Allegedly, anyway. HULK SIGHTING plastered across the headlines of a newspaper in Arizona. UNCONFIRMED, but still enough to have Jess packing a bag for out west. She tells Ben Urich she'll be back in a couple weeks, just wants to poke her nose around, doesn't get her hopes up to expect much out of it. Or, at least ⸺⸺ she's trying not to. . . call it fate or cruel irony , but Jessica had been in Arizona when she learned Bruce had died. And she can't help but put her faith in it being the place she finds out HE'S ALIVE.
Stranger things have happened.
She spends the first day getting to Columbus, Ohio ⸺⸺ a litany of questions plaguing her mind for when she sees him. IF she sees him. Where had he been ? How long had he been dead ? Why now ? How now ? Why hadn't he told her he was alive ? Has he told anyone else ? What is he doing out here ? Is he. . . OKAY ? She. . . remembers all too vividly the sight of his corpse on that slab ⸺⸺ the mental visual ripping through her heart, TORMENTING HER, at each recollection.
But, as FATE would have it, that night in her motel room, Jessica gets her CONFIRMATION ⸺⸺ BRUCE IS ALIVE. The cherry on top was the fact he was spotted even closer than Arizona, now in a town in Minnesota instead. Another day's drive, if she pushes it. And she will for him.
To see him breathing again with her own two eyes.
The moment her foot hits the town, Jess immediately gets to work ⸺⸺ giving Bruce's physical description to anyone who would listen. Small town, it didn't take long to gather INTEL. An elderly couple who noticed some ❛ out-of-towner ❜ hovering near a half-eaten plate of diner food. A couple teenagers who saw ❛ that scrawny new guy ❜ stealing clothes from a donation bin.
Both the diner and aforementioned bin were near the same motel. It was worth a try, she'd check every damn room if she had to. Though LADY LUCK must still be smiling upon her today, because as soon as Jess flashes Bruce's picture to the check-in receptionist, he's giving her the room number.
Sheesh ⸺⸺ talk about a severe lack of ANONYMITY, noting to herself that if she ever needs to go missing, she won't do so in a small town.
Deep breaths. Her heart is thundering out of control, there's a lump in her throat. Everything feels so. . . OVERWHELMING. She can hardly breathe as she raises a shaking fist to the door. Knockknockknock.
