Retirement

She sat bolt up right covered in a cold sweat. Breathing heavily, Marie turned on the light and looked around.

"It's just a dream," she said. "It's just a dream. Nothing is going to hurt me. I am safe. Nothing is going to hurt anyone."

She closed her eyes and unwillingly saw the life she been a part of before she had retired. She saw the city far below her as she channeled a bolt of electricity towards her arch nemesis. She saw him reflect the bolt of energy towards Jay. Jay screaming out in pain. Falling. Jay looking up at her. Eyes pleading. Nothing. She did nothing. She didn't save Jay. She should have done something.

"Stop," Marie said opening her eyes. "There is nothing I could have done to save him."

"I should have done something," a voice in her head argued. "I should have gone after Jay instead of defeating our nemesis. I could have saved him."

Maria stood up quickly and crossed to the closet. Five minutes later, she was on a run around the lake. Running gave her an adrenaline rush and helped keep her mind off...well everything.

She went through the rest of the day like she always did. She fixed a late breakfast and washed the dishes herself. She went to town and helped at the animal shelter, she ate lunch with a friend, and wandered through the run-down, graffitied homes she once lived in.

"The hero of the town from the abandoned neighborhood," a voice said behind her. "And the villain who grew up right beside her."

Marie turned and her eyes went wide when she saw a ghost from her past.

"Git," she spat.

"Is that any way to treat your brother?" he asked.

"What do you want Fin," Marie growled.

"To see you," Fin smiled. "Can't I be here for my little sister?"

"Not when you are dead," Marie said. "And when did you start being concerned for my well being?"

"That's a little harsh, don't you think?"

"No, I don't," Marie snapped. "You were my big brother. You were supposed to protect me. Instead, you ended up fighting me
and hurting someone I cared about."

"You won't call me the villain of your story?" Fin asked, amused.

"Shut up," Marie told him, turning away.

"Oh, I see," Fin said. He started to say something else, but Marie hurled around and threw the knife she always kept at her belt
towards his stomach.

The knife skittered across the empty street and Marie fell to her knees. He was gone. They both were. Her brother Fin and her
best friend Jay. They were gone. And she blamed herself for both.