brimstone will be angry if I’m not back in time to feed him. I’ll see you around Maria! And Fearless and Elena too if they’re listening!”

Maria moves to the door frame and leaned against it to see Boon out “They say bye too.We got to do a bigger hang out some time with Atlanta and stuff too. We got invited to a James family thing, we’ll probably catch you there.”

“Looking forward to it.” Boon winks and gives a peace sign as they head out the door.

As Boon heads off Maria plops down on the couch and sighs letting Fearless (Sapphire) take over.