"You were saved by a superhero," Johana says, not so much a question as a statement of disbelief.

"Oh come on, it's not that ridiculous when you compare it to vampires and spirit warrior dudes," Kan says.

"Or hyperintelligent monkeys that make things explode," Kelly says.

"I refuse to believe that happened," Johana says.

The three are sitting in the kitchen of the Floyd house, nursing their wounds after the battle. Camellia is asleep in her bedroom. Nero, in the living room. Julius sits on the front steps, staring at the sky and clutching his stump.

"How is it more ridiculous than vampires?" Kelly snaps.

"I've seen vampires. I know they exist."

"And I've seen super-monkeys!"

"Sure you have," Johana says. She takes a sip of coffee. "So, this superhero, did he wear tights and have his underwear on the outside?"

"No, don't be ridiculous," Kan says. "He did have a cape and a domino mask, though."

"Maybe he was just a cosplayer," Kelly says.

"No, he had superpowers. He healed my wounds and flew," Kan says.

"I believe you. Well, kinda," Johana says. "He isn't an alien or some nerdy guy who got bit by a radioactive whatever, though. You were saved by a Stand User, dressed as a superhero."

"What's the difference?" Kan asks.

"If he's a Stand User, then he's probably part of Woodstock's game. Did he have a silver bracelet?"

Kan thinks hard for a moment. "I don't know," she says. "He was wearing gloves. But it doesn't matter. He saved me, that means he's a good guy."

The firefighter, Jefferson stares down at the objects before him. An arrow, two bracelets, and a cell phone. Guided by instinct and an alluring voice on the phone, Jefferson puts on a bracelet and stabs himself with the arrow. He feels the power surging through his body, like lightning.

He falls to his knees in front of the ruined plane. There, hovering above the twisted mess of steal, he sees the jukebox. A gold and blue jukebox floating two feet in the air. "I think I just went insane," he says.

"The object floating before you is not illusion nor delusion, Jefferson," the voice on the phone says. "This entity is your Stand, a living embodiment of your soul. With its power, you will do great things."

Jefferson reaches out and touches the Stand. Looking closer, he sees five silver disks locked within the top of the jukebox. The mechanisms within the jukebox activate, moving one disk to the needle. The disk spins, but no music plays.

The puncture wound on Jefferson's shoulder stitches itself back together, healed by the energy of the Stand. "You have a powerful Stand. Let's take it out for a spin," the voice on the phone says.

"What would you like me to do?" Jefferson asks.

"I have a package waiting for you exactly five kilometers north of here. You'll know it when you see it. You have five minutes to get to it."

"Five minutes? You're kidding me, right?" Jefferson says. The phone clicks as the other line goes dead.

Jefferson shoves the arrow into the suitcase with the bracelet and sprints down the runway, leaving the plane behind. Another firefighter shouts for him, but he doesn't respond. He throws off his coat and helmet so he can run faster, but is careful to not drop the suitcase. He runs down the tarmac as fast as he can, even though he knows it is impossible for him to reach the package in time.

But, as he runs, he seems to go faster and faster. Faster than he's ever gone before, faster than Olympic sprinters. The world blurs behind him as he smashes through the airport fence like a rocket. The jukebox, his Stand, flies behind him.

He runs away from the airport, into the streets of London. Five kilometers from his starting point, a child jumps out in front of him. Jefferson jumps, going over the child. He slams into a metal trashcan, stumbling to a stop.

As he knocks the trashcan over, a red cardboard box rolls out. A ringing noise comes from the box. Jefferson tears it open and pulls out another flip-phone.

"Four minutes, fifty-five seconds," the voice on the other end says. "Not bad."

"I ran so fast, how was that even possible?" Jefferson asks.

"Your Stand, Jefferson. It's a source of great power."

"What else can it do?"

"That is for you to figure out. You'll know my next test when you see it." The line goes dead.

Jefferson throws it in the trashcan and looks through the package. Inside, he finds a red cape and a black domino mask. He pulls the mask over his eyes and ties the cape to his shoulders. A few bystanders stare at him and take photos, but he ignores them. He is far too satisfied to care.

Suddenly, he hears screaming. He runs off, his cape fluttering behind him, moving so fast he can barely see where he's going. The source of the screams is a bank with a dozen cop cars parked outside. Jefferson leaps over the cops and bursts into the bank.

He takes in the sight in an instant. Three men, wearing black ski masks and holding smuggled firearms, are standing in the center of the bank, their guns pointed at hostages. Jefferson charges at them. Before the robbers can react, he slams into one of them, elbowing the man hard enough to knock him out.

The other two robbers panic and aim their guns at Jefferson. Jefferson moves like lightning, avoiding the bullets and taking out one of the robbers with another punch. He pulls his fist back and punches the remaining robber in the stomach as hard as he can. The robber goes flying.

Jefferson stares at his gloved fist. He snaps around and looks at the floating jukebox. "Healing, speed, and strength," he says.

The doors are blown off their hinges as the police storm into the bank, guns drawn. Jefferson puts his hands in the air and tries to shout that he isn't a robber, but he's too late. The cops unload on him.

The bullets just bounce off. "And invincibility," Jefferson says.

He walks out of the bank. The cops shoot at him, at first, but after he refuses to die they flee in terror. Jefferson walks away from the bank, the jukebox floating behind him.

"Since getting you, I've shown four different powers. Each of which is great, but I don't seem to be able to use them at the same time," Jefferson says. "You have five silver disks. I'm guessing you swap them around depending on what I need at the moment."

He stops and kneels down on the ground. "Switch to disk five," he says. The Stand follows his command. "Let's hope this works."

He jumps straight up and keeps moving, rising into the sky. He rises higher than the buildings around him, rising into the clouds. He smiles the biggest smile he's ever smiled. He aims his arms in front of him and soars through the sky, doing loop de loops above London.

From his perch in the clouds, Jefferson smells the smoke. Dark plumes of ash and cinder rise into the sky heavens, emanating from a blazing inferno consuming an apartment building.

Jefferson lands in front of the blaze. Three different fire trucks have arrived. They spray the house with gallons upon gallons of water, but the inferno still rages. "What the hell are you wearing?" a voice shouts. It belongs to one of the firefighters, a man from another station that Jefferson recognizes.

"I'm a superhero now," Jefferson says, confident even though he knows how ridiculous he sounds. "Is there anyone still inside the building?"

"There's a man in a wheelchair trapped on the third floor," the firefighter says.

Jefferson pulls off his cape and hands it to the firefighter. "Hold this," he says.

"Uh, sure. Why though?"

"I'm going in and don't want it to burn."

"You can't go in there! The building's about to collapse!" the firefighter shouts. "Besides, you don't have any gear on. You'd burn to a crisp in a second!"

"Don't worry about me, I'm a superhero now," Jefferson says. He rockets off the ground, flying towards the building as the firefighters stare in shock. Moments before he hits a third-floor window, he switches from flight to invincibility.

He crashes through the window into the burning building, completely fine. Instantly, he feels the heat. He feels like he's been wrapped in tin foil and thrown into an oven. But, his invincibility holds, and the heat doesn't hurt him.

He runs through the burning building, ignoring the fire, searching for the man in the wheelchair. He coughs. The fire can't hurt him, but the smoke is tearing his lungs apart. He needs to hurry.

He kicks open a door and sees the man lying on the floor next to his wheelchair, barely conscious. As Jefferson runs over to the man, he hears a loud cracking noise as part of the building collapses.

A large chunk of the fourth floor falls. Jefferson, standing over the man, switches to super-strength and catches it. Instantly, he feels the pain. The fire hits him like a bus. He feels his skin sizzling. Still, he refuses to switch back to invincibility, for doing so would doom the injured man.

"Hey! Buddy! I can't hold this forever, you need to crawl out of here," Jefferson shouts. The man doesn't respond.

Jefferson pulls his leg back, balancing on one leg, and kicks the man as hard as he can. Hard enough to punt the man through the doorway into the hallway. The moment the man is out of the room, Jefferson switches back to invincibility.

The ceiling crashes down onto him, burying him and rubble. Jefferson crawls out of it. The rubble didn't hurt, but the damage from the fire while he held the building up took its toll. Jefferson picks the man up and limps back to the window.

When he reaches the window, Jefferson jumps, sending himself and the injured man tumbling towards the ground. Jefferson holds the man tight and switches to flight, slowing their fall enough for them to land safely.

Jefferson collapses as the firefighters run over to him. Barely breathing, Jefferson heals the man. Only when the man is completely healed does Jefferson treat his own wounds.

To be continued in

Chapter 47: Jukebox Hero, Part 2

STAND STATS

Name: Jukebox Hero

Dub Name: Champion's Ballad

User: Jefferson Starship

Namesake: "Jukebox" (Song by Foreigner)

Appearance: A floating gold and blue jukebox with silver disks.

Abilities: Jukebox Hero has the ability to amplify Jefferson, giving him one of five different superpowers depending on the situation. These powers are super-strength, super-speed, invincibility, healing, and flight.

Stats:Power-E, Speed-D, Range-D, Durability-A, Precision-C, Potential-A