Ginky and Infant's Bizarre Encounter! A One-on-One Battle! Breathe vs. Weezer!

[GinkyGotBack]

Pinkerton's A Rank Power Roll: Moderate Success!!

Just as Pinkerton predicted, the rug froze as it was sucked dry of its heat. With a few swift kicks, Pinkerton freed herself from the now destroyed rug's grip, although it still appeared to be tied around her foot due to her altered perception of time.

However, because of Pinkerton's weakness to cold and the fact that the rug had been wrapped around her ankle at the time, when she finally did perceive the rug being broken, she also realized that the part of it that had been wrapped around her tore a part of the flesh on her ankle as it shattered into pieces.

(Pinkerton has suffered another 2 Light Injuries, which have combined with the other two into a Heavy Injury. Pinkerton now suffers from a Heavy Injury on her left leg, her left ankle specifically. Any Action that uses the ankle primarily will suffer from a -3 penalty.)

(Pinkerton's Stamina has been reduced by 1.)

 

[Haz.]

Pinkerton grimaced as she dropped from the archway, barely sticking the landing.
"Shit..." She murmured, gripping her torn ankle. She couldn't mend it - not here, at least. Not while the enemy could be right around the corner. She'd just have to suffer through the pain and kick the Stand user's ass first.
It's just a flesh wound. I can keep going. It hurts, but it won't stop me. She thought as she entered the living room. First, she pressed her back against the wall to her right, extending both hands and conjuring fireballs in her palms.
I can't afford to struggle anymore. Even if I burn the house down, using my fire powers is the only way to safely dispose of incoming threats without risking more injuries. Most of the objects here are flammable, so incinerating them should be of no problem.

 

[GinkyGotBack]

The living room was a bit smaller than the kitchen was. Directly to the right of the archway was an old wooden rocking chair sat next to a small TV on a shelf. On the other side of that was a three-seat couch with a two-seat couch next to that. In front of all of these was a coffee table with a little wooden statue of a swimming duck on top of it. Alongside the living room and down the hall were the five doors leading into the five bedrooms, four on the left side of the wall and one at the very end of the hall on the right side.

From J.P.'s room, Pinkerton could hear him screaming "Get out of here! Stay away from me, you monster!!"

 

[Haz.]

Pinkerton walked into the middle of the living room. Nothing's moving just yet. She scowled as smoke began to seep into the room. She didn't know how far in it was, but judging by how long it took the rug to shatter after she'd kicked it, it was likely already flooding the room.
Then, she heard screaming from the other room. J.P. was crying something about a monster.
Is he shouting about me? I wouldn't be surprised. Unless... Is he being attacked? She grit her teeth. If it is the enemy, then he's likely in the same room as J.P.. If not, or if J.P. was the culprit all along, she could be getting lured...
She cursed herself. Against her own logical reasoning, she broke into a sprint - a painful one, considering the shredded ankle - and ran towards J.P.'s room.
But not before grinding to a sudden halt, turning at the entrance of the living room, and blasting it full of smoldering fire. One after the other, she incinerated every object in sight, until it was all a whistling mess of flames and charcoal.
"I'm not taking chances with you, if that's what you're thinking. I'll find you, whoever you are, and crack your skull wide open - even if it means I have to burn this whole place to the ground." She shouted aloud, before rushing to J.P.'s room.

 

[GinkyGotBack]

As Pinkerton rushed down the hallway full of doors, her face immediately met with an invisible wall, smacking into it at full force.

Besides the hallway full of doors, Pinkerton also heard a creaking and groaning noise coming from inside the ceiling. Not a second later after setting the room on fire, multiple pipes broke through different parts of the ceiling, splashing cold water everywhere and dousing the flames. As she watched that happen, she would also see that the door to the bedroom right next to her had opened and at that point, she could feel the full force of the door slamming into her face.

While it didn't do any actual damage, it still hurt pretty bad.

 

[Haz.]

"Goddammit--!" She shouted as he walked directly into an invisible wall - a door, from what she could tell. She could also hear cold water begin to extinguish the flames in the living room.
The pipes? Well, I did not exactly account for that. If his Stand can manipulate perception, then it's likely manually tampering with my environment. In that case, it's most likely a remote control-type Stand. Capable of traveling long distances, but typically incapable of holding its own in an actual fight. He'll likely only start attacking me with it once he gets desperate.
Fortunately, she did have a way of stopping the flow of the water. Punching through the ceiling, she grabbed onto the splintered wooden crack and pulled herself up by a few meters to reach the pipes. She planted the back of her hand against the cold metal and stealing what heat there is left to steal; as long as she didn't use her fingers, she could hopefully avoid getting frostbite on the most vital part of her body. It took a few seconds for the ice to spread, but by the time it did, Pinkerton's hand was blue and numb. What would otherwise have costed her a Light Injury was fortunately accounted for when she supplied a small portion of her heat into her palm to stop any permanent injuries, before using the remnants to ignite another fire on a crooked floorboard.
Hopefully, by the time the ice melts the fire would have already spread enough for the water to dissipate into steam. I need to defeat the enemy in the time that takes.
She inhaled, gathering her stamina. Cocking her fists back, she released an unrelenting flurry of punches upon the doorway, hoping to destroy anything the enemy would throw or open to hit her.

 

[GinkyGotBack]

The door seemed to withstand Pinkerton's blows at first, but as her perception of time carried on, it eventually splintered into pieces. The other doors were a problem however, as she wasn't fast enough to break through any of the other ones before she felt something pierce her back.

Like a swarm of bees, an entire collection of knives came flying from the kitchen to bury themselves into Pinkerton's back.

(Pinkerton has suffered 2 Light Injuries. Pinkerton currently has 2 Light Injuries, 1 Heavy Injury on her left ankle, and 9/10 Stamina)

 

[Haz.]

At this point, Pinkerton was almost completely fed up. The knives stung, and her patience was running low. She let out a loud yell of "UWOOOOOOOOH!" as she drove her elbow forward and charged through the doors, resorting instead to simply plowing through them with brute force rather than punching them down one at a time.

 

[GinkyGotBack]

Pinkerton's A Rank Power Roll: Definite Success!!

Pinkerton charged forward elbow first, which looked a little foolish considering that none of the doors along the way seemed open. Yet, nonetheless, seven to eight seconds later while Pinkerton was at the end of the hall, the doors swung open only to be smashed through as a sledgehammer smashing through a wall.

Finally, she was at the end of the hall and only one door remained, albeit closed. The door to J.P.'s room. From the other side, she could hear him pleading with someone.
"I'm warning you, please, leave this place! Haven't you ruined enough already?"

 

[Haz.]

That must be where the enemy is! But, since he's still attacking me, he must know I'm behind this door. I'm going to have to defeat him quickly - a cramped space is where I'm at an advantage, so I can't squander it.
Pinkerton pulled her knee up to her chest, then kicked the door off its hinges, stepping into J.P.'s room with both hands ignited.
"You've caused me quite enough trouble for a day."

 

[GinkyGotBack]

Even before Pinkerton had kicked down the door to J.P.'s room, she could feel something digging into the right side of her chest. When the door was kicked off its hinges she saw J.P., holding a lever-action rifle in his shaking hands, breathing heavily, a white cloud pouring out of his mouth with every breath.

"I warned you, you monster!!!" screamed J.P. as he pulled the trigger on the rifle, shooting a bullet into Pinkerton's chest where she had already felt something burying itself into it. She could feel the cold bullet sink into her flesh and bone and the sharp pain that came with it. There was no stopping the bullet. It had already pierced her chest before the gun had been fired.

(Pinkerton has suffered another 2 Light Injuries, which have combined with the other two into a Heavy Injury. Pinkerton now suffers from a Heavy Injury on her chest, the upper right side specifically. Any Action that uses the chest primarily will suffer from a -3 penalty.)

(Pinkerton's Stamina has been reduced by 1, leaving her with 8/10 Stamina.)

 

[Haz.]

Pinkerton clutched her chest in agony.
A bullet? Did he just...??! No, was he warning me all this time?
She scrambled to hoist herself up using the doorframe, only to tear a large chunk of it off and fall to the ground.
Shit... It's not life-threatening, but it still hurts like hell. If he shoots me again, I might not even be able to stand up.
"J.P., s-stop..! I'm not the enemy! There's someone else in this house, and he's--cough--trying to kill us. He has a power which lets him manipulate the senses - I'm perceiving things after they've already happened, and he's most likely using that same power on you!" She managed, wiping the blood that began to dribble from her nose. Finally, she managed to stand up, holding her hands forward in an attempt to calm him down.
"I'll get you somewhere safe, just put the gun down! I may look like a monster, but I'm almost as much of a human as you are!" She pleaded, trying to appear nonthreatening despite her appearance.

 

[GinkyGotBack]

Tick.

Seven seconds have passed.

J.P.s breathing was heavy and rapid as he backed himself further towards the wall. Each breath was followed by the all-too-familiar cold cloud of carbon dioxide produced by his lungs.

Tock.

Nine seconds have passed.

"Shut up! You're not trying to help me! You caused that smoke in the kitchen! You started that fire in the living room! I can feel the heat from here! You lied to me about that makeup too, didn't you! You've been lying to me this whole time!" The pacing of his breathing was speeding up as he ranted on, producing more and more of the cloud as he spoke.

Tick.

Another eleven seconds have passed.

The delay between when things happened and when they were shown to be happening was getting longer now. Pinkerton could feel something wrap around her left wrist and pull on it and the same happened with her right. "You're just some monster out to kill me, aren't you! You've ruined everything for me! All I wanted was to live in this cabin! Time moves so slowly here... I can actually relax and enjoy my life... I'm not going back to Toronto, I won't go back to work! I won't waste my life working every day so I can afford to live! I'm going to stay here in Nunavut and live the rest of my life in a slow, peaceful daze!" Pinkerton pulled the lever on his rifle, getting another bullet ready to fire.

Fifteen seconds have passed.

Curtains from the wall beside and behind J.P. shoot out to constrict Pinkerton's wrists and then pull in an attempt to restrict her movement. J.P., who startled by the sudden animation of the curtains hesitates in firing off another shot. "What the hell! Those curtains just... This is alive... Is that why things just started to appear when I needed them...? The bandages... The towels and the foot basin... This cabin is my ally, and it's going to help me kill you!" J.P.'s breathing was faster than ever now, so much so that the amount of cold air coming out of his mouth was able to maintain itself and stay in place. The cloud took a shape that looked oddly... humanoid...

 

[Haz.]

Pinkerton stood idly, suspended in mid-air. Her head was hung low, hair obscuring her eyes.
"Do it." She didn't look up, only speaking in a morose tone.
"There's a walkie-talkie in my coat's right pocket. I couldn't get a signal because of the blizzard, but if it's your power that's making it last so long, you should be able to use it. It's wired to only connect to a single frequency, so just tell them what happened and they'll pay for the damages." She sighed, glancing up at him. Her eyes were sunken, her face contorted in a look of sadness yet simultaneous apathy. She showed no resistance as the curtains restrained her.
"Don't tell anyone except them about your power, or you'll be the one they'll start calling a monster. This world isn't ready to accept people like us. As for me... Do what you want. They're going to kill me anyway when they find out what I did. You're just rushing the inevitable."

 

[GinkyGotBack]

Seventeen seconds passed.

J.P. stood pointing his rifle at Pinkerton, squinting at her with suspicion as she stated her case. "What are you talking about? I don't have any sort of power... I'm not a monster like you..."

J.P. lowered his rifle a bit as one of the curtains released its grip on Pinkerton's wrists, taking the walkie-talkie out of Pinkerton's coat pocket and handing it to him. Eyeing the piece of machinery, he glanced up at Pinkerton and noticed her pathetic facial expression. "How do I know this isn't going to bring more people like you here? This could just be a trick for me to call up some backup for you."

 

[Haz.]

She sighed, shaking her head. Man, was that delay annoying.
"In Layman's terms, what you have is effectively a superpower. It's called a Stand. Yours seems to alter the perception of time - that's why the blizzard seems to last so long, and likely why you've been so clumsy lately. If you don't believe me, try inhaling your own breath, then dropping something small on your hand. That seems to be the trigger, judging by how it stopped increasing in how long it affected me when I started filling the house with smoke.
People like us aren't that common, but there's supposedly some kind of subconscious, gravitational force that draws us to each other. We're called Stand-users. I was bred by the Speedwagon Foundation--you've probably heard of it, I assume--as a weapon to protect the world from people like us who use their superpowers for evil. Funny how I managed to mess that up."
When J.P. voiced his concerns about the walkie-talkie being a trick, she only rolled her eyes. I can't exactly blame him for being suspicious after I blew up half of his house.
"They don't care about me. I'm disposable; like I said, they'll probably kill me after this anyway. It'd be easier to get rid of me and just breed another Foo Fighter unit that isn't borderline mentally defective. As for you, they'll either give you the option to take shots that suppress your power, or work for them. They won't do anything to you unless they think you're a threat to society - which, considering I thought you were the one being attacked, they probably won't."

 

[GinkyGotBack]

Seventeen seconds passed.

As everything seemed to freeze in place before Pinkerton's eyes, she could feel another digging sensation above her right eyebrow. As what she shaw began to catch up to what had happened, Pinkerton would see J.P. drop the walkie-talkie to the ground and crush it under his heel. The way he stared at her, what life used to be in J.P.'s eyes had been snuffed out, leaving them cold and dead. "So, my fears were justified... The Foo Fighter units suffer because of their sympathy and compassion. Being born and raised as a human has greatly diminished their effectiveness as reliable agents."

A loud bang sounded out through the room as J.P. shot Pinkerton in the head with his rifle. Nonchalantly, he pulled the lever to ready another shot, although he didn't try to shoot. "I'm a dangerous Stand user with a potentially dangerous ability. That, coupled with my obsessive passion, to the point where I would harm someone that I thought was getting in the way of that goal. You should have killed me when you had the chance. But instead, you chose to sacrifice yourself so a crazed Stand user could live in the Arctic wastes in peace. How very disappointing. The Speedwagon Foundation has failed in creating artificial Stand users. I'll grant you your wish and put you out of your misery, you obsolete hybrid."

Once more, there was a digging sensation in Pinkerton's head. J.P. had shot her once again, and in seventeen seconds from now she would see it in action and feel every inch of the cold stab of the bullet. He didn't care if they'd just end up killing her later, J.P. was fully intent on dealing with Pinkerton himself.

(Pinkerton has suffered 2 Light Injuries. Pinkerton currently has 2 Light Injuries, 2 Heavy Injuries; one on her left ankle and one in her chest, and has 8/10 Stamina remaining.)

 

[Haz.]

Pinkerton screamed in agony as something began to dig into her brow.
Wh... What's he doing...?! Did he shoot me...?!
When time caught up, her eyes widened. She looked to the ground to see the walkie-talkie had been crushed underfoot by J.P., who stared at her with cold, inhuman eyes. Goner were the pleas for solitude and fidgety movements, the humanity purged from his body. What stood before her was a shell of the man she knew.
"You tricked me... because I showed mercy? So this was just a setup...?! A test?!" She cried, yanking at the curtains to try and break free. Anger welled up inside her - she'd been played like a fiddle, and the man she trusted was making a mockery of her. She clenched her teeth, pulling and grasping as she tried to rip away from her restraints.
"I'll reduce this cabin to cinders, with you still in it!" Pinkerton finally yelled, and with ferocious strength, she grabbed the curtains, crossed her arms and began to pull them apart.

 

[GinkyGotBack]

The curtains seemed to tighten their grip on Pinkerton's wrists in a vain attempt to keep her restrained.

 

[GinkyGotBack]

Pinkerton vs. Curtains Contest: Pinkerton wins!!
(Pinkerton gains +1 Momentum, leaving her with +2 Momentum in total.)
(The Cabin (Soul Asylum) gains -1 Momentum, leaving it with -2 Momentum in total.)

Although Pinkerton could not yet see the results of her handiwork, she could feel the grip on her wrists loosen completely. Given enough time, she saw as the curtains were pulled off the walls, taking the hangers with them. At the same time, J.P. had smashed a window behind him with the butt of his rifle and crawled outside into the supposed cold. Although it may not have actually still been going on, Pinkerton's mind surely wouldn't know any better as she still perceived the blizzard as it had been yesterday.

She'd be walking out into a world that was ruled by her weakness, but if she wanted to go after J.P., she'd have to do it fast before he got too far ahead and disappeared into the illusionary storm.

 

[Haz.]

Pinkerton didn't wait around to see what J.P.'s afterimage would do. She immediately rushed to the window, sticking her hand through the pane to feel no resistance - he shattered the window to make a swift exit.
Shit... This is bad. Even if the blizzard's just a byproduct of his Stand, it's already too cold out there for me to risk it. But if he gets away, he'll make it back to Alert to resupply.
She cursed under her breath, then began scouring the room for something--anything--she could use to thwart his escape attempt. Then, she felt what she was standing on. Sharp, yet brittle. Glass shards, scattered all around the hardwood floor. She quickly picked up a piece she estimated was the length of her palm, and clutched it tightly with her index and middle fingers, with her thumb pressing against the smooth edge.
It's just like training. If he jumped out of the window 6-7 seconds ago and if he's running at 15 miles per hour--assuming he's as fit as the average male--he shouldn't be any further than 35-40 meters away. I just need to ignore what my senses are telling me, and take the shot with the utmost precision.
Pinkerton took a deep breath, then leaned her head on her shoulder, using her thumb as an iron sight.

 

[Haz.]

Pinkerton's A-Rank Precision Roll: Critical Success!!

Pinkerton squeezed the glass shard between her fingers, then fired. The sound was comparable to a gunshot, and the piece soared through the air to meet J.P, gunning for his lower legs. But, how much damage it would do was yet to be seen.

 

[GinkyGotBack]

Pinkerton's A-Rank Precision Roll (+2): Critical Success!!!

The glass shard embedded itself deep into J.P.'s leg, although she hadn't actually seen it happen yet. The force of the impact was enough to trip him up, sending him face first into the snow. As he fell, his rifle loosened from his grip and skidded off out of arm's reach. J.P. clenched his fist as he lay on his stomach. He couldn't even stand as the glass had severed the nerves in his leg. His breath was getting shorter and weaker as the pain of his injury was becoming too much to bear for him.

The blizzard began to fade away as J.P.'s breathing grew tired, the effects of his Breathe's time perception altering wearing off almost completely. J.P. spoke through ragged breaths, "Where was this coldheartedness a few seconds ago, Pinkerton? Gone away with your pity, I see." There was no contempt or anger in his voice, there was no trace of emotion in it at all. "If you had only been like this from the beginning, you would have passed my test. You would have saved yourself and the rest of the Foo Fighters units, but now your empathy has sealed their fate..."

(J.P. has suffered 8 Light Injuries, which have all combined to form 1 Major Injury located in his lower leg. Any time J.P. performs an Action, his Stamina will be reduced by 1. J.P. has 8/10 Stamina remaining.)

 

[Haz.]

Pinkerton approached J.P., a cold apathy in her gaze. She looked down on him as he spoke, unmoved and unconcerned by what he had to say. Her transformation from raging to uncaring was almost as stark as the man who lay before her's.
"Save me the lecture. Your beliefs are flawed, and your test was a pointless charade. If you wanted unsympathetic machines, you shouldn't have used humans as your guinea pigs in the first place." She squatted beside him, looking on into the distance with a blank expression.
"What were you planning to do? If I passed the test, I mean."

 

[GinkyGotBack]

"You seem to misunderstand, Pinkerton. While I may be from the Speedwagon Foundation, it wasn't them who brought you here. I falsified your orders to lure you out here to see how effective the F.F. units really were. While your skills, expendability and your human intellect make for an effective soldier, your emotions and your willingness to trust others are your greatest weaknesses."

J.P. flipped onto his back, staring the Human-Stand hybrid in the eyes with his own uncaring gaze. "It doesn't matter what would have happened if you passed. That ship has long since sailed. You have been replaced by a new and better creation. One that lacks the ability to feel emotion, one that can better hide in plain sight, one that will absolutely not betray the Foundation. I will see that you and the rest of your kind are destroyed to make way for these superior agents. What short time you've had in this world is over."

"You have been weighed. You have been measured. And you have been found wanting."

All at once, the largest cloud of cold air, now revealed to be J.P.'s Stand, ejected itself out of his mouth. With one large, continuous exhale, J.P. vented his Stand completely from his lungs, leaving him completely deprived of oxygen. J.P. made no attempt to breathe, it wouldn't have mattered anyway. When his Breathe left his body it had left both of his lungs collapsed and unable to properly breathe. In less than five seconds, his skin began to take a bluish hue due to the lack of oxygen in his system. As the cloud Stand dispersed completely into the air, the last of J.P.'s life slipped away from him as he lay staring into the sky.​

The Stand User of Breathe, J.P. Floyd has committed suicide through the use of his own Stand.​