JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Thin Air

Chapter Twenty-One: Enter The Foundation (Part II)

The woman led Team Joestar into what looked a room reserved for meetings, right behind the lobby of the building.

"I believe this will be a better place for us to speak." she said in an accent that didn't belong to one signal region of the world, but mostly gave off the sound of someone who came from Hong Kong.

"But there's no furniture or anything here. It's empty." Josuke noted.

"That's exactly it. Excuse me for a second. Also, I'd like to ask that everyone here switch off their cellphones."

The woman then snapped her fingers and within the blink of an eye, well... it looked like nothing changed.

"What just happened?" Monica asked.

"Please, follow me." she said, walking out of the same door she and the group entered just moments prior. Instead of seeing the generic looking lobby or waiting room they came in from, they were now somewhere that very much resembled an airport lounge, but instead of tarmac and aircraft being the spectacle outside the windows, they were instead surrounded by a tropical garden.

"That, ladies and gentlemen, was the Speedwagon Foundation's prototype teleportation room. I just brought us to the Compound's meeting room, which is inside our greenhouse," she extended her right hand towards Josuke. "You can call me Anne." 

Monica and Clapton were amazed, while Shizuka simply acknowledged it. She'd seen many extraordinary achievements being done by the Foundation, such things were normal for her.

"That was quite the introduction," Josuke said warmly accepting the woman's greeting. "Let's sit down somewhere, shall we?"

"Of course," Anne said, and she directed to group to a table that sat five people, among the many sets of pristine looking tables and chairs that were situated around the room. "How may I help you?"

"I guess I'll start with a bit of an icebreaker, something that you folks here are more used to," he said. He set his messenger bag on the table and pulled out a portfolio containing the papers he had printed out at Staples.

"These are all the new Stands I've documented since the last time I visited a Speedwagon facility. How long has it been... three years?"

"This... is very impressive!" Anne said, taking the portfolio and skimming through the pages. "Thirty-six pages worth of Stand Users in only three years, you've already beat Dr. Kujo's record of 30 in four years!" 

Josuke smiled at the praise he was being given.

"Now, now, it's not a competition," he said meekly. "We both have the same duty. Doing our jobs properly is what matters, not the numbers."

"Of course! Please, forgive my zest. Even though I don't have a Stand myself, I'm very intrigued by them."

"I appreciate your curiosity," Josuke said. "And speaking of Stands," he turned to look at Clapton. "Show Anne the Stand User you found."

With a smile on his face, he displayed Bowie, nestled in his huge hands.

"That little guy, or girl... is a Stand User?" Anne asked.

"He sure is." Clapton said.

"Oh, my... I don't think we've ever had an animal Stand User being presented here since... long before I started working here. Don't worry, I'll arrange something for him."

Anne pressed a button on a small control panel on her side of the table. A holographic screen the length of the table popped up, hovering above it. She pressed a few of its digital buttons, after which the screen disappeared as quickly as it came. Judging by how fast she operated it, she must've been an expert at using this sort of tech.