Darkest timeline!

[raptorcanaria]

She fades into existence, not by the door but by the Bar, which is convenient because as soon as Black Canary appears she slumps forward, holding on to the bartop for support. Her other hand wraps around her midsection, clutching it in a way that suggests cramps maybe, or indigestion, or a sudden urge to keep her innards in her torso.


She's older than you've seen her. And in full costume but maybe not the one you're used to, with the armoured shoulders and the throat, and the folded wings on her back. She's also pale - very pale. Dangerous levels of blood loss pale.

Keeping her head down, she breathes. In and out, centring herself, telling herself that she's done, it's over, she's safe. Hopefully.

Only then does she gather the strength to lift her gaze and look around, now genuinely surprised.

What kind of afterlife is this?

Comments

[pullsneedles]

Lucas missed the fading in when he walks in from the gardens, and he hadn't seen the costume before, either.

But he knows. It jerks in his gut the instant he sees her.

He knows.

He wants to run, but he can't move faster than a walk, his eyes wide. He doesn't stop until he's right by her side, the easier for her to hear him when he murmurs in a trembling voice, "Miss Dinah...."

[raptorcanaria]

She ordered an orange juice when she remembered to, figuring out the bar pretty quickly out of necessity, and seriously beginning to ponder food, when she notices him.

And the look she gives him is sympathetic, but puzzled with no hint of recognition.

"Sorry, sweetheart," she says gently when he says her name. "I don't - do I know you?"

She's sure she doesn't, but the way he's looking at her... she needs to apologise for much more than just not knowing who he is.

[pullsneedles]

He smiles just a little. It's almost funny.

"Shoot, I don't mean t'startle ya, then," he says, only a touch louder than the previous murmur. "Things can be funny here like that, me knowin' a Miss Dinah but you not knowin' me."

He itches to hold her, to tell her it's all right despite all the evidence to the contrary. Tears well in his eyes, though not from her words.

"Please don't worry 'bout it," he insists.

[raptorcanaria]

"Alright," Dinah says gently. "I won't worry about it if you won't. You know a Dinah, then? Is she a superhero too?"

She may have promised not to worry about it, but there's something about the way he's looking at her. That terrible shock of seeing someone he loves appear like that...

...suddenly, viciously, she's reminded of her son Connor.

[pullsneedles]

"Yeah, the best," he says with a little sniffle. "She helped me so many times with all kinds of things."

Lucas wipes at his nose with the sleeve of his shirt.

"I hadn't seen her in a while. I know those kinda things happen here, but that don't mean I didn't miss her."

[raptorcanaria]

"Com'ere," she says, but patting down her costume reminds her that her costume has no pockets. Instead she grabs a napkin from the bar and leans down to hand it to him.

"I'm sure she's just really busy saving the world from a planet eating zombie moon or something."

[pullsneedles]

He takes it and blows his nose, laughing a little at that.

"Then she'll come back an' go, 'Lucas, where've you been? Ain't seen you in so long, left us all worried sick.'"

Well, not exactly like that, but the idea comes across.

[raptorcanaria]

"A worrier, huh?"

Dinah laughs softly, tucking her hair behind her ear and pushing a barstool towards him so he'll join her.

"Are you close?"

[pullsneedles]

"Not without reason."

And Lucas had given her more than anyone's fair share.

He nods at the next question and goes, "Love her like family."

[merryeccentricities]

The outfit is alarming, but the expression and the pose are personally familiar to Joly, even outside of medical training. He moves to her side as quickly as he can without actually running.

"Madame- Madamoiselle-- are you in pain? May I help you to a seat?" He asks Bar for a blanket almost automatically; whatever else this woman is wearing, whether she's post-death well or recently recovered from something, she's got the kind of pallor that goes into shock very quickly.

[raptorcanaria]

"Don't touch me."

Not a request, not a threat, just a steady, quiet warning. It would, very probably, be dangerous for someone to touch her right now. She's wound up, she's going into shock, and she can't tell if the superpower pill she took an hour ago has worn off. If she lashes out, she could hurt him.

But she looks up and sees the blanket, and nods. With enough self awareness to realise that she probably is about to go into shock, a blanket is probably the right way to go.

"Thank you," and she unfolds the blanket to wrap it around her shoulders. "I'm sorry. I must look a state."

To say the least.

[merryeccentricities]

Joly nods, and keeps a polite distance, but he's not going anywhere until he's sure she's more or less all right. He smiles when she takes the blanket; if she's that aware it's a good sign. All the same.

"You look no worse than I did when I arrived." He's not lying. "Are you in any pain?"

[raptorcanaria]

Dinah hadn't really thought to stock take pain, but she does so now, closing her eyes for a second before shaking her head.

"No. I was, but it's gone now."

Under the blanket, she fingers the holes in the front of her costume, the lack of scars underneath. The wound itself has gone, but she knows it was there.

"Feels weird, though."

[merryeccentricities]

His smile is utterly sympathetic, but he's still watching with concern. "It does, a bit. If you're not in pain, will you try to have a drink? The water here is completely safe, though I think something stronger would help more."

[raptorcanaria]

She laughs, softly, and glances up at him.

"Please tell me you mean fruit juice."

[merryeccentricities]

"If you're feeling up to it." He's definitely from the era of Medicinal Alcohol, but then he's also from the era of Medicinal Mercury. He knows there are problems with the common theories. The main thing is to get some sugars into her system. He makes a quiet request of the bar and gets a mug of warm apple cider, smelling not at all of alcohol but very much of ginger and lemon and clove. He pushes it within her reach and moves away again, politely.

"Bar usually knows what's helpful. And that's free, so please don't payment that worry you." It worries some people a great deal, in his experience back home.

[raptorcanaria]

"That's a relief. My American Express is in my other pants."

Or, you know, any pants at all.

Dinah cups the mug in both hands and inhales the steam while it cools to drinking temperature. "I appreciate this, thank you."

[merryeccentricities]

He waves it off as lightly as he can. "Anyone here would offer you a greeting. Milliways is a friendly place." Really it's almost embarrassing how little he's doing. But what else is there, in her- their, really-- situation? "My name is Joly, and I'll not ask you how you came to be here, unless you wish to discuss it. But you may ask me anything, I'll answer the best I can."

Which may not be very well; Milliways is friendly but strange. But he'll try!

[singthesong]

"Whoa, here, sit down."

The Balladeer was seated at a stool nearby, but he quickly stands and pushes it over to the woman instead, brow furrowed. He's seen people in that kind of state before plenty of times. They were all dead - outside of time proper, so still walking and talking, but dead in the ways that mattered most.

He never tried to help them. That's...not something he entirely regrets, but he wishes now he'd at least paid attention to what they did for each other. What's a good way to recover from a possible traumatic death? "Ah...can we please get a blanket? And some water?" He asks the Bar, and pats the surface lightly in thanks. That seems like a start?

[raptorcanaria]

It takes a second before she looks up, shaking her matted hair out of her face and wincing at the sight she must look, with the blood and the sweat.

"Thank you," she says quietly, sliding onto the stool and helping herself to the blanket, which she unfolds awkwardly.

"A magic bar. Where?"

[singthesong]

"The end of the universe. It - "

He cuts off whatever he was about to say, and has to restrain himself from turning to glance at the observation window. The sight doesn't bother him so much anymore, but it tends to disturb most newcomers. Not the best welcome, all in all. "That's really a when, more than a where. I couldn't say where exactly. I don't think it fits in with normal space and time."

The Balladeer is looking her over as he talks. She's bloodied, yes, but is she still actually bleeding anywhere? He'd be surprised if she were - dying is surprisingly helpful for that - but best to check.

[raptorcanaria]

Her costume has seen better days - there's a gaping hole in her midsection, on the front and the back, and the fishnets are torn as fishnets should be. But there're no visible wounds anywhere else.

She spots him checking and offers a weak smile, grateful for his concern.

"Please tell me the universe didn't end with an epic Green vs Yellow Lantern war."

[singthesong]

Green Lantern? That sounds a bit familiar - comic book, right? "I'm going to say no," the Balladeer responds, though not because of the whole comic book thing. Reality is largely what you make of it. "No one's told me how, but I don't believe it was anything more violent than time."

She appears as unhurt as he'd expected. That's good, then. "People come here from all over - the bar at the end of the universe."

[raptorcanaria]

"Time can be pretty violent in my experience," she remarks. But with a dry smirk, because it's good, that the universe didn't end with the war she's just left.

[singthesong]

"I suppose," he agrees with a vague shrug. Violence is too omnipresent in his life, he thinks. "It's safe enough in here, anyway. We aren't exactly in sync with all the exploding." This time he does glance off towards the observation window for a moment, before shaking his head and returning his attention to her.

"Are you okay to eat something? You look a little pale." And, you know, blood-loss-y.