<Part 2>

"Me?"

"Yes. You." Terry flinched at the small, cold smile Danielle gave him. "Because this is your one chance to stop me. Tomorrow morning, I'm going to wake up and check a news site, or a news paper, or maybe just do a search for top new headlines. It doesn't matter where I look, because every front page is going to be the story of what you're doing today.

"I want those children punished.I want the heroes and officials and policemen who looked the other way held accountable. I want every single person involved in this tragedy to know they didn't get away with it. And I want to be satisfied, truly satisfied, when I read about what you did to give my son justice. And I suggest you record the whole thing, because I will find out if you try to deceive me about any of it."

"Dani, I don't have the power to do that!" Triumph cried. He didn't even try to make a move towards her. He'd felt how fast she'd taken it away. She could see his mind racing, trying to find the right words now that all his strength had betrayed him.

"You do. You really do. I should know, I just felt every last drop of it. You have the power to do almost anything, you just don't like how you're going to have to use it." Danielle tilted her head, distantly surprised at how calm and unsympathetic she felt in that moment, after a lifetime of self control and empathy. "And I don't even know what to tell you to do that would satisfy me, because I don't know, I really don't. But if I read that headline tomorrow, and it falls even a little short of making things right...

"Oh. Oh my." Danielle shook her head. "You do not want to find out what's going to happen then. No more rules, no more playing nice. Just a mother who's lost her child, and the world that took him away from her. That's it."

"Dani, please. Don't-"Triumph started to say.

"Nope, we're done here." Danielle strolled over to pat Triumph on the shoulder. "You have one day to save the world as we know it and possibly everyone in it. Better get going." And Danielle left him, walking back towards the parking lot, thoughts once again turning in a strange direction.

The hero, a paragon of integrity and decency, forced to make hard decisions for the greater good. Possibly even forced to use evil's own cruel methods to defeat it. Is that a cliche? Maybe. Then again, maybe it just depends on how far it gets taken. Either way, can't wait to read about it tomorrow.