The Mark-I Changer broke apart, changing from a metallic band to a stream of glowing silver flecks that were quickly drawn into the violet gem at the center of the matching device in Ryan's hands.

Change Matrix [Mark-II Amethyst] has gained an Effective Level!

All Change Matrix functions have been reset.

Type: Change Matrix Mark-II (Amethyst)

Class: Assassin

Effective Level: 6

Combat Data Collected: 51%

"All done," he told Syd, handing her Changer back to her.

"Well? Don't leave us hanging," she said. Leaning a little further over the table than was strictly necessary, she retrieved it from him, her low-cut top giving him an eyeful in the process. "What Level are we at now?"

"About halfway to Level 7," he responded without taking his gaze off hers. "You're both making great progress."

"Aww, yeah!" Clutching the Changer to her chest, she did a little twirl, humming off-key. He was barely able to recognize the tune as the level-up music from an old JRPG series. "This deserves a celebration!" She froze, and a grin crept onto her features. "Hold on a sec, I'll be right back."

"You don't want to assign your Attributes and Abilities, Syd?" Amy asked the other woman as she brushed past on the way to her bedroom. "I figured you'd be excited for that part."

"I am!" Syd's muffled voice came through her door, accompanied by the sounds of frantic rummaging. Something crashed to the ground, followed by a muttered string of cursing that made Amy wince. "Just need to... find something first..." More ransacking noises followed, then she shouted, "Aha! Here we go."

She emerged carrying the pair of brown paper bags that she'd surreptitiously purchased on their shopping trip together.

Amy's eyes narrowed suspiciously.

"Eleanor Sydney Townsend, those had better not be what I think they are."

Placing a hand on her shoulder, Ryan gave it a gentle squeeze, hoping to forestall the imminent explosion.

"It's been a rough week for all of us," he said diplomatically. "Syd risked her life out there. So did you. Both of you deserve a chance to unwind a little. I know this is your house, and your rules, but... maybe you could make an exception? Just for tonight?"

Scowling, the policewoman turned away to stare out the apartment's window. A long minute passed in silence. Finally, she let out the breath she'd been holding as a long sigh.

Without speaking, she walked over to one of the cabinets, returning with a trio of fancy cut-crystal tumblers in hand.

Syd's mouth dropped open. She started to say something, only to be cut off by Amy jabbing a finger into her chest.

"Don't push your luck," she warned. "This is a one-time thing, understand? We're not making a habit of it."

"I get it, I get it!" Syd backed away, hands raised in mock surrender. "One-time thing. No habits. You're the boss, Amy."

Placing the glasses down on the table, Amy grumbled to herself, "Why am I already starting to regret this?"

Taking a seat between the two women, Ryan pulled the first bottle out of its packaging. A fifth of tequila stared back at him – and not the good stuff, either. Talk about stereotypical. Stifling a laugh, he checked the other bag. That one proved to be whiskey, some kind of store-brand knockoff with a label that had obviously been designed to resemble Crown Royal and a fifteen-dollar price sticker on the cap.

"What's that look for?" Syd asked him, her tone a touch defensive.

"It's nothing," he assured her, having apparently failed to keep the grin off his face. "I was just admiring your taste in spirits."

She gave him a skeptical look, and he quickly glanced away.

Reaching between them, Amy grabbed a bottle at random, unscrewed the lid and, after a final moment of hesitation, poured a finger into each glass.

"Here's to the guardians of Earth," she said, raising her glass. "And to their first victory... with many more to come."

"The guardians of Earth, and victory," Ryan agreed. "I'll drink to that."

"Hell yeah, the guardians of Earth! That's us!" Syd clinked her tumbler against theirs, then downed the contents in a single swig. "Eugh!" she gasped, then coughed. "That's horrible! What is this stuff?"

Ryan patted her on the back until the coughing fit subsided.

"You might want to grab us something to chase this with," he suggested to Amy after a sip of his own drink.

"There's cans of soda in the fridge," she said, taking a casual swallow. "For anybody who needs it."

"No chasers, I'm fine," Syd insisted, her voice still sounding a bit hoarse. "There is absolutely no way that I am going to get outdone in drinking by Amy freaking Reid."

"It's not a contest, Syd."

Was that a smirk?

"Let's talk Abilities and Attributes," Ryan suggested as Syd refilled their glasses. "Preferably before we get any further into that bottle."

"The other Juggernaut I fought had a sword," Amy declared. "I need one."

"If you want Energy Blade, you'll have to take the prerequisite Ability, Momentum, first. That will unlock Energy Blade, and you can get it when you reach Level 8."

Accepting the drink from Syd, Amy nodded firmly.

"Then we'll go with that one. I know you mentioned it before, but remind me, what does it do again?"

Ability Name: Momentum

Rank: 1

Requirements: EL2, Intercept

Effect: Successive attacks on a designated target increase the force delivered by every subsequent attack for a short time afterwards. Each rank improves the duration and magnitude of the force increase.

Restrictions: Remain stationary to activate. Consumes Stamina to activate and while active. If the user performs an attack on a different target, or an attack fails to connect, the Ability will immediately deactivate.

The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

"Momentum is another Ability that you can turn on and off, like Power Stance –"

"A toggle," Syd helpfully supplied, before taking another determined swig. Her face screwed up in distaste, the expression quickly replaced by a pasted-on smile when she noticed their stares. "Ahh," she wheezed, "that's the stuff!"

"– a toggle, yeah. While it's active, every time you hit somebody, it increases the force the next time you hit them. The effect stacks, too, as long as you don't miss, and the attack doesn't get blocked or deflected."

"Wow, that actually sounds way overpowered," Syd said. "Especially if she can use it together with Power Stance." Her tone grew petulant. "I thought I was supposed to be the damage dealer here?"

"Using it at the same time as Power Stance would be tough," he cautioned them, "since she can't move while that's active. The enemy can always back off."

"Unless I'm hanging onto his leg at the time," Amy noted.

He laughed, having just watched her do exactly that.

"True. Even so, all active Abilities consume Stamina. The more Abilities you have, the more careful you'll need to be in managing how and when you use them."

"And what happens if I run out of Stamina?" Amy asked.

"You'll pass out. Even before you reach that point, though, you'll feel yourself starting to get tired and sluggish as your Stamina runs down. In the middle of a fight..."

"...suddenly feeling tired and sluggish would be bad," she finished the thought for him. "Got it. Is there any way that I can get more Stamina?"

"Your maximum Stamina is a function of your Endurance Attribute, the same way your maximum Health is determined by your Toughness. They're the red and blue bars you see at the top of your visor's display when you're transformed. If you want to improve your Stamina, you have to raise your Endurance."

"I guess I should put some points into Endurance, then."

"You've got five more Attribute points to distribute from reaching Level 5, and another Ability Rank to assign."

"Put them all into Endurance. Wait, no, is there an Attribute that would make me faster?"

"Agility," Syd said before Ryan could. "Duh. That's how it works in every video game ever."

"Some of us have hobbies that don't involve sitting in dark rooms by ourselves staring at a screen," Amy primly replied. "Can we make it, say, 2 Agility and 3 Endurance?"

Ryan made the selections, then said, "Done. And for the Ability Rank?"

"Having a bigger Energy Shield came in handy. Let's put another Rank into that."

"Okay, you're set." Setting down his empty glass, he turned to face the other woman at the table. "What about you, Syd?"

"Since I had a gun, I didn't think a ranged attack would do me any good," she mused. "There were a few situations tonight where being able to shoot lasers out of my hands like a Blaster would have made a real difference, though. I was going to grab Speed Boost next, but..."

"Now you're thinking Energy Dart instead?"

Ability Name: Energy Dart

Rank: 1

Requirements: EL2, Decoy

Effect: Releases a magnetically-contained ion burst in the form of a dart. The magnetic field decouples on impact or after traveling a short distance, producing a small explosion. Each rank improves the effective range and reduces the cooldown between uses.

Restrictions: At-will. Consumes Stamina to activate.

"Um, sorta. Right now, it seems like the best option, anyway. Can I change my mind later?"

"Sorry. No respecs in this game."

"They ought to patch that." She frowned, closing her eyes in thought. "Fine. Give me Energy Dart, 4 points of Agility, and 1 of Endurance. And for the Ability Rank... hmm. My Decoy was a big help in that fight, until some jerk let it get blown away –"

"I already told you I was sorry."

"– and having a second one would probably make it work even better," she went on as if he hadn't spoken. "Yeah. I'm thinking Energy Dart, the Agility and Endurance, and another Rank for Decoy."

"You're sure?"

"I'm sure."

He locked in her choices, then took a moment to admire the final results.

Analyzing... analysis complete.

Target Identification: War-Form, Human Assassin

Commencing Standard Attribute Evaluation...

Effective Level: 6

Strength: 13

Agility: 22

Toughness: 6

Endurance: 7

Abilities:

Decoy (Rank 2)

Prowler Mode (Rank 2)

Energy Dart (Rank 1)

Threat Rating: MEDIUM

Amy chuckled smugly when he read off Syd's transformed Toughness and Endurance, earning a glare from her in response.

Analyzing... analysis complete.

Target Identification: War-Form, Human Juggernaut

Commencing Standard Attribute Evaluation...

Effective Level: 6

Strength: 14

Agility: 12

Toughness: 20

Endurance: 14

Abilities:

Intercept (Rank 1)

Energy Shield (Rank 3)

Power Stance (Rank 1)

Momentum (Rank 1)

Threat Rating: MEDIUM

"It's not fair," Syd groused. "What's the point of a magical girl transformation if it uses your human stats as a baseline?" Slugging back yet another glass of the truly bad tequila, she blinked, shook her head, then stood and walked over to Amy's seat. "Who ever heard of a jacked magical girl?" she asked, lifting the taller woman's shirt to poke accusingly at her toned midsection.

"W-wha – jacked? I'm not jacked!" Tugging her hem back down defensively, she turned to look for support. "I'm not jacked, am I, Ryan?"

Ryan, not expecting to be drawn into their brewing conflict, nearly choked on his drink. It took him a second, and several attempts to clear his throat, before he'd recovered enough to speak.

"You're... in great shape, Amy," he reassured her.

"Ha, see? Ryan says I'm in great shape, not jacked."

"Hey! You're supposed to take my side!" Syd said, switching her sullen pout to him.

"And why is that?" Amy asked, her tone studiously casual.

Syd paused, her mouth snapping closed.

"Oh, well, um. You know... because, um... reasons."

Ryan winced at her awkward efforts to push past the slip-up.

Maybe it's a sign, he told himself. I made a promise to Syd, and I've been putting this conversation off all week. He finished the remainder of his drink, feeling the cheap alcohol burn its way down his throat. Now's as good a time as any.

"About that..." he began, "Amy, I've got something to tell you."

"Ah?" She gave him a searching look. "That's convenient, because I've got something to tell you, too."

"Do you want to go first, or...?"

She made a face.

"I'll go first," Amy said. "Ryan, I know that I told you I didn't have room in my life for a relationship, but..." He felt his heart sink. Given what he was about to say to her, this was the last thing he wanted to hear. She stopped, poured herself another glass, and took a healthy swig, visibly gathering her courage to continue speaking. "I like you, Ryan," she finally blurted out. "If you're still interested, then –"

"Amy," he cut her off, unable to let the woman continue any longer, "Syd and I are dating."

He refilled his own glass, bracing himself for the outburst he expected from her.

"Oh, I'm aware." She gave him a faint smile. "I'm glad you decided to let me know, though."

"You're aware?"

"Syd and I had a talk, the day you two started dating. She told me."

"She did." He glanced over at Syd, and the dark-haired young woman shrugged, giving him a sheepish grin in return. "I see. And... you still decided to tell me that you..." Words failed him. "...why?"

Syd's grin grew, her expression approaching the Cheshire cat's famous leer.

"Like Amy said, we had a talk." She jumped to her feet, stretching her arms over her head in an exaggerated motion. "Now, before anything else exciting happens tonight, I think I'm gonna go take a shower." Her gaze lingered, first on Ryan, then Amy, and she continued, "Who wants to join me?"