A long sigh of relief came from Rachel as cold water bathed her overheated form, some of it instantly turning into more steam upon contact with her skin. Though her clothes hadn't fared well as a result, she could barely think about that. Some few minutes later, the girl woke with a shake of her head and had a look around. No one had abducted her, unlike the last time. And her organs were intact, unlike the last time. Rachel could tell it was the waitress that had graciously poured the water over her and gave her a grateful smile.
"Thank you...for the water. I-It was a huge help," she thanked her. "If you'll excuse me, I need to be going now." Putting on her jacket, Rachel Lineman rose and walked out of the Golden Peking without any further words. Her eyes narrowed as summer sunrays struck with a vengeance, but they managed to scan the area. Wherever could those thugs have gone? She still needed her bag. Picking out a decidedly random direction, she trailed off and waited for the golden opportunity.
A girl barely in her 20's with soggy clothes and looking like the rear end of an ass, bystanders' eyes were drawn to her as she walked on by. Rachel tried her best to just...ignore them.
Rachel observed the hot waitress' aggression, still half-stunned by the daring trip she had been in, but did not think that she'd actually attack her. With ice cubes, no less. Who does that? It was Shinee that saw those projectiles coming and moved to intercept them, but they curiously melted within seconds. That was odd, considering the restaurant was very well-cooled for the summer. She must've been quite the pitcher to be able to throw things so fast, they melt. And fortunately, as the ice cubes melted, the waitress became chill once more. That was precisely the opportunity Rachel needed to find a seat and cool off, close to a man in a tacky pink jacket.
Strenuous usage of Shinee's super speed proved hazardous for her frail form. Already, one could see that there was steam coming from her body, accompanied by excessive amounts of sweat. Further insulation from her jacket wasn't helping at all, but she was way too tired to move, let alone take it off. Had she remained outside and her Stand unable to get her to a secure and cold place, she could very well die from overheating. Was there really a term for the opposite of hypothermia?, Rachel idly wondered. Hyperthermia? Either way, a few minutes of cooling down should get her back to fit form.
And then she could go look for her damned bag proper.
Sitting on the roof of some office building, Rachel weighed in her options. That damn bag was still laying on the sidewalk. Without it, she would literally be left nothing except for the clothes on her back and her Stand. Oh, it'd be great to just go down and get it without any complications, but the police were drawing close. The girl was sure the authorities knew her face as the interloper that ran away from a foster home and stole a lot of shit from various counties. She couldn't risk getting caught, so she needed to be fast.
Thankfully, her Stand is all about fast.
Rachel willed Shinee to appear with a whisper of its name. The sleek, humanoid stand materialized crouching in front of her, ready to heed her every command. In this form, it emitted this faint white glow, almost like a dying LED light. "Hey, Shinee. Wanna go fast?" It replied with several intense glows, an inanimate sound of approval. Shinee was those kind of Stands that really do care for their users' wellbeing, but also on the flipside wouldn't hesitate to pull off an insane stunt only Stands could pull off. With its approval in mind, Rachel got up and took a few steps back to get a running start. Then, with the sort of guts stuntmen would be proud of, she ran for the edge...
And jumped off the building.
She felt the air rushing through her as she let gravity take her to the ground, not quite high enough for her to reach terminal velocity. But she didn't need to be. She'd go faster than that with Shinee anyway. Again making her Stand appear, it materialized around her and shined an intense light, making her appear like a mini-sun or ball lightning. Then, with its super speed, it ran along the windows of the building, taking its user with it. It was nothing but pure adrenaline for Rachel and she loved it. As they approached the ground, Shinee made a sharp, nigh-impossible 90-degree change in direction and soon they were rushing on the roadways of Angel Springs at the speed of sound. But at these speeds, Rachel could not see or sense anything and so left directional controls solely to Shinee. It was a smart Stand, it knew where her bag was. Hopefully.
But Rachel had nothing to worry about. As she and Shinee slowed to a stop, the state of the world returning to her wide brown eyes, she found herself sitting on the floor of a restaurant interior, her Stand bared full, standing above her...but not a bag in sight. FUCK. That man and his crew must have taken it. The clientele, though few and far between (almost empty, it seemed), looked at her with obvious shock mixed with confusion. How could they not, when to them, it was as if a ball of light sped into the restaurant and brought with it a girl out of nowhere, protected by a strange spirit? Trying to ignore the glares she was surely receiving, she awkwardly edged for the closest escape route which was...a broken window?
Rachel nodded silently at the kind and burly man. Inside, she was kicking herself. That was a disservice to him, pushing him away so uncouthly. It would be unwise, however, to dwell on that thought for long. She walked away from the barbershop quartet of unusual men. Well, duo of normal men and one unusual man. She wasn't sure if this was Shinee influencing her again, but Rachel had some disconcerting questions about this buff man. Why was he so buff? What was his training routine? When did he start lifting for him to still look so young now? why was he confronting a group of other men who were visibly armed?
Wait, what?
A chain of bloody events unfolded before her. A gunshot was fired at the dude that hit on Rachel earlier. Super Buff Teen then recklessly charged at them with his bare fists, yellow lightning coming from them. By diverting the barrels of the gangsters' guns, he made them shoot each other in the head, inadvertently shattering the window she had been peering in. Rachel knew something was off about that man. If he could do this, who knew what he could do...to her?
Fearing for her safety, the girl with the brown hair began to run in a random direction, anywhere that took her away from the scene of the crime. This was high-key murder; cops would sic them at a moment's notice. And that would be terrible for Rachel. Her running was backed up with Shinee's super speed, so within a couple of seconds, she was inexplicably at the rooftop of a building. From here, she could still see the Golden Peking, but the important thing was, those there couldn't. Unless they have binoculars or super eyesight or something. Rachel was safe, for now. Except...Feeling around her, she realized that she left something.
Her duffel bag. With all her stolen clothes and stolen money.
Rachel almost screamed when some huge man came to her and practically overpowered her with his height. Her first instinct was to make herself appear small and not a target, but once he clarified that he meant no harm, she took a more relaxed stance. This guy was enormous, his physique spoke of a strongman or weightlifter, but his face was disproportionately young. As if his body suddenly grew out of control and left the face in the dust. That image was more amusing than it ought to be.
Thinking of a good response for this man's query, Rachel settled with a simple, "No, it's okay. I'm fine." Her grip on her duffel bag tightened and she tried to get it away from his attention. Instinctively, Shinee stood ready to materialize and carry her to safety if need be. It would look very strange for a non-Stand user (which he presumably was), but it was the easiest escape mechanism she could think of.
Angel Springs. The name promised a backwater frontier settlement filled with dust, tumbleweeds and the withered corpses of cowboys downed in shootouts. Well, even if such a place had existed in its time, progress had since replaced it with a modern and developed small city. Rachel had been surprised when the bus kicked her off here for discovering she was a stowaway passenger. The poor girl hadn't seen places like this since Wichita. It was both a welcome and unwelcome change of pace; welcome because of new experiences and unwelcome because a city like this would surely drain her of money faster than she could say 'Shinee!".
Currently, she was walking absent-mindedly through the streets of Angel Springs, clutching tight to her Converse duffel bag filled with clothes (stolen), money (also stolen, most of it anyway) and tampons (okay, she bought these). Wearing a navy blue hooded jacket despite the weather, she made sure to also conceal her face. Why the surreptitiousness? Well, Rachel wasn't a fugitive in the sense of the word, but her actions had vexed plenty of people in her run. People who would gladly stab her a million times given the chance. She wasn't about to take any risks.
Abruptly. she stopped at some Chinese restaurant. The Golden Peking. It looked nice, from what she could see through the front window. Small, homely and not too crowded. Rachel wasn't sure why she stopped to window shop here; it definitely wasn't to check out the admittedly cute waitress on duty right inside. Maybe it was her Stand indirectly affecting her. Sure enough, Shinee had materialized and was gazing intently at the inside of the Golden Peking. Rachel couldn't figure out where its eyes were pointed towards (mainly because it had no eyes, just the helm and visor). It was weird how she and her Stand were supposed to be 'one and the same' yet sometimes it did things of its own accord. Oh, well. Who was she, a hobo, to question free will?
Deciding not to stick around and risk looking like a beggar, Rachel willed Shinee to dematerialize and kept on walking. There surely had to be better things to do in this town. Preferably free activities like stealing.
Appearance: A small-framed young woman of Scottish descent, Rachel is unassuming, relatively short and mediocre in terms of beauty. She has long and wavy brown hair and eyes of pretty much the exact same color. There are little to no distinguishable marks on her body. No tattoos, scars or freckles, for example. Rachel dresses casually most of the time, never having to wear anything fancy in her experience. Simple shirts and sweaters coupled with a pair of secondhand leggings are her go-to outfit. It is worth mentioning that most of her clothes are stolen from thrift shops.
Backstory: Rachel was born in Wichita, Kansas and it was her birthplace that earned her the middle name that she's so ashamed of these days. Her parents were middle-class average Joe's and the family got by rather comfortably without much luxuries. Tragedy struck when she reached the age of 16, however. Upon driving home from having dinner at Rachel's favorite restaurant, they were suddenly blinded by a great flash of light, causing them to lose control of the car and crash headlong into a truck coming the other way. Rachel was fortunate enough to survive the crash with minimal injuries. Her parents had not. Now orphaned and with a lack of immediate relatives, she was left in the care of a local orphanage.
Her time in the orphanage was, for lack of a better word, lonely. Rachel found few friends in her fellow orphans; on the contrary, she was practically an outcast, being called 'creepy', a 'freak' and 'possessed by a demon'. Wait, what? A demon? Yes, during these arduous times, Rachel had materialized a Stand, but her teenage mind didn't know the concept of a Stand, let alone her non-Stand user peers. Fearing that this demon of hers would bring her and others more calamity, she ran away from the orphanage after stealing $500 from the supervisors.
The world wasn't kind to poor old Rachel. She had to get by living in abandoned spaces and doing oddjobs, becoming a wandering hermit. But as a plus side, she was given plenty of time to get used to her demon. An encounter with someone possessing the same powers helped in that. She learned that what she had was called a Stand and it was pretty much her soul given form. Life didn't really change for Rachel upon the revelation. She now had self-defense, but that was about it. A few more years she spent hopping from town to town until one day, she happened into Angel Springs.
For some reason, she felt as if she was meant to be here.
Likes: Southern-style food, sunsets, peace and quiet, dogs, street art, tall dark handsome men
Dislikes: Her middle name, cigarette smoke, the police, being scared, being pressured
Powers: Wichita possesses a Stand, which manifested itself when she was 16 years old. However, she would only be aware that it was a Stand and actually started to master it 2 years later.
Stand Name: γSHINEEγ
Stand Appearance: SHINee is a lean, androgynous, humanoid Stand, resembling a fighter plane pilot. Its body is mainly chrome-blue with black racing streaks across its arms. This Stand tends to stick close to Rachel, protecting her with its abilities.
Stand Type: Long-Distance
Destructive Power: C
Speed: A
Range: B
Durability: D
Precision: B
Development Potential: C
In-Depth Abilities: SHINee's powers are based upon light. It can produce blinding flashes of light in short pulses with 1 second intervals OR a constant emittance for up to 10 seconds, produce minute beams capable of mildly scarring flesh (but still fatal to the eyes) and even travel to a position at at an unknown speed at least leagues more than the speed of sound. While traveling at 'probably light speed' (referred by Rachel as PLS), it is also able to take Rachel with it to blink short distances or cover huge distances in a matter of seconds. This possibly making her the fastest woman in the universe. However, even if she can move at these speeds, she lacks the reflexes and focus for it; constant high-speed dashing makes her incredibly nauseous. SHINee is semi-autonomous. It can act outside its user's will to preserve their shared existence, but even it can only do so much. In terms of physical strength, SHINee's isn't one to write home about, nothing dramatically different from the average human's punching power and is pathetically frail (just like its owner). But how would you like a hundred punches coming at you at the speed of sound?
Whoops, didn't see this little tidbit above. That's embarrassing, but ehhhh life of a newbie. Allow me to throw a character sheet into the mix, my very first on the site. Yay!
Name: Rachel Wichita Lineman
Age: 20
Gender: Female
Appearance: A small-framed young woman of Scottish descent, Rachel is unassuming, relatively short and mediocre in terms of beauty. She has long and wavy brown hair and eyes of pretty much the exact same color. There are little to no distinguishable marks on her body. No tattoos, scars or freckles, for example. Rachel dresses casually most of the time, never having to wear anything fancy in her experience. Simple shirts and sweaters coupled with a pair of secondhand leggings are her go-to outfit. It is worth mentioning that most of her clothes are stolen from thrift shops.
Backstory: Rachel was born in Wichita, Kansas and it was her birthplace that earned her the middle name that she's so ashamed of these days. Her parents were middle-class average Joe's and the family got by rather comfortably without much luxuries. Tragedy struck when she reached the age of 16, however. Upon driving home from having dinner at Rachel's favorite restaurant, they were suddenly blinded by a great flash of light, causing them to lose control of the car and crash headlong into a truck coming the other way. Rachel was fortunate enough to survive the crash with minimal injuries. Her parents had not. Now orphaned and with a lack of immediate relatives, she was left in the care of a local orphanage.
Her time in the orphanage was, for lack of a better word, lonely. Rachel found few friends in her fellow orphans; on the contrary, she was practically an outcast, being called 'creepy', a 'freak' and 'possessed by a demon'. Wait, what? A demon? Yes, during these arduous times, Rachel had materialized a Stand, but her teenage mind didn't know the concept of a Stand, let alone her non-Stand user peers. Fearing that this demon of hers would bring her and others more calamity, she ran away from the orphanage after stealing $500 from the supervisors.
The world wasn't kind to poor old Rachel. She had to get by living in abandoned spaces and doing oddjobs, becoming a wandering hermit. But as a plus side, she was given plenty of time to get used to her demon. An encounter with someone possessing the same powers helped in that. She learned that what she had was called a Stand and it was pretty much her soul given form. Life didn't really change for Rachel upon the revelation. She now had self-defense, but that was about it. A few more years she spent hopping from town to town until one day, she happened into Angel Springs.
For some reason, she felt as if she was meant to be here.
Likes: Southern-style food, sunsets, peace and quiet, dogs, street art, tall dark handsome men
Dislikes: Her middle name, cigarette smoke, the police, being scared, being pressured
Powers: Wichita possesses a Stand, which manifested itself when she was 16 years old. However, she would only be aware that it was a Stand and actually started to master it 2 years later.
Stand Name: γSHINEEγ
Stand Appearance: SHINee is a lean, androgynous, humanoid Stand, resembling a fighter plane pilot. Its body is mainly chrome-blue with black racing streaks across its arms. This Stand tends to stick close to Rachel, protecting her with its abilities.
Stand Type: Long-Distance
Destructive Power: C
Speed: A
Range: B
Durability: D
Precision: B
Development Potential: C
In-Depth Abilities: SHINee's powers are based upon light. It can produce blinding flashes of light in short pulses with 1 second intervals OR a constant emittance for up to 10 seconds, produce minute beams capable of mildly scarring flesh (but still fatal to the eyes) and even travel to a position at at an unknown speed at least leagues more than the speed of sound. While traveling at 'probably light speed' (referred by Rachel as PLS), it is also able to take Rachel with it to blink short distances or cover huge distances in a matter of seconds. This possibly making her the fastest woman in the universe. However, even if she can move at these speeds, she lacks the reflexes and focus for it; constant high-speed dashing makes her incredibly nauseous. SHINee is semi-autonomous. It can act outside its user's will to preserve their shared existence, but even it can only do so much. In terms of physical strength, SHINee's isn't one to write home about, nothing dramatically different from the average human's punching power and is pathetically frail (just like its owner). But how would you like a hundred punches coming at you at the speed of sound?
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