Escape

Robert E. O. Speedwagon died without ever bearing any children. A lifelong bachelor, yet a man who committed his life to those he considered family, the once slum-stuck scoundrel went on to make his fortune in America and create the Speedwagon Foundation. Although his money came from oil, the foundation set about seeking preservation for the land and creatures of the Earth, and the beauty of humanity and the world it shares. However, at the center of it all, the Speedwagon foundation had one goal in its heart, to watch and protect the family of the man who taught him the value of the world he now cherished so deeply. No matter how far out they spread, or what bizarre circumstances they may find themselves, the Foundation would safeguard the Joestar family with everything in its power, just as that man once had for humanity itself.

It's true, Robert Speedwagon never had any children of his own. However, in the wake of World War Two, after the troops returned to their homes across the world, those who didn't left a void in hearts and homes innumerable. One of these hearts could not contend with that void, and stepped onto the tracks of an in-bound freight train towards the oilfields of Texas, carrying the child she did not intend to leave behind alone in this cold post war world. Fate intended otherwise however, and while the child may have been left in this world, he would not be alone. As Speedwagon approached to inspect what he believed was only a train bound for the development of his fortune, he found it also carried the future of his legacy and those who would tend it. He named the child Anthonio, after another man who facilitated great change in his life, and while not feeling fit for the role of a father, nevertheless attempted to raise the child who appeared along the tracks of fate into his life. Despite not always being in each other's lives, Anthonio and his adoptive father held a bond of respect and care that would facilitate an inheritance of humbleness and undying care into the boy. Even after the eventual passing of Speedwagon the first, the boy would grow into a young man who carried on the foundations goals, his Fathers goals, and the children of the family he so loved would become his own charge. Italy, Japan , He would travel the world keeping watch on those who carried the Joestar blood no matter where they were in their wayward fated lives. Be it through involvement in shadowy organizations, or a simple push to safety out of a snowdrift, Anthonio Speedwagon protected the legacy of that family as well as growing his own, growing the Foundation with every year. On his fathers deathbed, Anthonio, still just a young man, swore he would remain a bachelor for life just as his father had. “Sometimes I forget you’re still just a kid, see’in how tall and serious you’ve gotten” Robert laughed to himself between soft bouts of coughing. “ I'm proud of ya Anthon, so very proud, and I already know you’re gonna do a helluva lot more good for this world than I’ve ever done” The old man's wink reflected in the teary bright eyes of his young son, “ but don't go around making promises like that yeah? The world's just too big for it”. Smiling to himself, he remembered the days he made so many promises just like that, the journeys he went on to fulfill them. Then, Robert E. O Speedwagon, founder of the great Speedwagon foundation and Godfather to the Joestar family, finally caught up to his dear best friend.

The wisdom of his Father proved true, inevitably. During his stint in Genoa Italy, Anthonio met someone. The daughter of a baker who hung her paintings in the front of her fathers shop, paintings of the great American roadways she had always heard stories of, roads that stretched across the entire continent. Anthonio would one day take her to see those roads, and together would bring three children into the world, the oldest being Ferrari , who bore a striking similarity to his grandfather despite not sharing any blood. The second child would be named Audi, an aggressively ambitious girl whose sharp and shrewd tendencies naturally led her to inherit the management of a majority of the foundation when she got older. And the final child, the youngest, whose birth would herald the sudden and timely death of their mother, that child's name was-.

“ We gotta talk about Harley”, Audi unceremoniously appeared from around a corner into the poorly lit hallway. Her slim, short silhouette was illuminated almost eerily by the red glow of the emergency exit sign that hung loosely right above her long auburn hair. Ferrari thought she looked like some kind of urban demon who stalked the dingy rooms of americano motels and diners, and was just about as horrified to see her. He looked at her in a wide eyed state of shock at the sheer audacity of the non-chelauntness of his sister, considering how his evening had gone up to this point, “Harley? You wanna talk about Harley?”. Audi simply nodded, and a silence was held between the two for a moment, until Ferrari finally broke it with a breakneck sprint her way not even noticing the freshly unconscious Tako-He he trampled on his warpath. “Harley?! How about we talk about the great new world record for bitchiness that just got broken huh?! All hail the great and mighty bitch, ruiner of all good nights and great evenings!” Ferrari lifted up the petite woman by the collar of her long brown leather jacket and shook her to emphasize each word. Despite being nearly a foot off the ground, Audi’s face went unfazed, the elevation allowing her to look straight into her brother's eyes, “ He finally killed someone Ferrari, two young girls in Louisiana”.

“I- what? Audi I don't understand..” Ferrari felt his foreheld start to go cold, like someone had tied rubberbands around It and followed up with his neck. “Yeah, ya do, and I told you this would happen too didn't I?” Her dark green eyes sparkled with a reflection of pink in them, a tell that always showed when she read his mind, something that normally would have pissed him off to no end. This time however, Ferrari just put her down and turned around to pace the dark hall, palming his forehead as if to try and peel those rubberbands off his head. “Look Audi, it's… It's not his fault you know that he-” , “Harley Speedwagon, his Stand really is unique among the unique ” Take-He interrupted, still spread out on floor clearly having regained at least some consciousness. “ It's well known that a Stand reflects its user in all of its essence, Indeed to those in the world of the supernatural, it's more natural to judge a person by their Stand than by the physical self.” The man spoke with such a wise and stoic tone you’d never guess he’d just had the snot beaten out of him, and he rose himself to an upright sitting position, “ the youngest of the Speedwagons Stand, it alters him from his usual timid self into something fierce, a savage man who finds pleasure in the pain he inflicts with his abilities, one could only conclude this is who he truly is in his heart of hearts.” Ferrari now mimicked his sister's deadpan expression, turning to face the man as he paced his way past him, “ Hey, dipshit?” Ferrari drove his foot hard into the man's large head, once again flooring him, “ How bout’ you don't gimme a lore dump on my own damn baby brother!? Thanks!” Shoving his hands into the pockets of his racesuit, he slumped his back half down and paced once again up and down the hallway, stepping on the mountainous obstacle of a man now once again crowding the path. “What the hell’s up with this anyway?” shooting his posture back up, Ferrari gestured to Tako-He with both hands, “ thought I would take the news too well? Hadda’ send in one of your goons to rough me up first?!” Audi walked over and looked him once again right in the eyes, and even without her ability she could see the heartbreak and fear behind his rage, Ferrari had never been hard , his eyes always showed exactly what he was thinking and feeling, “ I had to make sure you hadn't lost your touch, I need you to go get him Ferrari.” Hadn’t lost his touch? She thought Harley was going to hurt him… his little brother, their little brother! He didn’t want to believe it, but Paint It Black was an inherently violent Stand, Audi was right that it was only a matter of time before something like this happened. But he refused to believe that Harley was anything like his ability, anything like… like himself. “He’s still hiding out there in New Orleans, he’s a danger to others and to himself, you need to find him as soon as possible.” Ferrari gave out a heavy, shook breath that was the only sound that filled the hall for a moment, aside from the soft beat of his footsteps through the yellowing carpet, his own silhouette now being lit by the red glow until he snapped his fingers causing the lights to flicker on with some struggle across the floor with a bright fluorescence that burned all in companies darkness adjusted eyes. “ Alright Audi, I'll go get him, I’ll bring Harley home.” Now was his turn to look her in the eye, sharpening his gaze into one their grandfather would have instantly recognized, “And when I do, we’re going to help him, help him through all of this, alright?” As he turned to leave around the same corner Audi had come in, she shouted after him, “ He killed the daughters of a prolific gang leader out there, they’re Stand users, they’ll be looking for him”. Audi saw his shadow pause for a moment, before a thumbs up shot from around the corner, and disappeared once more.

“Ferrari Speedwagon, They say he can take the strings of fate into his hands and manipulate his own luck, truly a fitting ability for the eldest son who walks his own path.” Audi looked at Tako-He, now sitting up again with a large bruise on his head, her unemotional demeanor shook slightly for once, “ Ferrari’s right Tako… You gotta learn to shut up sometimes”

Ferrari knelt down next to the 1999 pontiac firebird, sniffing its tires vehemently. “Oh yeah- that's the stuff man”, he quickly scuttled around to the other side of the car, the slap of his hands and knees on the cold concrete echoing through the large empty garage, "that’s just the smell I needed, looks like Streakman really came through gettin’ ya those new tires huh babe?”. Standing up just to slump over the hood of his car, staring up at the cement ceiling, Ferrari could finally collect his thoughts, could finally let himself breathe. He let himself smile, even if it would fade soon he would try to enjoy the quiet, the feel of cold metal against his back and warm damp air around his body, “Guess we got our hopes up a little too soon huh?”. He slid down off the hood and into the driver's seat, breathing in the scent of the warm still air hanging off the soft gray seats, the smell of home. The sound of home was a smooth hum that turned into a roar, and mellowed back into the rumble of no limits, everything ahead of them and nothing left behind but the winds of whim that followed behind their wheels, and that's how Ferrari could have lived forever. The firebird was a lime green, and though well taken care of she wasn’t perfectly tuned, but Ferrari liked her like that. “Adds character” he’d tell his mechanics, “personality even, ya never know what a car with a few screws loose could do ya know?”. They didn’t know, but they weren't about to argue with the car-freak nepotism baby who wrote their checks, the one who’s license plate read “Escape”. “Lets go bring Harley home yeah? Then it's just all us again, us and the road.” Audi never could fool Ferrari, but the one person who could fool him was himself, and she knew that.