[JoJo]

Everyone sorts their emotions in different ways. Some practice yoga and others rearrange their furniture. Heck, there are folks out there who will talk to someone and approach their problems in a mentally positive fashion for themselves. Could you possibly imagine?

That didn't happen here, or well in this body.

Josephine Dobson last weekend had been in a 'scuff' with a chimera and a whole buncha wannabe superquirks. It was a mess, and more importantly, it left her body messed up and caused her to stay in her dorm for quite some time. It was easy for Josephine to let her classes know she was sick. This allowed her body to do its thing, slowly but surely recovering over the week. After the healing process that weekend she decided to be safe she would stay in and not go out for the weekend.

At least that is the plan.

Ya see despite Josephine Dobson staying in for the weekend, Peacekeeper was out. Josie was still fast asleep, but instead of her controlling the suit, it was another 'joyridin'.

Samson.

The other known as her 'elder brother' who slept most of the time, now was the one taking the body for a ride. Now you may be asking yourself, how is it possible that the demon in her head is taking control? Did you think there were some keys to the kingdom in this ordeal?

No.

He happily lets her, do this whole thing, learn the powers, and go forth to help the world. Ya know now and again he took over and let out some steam while doing 'his' brand of good. Now there weren't any strike three's ever involved that was her to dish out and he would only exact those when she was awake. Though, that didn't mean he couldn't teach some robbers a lesson. Hell, he was already teaching some of the values of flight or fight instincts by teaching them flight.

𝐏𝐥𝐚𝐲𝐛𝐨𝐲

[𝐏𝐥𝐚𝐲𝐛𝐨𝐲]

I turn the corner to a stampede.

They scatter like mice across the floor, trampling upon bodies, bags, and other priceless possessions. A figure dressed in shadows takes an amorphous shape before returning to the silhouette of a person. I have yet to establish a perimeter, but it bears fruit. Their demeanor is reminiscent of a predator — malice colors their aura.

A few people were saved by their intrusion, but they’re scared, too. Some of the innocents ran while others fell to the ground. There’s a mess between those who deserve what’s coming and those who do not. And that’s only if you act under the presupposition that anyone deserves what this creature dolls out.

I step into the mouth of the alleyway.

“I take it you don’t wanna talk.”

---

JoJo

[JoJo]

Another voice joined the chorus, but this one was different from the bunch scurrying around them. For one, this one wasn't scared, that alone made them turn around while Samson returned to normal. Granted Samson took extra care to make sure nothing would come back to Josie. Extra muscles, a couple of inches of height, and more importantly, there was no sign of happiness for either a friend or an ally.

"Patrol elsewhere, this is my perimeter."

The words fell out the hood in that booming voice, the only reason he decided even to give that warning was cause it was very obvious what this was before him. A sidekick, a student, ready to make his mark, unfortunately, Samson wasn't the one. Not to mention getting into a fight with an unconscious partner meant, that if she woke up the joyrides were over.

On the bright side though she was zooted up with medicine and sleeping pills so she was kinda in a coma, with that said Samson didn't have to push it to the limit.

As long as this fella didn't push his buttons.

𝐏𝐥𝐚𝐲𝐛𝐨𝐲

[𝐏𝐥𝐚𝐲𝐛𝐨𝐲]

The figure puffed out its chest.

In New York, heroes are rougher around the edges — just like the city. Life moves fast and people don’t care about celebrity. At most, they’ll offer a double take but asking for photographs is faux pas with how many we run into. From what little I’ve seen Japan crafts its image like the heroes in Hollywood and Los Angeles. Everything’s about the spectacle.

They used their performative aggression to claim the scene without verifying their right to be there as if I couldn’t see through their facade.

“To make sure this is your perimeter I’ll need to see some ID,” I pull out my provisional license. It has a photo of me and my information — hero name, legal name, etc. I’m not a hero yet but I should help those in need. An obligation I’d leverage to my advantage. “Something like this.”

Every hero needs proper identification. My intuition told me they didn’t. And not because they left it in their other supersuit.

---

JoJo

[JoJo]

The reaction was immediate, Samson spat at the ID. Whether or not it hit didn't matter the point had been made and it was clear he was in the mood for a collaborator tonight. If this one was so adamant, surely the windy boi was somewhere in this area off spinning in circles.

Turning around the tongue whipped onto the building behind them and like a spring whipped the body up. A chunk of the building was ripped off while the tongue went flying up to join with the rest of the body.

In truth spending the night beating a 'hero' into submission appeased the little tween vigi somewhere inside their body, however, that was no longer the case. They were going to give heroing a chance and that most importantly meant not taking out possible allies in the future.

Now granted, this likely wasn't the end of the conversation, but maybe he'd get lucky and this one hadn't learned scraper climbing.

𝐏𝐥𝐚𝐲𝐛𝐨𝐲

[𝐏𝐥𝐚𝐲𝐛𝐨𝐲]

I couldn’t fathom a better confession than volunteering DNA to an (almost) authority. My lubricated ID finds itself in my pocket. I have no intention of letting them escape but I’ll gladly accept their breadcrumbs. In a world full of quirks, your genetic code might be the most important information you can offer.

The criminal is either a mutant with distinct physical features or an emitter manipulating some unidentified substance. The quicker I can determine which it is, the easier it’ll be to infer its weaknesses. Fortunately for me, I’ve found one already.

They’re slow.

I reach a full sprint in moments and meet them on the wall. Unlike them, I can’t stay there but use my upward momentum to initiate — it looks like I’m giving them a chance but what I’m looking for is an opening.

“I showed you mine. The least you can do is return the favor.” Their antagonism drips off them. They are worse than anyone else here. I have one rule tonight:

No one dies.

---

JoJo

[JoJo]

The breath that left their body was ragged and bare realizing this little welp wasn't leaving. Tonight wasn't about putting someone in the hospital, tonight was supposed to be about blowing off some steam and lowering the statistics by the slightest percentile. Instead, now Samson had to deal with Junior over here and their icebreaker puns. The tongue whipped up over to an air conditioning unit only to launch their body up, though while going up the grip on the unit only tightened. They ripped the unit out and sent it flying towards the oncoming fool.

If a guess had to be made they likely had some type of physical quirk to be so confident in their approach. Maybe ice, fire or lightening, though with the way they spoke, they likely woulda already blown their cover and used it when trying to catch up with them.

Regardless the tongue reeled back to its original length, while Samson decided to give this a second shot. Did he 'really' want to go ballistic with the body over someone asking for an ID if they leaped off the building this idiot would likely run to get some hair or saliva coded only to be disappointed like everyone else.

Do it for her.

The tongue whipped left and right while he took off heading for the edge of the building while the body started to ripple. Getting ready to send a tentacle flying and be off into the night.

𝐏𝐥𝐚𝐲𝐛𝐨𝐲

[𝐏𝐥𝐚𝐲𝐛𝐨𝐲]

They retreated further, using an air-conditioning unit as cover. I’m fast but their anatomy gives them an advantage up here. Their make-shift limbs and ability to climb walls turn the city into an obstacle course. They eye the edge of the building, and I see my opportunity while they’re distracted.

I press my foot into the concrete and feel the contraction of my muscles — my jump lands me atop a fire escape on the parallel building. Ironically enough, I breathe a flame into life from my zipper lighter. One might think it a strange decision to slowly lob across the alleyway.

But if you look between where I was and where I am, you’ll see a black bunny with blue eyes carrying enough momentum to float midair. They multiply from one to a few to dozens. A trail of bunnies chase the criminal which promptly turns into a trail of smoke that ignites once the zippo reaches the pillar.

If I can immobilize the enemy, I can arrest them. And way up here I don’t have to worry about the scurrying mice below.

---

JoJo

[JoJo]

Samson had a second haggard breath leave their body ceasing the operation.

Cracking his neck he turned the body around expecting some type of attack that was until he saw what was coming towards him. A rabbit, before the first insulting thought could reach the tongue that one became many, like a stream whisked through the air towards them.

Their right hand started to grow twitch, taking a foot growing on it and taking on the properties of a whip until Samson looked past the rabbits. The eyes widened whilst the pillar coming towards him had been ignited.

The explosion was immediate and due to Samson's willingness to hold back, they were caught in the initial brunt of the attack.

Now, lets say hypothetically there was a string known as Sanity on that roof. That string has been snapped in half. All that could be heard around the top of this building was the sound of a rather large roar carrying on the wind. From the smoke came giant small needles that went flying toward where the pillar of smoke had come from in the first place.

The figure jumped out of the smoke while the outfit that they wore showed the damages, only problem was the ichor on the outfit was swallowing it whole. A second layer was being built on top of the outfit, while the hood seemed to be leaking saliva. Blotches of liquid falling to the roof. Either way, it was clear that Samson was no longer trying to leave now he was focused on making this newcomer bleed.

Both hands had ragged-looking tentacles flying towards this new one as spikes started to pop up while the two traveled toward him. Whatever attention this fella wanted, he got it. Let's hope he enjoyed it.

𝐏𝐥𝐚𝐲𝐛𝐨𝐲

[𝐏𝐥𝐚𝐲𝐛𝐨𝐲]

The flames melted flesh from bone, revealing a strange silhouette underneath; a body unscathed. The unknown substance layered atop itself until the figure reformed. From this distance, with the flickering shadows obscuring my vision, I couldn’t make heads or tails of what the substance was. Whether a blessing or a curse, I’d get a firsthand look as spikes crashed against the building.

I squeezed in the narrow spaces between each projectile. Steel screamed as they lodged themselves into the fire escape. Its structural integrity faltered like a broken promise. And I only caught a glimpse of what looked to be fiber. Instant karma ignited the only clue I had to their quirk.

By this point, everyone underneath had run to either end of the alley. They poured into the streets. And as I braced for impact, my eyes darted across every mole and scar that littered the concrete.

Where was my lighter?

---

JoJo

[JoJo]

The body that Samson harbored grew more ichor around it, writhing and growing more like raw muscle heaving without any skin. The hood fell down and white splotches atop it began to look more like eyes than anything else relative to fabric.

Samson watched him escape whilst the tentacles on their massive arms began to recoil back towards them. He snarled and headed towards the edge of the rooftop jumping down without abandon. At this point tunnel vision was now full gung ho, civilians didn't matter now.

All that mattered was nailing this bastard.

The landing caused a loud boom, but surprise surprise, their body was unscathed. Picking up pieces of the fallen fire escape they sent them flying at Samson's target. The eyes looked left and right before finally landing on a mid-sized dumpster. In several moments it went from wedged on the side of the alley to snapped up and thrown out towards the target spilling the contents onto the middle of the street.

Even this was Samson trying to 'play it easy' with the body.

𝐏𝐥𝐚𝐲𝐛𝐨𝐲

[𝐏𝐥𝐚𝐲𝐛𝐨𝐲]

The streets were panicked. People unrelated to the encounter found themselves on the wrong side of the steel scraps. The monster plunged debris from the shadows into illuminated roads, a message to daywalkers and dwellers of light; there are creatures you cannot fathom.

“Follow the rabbits!” Dust Bunnies flooded the area. I had lost all the luxuries afforded to me within the alleyway. My lighter had been lost to the darkness and my kindling was leading civilians to the closest approximation of safety they could muster.

The monster aimed at me.

I avoided fatal injury but what seemed like shallow cuts left my clothes drenched in dreor. But even with my body’s limitations constricting my mind and flesh, I sought to engage this creature in solitude. The further we were from people the safer they were.

Hands up. Footwork.

Light on my feet. Light on my feet. Light on my feet.

“Find the pattern,” I muttered, eyeing the steel debris near my feet. “Go for the throat.”

---

JoJo

[JoJo]

Samson blinked once after throwing the debris. They began to stomp out of the alleyway, finding himself trying to find himself. Believe it or not, anger wasn't his friend. Samson had mellowed out since Josie's teenage years, however this was a matter of life or death. All this mite had to do was keep talking, and head to another area maybe he'd have some luck, and even get on the news.

Instead, the mite had to learn his place in the world the hard wa-

The thoughts were silenced when the wind whistled around them and the ichor on his body writhed, hardening in response. A loud clang could be heard, Samson had been pushed backward from the force. Looking at the ground, the metal debris from earlier had been used against him only it was clear they had gone for a kill shot.

Enough was enough.

Samson wasted no effort into a roar, now lunging forward knocking over retreating civilians in the smoke, and going straight for the target. Their hands now look more like serrated claws ready to rip and tear into the enemy.

𝐏𝐥𝐚𝐲𝐛𝐨𝐲

[𝐏𝐥𝐚𝐲𝐛𝐨𝐲]

A blade to the throat meant nothing against the pulsating ichor. The monster trampled atop humans like stepping stones on their way to me. The rabbits multiplied by their side bringing them to their feet and continuing their journey to safety — it was all I could do.

But there was a miscalculation. The monster was slow but the heat of combat had taken its toll on my skin. I felt it tighten as I pushed myself to produce more and more Dust Bunnies. What was once an easily avoidable, linear lunge became a nearly undodgeable lariat.

I ducked and the serrated claws followed, making a home in my shoulder.

I was trapped.

“You’ve got one chance to retreat, heathen.” A voice booms behind me. And a few more heroes spread onto the field picking up the slack left behind from dissipating Dust Bunnies.

---

JoJo