Chapter Text
November 21, 2011, An undisclosed Speedwagon Foundation Research Compound
“Dr. Cujoh! Dr. Cujoh!”
We need to wake up.
The first sense to return is touch. Ice races through her veins, every joint hurts, and her stomach may now dwell outside her body. The world shakes.
“Dr. Cujoh. I need you to wake up.”
The next sense to return is hearing. Young voice. Japanese accent. Unfamiliar. Then the crashing and twisting of metal.
“Dr. Cujoh, please!.”
We need to wake up.
The next sense to return is sight. The background is blurred light and dark in quick succession. But the man. Blue eyes. Black hair. Strikingly handsome features.
“Jojo?”
“Oh, wow. Trick question. I’m not your Jojo, or your other Jojo, for that matter. We’re all a bit confused! BUT we have finally located him and he will be here in a few days. I’m Dr. Higashikata and I have been treating you.” It couldn’t be Jojo with those smart thin glasses and perfectly placed hair. “You have been in a medical coma. We have been trying to wake you up, but I need your help.”
The last sense to return is smell. Medicine, chemical sanitizers, oil, blood. “Help. I need to help Jojo!”
“Yes you do, Ma’am, but I need you to start with this one because you just might kill us.”
“I don’t understand.”
“Sure. Haven’t we all been there? I need you to trust me, okay? Do you trust me?”
Those eyes, so like his eyes. His eyes hang over every poor decision she’s ever made, have broken her heart hundreds of times, and abandoned her to deal with their toughest challenges. But how can she not trust them? “I trust you.”
“Oh thank goodness. Okay, I need you to repeat a few lines. Tell them to yourself until, well, it stops feeling like the world is going to end, okay? Good. Here we go. I am safe.”
We are safe.
“They are going to help me.”
They are going to help us.
“I’ll stop destroying the hospital.”
I only wanted to reach Jojo.
All sense is lost.
——
“I was able to get here in time. There will be no long term effects from stand sickness.”
You were sick, but now we are strong.
The first sense to return is touch. A warm hand holding hers. A gentle stroking of her forehead.
He shouldn’t touch you.
“We are reducing the sedative slowly. She should wake up soon, but movement will take a bit longer. Once it’s completely run its course, she should feel like she’s had the best sleep of her life.”
“Crazy Diamond’s work?”
“I’m quite literally the best doctor for a reason.”
The next sense to return is smell. Hospital disinfectant, his cologne, a hint of salt water that lives on his skin.
All he does is hurt you.
“Speedwagon collected her after she called for an ambulance. That was three hours after the lawyer picked up Jolyne’s things. Jolyne was present at her trial, so she seems to have not suffered from stand sickness herself.”
The next sense to return is hearing. Jolyne. Did they just say Jolyne?
“Like I said, she’s healthy as can be, bloodwork and vitals of a woman half her age, which I can tell you because she signed a release saying so in 1995 and probably never thought to change it. It was a rough few weeks, but she pulled through. Stay as long as you need. There’s no reason for anyone to bother you before dinner.”
“I owe you everything, Josuke.”
There’s the familiar sound of one man clasping the shoulder of another, “You do.” There’s a pause. Something in the air between them, “Did anyone know about this?”
It’s quiet for a moment and then he responds, “The old man helped set me up, but never knew their names or addresses. Three people at Speedwagon: Donna, Cecelia, my assistant.”
Donna and Cecelia are traitors.
There’s another awkward pause.“You know, we could have been there for you, for them. All this time.” The hand on hers disappears. Footsteps move away and a door closes. A familiar tch followed by an even more familiar yare yare daze. Quiet.
I can get rid of him. We can be alone. We are good at fighting alone.
The last sense to return is sight. Soft afternoon light. Gray walls. Ocean blue eyes. Black hair. That handsome and severe face. His frame is gaunt and dark circles hang under his eyes. Dragged through hell. Good. He’s wearing a white shirt with a green star and snake skin pants. New look. The jacket and hat must be hanging up somewhere nearby.
How long has it been since she’s seen him in person? A year? 18 months? She blinks. He catches the movement. His face lights up in a way that is just for her. “Hey, Sunshine. Blink once if it’s okay for me to touch your forehead.”
Don’t let him touch you. Blink. The comfort returns.
“Okay. I have a few minutes before you have the strength to hit me. I have about two decades to answer for. Is it okay to start now?”
We don’t care. Blink.
“At 17 I became a stand user. My soul personifies into a being with supernatural powers that only other stand users can see. When Jolyne was sick and you begged me to come home, I was being targeted by a teenage musician with an electric stand, prohibiting me from getting on an airplane. Then I stayed to help my uncle find a serial killer with bomb powers. That’s when I learned that stand users attract other stand users.”
This is ridiculous make believe. It isn’t though. She can think of a hundred moments when the out of ordinary has happened around him. Jolyne has never suffered a hard fall in his presence, and that girl is made of accidents. She can’t count the times they’ve been together where it has felt as though someone else was in the room. Blink.
“We found the serial killer, but in the fight to take him down, my uncle suffered burns and several of his major organs were punctured, requiring 15 hours of surgery. I couldn’t survive you two suffering that. So, I distanced myself from you both to keep you safe.” 20 plus years summed up in 7 sentences. If that wasn’t Jojo, she didn’t know what was. She can feel tears running down her face. He wipes them away and then brings her hand to cup his face. His skin is cool, clammy. He closes his eyes. He might actually be nervous. “It only worked so long. They charged Jolyne with manslaughter. She’s serving 15 years in the Green Dolphin Street Prison even after accepting a plea deal. It’s a clear set up.”
I give up. Your heart is a lost cause. More crying. Blink.
“The locket you gave Jolyne’s lawyer contained part of a stone arrow that gives people a stand, when it doesn’t kill them. Sometimes when someone awakens a stand, it carries through the bloodline. When her stand awoke, so did yours. However, you had what is called stand sickness. You have been out for weeks. I was…detained…in Madagascar.”
I never meant to hurt you. Blink. She can feel strength returning. She pushes her hand into his cheek and reaches for his hair, playing with that one curl that never combs back. He leans into it.
“I don’t…expect…I’m not excusing…tch.” He’s never been great with talking through is emotions.“You can hate me forever. This situation right now… Yet it’s also the only reason I can be honest with you.” He smiles more, but it doesn’t reach his eyes, “But know that you have always had my heart. There’s a lot I need to explain, but Joestars can feel each others’ presence regardless of distance. Wherever I have been, my heart has always faced you and Jolyne.”
Why is he talking about Joestars?
She can feel her voice return. She coughs and sits herself up. He reaches in, ready to support her if she needs it. She doesn’t. They are now eye to eye. A few inches from each other. She has a million things to say. It’s all his fault. His presence makes everything harder. She slaps him across the face with a force no person coming out a coma should have. He does not budge from the impact, but he sits back to give her space. She looks at her right arm, an itching sensation encapsulates it. A quick twitch of the muscle she couldn’t imagine.
She puts her arm to her side, “We can discuss feelings later. All I want to talk about is how we are going to save,” her breath catches up with her, “…my Jojo.” More tears to add to the ocean she’s cried frustrated with this man. She falls forward. Jojo catchers her and she cries into his stupid star shirt and punches his back until she can’t anymore. He holds her, unmoving, a rock of a person.
At some point, she stops. She’s still scared and angry and happy to see him and overwhelmed, but she doesn’t want to cry anymore. It’s time for action. “Let me see your stand.”
Jojo lets her go. He sits up in his chair and from his person comes a beast of a creature, blue and purple, with broad padded shoulders and a face asking for a fight. Its long black hair glistens in the afternoon sun like stars in the night sky. “This is Star Platinum. He’s loved you for a very long time.” Despite the mean mug, the stand has a timid look to him, slowly approaching. It reaches for her hand and holds it. She touches his long hair, geometrical face.
“He feels like you.”
“He is me.”
“What does he do?”
“He punches real good and has super speed and heightened senses. He allows me to move through brief periods of stopped time. Honestly, he could do more if I could get my brain around it.” He is very different from us. “Do you want to call your stand?”
She thinks for a moment and invites her stand to show itself. She appears, seated at the end of the bed between Jojo and her user. Unlike Star Platinum, she was about the size of a toddler. Her two thin feet stick out from under a long dress. Her hair folds over the top of her head, creating a long triangular bang. She has small insect wings on her back. Her short hands contain three fingers. Like Star Platinum, she is blue and purple.”
Jojo assesses her. “She’s incredible. What’s her name?”
Iron Butterfly
“She says’s it’s Iron Butterfly.”
He looks at her with an academic interest. “That’s perfect.”
Don’t let him touch me.
“Also, she doesn’t like you very much.”
Jojo contemplates for a moment and returns his focus to her. “I have earned that at least.”
“You have.” It’s quiet for a moment. She can’t help but again notice that he looks so tired, exhausted even. But that’s not her problem either. “I don’t know what she does.”
“I have reports. She’s been showing off to your doctors and staff.” Jojo points to the other side of the room. “I want you to think about how nice it would be to have that water bottle over there.”
She does. Then, in her hand is an identical bottle of water. However, unlike the one on the cabinet, this one is full and cool to the touch. She looks at it, “It’s the same, but better?”
“A pretty useful trick. I have someone I want you to meet.”
He pushes the call button on the side of her hospital bed. They wait. Unlike a typical hospital, nobody responds to ask what they need. After a few moments, a man walks through the door. He has a sleek pompadour with a tight fade and thin glasses. His left arm is in a cast and a bandage covers the right side of his face.
Another is attached to his nose. She thought that was a thing people only did in comics and cartoons. The young man smiles. “It’s nice to meet, formally,” he says, “and I’m so glad we were able to successfully wake you this time.” She has vague memories and a looming sense of guilt.
“This is my uncle, Josuke Higashikata.”
“He’s younger than you.”
Jojo and the doctor make eye contact. Dr. Higashikata smirks as Jojo says, “Jiji got around.” Jiji? Jojo has an uncle and a grandfather?
Josuke says,“Explaining our family tree typically requires annotated visual aids.”
Jojo interjects, “He’s the one that discovered your power. Iron Butterfly kept duplicating large pieces of hospital machinery and dropping them on him. Luckily, his stand, Shining Diamond, is pretty quick to break down large objects. He escaped most of your barely conscious attacks.”
“Does everyone in your family have a stand?”
“Yes. Now that Jolyne does. Like you, someone in our…family…was pierced by an arrow. Before Jolyne was born.”
Her focus remains on the uncle. This Josuke did so much for her and she rewarded him with a broken arm. She blushes, but his gracious smile harbors no malice. It is time to change the conversation. “I would love to talk more, Dr. Higashikata, especially since I didn’t know my ex husband had any family. But I need to be going.”
Jojo nods. “I agree that time is of the essence. That being said, it’s Monday, so we have to wait.”
“For what?”
“Green Dolphin Street Prison’s next visiting day. That’s when we break out our baby girl. Until then, let’s do some more introductions. I’ll start. Hello, my name is Jotaro Kujo.”
What the fuck? “Excuse me, what is your name?”
Stand name: Iron Butterfly
User: Dr. Cujoh (age 41)
Destructive power: B
Speed: D
Range: A
Staying Power: C
Precision: C
Potential: B
Ability: Garden of Eden. Iron Butterfly creates plenty. She can duplicate part or all of up to five items and return them to a prior state. However, the user must understand how the item works in order for IB to make a useable duplicate. Items created by IB have a 25 meter range and the user has some control over where they materialize. Liquids will remain if transferred to a new vessel. If the original is destroyed, the copy becomes the original.