The cool night air of Harlem felt calm, a rare peace settling over the city that contrasted with the usual hustle of the streets. John Joestar stood at the entrance of a gleaming hospital, his hands tucked into the pockets of his jacket. He was 17, not a child anymore, but still caught between the carefree days of youth and the weight of adult responsibilities that loomed ever closer. Tonight, however, he felt a strange sense of unease. Everything seemed... safe,
yet he couldn't help but feel anxious about something.
His family had just finished touring the hospital—a place they had helped build with the wealth accumulated from his father's business ventures. Joseph Joestar, his father, liked to brag that he was once an adventurer who'd fought ancient enemies of humanity and saved the world even, yet to John was just a father who liked to come up with wild stories. Still, he was proud. Proud of the good they had done for the world, proud of the legacy his family had built.
Beside John stood his younger sister, Holly, a 12-year-old bundle of chaotic energy, laughing as she playfully tugged at her father's sleeve. Holly had always been the childishly optimistic one, the one who lived in the moment, never worrying about the future. Her presence brought life to the cold night, her innocent excitement making John smile, despite the growing turmoil in his mind. He often wondered how she could remain so unaffected by the world around her.
Suzie, their mother, stood a few steps away, speaking with a hospital nurse. Her caring nature had always made the Joestar household feel like home, even during their most difficult times. Everything about this night looked normal, but his body or something else seemed to scream at him to be wary.
"John, how long are we stuck here?" Holly's voice interrupted his thoughts. Her eyes sparkled, filled with admiration as she gazed up at the building.
"You're only 12, squirt. You're too little and too dumb to understand how much work went into this," John replied with a playful grin, messing her hair up.
Holly stuck her tongue out at him, and reached out to try and kick him in the shin, but before she could do it, the ground beneath their feet trembled. At first, it was subtle—a light vibration—but it quickly intensified, shaking the very foundations of the building. Suzie immediately turned towards Joseph, her expression now filled with concern.
"Joseph, what's happening?" Suzie asked, a hint of worry in her voice.
Joseph's eyes narrowed, recognizing the tremor for what it was. "Stay here," he muttered, his tone stern as he took a step toward the exit, his old battle instincts slowly roaring back to life.
But it was too late.
A deafening roar shattered the calm of the night. The entire hospital seemed to groan as the shockwave from a distant impact rattled the windows. The earth quaked beneath their feet, and the sky lit up with fire and the flaming debris of helicopters.
John felt a chill run down his spine as he turned to look toward the source of the disturbance. In the distance, the sound of destruction echoed through the streets. The Hulk was fighting Abomination.
The battle was nothing short of cataclysmic. Buildings trembled, windows shattered, and the air seemed to grow thick with tension. John's heart raced. He wanted to move, to take action, to do something. But his body was frozen, unable to comprehend the sheer scale of what was happening.
"Get down!" Joseph shouted, pulling Holly and Suzie toward cover, his hand reaching out to retrieve a pair of clackers from inside his suit. But it was too late.
The shockwave from a devastating punch between the Hulk and Abomination struck with the force of a hurricane. John was thrown off his feet, his body crashing into the ground. His vision blurred, and his ears rang with the deafening sound of the explosion that followed.
As his head swam with dizziness, John managed to look up just in time to see the unthinkable. Holly, standing too close to the impact zone, was caught in the blast. The shockwave tore through the area, sending debris flying in every direction. For a brief moment, John saw his sister, her eyes wide with shock, before she was swept away in the devastation.
"No... Holly!" John's voice cracked as he tried to push himself to his feet, but his legs betrayed him. He could hardly hear over the chaos. The Hulk and Abomination continued their brutal fight in the background, oblivious to the damage they had caused.
John's mind was a blur, his body numb from the shockwave, but one thought echoed in his head as the world around him crumbled. Holly was gone.
He reached out towards her body but then the very ceiling seemed to fall down upon him.
Everything after that was a blur. The sounds of the battle faded as darkness overtook him. He collapsed to the ground, his vision going black.
-<<>o<>>-
[̷̜̄I̴̖͊n̶͎͠t̵̺͋ē̶̫g̷̝͐r̴̭̒a̸̭͆t̶̗́į̸̈́ń̶̹g̴̩͑.̷̞͑.̷̪͆.̸̙̉.̵̛̗.̷̠̑.̵͙͛]̴̛͇
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̶̗̒[̶̨̌ ̷̧̉Ű̸͖s̵̼͛ȩ̴̕r̶̻̊ ̶̼̍Ḭ̴͊ń̴̝t̶̨̊e̵̤̽g̸͎͑ŕ̶̭ȃ̴̗ṱ̵́e̵̖̾d̸͙̊ ̶̜̂]̴̪̚
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̵̡̈[̶̟͠I̷̼̋ǹ̶͓j̴̡̽ȅ̷̘c̷̡͆t̵̲͌i̸͇̽ǹ̴̮g̴̦͝ ̶͙̐O̴̟͑l̷̰̈́d̴̞̒_̶͍̅M̴̫̂è̷̪m̷͎̋ǫ̸͑r̶͔̕ḯ̵͍ẽ̸͚s̵͔̑.̵͖̎d̴̳̎a̷̹͛t̷͉̋ ̷̻̃]̵̨̕
Light. Sound. Warmth. Cold. Life. Death. Old. New. Past. [FUTURE].
A series of memories smashed into his mind leaving him reeling for an anchor to stabilize himself, yet the flood of memories didn't stop. It was too much.
"Help me..."
He faded back into unconsciousness.
John woke up in a sterile, white room. The faint beeping of machines filled his ears, and the soft glow of artificial lights made his surroundings feel even more surreal. His body felt heavy, as if the weight of the world had crashed down upon him. He blinked slowly, his mind struggling to process the events that had transpired but the memories of another life leaving him confused.
"I am..... John?"
"My name is John Joestar..."
"Joestar, why do I know that name?"
He pushed those thoughts to the back of his mind, he needed to figure out where he was.
"Mom? Dad?" His voice was hoarse, barely a whisper. He tried to sit up, but the pain in his body was overwhelming.
That's when he saw it. A flicker in the corner of his vision—a glowing, translucent screen.
[Welcome to the System.]
A robotic, emotionless voice filled his mind, startling him as it echoed in his head.
[Congratulations, host. You have been selected for system integration. Your journey to unlock your Fighting Spirit begins now.]
Fighting Spirit?
Joestar?
"Holy Shit."
"I'm a fucking Joestar? No way, I'm in the Marvel universe.".
His mind reeled. And then, the grief hit him like a wave, wiping away his wonder at the system. Holly was gone.
His hands trembled as the words of the system echoed in his mind. The promise of power. The promise of control. But what use was power when it couldn't bring back the people you lost?
John clenched his fists, his emotions swirling. He didn't know what the future held, but one thing was clear: he would never let anyone, villain or hero, hurt the people he loved again, and to do that, this system was going to be key.