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"Happy new year!" The people around the table cheered, their glasses clinking as they toasted and laughed. It had been an interesting few hours inside the bar, but Dana watched it all with a smile on her face. Fireworks started going off outside, and so they all went to the streets for Dana to also shoot her own.
Glitch City was used to bright colors from neon signs, but for today, it didn't look as awful as it usually was.
It was about half an hour later that they came back in, and though the party wasn't close to ending, the quieter part of the night had begun. Conversations toned down, people sat with satisfied faces, and the thrill of a new year filled the atmosphere of the bar.
Jill was the first to leave. Her little sister in law had fallen asleep not long ago, so after saying her goodbyes, she bailed.
Dana had been chatting with Gil when she saw the cat-boomer slip. She was close enough that simply stretching her arm would have caught her, but she ended up touching nothing. As she looked to the side, she saw the ex-white knight had been faster, catching her friend in a fraction of a second with her good arm.
"Damn, that was fast," Dana said with an appreciative smile.
"Thanks. I trained a lot," Sei smiled back.
Dana looked at her up and down. The muscles she was packed with were obvious in the light attire she wore, and as far as she knew, she was also chock-full of nanomachines that enhanced her performance. How strong was she? How fast? Dana'd heard a few of the stories being told about her, and they sounded impressive enough.
Then, an idea.
"Hey, Sei," Dana smirked with confidence as she stood.
"Yes?"
"How strong are you?" Dana asked.
The blue-haired girl thought for a moment. "Hmmm, I guess pretty strong? What are we measuring against?"
"Me," Dana sat on an empty table, offering her left arm in a clear wrestling invitation. "What do you say?"
"With your metal arm? Yeah, right!" Stella stood in the middle complaining.
Dana laughed. "If anything, this is my weaker arm. Plus, not much of a choice," she pointed to Sei's busted right arm.
Stella hummed with displeasure, sitting down. Sei, however, smiled lightly as she sat down in front of Dana. She linked their hands and the two of them started testing each other with light pushes.
"Alright, you ready?" Dana inquired, cracking her knuckles and neck.
Sei nodded, tensing up in anticipation. Stella's tiredness caught up with her before they even started, and she passed out on the counter.
The both of them focused and narrowed their eyes. Gil initiated a countdown.
They went all out right away, causing both of their arms to slightly budge to each side.
It seemed like they were equal at first, and Dana expected as such, alongside an appreciation for her rival's strength. Stella was one lucky girl.
Silence. Fifteen seconds passed of seemingly nothing. To Gil, it felt like forever, with only minimal budging. It had turned into a test of endurance in the end, the main factor not being strength, as neither were willing to lose in this contest.
Both participants started to grunt as they really started putting in the effort, especially Dana, her face tightening, her arm making progress against Sei's.
But, in what seemed like an instant, Sei managed to reverse that progress and slam Dana's arm down onto the table, securing a win with a loud knock.
In the resulting victory, Sei cheered to herself. Dana smirked after her slight moment of shock from the loss, proceeding to shake their sore hands.
Sei scratched the back of her head while taking the win in. "Um, honestly? I didn't expect to win. That doesn't mean you're bad at all though!"
Gil, in the meantime, had prepared himself a Sugar Rush to cool down. He was shocked his boss had actually lost. From what he'd heard—and witnessed too—her past feats were no joke.
"No worries. And good match, you surprised me!" Dana laughed once again, crossing her arms and taking a moment to admire Sei's well built form again, out of respect and interest. 'Damn, no wonder Stella is so head over heels for her,' she thought, feeling proud of the cat boomer.
Meanwhile, Sei's arm hurt slightly, not having done anything this intensive with it in a while. "Hehe, thanks. I guess I've been keeping up with my training since the whole White Knight incident."
"Keep it up. Maybe we could have a proper wrestling match sometime?" The prospect of a proper challenge excited Dana greatly. She'd had to ask.
Sei's face lit up in response, sharing the same excitement. "Sure, if I have the time. It was exciting! And this seems important to you."
"Thanks, thanks. I'll be here," Dana said with a nod of appreciation.
"You're very thoughtful and considerate, Miss Dana. I appreciate it!" After wiping the sweat off her forehead, Sei went back to Stella and attempted to wake her up. Getting no results, it looked like carrying her was the only option. With a sigh, Sei did just that—the smoothness with which she handled her one arm was a sight to behold—and made her way out of the bar.
Dana and Sei nodded to each other with a smile, and only Dana and Gil were left.
Dana closed her eyes for a moment, thinking to herself. "I'm calling her Super Sei from now on.", then turning her attention to a confused Gil. She wore a confident expression.
"Chief?"
She offered her arm to Gil, presenting an obvious challenge to him. "You want some of this too? You seemed interested."
Gil had to think about it for a few seconds, then realized she'd wipe the floor with him. "...No thanks," he declined.
"Then feel free to fuck off fuckboy. See you tomorrow."
"Off I fuck, then."