Search lights from a half dozen police helicopters lit their faces to the point they had difficulty seeing.

A wall in their living room was full of commendations, awards, and recognitions for outstanding service to the community, acts of heroism, and appreciation for doing what the metropolitan police department had been unable to do: keep people safe. Nearly twenty years, and now this.

They could have both choked on the irony.

Super powers were not something they had ever expected, nor sought. They had been happy as chemists in a pharmaceutical laboratory. They weren’t even too sure exactly which of the many ingredients sitting on the table that day had gotten into the mixture. A simple puff of smoke, not even enough to set off alarms, was all it had taken. The Empress could see through anything, including lead. Meteor could lift 30 times his own weight.

Neither had caught on to the changes in their body at first. Empress initially thought she was having hallucinations. Meteor thought he was just being unusually clumsy, breaking things by just leaning against them, or squeezing a bit too hard. Once they understood, though, they knew they had a responsibility to use their powers for good.

Opportunity had not waited long. In a city burdened with crime and a police force rife with corruption, they had been walking to their car one evening when a cry for help got their attention. Empress quickly sighted the woman in distress and Meteor had subdued the would-be mugger with a simple punch to the head. Rarely did their exploits ever take much more energy than that first bust.

Attitudes had recently changed, though. A new mayor, elected on a conservative, tough-on-crime platform, called them vigilantes, not heroes. The new police commissioner had told them to stay far away from crime solving. For a while, they had tried to comply, but it became quickly evident that the police commissioner was in the pocket of organized crime. People, innocent people, were being hurt while police looked away.

Now, they were the hunted. Just hours before, they had responded to the cries of a young mother, attempting to protect herself and her baby from a violent and ill-tempered ex-boyfriend. The boyfriend had charged at Meteor with a knife. Meteor had easily side-stepped and then caught the jackass with a left hook that had lifted him fifteen feet into the air. When the perp hit the ground, he didn’t move. Whether Meteor’s blow or the fall caused the neck to snap didn’t seem to matter. The police commissioner was screaming murder and ordered Meteor and Empress arrested. Knowing there would be no justice for them here, their only choice had been to run.

Down back alley ways and through the density of urban plight, Empress and Meteor had managed to avoid being seen. But now, they were cornered in the city’s warehouse district. This was the mob’s home. Chances of escaping were slim. With police helicopters beating overhead, they could hear SWAT teams and their dogs approaching.

Empress raised her gun. She would be able to see them before they could see her, and that was all the advantage she needed. She didn’t want to kill anyone, but she knew they wouldn’t hesitate to kill her if given the chance, so she steeled herself to aim for their heads.

The first spray of bullets missed them completely. Not even close. Same with the second. Empress took careful aim and fired, picking off three snipers in rapid succession.

Meteor took look bricks from the wall behind them and hurled them into two of the spotlights. Three of the helicopters backed off, but the other two were out of his range and stayed put, keeping their lights fixed.

Again, they ran. A rock in Meteor’s hands had the force of a canon ball. He kept the path ahead clear. Empress took out anyone attempting to follow them. They were heading for a set of caves used by the entrenched homeless. Once there, they would be safe. The caves were an impossible maze no one had ever been able to map. The odds of becoming impossibly lost were too great. No one would dare try to find them there.

They almost made it. The number of snipers was so great Empress had missed one, and that one managed to put a bullet in Meteor’s left shoulder. Empress had immediately eliminated the shooter and tried tending to Meteor’s wound. At her insistence, Meteor tore strips from Empress’s dress to use as bandages. The bullet had gone clean through. They would run more.

Along the loading dock of a machine company, Meteor finally stopped. “I’ve lost too much blood,” he gasped. “You go on. Leave me here and I’ll distract them long enough for you to get to the caves.

“No!” Empress screamed. “I’m not leaving you to become food for these vultures! We’ll stop and rest a bit. I can keep them at bay until you’re able to go on. We can’t be more than a mile from the caves!”

Meteor took Empress in his arms and held her close. “You know, you are the most beautiful creature to have ever graced this planet. Even through eternity, I will always love you.”

Empress fought back the tears in her eyes. “Don’t talk like that. We’re going to live forever. Together. You and me.”

“No,” he said, shaking his head. “I can feel it. Too late.” He took her face in his strong hands and kissed her as passionately as ever. Empress could tell he was growing weak, quickly.

“Come on,” she instructed. “Let’s get off this dock and into those shadows behind the building. The spotlights can’t find us there.” She took his hand and they began moving down the dock as quickly as they could.

Empress heard the unmistakable crack of a sniper’s rifle. She felt Meteor’s body go limp as he fell to the concrete. Standing over him, she looked for the sniper, found him, and memorized his face. She could not kill him now, but one day she would.

Kneeling over her husband’s lifeless body, Empress sobbed a painful good-bye and gave him one last kiss before slipping into the shadows. She would need help retrieving his body, but she knew who to ask. Looking to the sky one last time, she felt anger take hold.

There would be revenge, and it would be complete.

MODELS: [Ddiablo] and {Bovary Taritas]
MAKE-UP: [Danelle Osborn]
ASSISTANT TO MR. LETBETTER: [Jason Bryant]

What will Empress do to exact her revenge? Is Meteor  really dead? And who could really be behind the plot to put our super heroes behind bars? Can you feel the excitement?