[IC] JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Verum Autem Ex

[ProPro]

Leonard pulled up to a parking space specifically reserved for motorcycles and slowed to a stop. Without removing his helmet, he spotted Blue on a park bench nearby with a rather pathetic looking middle-aged man. No signs of a struggle, nobody in any danger, and the atmosphere didn't come off as the least bit serious, so Leonard concluded that this man was not, at least in this moment, a threat. Perhaps he had no malice at all. Either way, he needed to further assess the situation and walked forward.

Once he stood a few feet in front of the duo, Leonard lifted the visor on his helmet so that only his eyes would show. "Salutations, esteemed partner. I see you have made a new acquaintance." He held out his leather-gloved hand to the older man. "Leonard Skinner, at your service." Just in case, he didn't want this man to see his face, plus the helmet served as an intimidation tool. There was always the possibility this man was playing Blue, wasn't actually as passive as he seemed to be in this moment. Until Leonard had a stronger grasp of the situation at hand, he wanted to be ready.

[Old Amsterdam]

---

Blue nodded, keeping a firm hand on Bugsy after the initial repeated disasters of him falling, smiling sightly as he tried to explain his joke. "See, that was a good joke. But explaining it kinda made it lose impact. A little confidence, Bugsy, that's all you need. We'll make today a proper win, won't we? No need to feel down." She glanced up, nodding as Leonard appeared. "This is my friend I mentioned was coming, Bugsy. If you want we can continue moving forward, like we talked about. I really want to see you get your time for a full show. It'll be great, just like you."

[knifeman]

❣ Climactic Return - Masafumi Takada ❣

➳

---

Okay, so the guy didn’t know what Stands were, and Mieke probably looked like a crazy person. With yet another stuttered apology, she let him go back to the performance. Checking her phone, she found that Leonard was in too much of a rush to wait for her, so she could stick around for the end of the show, which apparently was still happening even though one of the performers was laying motionless on top of the van.

The kick that the performer delivered to his partner’s face made Mieke cover her eyes, the gory sight triggering a new wave of nausea. She cautiously looked up again through her fingers when the man continued talking.

She dropped her hands as the man started glowing bright blue and laid a piece of paper on the body. He did an impressive flip, but Mieke was focused on Lee. She jumped when he suddenly got up and performed more acrobatics. The crowd went wild, and Mieke clapped along with them, equal parts awed and confused. Had that whole ordeal just been part of the show?

As the brothers descended into the van and drove away, Mieke took out her phone and wrote down the details of their show, figuring the information might be useful. She would have tried to get their attention as they drove by, but after what she had seen, she didn’t have the energy.

Her shoulders slouched, she retreated from the crowd and sat down in a secluded space. Taking deep breaths, she messaged the group.

well i just met some stand users. one of them died and got brought back. i think im traumatized.

[Lugubrious]

The van door closed with a slam, and Arthur leaned back in his seat to massage his temples. Already the hours felt stretched out, filled as they were with vain searching and deception. However well it worked, the man did not like leading people on, even as he felt he himself was being led on a wild goose chase. His experience in the hidden world of Stands convinced him of one overarching phenomena, some time ago: whether through destiny or chance, and for better or for worse, Stand users tended to come together. Yet here he was.

After a minute or so he removed his phone from his pocket and looked through it. He discovered a message from Blue that suggested an encountered user, and provide the location. Arthur slapped the dashboard, exclaiming, “The assassin found our target!” Spurred out of his frustration by a sudden energy, he got the van in gear and started to drive, keeping an eye on each street sign he passed to make his way toward 7th Street.

At a red light a few minutes later, he checked his phone again in case more information appeared in the meantime. Nothing new had issued from Blue, but to his surprise he found a message from the little one, Mieke. When he read it he went bug-eyed. “Multiple contacts!?” he belted out aloud, his formidable bass resounding through the vehicle. “...I suppose it makes sense,” he muttered the next moment. “Armstrong said it was spreading something like a disease, after all.” Turning in place, he looked over his shoulder at Hogan. “Still, kinda stinks that we didn't find anyone, eh?”

There came a loud honk from behind the van. Arthur whipped around in a fright to see that the light had turned. “Damn! Sorry!” he told nobody, as he started to accelerate once again. As he returned to cruising speed, he considered what to do, speaking aloud to try and include his scaly friend. “Well, Blue probably has her situation under control, but Mieke might need help. Then again, she didn't give any info about her location. At the next light I'll message her back to try and get it.”

True to his word, he popped open his phone to send a return text when next his van came to a halt. N...e...e...d...h...e...l...p...?...W...h...e...r...e...a...r...e...y...o...u...? he tapped, pressing each key one at a time with his right index finger. He managed to send it mere seconds before the light went green.

[LemonZest1337]

Hogan remained curled up in the back of the Van, every twist and turn of the van making all the more queasy. At least the others seemed to have luck, Blue having found a target and engaged already, from what he could tell multiple contacts. That could be very much interesting, he'd not gotten a chance to clamp his jaws on something living in ages.

But unfortunately he wasn't sure how combat ready he'd be when they got there, sure he is a massive monster reptile, but at the moment he was a sickly one that felt as if he was about to throw up for real. Hogan honestly didn't care that they found nobody, I mean if they found someone it might have ended up in Hogan getting into trouble again. People get so upset when a giant Crocodile bites someone, I mean what do they expect Hogan to do? You don't just wave your hand into someone else's mouth and expect not to get bitten.

Back to the matter at hand Hogan just hunkered down and tried to calm his stomach down, he just hoped these contacts weren't far away...

[BCTheEntity]

@Old Amsterdam@ProPro
‘...yeah. Confidence,’ he agreed, nodding with a slowly-increasing smile. Sure, that was all he needed! A bit more confidence, yeah! And hey, confident meant doing stuff like greeting people.

So, with Blue’s sentiment about how she really wanted to see one of his shows in the future spurring him on, he stood up, took a step toward Leonard, and promptly tripped over his own feet, scrambling wildly to try and keep himself upright, before eventually restabilising himself in an incredibly awkward spread-leg posture. An embarrassed blush crossed his features, and he shakily offered his hand for Leonard to shake, just about mumbling out ‘B-Bugsy,’ his expression showing just how aware he was of his own lack of coordination.

---

@knifeman
With the van’s departure, and no further performance available, the crowd gradually dispersed, leaving Mieke mostly alone in the park for the time being. Certainly, nobody really wanted to see somebody be so badly wounded, possibly fatally, but the fact that such obvious public figures were Stand users without knowing it could perhaps be a lead to follow - albeit one that represented how dangerous their lack of knowledge might be, either to them or to others. At least Mieke had Arthur’s text message to try and distract her.

---

@LemonZest1337@Lugubrious
As Arthur’s text sent, the lights changed. Before he could start moving, however, a very loud red motorcycle blasted past its own red light, cutting off everyone else, and barely swerving around a car that had just started pulling out. From the look of things, it seemed like the two black leather-clad riders were a man in front and a woman holding on behind him; over the motorcycle’s engine, both Arthur and Hogan might be able to hear a couple of shrill whoops of excitement, before the bike sped off into the distance, and the traffic began moving again, much more legally than the motorcyclists. Whether Arthur wanted to do anything about that was on him, though one might argue there was no reason to do so.

[ProPro]

The man mumbled something about confidence, apparently a self-affirmation, before slipping in an attempt to shake Leonard's hand. The artist raised an eyebrow at the sight. This man had been rather pathetic, going off of just what he had seen so far. Blue spoke about getting him to have a full comedy show, and Leonard couldn't help but feel as though that would be an abysmal idea. Well, if confidence is what the man needed, that would be easily rectified. After all, the Speedwagon Foundation was footing the bill on all his commissions.

Flipping open his notebook to a blank page, Leonard quickly jotted down a new symbol, then tore the page out and handed it to Bugsy in such a way that nobody else should have seen the paper before its intended recipient. "Keep this charm on hand, Bugsy. The symbol is Tabono African, with deep roots in self-confidence as well as persistence. You'll find it to be something of a magic lucky charm, if you will." He then nodded to Blue, trusting in her judgment of the situation, at least for the time being. If his symbol made this Bugsy character too dangerous, Leonard could easily revoke it with his stand's power.

"My friend here informs me of your special attributes, Bugsy. Please be so kind as to indulge me, do you have... A special power? Perhaps some being you can summon?"

[Old Amsterdam]

---

Blue patted Bugsy gently after he'd been given that slip by Leonard. "Leonard here is the most trusted of my friends. Anything you can tell us will help in the long run, I promise. We can help best the more you're able to tell us." Her words were soft as she looked at Leonard, her eyes sharp. Would he get the message to tread carefully, she wondered. A simple mistake could ruin a mission. If anything she was happy it was him alone, between the two of them this situation should be alright.

She couldn't imagine what the croc would've done in this situation and she was rather glad she'd traveled solo at this stage. Delicate situations needed a fine guiding hand to keep them stable, after all.

[knifeman]

❣ 1 AM - Animal Crossing OST ❣

➳

---

i’m alright, i just don’t think i’ll ever un-see that. they left but i wrote down their info.

crazy crue brothers
jfk memorial center
4-6 pm every night for next week

Mieke gave Arthur her location, hoping she wouldn’t have to be alone for long. Given her track record, being by herself too long would result in her spiraling into worried rumination and inevitably full-blown panic. Taking a deep breath, she leaned back and took her earbuds out of her pocket. She put on a podcast to relax and closed her eyes.

[BCTheEntity]

@Old Amsterdam@ProPro
As Bugsy looked over the slip of paper, a distinct gleam entered his eyes. Yeah... yeah, it was probably just a feel-good sort of thing, but in a way, he was feeling more confident already! Confident enough that when Leonard asked him about whether he had some being he could summon, bolstered by Blue’s words of supplication regarding who Leonard was, he grinned, and the being from earlier immediately emerged from his body, new to Leonard, and more detailed for Laurie.

It turned out that only half of its body was white, the other side a bright red colour, though the newly-visible arm and fingers matched its counterpart in being composed of segmented balloon rings and confetti, as did its legs. Its face, rather than being explicitly revealed, was more of a mask - the mask of comedic embodiment seen so often in theatre productions, in fact, embodying Bugsy’s aspirations and his image up to this point to a tee.

It was only after the Stand had been summoned that Bugsy’s grin faltered. ‘Huh. That’s weird,’ he muttered quietly. ‘Normally he doesn’t come out unless...’ Even as his voice trailed off, the image of the Stand began to flicker, seeming like it’d fade with a whimper rather than any dramatic flair in very short order.

---

@knifeman@LemonZest1337@Lugubrious
A few minutes of driving later, and the duo in the van found their way to the park Mieke was stationed in. A few more minutes of walking after that, despite onlookers questioning under their breath whether an alligator should be allowed to wander around freely like that, and the duo became a trio, Arthur and Hogan encountering the easily-upset girl as she listened to her podcast. Evidently, they had plenty to talk about - and it turns out a bench is a great place to talk about things.

[ProPro]

Witnessing Bugsy's stand, and Bugsy's subsequent reaction, told Leonard all he needed to know about this individual. Due to a weakness of spirit, he couldn't fully control this clown-like stand. In many ways, the uncontrolled were more dangerous than the villainous. At least those individuals had set goals and thus were predictable, acting in accordance with a pattern. An uncontrolled stand could cause trouble anywhere at any time. Leonard felt confident that he had taken the correct course of action, positively reinforcing Bugsy's confidence. It would only be a matter of time before this would-be comedian had control, and thus was no longer a threat. And if he used his stand for the wrong reasons, well, all Leonard had to do was slash the symbol from his notebook to cripple the man back into a nervous wreck, and subsequently beat him down until he understood the ramifications of his actions. Simple.

"That is called a stand, a manifestation of your soul and fighting spirit. Weakness of character results in weakness of the stand, and vice versa. With your newfound confidence, you should be able to manifest it at will, with a little practice. But a fair warning, Mr. Bugsy. There are a great many stand users on the rise, many who are not friendly. Those who misuse their power... Must be put down. Do you plan on misusing your power, Mr. Bugsy?" To emphasize his point. Leonard idly fingered the holster strap to his pistol. The confidence power hadn't taken too strong an effect yet, so best to get the message across and set in stone before the comedian decided that his new power gave him carte blanche to do whatever he wanted.

[knifeman]

❣ 1 AM - Animal Crossing OST ❣

➳

---

Once she was sitting down on a bench with Arthur and Hogan, Mieke started explaining her encounter, including her unintentional activation of her own Stand. She was finally able to fully calm herself, even if she couldn’t quite ignore the looks the little group got from passersby. Assessing the situation with a clearer head, it really hit her how absurd it all was.

“God, this is so weird! This time yesterday I was worrying about whether or not it would rain too much to display succulents outside.” She chuckled a little, “So, how have things been with you guys?”

Honestly, she just wanted to be distracter.

[LemonZest1337]

Hogan slid himself into a comfortable spot to lay down in front of the bench, making sure to have his head tilted towards Arthur and Mieke. Of coarse civilians would at him and get worried but at this point Hogan was just happy to no longer be in a moving car. He lay flat an motionless as Mieke explained her encounter. So this was obviously the work of a stand, and one that seemed to specialize in reviving the dead. Great so the one thing Hogan did really well was going to just be reversed by this simpleton, well that is if they became a problem. As of now they were using it in a "harmless" way, for a circus show to shock and entertain the masses. Though such flippant use of their gifts would garner attention for sure, especially that of other less harmless stand users. The power to bring back the dead would no doubt be a valued skill in any party, and if it fell into the hands of a less than lawful party then it would be a very large problem. And a lot of work. They should really find these guys and tell them to lay low before they got too exposed. But unfortunately his companions didn't speak crocodile so Hogan could only hope for his allies to follow his train of thought, and if not he might be able to guide them in that direction.

Hogan was so busy worrying about the stand users Mieke had run into he'd almost missed her question. Again they couldn't speak crocodile so Hogan simply turned to look at Arthur and let him explain what had happened. God Hogan was going to have to train these people like he'd trained Simon, that was going to be a chore...

[Lugubrious]

After a not-insignificant trek through midday traffic Arthur and his scaly friend wound up at another park, this one promising to contain at least one stand user. As he disembarked from his van and opened the way for Hogan to do the same, he heaved sigh in muted frustration at the time he'd wasted. This time, Arthur did not bother so much with fibbing, instead letting passers-by draw their own conclusions about the behemoth that lumbered alongside him as they made their way into the park. Surely they would see that Hogan was not aggressive or rampaging, after all, and mind their own business, as the denizens of crowded, inhospitable cities often did.

In a mercifully short span of time, the mustached man discovered the meek, pink-haired girl that he searched for, sitting on a bench with some electronics plugged in her ears. As he came near, Arthur made sure to step in front of her and give a short wave so that she'd notice him, but not be surprised. Once she was ready to talk to him, he sat down beside her, his weight causing the whole thing to rattle. While he didn't know exactly how to talk to someone like her, so young, delicate, and tremulous, her nerves took care of the potential problem for him and she spilled everything she had to offer.

So, the girl ran into a trio of performers, at least one of them capable of seeing her accidentally-manifested stand, and another endowed with the power of resurrection. Some of the other reality-defying feats performed in the orbit of the brothers' van could not be explained as neatly, but that didn't change the fundamental conclusion. Mieke just had her first official run-in with other stand users.

Once Mieke finished recounting recent events, a peaceful lull fell over the group, the ambiance particularly nice given their current surroundings. No doubt struck by what she'd witnessed, however, Mieke couldn't seem to stand the quiet, and after commenting on the abnormality of her new situation she asked Arthur what he accomplished. Waving his hand dismissively, he told her, “Bah, nothing to speak of. Just looked around and found nothing. Looks like you got both our shares of luck.” He then leaned forward a touch while looking sideways, resting his arms on his thighs. “The whole thing is weird, alright. I've been doing this for a while, miss, and trust me when I say there's always something new to keep you from gettin' settled. But eventually you get...y'know, adaptable. While you don't know what's comin', you can take it in stride. It gets easier, honest.”

Sighing again, he continued, “Not like you have a choice, poor thing. One thing I've seen in my work is that, for some reason or another, stand users tend to be drawn to one another. There's no runnin' from this life.” A chuckle shook him briefly.

[BCTheEntity]

@Old Amsterdam@ProPro
Though he at first nodded along agreeably with Leonard’s statements, the eyes of the not-quite-confidence-empowered Stand user widened with realisation of what Leonard implied, his Stand fading entirely in the process. After a moment of thought, consideration if you would about his possible future paths in life, Bugsy’s nodding intensified, though it was more of an awkward head-lolling.

‘Well, yes- I mean, you know, no- I mean, uh... I won’t be, you know, that sort of guy, right?’ Bugsy over-clarified rapidly, that false confidence clearly balking once faced with a contentious challenge, at least for now. ‘The sort of guy who uh, you know, doesn’t do bad things. I’m going down the straight and narrow from now on, is what I’m saying. I’ll become the cliff like Blue said, or at least stick to being a regular old square even if doing what I love doesn’t go the way it ought to! The squarest square who ever squared, because you know what? It’s hip to be square!’ This last statement was punctuated with a light gasp, and the muttered phrase ‘Ohh, that’s actually a really good name for him...’ with no further context.

‘Uhh. Okay, so that’s settled,’ Bugsy concluded. ‘So are you just gonna leave now, or do I go with you wherever? Because if not, I mean...’ It took him another couple of moments to consider whether he really ought to say what he was going to say next, but eventually head-lolled assuredly and asked ‘I wanna get your numbers. You two know what you’re talking about, obviously, and I reckon you might want updates on how things go for me, right?’

[Old Amsterdam]

---

Blue glanced at Leonard before she responded. "I think it would be beneficial for all involved if you took a ride back with my colleague here. The Foundation will be able to give you all the information you want and help you get settled. It can be a lot to adjust to, and he's better suited to keep you company until then than I am."

She pulled out her own phone, flipping through the contacts for a specific entry. Upon finding it she nodded to herself before speaking. "I have an important personal matter that demands my attention now that you're on the way to being settled. I'll check in on you when I get some free time."

With that said she moved away, hitting the dial button as she began to leave hearing range.

"You've got some explaining to do," the two men would hear before she left their range. "Why the hell am I running search and rescue and public relations and shit, Boss? You know this isn't what I do."

[LemonZest1337]

Hogan listened to two talk looking up at Arthur as he spoke of the time they spent getting no results and gave the girl some advice about getting used to this line of work. It was good to see him reassuring the poor girl, she looked so fragile and soft and not just in comparison to Arthur and Hogan but just by normal human standards. And Arthur was right about the never being able to get used to the things you see as a stand user, Hogan himself was a testament to that statement. Admittedly Mieke hadn't reacted that notably when they met back in the boss' office so perhaps Hogan wasn't as shocking as he thought he was. Either way this girl would obviously need support along the journey, especially at the start, since Arthur had already started giving some support Hogan decided he should give some too. Shifting his scaled bulk to face Mieke he slowly walked towards her and placed his head on her lap, just laying there looking up at her, he had no idea if this would help but Hogan had watched TV before and they did this hugging thing where they got really close and just sat there. To hogan that just reminded him of the zoo and lazing about in a pile of other crocodiles, but humans are not crocodiles. Hmm maybe hugs don't work if you're a crocodile...

[ProPro]

Leonard listened intently as Bugsy rambled on nervously, finding it rather amusing, even charming to an extent. Then the comedian declared that it was "hip to be square," and that's when Leonard couldn't help but let out a small chuckle. Bugsy was kind of pathetic, but in his own way that made him endearing too. At least when he owned it, made it his, rather than fight it. "Thus you have named your stand. Most agreeable. I find myself in accord with what Blue suggests. Should you lack other mean of transportation you can ride with me. Just take care to hold tight, as I have no spare helmet to provide. And before I forget, here is my card."

Leonard handed one of his hand-painted business cards to the man then gestured for Bugsy to follow him, heading out from the park and into the parking lot where he had his motorcycle ready to go. "The Speedwagon Foundation will be most fascinated in your abilities, Mr. Malone. They can offer study and training, if you so desire."

[BCTheEntity]

@ProPro
‘Uh, yeah, a ride would be nice,’ he agreed, smiling half-cocked and taking the business card. ‘I don’t know much about all this, this, “Stand” stuff, so learning a bit more about it would be pretty helpful. Hey, thanks again, Blue! You’re awesome, and stuff!’ he called as he was led away to Leonard’s motorcycle. Aside from a much rowdier biker couple going on a fairly reckless joyride past them partway through, the ride back to HQ wouldn’t be too eventful by any means.

@Old Amsterdam
In the meantime, the first thing Laurie’s boss would utter was ‘I’m well aware. You understand, I hope, the concept of over-specialisation? Perfecting one skill or set of skills at the expense of other roles?’ His voice was level, calm, but fairly kindly. ‘Frankly speaking, your ability to kill is as good as it’s going to get, and if not, regular missions will suffice to improve it. If you want to improve your ability to assassinate, you have to start working on other skills than sheer murder. The ability to integrate into social situations, or at least pretend to, is next on your list. To blend in, to make yourself seem friendly, if only for long enough to get to a target who you’re otherwise incapable of reaching. That is sensible, would you not say?’

[Old Amsterdam]

---

"Yeah, sure, and I just did that. Target secured and complacent and not a single injury to anyone. I don't like it." Her voice was smooth, but her irritation would be obvious to her Boss. He knew her better than anyone, after all. "This just felt like a waste of my talents. I didn't even get to flex Paralyzer except to travel. Please tell me this isn't all I'm going to be doing? They brought in a broken kid, for crying out loud. I can work with a crocodile and some guy who looks more muscle than brains, and hell even Leonard would be a suitable long term partner I think. But her? Bringing in a kid who knows nothing was bad, Boss. I don't like it. I can't stick with her and protect her and still finish missions but I do not like her being alone."

She was mildly surprised by the words that she'd just said. They were true. She didn't like Mieke being so unprepared and vulnerable. In that moment she began walking, making her way towards the girl's last location as she talked.

"I'm going to check on her. Do I need to return to HQ for my next briefing or are you gonna tell me?"