Chapter 6: Becoming Official

The group made their way out of the club rather swiftly and the man at the door wished them luck, as if he knew something of their endeavors that they did not. Mark pulled out One Minute Till Midnight and it raised its arms slowly until a click was heard and then slammed the ground shattering some of the concrete where its fists had hit.

"Dammit…" he mumbled to himself, "Our first big lead and he was right in my hands, and I let him get away. He crouched and placed one knee down on the ground.

"Hey, don't beat yourself up. We didn't know what his ability was and we still don't." Jacob went up to him and rested a hand on his back.

"What do you mean lead," Angel looked at him with his arms crossed, "you don't seriously intend to pursue these guys, do you?"

"Why wouldn't we?" La'Rue leaned against a brick wall with has arms folded as well. He had apparently from somewhere made a series of metal chain necklaces that hung around his neck and larger chains that wrapped around or were embedded into his attire. "They're terrible people. For his dad and for those who can't think for themselves, we owe it to them. Unless you're fine with what their doing…?" He threw Angel a dangerous look with his silver eyes catching any light in the area.

"I don't agree with what they're doing, but you heard the man in there. Getting us here was all an act. They coordinated this to get us there and tell us that on purpose. Don't you see, they want us to pursue them. They have way too much power as a group, they can't be stopped!"

"Oh, they can, and I will." La'Rue began to walk in some random direction.

"Where are you going?" Jacob looked at him and took a couple steps towards his direction.

"To find their boss. Take out the boss, take out the group…what was it, The House?" La'Rue kept walking.

"You can't go by yourself," Angel sighed and let his arms drop.

"You're right. I suppose company would be advantageous…." He regarded the comment for a moment before pausing in place and glancing back at them.

"I'll go…f-for my father…" Mark stood up and walked over to him keeping his back turned toward the other two.

Angel and Jacob looked at each other, "Don't we kind of owe it to Mr. Deriks to protect his son. And they also did destroy everything we had. I know the odds seem against us, but even so, we're four pretty capable guys, and I really think together, we have a pretty good shot. Besides, what if this mysterious figure is easier to work things out with than we're led on to believe? It's summer, and all these things are happening for a reason, I think we need to follow our instinct on this one." Jacob smiled and put a shoulder on Angel. "So, what do you say?"

Angel looked at him and gave a half smile and looked down and shook his head, "You guys are crazy, but alright. Let's give it a shot. But if one of you dies, that's my big 'I told you so,'" He walked up to La'Rue and shook his hand. "Let's do this thing then…where do we go?"

La'Rue smiled at him and winked, "I have some…connections, but they're pretty far away, if you guys are up for it?"

"I'll go whatever distance it takes to avenger my father." Mark made a determined face and Angel rolled his eyes.

"How far is far?" Jacob put his fingers to his chin thinking.

"Not far, just down to San Diego. He is a bit upper class though, so persuading him might be a challenge. But if you got me there, you should be fine. In the morning we'll rent a car and begin on our way. You guys can stay at my apartment in the meanwhile, since you guys are in a bit of a predicament."

The crew moved from wherever they were and after they got their bearings were able to move towards where presumably La'Rue's apartment was. As they got there they all double checked their backs and the area surrounding the apartment complex. Although the coast was clear, they still felt uneasy, as if someone was watching them. The real test was if they would be able to enter the apartment without dying as shown on previous occasions. As they moved up to the top floor, La'Rue summoned Champion and absorbed whatever metal he could find and reinforced his shield making it about 3 inches thick and wide enough to cover the door so if a blast was triggered, they would presumably be safe from it. As they approached the door, Glitch Mob came out and glitched the door handle while then grabbing it and pulled it behind the shield. Champion inched forward and with his shield pushed the door open. The door creaked and they were all tense with anticipation and as they waited nothing seemed to happen. La'Rue stepped forward from outside, with Champion's range allowing him to look inside. Still nothing happened. Everyone sighed and proceeded to move into the apartment. Glitch Mob returned the knob to where it was originally.

As they walked in, they looked around and La'Rue turned on a light. It was dark outside so the light helped reveal details about the room the group hadn't noticed before. The light hanging above was from a nice, but inexpensive chandelier with five light-bulbs around it. A nice green couch lay in the corner and to its left was a window showing out into the street and sidewalk below. A sizable television sat in front of room and a pair of recliners sat in front of it. On the opposite side of the wall where the TV was hung was a small dining room with four chairs and a nice wooden table. Above hung another one of the chandeliers and directly to the left of the table was counter that attached itself to the kitchen. From the place where the wall went over into the kitchen and dining room was a narrow and somewhat short hallway that led to one door being a bedroom, another being a closet and another being a bathroom.

"I hope this is sufficient for tonight." La'Rue gestured around.

"This is way nicer than anything we ever had," Jacob looked around and back at Angel.

"It is pretty nice; how do we know they won't attack us in the middle of the night?" Angel looked around and sat down on the couch in the corner looking out at the street below.

"Well, seeing the way they are, if they were to attack, they would've done so by now. And if they do, it's four on one. We should be ok for tonight." La'Rue moved Angel off the couch and pulled it out into a bed. "You two should be able to sleep here tonight," La'Rue pointed at Angel and Jacob, "You can have my bed Mark."

"What about you?" Mark looked down the hallway with the uneasy feeling of sleeping alone away from the group.

"Don't worry, I'll be fine." Champion came out and using the metal from earlier made a hammock that suspended from the ceiling. He grabbed some blankets and a pillow and threw them in and got in the hammock. Once he was in the metal ropes holding it up began to wind upward pulling him about five feet off the ground. "Get some sleep. We leave early tomorrow. The less time it takes to kill these guys, the sooner I can get back to not having this ball of stress looming over me." And with that, La'Rue fell silent and went to bed. One by one, the rest of the crew did as well, Mark being last with the constant fear that he'd be attacked in the middle of the night. Without thinking about it, One Minute Till Midnight summoned itself and loomed over him. Even with it staring at him and knowing what power it possessed, Mark felt calm and peaceful with it watching over him, as if it had a mind of its own. He was able to relax and eventually fall asleep…

It was early in the morning, about 8am before they were all completely awake and ready to go. They descended the steps and made their way out the door to where La'Rue had waved down a taxi. The cab that pulled up was somewhat rusty and seemed a bit beaten up. Although it did have seats for all, it would be a bit crowded. As it pulled up it gave a bit of a sputter and came to an abrupt stop. The doors opened on its own and as they peered into it they saw that the driver was wearing an Irish golf cap that was brown and plaid with a few stains on it. He wore a brown leather jacket and some brown pants. He wore a pair of nice, but wore dress shoes that also complemented his brown attire.

"Where to?" He threw then a toothy grin and put his arm around the passenger seat.

"San Diego," La'Rue seemed a bit put off by the condition of the car but didn't mind too much.

"San Diego??" The man's eyes went wide, "That's quite a bit of distance." He paused and sighed.

"It'll be worth your time, I promise you." La'Rue flashed him some serious cash and slipped it back into his wallet.

"That ought to do it, hop on in." He man took his arm of the passenger's seat and put his hands on the wheel. As the crew loaded into the car, La'Rue sat in the front and showed the man the address and the other three piled into the back. Without any warning the car lurched forward at an incredible speed than it had displayed earlier and took off down the road. As they rode, Angel checked how long it would take driving and was surprised that the drive would be about two hours. As they kept going, the car kept seeming to get faster and faster and as Jacob looked out the window he swore he saw a star pass by in the distance. He blinked a couple times and he continued to see the stars pop up and the world began to turn black around them.

"Are…in position?" The radio came on and static also emerged from the lack of connection, a strange man's voice came on over the radio. La'Rue turned to the driver and Champion was summoned,

"You're one of the bastards!" The sword swung towards the man.

"I would keep from doing that," The man stared back at Champion and his sword stopped mid swing. "Currently, we're orbiting the planet with the use of my stand's ability, Anaconda. If you were to kill me or cause me harm, it would affect the car and kill us all." He smiled an arrogant smile and continued driving. "Did you know that the anaconda is the largest snake in the world? Therefore, it encompasses all and surpasses all. The beast can eat things three times larger than it, and only needs to strike once before destroying its prey, hence the name."

"So, are you saying you're planning to kill us?" Mark looked angry in the rear-view mirror and OMTM manifested and stood there with clenched fists.

"Perhaps, but hopefully just get rid of you for the boss." A GPS icon appeared and showed their location via their position in space. Only the strange man could read them. La'Rue looked at the man's neck and realized he wasn't being controlled by a chip, this was genuine loyalty.

"What is it about this guy that makes you work for him? He's a terrible guy…" Jacob had UDIO tapping the glass of the window hoping that it wouldn't shatter.

The man chuckled, "Correction, 'they're,' and as you saw me earlier, the men pay well."

"Wait, what do you mean men??" Angel leaned forward but his eyes were still focused on the twinkling stars out in the open expanse.

"Ahh, don't worry about it, it won't matter to you guys soon. But everyone thinks that there's just one boss…I mean, there is one that does most the work, but we fear all of them…they're gift that fate has given them…is something…otherworldly…" The man stared out at the Earth in silence, "I'm Declan by the way, the guy who'll be taking care of you today. Wow…I guess that could be taken two ways…oh well…"

"Do you really think you can take on all four of us at once?" La'Rue slapped Declan across the face hard.

Declan cried out and held his face and readjusted his golf cap, "Well, I'm doing a good job right now, aren't I?" He rubbed his cheek gingerly.

"That's because doing anything now would be suicidal!" OMTM pounded the seats and some creaking came from somewhere in the car. Angel slapped Mark on the shoulder,

"Dude, keep it under control. I'm not trying to die here."

"There it is, that's where we're going!" The gang looked out and saw what looked to be the Persian Gulf, although most did not realize it. The stars and blackness started switching out for dunes of sand and also some grassy areas. The car came to an abrupt stop again on a sandy beach and flung the passengers out onto the waves. "Well it was fun chatting but I've got to go! Have fun…in the middle of nowhere!" As the doors closed, the car began driving away, picking up speed. Angel pulled out Glitch Mob and began punching the sand furiously,

"GuriGuriGuriGuriGuriGuriGuri," Sand flew everywhere as the stand went crazy until it eventually found a rock. It squeezed the rock activating the glitch effect, "Watch this," Glitch Mob flung the rock with amazing speed and precision and it hit one of the tires and the glitch effect transferred from the rock to the tire, sinking part of the back of the car into the dunes, slowing it down tremendously. While the car struggled to move, it kept sinking into the sand and when the glitch effect ended it got completely stuck in the sand.

Declan got out of his car and sighed. "You guys are persistent, I can see why the boss likes you, but also hates you…" The car began to twist and turn and unfold until it resembled a large mechanical snake. It had a pair of tires for its eyes and the other two were located near the middle of the contraption and helped it move around as it had deep treads. The body writhed around constantly as if the mechanical body didn't keep it from moving swiftly. "I wanted to do this quickly and quietly but obviously I'm going to have to kill you now…" He put one arm above himself and one arm below him and the both curved to make an "S" shape and they all felt a sudden feeling kind of shove them back as if you were to materialize the feeling of the word "Bam!" The snake like creature took off towards them, and like a group of synchronized swimmers, they all summoned their stands simultaneously. Angel ran towards him and Glitch Mob went for an attack rush. All the areas he tried to glitch were repelled and then absorbed and the world around Angel turned black with the stars all around him like they were in space. The stars began to swarm and fly all over and then toward Angel, but as he saw them coming, he noticed they were shining, five-sided blades that resembled stars. Glitch Mob rushed and deflected most of the blades but got scratched up by a couple spare and they returned back to the beach. Distracted by what had just happened, Angel got slammed by the head of the snake which sent him flying back even with Glitch Mob barely blocking the attack.

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Stand Name: Anaconda

User: Declan Perig

Ability: While in its car form, it can traverse into space and anywhere around the world within minutes. As a snake, it moves around quickly and efficiently, any first blow dealt to him is immediately absorbed and the target is transferred into a portion of space where Anaconda controls a series of razor-sharp blades shaped as stars that fly to cut their opponent.

Stats:

Power: B

Speed: B

Range: C

Durability: C

Precision: B

Potential: E

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La'Rue made his sword into a ball and chain and hurled at Anaconda who was now rushing at them with high speed. The chain wrapped around the contraption and once again faded into nothing like an illusion. The world turned dark again and stars once again twinkled above La'Rue and they all flew around and aimed right for his chest. He pulled his shield in front of him and took on the barrage but some began to cut through the shield. The metal from the sword had been absorbed so he couldn't attack back which was not ideal considering how close the creature was getting. As it came upon him, its jaws unhinged like an anaconda's would and went to swallow La'Rue's stand whole. One Minute Till Midnight appeared in front of the jaws and held them open, one hand on each part of the jaw using its brute strength but it was still being pushed back by the power the wheels were using to push through and the lack of grip the sand provided for OMTM. Stars circled around both OMTM and Champion but this time they came from behind. Champion turned around to guard One Minute Till Midnight from the assault but as his shield was partially shred he couldn't stop them all and received some cuts. Some of the stars wormed their way through Champion's defenses and stabbed into OMTM's back. The wounds on Mark's backs were barely scratches, even from the severe stabs created from the attack. With a yell from Mark he channeled his energy into OMTM and turned Anaconda over on its side.

As it fell over, the tire on its side spun rapidly so it would swing Anaconda's tail around sweeping Champion and One Minute Till Midnight off their feet. The tail went to slam down on the two and OMTM was barely able to block it with an arm covering both him and Champion. But at the angle he was positioned and the incredible force continuously coming down at them, he was sure they'd be crushed.

"Got one shot…" Jacob ran towards the creature and it promptly righted itself up. Upside Down & Inside Out began to shoot out its fist at incredible speeds. Once again, the blows were absorbed and the space went dark. The stars came and he hit them. When he did, they became like mirrors, reflecting light and turning a weird crystalized color. Each star he hit flew back the exact same way it came and paused at where it originated. The space around him became normal and Declan looked around confused. In that moment Jacob used UDIO to rush Anaconda, each punch denting the metal along its body. The glass shards on UDIO's body kept growing out, as every hit he landed embedded some glass shards in his target, leaving small cuts along the user where they hit.

"Because the glass is apart of me, they will be triggered by my ability to reflect and rotate off their origin!" UDIO spoke, it's unsettling steely yet crystal clear voice cutting through the air. The glass shards began to twist and turn, increasing in speed as they rotated, burrowing further and further into the body of the snake. Declan began to scream out as the cuts in his body began holes and began to drill deeper into him.

"STOOOOOP! GET RID OF THIS PAIN!!!!" Anaconda's mouth opened up and a flurry of stars flew out at UDIO which he countered with a flurry of blows. Each star flew back to its origin slicing up the inside of Anaconda's and Declan's mouth. They fell back and Declan screamed but couldn't make coherent words as his tongue had also been sliced up. Jacob walked up to him in a menacing manner,

"This…is for my crew…" Upside Down & Inside Out turned towards Anaconda and with a deep breath went ballistic on the snake yelling at it rapidly, "UnUnUnUnUnUnUnUnUnUnUnUnUnUn!!!" The glass embedded in his body increased and began tearing him apart from the twisting as Declan couldn't do anything to stop the flurry of blows. Within a matter of moments, Declan was dead. They took some time to get up and recover a bit before looking out on the horizon. In the distance they saw a city anyone in the world would recognize, Abu Dhabi. As the group looked left and right at each other they began to walk in a somewhat giddy manner, still tense from the battle that had just previously ensued…

Stand Name: Upside Down & Inside Out

User: Jacob Jost'R

Ability: UDIO has the ability to make any object reflect over its origin, whether it is to make an object return on the original path it travelled from or to make it change directions over the origin. It can also embed glass into objects from its fists that reflect over their own origin infinitely causing them to twist and burrow themselves into whatever they're stuck in. They can be removed forcibly and once they been forced into place by an outside force, their momentum stops.

Stats:

Power: A

Speed: A

Range: D

Durability: B

Precision: A

Potential: C

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As the group finally reached Abu Dhabi, they began to wander around and off a hunch from La'Rue, they made their way to the local airport. Walking there, they took in all the sights and looked through multiple hangers at fancy jets. Upon coming to one, La'Rue stopped and looked up to see a man sitting on the wing of a jet. One knee was tucked into his chest that his arms were wrapped around and the other dangled off the wing. His gold yellow hair was nicely combed and looked like silk, while his pure yellow eyes stared like a cat analyzing everything about them. He had a slight smile.

"La'Rue, do you know that guy?" Jacob looked at the man then La'Rue and then back at the man.

"I do," La'Rue smiled, "That's the man we were going to meet. That, is William Barrington…"