It had taken quite a while to get this arranged. So long in fact, that by the time Michael has reached out to Lee with the final arrangements for her to meet and spar/train with this woman, Lee had almost forgotten about it.

But that tends to happen when your boyfriend is in a building collapse (but he gets you out by having a spirit drag you out), and he thinks the way to not risk another potential phone induced merge is to torture himself with the same exposure ‘training’ he was subjected to as a teen.

It was a busy summer.

The arrangements had been made, though, and on the day, Lee made her way to the Haven building. She hadn't used the training facilities often, but she knew where they were. After checking in at the reception desk (she hadn't been in the building in 6 years, after all), Lee made her way to the training room with her gym bag over her shoulder.

The summer had been…honestly pretty chill. After a single wild night in the late spring, Quin had settled into her summer session classes with all the gusto and vigor of someone who had been in school without a break for the past several years and was more than ready to be done for a while. Still, she’d done well and that was what really mattered in the grand scheme of things.

What hadn’t been going well was her training. Ever since that wild night at the bar and the martial arts class that had followed a few days later, Quin had been trying to find a niche for herself on the mat. Aikido was great, it was comfortable and it just felt like her body knew what to do when she was moving through the forms or going one-on-on against an opponent.

The problem with aikido though, was that it was completely defensive, and sometimes you just couldn’t wait for someone else to make a move. There was also the fact that the more offensive and aggressive forms of martial arts tended to have answers for everything in the aikido tool belt. Yes, it would be effective against the average person, even larger average people…but if someone knew how to fight?

Realistically it was all kind of silly, Quin knew. It was unlikely she was going to find herself in a situation where she’d need to fight a trained fighter in a court room, or on campus at NYU. Still…some nagging little thread in the back of the redhead’s mind wouldn’t let her rest.

To that end, Quin had used the card she’d been given at that training session and had a few sessions with Michael, the guy who had ran the class that day. Things had gone about as well in the subsequent sessions as they had the first and Quin left every single one frustrated and not sure what to do next.

This time, Miechal had reached out to Quin and said that he had someone new for her to spar with. That was interesting. He’d said it would be a challenge too, which Quin knew probably meant she was going to walk into an ass-kicking.

Still. At the appointment time, Quin had made her way down from her apartment to the training facilities and entered the room.

There was only one person there and Quin found herself a bit surprised. Obviously Michael wouldn’t have lied, so Quin wasn’t going to underestimate the situation, but the other woman was so…small.

”Lee?” Quin said, moving further into the room and setting down her bag, hoping she wasn’t embarrassing herself by addressing someone who was just there to work out.

Lee was not waiting long. Only a few minutes after she had made her way into the training room, Lee felt someone else entering behind her.

Turning as she finished putting her gloves on, Lee saw a taller red headed woman walking toward her.

”You must be Quin, then,” Lee said with a friendly smile as she closed some of the distance between them so they wouldn't have to call across the room.

And as she got closer, Lee saw that Quin was quite a bit younger than she was. Probably even younger than Lee had been before she'd first come to New York.

And Michael had suggested that Lee spar with Quin because Quin needed someone other than Michael to throw her around the mat. And thinking that Lee was the person to do that.

Lee couldn't help but think that either Michael was overestimating Quin's skill, or the younger woman had been through a lot at such a young age to be sparring the way she and Michael had.

”What sort of thing were you looking for here?” Lee ended up asking. ”Michael didn't really tell me much other than you were looking for a sparring partner to go ‘full tilt’-” and yes, Lee used air quotes there. ”With you. But I really can't with most people. Just want to get expectations clear.”

Quin nodded in relief when the other woman knew who Quin was. Awkwardness avoided.

The other woman approached and Quin looked at her more closely. Lee was small, but she moved confidently. Lee was also older than Quin and all that meant was that she’d had more time to train.

Lee spoke again and Quin frowned thoughtfully, Michael had told her what.

Sighing slightly and just a bit embarrassed Quin shook her head, ”I don’t know what ‘full tilt’ means, but Michael kicks my ass on a regular basis, so I’m not entirely sure that I can measure up to whatever he’s suggested.” Quin said, then thought for a moment.

”I know a lot of aikido, but Michael has been demonstrating repeatedly that it’s too defensive. He thinks I need to diversify and learn more offensive styles. I didn’t realize he’d set this up like I’d be any kind of real challenge.”

Based solely on the sigh, Lee knew that what Quin was wanting out of this was not what Michael had tried to set up.

That was completely fine with Lee. There were more ways that she could be challenged in the gym than simply sparring matches like she had had with Michael. Lee had Tony for that kind of challenge now, anyway.

Quin did explain the issues she had with her fighting in more detail. Or, rather, Michael's issues with Quin's fighting.

”Well thankfully Michael's way of thinking isn't the only correct way,” Lee told Quin. ”But taking a defensive stance in a fight isn't a bad thing, especially if you're smaller or weaker than your opponent and don't have a mutation that helps in a fight. But being able to be more offensive is important.”

Lee paused for a few moments before speaking again. ”This may be a stupid question, but what is aikido?”

Quin nodded idly as Lee spoke. These were all things that the redhead knew, but when Lee mentioned being smaller or weaker than your opponent, Quin’s eyes shot to the other woman’s.

And then Lee asked what aikido was.

Quin’s surprise had to be evident on her face. Most people who fought at least knew what aikido was, even if they didn’t think it was particularly useful.

”It’s a martial arts style, but it’s purely defensive. It’s about using an opponent’s size and momentum against them.”

Quin paused for a moment and thought, ”The problem is that most of the practice is theoretical, there’s not a lot of sparring and you almost never go full tilt. I thought I was really good…but Michael can put me on the ground in five seconds flat.”

Thinking for a minute, Quin fidgeted with her fingers a bit as she tried to sort out what she wanted to say, then failing to accomplish that task she looked back at Lee, ”What about you? How do you know Michael?”

Yup, it had been a stupid question. The way Quin explained that aikido was a martial arts style made it sound like Lee should have at least heard of it even if she'd never studied it.

The thing was, based on how Quin described it, Lee probably has been using it, at least her own form of it.

”Well,I can assure you that it can be useful when you put it into practice,” Lee told Quin. ”I’ve taken Michael down at least a couple times using their momentum.”

At that point Quin seemed to be in thought, so Lee let the younger woman think.

Then she blurted it a couple questions. That were simultaneously easy, yet very hard, to answer.

”Honestly? I use whatever move or idea that seems the best in the moment.

“But Michael and I used to work in overlapping but separate circles years ago. Then I did some work with Haven about 7 years ago. But we didn't actually meet until a few months ago when Michael walked into my gym wanting to spar. And since none of the guys at the gym would spar properly with me, I jumped at the chance.”

Lee paused, thinking back to that match. In the moment, Lee had felt like she'd been barely able to keep up. Watching the video, Lee had seen how much closer to failure some things had been for her.

”Yet even with all of the actual training Michael has, I apparently have them a run for their money.”

Lee seemed to think that regardless of what Quin said, the defensive nature of aikido could be useful in a fight. Lee also pointed out that she had managed to take Michael down in a fight…more than once. Suddenly Quin had an entirely new view of the woman in front of her.

What the hell had Michael gotten her into? If Lee could give Michael a run for his money…she was massively out of her league.

Quin’s other questions didn’t go unanswered though and things got even wilder as Lee suggested that she didn’t use any kind of specific martial arts styles to fight. How…how was she untrained and able to go toe to toe with someone like Michael?

Oh, they’d worked together...sort of? Quin knew that Michael did some kind of security contracting work.

”I think I’m way out of my league.” Quin said, embarrassed all over again. ”And I really hope this isn’t going to be a massive waste of your time.”

Quin paused for a moment, unsure how to explain how she knew Michael.

”I’ve apparently known Michael for a long time.” she said on a bit of a sigh. Quin hated just coming out and telling people this, but it was relevant. ”I used to be a cop…well, a detective I guess.” she said haltingly, ”We apparently worked together, or against each other, and he apparently told me the same things about my fighting then, and I didn’t listen.”

Quin’s lips compressed into a thin line here before she spoke again, ”I ended up working for Haven and got mixed up in the human trafficking ring that blew up here a few years back. ”I lost a little over a decade, so I’m kind of starting from square one. Luckily, I started aikido well before I was the age I ended up.”

Quin was apologizing, thinking that because Lee had been able to get Michael down that this was going to be a waste of time. Lee shook her head. "Just like Michael's way isn't the only correct way to think, Michael's fighting style isn't the only way to give a challenge. Plus, as my boyfriend likes to remind me, I was black and blue after that match with Michael."

Then Quin was explaining how she knew Michael and how they had - or hadn't - worked together in the past. As well as how Quin had ended up being de-aged.

"Damn…" Lee breathed with another slight shake of her head. Though it sounded like Quin was quite lucky to have only lost a decade of her history rather than her life.

"Well, whether or not you go looking for trouble or not again," Lee ended up saying. "It does sound like it would be good for you to have more options available to keep you alive. Because in my experience, it doesn't seem to matter whether you're looking for trouble or not."

Lee was nice, and apparently didn’t think that this was going to be a waste of her time. At least not yet. There was still plenty of time.

Lee had also apparently also ended up black and blue after sparring with Michael and that Quin could empathize with, ”Michael definitely doesn’t hold back.” Quin said, and it was wildly frustrating sometimes.

Lee’s response was really the only appropriate one to Quin’s story and the redhead nodded, ”I don’t remember a thing, and everyone says that if it hasn’t come back by now…” she shrugged, ”It was apparently a great loss to the NYPD and MRC.” she added a bit bitterly. There’d been news clips and an incredibly awkward interaction with some of the top brass in the city. It was still weird how that had all worked out, because Quin hadn’t worked there for quite a while before everything had gone down. ”I’ve been lucky to have Haven though.” she shrugged, ”I don’t now who or really how, but someone made sure I had a place to stay and got me in school and just…helped.”

Lee’s next point landed well for Quin and she nodded vigorously, ”Tell me about it…” she said, ”Just a few weeks ago I went out to a club with some friends and there were these crazy zombie clown things…” she shuddered at the memory. ”Sometimes it’s like trouble just has a way of finding me.”

She had to smile a little at Lee, ”Best to be able to kick its ass when it does, right?”

Quin thought that Michael didn't hold back. To a point, Lee had to disagree with that. If Michael had not held back, Lee would have never gotten a single hit in because Michael would have been moving fast from the start. Instead, Michael had only started moving faster as Lee had in order to block hits.

And if Michael's strength was anything like their speed, Lee knew for a fact that Michael held back a hell of a lot more than Quin would believe.

"Really?" Lee asked as she shook her head. "If losing one officer is that bad of a situation for the NYPD, it just shows how great they aren't as an organization. Especially because you didn't die. They could have supported youa nd helped you get retrained to join the force again if you wanted to." But really, how much could one expect from the organization that employed Rupert Kelley, the one from this world, for so long?

"If you were working with Haven when all that happened, I'm not surprised that they've been helping you," Lee told the younger woman. Though, while Lee assumed that Quin had been fairly deeply in with Haven to be working on such a mission for them, it sounded like the woman in front of her was not privy to nearly as much information.

"I wasn't with Haven long enough to learn the who or how, but I know they work to be able to do the things they need to get done. And it sounds like helping you was one of those things."

And, it turned out, Quin was in the same mind of knowing you needed to be able to protect yourself, to be able to keep yourself alive. In her case because of…zombie clowns?!?

Lee just blinked at Quin for a couple moments. Lee had definitely seen and experienced a lot of 'crazy' things in her life, but that was definitely high on the list of crazy.

"Exactly. Because you can't count on someone else being there to help you, never mind to save you."

Lee had feelings about the NYPD.

”I had apparently quit a while before everything happened…” Quin said, and she was shaking her head.

”And they did…offer the academy again, that is. I turned them down.”

She had, almost immediately. The thought of going through all of that, with all of those people who knew her that she didn’t know. She still ran into cops from time to time who would act like she should know who they were. It was awful. The idea of trying to do all of that again had been…just no.

And she had been working with Haven, but Quin had no idea in what capacity other than the fact that she’d been doing detective work for them and that’s how she’d found herself at Hunt’s Point that night.

Lee responded to Quin’s story about the clowns in a perfectly reasonable manner. Because who would have ever expected zombie freaking clowns in a dance club?

Lee spoke though and Quin found herself nodding solemnly again. The fact that there was someone else who felt the same way was heartening, but also just sad. ”So yeah. That’s why I’m here.”

All that said, Quin sighed and kind of shook herself out. ”So. We going to do this?”

Quin had quit the force a while before all that had happened? Yet it was only after that they were bemoaning what a loss she was? Lee couldn't help but wonder at that point what had made Quin quit that the NYPD was hoping to gloss over and get her back as an officer by offering the academy again.

And that was why she was here. Because even when just trying to live a normal life, you apparently had to be ready to fight for your life.

Unfortunately, Lee knew about that all too well.

"So. We going to do this?”

"We sure can," Lee said, shaking out her arms a bit. "Is there something specific that you want to work on, or just general sparring?"

Lee was still open to sparring, and while Quin was still a bit nervous about the apparent gap in their skill levels, she was confident that Lee wouldn’t actually cause her any permanent damage.

Was there anything specific she wanted to work on? Quin nodded, ”I keep ending up in street fights. The form work and dojo hypotheticals haven’t done me much good.” she said frankly.

It was the honest truth, and it was what Michael kept telling her too. Everything Quin knew was too theoretical, aikido dojos didn’t spar. They didn’t fight. They didn’t ever have anyone take on the role of a true aggressor. It just wasn’t sustainable anymore.

”I need to learn how to win in a real fight.” she said.

Quin kept getting into street fights, real fights, and what she learned in her lessons and at the dojo weren't enough. Which was not a surprise considering the terrible they had had after Columbia finding a teacher that would actually teach what they needed to know and not just forms and drills.

"Since the only "proper" training I've really had," Lee said, raising her hands to throw in the air quotes. "Is to learn the correct form so I don't break my own bones, I can definitely help you there.

"Are these like bar fights, just tossing punches?" Lee asked. Not that she actually considered a typical bar fight to be a real fight. "More like a mugging, avoiding a weapon that's there more to cause fear? Or where one of you will be either unconscious or dead at the end? With or without grapples?"

Quin wanted to learn how to win a 'real fight'. Lee had learned from her questioning the guys at the gym, her definition of a real fight was definitely not shared by a lot of people. And Quin's definition would tell Lee how she was going to have to spar.