Super People Part 2

She dodged a left hook and kicked hard into the left calf. Her target didn't flinch, simply put a palm into her sternum propelling her across the square. A pair of wooden crates broke beneath her, absorbing some of the shock and pressing a thousand splinters into her back and arms.

Watchword simply stood across the square from her, waiting for her to get up. "Do you remember the first time we met, Shandra? Feels like yesterday to me." The former superhero unzipped her motorcycle jacket, letting it slide off to reveal the dark blue tank top underneath.

"I remember being tired, beaten, and praying my ass off for someone with real strength to save me. I thought you were an angel when you showed up. Hell, I thought you were good. Looks like I was wrong." Shandra stood slowly, dusting herself off.

Shandra tried to punch before the blur actually reached her, but the former superhero was simply too fast. Before she could blink she had been pushed into the wall, her breathe knocked out and her limbs trapped in the stronger woman's hold.

"I can't live like this anymore, Shandra." The whisper in her ear seemed like thunder. "They're ready now, they need you now..."

"Who's ready, who needs me? What are you talking about?"

"The world, Shandra. People need a hero, need someone to lead them. I couldn't do that, Shandra, couldn't make them better, couldn't make them strong..."

"That's why you're doing this? Christ Jane, how many people have you killed for this? How could you...?"

"It's nothing compared to what's coming. I can smell it, Shandra, just out of reach, something terrible is coming. It may already be here. It's not something I can save you from. You need more than me, more than just superpowers."

"Why are you telling me this?" Shandra felt the handle of a knife shoved into her hand. She swallowed hard, "you can't be serious."

"I can't stand this Shandra, it needs to end. I... not you. Anyone else, and I'd have done it already. It's amazing how easy even the toughest necks snap... but not yours. My hands won't even move."

She was blinded by tears as she brought the knife up. There wasn't any need to swing blindly, the slightest brush of lips on her neck made finding the unguarded neck all too easy. A hard push to get past the inhumanly strong skin and it was over, though neither moved for a long time.

* * *

Elsewhere:

A small group of people sat around an old TV set. Though each had their quirks, none would stand out on any city street in the world. One seated on the far left said aloud, "you know, I kind of wanted to be the one to kill her."

"Doesn't matter. Everything is already in place, as soon as Timer returns we move."

"Can't wait," the first speaker replies.