Mortis gently placed the emptied syringe back on the metal table, blood dripping off his gloved hands and pooling . He quickly grabbed the suture materials and began the methodical, and somewhat cathartic, process of sewing up his 'patients' chest. It was honestly a wonder to him that he actually managed to find a willing participant for this procedure, he was originally just going to kidnap at least three mid-twenty people and use them. It still amazed him at how quickly this man had agreed to a surgery that had so little science and so much mysticism, though he assumed that was just par for the course with stands.

The suture swam through the skin as he deftly closed the large gap that currently was his patient's chest, but a noise from behind caught his attention. He cast his gaze up at the darkened window that was across from him, and was able to see one of his 'assistants' trying to walk across the floor. He finally paused his stitching and turned on his heel to face the bold individual," Where exactly are you going?"

The assistant stopped dead in their tracks and looked towards Mortis, "To go get in the transport...I mean I've done my job."

Mortis recognized the voice as a recent med school graduate he had gotten onto the surgical team to operate some of the experimental equipment. It was a complexe machine that he was using to monitor the 'assimilation' of alternate 'souls', and any deviation from what he had identified as a base value could jeopardize the entire procedure. Mortis looked at the assistant oddly," The procedure isn't complete yet."

"I mean the number hasn't changed since the beginning," The assistant said while shrugging," And you're almost done so I thought I could get off early."

Mortis stared at the assistant before turning back around and picking up the suture and resuming the methodical process, this time lacking the cathartic edge. He felt a smirk creep onto his face though when he heard a sudden cry of pain explode from behind him. He shifted his gaze back towards the window and was able to see blood spreading across the assistants chest as his stand removed one of it's fingers. The assistant fell to the ground as more blood came from their chest, though Mortis thought it was a little too long….and far too peaceful. His stand slithered with it's spinal cord-esque tail to where it was almost laying directly on top of the bleeding assistant. It calmly moved its hand and straightened it's long, spindly, and razor sharp fingers over the assistants stomach before in a brutal and fluid movement drove it into the stomach. Once inside it maneuvered it's spindly arm deeper until it was under the ribcage, it soon found the assistant's heart. It's fingers encircled the heart and in a far too familiar movement it clenched it's hand into a fist.

Mortis almost could feel the heart explode as his stand carried out the command, and he felt his own heart hum with a sort of perverse joy. He would miss one of the few competent assistants in this entire organization... but he wouldn't have anybody jeopardizing the completion of this project. It was the culmination of his life's research and his ultimate opportunity to surpass the legacy of man who gave him these powers...though he could no longer remember the man's name given the modifications he had done to his body with his stand. He glanced up towards the reflection again and was able to see a few other of his assistants staring at the steadily growing blood puddle with what he assumed was fear, though he couldn't actually bother to give a shit about the lessers.

John and Leen kept circling each other ignoring the destroyed walls behind each other. Their initial attempted assaults had been blocked or dodged, and in the end neither had any actual damage. The golden form of 『MR. EGO』suddenly lunged forward with it's fist reared back full of intent to kill. John reacted and leaned his body to the side, his stand following the movement, and letting the fist narrowly miss. At the same time he let loose a brutal right hook with 『RIDE THE LIGHTNING』aimed directly at the opposing stands side.

『MR. EGO』tried to move back in time to dodge the attack, a pissed off grimace burnt on Leens face, and it came close to avoiding it completely. But it was too little too late, as 『RiDE THE LIGHTNING』's fist clipped the torso of Leens stand sending a brutal shock into both his opponents. John wanted to hear a scream of pain or even discomfort, but all he got was a flash of pain as a sudden backfist from 『MR. EGO』caught him in the shoulder sending him down and across the tile floor.

John quickly got his feet across from him and looked across the devastated hallway at Leen who at that moment was ripping his fancy button down shirt off. 'At least I know that I'm hitting him,' John thought as he saw the burn decorating his side ,' But jesus christ it doesn't seem to be doing shit.' He got back to his feet and let out a quiet grunt as he felt the lingering pain in his shoulder. It was still usable but damn did it hurt, his stand stood next to him harsh breaths and electricity coming off it's form. He snapped out of his slight stupor and quickly got ready to get in close again. Their stands were close in power and judging by the fact that neither had managed to land a solid hit, they were similar in speed.

John stopped thinking when Leen exploded forward, staying close behind his stand. A powerful punch narrowly missed, and the followup swing was just as close to hitting as well. He weaved his way around and threw a few solid jabs that connected, with each one sending shocks throughout Leen's body. Though without a second of hesitation『MR. EGO』 through another wide counter that John narrowly managed to drop under before quickly backing up in order to avoid an uppercut that may have snapped his neck if it connected. John stood back up and looked right at Leen who seemed to not feel anything at the burns that dotted his body. It was very disheartening to see these attacks amounting to nothing. John shook his head and refocused on the matter at hand, especially as Leen was now walking forward again, ready to do the same thing again. 'I'm really outgunned here.'

Leen stepped in range and immediately his stand unloaded a volley of fists in an attempt to nail John who weaved and swayed, with『RIDE THE LIGHTNING』matching his movements. It was very much a battle of experience vs strength, as John was able to read what Leen was trying to throw. As John swayed back he felt something click as a buried memory came forward, a jolt of electricity running through him. It was an odd memory; him in a car with a pair of binoculars watching Leen and Priest go into a warehouse. He snapped back into reality suddenly as fist collided with his ribs sending him sprawling across the ground as pain shot through his ribs.

He heaved a little as his already cracked ribs screamed in pain, spitting a glob of blood out of his mouth. He felt so weak and powerless in comparison to Leen it was really, really starting to PISS HIM OFF. John felt his rage grow in huge bursts as he glared at the approaching form Leen, who was walking slowly towards him. As his rage built he felt more and more electricity course along his body, arcs crossing in smaller and smaller intervals as the charge built. As he felt his muscles involuntarily contract and tighten in response a sudden fog seemed to lift from his mind. Why the hell was he scared of Leen, why the fuck did he feel like he was going to lose, and more importantly WHY THE FUCK DID HE THINK THAT LEEN WAS BETTER?!.

John shot back to his feet as audible snapping and crackling could be heard as electricity coursed through his body. 『RIDE THE LIGHTNING』appeared at the ready the ammeter in its chest rising as John began to walk towards Leen now. Both stepped into close range, but this time John fired off first nailing 『MR. EGO』in it's face before quickly following up with a hook to the body. Leen didn't stagger and instead through the same punch he had every time, but this time John shifted back and overlaid his stand with his actual leg and lashed out with a kick that connected with Leens legs. Leen actually stumbled as the kick connected with his leg, his face didn't betray anything and he quickly grabbed 『RIDE THE LIGHTNING』by it's arm with his stand.

Very quickly John found himself slammed into the ground, though this time he didn't feel any feelings of inadequacy creep into his thoughts. He didn't have time to ponder too much as his already brutalized ribs were soccer kicked. Sending him sliding along the ground into the base of one of the un-decimated walls. He scrambled to his feet and was quickly met with Leen right in his face.『RIDE THE LIGHTNING』quickly appeared as 『MR. EGO』began a brutal assault, with punches flying from all angles.

Leen kept the assault going strong as his thoughts flashed back to the sudden shift that his opponent had gone through. It was as if a switch had been flipped because he had suddenly become more aggressive despite taking some perfect hits from 『MR. EGO』.

He felt his anger begin to grow as he thought about that specific moment. There was no way his ultimate stand could be harmed in any major capacity, but the fact that he was able to connect his punches was steadily getting on his nerves. He had briefly considered altering his strategy, but there was no need since his stands power and durability were very good. Hell in the organization his stand had the best outright power….. His thoughts suddenly jumped to Mortis, making his anger grow a little. He didn't understand why he worked for him, he should easily be able to take over and still accomplish the goals. Why was it that every time he talked or argued with Mortis he ended up in the same spot. Always the fourth behind Mortis and his lackeys no matter what he was able to do inside of the organization.

Leen snapped back into the moment when he felt an incredibly dull ache appear across his side. A quick glance let him see the stray leg that John had manage to to throw despite his current onslaught. In fact…..

Leen glared, and looked closer at what he was aiming at, and a snarl quickly found its way onto his face. John was using his stand and pure physical skill to keep his punches from doing anything more than just glance off his arms. Leen began to grind his teeth as he was now actually seeing his strikes do nothing more than bruise the skin. " How are you always this damn infuriating."

『MR. EGO』began to pick up pace, more and more fists flying forward in an attempt to crush John and his stand. " You're the damn reason I got stuck with the damn kid in the first place, the reason I got fucking demoted."

The wall behind John began to give, a spiderweb of cracks forming as John's feet left the as the punches literally began to lift him off the ground. The fists continued to not connect fully but the force behind them was obviously starting to take a toll. 『MR. EGO』reared back and delivered a a brutal straight to the center of John's body while screaming, " YOU STUPID FUCKING P.I. ."

John went through the wall with a huge crash, while at the same time Leen released a huge snarl. 'Take that you fucking bastard, everything you ruined….you pay for it now.'

Suddenly Leen's left arm, the one he had slugged through the wall with, suddenly started spasming. Every muscle in his arm kept contracting and releasing sporadically as sparks now flew across his arm.

A chuckle sounded from the rubble of the destroyed wall," I remember everything now….THANKS!"

"FUCKING P.I." echoed in Johns ears as he felt the wall give way behind him.

As he fell through the air he felt a sudden rush of electricity surge through his body. 'FUCKING P.I…..that's what I am…..I… remember."

John felt everything rush back to him in a feeling that could only be matched by his experience in the electric chair. He was able to remember every dumb thing from his childhood, the italian family get togethers, playing defensive tackle for a halfway decent football team, and most importantly to him….at least right now...was when he got his Private investigator license.

He had been a P.I. who had gotten a job to investigate corruption in a medical distribution company. Doing that he had caught a very small lead from an equally small time petty thief who had broken into one of their warehouses. He had followed it to California where after a lot of smooth talking and dumb luck he had managed to find a warehouse where….Mortis had managed to get him with that gun of his. He could still remember the intense pain that had coursed through his body as the leering form of Mortis had him dragged off to Alcatraz. And….well, it wasn't pleasurable to say the least but he learned some tricks being locked in a cell twenty four hours a day.

John opened his eyes and began to get to his feet, 'Speaking of tricks…."

He heard the noise that Leen made as his little trick took affect, a unique part of 『RIDE THE LIGHTNING』being the fact that channeling the electricity causes the muscles to contract. So all he did was make his stand charged while just enduring Leen's attempt to pummel him to death.

" I remember everything now….THANKS!" He yelled out as he stepped out from the rubble and was able to see Leen trying to wrangle his arm under control.

『RIDE THE LIGHTNING』appeared right behind John and let loose an ear piercing shriek that made Leen step back for a second before reaffirming his footing and charging forward. John responded by having his stand let loose a bolt of lightning that impacted 『MR. EGO』rocking both the stand and the user back. Though almost immediately after it hit Leen lunged forward with a punch that managed to catch John along the side of his torso. John grimaced and immediately returned fire with a hook that Leen made no effort to dodge as it impacted the side of his face.

John ate another fist to the face as Leen fired one right down the pipe, but all it did was make his nose bleed. Both combatants took a step back, though as they backed up John let loose another bolt that was narrowly dodged. Leen shot back into close range and in response 『RIDE THE LIGHTNING』dropped an axe kick that was taken in exchange for another powerful blow to his already broken ribs. John staggered back before having throwing a knee that was narrowly dodged the follow up stomp that sent Leen and his stand to the ground.

John let out a few harsh breaths as he got used to new and somehow too familiar pain that was all over his torso. Leen also took his time as he inched his way off the ground, he was breathing heavily and had a confused expression on his face. A bemused look made its way onto Johns face as he saw Leen slowly felt the back of his head and brought his hand around front revealing blood.

Leen looked at his fingers and snarled when he saw the crimson red spread over his fingers. It was aggravating to have been pushed this far and beaten this much. He took a few deep breaths as he tried to plan out his next moves, but he found himself being drawn back to his current situation.

It was such a blow to his pride to be injured, and more so to see his punches deflected and made so ineffective….it made him feel so weak in comparison. It was a feeling that was still so alien to him, he had only really felt it when he first had fought Mortis. He also thought….NO, he had to be better than this nobody. All of his dreams and plans for the future relied on him thriving in this organization and he couldn't afford to fall here.

Leen finally got back into his stance but he felt so much heavier and much slower. He felt the pain going throughout his arms and even the burns along his torso began to hurt more. He suddenly felt the blood that was in his mouth and how split his lip actually was. He took a deep breath and『MR. EGO』appeared in front of him replicating his stance.

Something felt fundamentally wrong as he stared at the back of his stand, it normally seemed so much bigger compared to what he was seeing. There was no way that this should be happening...well it shouldn't have. He must have underestimated the power of John's stand because that bastard had somehow managed to deal him pain despite being hit over and over again by 『MR. EGO』.

John looked at Leen strangely as the wounds on his body seemed to worsen. Blood seemed to leak from his mouth and his burns seemed to grow as he stood there. When 『MR. EGO』reappeared it also seemed be more destroyed as chunks of it where blown straight off and torn to pieces. Still none of its power seemed to be lost as it exploded forward with the exact same vivacity it had every other time. It's fist exploded forward aiming for another killing blow that was dodged, though with less effort than previously.

John kept his pace up and kept the counters and pinpoint strikes flowing as Leen kept his strategy of brutal hooks and straights. But suddenly he felt a pressure appear on his arm; 『MR. EGO』 had clamped down with it's free hand restraining his ability to dodge movement.

John tried to shock the hand that was grappling his arm but found himself pulled forward and punched in the side (his good ribs this time). John folded over and tried to get any sort of air into his body, but the effort was interrupted by another blow to his stand's head knocking his vision sideways. He managed to get an arm to actually defend from the onslaught of punches, but he wasn't able to focus enough the send electricity into leen. He got fucking complacent and got pulled into the only area where Leen's stand was better; zero range combat.

Another punch rocked him and this time Leen tried to pull him off balance and send him down into the ground. John managed to catch his footing and endure the hit before gritting his teeth and pulling his arm back.

Immediately he was hit in the head, but he was ready and committed to taking this shot in order to land the one hit he needed. He saw 『Mr. EGO』shift as Leen went to line up another shot in his final push to put him down. Electricity coursed around and through his open palm as he shot his hand forward aiming for his heart. It landed on target and the effect was immediate; Leen suddenly dropped, 『MR. EGO』disappeared, and all the muscles around the area suddenly contracted causing immense pain.

John didn't hesitate at all this time and he quickly dropped a punch directly into the back of Leens head. Following the loud crack of the forehead meeting what remained of the tile floor, there was a resounding silence. 『RIDE THE LIGHTNING』disappeared with the sound of crackling electricity permeating the air. Almost immediately after his stand disappearing John began to pant heavily, and within three seconds he felt his muscles begin to contract and along his left arm a numb feeling began to spread. The blowback from channeling his stands electricity caught him by surprise still, though at least he could remember how he first learned about it. Though the sudden numbness in his body didn't distract from the now incredible and distracting pain that radiated from his ribs, especially since the adrenaline had long since worn off. "Son of a bitch, that felt good."

John leaned back and exhaled heavily as he felt a little joy at this payback, after all the asshole had been the one to strap him in an electric chair. His thoughts almost immediately shifted to what he had remembered moments ago, especially if his apartment hadn't been resold. He shook his head as he tried to knead his muscles as he began to walk down the hallway trying to figure out where he needed to go in order to make it around these annoying hazardous barricades.

As he began to meander down the hallway his thoughts drift to what he now was actually able to remember. Specifically the last phone call he had been able to make, to a family friend in the FBI, about where they had set up; Alcatraz. He almost laughed out loud when the reality of the fact hit him; He was the reason this entire show got started. He began to chuckle before stopping as his ribs screamed in intense pain.

Seth quickly backpedaled to avoid the punch that had just come sailing through the wall. Following the fist came the somehow still well dressed form of Free- he guessed it was based on how the description matched with the one from Joy. He remembered that she had said that he was capable of moving through objects and seemed to be fairly intelligent. He eyed the pacing form of Free as they both circled each other. Seth guessed the only reason that Free hadn't charged him was that he didn't know what his stand was.

Seth decided to pull the trigger first, and 『BALLROOM BLITZ』buzzed to life around him, fifty wings flapping and buzzing as the small cloud vibrated back and forth. Free rolled his shoulder before saying, " Not actually who I wanted to encounter….but I'll get it done."

The swarm quickly spread out in an attempt to surround Free but suddenly his stand appeared and Seth couldn't help but go wide eyed. Free simply activated what Seth guessed was his stands ability and he seemed to phase through the floor. The beetles dove through the now empty space before swiftly rejoining to the swarm that was buzzing around Seth in a protective sort of manner. He muttered out loud, " Alright, so he-"

Suddenly a hand reached out from, actually through the ground and latched onto Seth's ankle. He felt a pull on his leg, to the point that it was painful, but what followed was the rest of Free and his stand following with an upkick that connected solidly with his shoulder.. He felt the pain explode in his shoulder as Free smoothly returned to his feet and immediately stepped back into a wall, phasing through and disappearing into the next room.

Seth stared at the wall and cursed silently; He was in Free's playground, a place where he can come and go as he pleased...

STAND STATS- 『RIDE THE LIGHTNING』

User: John Doe

Strength: A

Speed: B

Range: C

Durability: B

Precision: C

Potential: B

『RIDE THE LIGHTNING』is humanoid stand with blue skin and what resembles metallic restraints on it's wrists and ankles and a metallic 'blindfold' covering the area where it's eyes would be. It's ability is to generate electricity, that is measured with an ampere meter in it's chest, and then it can channel that electricity through its or the users body. It also possesses a great degree of physical power reflecting the physique of John, the user.

User History: A private detective from Chicago who was hired by a medical distribution company to investigate the disappearance of several high value shipments from a warehouse in the city. He used his investigative skills to find an infinitesimal paper trail of receipts, and vague documents. Through a mixture of dumb luck and a license plate number he managed to track the shipment over several months. He ended up in California where by connecting with a small time crook he was able to find a series of addresses that told him of three other locations in the US and a warehouse where he went to investigate the equipment. From there he was shot by Mortis's golden gun and taken to Alcatraz where he was basically tortured by Leen.