Pip continued to pace the room, swinging her sword and adjusting to the armor being a second skin. In her suit of armor, she was significantly taller than her usual 5'2 height, and a bit broader as well. It bulked her up significantly, making her look the part of a typical brawler, something that left her with an aching smile. She'd always been small, something that bothered her even though she tried not to let it.

With her new awareness of her power, she came to realize her suit of armor wasn't perfect. Now that she could move it with simply the movements of her own body, she became aware of the way the knees clicked when she lifted them and how the ankles were a bit weak around the back. She stood still for a moment, shifting the glass slightly. It was more like unsummoning and resummoning the glass until she got the change she wanted, rather than just shifting the glass she'd already summoned, but it worked.

"You've never looked hotter," Violet remarked as Pip stepped into a low lunge, experimenting with how far the suit of armor would stretch. While she wasn't the most acrobatic person herself, especially compared to some of the others in the program, she was flexible and needed to be able to move.

Will acrobatics be easier now? she wondered before bouncing twice in place. Jumping was easy, the weight of the glass meaning nothing now that it seemed to just telekinetically hover above her skin. If she just moved like herself, it wouldn't be any easier, but if she could telekinetically grab her armor with her inside it, there was a possibility she'd be able to launch herself further.

That opened up a whole new door of possibilities.

"You think she can hear us in that fishbowl?" Violet murmured, leaning into Florence's ear. His face was still curved with a smile, hawk-like eyes taking in every movement of her armor. When Pip glanced at him, she recognized the hunger in those eyes, and it lit a fire to her own. Every new development deserved to be tested, and they still needed to have their rematch.

"You probably will need to change the shape of your helmet," Florence said, mostly ignoring Violet's comment. He stepped forward, flicking the side of the helmet with one finger before wincing at the impact. Pip, braced for the echo she'd expected, blinked in surprise when nothing happened. Well, that was a nice development. "It's too closed off. You're going to run out of breath, or fog it up."

"That's probably a good point," Pip said. As it was, the helmet was closed off, modeled after a typical knight's helmet like the rest of her armor. But glass was heavier than metal, and she didn't need to risk it fogging up. With a thought, she unsummoned the helmet, and the heat building around her neck immediately began to dissipate. Yeah, that would be a problem. She thought for a moment before deciding she'd need to sketch something out before making a change. "I'll have to try a few things out."

"You think that thing is ready to take a beating?" Violet asked, cracking her knuckles. She had to be as eager as the rest of them were for a fight. It was one of the things Pip loved most about the hero program. Everyone was always ready to test themselves, to pit themselves against an opponent, not only to see who was stronger but to see how much they'd each grown.

Pip made eye contact with Florence and the flames danced in his eyes as she responded. "Yeah, I think it is. What do you say?"

His smile widened before tightening down into the smirk that had annoyed her so much upon their first meeting, when he was nothing but a smug legacy who wiped the floor with her, and she thought she could just punch her way through every problem. Well, at least now she had the strength to back that idea up. "What are you suggesting, Carter? Are you ready for our rematch?"

Violet glanced between them. "You two have sparred?" she asked, surprise evident in her voice. It wasn't strange. They weren't exactly a great match power wise for a casual sparring session.

"Yeah," Pip said, not looking away from Florence. "My grandma brought him in to teach me a lesson."

"One I still don't think you've learned," he added.

"Does that matter now?" she asked, lifting her arm and showing off the way the armor and her sword moved.

"Not sure. We can find out?"

"What was the lesson?" Violet asked.

"That I fight like an idiot," Pip said.

"Pip didn't think when she fought," Florence said. "At least, not the way she should be thinking, and she'd never lost. That was more of the lesson than anything, I think."

Pip shrugged. "I still plan on beating you."

"Just so you know," Florence said, rolling up his sleeves. "While you've been leveling up, I've been doing the same."

"I'd expect nothing less."

Violet let out a little sigh as Florence continued getting ready for the match, removing his jewelry, which he really shouldn't have been wearing down below. It was just a hazard, but apparently, beauty had a cost. "I guess that means I won't get my chance today. Should I get a teacher?"

That question was the only thing stopping Pip from diving into their little brawl. Sparring wasn't discouraged in the program, and they'd never been told it required a teacher, so it wasn't necessary, but it probably was a good idea. This room didn't have any protections, and there was always the possibility it would get out of hand. Especially with Florence's power to just blow things up.

A piece of her also wanted to call her grandma, to get Thalia down here to watch her kick Florence's ass once and for all, like she couldn't before. She was smarter now, better with her power, and knew him better too. Knew his weaknesses.

"We can get a professor," Florence said after a moment. "And probably take this to an actual sparring room. I don't want to be held responsible for destroying the practice room."

"Let me call my grandma while we're at it," Pip said. She dropped the armor, loath to do so, and pulled out her phone.

"What for?"

"She's going to want to see me kick your ass."

Florence darted off to find a professor to supervise and a room to duel in, while Pip called Grandma Thalia. The phone rang long enough that she wondered if her grandma was even going to pick up before the line finally woke up.

"Hey, Pipsqueak," Thalia said from the other end of the phone. "What's up? Need me to kick someone's ass?"

The words were said jokingly, and Pip found herself smiling, but not because of the joke. "No, I need you to come watch me kick someone's ass."

"Oh, is that so?" Thalia asked, and Pip could almost feel her grin. "And why should I do that?"

"I'm having a rematch against Florence," Pip said, unable to keep herself from smiling. For months, she'd been replaying the fight in her mind, trying to figure out what she could do differently to win. There was nothing, nothing that would have pulled out victory for her. Now, there was a chance. Things had changed. She'd changed, maybe. "It's going to be good."

"I'll be down there within the hour," Thalia said before hanging up.

Leaving the room, Pip's mind raced with possibilities. She found Florence in one of the official combat rooms, with both Professor Canvas and Professor Williams overseeing. "Sorry, we're going to have to wait," she said, trying and failing at being apologetic. She just couldn't manage it. "Grandma Thalia is coming to watch."

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"Grandma Thalia, as in Thalia Carter?" Canvas asked, their eyes going wide.

"That's the one," Pip said with a snap of her fingers.

Professor Williams chuckled quietly, and Pip looked on in shock. She'd been convinced the man couldn't so much as smile. "I'm surprised she's not down here already," he said. "She has a way of spying on the program and always knowing when something interesting is happening. At least, she used to."

"Really?" Pip asked. It didn't exactly surprise her. After all, Thalia helped found the system. But it was still a bit odd.

Professor Williams nodded before returning to his usual stoic, silent self.

"Maybe I should try and get a bit of a crowd?" Pip suggested, looking around the room. Even with the professor's waiting, it was very quiet, and she itched to begin.

As much as she tried not to be an attention hog, and she definitely wasn't in the program for fame, she did love her fair share of attention. Getting to perform, or fight, in front of a group of people always left her at her best, striving for greatness. And she had no doubt that there was a whole group of people who would love to come and watch them fight.

"No, you won't," Florence said, shutting her down in an instant.

"Wait, why not?"

"Because you're going to keep this under your belt until midterms," Florence ordered. "Don't tell anyone I don't approve of, got it?"

She crossed her arms over her chest. "Why not?"

"Because this will give us a leg up," Florence said. "It's something nobody will be expecting. Just let it be a surprise."

"Fine."

"Actually." A grin she didn't trust stretched across Florence's face as he began. "You can invite Viv, since she's still on our team? Unless you think she'll distract you."

Heat began its slow blaze across her face as she stared at him, struggling to maintain eye contact. "And why would I get distracted?"

He shrugged and didn't respond. His smirk said it all.

"I'll invite her," Pip declared, and took off before Florence could call her bluff. Once in the hallway, she was struck with the thought that maybe it was a bad idea.

No, she had to be able to focus through own feelings. And, it also gave Viv a chance to see her being smoking hot and badass.

Yeah, she was definitely telling Vivainne.

She hiked through the entire campus in search of Vivainne, making her way up to their shared apartment, and ending up back at the sparring room. Vivainne was, for whatever reason, nowhere to be found.

She stepped back into the room, frowning and fiddling with her phone.

"Something wrong?" Canvas asked.

"Yeah," Pip said, putting her phone down. "I can't find Viv."

"Ah," Canvas said. "She's in L.A."

The flustered excitement that had been building inside deflated like a popped balloon. "I see."

"Just means it'll be a surprise later," Florence says, patting her on the back. "You ready? I see your grandma."

Pip whipped around, lighting up at the sight of Thalia Carter striding down the corridor. Each step of her boots sounded through the room, imposing compared to the casual way she had her hands tucked into the pockets of her leather jacket.

"Hey kid," she said in greeting, taking her hands out of her jacket. She extended an arm, offering a hug to Pip that she eagerly took, letting her grandma squeeze her tight. After a moment, Thalia glanced at Florence. "And you're just not going to say hi?"

He chuckled and accepted the hug. "I hope you're ready for this rematch," he said, grinning at her. "Who do you think is going to win?"

"Oh, how could I bet against my favorite grandchild," Thalia said.

Pip lit up for a moment before her mouth dropped in shock. "You're talking about him? He's not even related to you!"

"He basically is," Thalia said with a shrug.

"Aw, I'm your favorite grandchild," Florence said, touching his chest. "I always knew it."

"That's not fair," Pip complained, following them into the training room.

Everything was set up for the fight. Both professors were already there, greeting Thalia with smiles and handshakes. The microrealm had been engaged, something Pip could feel as she walked into the room. Putting her grievances with her grandmother and Florence aside, she stepped into the center of the room and waited.

Florence wasn't far behind, following her into the center of the first ring. For the first time in a long time, she looked at him with a critical eye. She hadn't paid much attention to him over the course of the program, aside from electing him team leader. For the most part, they were in different classes, focusing on different things. She hadn't seen him fight once since joining the hero training program.

He held himself differently. Just as confident as before, but less cocky, and less stiff. The way he moved, holding himself as they waited for the match began, was something she noted as she put some distance between them.

Florence stared at her across the sparring ring, meeting her gaze with a crooked smile. "Prove to me you can be the brawler for our midterms team."

"I'll prove it."

They only had to wait a few more moments before the ring around them lit up, and Thalia's voice called out through the room, declaring the terms of their fight.

"And fight!" Thalia shouted. Pip reacted immediately at the words, jumping into action. Against someone like Florence, she couldn't waste any time.

She summoned her armor, but that wasn't the only thing she did. With more mental space freed, she could do more than just summon armor. She summoned a dome of glass overhead, blocking the explosion that came not a second later. It blasted against the purple tinted glass, the thin layer of glass cracking and crumbling.

Pip let it drop, turning it into an obstacle between herself and Florence, forcing him backwards. She could walk on it, but he couldn't, not unless he wanted to tear up his feet. That might have been a decision he would have made in the field, but not here, and she took advantage of it.

She stomped over the litter of glass, distantly aware that this was another technique she needed to learn how to hone now that it was at her disposal. Maybe she'd have to take a lesson from her aunt on battlefield control.

For now, she leaned on the tried and true: swordplay.

Forming her sword from nothing, she attacked, swinging at a piece of dust as it began to glow. The dust exploded, burning hot enough that without Khione's cold resistance, she shouldn't have been able to maintain her glass. With it, she was able to burst through the flames and heat still lingering in the air and slice at the boy in front of her.

He danced out of the way, sending a vine of flames winding around the leg of her armor. She kicked it away, sending sparks flying, and caught another explosion to the side of her face. The shock ran across the side of her face for a moment, more stunned than hurt, but she never stopped moving. Eyes watering, she sliced at Florence again. She released her hold on the summoned glass behind her, she resummoned it behind Florence as she forced him backward. He struck as she did, slamming a burst of flames against the front of her chest. There was a physical force to it, enough to make her stagger backward, and her eyes went wide.

He hadn't been able to do that before. All he'd been able to do is burn hot. Very hot, something that became apparent even as the heat began to overwhelm Khione's cold resistance.

She needed to end this fight, and fast.

The glass behind Florence swarmed in on him, and she leapt forward at the same time, striking at him with her sword. Flames sparked at the tips of his fingers, forcing her to summon her shield. She felt the edge of the blade nick him before something exploded in her grip, and the glass around her fingers went flying.

A gasp escaped her lips as her fingers burned. Not enough to destroy them, but fuck, was that his control or the room's protections?

Still, she didn't stop, balling her hand into a fist and burying it in his gut. He doubled over, wheezing, but that didn't stop him either. Flames exploded between them, enough to send them both to their backs on either side of the room. Pip struggled to suck in air that wasn't burning hot, feeling her insides blister as the air around them burned.

I can't stop, she thought, feeling herself swim as the heat snuck inside her armor. In the real world, she couldn't just be down. She had to get up.

Grunting from the effort, she turned herself over, pushing herself to her feet. Florence was already standing, flames burning around him like he was a phoenix, rising from the ashes and staring her down like he'd fight her to the death. She met that gaze, and balled her hands back into fists.

Instead of throwing the punch, however, she struck him from behind, utilizing the glass all around them. The explosion came a moment before it struck, and everything went dark.

She awoke a few moments later, staring up at the ceiling of the sparring room. It was coated solidly in ash, leaving her wondering for a moment how the room had caught on fire before everything caught up with her.

Thalia and Canvas leaned over her, visibly relieved as she woke.

"Did I win?" she croaked out, feeling as though she'd swallowed a mouthful of ash herself.

"Nope," Thalia said. "But neither did he."

She offered Pip a hand, and Pip took it, letting herself be hauled to her feet. She staggered for a moment, a wave of dizziness striking her. Orienting herself, her eyes landed on Florence, sitting on the floor a few feet away. His clothes were cut up, and there were cuts healing along his skin. She'd got him before going down, at least.

Freeing herself from her grandma, she stumbled her way over to Florence, somehow ending up on one knee in front of him. "So?" she asked. "Can I be your brawler?"

He nodded, the movement heavy and exhausted. "Absolutely. That was a hell of a fight."

A smile split her face through the exhaustion. "It was, wasn't it?"

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