[JoJo]

It's rather funny how life works out, one second you're working on an essay. Thinking about how to dodge another class where they wanted to bring out a student's 'true' inner strength. Ya know the usual early night things before you're able to get back to the big things of life, such as balancing a student/vigilante life.

Speaking of the Vigilante life it came careening back when she got a text from Mr Masochist. Aka Mr. Lucky, Aka Ghouligan.

Ya know thank god she never meant any of these thoughts or otherwise, she'd have less than zero friends. Either way, now was not the time to be focusing on the number of friends she had made so far this year, now was a time to look over this bay. The text told her to head to Tokyo Bay and be prepared, though aside from a large and abandoned police blockade keeping civilians away there wasn't much. Jo surveyed the area for at least half an hour wondering what the hell was going on, if this was another stupid test, this time she was gonna-

At that moment, the entire dock that she was on shook, because, of course, it did.

Head towards the edge of the dock it didn't take long the top of something swimming by, at first she thought it was nothing too crazy until all of a sudden the thing blinked. THAT THING BLINKED, underwater and that eye was like the size of two of her stacked atop one another.

How something that big got into the bay she couldn't say nor could she understand. However, what was known was that clearly, this mawunga was why she was here, and more importantly she had two things to do right now.

A. FOLLOW THAT THING

and

B. Find something to fight within the water and make it slightly equal footing.

[Ghouligan]

This wasn’t his first time here.

The last time he visited Tokyo Bay, Antoine encountered a hero student from UAU. Despite how close he was to speaking to his brother, the reason he came to Japan in the first place, he hadn’t found a way to make contact — not without exposing his identity. He mulled over the thoughts as they were pushed beneath the surface and into the deep underbelly of his psyche.

Much like the bay, he was tormented by monsters. Except his monsters weren’t warped crustaceans encroaching on land. Antoine dealt with grief and with loss and with longing. The last time he stepped foot on the beach he had confronted a giant, human-legged shark.

Freaky.

Without warning, Ghouligan popped up next to JoJo. As a black, umbral husk he was immediately eyed by the creature underneath, as it began to stir. Word must have spread.

“You ready to take that down?” Twirling his pool stick and setting up his rack of cue balls, he slammed them against one another taking his first shot at the creature as it fled — a direct hit. Unfortunately, it only served to piss it off. Flee no more. “You can leave at any point.”

---

JoJo

[JoJo]

"Holy -"

It took a little extra to not throw a jab right in the ghoul's face when he initially appeared right next to her, she wasn't a fan of that trick in the States, nor was she a fan of it now. Naturally, instead of offering him another taste of her knuckle, the ichor began to wrap around her body before becoming a second skin under her clothes. Cracking her neck she could only roll her eyes under the mask that had become her face when he told her she'd had free reign to leave whenever she wanted..

Truly what a humbling experience, to not only lose to a masochist but than to be told you're free to leave at any point from one. Still, no reason to say anything aloud or otherwise regardless of what she had spoken no matter how witty, it'd only come out like a sore loser. Let's be real there is legit nothing worse than that.

Still, she'd focus on all that later right now she still needed to complete her checklist before fighting this creature. Didnt matter how fast she could swim when facing something that big, it's gonna win. Maybe in the air, you have a chance but all bets are off when it's the water, the hometown cephy always wins.

JoJo learned that back in San Francisco.

So now the Peacekeeper needed to take what she learned fighting in the water and learn so she could help Shishkabob this thing and first things, she needed a boat.

With that said without even telling ghouligan she sprinted off the dock and down the side of the water towards a more heavily filled area near the giant. Though it may look like she was taking him up on his offer and running away surely he wouldn't think that.

Right?

Ghouligan

[Ghouligan]

Peacemaker flinched.

It’s difficult to fight our base compulsions — instincts carved into our bodies to help us survive a cruel and unjust world. And while they had only briefly known each other, Ghouligan was compelled to build rapport in the only way he knew how: with his smart goddamn mouth.

“You wouldn’t have hit me anyway.” Unprompted, rude even. “Might have a chance in a few months.”

The statement was utterly false. In different circumstances, JoJo would have landed her hit. She could even take a few rounds off of him. It was part of why he invited her despite the apparent failure to land a hit. It was less about the outcome of the fight and more an analysis of her abilities. She had the type of flexibility needed to help deal with these creatures — close range, offense, defense, mobility. JoJo had the whole package.

Except she was a coward.

“Don’t actua—” Maybe she had better senses than he thought. She left before the creature swang, knowing it was coming. Or perhaps the movement instigated it. Nonetheless, it swung its appendance in a vertical arc that slammed down onto the doc, destroying it as pieces of wood floated into the water. Much like the wood, Ghouligan floated, too. Gently landing on the water’s surface.

Unlike others, he didn’t sink.

The rack of pool balls slid in the air, finding themselves in front of his cue stick as he slammed them toward the octopus. One of Ghouligan’s weaknesses became apparent.

He was holding back.

He had to.

His equipment wasn’t strong enough to deal with the full brunt of his might. Because of this, the octopus harmlessly blocked the projectiles as they crashed into one of his tentacles.

“Guess I’m the distraction, big guy.”

---

JoJo

[JoJo]

"Need a boat, need a boat, need a boat boat boat!"

Peacekeeper chanted the words to themselves while sprinting away and leaving Ghouligan. Only for the moment though it wasn't like Jo was leaving the situation that was happening at the moment. Again, they were only going to get a -

"Whoa!" The only word that came from her mouth before the tentacle fell from the sky and shattered the dock. Granted Peace was able to get a good leap and keep moving the shattering of the dock didn't impede the woman. Yet, it made her realize just how big this stupid thing was, not to mention that the two would need a big boat.

Getting away from the dock was the easy part for now she'd need to leave it in the hands of Ghouligan. His pool stick should be capable of holding that sucker's attention, at least until she came back with some real heavy-hitting power.

That's when Jo realized exactly what would be needed for this situation. Not too far in the distance was there an answer to taking care of this giant cephalopod. "Hold out for a little longer I believe in you." She shouted before jumping ahead across the broken dock and towards some shipping crates in the distance.

Ghouligan

[Ghouligan]

“Nevermind…” Ghouligan says to himself. “Guess I’m the one-man army.”

Maybe JoJo wasn’t built for the vigilante shtick after all. Fighting street-level criminals was different than monsters like this, especially if you were inexperienced. JoJo had all the power necessary to succeed in fights like these, but the difference between the good and the great was their mindset. If JoJo couldn’t overcome her fear, she shouldn’t be in life-threatening situations. Especially, when the lives belonged to others.

The monster swung another arm. This time, Ghouligan skidded through the water, pushing off it as if he were on ice skates. A giant wave threatened to bring him under, but a pool ball would act as a vessel for his quirk, having the water disperse before it got to him. It crashed against an invisible wall.

If his pool balls wouldn’t deal damage, then he’d have to use something sharper. Like those fragments of the recently destroyed dock.

“This might work.” He looked back as the creature revved another attack. Time to intercept.

---

JoJo

[JoJo]

JoJo looked back and was reminded of the size of this cephalopod. Now this area was filled with freighters and mid-sized boats, however, there wasn't exactly anything to go up against a monster from the friggin comics. Now, a medium-sized boat would absolutely get destroyed by this creature. A freighter would be way too slow and slamming or smashing it onto the damn thing would possibly get international news blowing JoJo's cover. Oh, also it may flood a good fourth of the entire bay and destroy way too much, but apparently, beggars did have to be choosers in this day and age.

So! It was time for the next best thing.

Honestly, Jo had to take a moment and enjoy the fact that Ghouligan was putting this much trust in her as a person. It's not every day that someone puts this much trust in you to risk fighting a gigantic cephy and give you the option to go and find the perfect way to deal with the beast.

You had to admire trust like that it didn't come very often.

Though out of the corner of her eye, she noticed one of the freighters had been docked close to where the monster was attacking unlike before this one had 'exactly' what she needed to get a hand over on the situation!

Ghouligan

[Ghouligan]

You might not think it, but Ghouligan is exceptionally strong. Strong enough to lift a piece of driftwood the size of a man. Strong enough to lift it over his shoulder. And strong enough to throw it like a spear at the cephalopod with the might of Zeus.

The wooden lightning bolt flew through the air until it punctured the octopus's flesh, lodging itself within its most forefront appendage — a necessary, defensive measure. It cried out in pain, its seething rage manifesting in tremors that shook the ground which, in turn, ruptured the surface of the water. In tandem, it lifted its other arms and swam forward, lunging through the water with newfound resolve.

With the same shrapnel stuck in its arm, it swang overhead like a guillotine, looking to cut Ghouligan down where he stood. Even if he managed to avoid the attack, the violent waves would strike at him, too. And amid the chaos, the creature would have the rest of its hards hunt the man down, looking to crush it in its grip.

---

JoJo

[JoJo]

"Whoever owns this is going to be really mad, it's a good thing it's either a large company or billionaire so I don't care,"

Those were the only words that left peacekeeper's mouth while staring at the rather large crane. It was big enough to pick up mid-sized boats or several containers, in other words, was definitely the biggest thing they could possibly hit cephy with at the moment. At the very least, they could restrict the giant if they struck at the perfect place.

"Okay, gonna hurt."

Jo spoke aloud to herself forgetting to use the voice while hyping herself up. Hopping up the crane and running up the rope she got halfway before figuring that'd be enough to take on the rope. Now, she had only done this once before and it didn't end that well, however, Jo was also a tween so ya know try again.

"Okay, okay, no big deal." The words were spoken aloud while hyping herself up once again finally using her hair to undo the middle conjunction between the wires holding up the crane.

Now, to say Peacekeeper was surprised by the sudden weight would be an understatement. The crane immediately began to fall and massive amounts of hair started to solidify around her arms while holding the wires. Considering if she dropped this thing there be another giant hole in the bay that wouldn't be good. It took awhile but in a way she kinda gave herself a giant hammer, though now was the hard part getting it back to where the cephala...

"He's gotta lure it over, here but how do I...JOPHONE CALL MASOCHIST!"

She shouted out loud and thanked god for those stupid phone settings no one likes while her phone confirmed and called Ghouligan.

Ghouligan

[Ghouligan]

When the octopus slams down, all of the debris shatters further. Ghouligan increases the friction further to protect himself from the stray splinters, leaving him an easy target. The creature surrounds him with his many arms and entangles his body — the barrier isn’t strong enough to deal with the four, giant arms crushing the life out of you.

It’s only a moment of pressure as he’s lifted into the air, but Ghouligan can feel his body snapping. If it weren’t for his composition, being made of force, then his bones would have broken and he would have died on the spot. But his physiology gives him a second — that’s all he needs, one second — to change the application of his technique.

Instead of piling friction atop itself to create a wall, he’d remove as much as he could, slipping out of the octopus’ grasp. Unfortunately, due to the pressure, he flies in the air, slipping out of the crevice closest to him.

Ring, ring, ring.

“Who the hell is calling me?” Midair, Ghouligan pulls out the phone and puts it where his ear would have been. “A bit busy falling to my death here.”

---

JoJo

[JoJo]

"FIRST FREIGHTER WEST OF YOU, GET IT OVER HERE. Not to mention would it kill you to invest in Bluetooth!?"

Jo tried her best to speak the clearest she had ever spoken in her life, however, every word also had to be shouted. For all intents and purposes, it sounded like she was in the can, but genuine decorum wasn't on the table right now.

All that mattered right now was cranes had gotten a lot heavier since she was a tween. In other words, she only had one good strike with this dang thing cause there's no way in hell either of them were lifting this thing out of the water.

In other words, she had to make this count. Jo began to move her arms up and down slowly at first. It took several moments for the crane to catch the motion however soon enough peacekeeper had a pendulum. She didn't need a pendulum she needed a hammer but swinging this thing plus the cord would be impossible...

Unless,

The idea popped into her mind and she could feel the other guy smiling with glee happily agreeing with this crazy idea. She continued using the momentum to swing it back and forth while standing on top of metal trying her hardest to keep balance. At this point, the idea was implanted in her head and as long cephy came this way, oh boy did she have a plan for him.

Ghouly wouldn't see it coming either but hopefully, he'd see the giant bulk of metal moving in the air right now.

Ghouligan

[Ghouligan]

“I… don’t have ears.” While his senses still function as if he were made of flesh and cartilage, he doesn’t have the physical appendages to use Bluetooth. The better option was what he was doing now, using friction to keep the phone glued to the side of his head as navigated his battle with the octopus. “But I hear your message loud and clear.”

Hanging up the phone, he looked toward the machines. With eyes like his — or what would have been eyes — it was easy to orient himself. Now, he just needed to lure the damn thing over there. Skidding midair, he flipped on his feet and skidded down an invisible, everchanging rail that guided him toward Peacekeeper.

The octopus followed.

Ghouligan took a few shots, keeping the monster irritated. The actual attacks were not more than pebbles with a hide like his. And he was mindful to avoid the impromptu axe the creature swung, too, knowing it better to leave it inside of its arm instead of bleeding out. An open wound was only a target. Then again, that would have been a target, too, if not for Jojo’s call.

“We’re almost there, buddy.”

---

JoJo

[JoJo]

Oh right, I don't have ears blah blah blah skin and appendages are social constructs. Every mutant has an excuse for why they can't make life easier for everyone else on the boat. However, that didn't matter right now, lord and behold Ghouligan had gotten the message and was following her request to a perfect T. Though, it shouldn't have been too hard considering it wasn't like she was asking him to bake a cake here but that didn't matter.

He did his job and weakened and played bait. Now it was time for her to bring home the bacon or in this case the calamari.

At this point the pendulum was a monster in itself, if she wasn't careful she could cause serious damage and sink the mass that she was already on, not to mention if she screwed up sink to the depths along with this thing. Still, though this had to be timed just right, there was no time for snappy one-liners or classic quips. Peacekeeper had to stop this thing now before it caused any more trouble for the bay.

So when Ghoul had finally gotten the thing in the position she saw heading, an open wound clear and ripe for the picking. How he made that, and more importantly why he gave it a weapon she didn't know. Who knows how the mind of men works, always needing a challenge on top of a challenge.

Back and forth, back and forth, wait for it! Wait for it... Now!

With the swing of the pendulum, she finally let the weight fly her forward away from the boat but that's not all. Using her might she added some style to this murder.

She did a flip. The flip was needed though using her power and the force already added the crane wrapped with her and now she had it exactly where she needed it. On a collision course straight for this damn cephy.

The hair on her arms thinned and snapped off before it could carry her down with the added and a tentacle from her back whirled and latched onto the boat. There was a moment of metal creaking before the impact. A wave the size of a monsoon was immediate and the creature's cries of pain were second.

Direct hit! The monster was sporting some new jewelry that went straight through the thing while it writhed in pain! Blood and ink went every which way and likely would coat the bay for some time along with that freighter.

"Got um!"

Ghouligan

[Ghouligan]

Thankfully, it was an ink spill and not an oil spill. If they had damaged the waters more than the creatures damaged the land, what would have that meant for their alleged victory? Yet again, Peacemaker showed an affinity for over-the-top, risky plays to eliminate threats. The strategy had garnered results both times they worked together, but it informed him about the kind of person she was — dramatic. Whether that was out of desperation or due to a childlike levity seeing their brand of heroism as… he couldn’t finish the thought.

Instead, another intrusive one barged in. Ghouligan pulled out his phone and stuck it to his ear. This time, he was dialing JoJo. When she eventually picked up or listened to the voice mail should she ignore it, she’d hear the following:

“We’re done here for today. Get somewhere safe before the heroes arrive. I’ll be sending you coordinates to our next rendezvous point. Think it’s time to introduce you to a few people.”

Click.

Ghouligan would leave the mess for the heroes. He fixed their problem. One less sea creature to slaughter. Not that he was happy with his limitations — those forced upon him by his equipment. He’d have to ask Bernie for any manufacturers that could elevate his gear. Gadget was busy. Miss G, too.

There’s gotta be someone.

---

JoJo

[JoJo]

"Meet People? I'll have you know I'm seeing someone and she is SMO-, he hung up. Wow, I can see you still ya know this right? And he's gone, and now I'm talking to myself. Well, I'm going to call and tell her, actually no I'm not because she doesn't know yet, so I'm going to stop swinging and stop talking to myself and leave.... Wow, that is a lot of ink, blood too"