A little addition to the mystery of the unknown Stand user from the beginning, and setup for the next chapter. Also, I'm more surprised that people are shocked at Fluttershy being the MLP character then people finding out Smokey Brown had a kid who is now one of the heroes. Oh well.

Valentine walked in on two of his board members arguing. "Gentleman, please. This place is meant to discuss business, not have petty squabbles." "Sorry," one of the board members said, "We were just getting into an argument over our choice of racers. You see it turns out one of the racers on my team has a friend that wound up on his team." He indicated the other board member. "They normally act as a team on their own, but now they're getting worried about not being able to win as friends like they wanted."

"That got us into an argument about who snatched up one half of that duo first," the other board member said. Valentine sighed as he placed he rubbed his temple. "You do remember that because of the rules of the Steel Ball Run, their complaint is invalid. It's entirely possible that two different racers from two different teams can claim victory. And both of you have very small teams, making it all the easier." The two board members looked at each other sheepishly. "Besides," Valentine said, "I've noticed the power these two Stand user possess. It's probably for the best they wound up on different teams."

The race was taking the team out through the badlands of South Dakota, the Badlands National Park to be specific. Already signs of a storm could be seen on the horizon, getting the team nervous. "So far everytime we've hit weather phenomenon it's been caused by a Stand user," Sadao noted, "Maybe it's not this time, but we shouldn't take chances. Not when we're halfway across the country." "The racers will be getting better as we the pack starts to dwindle," Sunset said, "And the remaining Stand users will either have stronger powers, or be more clever with their powers."

"Or just more skilled with their natural racing," Ryusei said, "If that guy up ahead is any indication." There was another racer just ahead of them. Near him was a Stand that was clearly a humanoid wasp, a large hive on its back. Smaller wasps were swarming out of it, causing trouble for the other racers. "Best not to take him lightly," Sadao said, "The simpler the Stand power, the more you can do with it. For all we know, he could have full control over that swarm."

Sadao's concern was fully justified. This racer was Terry Tanaka, and his Stand was called Wonder Wasp. Despite resembling a male drone, the Stand acted very much like a hive queen, complete with actual hive on its back that could endlessly spawn more wasps. The wasps themselves weren't any stronger than normal wasps and couldn't penetrate the thick racing gear of his rivals, but they were useful for other reasons. The swarm was good for reconnaissance, distraction, and gathering, sometimes salvaging parts from bikes that got wrecked when other racers got freaked out by the sudden swarm surrounding them. And Tanaka had full control over the swarm, as Sadao figured.

Tanaka saw the team coming up behind and directed his wasps to attack. "Here they come!," Sadao said, "Get ready to counter!" Ryusei was the first to strike. "Time Judged All!" His Stand struck with precision, the numerous feathers it shot out decimating the swarm. Another approached Antoinette. "Shout Out!" Shout Out sprayed a jet of water at the swarm. The effect was as expected, as the swarm was quickly drowned, at least the ones that weren't immediately destroyed by the high pressure liquid.

As the struggle continued, the storm seemed to approach faster and faster. "That is no natural storm!," Sanji noted, "It's moving like it's coming right for us!" Tanaka quickly recalled his swarm, since it was useless in this weather. He raced to catch up to another racer in the midst of the storm, who also had a Stand, which looked like a large, wingless gargoyle. "Having trouble, Tanaka?," the racer asked. This was Draq Byron, along with his Stand Might Typhoon.

"These guys are giving me all I can handle," Tanaka replied, "Their Stands are powerful. We need to pull ahead, see if we can get far enough away that they either don't get to the next ball in time, or they wind up dropping out altogether." "We're nearing the end of the national park," Byron noted, "Which means we're too close to a neutral rest stop. We'll have to try for the Buffalo Gap if we hope to take them out. Let's hurry, enough racers are behind us that we can make it without either team losing members."

Team Kujo proved tenacious, however, eventually taking out Tanaka as they passed through Buffalo Gap and headed into Minnesota. Byron growled as the race to the next steel ball was on. "You won't get close to me thanks to my Might Typhoon!," Byron called out, "This Stand lets me summon a powerful storm at will! The clouds, the rain, the wind, the lightning, every facet under my control! That next steel ball is mine!" He reached the stop with the ball first, but that's when he made his biggest mistake. He turned off his Stand.

With the storm instantly gone, Ryusei quickly came flying in, striking Byron with Time Judged All's talons. "You don't have that ball yet!," Ryusei called out, "And your Stand is limited within this shelter!" "Don't think I'm so weak that I can't bring a storm inside," Byron said. He proved his point by conjuring a small rain cloud around him, launching the rain drops like bullets. Ryusei countered by firing off his feathers to strike through the rain, hitting Mighty Typhoon as they did.

"Your storm kept me away while it was at full power," Ryusei said as he flew up near the ceiling of the rest stop, "But now it's smaller, and I can fly even here. Plus my eyesight is stronger as a result of my Stand. To the point where I can feel out your next attack!" He dodged around the gusts of wind and bolts of lightning Byron threw at him, quickly diving in with Time Judged All, his talons grabbing Byron by the shoulders and driving him into the ground. With Byron out cold and his Stand dissipated, Ryusei was free to claim the red steel ball.

"Now we have five," Ryusei said, "So far so good." Byron started to stir, though it was clear he couldn't get up thanks to Ryusei's attack. "You may have beaten me," he muttered, "But some of the other racers further ahead have powers you'd never believe. Like the one responsible for the incidents in the previous cities. His Stand has a power I can't even comprehend. And there's also my partner. We got placed on different teams, but we swore we'd find a way to win together. His Stand... It's stronger than mine. And you'll be seeing for yourself soon enough." He then passed out, leaving the team concerned at his words.