The Universe's Mixer

"Well, sooner or later our Jane Doe has to wake up."

Jo woke up to the feeling of a brick hitting her in the head, and wondering how exactly her brain hadn't gotten bashed in. Everything felt numb, even before she opened her eyes to see where she was. It felt weird, to say the least. She was pretty sure this had never happened to her before, and she was certain that whatever feeling this was, she would do anything to not feel it again. She swallowed as she opened her eyes, feeling the brief satisfaction of something going down her dry throat before it instantly became dry again. She blinked.

She was facing a while ceiling. She briefly wondered if she was dead or worse. Moving her head slighty, she winced at the brief pain that she felt as she reached up to feel a white bandage over a spot on her head. Confusion was the first thing in her mind. When had this happened? She tried to move anything else. It took a while for her to feel her toes and for them to move. But nothing suggested where she was, not even when she propped herself up on her elbows to take a look. Well, she was on a bed, which was something. Her clothes were gone too, and a weird piece of clothing that wasn't hers was on her. She didn't like this, the feeling of knowing something yet not knowing something at the same time.

Her hands felt strangely empty despite the wires in her skin. She wasn't sure what belonged there, but she felt an emptiness as it seemed to hold something invisible for a moment. Turning her head, she brushed her hair out of the way, wondering if anything was ever going to be the same.

"Where am I?"

Nobody was around anymore. Lex had vanished. House had vanished. Jack had almost gone to the police to file reports on them like the newspaper said to do, but decided that it would be a really not good idea for him to waltz into the police station just willy nilly like that.

He was, after all, a wanted man.

But this stupid statue of the stupid Boy in Blue was completely worthless to him without the doctor there. And without Lex there, he didn't know what to do with it. He'd drawn a mustache on it after a week, then a goatee. Then he'd put a bowler on it. And then fashioned a cape out of a shower curtain.

All of this, though, got dull. Got boring. There was no fun in not having anybody to laugh at things with. His asylum was empty. He had no cohorts. He had no accomplices. He didn't even have any inmates. They were all dead. His henchmen were getting bored with life and spent more time off doing their own thing, like getting drunk. His supply of mouthwash and cigars was running painfully low.

With no heroes in the City, it had gotten really really boring.

Everything was boring.

That's what led Jack to finding a moving dollie and maneuvering the statue onto it. It's what had him strolling down the street, whistling to himself. It's what caused him to dump the stupid statue - decorations and all - onto the steps of some shop in the middle of town.

Now it was somebody else's problem.

Shame he hadn't been able to get a sample of that blood though. Maybe he'd find another way to do it. He had plans that he wanted to see through. He knew, of course, that letting somebody find this thing and take off with it wasn't the best way to go about those plans, but he was so very lonely.

Jack dragged the dollie behind him as he strolled back to the asylum. Maybe this would kick up some excitement in this stupid city.

Willow didn't leave her shop very often. Her apartment was located above it and given her past with The City, it seemed better to keep to herself. Safer. Since Xander had disappeared from The City most of her social interactions were either awkward with a side of painful or entirely disastrous.

But the witch needed groceries. She decided to put on her brave perky face in her quest for Pocky. And other things that were much healthier and less Japanese yummy chocolatey goodness.

She stepped outside her shop, locking the door behind her which had been stamped with a closed sign since six o'clock. Willow mentally reviewed her shopping list while watching her feet take steps on the sidewalk. In her failure to look forward she bumped into someone on the sidewalk outside.

"Oh, sorry! I wasn't paying..."

Willow looked up in time to see the person was more of a statue. Of Superman. With a goatee drawn on it.

"Oh."

Willow blinked.

"Shit."