[ showcase #7 - we have lost the dawn ]

[green_lantern]

[A - 1491 Kramden Rd - backdated to last Wed after the end of the zombie infestation]

[It's his second go at dying in Mayfield, his second time to wake up in the early hours of the morning the following day. There's a stab of panic, oh so brief, until he remembers where he is and that he's alive and well and not a mindless corpse out to eat the denizens of the town.

It's a shame it can't all just be a nightmare he's finally woken up from.]


[B - Around town]

[He's making the rounds on behalf of the Mayfield FD, making sure the threat is good and quashed and stopping to help anyone he sees. Heroing therapy ahoy!]

[C - Makeout Point]

[Forget the car, he's taken a bike on a long ride off the beaten path until he emerges at the point, taking a breather and time to reflect. Obviously this means he should be bothered.]

Comments

Between A and B

[ooeeooahah]

[ Wednesday morning? By that time, the crater in the front lawn of the neighbor's house hasn't healed, but the front door might be fixed. ]

Re: Between A and B

[viridian-knight.livejournal.com]

[The Jordan lawn hasn't fared much better- deep ruts from the fire engine's tires still mar what grass is left, the rest a mess of mud and unmentionable liquids. The sky is clear, a pretty September day.

Nothing ever feels right anymore in the town. Having made his sweep for any remaining undead, satisfied at finding none, and after he's hosed the sidewalk and the house down, he makes his way across the street to see his neighbor.]

Ilsa, it's Hal. Er. No longer a member of the slavering undead, scout's honor.

[ooeeooahah]

[ Ilsa answers the door. Her eyes are bloodshot, and she's awfully pale, but she does have a faint smile for Hal. ]

Hey, Hal. Is Lois okay?

[viridian-knight.livejournal.com]

[Hal returns the smile, a little tired at the edges but genuine, for what it's worth.]

I found her baking this morning. [His tone suggests that this is out of the ordinary] But she'll be fine. Thank you for everything you've done.

How are you and yours?

[ooeeooahah]

[ She gives him a hug, ] She had a pretty bad time of it, I think.

[ Ilsa then leans back, glancing at the crater in the front lawn before speaking again. ] Tarvek got bit.

[viridian-knight.livejournal.com]

[Hugs are awesome and necessary after a crisis, so Ilsa gets a big ol' one in turn. He follows her gaze to the yard, giving her shoulder a squeeze.]

I'm sorry to hear that. It's...I know you know it's not pleasant, from either side of the equation. Do you need anything?

[ooeeooahah]

[ She tucks her head into his shoulder for a minute. ] Just this, and some rest. He came back, and I got the ones that got him, but having to shoot him... [ She's just going to hang out in the hug for a bit. ]

[viridian-knight.livejournal.com]

[Falling silent, he rests his chin atop her head, content to be a safe harbor for as long as she needs. She's been an invaluable friend to him since day one, it's the least he can do.]

Hey. If it's any consolation? You did the right thing. [Hesitant, not all that keen to examine too closely the horrifying events of the previous morning, Hal continues after a moment.]

Having been one of those things...just know you kept him from far greater suffering. Don't beat yourself up over it too much.

[ooeeooahah]

[ She murmurs into his chest. ] He was coming back after spending a night at his house, and was bitten here.

I should have been able to stop it, catch them before they got him.

[heartstar-blues.livejournal.com]

[There's the guy in a trench coat, hands tucked into his pockets, seeming to be moping.

He's avoiding people and not really watching where he is going.

That includes walking into traffic and not seeming to care about the near misses he gets as cars swerve around him honking horns.]

[viridian-knight.livejournal.com]

Hey! Hey-

[Hal has a few choice, rather unheroic gestures for the honking Mayfieldians in their cars as he takes off after the other man, aiming to seize him by the coat and haul him up onto the sidewalk. He doesn't necessarily have to be polite about it.]

Captain, right? What the Hell do you think you're doing?

[heartstar-blues.livejournal.com]

[Tries to pretend like he didn't hear the guy.

Then he's grabbed, and stumbles over to the side walk.]

I'm walking, what does it look like I'm doing?

[viridian-knight.livejournal.com]

Then do it on the sidewalk, for Pete's sake. You could have been killed.

[Fine words from a guy just back from the dead, but Hal stands firm.]

[heartstar-blues.livejournal.com]

Okay, yeah, you might not have heard.

I'm a Superhero. It takes more than a car to kill me.

And I just want to get so drunk before sun comes down that I forget this town exists, okay?

[loistheintrepid.livejournal.com]

[Lois hasn't slept since she had to watch Hannibal put a bullet in the middle of her faux husband's forehead last night. The zombie infestation has finally cleared, though it's not exactly cheering her up any. Right now, despite the shambles their house is currently in, she's attempting to keep busy in the kitchen. Bustling about measuring - or attempting to measure - flour, sugar, baking soda... It's very unlike Lois to even be caught dead anywhere near an oven, yet here she is, muttering recipe portions out loud to herself and attempting to mix a strange consistency of batter in an oversized mixing bowl.

Better than sitting around cleaning zombie guts out of the carpet and hoping for Hal to come back to life, anyway.]

[viridian-knight.livejournal.com]

[He tries not to let his hands linger on the back of his head when he runs them through his hair, making sure everything is indeed intact. No shattered skull, no grey matter gobbing out like putrefying meat, check. All body parts accounted for, check. Heartbeat, check. All systems go.

The kitchen door bangs against the wall when he shoulders it open, looking somewhat quizzical upon Lois and her sudden baking frenzy.]

Please don't tell me I have to eat that. [Relief floods his voice. She's all right.]

[loistheintrepid.livejournal.com]

[The moment she hears the heavy thud of the door hit the wall behind her, Lois whips around, metal whisk held up defensively as a remnant of Zombie Hunter Lois from the past few days.

Goopy batter splatters against the mauve walls and slurps down her hand as she stares at him a moment, blinking and taking in the sight of him. The next moment, both batter and whisk hit the ground and she flings herself at him, throwing her arms around his neck and shutting her eyes tightly.]

You're not a rotting corpse!

[viridian-knight.livejournal.com]

Oof! [Catching her, he staggers back a little from the impact and in turn holds her firmly to his chest. She's getting gooey cake...cookie...whatever batter in his hair, but Hal isn't one to look a gift horse in the mouth over something so precious as this.]

No. I mean yes. I mean- [He releases a huff of air, muffled against her shoulder and resolves to just shut the hell up and hold her. When he pulls away a not-insignificant amount of time later his eyes are plainly red, but obviously that must be from the copious amount of flour in the air.]

What day is it? Where is everyone? Lois- what happened while I was- [dead] -gone?

[loistheintrepid.livejournal.com]

[Her grip is near bone-crunching, arms clinging to him tightly. She has her face buried in his neck, and she sucks in a breath of relief before finally pulling back to look at him.

He's talking far too much, or trying to anyway, so she's gonna go ahead and shut him up with a kiss now. One of those hands-on-either-side-of-his-face, come-out-of-it-panting kind of kisses. Awwww, is he- is he crying?

Okay, that just won't do, because now she's probably tearing up a little bit, too. But just a little. And she's also grinning like an idiot.]

It's Wednesday. Things went back to Mayfield!Normal, so everybody's gone home. Crisis averted, Captain.

[viridian-knight.livejournal.com]

[Shutting up is a go. Her fingers are sticky against his skin, a coy little note of enticing sweetness on her lips. His hands slink down to the small of her back, keeping her close even when they part to breathe.

...okay now he's getting teary-eyed, but god damnit, he used up all of his stoicism yesterday trying not to flip his shit over becoming a zombie. He's more than allowed.]

Crisis averted.

...so you're telling me no one else is home.

[Well now. Forget this. Hal makes an executive decision to pull Lois onto the floor and show her just how much he missed her. Besides, she's wearing his shirt anyway, he might as well get it back in the best way possible.]