Something I forgot to mention in the prologue was what the characters that make up Josie's Chinese name, Jiu Jiuxi, mean. Her surname, Jiu (樛) means bending branches. While her first name is made of the characters Jiu (玖) and Xi (禧), which mean black jade and joy respectively.

Speedwagon Foundation Facility – Monday: 6:00 AM

Dr. Roxanne Summers, slim and beautiful and dressed in a black low-cut pantsuit, made her way down the halls of the research facility where she worked; her shiny black heels clacking against the linoleum tiles in a quick staccato. Her brilliantly red hair was styled into an immaculate bun, held in place by a pair of pens instead of hairpins, save for the strands that framed a heart-shaped face with piercing blue eyes.

She sighed when she reached her office, trading her heels for a pair of sneakers that were infinitely more sensible for lab work. She was acutely aware that she was named head researcher of the Meteor Project because of her looks – and she hated it. She was a respected geologist dammit! They should be paying attention to her body of work! Not her actual body! And then there was the fact they passed over her close friend and colleague, Dr. Jiu Bingbing for the position. After all, she was the one that discovered the first meteorite and did the initial testing; placing her at the head the team would have made much more sense.

"Still," she thought to herself as she grabbed the keys to the lab and walked next door. "if people staring at my cleavage is what it takes to keep the lab running and get us the resources we need, then I suppose it's a necessary evil."

And so, Dr. Summers opened the doors to the research lab and set about preparing the equipment for another day's worth of testing before the rest of her team arrived. While this was certainly one of her duties as chief researcher, she should have checked the lab's meteorite samples first. If she had, she would have noticed that some of the larger ones seemed smaller than yesterday – while it wasn't a significant change in size, it was certainly enough to make someone that worked with them on a daily basis do a double take.

Not that she could do much about it though.

Pendleton Hall Dormitory: Suite 9 – Friday, 8:00 AM

*Beep* *Beep* *Beep*

Josie groaned at the familiar sound of her alarm clock and pulled her sheets over her head, hoping that they had suddenly become soundproof sometime last night. After a full minute of fighting this losing battle, she reached out and blindly groped around her nightstand. She managed to knock over a few books, an empty mug, and a picture frame before finally the infernal device off. Why the hell did she even bother setting the alarm? She didn't have any classes on Fridays, so it wasn't like she had to be anywhere important. But, she also couldn't spend the entire morning under the covers, not after what happened the last time…

Josie groggily got out of bed, yawning as she stretched her arms. At 5'11", she was always rather tall for her age. Which was only a little odd, since her mother was at least six inches shorter than her. But, apparently her height came from her dad's side of the family, so it didn't really bother her all that much.

Taking off her pajamas and throwing them in a hamper by her bed, Josie put on a clean sports bra before rummaging through her closet to find some workout clothes. She managed to find a pair of black jogging pants without much trouble. Then, she found a white t-shirt with a design of green Chinese dragon coiled around it. Finally, she grabbed a dark blue, zip-up hoodie that had a large yellow star on the back. After all, it was starting to get colder, she'd probably need it.

Whirling around, she struck a dramatic pose; and an Asian girl with tan skin, long jade-green hair and sharp purple eyes posed back at her from a mirror. She struck a few more poses before deciding to pull her hair back into a ponytail. Sure, it still looked wild and messy, but at least it was out of her eyes now. Satisfied with her appearance and ready to work up a sweat, she grabbed her phone and wallet from her desk as she left her room and walked through the common area of her suite. Suites in Pendleton Hall usually housed four people, but for some reason, her's only had two people assigned to it, herself and —

"Jules, I'm heading out! If I'm not back by 5:00, avenge my death!" Josie shouted as she walked past the bathroom. 'Jules' or Julianna C. Zeppeli had been one of her closest friends since they were kids. She shouted something back. But Josie didn't hear it, since the door already closed behind her.

Hopefully, it wasn't too important.

The suite that Josie shared with Julianna was on the first floor, so it wasn't long before she was jogging down the sidewalk, weaving her way past pedestrians. Like many joggers, Josie had earbuds for the sake of workout music. But unlike many joggers, she sometimes got lost in thought while listening to music. Which is how she didn't notice she accidentally turned down a dark alley. That is, of course, until someone grabbed her by the shoulder and roughly turned her around.

Josie pulled out one of her earbuds and looked at her assailant, a skinny-looking guy dressed in a ratty-looking grey jacket and tattered jeans. He about a few years older than her, probably in his early 20's, with black and orange hair slicked back at the top and buzzed at the sides. But, what stood out the most to her were the six flat moles in the middle of his forehead. They weren't very large – probably about 2 mm in diameter, but they were arranged in a pair of perfectly straight lines, sort of like the dots on Krillin's head.

Her train of thought was interrupted when he grabbed her by the collar and yanked it down, exposing the star-shaped birthmark on her left shoulder.

More annoyed that her workout was interrupted than anything else, Josie wrenched herself free and straightening out her clothes. "Can I help you?"

The man with six moles laughed. "As a matter of fact, you can. See, a friend of mine's been talking about some girl that kicked his ass recently. Said something about a star on her neck. Been stressing 'em out real bad too." He reached behind his back and pulled out a knife. "Thought I'd be nice and do 'em a favor, that's all."

Josie looked past the knife at the six moles on the man's head before looking down at his legs. His stance was deplorable, his feet were too close together and he was pointing his knees inward. "Are you… are you attacking me?"

The man lowered the knife and smiled. "No, I'm a traveling knife salesman—" Then he scoffed, pointing it at her again. "Of course I'm attacking you!"

That was all Josie needed to hear. She smiled sweetly at the man as she raised her hands up. Only to grab his wrist and quickly disarm him before slamming him into ground with a hip throw.

The man scrambled to his feet and put some distance between the two of them. He shook his head and scrunched his face up, almost as if he was deciding whether or not he should try fighting. He shook his head and growled as he reached into his hoodie.

She didn't know what he was thinking, but she knew she had to act fast.

The man with six moles couldn't see it, but air shimmered around Josie as a translucent figure came into view. The apparition was a clearly feminine figure dressed in a blue and red qipao. The upper half of its face was hidden behind a golden visor styled to resemble the head of a Chinese dragon. Its black hair was tied into a pair of low ponytails that reached all the way down to its waist. Finally, it wore a large pair of gauntlets: one red and one blue. This vision was no evil spirit. It was the manifestation of her fighting spirit that stood by her side. This, was her [Stand].

"Let's go, [Heatseeker]!" Josie snapped her fingers and her stand rushed forward. One of its armored fists drawn back and ready to strike.

The man with six moles barely had time to blink before Heatseeker drove its red gauntlet into his face, sending him flying into a wall with a solid hook, a burst of flame, and a mighty 'Hwacha!'.

"What… the hell?" He groaned one last time before sliding to the ground unconscious.

"Well, that sure happened." Josie thought to herself, dusting off her hands as she let Heatseeker fade away. She was just about to leave when she spotted something on the ground. Must've fallen out of Six Moles' hoodie. She knew it wasn't any of her business and that she should just leave it alone; but her curiosity got the better of her as she picked it up.

It looked like an auto-injector, like one of those EpiPens her mom carried for bee stings; except this one was gold and had a butterfly engraved on it, it also seemed to lack the dial used to adjust dosages. Was this what he was reaching for? He sure didn't look like he was having an allergic reaction. Maybe he was a diabetic and just needed his insulin? In any case, she couldn't just leave him here and have him risk developing ketoacidosis; she just wasn't that heartless. Thinking quickly, Josie pulled the cap off the pen and exposed his stomach, ready to give the shot. But she paused when she saw a golden patch with the same butterfly design that she saw on the pen. Her instincts told her to get out of there, and she was inclined to agree with them. So, she pocketed the weird pen, fully intent on throwing it out in the first trash can she found, more than ready to put this entire sequence of events behind her.

But, as she jogged down the street, she couldn't shake the feeling that something strange was going on.

=[To Be Continued]=

Stand Name: Heatseeker

Namesake: AC/DC song of the same name

Stand User: Josie 'Jojo' Jiu (Chinese name: Jiu Jiuxi)

Stats:

Power: B

Speed: A

Range: C

Durability: B

Precision: C

Developmental Potential: C

Abilities:

Heat Generation: The right gauntlet is able to generate intense levels of heat on command, being able to increase temperatures to the point where objects either melt or burst into flames. When using this ability, the surrounding air seems to shimmer due to convection.

Heat Absorption: The left gauntlet is able to absorb heat from its surroundings, lowering the temperature and freezing anything it touches. When using this ability, water vapor in the surrounding air freezes into ice crystals, producing the phenomenon known as diamond dust.

And thus, we've been properly introduced to our Jojo! Josie might be a bit silly and sarcastic, but underneath it all, she has the indomitable will of a Joestar. And we've been introduced to something and someone that may become rather important in the near future. And with more questions raised than answered, that's the end of Chapter 1. I hope you liked it. Feel free to leave some feedback or ask questions, I'd greatly appreciate both.