fic: rêve du ciel
Title: rêve du ciel
Author(s): aubreys_master and elleestlimonade
Fandom: DCU
Genre: Gen, AU
Status: Complete
Challenge: au_bingo
Prompt: Future: Post-Apocalyptic
Word Count: 2265
Character(s): Hal Jordan, Selina Kyle (mentions of Bruce Wayne)
Rating: PG
Warnings: The, um, apocalypse? >> Vaguest mentions of gore and talk of plague-level illness.
Summary: At the end of the day, he was pretty sure they really were the last people on Earth.
The end of the world began with a cough. Just one cough. Then the cough continued, and it brought blood, then worse…much worse. Selina had been lucky. There hadn’t been any hope for Gotham when she had taken the advisory notice’s warning and left the city. That was what they said to do: leave the cities and wait for it to blow over. It had worked with the last plague, after all. And it would blow over, they thought. But no one was so sure, anymore, and least of all Selina. Batman was gone, and anyone who could be Batman was gone with him. Really gone, no coming back, this time.
But she was not lucky because she had gotten out of Gotham - and she still felt guilty about that - but because she had met Hal Jordan before her limited wilderness skills ran out. He said he was looking for survivors, and she didn’t really care. She was just glad for the distraction he offered. So many people were dead… Maybe Bruce was the lucky one, she mused. He had died before he’d had to see the worst of it.
The plague had started in the cities and quickly spread everywhere else. Hal Jordan had been away on a Corps mission when it had begun. By the time he returned from the Earth, most of his friends and family were either dead or dying. No one could figure out a cause, and there was not enough time for proper research to be done. So he had done the only thing he could think of; he had started looking for people who were still alive. After a while, he had found her.
“Hey, you okay?” he asked when he found her. She was standing in a vast park, wearing a leather suit with goggles hanging around her neck. She stared at him for a long time. It had been days since she’d seen anyone, and she thought it was very strange that the first person she did see was glowing. When she said nothing, he prompted, “It’s probably not a good idea to be out here alone.”
Hal was the first Cape Selina had seen since Bruce had passed. She had avoided his kids, and then they had died too.
“Where else am I supposed to be?” she countered numbly. “I’m out of the city. Isolated. Moving. It’s what the radio said to do.”
“You’re running around a wildlife preserve by yourself,” Hal told her, frowning. “It’s not safe.” He paused, touched down onto the ground and tried a different tact. “I know the radio said to stay away from other people, but it might be better if people stick together, I think.”
Her lips twisted into a small smirk and she glanced around. “I’m in a cat habitat,” she stated simply. “Cats and I get along.” Besides, animals that weren’t homo sapiens weren’t spreading the…whatever it was. Virus, bacteria…no one knew. Folding her arms over her chest, she eyed him for a moment, then asked, “Are you trying to be a big, strong man and offer to protect me?”
Hal knew that this was something he really could not protect her from, but he also knew he had to do something. It was the only way he would feel that he could do something, and he felt that was very important at the moment. “I’m just trying to lend a hand,” he hedged carefully. He didn’t want to spook her. “There’s no point in going through this alone.”
Selina stared at him, her eyes narrowed thoughtfully. “I…” She frowned and looked away. “I suppose.” Everyone she knew was dead. She didn’t have time to think about it, though. She just watched the glowing man and asked, “You’re Green Lantern, aren’t you? You were in the Justice League with Batman.” She kept up with the news and the papers. She knew who it was that Bruce worked with. Or…she knew who he had worked with, anyway. Suddenly, she wanted to look away. She wanted to pull up her hood and put on her goggles. She did neither. She only watched.
“Yeah, that’s me,” he confirmed. As far as Hal knew, the rest of the JLA were dead. It made his heart ache. “Who are you? Someone Batman knew?” He supposed, in a way, it would be nice to have a sort of familiar face around. Even if it was indirectly, and even if she turned out to be an enemy.
“Selina Kyle.” She extended her hand to him. The way she saw it, the world as they knew it was over and there was no point in secret identities anymore. There was no one left to care, at any rate. “He called me Catwoman. Bruce and I knew each other very well.”
“Ah.” He felt a bit awkward. “I’m Hal Jordan,” he told her, accepting her hand and shaking it. “I’d say it’s nice to meet you, but… Well, given the circumstances, I dunno if that’s very fitting.”
Selina laughed softly, and she did look away now. Turning her gaze to look out over the preserve, she agreed softly, “No, I suppose not.” She offered him a curious look. “What are you doing all the way out here, anyway? I thought the papers said you operate out of California.” That had been a while ago, though. The newspapers had slowly dwindled as the reporters became too sick to work. Before that even, the television stations had gone. Selina didn’t know if the radios were still working or not. “But I suppose that might be out of date information.”
“Yeah,” Hal said uneasily. “There aren’t a lot of people left in California.” He frowned down at the ground and admitted, “I’ve been moving around, looking for anybody. You’re the first person I’ve seen for a while. How long have you been here?”
“I don’t know,” she admitted, frowning at the idea of California being as empty as Gotham had been when she’d left. “My phone and tech died a while ago. It didn’t seem worth the effort to keep track of the days, after that. It’s been long enough that I realize going home isn’t worth it either.” There was nowhere else to go, though. “The cats keep me company.”
Hal nodded slowly. “Guess that’s better than nothing,” he allowed. He supposed he could have left Earth a long time ago, but this was his home. He needed to be there to help it. Though…now it seemed more and more like a lost cause. He saw her grimace, and her smile seemed more like a wince.
“My home and friends are dead,” she pointed out bitterly. “How would you define nothing?”
“I don’t know,” Hal admitted with a sigh. “At least you’ve got somebody to keep you company?”
“The cats?” She let out a mirthless laugh. “Yes, at least I found them.” Rolling her eyes, she gestured slightly and added, “Look, Mister Lantern, if you don’t need anything else, it’s about time for me to go foraging for my dinner.”
Hal froze at her words. The truth was, he was starting to panic a little. He was trying to be nonchalant for her sake, but he could not remember the last time he’d seen a living human being. He was desperate for some sort of interaction.
“I’m not trying to get in your way,” he protested. “I just… I’m starting to think we might be the only two people left.”
She blinked. Hard. Denial was on her face, as though she were desperately thinking, He can’t mean that.
“There were people still in Gotham, when I left.” But how long ago had that been? “We can’t be the only two people left on Earth. That’s…improbable, isn’t it?” Wasn’t it? She didn’t know how long she’d been alone with the animals. She didn’t want to think that…everyone could be gone. Yes, she decided numbly, Bruce was lucky. He didn’t have to watch it all happen.
“I don’t know if it’s true or not,” Hal conceded, “but… I got back to Earth about three months ago, and since then people just keep dying.” He swallowed. “I couldn’t do anything to stop it -” He cut himself off. Changed his line of thought. He didn’t want to think about Jim and Susan and the kids… “I’m sure there are other people around, but when I had my ring scan for anybody, there was nothing.”
“Faulty,” she whispered stiffly, frowning down at the grass beneath her leather clad feet. After a time, she consented, “You can stay if you want.”
“Okay. Thanks.” He wasn’t used to such immense feelings of relief. “I’ll stick around for a while… If I’m not in the way, anyway.”
“The whole world’s gone to Hell,” she muttered, hugging herself and shaking her head. “What difference does that make? Stay. But you have to find your own food. I don’t want to go into the city to look through stores.”
“Right…” He supposed that sounded fair. “I could go take a look around and see what I can find, since I can get there pretty quickly,” he suggested. He didn’t want to feel useless. Uselessness was something that had always scared him.
Selina took a moment to think about it, then nodded. “Bring a way to light a fire, too,” she instructed. “If we’re going to eat city food…I want to cook it really well. And bring a pan or a pot or…whatever what you find needs to be cooked in.”
Hal nodded and felt his feet leave the ground as he lifted into the air. “Yes, ma’am.” He flashed her a grin. It was best to pretend nothing was bothering him. Then she wouldn’t notice and maybe he could help keep her content and calm too. “I’ll be back shortly. Hopefully with something edible.”
She smiled wryly and nodded. “That would be a pleasant change.” She pointed off a distance and told him, “There’s a cave over that way where I’ve set up a shelter. You’ll be able to find it?” If a cave had been good enough for Batman, it was good enough for her.
“Yeah, no problem. I’ll be back in about an hour.” Unless he ran into trouble, but Hal doubted there would be anyone left who could threaten him.
Selina nodded and started walking toward the cave she had mentioned. She would get started on gathering things for the fire. A real meal would be nice.
~*~*~*~
Selina found, as the weeks went on, that she actually liked having Hal Jordan around. No one was left in Gotham - he had confirmed that for her. No one was left in any of the sweeps he had taken. But she thought that if they were going to be the last two people on Earth, there could be worse folks to be stuck with. It could, after all, have been the Joker. For the first time since the pandemic had begun, she felt like things might actually be okay.
At least, she thought so until the day that the first cough came. She frowned and cleared her thought, but over the next few days, it happened again and again.
One morning, it brought blood with it. She stared at the spot on her hand and groaned, “Oh, God.” Then she glanced at Hal and told him without hesitation, “I have to leave now. Go somewhere else. Away from you.”
“I’m not just going to abandon you,” Hal protested, scowling at her. “It’s not right.”
“It’s not right for me to get you sick, either,” Selina pointed out, looking away from him. She did that a lot, more than she had with anyone else that she could remember. “There might still be someone out there. You could still find them…if you’re still alive.”
“Yeah, I know, but I don’t just want to leave you here!” But he knew there was nothing he could do for her. Selina was going to die in a matter of days, and then he would be alone all over again. “Just… Leave Earth wit me. We’ll find a way to fix this.”
There was no way he was going to let himself be the only human left.
She watched him painfully for a moment, then shook her head. “We can’t risk this…thing spreading to other planets, can we? And you don’t know that anything can be done anyway. You shold leave. No. Go before it spreads again. Before -” She brought off into a coughing fit, more blood splattering her hands. She could feel the disease eating at her lungs. Soon, tissue would join the blood. Then it would only be a matter of hours. That was how it always happened. “Just go away!”
“Selina…” Hal knew she was right. He needed to leave now, before he caught it too. “I’m sorry,” he whispered. “I wish there was something I could do.”
“Just. Go.” She pointed at the sky, her voice angry but her expression scared. “Leave me alone, Jordan. You can fly. Get out of here. Go now.”
“Right…Okay.” Hal backed away from her slowly, as if he was waiting for her to say she was kidding and that she was actually just fine. As though the blood on her chin and hands and lips were all just some elaborate ruse. But that wasn’t going to happen. Instead, he left the ground, and left her. He refused to let himself look back. There was no more that he could do…not for her. Not for anyone.
He had failed.
Author(s): aubreys_master and elleestlimonade
Fandom: DCU
Genre: Gen, AU
Status: Complete
Challenge: au_bingo
Prompt: Future: Post-Apocalyptic
Word Count: 2265
Character(s): Hal Jordan, Selina Kyle (mentions of Bruce Wayne)
Rating: PG
Warnings: The, um, apocalypse? >> Vaguest mentions of gore and talk of plague-level illness.
Summary: At the end of the day, he was pretty sure they really were the last people on Earth.
The end of the world began with a cough. Just one cough. Then the cough continued, and it brought blood, then worse…much worse. Selina had been lucky. There hadn’t been any hope for Gotham when she had taken the advisory notice’s warning and left the city. That was what they said to do: leave the cities and wait for it to blow over. It had worked with the last plague, after all. And it would blow over, they thought. But no one was so sure, anymore, and least of all Selina. Batman was gone, and anyone who could be Batman was gone with him. Really gone, no coming back, this time.
But she was not lucky because she had gotten out of Gotham - and she still felt guilty about that - but because she had met Hal Jordan before her limited wilderness skills ran out. He said he was looking for survivors, and she didn’t really care. She was just glad for the distraction he offered. So many people were dead… Maybe Bruce was the lucky one, she mused. He had died before he’d had to see the worst of it.
The plague had started in the cities and quickly spread everywhere else. Hal Jordan had been away on a Corps mission when it had begun. By the time he returned from the Earth, most of his friends and family were either dead or dying. No one could figure out a cause, and there was not enough time for proper research to be done. So he had done the only thing he could think of; he had started looking for people who were still alive. After a while, he had found her.
“Hey, you okay?” he asked when he found her. She was standing in a vast park, wearing a leather suit with goggles hanging around her neck. She stared at him for a long time. It had been days since she’d seen anyone, and she thought it was very strange that the first person she did see was glowing. When she said nothing, he prompted, “It’s probably not a good idea to be out here alone.”
Hal was the first Cape Selina had seen since Bruce had passed. She had avoided his kids, and then they had died too.
“Where else am I supposed to be?” she countered numbly. “I’m out of the city. Isolated. Moving. It’s what the radio said to do.”
“You’re running around a wildlife preserve by yourself,” Hal told her, frowning. “It’s not safe.” He paused, touched down onto the ground and tried a different tact. “I know the radio said to stay away from other people, but it might be better if people stick together, I think.”
Her lips twisted into a small smirk and she glanced around. “I’m in a cat habitat,” she stated simply. “Cats and I get along.” Besides, animals that weren’t homo sapiens weren’t spreading the…whatever it was. Virus, bacteria…no one knew. Folding her arms over her chest, she eyed him for a moment, then asked, “Are you trying to be a big, strong man and offer to protect me?”
Hal knew that this was something he really could not protect her from, but he also knew he had to do something. It was the only way he would feel that he could do something, and he felt that was very important at the moment. “I’m just trying to lend a hand,” he hedged carefully. He didn’t want to spook her. “There’s no point in going through this alone.”
Selina stared at him, her eyes narrowed thoughtfully. “I…” She frowned and looked away. “I suppose.” Everyone she knew was dead. She didn’t have time to think about it, though. She just watched the glowing man and asked, “You’re Green Lantern, aren’t you? You were in the Justice League with Batman.” She kept up with the news and the papers. She knew who it was that Bruce worked with. Or…she knew who he had worked with, anyway. Suddenly, she wanted to look away. She wanted to pull up her hood and put on her goggles. She did neither. She only watched.
“Yeah, that’s me,” he confirmed. As far as Hal knew, the rest of the JLA were dead. It made his heart ache. “Who are you? Someone Batman knew?” He supposed, in a way, it would be nice to have a sort of familiar face around. Even if it was indirectly, and even if she turned out to be an enemy.
“Selina Kyle.” She extended her hand to him. The way she saw it, the world as they knew it was over and there was no point in secret identities anymore. There was no one left to care, at any rate. “He called me Catwoman. Bruce and I knew each other very well.”
“Ah.” He felt a bit awkward. “I’m Hal Jordan,” he told her, accepting her hand and shaking it. “I’d say it’s nice to meet you, but… Well, given the circumstances, I dunno if that’s very fitting.”
Selina laughed softly, and she did look away now. Turning her gaze to look out over the preserve, she agreed softly, “No, I suppose not.” She offered him a curious look. “What are you doing all the way out here, anyway? I thought the papers said you operate out of California.” That had been a while ago, though. The newspapers had slowly dwindled as the reporters became too sick to work. Before that even, the television stations had gone. Selina didn’t know if the radios were still working or not. “But I suppose that might be out of date information.”
“Yeah,” Hal said uneasily. “There aren’t a lot of people left in California.” He frowned down at the ground and admitted, “I’ve been moving around, looking for anybody. You’re the first person I’ve seen for a while. How long have you been here?”
“I don’t know,” she admitted, frowning at the idea of California being as empty as Gotham had been when she’d left. “My phone and tech died a while ago. It didn’t seem worth the effort to keep track of the days, after that. It’s been long enough that I realize going home isn’t worth it either.” There was nowhere else to go, though. “The cats keep me company.”
Hal nodded slowly. “Guess that’s better than nothing,” he allowed. He supposed he could have left Earth a long time ago, but this was his home. He needed to be there to help it. Though…now it seemed more and more like a lost cause. He saw her grimace, and her smile seemed more like a wince.
“My home and friends are dead,” she pointed out bitterly. “How would you define nothing?”
“I don’t know,” Hal admitted with a sigh. “At least you’ve got somebody to keep you company?”
“The cats?” She let out a mirthless laugh. “Yes, at least I found them.” Rolling her eyes, she gestured slightly and added, “Look, Mister Lantern, if you don’t need anything else, it’s about time for me to go foraging for my dinner.”
Hal froze at her words. The truth was, he was starting to panic a little. He was trying to be nonchalant for her sake, but he could not remember the last time he’d seen a living human being. He was desperate for some sort of interaction.
“I’m not trying to get in your way,” he protested. “I just… I’m starting to think we might be the only two people left.”
She blinked. Hard. Denial was on her face, as though she were desperately thinking, He can’t mean that.
“There were people still in Gotham, when I left.” But how long ago had that been? “We can’t be the only two people left on Earth. That’s…improbable, isn’t it?” Wasn’t it? She didn’t know how long she’d been alone with the animals. She didn’t want to think that…everyone could be gone. Yes, she decided numbly, Bruce was lucky. He didn’t have to watch it all happen.
“I don’t know if it’s true or not,” Hal conceded, “but… I got back to Earth about three months ago, and since then people just keep dying.” He swallowed. “I couldn’t do anything to stop it -” He cut himself off. Changed his line of thought. He didn’t want to think about Jim and Susan and the kids… “I’m sure there are other people around, but when I had my ring scan for anybody, there was nothing.”
“Faulty,” she whispered stiffly, frowning down at the grass beneath her leather clad feet. After a time, she consented, “You can stay if you want.”
“Okay. Thanks.” He wasn’t used to such immense feelings of relief. “I’ll stick around for a while… If I’m not in the way, anyway.”
“The whole world’s gone to Hell,” she muttered, hugging herself and shaking her head. “What difference does that make? Stay. But you have to find your own food. I don’t want to go into the city to look through stores.”
“Right…” He supposed that sounded fair. “I could go take a look around and see what I can find, since I can get there pretty quickly,” he suggested. He didn’t want to feel useless. Uselessness was something that had always scared him.
Selina took a moment to think about it, then nodded. “Bring a way to light a fire, too,” she instructed. “If we’re going to eat city food…I want to cook it really well. And bring a pan or a pot or…whatever what you find needs to be cooked in.”
Hal nodded and felt his feet leave the ground as he lifted into the air. “Yes, ma’am.” He flashed her a grin. It was best to pretend nothing was bothering him. Then she wouldn’t notice and maybe he could help keep her content and calm too. “I’ll be back shortly. Hopefully with something edible.”
She smiled wryly and nodded. “That would be a pleasant change.” She pointed off a distance and told him, “There’s a cave over that way where I’ve set up a shelter. You’ll be able to find it?” If a cave had been good enough for Batman, it was good enough for her.
“Yeah, no problem. I’ll be back in about an hour.” Unless he ran into trouble, but Hal doubted there would be anyone left who could threaten him.
Selina nodded and started walking toward the cave she had mentioned. She would get started on gathering things for the fire. A real meal would be nice.
~*~*~*~
Selina found, as the weeks went on, that she actually liked having Hal Jordan around. No one was left in Gotham - he had confirmed that for her. No one was left in any of the sweeps he had taken. But she thought that if they were going to be the last two people on Earth, there could be worse folks to be stuck with. It could, after all, have been the Joker. For the first time since the pandemic had begun, she felt like things might actually be okay.
At least, she thought so until the day that the first cough came. She frowned and cleared her thought, but over the next few days, it happened again and again.
One morning, it brought blood with it. She stared at the spot on her hand and groaned, “Oh, God.” Then she glanced at Hal and told him without hesitation, “I have to leave now. Go somewhere else. Away from you.”
“I’m not just going to abandon you,” Hal protested, scowling at her. “It’s not right.”
“It’s not right for me to get you sick, either,” Selina pointed out, looking away from him. She did that a lot, more than she had with anyone else that she could remember. “There might still be someone out there. You could still find them…if you’re still alive.”
“Yeah, I know, but I don’t just want to leave you here!” But he knew there was nothing he could do for her. Selina was going to die in a matter of days, and then he would be alone all over again. “Just… Leave Earth wit me. We’ll find a way to fix this.”
There was no way he was going to let himself be the only human left.
She watched him painfully for a moment, then shook her head. “We can’t risk this…thing spreading to other planets, can we? And you don’t know that anything can be done anyway. You shold leave. No. Go before it spreads again. Before -” She brought off into a coughing fit, more blood splattering her hands. She could feel the disease eating at her lungs. Soon, tissue would join the blood. Then it would only be a matter of hours. That was how it always happened. “Just go away!”
“Selina…” Hal knew she was right. He needed to leave now, before he caught it too. “I’m sorry,” he whispered. “I wish there was something I could do.”
“Just. Go.” She pointed at the sky, her voice angry but her expression scared. “Leave me alone, Jordan. You can fly. Get out of here. Go now.”
“Right…Okay.” Hal backed away from her slowly, as if he was waiting for her to say she was kidding and that she was actually just fine. As though the blood on her chin and hands and lips were all just some elaborate ruse. But that wasn’t going to happen. Instead, he left the ground, and left her. He refused to let himself look back. There was no more that he could do…not for her. Not for anyone.
He had failed.