Joshua's neck hurt.

Well, not just his neck. His entire body was stiff and sore, and his head felt like a Riverdance class had been practicing inside his skull. But his neck hurt the most. It felt raw somehow, a white-hot pain, all of his nerves crying out for relief. Joshua had never felt such an intense pain in his life. It was so agonizing, so severe, that he couldn't focus on anything but the pain, and how badly it hurt, and how he wished more than anything that it would stop.

And then, suddenly, all the pain in his neck vanished, as if there had never been any pain in the first place. Joshua blinked in shock. How could such an acute pain just disappear? With a groan, he sat up, and brought a still numb hand to his neck. Joshua felt something warm and wet on his neck, and looked at his hand to see blood. Joshua wasn't usually the type of person to feel faint at the sight of blood, but he still flinched. Why was there blood on his neck? Was it...his blood? Joshua's hands flew over his face and neck. If it was his blood, then why didn't he seem to be hurt at all? Did that mean the blood was someone else's? Joshua recoiled. He wasn't sure which possibility was worse.

He looked at his surroundings for the first time. He appeared to be in some kind of operating room, and he had been lying on the operating table in the middle of the room. The harsh fluorescent lights overhead made Joshua headache pound even harder. A nearby cardiac monitor beeped; Joshua realized that electrodes had been strapped to his chest, and an IV had been inserted into his arm as well. There was only one door, and on the opposite wall was a giant window of darkened glass which Joshua couldn't see through. On a small table next to Joshua, where one would expect to see a variety of surgeon's tools, was a single jagged piece of metal. The piece of metal was also covered in fresh blood.

Was he in some kind of hospital? Outside the room, Joshua could faintly hear an alarm blaring. What was going on? Right now, Joshua had far too many questions and no answers. His head throbbed. A sense of dread came over him as he remembered what had happened at the football game. Joshua didn't know what was going on, but he could feel that it was nothing good. He needed to get out now, before anything else could happen. He stood up from the table, then staggered, feeling weak in the legs. He had to lean against the table for support. He realized the table was also was splattered with fresh blood.

Suddenly, the darkened window exploded as a figure crashed through it. Joshua looked up to see Tracksuit Guy lying on the ground. Tracksuit Guy now sported a nasty gash on his forehead, which was bleeding profusely. Muscle Shirt Guy stepped over the frame of the now broken window into the room. "What's wrong, kid?" Muscle Shirt Guy said, a wicked gleam in his eyes. "Where's that cocky fucking smirk you had the last we fought?"

Tracksuit Guy gritted his teeth in frustration. He looked at Muscle Shirt Guy from the ground, and yelled, "[Sabaton]!"

A shimmer of light appeared around Tracksuit Guy, and then - there could be no other way to describe it - the light transformed. It took on a humanoid shape, and with a flash, it was no longer a shimmer of light, but a…

Something. Joshua didn't quite know was he was looking at, but seeing it made it head feel even worse. The thing that had come from the shimmer of light looked kind of like a human, but it definitely was not. Its body was light pink, with red markings. The markings ran up and down its body, collecting in the thing's entirely red fingers. A pair of small wings sprouted from either side of its head, while other pairs sprouted from the backs of its feet. Its face...Joshua shivered. The thing had no nose, its eyes were pure black and beady, and its mouth was full of razor sharp teeth arranged in an evil grin. On some level, it reminded Joshua of a shark.

The thing wasted no time, immediately lunging towards Muscle Shirt Guy. Muscle Shirt Guy did not react to this strange turn of events, but instead a similar shimmer of light appeared around him, manifesting into another strange humanoid figure. Unlike the one that appeared next to Tracksuit Guy, this figure looked a lot more robotic. It was covered in shiny black armor, and there were tubes connecting from the back of its neck to its arms filled with bright glowing blue liquid. On its face, in place of its eyes, was a single small opening which glowed with the same blue color as the tubes. Despite seemingly being made of metal, it was every bit as muscular as Muscle Shirt Guy, if not more so.

The black figure quickly moved in front of Muscle Shirt Guy, raising a fist to intercept the pink figure. Just as they were about to collide, the pink figure vanished, reappearing behind the black figure directly to Muscle Shirt Guy's left. Muscle Shirt Guy only smiled. "Too slow!" Suddenly, the black figure turned and slammed its fist into the pink figure's head with incredible speed. Tracksuit Guy gave a yell of pain and surprise, as the pink figure flew from the force of the punch. It bounced once before vanishing again, this time reappearing in front of Tracksuit Guy.

"Impossible!" Tracksuit Guy spat. "How did you get so fast?"

Muscle Shirt Guy began to laugh. "Stupid child. My Stand, [Power], cannot be beaten in speed or strength. The instant something stronger or faster than it attacks it, my Stand's abilities grow to match!" He threw his hands out as the black figure began to move. "It will never be defeated! It's the ultimate Stand!"

Joshua felt like his head was going to explode. What was going on? What were those strange things? Had they been in the alley? If so, why didn't he see them then? What were they talking about with...stands? He clutched at his head, groaning. Everything was so confusing, and yet there was a growing feeling in the base of his mind that he was missing something. At least he hadn't been noticed in the heat of the moment.

Muscle Shirt Guy was still laughing as the black figure slowly walked toward Tracksuit Guy. Tracksuit Guy had stood up, and was supporting himself on the operating table. The pink figure stood in front of him in a fighting stance. The alarm was still blaring. Joshua's head throbbed. As he watched the black figure move closer and closer, he knew somehow that the pink figure wouldn't be able to defend Tracksuit Guy. The black figure raised its arm.

Another wave of pain bounced through Joshua's head, this one the most painful yet. Joshua fell over in agony, crying out involuntarily. Out of the corner of his eye, a flash of green flew by. Suddenly all the pain in Joshua's head left, as quick as the pain as his neck had. Momentarily disoriented by the sudden clarity, Joshua looked up to see what had happened.

The black figure did not have its arm raised anymore. Instead, it had stumbled back. Muscle Shirt Guy's nose was once again bloody, and he was clutching his face in pain. Standing in front of Tracksuit Guy and the pink figure, its fist outstretched, was a new humanoid. This one was covered in large green scales, and had two spiky horns on the top of its head. The ends of its hands were sharp, black claws. Large, leathery wings unfurled from its back. Its tail thumped against the ground. It was, all in all, a very intimidating figure.

And yet, Joshua wasn't afraid. Something deep within him was telling him that he was in control the green humanoid. No, that wasn't it. It was more like...he was the green figure, somehow. Joshua still couldn't explain how this was happening or why, but that didn't seem to matter right now. For the first time since waking up, his mind was clear.

Muscle Shirt Guy wiped the blood from his nose. "Well, well, well," he said to Joshua, "Looks like you survived. Got yourself a pretty little Stand, too. No matter." The black figure raised its fists. "You're still nothing compared to me. I'll take you down just like I take down anyone who tries to best my [Power]!"

-To Be Continued- Awakened Power (Act 2)

Stand User: Lucas Commodus (Muscle Shirt Guy)

Stand Name: [Power]

Power: A

Speed: A

Range: C

Durability: B

Precision: C

Developmental Potential: B

Counterpunch: While Power is already exceedingly strong, should it get struck by a blow that is stronger than its own, it will instantly copy that blow's strength in its own attacks. This new strength will not decrease (essentially making this strength Power's new base power), meaning Power will always be the strongest contender in a fight. The same thing happens to Power's reaction speed when it is struck by a blow faster than its own.