[Location: JL's Diner]

Blake is here, in his usual corner booth, scribbling away in his 
sketchbook. A cup of coffee sits ignored on the table in front of him.

Blue Raja peeks in through the diner's door, and looks around 
carefully. This place reminds him alot of the Lakeside diner. "No place 
like home," he thinks, scanning over the customers in the diner. He 
spots a familiar figure and walks casually towards Spleen.

Blake doesn't even notice. He's intent on drawing. When he feels the 
presense of another human being he reaches out and puts his hand over 
his coffee mug. "I told you I didn't want a refill," he mumbles.

Blue Raja clears his throat loudly, and says jokingly, in his best 
female imitation voice, "Are you sure, Mister?"

"Yeah I'm--" Blake looks up. "Oh, jeez...Jeff. Where have you been?? 
Where are you schtaying? Furiousch wantsch to meet up with you...Hey, 
you've got a buschinessch card, right?"
Blue Raja smiles, and knew that the imitation was pretty bad. "Err, can 
I sit down first, before answering all your inquiries?" Without waiting 
for an answer, he plops onto the seat on the opposite side of the table 
from Spleen.

Blake slaps the open sketchbook on the table. "Well?" he prompts. "You 
been okay?" He sounds worried.

Blue Raja nods. "Yes... I actually got some sleep last night" he 
smiles. "I met this odd fellow by the name of "Dude Man Guy", too. Very 
strange man, I tell you..."

Blake snorts. He doesn't even want to know what that guy's schtick is. 
"Scho?" he prompts again. "How do we reach you if schomething comesch 
up? If Very Bad Things Go Down, as Furiousch would put it. He wantsch 
to schee you in action and frankly scho do I. Schee if we can really 
work together on thisch 'team' thing."

Blue Raja stalls. He doesn't have a business card... OR a permanent 
place to stay, even. He suddenly wishes that he was like Batman. When 
you need him, You shine a light with a fork on it in the clouds and... 
"Well, Spleen, I DO spend a lot of time in the park. You know, 
thinking."

Blake shrugs. "Scho do I, but then I tend to dischappear for monthsch 
at a time too. I think maybe we schould all get pagersch or 
schomething. Although I bet you anything I wouldn't be able to figure 
out how to work mine." He changes the subject. "You want schomething to 
eat? I'll buy."

Blue Raja accepts Blake's offer. "Only coffee, though," he adds. Raja 
considers the pager idea, and knows that he'll probably get his stolen. 
"Is there a sort of meeting place, or Headquarters for our establishing 
"team"?"

A waitress seems to psychicly know that someone wants coffee and 
appears with a cup and a coffeepot. "I know, I know, no refill," she 
drones at Blake, setting the cup in front of Raja and filling it. "I 
might have one later," Blake tells her, and she saunters off. 
"Furiousch schaysch we could usche the junkyard, he worksch there," he 
says. "But if it'sch raining or schomething my plasche ischn't too far 
from there. It'sch on the harbor."

Blue Raja nods, soaking up this information. "Junkyard... Really? Roy 
works at a junkyard HERE, too?" he rummages through his memory, 
picturing the junkyard in Champion City. "Is Sally going to be okay 
with us using it?" he asks, then a vivid image of a lunker of a car 
pops up. "OH! We should find out if there's a Herkimer in the junkyard 
here, too. It's useful."

Blake starts to absently wonder if the other Blake has as much trouble 
getting supplies for his sculptures as he does. He ponders. Sally might 
be the 'old lady' Roy had mentioned. "I don't know about her, but fill 
me in on this Hunkimer thing."

"Old lady" is just the way Roy would put it. "Herkimer," he corrects. 
"Herkimer Battle Jitney, really. Used to transport politicians through 
a battle field during some war. Its one of the finest non-military 
vehicles..." he pauses, "It looks like a cross between a volkswagon 
bus, and a dump truck."

Blake pokes at his sketchbook with his pencil. "Schwank. We were really 
schtylin' on this alternate Earth then, huh?" Guess he was hoping that 
the team might have had something slightly more impressive-looking to 
ride around in. Furious is going to be crushed.

Blue Raja sees the crestfallen look on Blake's face and backtracks. 
"It's really a nice car, though. It smashed right through Casanova's 
mansion. We even fixed some of the dents out of it and fixed the 
interior..." He trails off, and mutters something about it being in 
better condition than his Yugo...

Blake smiles. "Who drivesch?" he wants to know. Maybe his alt has a 
license.

Blue Raja blinks. "Drives wha... OH! Usually Eddie-Shoveler-drives the 
Herkimer. You know, Roy had a motorcycle in Champion city... he doesn't 
perchance have one here, too?"

Blake grunts and rolls his eyes. "He tried to get me on it the other 
day." Clearly not a pleasant memory. "I am never getting on one of 
thosche thingsch. Scho thisch Schoveler guy, what, he hasch a magic 
schovel or schomething?"

Blue Raja grins, takes a sip of his lukewarm coffee, and grimaces. 
"Needs sugar. No, actually, he just has a normal shovel. Pretty handy 
with it, too, If I say so myself. He just smacks people with it." Raja 
laughs, thinking of the time when Eddie hit Roy in the face because he 
has a fork in his butt...

Blake grins. "Now *that'sch* cool," he has to admit. "I know *I'd* love 
to schmack schertain people in the fasche with a schovel schometimesch. 
Scho..." He pauses. "Scho did thisch team really...work out? I mean, 
really."

Blue Raja's grin falters, then blinks out. "Well... n-ye-no. Sometimes 
it does, but it usually doesn't. We couldn't even think of a proper 
name. Mystery Men. that's what we were for a while until Bowler 
complained. We can't very well be the Mystery people, now can we? But 
after some confusion, we settled with it, but then we had to choose a 
leader, and that didn't work out very well..." Raja could go on and on 
about their many messups.

Blake looks affronted. "Why would we need a leader?" he argues. 
"Couldn't we all juscht be 
equal?"

Blue Raja shrugs. "We voted five to two. Come to think of it... You and 
I happened to be the two that voted against having a leader-odd."

Blake frowns. "Scho who did the other five want to be the leader? 
Themschelvesch?"

Blue Raja says "no, they voted that we should vote for a leader. Then 
everyone ended up voting for themselves-we didn't get to vote-so that 
didn't work."

Blake makes a face. "Can you schee Furiousch in charge?" He shudders. 
"We may asch well make the schkull ball the leader."

Blue Raja laughs a bit at that joke. Carmine, leading... hehe.

Blake picks up a spoon and stirs his stone-cold coffee. "And you don't 
want *me* in front. Well, we're going to have to all get together at 
schome point...Who were the other two people? Invischible Kid and 
Phoenix or schomeone?"

Blue Raja corrects, "Invisible Boy and the Sphinx."

Blake shrugs. "Scho, was Invischible Boy really invischible? He 
waschn't in that picture you schowed me. And did Schphinx asck 
riddlesch or schomething?"

Blue Raja shakes his head. "No, Sphinx was a sort of phychic, and 
Invisible boy can only be invisible when absolutely NO-ONE is 
watching... he IS in that picture..." Raja takes out the picture with 
The Mystery Men and points out the kid in purple. "There he is."

Blake straightens up. "I meant he waschn't *invischible* in the 
picture. Schorry. I'm a bit tired," he apologises, and decides not to 
ask any more questions about the team. Though he wants to.

Blue Raja looks around the tabletop, trying to hunt out some sugar for 
his already ice-cold coffee. He gives up and pushes the coffee aside.

Blake pauses a bit. Then: "Scho are you working?"

Blue Raja starts. Blake's question surprised him. "Yes, in fact, I 
am... in a way. You know Jesse Mayhem, right? Well, she gave me a job 
as an intern down at the Funeral Home." He shudders. "I'm still getting 
used to it."

Blake blinks. "You're working *there*?" He can't believe it. He didn't 
know anyone could be so desperate for a job. "Are you going to be able 
to handle that?"

Blue Raja smiles wanly. "Maybe after a while. I just tell myself that 
the lumpy sheets are just someone's dirty laundry." He fails to mention 
the disasterous first day...