In a moment that seemed to stretch out into eternity, Daphne saw the blue aura of Crystal Blue Persuasion fill the room until it matched the dark aura of Joshua's plane-like Stand. To her left, Fred's Stand was a swirl of white that sent ripples across the room. The very air became like the surface of a pond, as though they were no longer in Joshua's office, but rather a reflection of it. The furniture, plants, paintings, bookshelves, and even the carpet and walls all distorted and twisted as though the world was becoming a tie-dye still life.

Taking a step to his side, Joshua recoiled as everything shifted ever so slightly, as both he and his Stand raised their arms to cover their eyes. Gritting his teeth, he thrust forth his arm and in a flash of speed, his Stand raced across the room, cutting through the desk with its winged, blade arms to attack.

Rather than dodge or defend, Daphne saw her Stand react by bobbing its head and rotating its hands in front of it. And by some small degree, Joshua's stand was diverted off course as it lodged into the wall behind the desk with its legs entangled in ribbons of carpet cut up from its charge.

The backlash was immediate, as a trail of black divided the room from where the Stand had started, and the blue and black mixed like paint, staining reality with new colors and light. As the Stand tried to pull itself free from the wall, Crystal Blue Persuasion hopped over the black trail to the other side of the room and offered its hand to Daphne to jump over the darkness.

"Fred, close your eyes and follow me," said Daphne, helping Fred to his feet as she ran to the door. Her footsteps sending waves of light and color in all directions, which knocked Joshua to the ground from nausea as he approached the pair.

Reaching out with his arm, Joshua grabbed hold of Fred's camera strap which Suspicious Minds cut with a razor blade, preventing Fred from being entangled or dragged to the ground.

Once outside the office, Daphne turned back to see the room they had just left was overflowing with whatever dark energy her Stand revealed from Joshua. And while the sounds of struggle were still going on, she knew they would not have long to make their getaway.

Upon reaching the entrance, the world of colors returned to normal and Crystal Blue Persuasion disappeared.

"Okay, Fred, let's get out of here," said Daphne.

"You don't have to tell me twice," said Fred, pulling out the keys and running through the parking lot to the Mystery Machine.

Just as Fred got inside, the sound of broken glass in the distance caught Daphne's attention, and from the location, it was Joshua's office window. Jumping onto the passenger seat, Daphne yelled out, "Floor it, Fred."

The high-pitched whirr of their hybrid engine in overdrive sped them through the parking lot as fast as Fred could manage, but the roar of a jet engine was just behind them as Daphne looked in the side-view mirror at Joshua's Stand speeding towards them.

"I'm still new to these things, what is their range supposed to be?" asked Fred.

"Sorry I didn't think to ask that of Joshua back in the office," said Daphne, buckling her seatbelt as Fred took a sharp corner out on the street. "Take the right turn, go through the botanical gardens.

"Hoping to lose it in the trees?" asked Fred.

"No, I want to take in the sights," said Daphne.

Making a quick left turn, the Mystery Machine drove through the closed gate of the gardens and onto the pedestrian walkway. Blaring the horn, Fred dodged around people on the path that curved around a lake at the center of the park.

A metallic tap rattled the van as Daphne looked back to see that the enemy stand nicked the top corner of the mystery machine, but missed it due to Fred's defensive driving.

"Take a right through those fake trees," said Daphne, unbuckling her seat belt, she braced herself on the seats and jumped into the rear of the van to open up the back door.

"What are you doing Daph?" asked Fred, rolling up and over the fake shrubbery of the crescent garden.

"I need a better view of this thing, and I'm not getting it from the front seat," said Daphne, grabbing a support strap Shaggy had installed to the van's roof before kicking open the back door.

The plane stand cut down decorations and plants alike as it flew through the air. A shining chrome figure surrounded by a forest of green and sky of blue.

All around her, Daphne could sense people rushing past as Fred drove through the gardens, frightened with yellow auras, puzzled with purples and violets, angry with reds, and others were mellow green with a strange sort of contentment.

All the colors, all the auras blended together, and the world spun around her with the Mystery Machine as the eye of a hurricane of raw human emotion. And as the pursuing stand increased its speed in an attempt to ram itself into Daphne, she released all the energy she had gathered in a vortex of light which struck the stand in the moment before its bladed wings could reach her.

The following explosion had no sound but turned reality into a kaleidoscope. No longer able to perceive direction or orientation, the enemy stand fell to the ground behind the Mystery Machine and disappeared without a trace.

One final bump in the road and the smooth pavement beneath the vehicle, and Daphne could tell they had left the gardens and were on city streets, but it was due to her sense of how the Mystery machine drove. Even with a new engine, shocks, and wheels, the van's presence and how it drove was unmistakable. Which was a comfort, as it took a moment for Daphne to recover her eyesight.

Slowing the Mystery Machine down to the city speed limit, Fred eventually pulled over to the side of the road before coming to a stop.

"You okay Daph?" asked Fred.

"I'm fine, thank you," said Daphne, "These Stand things are pretty wild."

"I can't say that I'm sold on mine just yet, but yours is beautiful," said Fred, as Suspicious Minds gave him a look of displeasure from the dashboard where it sat like a bobblehead.

"Are we going back to Mrs. Bravo's house?" asked Daphne.

"I was just thinking about that actually. On the one hand, if we stay with Johnny's mom it could put her at risk if someone comes to attack us. But on the other hand, if we get our own place to stay, we wouldn't be around to help out if she's attacked to get at us," said Fred

"That's one of the reasons why the Mystery Machine has always been so useful. We've spent more nights in this van than road motels or creepy mansions or even back home in Coolsville. Never had to be tied down to a place in case things got dangerous," said Daphne.

"Probably best to head back there anyways, hopefully, meet up with Shaggy and Scooby," said Fred.

"I am worried about the others," said Daphne, thinking about the narrow escape they had just made.

"Shaggy and Scooby know how to take care of themselves, and as for Velma… well, Johnny's with her," said Fred.

"Yeah," said Daphne, closing the back of the Mystery Machine, she climbed back up to the front seat next to Fred.

"How about we grab some lunch on the way back to Mrs. Bravo's? You in the mood for anything?" asked Fred.

"Let's just start driving and see if anything catches our eye," said Daphne, scooting in close to Fred as he started the engine and drove away.

A buzz in Daphne's pocket caught her attention just as she was about to rest her head on Fred's shoulder.

"Anything important?" asked Fred.

"Amanda Waller just sent me a text hoping that our stunt in the gardens was worth it. She said her team is spinning our drive through the park as a social media stunt to the police," said Daphne, turning the phone off she sat up and looked at the ceiling in dismay.

"Once we get the chance to look over that document we found, I'm certain we'll be one step closer to cracking this mystery. You did great Daph," said Fred as he reached over and put his right arm over her shoulders and pulled her in closer.

"Yeah," said Daphne, as she lay her head on Fred's shoulder and smiled.

"Wow. Those kids really did a number on the old office didn't they?" asked Magenta as he knelt down next to the bisected desk.

"I just got a message from Brandon stating that a couple of them showed up at his house today. With a two who showed up here, it's clear they have no intention of just walking away," said Joshua rolling over in his wheelchair.

"Look chief, you only paid me to get the bone back for you from the hospital, killing them was not my priority when you sent me in last time," said Magenta.

"Perhaps it was too much to hope that would scare them away. But now they show up and have developed stand powers of their own. So of course they are subject to the metaphysics of stand users, how we are mysteriously drawn to one another," said Joshua.

"That's like how your daughter found me on the bottom of the Delaware River," said Magenta.

"Precisely," said Joshua.

Walking over to the hole in the wall, Magenta examined it for a moment before turning his attention back to the room.

"So, what did the kids make off with?" asked Magenta.

"Near as I can tell, they rifled through my cabinets before somehow getting into my safe. One of them must have a stand that assists with information retrieval," said Joshua.

"Anything dangerous?" asked Magenta.

"Nothing more than another puzzle piece, something that will leave them with more questions than answers. Honestly, I kept it for sentimental reasons more than anything else. What was in the Will would be incriminating or serve as a foundation for a legal claim on the family company a century ago, but today it's about as worthless as tissue paper," said Joshua.

"You mean to let the kids get away with it then?" asked Magenta.

"For now, yes. I have other plans I'm moving forward with that are more important than tracking down a couple of kids. Which is why I called you," said Joshua.

"The shipment?" asked Magenta.

"Yes. Our friend from the Orient is bringing in the last piece tonight and I want you to personally ensure its safety. That oafish great-nephew of mine was at Red Dust the other day and I suspect he's got it set on his mind to interfere with our business again," said Joshua, rolling over to look out the massive hole in the window his stand had made.

"He survived our last encounter, but should I run into him tonight I'll make sure I finish the job properly," said Magenta, who paused upon looking over the parking lot. "You know, for an old-timer, your stand really packs a punch."

"Who you calling an old-timer? You're older than I am," said Joshua, laughing and feigning a cough so he could more convincingly 'play his age'.

Stand Guide:

Crystal Blue Persuasion (1968 song by Tommy James and the Shondells) - Stand of Daphne Blake
Power - B
Speed - C/A (actual speed/reaction speed)
Range - B
Durability/Endurance - C
Precision - C
Development - C

Crystal Blue Persuasion appears as a blue humanoid with clover motifs on its shoulders and chest, but the longer you look at it the deeper the color becomes until blue becomes indigo, violet, and purple.

The Stand offers two powers to Daphne:
1. The ability to perceive people's heartbeats/auras, which allows her to sense people through walls/barriers as well as assess their mental/emotional state.
2. The ability to alter the visual perception of others by putting the energy of her own aura into her surroundings, she is able to create a vertigo-like effect which creates motion sickness in a casual way, or through a Kaleidoscope effect if she focuses on her target.