The support group met in the Bendis Center for Physics and Chemistry; a four-story glass building located in the hard science quadrant on the north side of campus. Nicole held Amy’s hand as they walked to an open area on the second floor with chairs gathered over a marble floor, around a fireplace roaring with life. 

Nicole had seen the flier for a trans support group at the Doghouse, and Amy insisted on going with her. Nicole had no objection to that; Amy had even said she mostly just wanted to listen and be supportive, and that Nicole should feel free to bring up whatever she needed to at the group- including about Amy, and how she’d first reacted to Nicole being trans, if need be. 

The chairs by the fireplace were all empty as the two of them approached. Or at least, they were until Nicole blinked, and Gabriel occupied the one nearest to the fire, warming his hands above the hearth. 

“Oh hey, you two!” Gabriel beamed as they approached. 

“Hi, Gabriel,” Nicole smiled brightly, eyes widening as she drank in the sight of him. 

Amy opened her mouth to say something, but the words failed to reach an audible level. Her face was also very, very red. Nicole tried not to giggle. Not that she could blame Amy- this boy was so pretty it wasn’t fair!

“What brings you to this meeting, then?” Gabriel said. 

“Oh, well, I’m trans,” Nicole said. 

“No way, same!” Gabriel said. He offered up his hand for a high-five, and Nicole accepted as the noise clapped throughout the room. 

“Light me a cigarette,” Amy whispered. 

“What was that?” Nicole said with a side-eye and a devious grin. 

“Nothing.”

“Wait, Amy,” Gabriel said, “Are you-”

“No, no I’m a cis girl,” Amy said. “Just here to support my girlfriend.” She gripped Nicole’s arm extra tight. 

“Cool!” Gabriel said, then went back to warming his hands. 

Nicole leaned into Amy’s ear and whispered, “My girlfriend is a chaser.”

Amy stomped her foot, then shot her an adorably grumpy look and whispered back, “No! I’m not!” 

“Just teasing,” Nicole said as she gave Amy a peck on the cheek. 

They pulled two chairs together and got warm by the fire. “I wonder who’s moderating this thing, anyway?” Nicole said. “It didn’t say on the flier.”

“That would be me,” a low-yet-feminine voice reached over the marble. Nicole turned, and found the source was the girl she’d gotten into an argument with at the Doghouse. She wore a baggy gray sweatshirt over long black dress and blue tights, her hair up in a messy bun and horn-rimmed glasses on her face and a skull-shaped choker around her neck. 

Oh, Blue Blazes, Nicole thought. 

“Hello again,” the girl said. 

“Hi,” Nicole said carefully, dragging out the single syllable as long as she could. 

“Oh, I wasn’t talking to you, blondie,” the girl said in a biting monotone. Her gaze was fixed on Amy. “Hey, Amy. How have you been?”

Gabriel looked at the scene with a dropped jaw and an enchanting smile (gosh what a pretty smile) and Nicole furrowed her brow in confusion as Amy’s face slowly shifted from squinting apprehension to wide-eyed recognition. “M-Muhammed?”

“Not anymore, but, yeah, it’s me,” the girl said. “I go by Safa now.”

“Safa, Safa, of course, of course,” Amy said, nodding rapidly. “Pronouns?”

“She/they.”

“You two know each other?” Nicole asked. 

“We used to date, back in high school” Safa said, with a look on her face Nicole tried very, very hard not to interpret as smug and self-satisfied. 

“Oh God, I really am a chaser,” Amy said in a low, mortified voice. 

“I mean, if you’re dating blondie here, which I’m guessing you are based on how she’s reacting to all this-”

“Blondie has a name, and it’s Nicole,” Nicole said, eyes narrowing. 

“-then yeah,” Safa laughed. “You really have a trans radar built in, don’t you?”

“Apparently,” Amy said. 

“Hi, I’m Gabriel!” the young man said, jumping to his feet and excitedly offering Safa a hand. Safa went red in the face and looked away but shook his hand. 

“Nice to meet you,” she said, clearly trying to keep something out of her voice. 

“So, you’re our moderator?” Nicole asked.

“Eee-yup,” Safa replied, taking a seat at the head of the semi-circle. “I started this thing at the beginning of the semester. We usually have a few more people than this, but with the semester basically already over… Well, you get the idea.”

“Do you commute to school then?” Amy asked. “Do you still live with your folks?”

“No, actually, my parents split up after I came out,” Safa said.

“Oh. Oh God, I’m so sorry.”

“Yeah. It was… It was rough,” Safa said. “My Dad… He went back to Egypt, actually. My mom is… A work in progress, but we’re on speaking terms at least.”

“That’s good,” Nicole said. 

“Hm, yeah. Fortunately she’s never done anything like out me to everyone in my hometown so she could stroke her own ego with some gratuitous virtue-signaling,” Safa said. 

A scream of protective rage poured out of The Box. “Excuse me?”

“Oh, nothing,” Safa shrugged. 

“Oh really? Nothing?” Nicole leaning forward, fists balled, trying terribly hard not to jump to her feet.

Amy put a hand on Nicole’s shoulder. “Safa, what are you talking about?”

“Oh, just something I overheard in the Doghouse last week,” Safa shrugged. 

Gabriel’s eyes went wide and his jaw dropped as he mimed the act of eating popcorn. Amy rolled her eyes at him. 

“I live for the drama,” Gabriel shrugged.

“Yeah, I noticed,” Amy glared.

“She decided to interrupt a conversation Debbi and I were having about my mother,” Nicole said, gesturing to Safa emphatically.

“I’m sorry, what now?” Amy said. “Safa, is that true?”

“Wait, that was Debbi with you?” Safa said. “Wow, I didn’t even recognize her.”

“Don’t change the subject, Safa.”

“It… Yes… It’s true,” Safa said, shuffling her feet. 

“Oh, damn,” Gabriel said. 

“Stop. Talking. PLEASE,” Amy groaned at Gabriel. 

Red prongs of anger and silver flows of pride poured out of The Box. This was just great- Nicole had come here for a support group, and now she was stuck dealing with this. She tapped her foot furiously against the ground and crossed her arms. 

“Safa,” Amy said. “Do you remember why we broke up?”

Gabriel gestured the act of his mind being blown and mouthed, ‘Holy Shit!’

“... I wouldn’t stop bad-mouthing your birth mother?” Safa said, not making eye contact. 

“Yes. That’s right,” Amy said, slowly and carefully. 

“Okay, but your birth mother is-”

“I know what she is,” Amy said. “Trust me, I know. But you really can’t do that. Especially not to my girlfriend’s mom.”

The outpour of ugly emotion from The Box gradually slowed. Amy was sticking up for her, and for her mother, even when Mom hadn’t exactly made a great impression. That was wonderful of her. Gosh, she’s wonderful.

“I… I’m sorry, Nicole,” Safa said, meeting her gaze. 

“Thank you,” Nicole said. “I appreciate that.”

Gabriel clapped while giving a little smile. 

Amy shot him a death-glare. Nicole and Safa, however, both started giggling. 

“What- oh come on, that was not funny!” Amy fumed. 

“I mean, they’re laughing- I’d say they think it’s pretty funny,” Gabriel said.

“Nicole, Safa, come on, he’s not funny!” Amy whined. 

“I think he’s a little funny,” Nicole and Safa said simultaneously. 

She and Safa locked eyes. Nicole blinked first. “Start over?”

Safa rolled her shoulders and extended a hand. “Sure. Start over. I’m Safa Al Sahir.”

“Nicole Nygaard,” she replied, shaking Safa’s hand. 

“Once again, Gabriel Guttierez, just happy to be here,” the young man said, still grinning.

“What’s your story then, Gabe?” Safa said. 

“Oh, I came out when I was seventeen and my parents threw me out of the house,” Gabriel said happily. “I stayed with my uncle for a about a year until he died of lung cancer. That was when I met my first boyfriend, Mike. I was with him for a while, then he up and left without telling me anything.”

“Oh shit, I’m so sorry,” Safa said, concern creeping onto her face.

“Eh, it’s whatever,” Gabriel shrugged, still smiling nonchalantly. 

“Is it?” Nicole said. This poor guy… 

“Then I bummed around for a while, drifting from place to place, until I started making money at esports tournaments. Now I mostly do that and fixing boats.”

“You fix boats?” Nicole said, leaning forward. “What do you specialize in?”

“Yachts, mostly. That’s where the money is,” Gabriel said. “Rich guys are willing to look the other way about my not having a union card, ya’ know?”

“Yeah, I know. My dad’s a fisherman.”

They went back and forth a while, the conversation flowing between them, Safa and Amy gradually shifting into their own conversation as they caught up. A few flares of envy shot out from the Box, but Nicole ignored them- she’d known Amy had exes besides Aidan. It stood to reason not all of them would be total monsters. 

The four of them talked, and talked, and talked, one hour turning to two. A yawn escaped Nicole as she kept trying to participate in the conversation. 

Her body grew heavy in the seat, and next to her, Amy was slowly drifting off. 

Safa and Gabriel weren’t far behind either. 

The heaviness grew and grew and grew until finally, Nicole was pushed beneath the surface of her mind and into a deep sleep. 

“Wake up, nerd!” her own voice called out. 

Nicole shook, and she found herself treading water under a black sky. 

Her demon, still wearing her face, or at least a reflection of it, stood there on the surface of the Floodwater. She wore a tattered and filthy and soaking wet version of Nicole’s pink uniform, her hair a matted and frizzy mess, her makeup running down her face like she’d been crying. “‘Sup, slut?”

“You? What are you doing here?” Nicole said, tilting her head, trying to ignore the bone-chilling coldness of the Floodwater.

“I live here, moron,” her demon said. 

“Okay, but what am I doing here?”

“You’re giving into sin,” her demon said. 

“What? No I’m not- I put aside my anger and forgave Safa.”

“Yeah, but you’re still a little jelly,” her demon pointed out. “Not only that, but you’re giving into Sloth, big time. I mean what, did you think you all just randomly fell asleep at the same time?”

“Er… No, actually,” Nicole said. “There’s a demon nearby, isn’t there? Back on Earth, I mean. Something that’s invoking all this Sloth… It’s Sloth themselves, isn’t it? One of Astra’s?”

“I’m gonna go out on a limb and say yes.”

“I knew it! I knew Astra wasn’t trustworthy!”

“Wow, you figure that out all by yourself?” her demon said with a smirk and narrow eyes.

Nicole rolled her eyes. “Why are you helping me, exactly?”

“Because I hate Astaroth and everything she stands for, for one thing,” her demon said, prancing back and forth over the water. 

Nicole gripped the water like it was rock, and forced herself to stand atop the water’s surface. It felt somewhat… Sacrilegious, but then this wasn’t exactly normal water. “And what else? You said ‘for one thing.’ What’s the other thing?”

Her demon sighed, and then blew a strand of her from her eyes. “I think when you ejected me from your body, it left an imprint on me. Now, I’m locked into this form, when I’m not even supposed to have one! And the more you sin, the stronger our connection becomes. I’m pretty sure what will happen if you fully give into sin is that I’ll be pulled back to your world.”

“And… You don’t want that?” Nicole said, trying to keep up with her demon’s skipping across the bounds of Floodwater.

“Nope! I wanna go back to normal,” her demon said. “I’ve got your emotions and your… Convictions swarming around my head- a head I’m not supposed to have, btw- telling to ignore all my instinct and… Bleh, save cats from trees and teach orphans how to read or some shit. Satan, you’re just sickeningly saccharine, I can’t, I LITERALLY CAN’T EVEN WITH YOU. If I get yanked back to your world like this, I probably won’t ever be able to go back how I was before! So, I need you to get back out there, get your shit together, and get off your ass before I’m stuck feeling all these weird, stupid, ooey-gooey emotions of yours for all eternity!”

Nicole squinted. “I’m sorry, I just… Why is that a bad thing?”

Her demon paused, stopped where she was, as a confused expression invaded her face. Her eyes darted back and forth, and she mouthed words Nicole couldn’t quite make out, as if she were having an argument with herself. And by the look of it, she was losing the argument with herself, growing ever-more frustrated with each passing instant. Finally, after a few minutes of considering it, she said, “Shut up! It just is! I’m a Lillin demon, for Satan’s sake! I’m not supposed to have a form! I’m not supposed to have any emotions at all besides envy!”

Her words were a loose thread Nicole couldn’t help but pull on. “Envy, huh? Are you sure that isn’t why you want to possess people in the first place? Because you want to have a form? A body?”

“Shut! Up!” her demon said, jabbing Nicole’s chest with her index finger. 

“I’m just saying, is it possible what you’re feeling right now is-”

Her demon struck her with a mean right hook, and Nicole went tumbling beneath the surface of the Floodwater. 

That was when she woke up in her chair by the fireplace. Amy was asleep on her shoulder, while Safa and Gabriel were passed out in their respective chairs.  

Nicole shook Amy, and gradually, she came awake. 

“What’s happening?” Amy said, shaking her head. “I don’t remember falling asleep- I don’t even remember getting tired.”

“Demon. Here,” Nicole said. “Sloth, apparently.”

“Astra,” Amy growled. “I knew we couldn’t trust her.”

“That’s what I said,” Nicole muttered.

“To whom?”

“Er… I’ll tell you later. C’mon, let’s wake these two up and get out of here.”

“We should check them first,” Amy said, her hand glowing. 

“Good point,” Nicole said. 

Nicole put a glowing hand on Gabriel’s forehead, and nothing happened. Amy did the same to Safa, with identical results. “They’re both clean,” Nicole said. “We should prioritize getting Safa to safety and then come back and do some pest control.”

Amy nodded as she shook Safa awake; she gasped as she woke up, and said, “Allah, I just had the weirdest dream.”

“We all did,” Amy said. “There’s a demon in this building. We need to get out of here.”

“Demon?” Gabriel said. “Where?”

A yawn the approximate volume of a heavy metal scream shook the room as a young woman with dark hair and olive skin padded towards them over the marble floor. The bags under her eyes could weigh down curtains on a stage, and a plain gray hoodie adorned her head and a baggy pair of sweatpants on her legs. “Uuuuggggghhhhh heeeeeerrrrrrrrreeeeeeee. C’mon, let’s jusssssst get this over with.”

A massive tide of exhaustion slammed into Nicole again, and she nearly tumbled to the ground and closed her eyes. She felt like she hadn’t slept in a week, a month, a year- all she wanted to do was lay down and sleep until the heat death of the universe. 

The young woman, Sloth, evidently, brandished a butcher’s knife that burned with a plume of Hellfire. 

Safa collapsed to her knees and pushed against the ground, desperately trying to stay awake. 

Nicole grimaced, shaking her head as she struggled to fend off exhaustion. It was as if she hadn’t slept in years, and she needed to sleep now, more than anything in the world, just to reacquaint herself with the concept. “I think we need to drop the pretense, babe.”

“You sure?” Amy said, rubbing her eyes.

“Do you trust her?”

“Yeah, implicitly,” Amy said. 

“What about you?” Nicole said to Gabriel. “Are you cool with this?”

“I don’t think we have a choice,” Gabriel said, the bags under his eyes tripling in size in the space of an instant.

“What are you guys talking about?” Safa yawned 

Nicole cracked her neck. “Gonna need you to keep a secret.”

“What secret-”

Nicole glowed with Pink Light and transformed, Gabriel and Amy doing the same in their respective colors. 

“Holy fucking shit!” Safa exclaimed. 

“Oh come on!” Sloth said. “I don’t wanna fight! I just wanna nap- can’t you guys just go to sleep so I can stabbity stabbity stab stab stab you to death! C’MONNNNNNN!”

Gabriel grabbed his walking stick and pulled a rapier out of the sheath. He was gone in a flash, but then reappeared directly in front of Sloth and fell over on his face, passed out. 

Amy chuckled. 

Nicole shot her a look.

“What?” Amy said. 

“No comment,” Nicole replied.

“You guys,” Safa yawned, “Y’all are freaking superheroes-”

Sloth slowly brought the edge of her cleaver towards Gabriel, but Nicole fired a shot of healing light at him, and he woke up immediately and rolled over. 

Sloth groaned. “Oh c’mon- not fair- just let me kill you so I cannnn gooo hooommmeee and nap! I’m just so tiiiirreeeedddd allllllll the tiiimmmmeeee. It neeverrrr stops and my boss never letssss me take a break!”

That gave Nicole an idea. “Amy, lay down some cover.”

“Gotcha!”

Amy spread a blanket of shadows over the room, quickly enveloping the entire room.

“Heyyyyyyy c’monnnnn nottttt fairrrrrrrrrrr,” Sloth said through the darkness, yawns rapidly infecting her vocalizations more and more and more. And then a collapse and a thud echoed through the shadows. 

Amy washed away the shadows, and Nicole walked up to the unconscious demon. “Okay, let’s try something.”

Nicole’s hands throbbed with Pink Healing Light, and she put them on Sloth’s face and poured the light into her. Nicole felt the massive weight of her exhaustion, and felt it dissolve like a puddle on a hot summer’s day in the desert. 

Sloth’s eyes opened, and the bags under them vanished. She cracked her neck and hopped to her feet. “What did you just do?” she asked, her voice clear and her words fully enunciated.

“I cured your chronic fatigue,” Nicole smiled. 

“Thank you!” Sloth smiled. “I feel amazing! How can I ever repay you?”

“You can turn yourself in,” Nicole said. 

“Okay!” Sloth chirped. “Sorry about the whole stabbity thing- you know how jobs are. My boss always gives me the worst jobs.”

“And your boss is Astra, right?” Amy said. 

“Your birth mom?” Safa said. “What does she have to do with this?”

“Long story,” Amy frowned. 

“Yeah, I work for Astaroth,” Sloth said, beaming with a bright and pure smile.

“Very long,” Nicole said. 

“What exactly is her plan?” Amy said. 

“Oh, she doesn’t tell me stuff like that,” Sloth said. “She sent me to kill that one there,” she pointed at Gabriel. His face burst with shock. “And you too, blondie.”

“Of course she did,” Amy growled.

“So, who’s escorting me to jail?” Sloth said, clapping her hands together. 

“I’ll do it,” Gabriel said. 

“Mmm, no, I don’t think so,” Amy said. “I still don’t know if I trust you.”

“Amy, go with Gabriel, take Sloth to the military prison,” Nicole said. “I wanna talk to Safa for a bit.”

Amy sighed. “Okay. Just promise to be nice.”

“I promise,” Nicole smiled gently. “You be nice too.”

“Ugh, fine,” Amy said. She and Gabriel led Sloth by the arms out of the room, leaving Nicole there with Safa. 

Safa sat back down in her chair and rubbed her temples with her fingers. 

Nicole de-transformed and sat in the chair next to her. “Want me to walk you home?”

Safa nodded slowly and without saying anything. 

They stepped out of the building and into the brisk afternoon air. The sky was clear after a lot of rain, even if the air still had the undeniable bite of the encroaching winter. 

“So,” Safa said. 

“So.”

“My ex-girlfriend is a superhero,” Safa said as they ambled across campus, Nicole following her as she led her in what was presumably the direction of her dorm. 

“She is indeed.”

“And she’s dating you.”

“Yes,” Nicole said. Please don’t make this awkward, please don’t make this awkward-

“How are things going with you two?”

“Good,” Nicole said. 

“I didn’t know she liked girls,” Safa said. 

“I mean she didn’t either until like a month and a half ago,” Nicole said. 

“Heh. Fair enough,” Safa said. “Man, between the two of us, Amy clearly has a type.”

A giggle escaped Nicole. “I think the way she was checking out Gabriel clinches it.”

“What, you mean when she was glaring at him while clearly undressing him with her eyes?” Safa laughed. 

Nicole laughed even louder. “Yeah, I mean, she hated me at first-”

“Same!” Safa said. “She was all like, ‘stupid nerd being nice to me and looking super pretty-’”

“‘Having immaculate taste in Space Husbandos-”

“Oh, damn, you’re a Green Lantern fan too?”

“Nova, actually,” Nicole said. “I’m more familiar with Marvel’s cosmic stuff. But I’m always down to learn more- I read a bunch of DC as well.”

“Oh, well then let me open your eyes to the wide world of Green Lantern, specifically a gorgeous piece of ass by the name of Simon Baz,” Safa said. 

“Oooohhh, do tell, do tell,” Nicole said. 

They talked the whole way home, until they stood outside of an on-campus apartment building. “Well, this is me,” Safa said. 

“Gotcha.”

“Thanks for walking me home,” Safa said. “You really didn’t have to.”

“I figured you might be a little shaken after a demon attack,” Nicole said. 

“I appreciate it.”

“And, uh, I need to ask-”

“I don’t have any designs on Amy,” Safa said. “You two seem to have a good thing going, and I don’t wanna step on it.”

Nicole nodded. “Thank you. But that actually wasn’t what I was thinking of.”

“Oh, right- your secret identities are safe with me, don’t worry,” Safa said. 

Nicole smiled. “Good. Thank you. And seriously- I’m sorry we got off on the wrong foot.”

“Me too,” Safa smiled. “Friends?”

“Friends.”

Safa offered a hand to shake, but Nicole went in for the hug instead. After a moment of her being stiff as a board, Safa accepted and hugged back before going into her apartment. 

Nicole breathed out and started her walk home. A lot had happened today, and there was more to come, but she’d won the fight and made a friend, and that was enough for her. 

***

Astra grinded her teeth as she watched the little blonde bitch through a pair of binoculars. She stood on a rooftop, having tracked Amy’s tart since she’d left the building. Fucking dammit, Sloth was supposed to take care of Nicolas and the Dragonslayer both! Amy was supposed to wake up surrounded by the entrails of her fallen lover and not know who’d done it, then come crawling to her for answers and walking away convinced the Devil’s Coven was responsible! But somehow the stupid fucking tranny had broken the spell and woken up. 

Astra sighed deeply as she watched blondie bounce away. She took out her phone and sent a message to her most trusted general: “Change of plans. We’re initiating Phase 2. Starting tomorrow.”