Laura Landry took several deep breaths as she stood at the starting line.  She wore her running uniform, a purple tank top and set of shorts with white stripes going down her side and a white seven on her back.  She had brown hair tied in a braid, blue eyes, and a fiercely determined expression on her face.  A dozen other girls in similar uniforms stood on either side of her, stretching or running in place as they prepared for the race.

            Laura was favored to win, and she knew it.  Furthermore, she’d heard from the coach that talent scouts from several colleges were in the bleachers today.  If she could catch the eye of any one of them, she’d be all set.  This would be a big day for her, and she smiled as she saw a few new faces in the bleachers.

            Moments later, all the racers took their starting poses.  Laura’s slender, athletic frame was coiled like a spring, ready to go at a moment’s notice.  That moment came with a bang as the starting pistol went off.  She was away instantly, fighting for first place with two other girls.

            Laura felt the wind whipping into her face as she pushed herself to the limit.  It didn’t take long for her heart to start pounding and her limbs to feel like fire.  As they approached the first turn, she could feel her two competitors pulling ahead of her, but Laura pushed herself, and soon, she was in the lead.  The more she ran, the more distance she seemed to put behind her.  Soon, it was like Laura was alone, just her and the track.  She was in the zone, and nothing could stop her.

            Laura reached the other end of the track and began the second turn, unable to even hear the other girls behind her.  She rounded the turn, and then…

            She almost stopped.  The other runners were at the other end of the track, still rounding that first turn.  Laura couldn’t have gotten that far ahead of them.  Could she have?  She stopped running, looking at her surroundings.  Not only were her competitors that far behind her, they appeared to be moving in slow motion, slowly stopping and turning to look at her.

              With a confused look on her face, Laura realized that everything was moving in slow motion.  The audience in the bleachers was slowly getting up, a whirlwind kicking up dust moved lethargically, and birds flying high above seemed almost still. 

              Eventually, everything started to catch up with her, and Laura felt the sensation of something leaving her body.  Soon, everything seemed back to normal, everything moving as it should.  Laura still had this sensation of something missing from her limbs.  She wasn’t certain what it was but had this strange feeling that she could summon it at a moment’s notice. 

Now moving at normal speed from Laura’s perspective, the audience and the other runners looked at Laura, astonishment on their faces.  Moments later, someone in the bleachers, whom Laura recognized as one of the runner’s parents, shouted at the top of her lungs.

            “That cheater has powers!”

            “What?” asked Laura, horrified as she backed away.  “No…I…”

            And a sizeable portion of the audience, and all of the other runners, began booing.  Laura couldn’t believe this was happening.  She didn’t have powers.  At least…she hadn’t had powers yesterday.  She’d trained so hard to get where she was.  She wouldn’t use superpowers to cheat.  She’d never do that.

            “I didn’t…” she muttered.  “I wouldn’t…I…”

            The boos kept coming, and Laura wanted more than anything to wake up, and she found herself standing there, a shocked look on her face and a single thought ringing through her head.

            You gotta be kidding me.

###

Two Years Later

            The new superhero called SteelStar attended two funerals, one after the other.  The first was for Manny Turner, a man killed by a superhero who’d lost control of himself and went on a rampage.  SteelStar had tried to save him, but Manny had lost his life nonetheless.

            This funeral took place in a church with white walls and stained glass windows on either side of the pews.  People stood and sat scattered around the room in hushed conversations, Manny’s casket displayed on the pulpit.  The event was closed casket only, as Manny had died in an explosion.  All one could see of him was a framed picture of a smiling, middle aged man with greying hair on a pedestal next to the casket.

SteelStar had considered going as his alter ego Andy so he wouldn’t stick out, but then he’d have to explain why he was there.  As the superhero who failed to save Manny, it at least made sense for SteelStar to pay his respects.

            SteelStar stood at the entrance to the room and immediately stood out.  While he’d chosen to wear the kind of suit one would normally wear to a funeral instead of his superhero costume, the grey skin and white hair of his Valtarian form still made it obvious who he was.

              It didn’t take long for all eyes in the room to slowly look at him as every conversation went quiet.  SteelStar suddenly lamented that invisibility wasn’t one of his powers.  He stood awkwardly for a moment, but upon seeing the picture of Manny, he realized he needed to say something.

            “Um…” he stammered.  “Hello…I’m…I’m…”

            “SteelStar,” said a stern looking man to the side.  “You were there when Manny died.”

            “Y…yes,” said SteelStar. “I…I tried to save Mr. Turner.  I just…I didn’t know what was wrong with Spectramancer, and I tried to stop him without hurting him.  I just...I’m sorry I couldn’t save either of them.  I’m…I’m so sorry for your loss.”

            The room was silent for a moment.  Everyone there, from adults to the elderly and children, seemed very uncomfortable.  Finally, an older woman came up.

            “Thank you,” she said.  “I’m sure that…”

            “You should have killed Spectramancer sooner,” someone said.

            Everyone turned to the stern man who had spoken before, his eyes intense.  SteelStar gaped at him in astonishment.

            “Gordon!” said the older woman.

            “What?” Gordon asked defensively.  “I’m not the only one thinking it.  If this SteelStar had killed the rampaging superhero sooner, Manny would still be alive.”

            SteelStar backed away.

            “Gordon,” said the woman.  “Not now!”

            Gordon steamed for a moment, then walked away.  SteelStar felt even more awkward than ever.  The woman came up to SteelStar and took a deep breath.

            “I’m sorry about that,” she said.  “Gordon is Manny’s brother.  They were very close, and he took Manny’s death pretty hard.  I…I can’t imagine being put in the position you were in.”

            “I’m sorry,” said SteelStar. “I was with Spectramancer in his last moments.  He found out what he’d done when he came to his senses, and he was horrified.  He never would have done this in his right mind.  I just wanted you to know that.”

              “Thank you,” she said.

            SteelStar spent the rest of the night making small talk, paying his respects to Manny, and sitting for the funeral service.  It was one of the hardest days of his life so far.

            The next night was even worse.

###

Technically Spectramancer had two funerals.  One was for his alter ego, Nigel Beaumont, and was held in private for his family.  The other was for his superhero persona and took place at the United Heroes of Earth Headquarters, so that’s where SteelStar went.  Paramount had arranged for a Superhero with no direct connection to Spectramancer to look after Partition City while SteelStar was gone.  SteelStar would have been uncomfortable otherwise, or at least more uncomfortable than he already was.

              The U.H.E. headquarters was a massive facility in Washington D.C. with a long stone staircase leading up to an entrance held up by marble columns.  In front of the staircase stood three statues.  These statues, including Paramount, were the founding three members of the U.H.E..  The statue on the left was Racerman, the first speedster.  This statue wore a costume with an R on the chest and a helmet with goggles.  On the left of Paramount’s statue stood one of Octawoman, who could grow tentacles of energy from her back strong enough to hold up a building.  This statue showed a mask and a skintight costume with an octopus on the chest.

              This building and the statues usually looked grand, but today it was raining with lightning, casting a gloomy mood over the building.  If the rain wasn’t gloomy enough, the entrance hall was worse, as that’s where the funeral would take place.  This massive room echoed when people stepped, folding chairs laid out across the floor for this occasion.  SteelStar left his umbrella on a peg on the wall and went inside.

            SteelStar didn’t stand out as much at this funeral, as most of the people here were superheroes.  People wore suits or black dresses, and the only break from that were the people wearing masks to hide their identities.  There were even obvious aliens there, like Gargant, a man with purple skin who stood ten feet tall with huge muscles under his suit, or Lionfish, who looked like a humanoid version of his namesake.  Lionfish even had to wear a helmet filled with water to breathe.  Compared to superheroes like that, SteelStar looked pretty normal by comparison.

              SteelStar also recognized some human superheroes like Heavyweight, a big burly man with a purple and black mask and big, black gauntlets on his hands.  In the back stood the Jade Mantis, a man in a mask depicting a praying mantis’s face and two katanas on his back.  SteelStar also saw one of the Fabled Four, a woman called Shieldmaiden.  She wore a green mask, a black dress, and a small, round, gold shield on her arm.  SteelStar knew that shield was magic and could grow as big as she needed it to, among other things.

              Some of the superheroes SteelStar ran into offered condolences for what he had to do.  Others took one look at him and seemed uncomfortable.  At least no one seemed angry.  Presumably, Paramount had explained what happened, but SteelStar still feared that someone would snap at him.  SteelStar knew there was a lot of hate for him outside this building.

            Of course, SteelStar met Paramount, who was set to give the eulogy.  Wearing a normal suit, the bearded superhero thanked SteelStar for coming.  The older man shared a few stories about Spectramancer, which just made SteelStar feel worse about the whole situation.

             Finally, SteelStar saw the person he was there to see.  The Superhero Passion was known to be Spectramancer’s daughter, inheriting his powers.  Seeing her in person for the first time, SteelStar was struck by how beautiful she was.  She sported platinum blonde hair, a white mask over her vivid green eyes, and a black funeral dress.

            SteelStar hesitated.  Spectramancer, in his last moments, had asked SteelStar to tell his daughter that he was sorry he didn’t listen to her and that he loved her.  This wasn’t a conversation SteelStar wanted to have but knew he was obligated to.  He knew that if he hadn’t stopped Spectramancer it would have torn Partition City apart, but he still felt guilty.  Talking to the daughter of the man he killed was the last thing SteelStar wanted to do.

            However, before he could work up the courage to go over, Passion suddenly turned and looked right at him, her eyes wide with shock.  Of course, thought SteelStar.  She would detect him immediately.  She, like her father, could sense emotions, and she undoubtedly was sensing SteelStar’s guilt.

            She turned and walked away, prompting SteelStar to follow.  He considered turning to metal and using magnetism to fly over, but that would attract too much attention.  He made his way through the crowd as fast as possible, tracking Passion’s electromagnetic signature so he didn’t lose her.

            Finally, he followed her to a back hallway where there weren’t any people and the lights were off, leaving the area mostly in darkness.  A few windows showed pouring rain, casting rain shaped shadows on the other wall.  SteelStar caught up to Passion and made his plea.

            “Mrs. Passion,” said SteelStar. “I need to talk to you.”

            “You don’t need to say anything,” she replied, still walking away from her.

            “I really do,” said Steelstar. “Please, I just need a moment.”

            “He needed to be stopped,” said Passion, her voice trembling.  “You…you did what you had to do.  I get that.”

            “Please,” said SteelStar. “I need to tell you something.  You’re father…”

            “DON’T TALK ABOUT MY FATHER!”

            SteelStar froze.  Passion had rounded on him, suddenly surrounded by a familiar red aura that turned her mask and hair red.  Even her eyes glowed with red energy, and the look on her face was suddenly familiar.

            It was the same look Spectramancer had when he’d gone on a rampage, and like a deer in the headlights, SteelStar couldn’t move.

            It only lasted a moment.  Passion took a few deep breaths, and her aura slowly faded.  Her deep breaths slowly shifted to the strained breathing of something crying, and sure enough, tears began to go down her cheeks.

            “I’m sorry,” she said, wiping her tears away.  “Please just…just leave me alone…Please.”

            She turned and walked away, the sound of her crying echoing in the hall.  SteelStar looked down, unable to bring himself to follow.

            Lightning flashed outside the window, followed quickly by the sound of thunder.