#life hack: just block out the shapes of the armour

[slankyyy-revs-the-world]

Ngl really like how this is turning out, so it gets its own post

[chromium7sky]

Damirae week day 5: locked in| (I follow you) in the dark

A/n: continuation from I’m a sucker series part 4. Enjoy!!

*******flash back *******

After her roomates dies, Raven become the talk on her campus. She thought it will go away as the time passed by. Maybe she could lay low and it will calmed. But it seems after a week, she's been summoned to the student affair office because people been speculate that she is the killer. 

She sighed.

She can't help but provided her alibi along with her friends and lecturer as her witness that she's at the curator party at the night of incident. It was Friday evening after her last class at 7.43pm. As she walked through the pavement that lead to the bus stop, she felt like someone following her but whenever she looked behind her there's no one there. 

She get a pretty bad feeling, as she reached the small shelter station, she quickly open her phone just to put out her nervousness again she felt goosebump until an unknown number calling her. She was hesitated to answer but it is to kill silence atmosphere she swipe right.

"Hello?"

" Rachel?"

" Who are you?"

"Uh, I don't know if you still remember me, this is Damian. The one whom you asked for help that day?"

"Damian!" 

"I was wondering about the Forecast that we experience before, any news about it?"

"What about it?"

"Because I just solve the case from the one we got.'

"This is crazy!" her heart jumped excited. Hey, at least she could help someone to solve the case using her gift. "Well, as far as I know, there is no —" and the Forecast coming to her.

A ROOM. A WOMAN. A PAGE WITH NUMBER 43. BLOODY ROSE. A BLACKBOX WITH HAYS AND A LIVING HEART.

As if like a surge electric flowing through her body, she gasped. 

"Raven, are you okay?"

"I saw it."

"What?" 

"A forecast."

*****end flashback*****

It was dark, and she could smell damped , musky as if this place haven't seen the light for years. She tried to move her arm but it seems that it has been tied to her back, with zip tie. She winced as the sharp zip tie edges grazed to her skin. "Ugh."

'Calm down, Raven.' She as she looked around. It's a dark room, and she could hear cringe sound as she tried to make out, it does sound like a chain swinging from the ceiling. With the moonlight as the only light source, she could deduced that she's in an abandon warehouse. She could hear water drop sound further away.

She realise her blazer where missing as she felt cold creeping on her skin. Oh no. Her cellphone is in one of the pocket. She cursed for her bad luck. As she tried to move both of her hands, the zip tie cuts her wrist, she whinced. Then she felt it, the cold round circled her wrist, a bracelet gave by Damian.

She tried to find the charm that attached to it, she felt something like a shape, is that a bird? No. It has sharp curvy edge for the wings. Bats?

With her other hands struggling to pull it, she heard footsteps coming from front. "Oh god." She never felt like this as she see the dark shadow twisting swishing like some kind of phantom ghost who about to conjuring in front of her. She is so terrified that she deliberated pulled the charm and snapped the crystal bracelet as the crystal bead fall down and scattered to different places. 

"Who-who are you?" She swallow her saliva as she demand an answer.

She could hear someone scoffed, it sounds like a male, deep but menacing. " You are a handful, don't you know that?"

She gasped and couldn't breath. She feel his aura suffocated her. Her presence. Those aura that could literal suck the life out of you. 

"You're not Walter are you?"  Raven remember a maniac who tried to stalk her, giving her hard time that made her do the fake relationship with Damian.

"Oh, that creep guy? I'm way too smart for that cheap tactics." He smiled showing his pure white teeth. If anyone seen him on the street they didn't expected he's a bad guy. He has a calm face that could melt someone, blue eyes that could hypnotise you. 

"Who the hell are you?"

" Do you remember Caroline?"

Everything come down to her at ones. Caroline, dead body, flowers, the apartment left open, someone following her. A flower she received everyday after her roommate's funeral. She grind her teeth as her breath become rough.

"Eric Forrester."

" Oh, you got that right, sweet heart." He smiled.

" Why...why me?"

"I saw you."

"What?" Raven shivered as she heard him.

"I saw you having vision, and that sensation of astral projection." He smirked.

"I saw it all and I was thinking, if I take your soul, I might have longer time to preserve myself as human perhaps eternity. " As his smile grew wider. " No more harvesting."

"What do you mean astral projection?! I'd never..." then she suddenly remember it. It was the time where she's having a breakdown at the bus stop. 

**** flash back ****

After Damian call her about the case they solved as usual, she sit, waiting for the bus to arrive, then she saw a man wearing white shirt with dark pants sit at the end of the bench. She glanced at him then to her phone as she waited for the bus to arrive. Then came a group of guys, walking more like swagging towards the station. 

Tried not to stand out that could caught attention she pull her hood down, still, that couple of 'gentlemen' seems notice her.

"Hey there pretty lady, can I escort you for the night?" Said the sunglasses guy. 

" Uh, no thanks." She clutches her phone closes to her chest.

'Oh, come on , babe. You're lonely, at least we could keep you as a company." The other guy tried to grab her arm.

" Let go." She mumbled.

"Look at her, she's scared." The cap guy point out at her reaction. 

"Hey, hey, play nice gentlemen. We won't let .." before the sunglasses guy finished her words, Raven suddenly burst out.

" Let Go!!" As if she were let go of something big. The real her from her small shell and it was pushing them off from her.

The guys were looking her, petrified and she breathes, taking air into her lungs. She then realise something wrong was happened, she quickly walked out from the scene. Forget the bus, she walked back home.

******* end flash back******

"You're the guy who..."

"That's me." He noded. "I do run some background check as I hack the system and it seems, my job is much easier." He chuckled as he combed his hair with his fingers.

"What do you mean?" Raven, narrow her eyes at him.

"No one will find you. No one will miss you." His voice going darker.

"No!" Raven felt aching on her chest as she about to burst her tears. Yes, she has no one. But how about her fake boyfriend? She doesn't think he would find her but he did say, don't let herself become his case investigation. Currently, She's in the hands of a psychopath who simply stole the soul of innocent woman just to fuel his life and yet, she does certain about a this bad ending.

"He will find me...." Raven whispers.

"He?" Eric tilted to the left. " Darling, no one will know where is this warehouse located. It's outside the city and has no service line." He chuckled. "I don't think he will find you."

Raven again felt shivers as Eric blue eyes has turn into zicronish colour, it's beautiful but the colour resemble of a predator preying their hunt at night. 

"I felt sorry for them."

"Sorry?"

"You trick them. You trick them into giving their soul just to fuel your existence!!" Raven screamed as she felt sympathise with the victim who had to experience this. Helpless, unaware and terror.

"Oh, don't worry. You will see them after this." He laughed. 

"You want my soul? Over my DEAD BODY." Her voice become coarse. Her indigo eyes turn into bloody red and shine. She scream and let out the shadow sipping from her mouth, her nose and her eyes. That shadows swirl in the warehouse like crazy and as if it were Raven's extended limbs, it grabs anything. Chains, shards of glasses, broken table and they hovering above her.

"Holy shit. This is bonus." He laughed. Eric never knew Raven's soul would be so much powerful, perhaps if he consume it, he probably has her power. Very mysterious.

Raven narrowed her eyes as the shadow throw things towards him. Eric without any difficulties, avoid them. He enjoy it, the thrill, this push and pull situation made him excited and It's been a while he never felt like this. He does encounter with one of the vigilant detective at the city he was using as base before. The same situation and indeed he could escape from them.

"All these time , I thought you only have visions and astral projection. Now this? You're are full of surprises for a quiet girl!!" He shouted maniacally as he blocked some of broken table with his hands  and throw aside.

Raven's shadow grab the chain and throw at him like a whip but instead he catches, he pulled and wrap around her. As the other shadow throw some plywood towards him, he simply catch it and smashed to her head.

Raven whimpered as well as her shadow dispersed.

"That is a good fight, Raven." Eric wiped his sweat on his face with his sleeves and slowly approach her. He could help but smiled as he approach his most precious prize. A soul with powers.

Raven felt light head after the blow she received from him. 

His hand how touching her cheeks as he lift her head to face him. His eyes are still in yellow colour as he stared at her. "Now it is my turn and it's been my pleasure to enjoy this." He caress her cheek then her soft lips. Raven still dizzy , spit on his face as she irked with his words. That doesn't affect Eric at all as wipe it with his hand. 

"Your soul shall be mine." Eric leaned towards her as he about to stole her kiss. 

SHAANNKK

Eric felt a sharp pain on his back. As he look behind, he's been shot away by a heavy blow and landed at the wall of the warehouse creating rumble noises. "What the fuck..."

"I kiss her first."

Raven closed her eyes calm her mind then she felt someone touching her cheek. She was about to bite that person's hand but as she open her eyes, it was him. Damian, wearing green specs, leather jackets and hard armour on his torso with R initial in the middle. 

"Wh-wha..." Raven tried to asked him but he immediately put his finger on her mouth. 

"I got this." He whispered then he caress her cheek.

Eric got himself up from the sunken wall. He dust off his shoulders then crack his neck. " Seems like this would be another set back."

"The only thing you could kiss is YOUR ASS." Damian pull out his expanded pole from his pocket, as he twisted another knob, it thin itself into a long blade. " I hope you prepare yourself."

" You and what army?" Eric brows slightly raised.

The window start to shattered as if something went through it, then, all of them stood facing Eric. Raven eyes went agape as she saw a group of leather jackets surrounding Eric. Some of them has blue wings, some has yellow, purple, there's one stand out using the red skull design.

"This army." Damian held his blade towards Eric. The swordman quickly charges towards the perp followed by the one with red skull and the one with blue wings.

"Are you okay?" Raven jolted as she felt her arm being touch by someone. There she saw the two people with purple and yellow design jacket surrounding her. Then, she heard a snapped and there's is no tension holding both of her wrist. The yellow jacket then snapped  the zip tie that tied her ankle at both of chair's leg. " You're free." 

"Follow us." Raven recognise the voice. 

"You..." 

"Stop thinking and start running!" The girl with purple jacket grab her and run towards the exit. As soon as they were outside, Raven saw two people. One with medical aid the other's are on laptop with several cpu at his sides.

"This is..." 

"Damian almost cried when he couldn't find you."

"And I thought he's computer genius."

"Well, He still haven't suppress my ability," say's the guy on the laptop.

"Ti-timbo?" Raven tried to recognise him. 

"It's Tim by the way." Tim smiled.

"Say, Babs. How is she?" The purple jacket put the worn out girl on the stretcher.

As Raven now relaxed, Babs look at her limbs, her head and her face. "I know this sounds may crazy but her wound is healing?"

"What do you mean she's...oh." Steph then look at Raven who is now, unscathed. Tim who is on his laptop now, stared at her as he typing his keyboard like a pianist.

" Raven...are you okay?" Steph hold her hand. 

Raven who is now calmer as she open her eyes. "I am." She smiled.

Then, something happen in the warehouse, a bunch of shot were heard in there. Raven jolted and about to get up. 

"Where are you going, young lady?" Babs hold her arms. 

"Damian! Damian is in there!  He could be in danger!" She begin to frantic as she has no idea what happen in there. 

" They got it under control, Raven." Says Cass who pulled down her mask.

" I can hear the girls voice from Eric. Maybe if I could call them, it might  slow him down." Her hand on her head as she sense the voice of the girl's soul echoing from the warehouse. "I'm going in."

"What?! Are you crazy?!" Steph snapped. " What voice? The victim's?"

"It's the only way."

Cass , Steph and Babs look at themselves then at her.

"Red Robin!" A voice heard from the intercom. " This guy doesn't give a break." 

"Nightwing! How vulnerable is he?"

" As far I could say, Red tried to shot him down but that bullet doesn't seems to get through!"

"How about Robin?"

"Same result."

"Great!" Tim whines as he type faster on the board trying to find some database about this perp.

"Steph, please. It is the only way." Raven put her hands on Steph's shoulder. Steph sighed then she looks at Babs then Cass. "Then it's time for the ladies to KICK his butt." They nodded then dashed towards the warehouse.

$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$

"Is that all you got?!" Eric taunt at them. Damian now huffed as he on his ready stand holding his sword with both of his hands. Jason still aim the guns at Eric as well as Dick held his impulse Bat towards the psychopath.

"Stick and stone don't break my..." a few batarang flew towards him then caused explosion which made Eric blown towards the wall.

"But this little Bat do." said Babs as she hold the a few of them between her finger. Cass pull out her dagger and at her ready stance. 

"Guys! Try to hold Eric down! We have a plan!" Said Steph as she pull out her expandable pole. Eric got up from the the collapse wall then he felt something tied him down. He realise , the wire come from black hoodie with red shirt from the other side. 

"You think this wire could stop m...AAAAAAAA!!" Eric scream as the wire jolted him with electric. " I'm not gonna be the one who left behind," says the Red Robin.

"Well, that solved it." As Dick put his impulse baton to his back and quickly hold Eric to the ground.

"Are you still there?"

Nightwing, Red Hood and Robin looked at Raven come in from outside.

"Raven! Don't come ne.." Damian about to protest but Raven held her hand to him. "I know what I'm doing."

"I call the soul of the fallen, are you there?" Raven repeat the question. Then they heard a faint shriek, something buzz like white noises.

"This gives me goosebump." Dick felt the chill.

"I , Raven will set you free from this nightmare. Let me guide you." Raven held her breathes as she  tried to listen to the soul. There were few dozen of them screaming for help. Raven's indigo eyes change colour to bloody red and shine against the dark. She held her hand towards Eric then the shadow start to flow out from her mouth, nose and her eyes.

"Oh my god!" Step and the girls were shocked. Damian just stare at her as she let go her shadow in eerie way. 

"You stole their soul and now, you shall pay the price." Raven grind her teeth as she held out her hand let the shadow surround the fallen Eric. Eric were screaming as the Shadow going through her mouth and nostril.

Dick quickly move away from that place as he sees the guy are struggling on the floor then, the shadow emerge with some white shiny orbs from Eric and made him still as his he has no power left. 

Raven then disperse her shadow, the white orbs are floating and fly out to the sky. The Bat and Co were stunned with such of event. The blue hair girl about to collapse after she's using her new discover power and Damian quickly caught her in his arm.

"Well, this is it. We caught Eric." Says Tim as he release Eric from the wire. "Now he looks like a broken record." 

" Yeah." Jason looked at the perp who cant stop muttering about the soul was taken.

"Let us go back to the manor. Alfred and Duke probably worried about us." Said Dick as he tied Eric with ropes. 

"How about Raven?" Damian looked at her, unconscious. 

"Well, we'll bring her along. I bet Alfred will love her." says Steph as she clasped her hands.

[mymelonerboner]

It’s Pink Season! - Chapter 2 - A JoJo OC Fanfic

(i should preface this by giving this fic some context – this fic took four OCs of four different people (one of them is me!) from a JoJo discord server that i hold especially dear to my heart. i set myself the challenge of taking these characters from wildly different imaginations and trying to piece together a cohesive story where they all interact with each other. to the owners of these OCs, i hope i’ll do them justice. this fic is estimated to last 4/5 chapters, and depending on my free time, maybe i’ll do something like this again with more OCs from other people, who knows :) anyways hope you guys enjoy what i’ve got so far!)

Rémi - belongs to Quality Queen @qualitiddy

Kyra - belongs to Kyrare @kyrare

Claudia - belongs to Sweet Kurage @sweetkurage

Francis Miller - belongs to meee! @mymelonerboner

Chapter 2 Word Count: 2,194

—————————— 

*     *     *     CHAPTER 2     *     *     *

"LA VACHE! SHUT UP! I'M TRYING!" 

Rémi swung the wheel hard to the right, but screeches and smoke gave away the fact that it wasn't going to be quite enough. Kyra had to act fast. She gritted her teeth in frustration as she braced herself for an undoubtedly painful experience.

"STEEL PANTHER!"

From her torso, the upper body of a feline figure emerged. Dark metallic silver glinted with ferocious animosity against a panther-like physique as the figure stretched its metal wings out, letting out a guttural hiss. Kyra's stand pressed one paw against the dashboard of the sedan, before phasing another paw through the floor of the car, contacting the speeding asphalt of the road below it. Kyra hissed in pain as she felt the sensation of the asphalt scraping against her stand's palm.

In a split second, the sedan burst with a light blueish glow surrounding the whole vehicle, before the pulsating light flowed straight into the point of the ground that the phantom panther was pressing its paw against. With a deafening crack, the asphalt below the sedan broke into pieces, nudging the sedan ever so slightly more to the right, and the sedan seemed to slow down tremendously, as though most of the energy of the hurtling car just vanished, like water spilled from a cup. It was enough to make the sedan brush past the mysterious figure on the motorcycle.

Right after, the sedan slammed head first into something solid behind the motorcycle, denting the bonnet of the car.

"I'M TRY- FUCK! OW!" Rémi shrieked as his head jolted into the SPW-branded Super-Deluxe-High-Comfort™ airbags of the sedan. Kyra sighed in relief. Whatever it was they hit, she managed to divert enough energy in time to make the crash relatively mild.

But what was it that they hit?

Kyra peered through the slightly cracked windshield. There was nothing in front of the car. It was as though the bonnet was dented by some invisible pole.

The trio crawled out of the damaged sedan, each eyeing the mysterious biker with caution. The gleam of the biker's helmet visor masked their face and gave them an aura of anonymous danger. The helmet, from afar, somewhat resembled the look of a brown aviator hat with goggles. Kyra shot a glance at the others. A slight swarm of mist was already forming and circling around Rémi's feet in defensive anticipation. Claudia wore a look of terrified concern.

"What quick wits ya have, Kyra Furyia." An unfamiliar, male voice rasped from the biker. With a quick gesture from the biker, the seemingly empty space in front of the damaged sedan bonnet suddenly appeared to melt and morph into a slightly dented lamppost. "If you were just a split second slower, you fellas would've been totalled by that crash."

"Why thank you, kind gentleman." Kyra shot back in pompous sarcasm. "You know my name. That means you've done your research. I think it's safe to assume you know about our stand powers too."

The biker chuckled. "Not bad, cat lady. You're right, I know all about your stand, Steel Panther, and its energy redirection powers." He lifted a gloved finger towards Rémi. "I also know about you, Rémi Martin, and your copying ability. However…" The biker slowly cocked his head towards Claudia. "This girl… don't think I've seen her before. She a stand user?"

"Wouldn't you like to know." Rémi spat. "I'll tell you this much, helmet - you're not very good at hiding your powers. I've already figured out how your stand works."

Kyra lifted a brow. Already?

"Kyra, look." Rémi pointed at a green-themed restaurant just a few meters away. "The invisibility, the unfamiliar surroundings… there must be only one explanation." Kyra peered at the restaurant and read the large, white block letters right above its entrance.

Five Guys!

"You're right, Rémi!" Kyra gasped. "I've never seen a green Five Guys in my life. Wow, this was way easier than I thought." Kyra smirked as she lifted a metal-clawed finger towards the biker. "Good sir, your stand ability… is to change the colour of objects, isn't it?"

The biker snorted. "Congratu-fucking-lations, you guys have eyes." With a grandiose wave of the hand, he gestured to the all the wrongly-coloured walls, windows and pavements surrounding the trio. 

"Isn't it funny how much we people depend on colour? When you see a car drive past you, your first thought is never gonna be 'Oh, that was a flat-topped car', or 'Oh, that was a Volkswagen'. More likely, you're gonna go 'Oh, that was a blue car'. Same thing applies for many things. Animals, buildings, walls… it's the first way you recognise something. Mess with colour a little and suddenly everything looks foreign. It's evolution, y'see. Colour has been the warning system for predators and prey since the dawn of eyeballs. It tells you what's food, what's poison, what's danger, what's safety. Colour is everywhere."

In a seamless motion, a figure emerged from behind the biker. Humanoid in appearance, but coloured head to toe in a brilliant pink hue, skin as smooth as rubber with vastly contrasting, bizarre patterns strewn across its body in random spots like lazy patchwork, all made with different hues of pink, purple and magenta. It donned what looked like the apron of a painter, and where there should be forearms, instead there were what looked like two paintball guns attached directly at the elbows.

"My name is Francis Miller, and my stand, Pink Season, can control the colour of any object it shoots!" 

Kyra couldn't hold back an impudent snort. "Colour. Colour. Well gee fuckin' golly, I'm *dye*ing to know how dangerous that's gonna be." She cackled at her joke. "Whatcha' gonna do, paint me to death? Mulberry sunburst my ass into- OW FUCK!"

With lightning speed reaction time, Kyra used a metal claw to slice through a paintball that was hurtling right into her abdomen at mach speed. The capsule split into two, splattering a dark blue hue against her torso, leftover shell debris scraping her green sweater and leaving minor tears. 

"...Well, that was huemiliating." Kyra smirked through her panting.

"This is bad! That stand has long-range capabilities." Rémi gritted his teeth. "Claudia, stick close. Those paintballs look dangerous at that speed."

"Hey prick, you better turn this shit on my sweater back to green right now!" Kyra hissed as she picked up a discarded beer can on the ground with one hand and pressed her other hand, shielded with her armour-like paw-glove, against a nearby lamppost. The lamppost flickered on and off momentarily, emitting a yellowish glow from its steel base which flowed into the beer can. Blue sparks began to fly out of its aluminium skin. With the proficiency of a pitcher, she flung the charged beer can straight towards the biker. The biker didn't move a muscle, simply silently watching as the beer can sped closer towards him.

Only for the can to narrowly missed the biker's visor by an inch. It tumbled against the ground behind him, letting out a loud electrical discharge as it contacted a manhole cover.

Wha… That was impossible. Kyra never missed a target. Countless years of intensive training assured her of that. She took everything into account, wind velocity, wrist posture, amount of centrifugal spin…

Francis burst into an obnoxiously raspy, wheezing laugh. "What magic some simple contouring and shading can do! I coloured the walls and road in between us to look like I was just a bit further from you than I actually was. I know your modus operandi, Kyra! I knew you would try that move!"

Optical illusions!? Shit! This is bad. 

Francis was still wheezing and hacking from his half-laugh-half-choking. "You had the fucking balls to underestimate me. But now I know somethin', Kyra. You may have the sharp senses of a cat, but your eyes are still human. You're weak to my power! PINK SEASON!" And with a wild gesture, both the biker and his stand slowly began to melt into thin air, splotches of nothingness spreading like an oil spill across their whole bodies. In a matter of seconds, they both completely vanished. In alarm, Kyra backed up to where Rémi and Claudia were huddled, eyes peeled on the surroundings for the invisible biker.

"Rémi! Look out!" Claudia exclaimed. Rémi's eyes widened, bracing himself for an attack. He drew a breath, preparing his spiritual energy.

"IMITATION OF LIFE!"

And with that cry, light greyish wisps of mist gushed out from Rémi's feet, swirling around in front of him and taking on a vaguely humanoid shape. At where its "head" should be, two large, beady, solid red eyes flitted open, glowing with a brilliant ruby hue. This misty form lightly planted a "palm" against the asphalt road with a feather's touch, and immediately, the coarse, hardened, blackened texture of the asphalt spread up the misty shape's "arm" and across its "chest", eventually encapsulating its entire "body". Upon completion of this transformation, the now hardened figure disassembled itself into a cloud of rocky particles, swarming around the body of Rémi, before settling against his skin and body to form an asphalt suit of armour, complete with a dark-grey-tinged translucent facemask that still displayed his face well enough.

Split seconds after this asphalt armour settled, Rémi was immediately hit across the left check with a speeding paintball, splattering a vibrant green colour against his asphalt exterior, starkly contrasting its dull blackish look. The force of the paintball was enough to make Rémi's head jerk to the side in a dizzying way.

"Woah! You alright kid?" Kyra exclaimed.

"I'm fine! I activated my stand in time." Rémi cracked his neck to soothe the pain of the concussion. "More importantly, that shot revealed his location! I know where to attack now!" With a roar, Rémi darted into the direction the paintball came from.

"Wait, no! Slow down!" Claudia called out to him.

Suddenly, Rémi dropped down through the seemingly solid ground with a surprised shriek. In instinctive panic, he managed to catch a grip on the edge of the "hole" with his asphalt fingers.

"Rémi!" Both Kyra and Claudia screamed after him.

A raspy voice from the thin air broke into an ugly chortle. "I removed that manhole's cover in advance and coloured its interior to match the road. I knew you two had close-range type stands. One of you guys were gonna try to bumrush me, so I just positioned myself in front of that hole. You think I'd be some kinda dumbass to just give away my position like that?"

With some effort, Rémi pulled himself out of the manhole and hurried back to the group, eyes darting about wildly as he tried to figure out where Francis was going to strike next. Kyra narrowed her eyes at him, then at Claudia. It was Claudia she was worried about the most. Her defensive capabilities were practically null. There was only one reason Francis still hadn’t targeted her yet, and it was because he still didn’t know what she could do. 

Kyra shifted her focus to Francis, or wherever she was wildy guessing he was going to be. He was cunning. He was prepared. He even had traces of tar on his clothes to mask his scent against the road. Kyra bit her lip in frustration, admitting in a pit of her heart that Francis was right, and she had underestimated him. It wasn’t just a matter of controlling colours, it was a matter of controlling perception. To not even know whether you can trust your own eyes… Is there any way to defeat such a stand user? Any way to even land a blow on this bastard, if you can’t even tell where he’s-

“Rémi! Two meters to your left, eight o’ clock!” Claudia suddenly yelled, pointing to an empty space next to Rémi. Kyra widened her eyes. Dia, how the fuck!?

Rémi wasted no time. Without missing a heartbeat, he leaped to where Claudia had directed and with a cry, slammed an asphalt fist straight into the empty space. A loud, satisfying thud resonated as Francis flew backwards from the rocky impact straight into his visor, shards of fortified glass, plastic and multicoloured dye mixed with blood spurting into the air as his camouflage wore off. Kyra let out a yelp of triumph mixed with confusion as she watched the biker and his stand tumble backwards against the road.

But it was far from over. The biker shuddered, and slowly but surely propped himself up. Through one cracked lens of the helmet visor, he eyed the young Spanish girl with a look of murderous intent.

“Y...you saw through it. You, girl… Claudia, was it? You saw through my optical illusions…” Francis hacked out a blob of spit and blood against the road. “I was wondering how you kept warning your friends of my moves. You… you are a stand user after all.” His cold gaze trailed from Claudia to her surroundings, the buildings, the road, the sky.

And in his visible eye, there was a gleam of realisation, and then triumphant satisfaction.

*     *     *     END OF CHAPTER 2     *     *     *