The bone-chilling rain was the perfect backdrop for the morose scene that was too-rapidly unfolding in front of her. She felt an unfamiliar rush of heat envelop her body, and some part of her stunned brain was remembering something she had learned in biology class all those years ago about the heart pumping extra oxygenated life-giving blood to the vital organs in times of extreme trauma. It was a shock response.
It must be that.
Even the frigid water falling from the sky was not able to adequately numb her body.
She could feel her heart pounding in her ribcage, threatening to explode. Or stop. Whichever came first. Her mouth hung slightly open, and her breathing was shallow and labored. Every inhalation, every exhalation now seemed like a conscious effort, something she had to remember to do. Her vision blurred, but whether it was due to the torrential downpour or her own salty tears, she couldn’t tell.
She could only stand there in the middle of the chaos, feeling the slight throbbing in her temples, while her mind viciously replayed the events that had occurred only a few minutes earlier. She couldn’t turn off the television set, she couldn’t look away – her internal movie was set on continual repeat.
She didn’t mean to kill her – it was an accident.
But isn’t what they all say?
At the time, no one knew that the structural integrity of the building had been compromised due to years upon years of neglect. Sure, the place was desolate and deserted, but surely the foundation had held up, right?
Right?
They had fought under the cover of darkness, the only light available to them had been the natural shine of the moon when not covered by the ominous clouds, and the occasional bursts of green plasma flame. Naturally, Kim had appeared in the nick of time to save the day and rescue the world from the evil plotting of the crazy scientist. And just as naturally, Shego had reveled in the chance to fight with the redhead cheerleader turned superhero, the girl she considered her only equal. But Kim had liked it too, their fights, and perhaps that was where the problem truly lay.
Hero and villain. Equal and opposite.
But they liked it that way.
Tossing undisguised insults and backhanded compliments back and forth, neither of them had noticed when the support beams began to warp more under their weight. Neither of them noticed when the roof was only slightly beginning to shift and slide – a miniscule movement. Neither of them had noticed anything around them – they were too absorbed in each other…until it was too late.
It all happened so fast. It shouldn’t have, but it did. A loud and deafening crack signaled the building’s intentions. Both girls heard the warning herald, and reacted accordingly.
But for one of them, it wasn’t enough.
When the dust had cleared, the scant moonlight only found one of them standing in the rubble.
Whose fault was it? Mine? Hers? Both? Neither?
She wasn’t a murderer; she never wanted to be a murderer. She never asked to be a murderer. Sure, she had maimed and injured more than a few men in her lifetime (considering her lifestyle and job, how could she not?), but she never killed anyone.
Not until now, her mind mocked her.
But of all the people to wipe from existence…she had to kill THIS one. THIS girl. The one with the green eyes that so closely matched her own.
Despite their differences, this was the one girl she had come to respect. The one girl she had grudgingly admitted to admire. The one girl she discovered, too late, that she loved.
It won’t really end like this, right?
Any minute now, she’ll wake up, and we’ll fight again, just like we always do. Any minute now, I’ll see her chest resume the rhythmic rise and fall pattern – she’ll be breathing again. Any minute now, she’ll open her eyes, and the nightmare will be over.
Any minute now…
Ron, Rufus, and the police were staring at her, but she didn’t care. Their looks spoke of sympathy, but for whom? The one claimed by Death, or the one left living?
She didn’t care.
As the body was hurriedly zipped in a black body bag, she couldn’t hold back her tears any longer. It was a flood that had been waiting patiently – but it was bound to happen eventually. As she broke down, crouching on her hunches, tears streaming down her face in a quiet and silent lament, the onlookers continued to stare. She could almost hear their inner thoughts in her fevered mind.
Why is she crying over her?
Weren’t they enemies?
Why does she care?
Because she loved her. Not that any of them would understand, but she loved her.
The pounding in her temples became more insistent, and reality was violently knocking at the door. She was dead. She wasn’t coming back. She wasn’t waking up.
She really was gone this time.
Where was the future? What would she do now? Who would stand up to her now? Where was her other half?
Hitching a breath, she placed a hand on the ground to steady herself, but it wasn’t enough. Her brain was in overdrive, and she was hyperventilating. She needed to find a paper bag to breathe into, but she was in no mental condition to make such a move.
The world fell away as darkness consumed her.
The End
End Notes:
Yep, that’s it. It’s the end. I told you it would be angsty. How you interpret the end is up to you really.