Behind a dumpster, two people were performing an illegal transaction. One was in a paramedic uniform, the other in loose clothing.
Paramedic: The body is in the van.
Dealer: Very good. The Mister sends his kindness for your help.
The man in loose clothing pulls out a severed finger.
Paramedic; What's this?
Dealer: Your payment. Don't worry about the look. Or even the taste. If you swallow this, you'll get powers.
Paramedic: Is this a joke?
Dealer: You want proof?
The paramedic began floating. In shock, he tried to scream, but something was covering their mouth. The finger then floated out of the dealer's hand and floated towards the paramedic's mouth.
Dealer: Here, let me help it down-
Police: NYPD! You're under arrest!
Dealer: Tch! You punk!
(CRUNCH)
Snapping the paramedic's neck, the Dealer got into the vehicle and drove away, eventually escaping a high-speed chase.
But not after leaving behind the finger.
(Opening Theme)
Finishing the lectures she had for the day, Annie made her way to Jojo's Investigation agency and entered John's office to find him juggling knives.
Annie:....
Annie: Am I interrupting?
John: Yes. Give me a minute.
Annie slowly closes the door and heads to the bathroom to change into more sporty clothes. When she returned, John was staring out the window.
Annie: Alright, I'm ready.
John:?
John: For what?
Annie: For you to teach me that power you have.
John: I never said I'd teach you anything.
Annie: Yes you did.
John: Did I? I thought I said you could be my assistant.
Annie: Well let's just say you promised to teach me too!
John: It's not something I can simply teach. You are either born with it or you'll need the willpower to manifest one.
John:(mutters) Some objects can awaken a Stand, but those aren't available....
Annie:(pouts)
John:.... Stop it.
Annie:(pouts harder)
John: Your woman magic won't work on me!
(Bzzz, bzzzt)
John:(pulls out phone) Hello?
John:(gasp)
John:(mutters) Another woman, she summoned help...
John: Hm? Nothing! What's the issue?
John:...
John: Okay, I'll come.
Hanging up, John turned to see Annie still pouting.
Annie:... Can I come-
Jojo leaps out of the window.
Annie:!!?
(A several-block race later....)
John and Annie ran up to a police car, where Selina waited with a coffee.
John: Good day.
Annie:(panting) H-Hi...! Ugh....
Selina: You know it is inappropriate to date people you save.
John: She's become my assistant.
Selina: Okay... Still, why did you bring her?
John: "Bring" is the incorrect word.
Annie: Y-You have (pant) to admit... I-I can keep up!
John: What's the issue?
Selina: A few hours ago, my men busted down a drug deal. Or at least what we thought was a drug deal.
Selina: It was apparently a corpse deal.
John: How wholesome. Thinking of the dead over doing drugs.
Selina: Yeah.. No.
Selina: A Paramedic stole the body of the culprit of our last case.
Selina: In return, he was given a finger. Which was shoved into his mouth.
John: What an unfair deal...
Annie: Is it a new trend to lick corpses?
Selina:(rolls eyes)
Selina: The finger thing aside... The strange part is that the body cam footage was seen.
Pulling out her phone, Selina shows John and Annie the bodycam footage of the drug bust, specifically how the paramedic was floating.
John: What good footage...
He could see it unlike the other two.
Selina: What do you make of it?
John: If you find that criminal who ran before me, do not send in your men...
John: You'll lose too many before even getting a scratch on them.
John: Call me, and I'll handle them.
Selina: I want to know how he did it.
John: The truth won't give you peace. It'll just leave you feeling helpless.
Selina: I'll take my chances.
John:(shrugs)
He leaps onto her car, crouching on it, to allow his shadow to loom over the two.
John: That criminal has manifested his fighting spirit, called a "Stand".
John: Stands come in many different shapes and sizes with an assortment of powers.
John: But without a Stand, you cannot defeat, let alone perceive a Stand.
Selina: And you have one?
Her phone is ripped from her hand and juggled around John by "Paint It Black".
John: Since you love proof.
Her phone is returned.
Selina: How do I get one?
Annie: Don't bother, I tried.
John: Since there aren't any objects available to help with an awakening... You're on your own.
John: Now... Do you think I can have that finger?
Selina: No. And get out of my car.
John: But it gives me the high ground...
Selina: Off, now.
Hopping off, Selina gets in her car and starts it. John knocks on her window, and she rolls it down, letting him lean in.
John: Like my brother and I told your predecessor before you...
John: Do not let yourself drown in what you cannot do.
Selina:...
Selina: Thanks for your advice. I'll call you when you're needed.
She drives off, leaving John and Annie there.
Annie: What's the plan now? Track the dealer who escaped.
John: They'll probably be in hiding for a while... So we'll go after the other dealers.
Annie: How do you know there are others?
John: I don't... But I do know, if there's a finger, there's a body.
John: And if this truly was a transaction... Then there may be more like it.
Annie: Alright... So we want more information... How are we going to go about it?
John: What are your thoughts on becoming a prostitute?
Annie: No.
John: Then we'll do it the old-fashioned way... Follow me.
He runs off.
Annie: Do we have to run?!
(Later....)
Under a bridge, John, wearing a fake mustache approached a homeless man.
John: I'm looking for someone that sells something... Bizarre.
Homeless man: I don't know nothing.
John: So you know something?
Homeless man: Shit! How did you know!? Are you a detective or something?
John: Yes- no.
John:....(throws money)
Homeless man: You could have just started with that.
John: Do you know anyone who might sell fingers, or wants a body?
Homeless man: No... Not really.
John: Nothing strange on the market?
Homeless man: That's a different story. I hear people who do business with Mister Niceguy get some kind of "power"
Homeless guy: Or "gift". Hell if I know what that is...
John:(mutters) Mister Niceguy... Brock mentioned that name... Now his body is stolen...
John: Who's this "Mister Niceguy"?
Homeless guy: Some new gangster rising through the ranks. No one knows a lot.
John: Do you know where I can do business with him? Or any of his dealers?
Homeless guy: There's this abandoned school building in Queens. You're best bet is there.
John: Thank you for your time.
(Later....)
The dealer who stole the body of Brock watched as black market surgeons chopped him into pieces.
(Corpse Dealer: Tea Ice)
Tea: Hurry up, Mister Niceguy expects this to be done with by the time-
Thug: Hey, boss. Two eyesores are asking about the corpse parts.
Tea: What?
Walking through the drug market made from an abandoned school, Annie stood close to John, eventually hugging his arm.
Annie: Th-This is a little too much...
John:(stares at her chest) I suggest you let go of me. My darkness is growing...
Annie:(whispers) Shouldn't we call... Your P Friend?
John: You want a Stand?
Annie: Kinda...
John: Then show me your fighting spirit. Because without it, you'll never manifest one.
John: Even if you did... It would kill you.
Annie:!?
Annie:...
Pulling herself together she lets go of John and stands strong on her own two feet.
Annie: You're right...
Dealer: You want some cocaine?
John: Sure, give me 10 bucks worth.
Annie: What's wrong with you!?
John:(whispers) We've gotta buy something... It's rude to just look at products.
People clear away from the two after John receives his bag of cocaine. Mr. Niceguy's men approached.
Tea: I hear you're looking to buy the Nice guy's nice product.
John: I represent a rich child looking for the newest craze. They're willing to pay top dollar for it.
Tea: Give me a name.
John: Jostar.
Tea:!
Tea:(smirks) Well, maybe we can work something out. Follow me.
He and his team lead Jojo and Annie to a gymnasium with an ambulance inside. John slightly grimaced at how brightly lit the place was.
The guards made room, as Tea hopped into the back of the ambulance and pulled out the chopped-up body of Brock.
Annie:(covers mouth) Hugh!
John: Cannibalism is the new craze?
Tea: Now... I know what it looks like... But this...
Tea: It'll give you superpowers.
Tea: We call it, a Stand.
John/Annie:!
John: A Stand...?
Tea: Just have to swallow one piece. Either a finger or a cube of flesh.
He summons his Stand.
(F-The Police)
It picks up a cube of flesh, perfectly square and bloody, it floats it over to John who mutters.
John:(mutters) Range, B minimum...
Annie: Is that the power of a Stand..?
Tea: Oh, it can do much more than that. Just know, that if you can't handle it, you're dead.
Tea: And the powers are unique, so no refunds if you get something useless.
Tea: I'm willing to give a free example, so you can get your rich kid to buy a whole lot for themselves and their friends.
John:(mutters) Goal is to spread the power...
Tea:(glares) What are you muttering about...?
John: A price. This is expensive, I would think.
Tea: Take a bite, and you'll immediately find out the price.
John:(opens mouth)
F-The Police reach out to feed John the cube of flesh. Annie stayed fixated on Brock's body, still a little haunted by what he did to her.
John: Aaaaah...
Just as F-The Police placed the flesh into Jojo's mouth, Paint It Black popped out of its currently limited range of John's shadow.
Paint It Black: BLACK!!
Throwing paint with great speed into all the thug's eyes, blinding them, it grabs F-The Police placing it in a body lock, immobilizing Tea.
Tea:!!?
John:(spits out flesh cube)
John: Do you have any idea how many calories that is? And you didn't even season and fry it...
Tea: How do you...
John: Stand's aren't anything new.
Thugs: Ughhga!
With bleeding eyes, the thugs wabbled on the floor. Tea was on his own, but he was more than confident on his own as he made his Stand phase out of Paint It Black's hold.
John:?
Tea: Tch! You ain't getting the merchandise!
Getting in the ambulance, Tea makes his Stand shoves the body parts back in, and shuts the door, by the time it does, John leaps onto the rear side of it, hugging the doors as it drives off.
John: Annie! Call the cops!
Annie: Wait, huh?!
(VRRRRRR)
The Ambulance and John phase through a wall and speed off into the streets. Annie, who was broken out of her trance when Brock's body was put away, looked around to see the blind guards and wet cube of flesh on the floor.
Annie:(stares)...
(Outside...)
(WHEEE-WHOOOOO)
John: Ugh!
Using his Stand, John lets himself into the back of the ambulance where F-The Police waited for him. Swinging a punch, Jojo used Paint It Black to try and block, but the Stand hand phased through it and continued to travel towards John.
Paint It Black: BLACK!!
But John's Stand was the fastest stand on this side of the sphere, it spun around and pushed John out of the way.
Tea: Get out!
John: Give me answers!
John: How are pieces of flesh supposed to give people Stands?!
Tea: Even if I knew, you'd be too dead to tell anyone!
With a sudden turn, John swung to the side, monumental losing contact with the vehicle. Tea activates his ability, causing Jojo to fall through the ambulance.
John:!
The ambulance itself phased through the ground into a train tunnel.
(Screeeeech)
Tea:(sigh of relief)
Tea: I hope I didn't lose any chunks-
Looking back, Tea found the body chunks were gone.
Tea: Shhhiiiit!!
Running to the nearest train station, and getting back to the point where he swerved Jojo out of the Ambulance, Tea found all the pieces being juggled by Paint It Black.
A roughed-up John was posing in a car.
(The pose)
Tea: You're alive...?!
John: I fell upwards and looped back around to the ground.
Tea: Hmph!
Tea: Give me back the merchandise.
John: Very well.
Paint It Black: BLACK, BLACK, BLACK!!
Painting the pieces, John gives them a sideways gravity which makes them fall towards Tea.
Tea: No!
Unable to catch them, they fall passed him, splatting onto the walls of the building behind Tea.
Tea: Tch! Do you have any idea what you did?
John: I gave you the "merchandise" back. It's you who failed to catch them.
Tea: Wise guy, eh?
Tea: Let's see how wise you are when you're black and blue!
The car John was in, suddenly began to sink into the pavement. Instinctively he leaped, but he quickly realized his mistake.
John:(mutters) If he can make things intangible, then I need to make sure I land somewhere solid...
John:(mutters) Or I can get stuck in the ground...
Using Paint It Black Jojo drips his paint across the nearby area, once he sees what did and did not fall through, he knocks himself to solid ground.
There, he tried to keep his distance.
Tea: Acrobatic little monkey!
Diving into the ground, Tea keeps his hands solid, allowing himself to use the ground like a pole, and swing out of the ground, flinging himself closer to Jojo.
Paint It Black: BLACK, BLACK, BLACK!!
Throwing paint, Jojo watches it phase through him.
Tea: One touch and you're done!!
Jojo pulls out his bag of cocaine and smashes it to make a white cloud.
Tea: The fuck-!?!
This scared Tea, making him think he might land blindly, thus he made himself solid, accidentally inhaling some of the drugs.
Tea:(coughs)
Tea: Cocaine!?
He gets slightly high.
Tea: Piece of-
Paint It Black: BLACK, BLACK, BLACK! EVERYTHING!!
Covering Tea in the black paint of his Stand, pinning the criminal to the ground. Jojo stands away from Tea, with his shadow cast over him.
John: I highly recommend that you don't use your ability-
Making the ground intangible, Tea falls like a brick in the air, through it.
John: Welp... Nice knowing you...
Tea fell straight down onto the train tunnel, seeing a train, thus he continued to phase through things as the paint pressed him toward the ground.
But there was nothing but solid ground after that, giving Tea no option to turn back tangible.
He would die of lack of air a few minutes later. Only then would he be tangible once more...His fossilized body would be discovered in the year 4570 on the NGE calendar.
John:....
John: Selina might get upset...
(Later....)
After a major yell, John was allowed to take Annie home. Thanks to the knowledge he gave, and the help with discovering a major drug ring, Selina could "accept" the situation.
Annie:(gags)
John: Did you get pregnant?
Annie: Why is that your first assumption...?
John: You're in the age group at most risk of getting pregnant.
Annie: I'm single...
John: Did you eat something bad-
John:...
Annie:...
Annie: I-I think it's just hitting me... Seeing a chopped-up body...
John:... I see...
John: Can you get home on your own? I must be alone... Or my Darkness might take hold...
Annie: Sure... I'll see you tomorrow.
John: Goodnight...
On his own, John returns to his office. Where he hoped to be alone, where he wanted to calm down, only for him to find an unwanted guest waiting for him.
???: Are you John?
John: Is that question rhetorical?
The man was younger than John, in a better suit, with matching looks.
???: I'm Mister Niceguy.
(Mr. Niceguy)
Mr. Niceguy: You've messed with my dealers, twice. Stop it.
Mr. Niceguy: I'll ask nicely, only once.
John: Do a better job of hiding your dealings, then I can't do anything.
Mr. Niceguy: Oh, don't worry. I will.
He approaches John.
John: Do you mind enlightening me on how eating the dead gives people Stands?
Mr. Niceguy: Exocannaibalism. The idea of eating things to gain its power... Turns out there's some truth to it.
John:!
He passes John.
John: Fascinating... Mind telling me more?
Paint It Black: BLACK!
Paint It Black reaches to grab Mr. Niceguy, but his Stand manages to grab Jojo's Stand by the wrist, stopping him.
John:!?
(Brave New World)
Mr. Niceguy: I hope that was just a test. If it was a real attempt...
Mr. Niceguy: Then you're no threat to me.
(Wooosh)
Brave New World throws Paint It Black effortlessly, causing John to go flying into the wall as well.
(Crash)
Mr. Niceguy: I'll take your advice. By the way... You have two strikes.
Mr. Niceguy: Get a third one, and I'll kill you.
Mr. Niceguy: Have a nice life.
John: You too...
Mr.Niceguy/John:(mutters) For as long as it lasts...
To be continued...
(Ending theme)