Boys vs. Girls 2

## Boys vs. Girls 2

### **Written by**

D. Isaac Thomas
Melissa Vaine

### **Rating**

Rated PG-13 for intense sequences of action and violence, some sexual content including partial nudity and language.

### **Preceded by**

*Agents of the S.M.S.B.: The Latest Threat*

### **Followed by**

*Before The SMSB: What is a Bloodbath?*

***Boys vs. Girls 2*** is the official sequel to the *Boys vs. Girls* trilogy, following *Boys vs. Girls: The Fate of the Towers* and *Boys vs. Girls 2 Prelude*. It was written by D. Isaac Thomas and co-written by Melissa Vaine. The novel was released on May 3, 2018, being met with universal acclaim.

## Summary

Return deep into the devices of the Boy-Team as they are forced back into action against a brand-new threat in the form of the Cavaliers of Thornton and Natalia Thornton. Return into the unique life of a beautiful young woman and her one true love. He must find her deep in the woods after a year-long separation and save her. In order to be united permanently, they must join the highly religious Vincent Organa to battle the evils of the long-concealed International Alliance and its nearly mythical ruler, fully aware that the known universe may never be the same again.

## Plot

The Second School War is already in progress. The Cavaliers of Thornton, a splinter faction of the legacy of the malevolent revolutionary Emily Watson presuming themselves a reflection of the protection agency I.D.E.A.L. in the wake of the Dinobot Invasion, being founded by Fern Miguel and led by Natalia Thornton, are tightening their grip on the world and have destroyed the Empire State Building after capturing young Joshua Petersen. Days later, President Roxanne Waterston meets with Helen McKeen, Supreme Commander of the opposite faction to the Cavaliers being the rapidly evolving Armies of Organa. With her close friend Steven Thompson, the three of them discuss security arrangements and Thompson agrees to be a liaison for the President. President Waterston, who has discovered a vacuum, meets with President Joe Biden, who does not take the threat of Natalia Thornton seriously.

"Andrew", born of Andrew Hendersen's intense mutation, meets up with his friends, Steven Thompson and French newcomer Charlie Corner, and they take off in the van of Supreme Commander Helen McKeen in order to resume their search for Summer Petersen to bring her out of her unwilling isolation deep in the wild. However, Falgamas ambush the search party and the van crashes. Recovering from the wreckage, they quickly locate the Petersen Estate and Steven goes in alone, only to learn his best friend is not doing well in her solitude. She is revealed to be depressed and hopeless after twelve months alone with her computer and her troubled thoughts, which has made her put on weight to a noticeable extent. Steven asks her to return and finally redeem her emotional state. The Cavaliers of Thornton track Steven to the house, and Liv Emerson pilots the *Corrupter* and launches an airstrike. Petersen impresses everyone by getting them to safety aboard the *Heartbreaker* and they fly to Thompson's house. Once they are alone, Thompson and Petersen share a tender moment together and proceed to make out for the very first time. Petersen falls asleep cheerfully, but she is disturbed to see several frightening visions. She reveals to Thompson that Thornton knows of the ambush the Boy-Team is planning and that McKeen and Thornton are siblings. The quintet goes to Seven Peaks Waterpark, but the fun ends abruptly when insurgent Zachary Brown arrives to warn everyone in the waterpark that the Cavaliers of Thornton are coming. He grabs them and teleports them all to safety, at which point they go hide at Steven's house.

After several hours of rest, Petersen goes with Jay Organa to Tower Placement School: the Second Battle of Tower Placement ensues. Petersen spots Helen McKeen amid the din and they make their way to the dungeons to liberate potential reinforcements, including Joshua. In the process, they are nearly killed by Charlie Corner, who reveals he is actually a double agent, but Petersen throws him down the stairs. They search for Steven until Natalia Thornton traps and immobilizes them, explains her evil motives and how Emily Watson had betrayed all three of them for her own selfish pursuits, proceeding to Nexus Tower where Steven has been brought by the conflicted Cera Lewis. Thompson and Thornton begin to duel, but then Thornton realizes her computer system has been destroyed — as Summer met up with Jay to disable the Cavaliers' entire computer network to cripple their ranks beyond repair — and is then defeated by Thompson, who hesitates to kill her. With the International Alliance coming to reinforce the school, Summer is amazed to witness the massive cavalry charge being decimated by the U.S. Government, when Steven Thompson approaches her, alive but also confused and upset. Summer chooses to go home and tend to her brother.

 File:Vincent the dictator.jpg
During the years that follow, Steven and Summer progress through school in leaps and bounds as they become boyfriend and girlfriend. However, three years after the war's unexpected conclusion, Vincent contacts Summer and they devise a plan to rescue Helen McKeen from the palace of the extremely powerful and enigmatic Magistrate, who had pulled the strings of the U.S. Government for three decades. Steven is extremely reluctant to let her do this without him, but they come to a compromise that consists of Steven leading the Boy-Team fleet into a small war only if Vincent gives the word. Summer and Vincent meet in Nevada to confront Dark Nova, but Joshua Petersen tragically does not survive in spite of them avenging his death and successfully destroying the palace. Days later, Vincent Organa and his team have arrived in Idaho for a trade bargain. Summer Petersen sneaks inside, obtains valuable information from the Magistrate's collared slave Thomas Carter, and finds a disguise that allows her to vindicate the dancer and free Helen McKeen. However, she is caught by the Magistrate, whose true name is Zira Miranda Grover, who has been like an older sister to Summer for years. The two girls awkwardly bond over the next two days, leading to Summer eventually befriending Annabeth Black. Vincent arrives at the palace and is forced to compete in the Tournament of White Roses; the final round is inadvertently sabotaged by a manager. The Magistrate sentences several prisoners to the Temple of the Relinquished, where Vincent, along with Helen McKeen and GTR-10 and the Winged Bird among others, are to experience termination by a dimension of ravenous eldritch horrors.

 File:Summer Petersen (Boys vs. Girls 2).png
Four Boy-Team squadrons burst out of nowhere and a massive sky battle erupts around the Magistrate's limousine as the Cavaliers of Thornton intervene. Summer has a sudden vision of the Black Queen herself coaxing her towards evil with otherworldly drugs, while Xydarone IV is decapitated and the Magistrate has the fleet surrounded. An enraged Summer tries to kill the Magistrate, but Steven stops her and they incapacitate her. Charlie Corner flies into battle on his ornithropter against Summer, Josh, and a disgruntled ex-Cavalier. They vanquish Corner, but not before he injures the Cavalier. In the meantime, Helen confronts Natalia and tells her that everyone is magical and she can still change everything. Natalia reconciles with her sister and disables her own military forces. The *Gemotre* explodes, and President Waterston arrives, commending the heroes for their victory; Thornton humbly accepts her prison sentence and the Cavaliers are vindicated. The vindictive leader of the Alliance Guard tails Summer, but is easily silenced. Summer and her friends return home and she lovingly tends to Steven until he heals so they can both attend Joshua's funeral together. Six months later, Steven throws a graduation party at his house, and Summer decisively forces Zachary Brown to end four years of stalking before confessing to Steven that she has been going through a phase where she does as much eating and wearing skimpy clothing as is possible. Promising to help her, and knowing all is well at long last, Steven nervously makes an imminent proposal of marriage. In a Postscript scene, an incarcerated Cera Lewis approaches Natalia in prison, saying she has heard that the latter knows about the Brotherhood, though Natalia denies this.

## Development

D. Isaac Thomas first announced he was doing a sequel to the trilogy in January of 2017. He began mapping out certain scenes, as he later admitted that he had "always wanted a scene with the Cavaliers on a rampage to open up with".

In November of that year, Thomas approached Melissa Vaine with his ideas, which he had already been developing for months, about a sequel to the *Boys vs. Girls* trilogy, and promised he would pay her in the future, should she work as his co-writer on the book. The two continually used Chat Mods on Wikia and Instagram to work collaboratively on the novel, which was released shortly after her twentieth birthday in May of 2018.

## Reception

*"It's a movement, a revolution in progress, and a joy to experience all wrapped into one, and thanks to its utterly unique and unforgettable protagonist, a master class in what it means to be proud of who you are."*
―Tyson Petersen[src]
The novel received overwhelmingly positive reviews for elevating romantic thriller literature to thrilling new heights while telling one of the most absorbing stories of the DLU. Several readers planned on reading it again. *Boys vs. Girls 2* was listed as the number one D.I.T. installment by Chris on his top ten list, as well as number two by its own co-author, Melissa Vaine, when ranking all forty DLU books to date. Other readers called *Boys vs. Girls 2* one of the best sequels of all time, as an emotionally refreshing and utterly heartwarming continuation for extremely well-realized characters. A FANDOM user named "annabeth is queen" called it unlike any other D.I.T. book, "an exhilarating triumph on every level, not transcending the genre as much as embracing it in all its respects". She concluded, "*Boys vs. Girls 2* could have been just another D.I.T. romp [but] Isaac and Melissa had the power, and perhaps the responsibility, to do much more. And they did." The cast was acclaimed, with an anonymous FANDOM user citing that "Summer definitely holds her own, but there are certainly numerous enticing players such as Helen and Josh and of course, Steven himself". Indeed, Summer's increased growth as a character received critical acclaim for adding extreme relatability and for the tackling of mental health issues and for what it means for readers to learn to be proud of who they are.

The writing was praised for its handling of themes of teen romance, which is not always even remotely easy for the most experienced of novelists to paint realistically. One of Isaac's friends in Farmington, Utah stated, "The themes are deep, yes, but *Boys vs. Girls 2* is at the same time a visual joy to behold, with confident quirkiness, insane action sequences, and [it] sounds like [Isaac] fleshed out an iconic love story, taking it to a whole new level of unforgettable". On the other hand, a FANDOM user named "MaleficentFan2017" said, "it is fair to say that *Boys vs. Girls 2* is the most controversially erotic book Isaac ever wrote, both in its very existence... and in the questions its story raises." In particular, he took issue with the Magistrate's euphemizing of "slaves" as "employed inmates".

## Rating

Like its predecessors, *Boys vs. Girls 2* is rated PG-13 (parents strongly cautioned). The book is rated "intense sequences of action and violence, some sexual content including brief partial nudity and language". The first two make sense as Melinoe is almost always barechested, Petersen is seen wearing a bra twice, just like the Magistrate and Claire, Hayley is similarly sexualized, and there is a fair deal of gunplay, swordplay, and a few gruesome deaths. However, there are actually very few swear words, "s--t" is spoken once and "damn" is spoken twice, and there is a single "f-bomb" from Steven.

## Appearances

### Events

* Second School War
	+ Cavalier Offensive
	+ Infiltration of Nexus Tower (mentioned)
	+ Second Battle of Tower Placement
* Search for Summer Petersen
	+ Escape from the Petersen Estate
* School War (mentioned)
* Liberation of Utah (mentioned)

### Locations

* Rome, Italy (mentioned)
* United States of America
	+ Idaho
		- Royal Palace of the Magistrate
	+ Utah
		- Maze of Ventilation
		- Petersen Estate
		- Tower Placement School
	+ New York
		- Empire State Building

### Organizations

* Armies of Organa
* Cavaliers of Thornton
* International Alliance
* Roman Empire (mentioned)
* Roman Republic (mentioned)

### New characters

* Andrew
* Pete Brown
* Charlie Corner
* Jim Newman
* Justin Bellamy
* Marina
* Melinoe
* Sammy Salaraga

### Mentioned

* Brutus
* Coliseum
* Dove
* Freedom of Information Act
* Infiltration of Nexus Tower
* Julius Caesar
* Liberation of Utah
* *Life of Pi*
* Roman Empire
* Roman Republic
* School War
* Summer Petersen's mother

## References

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