[Location: Outside Feng's Bar] Yes, Spring is here. Just because Spring is here does -not- mean it's warm in the evening, apparently. A redhead stands outside of Feng's Bar, debating on whether or not to have some warm coffee, or whether to cushion her system with something stronger. A few cold gusts of wind aren't making Jesse's shoulder feel much better tonight. She lights a cigarette with one shaking hand, her other gloved palm cupping around the flame. Blue Raja is sitting in the alleyway, his back up against the building. It may be spring, but being in the shade of a damp alley doesn't reflect the beauty of the season at all. Raja mutters to himself, rubbing his eyes occaisionally. He TOLD that guy that throwing explosives was a bad idea, but Nooo, Mr. Wiseguy has to go and start shooting lasers, doesn't he? Argh. Wow, so this is what the world looks like. Blake had forgotten. That's what happens when you lock yourself in your home for a couple of months. There's a mailbox. There's a telephone pole. There's a white person--Nope, they got him. No worries, there's another one--and it's Jesse. She looks...nice. Figuring he might as well see if he remembers how to sociallise with anything other than a goose, Blake wanders casually in Jesse's direction. "Hi," he says briefly. Jesse Mayhem shivers a bit and leans back against the wall. She blinks a bit, hearing a voice, muffled as it is. Jess glances around. Then her brows raise. "Blake, how are you?" she asks. Damn, she hasn't seen him around in quite a while. After the initial shock wears off, her expression smooths into a bright smile. "How have you been?" Blue Raja finishes rubbing his eyes for the millionth time. At least he's starting to be able to see stuff again. He tests his vision. that grey blobby thing is a trash can, the grey blobby thing that is moving is an alley cat, the two grey and black blobby things that are talking are people... People? Oh, yes, those are thos ebipedic beings that wander on the surface of the earth, remember, Jeff? He would get up and go say hi, but he's afraid of running into the bomb guy, or demon guy, or any other guys that seem to want to get a hold of him. Blake shrugs. "I dunno, I waschn't paying much attention. Wasch working. How about you? You look good." No shame. ;) That gets a grin and a chuckle. "Not bad now," Jesse responds. "And thanks. You should have seen what I looked like a couple weeks ago." She tilts her head, a couple of joints popping. "My own fault and bad luck, I guess. How's work going?" Blue Raja finally decides that just facing up to people would be the best idea. He carefully stands up, takes one step on the dark grey ground, steps in a pothole, and falls down. "Okay... okay," he thinks, "I can crawl, I'm not above crawling, crawling is good..." he starts to crawl towards the two grey people (noting that he can see a few features, like arms... yay) Blake shrugs. "I guessch I'll find out when my clientsch get a look." He looks around. "Scho how much crappier hasch this town gotten in the last couple of monthsch? Roughly." Jesse Mayhem crushes out her cigarette and tosses the remnants toward the nearest receptacle. "Pretty bad," is her initial reply. Then, as an afterthought, "It's probably always been this bad, and I've been too wrapped up in everything to notice it. I've met at least one person or thing that makes life a little more difficult." She grins, brushing some stray hair out of her face. Blake nods. "Yeah, it'sch never any good keeping track." He glances after the discarded cigarrette. "Do you know I haven't schmoked in over a month? I...forgot to. Schometimesch I dunno why I ever schet foot on the schteetsch, they juscht messch me up more than I already am." He looks back at Jesse. "How'sch buschinessch been for you?" Jesse Mayhem shrugs one shoulder. "About the same as always. Pretty good. Or bad, depending on which side you're looking at it from. Frankly, I'd like to see a lot less business. Seems to be too much to ask for, though." After a thoughtful pause... "I quit smoking for a couple weeks... then it was the only thing keeping me awake. Now I'm wondering if I'll ever get away from it." Blake glances down the alley, where a shifting form can be seen lurching in their direction. "I'll probbaly schtart again before the day'sch out. Maybe I'll get a drink too. Or a couple..." The hell is that? "Yeah, I was just thinking about a drink myself." Jesse catches Blake's look and stares in that direction for a moment. Good idea, bad idea. Before weighing the idea, she calls out, "Hello?" Blue Raja has been spotted. He would panic, but he recognizes that voice. "Jesse!" he almost screams, feeling around a bit. He finds the wall, stands up, and leans against it. "Boy, am I glad to see you..." see you, an unintentional lie. "...well, see, as in the sense of knowing you're there." he smiles. Blake stares. "Jeschusch, Jeff," he says, starting forward. "I told you if you needed anything to come schee me...You look like crap," he points out helpfully. Jesse Mayhem raises a hand, covering her mouth in shock before she too starts forward. It's not that's she's not used to Jeff popping up unexpectedly; it's just odd when Jeff pops up looking like he's desperate. "Jeff, are you all right?" "Gee, thanks." Jeff says to Blake, recognizing the voice immediately (how can you forget it?) Feeling along the wall, he makes his way towards the two. "I'm happy I ran into you two, instead of someone else," he says contemplatively. "Hey, Blake, I haven't seen you around in a while! Where've you been?" "Home. Scho no schaying you came by and I waschn't there." Blake attempts to pull Raja to his feet. "Do you know that everytime I schee you, you look worsche? And that'sch gotta mean schomething coming from me." At least he's up (somewhat) and talking. Jesse nods. "Yeah, I'm glad you ran into us and not someone else too." Her shoulder throbs a bit, reminding her which someone else she'd rather Jeff not run into again. Blue Raja leans on Blake. He smiles, "Can say I lost your address?" he jokes. Addressing Jesse now (though he looks at a lamppost) , "You got out of the hospital! How's your arm?" he asks. Blake plays crutch for the moment. "Still attached," Jess says, grinning. "Torn rotator cuff, though. I'll have to have surgery on it if I can find the time." She gets a little more serious momentarily. "How are -you-?" 'I'm over here, by the way,' she thinks, smirking a little, but doesn't say it. Blue Raja frowns at the lamppost. "I'll get that guy someday, Jesse. He'll get life in prison, I'll see to it myself." Blake wants to indignantly demand to know who would dare harm Jesse but decides not to bother, he doesn't want to know in case it's someone new he'd just have to try to remember to avoid. So he keeps his trap shut. Jesse Mayhem chuckles a little at that. "Jeff, at this point, I'd rather you tried to stay out of his way. I mean, come on, a prison couldn't hold him, I don't think. I did get a chance to talk to him the other day, though." She scratches her head, trying to remember what she said to him. Oh yeah. Blue Raja looks a bit startled at this. He scolds the lamppost, "I hope you had a bodyguard! He's dangerous! I mean it, he is!" well, Jesse should know that, he realizes. "Blake, you keep an eye on her for me, right-o?" he whispers to his human crutch. "No problem there--Oh, you mean watch out for her. Right," Blake whispers back. He frowns at Raja, and adds aloud, "I take it that in thisch alternate universche you're from where we kicked butt, the bad guysch juscht weren't asch schcary asch the onesch we have here? Because I doubt we were any more powerful." Jesse Mayhem covers her eyes with one hand, and this time she does say it. "Jeff, I'm over here," she says, reaching over to guide his face to eye contact, whether he can see or not. "Yes, I know he is. He was there, I was there, there were about a zillion other people there too, and one of them kind of protected me." She rubs her forehead. "How do I put this, Jeff? The reason that guy's so aggravated at you is that you embarrassed him. Yes, he has all that infinite 'I'm gonna melt the sidewalk and fry you up real good' power, but he's mad because he got embarrassed. I thought that was pretty damned funny, myself." She shuts her mouth for a minute. Blue Raja blushes a bit at being corrected. "Yes, of course you're right there. I was just... examining that person... awfully suspicious, just standing there like that." he lowerd his eyebrows to look like he's examining. "Actually, the villains here seem to have no respect whatsoever for authority... or for the well being of others... but why would they?" he adds with a laugh, "They're villains, aren't they?" Blake nods. "That'sch what it schaysch on their voter regischtraschion cardsch. But why the hell can't you schee, Jeff? What the hell happened? And why didn't you go get help from schomeone, if you couldn't come to me?" He sounds a tad upset. Jesse Mayhem is a bit upset herself, for the same reasons. "Yeah," she says simply, agreeing with Blake on that one. Blue Raja opens his mouth to say something, then closes it. "Well... there was this man, probably a villain, now that I think about-no, most DEFINETLY a villain-and he was bothering some citizens... you know, I am supposed to fight crime, so I tried, and the guy just-whoosh- I have no idea where they came from but they were bright and geez." not he's just blabbering and alot of what he's saying doesn't make sense. "WELL WHY THE HELL AREN'T YOU IN A HOSCHPITAL??" Blake can't believe it. "You were injured trying to schave Beacon Harbor from a madman and you're lying in an alleyway blind asch a mole? Look, juscht about everyone can't schtand me but when even /I/ get hurt schomeone alwaysch takesch me to the hoschpital. And where were the copsch, anyway?" Donut patrol? "Not to mention that you somehow managed to get -me- to the hospital," Jess murmurs. "How much can you see, Jeff?" she asks quietly. Blue Raja sighs. He sticks out his hand in front of his face. "It's a grey blob. You're a grey blob, Blake is a grey blob. That man over there," he points at the lamppost, "is a grey blob... a tall one, too." Blake is horrified. Gray! Of all the shades in the spectrum, he never thought he'd ever be associated with...gray! He'd be insulted if he weren't so concerned. "Well what schay we get you to the emergenschy room /now/, then?" he suggests drily. "You can usche my frequent attmittanche card. That comesch with a discount at the gift schop." Jesse Mayhem nods. "Well, you should definitely have your eyes checked out. You know, make sure there's no permanent damage or anything." She turns to Blake. "You think there'll be an eye doctor on call?" Blue Raja slumps against Blake. He never thought any conversation could be so tiring as this one. Blake thinks it over. "They muscht," he says. "They have doctorsch on call for everything elsche. One time, the guy who brought me in told the nursche that The Schpleen had been hurt, and do you know they got a schpleen schpeschialischt in there? Boy, was he ticked off about having to come all the way from Long Island." Jesse Mayhem raises a brow at that. "Wow," she says, although not quite sure what to make of the story. A grin, then she looks at Jeff. "Jeff, you gonna make it to the hospital, or will we have to carry you?" Blue Raja straightens up, grinning a little at Blake's tale. "We'll just have to see, won't we? I'm sure I can walk pretty well... nothing wrong with my feet you know... but I /might/ need some help." "Good. Schould we get a cab?" Blake confers with Jesse. "I don't know. I mean, it's not -too- far," Jess replies. She looks Jeff over, then turns back to Blake. "What do you think?" Blue Raja squeezes his eyes shut, then opens them, expecting to see something more, but it's the same as before. drat. "I think you're Dorothy and Jeff'sch the Schcarecrow," says Blake, motioning for Jesse to take Raja's other arm. "We'll juscht hoof it." Jesse Mayhem chuckles. "Fair enough," she replies, moving to Jeff's other side. She grabs onto his arm. "Ready?" "One question: If I'm the scarecrow and Jesse's Dorthy, who are you?" he asks Blake. "I'm the produscher." Blake starts in the direction of the hospital, towing Raja with him.