[i] Desmond heard the crack of the rifle, and in that instant, he threw his arms wide.. and the world exploded. A mass of glossy black, oily substance leapt from his body in an opaque sort of spiderweb; a wall of it erupting from his limbs and covering Ammourette. The ballet that had been fired below his arm struck the wall of black, and dissolved into dust..Desmond not so much as flinching. [/i] "Let's see how you like it when someone shoots back." [i] He growled, the wall of black material shrinking back into his form and crawling up his arms in tendrils, reaching his fingertips and stretching into space until the substance formed a..sniper rifle. Sleek and made of that oily, glossy material, Desmond dropped to his stomach, looked through the scope of his rifle, sighted the other sniper, and fired. The whole action didn't take more than three seconds. This man was the definition of a trained killer. [/i]