Disclaimer: I do not own Sky High, or any of it's characters, etc. so please don't sue me. I'm broke.

Ok, I would just like to warn everyone in advance that, while I actually like this fic, it is horribly dark, depressing, angsty, and so on

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Heroes aren't invincible, no matter what the comic books say, They can be hurt, and killed. But nothing Sky High had taught us could have prepared us for that.

At first it was the six of us working together after we graduated. How naive we were to think that saving the world would be easy. But we did okay, at first. Fighting villains gave a thrill none of us had expected, but sometimes the dangers outweighed the benefits. A new threat was lurking, one which would test all of us, and some wouldn't pass.

Zack fell first. Cornered, with no one to help him, no one who noticed the danger until it was too late. After the fight, Magenta crawled over to his still body and closed his staring eyes before gently placing his head in her lap. Tears were already streaming down her cheeks as she stroked his hair, staring intently at his face, as if by her will alone he would be okay. I don't know how long we all sat there, no one with dry eyes, but he never woke up.

I think Ethan was the only thing that kept her sane. He had been her friend for a lot longer than any of us, and he was the only one who quite knew how to comfort her. Will was almost equally shaken up, but he was much better at hiding it. He only truly broke down once, after Zack's funeral, when it was only him and I left. After that he stayed strong, for everyone else. At least we had each other, and Magenta had Ethan, even if just as a friend. Warren...had never really had anyone, but I think he almost preferred it that way.

Then Ethan was gone. Always the logical one, up against a villain who always did the opposite of what made sense. By then, we were all starting to realize the darker side of heroism. We were starting to realize that no one, not even heroes, are beyond harm.

That was apparently the last straw for Magenta. Some say she didn't see the blow coming. Most say she was too startled to react. Only we know the truth. She had seen it, and she could have ducked, or shifted. She didn't want to. She simply didn't care anymore.

The next test would prove to be the hardest for the remaining, which by now was only Will, Warren, and I. A foe whose power was to give nightmares, to play on fears. We all fought it with everything we had, but it was the one time I had ever seen Warren truly terrified. Suddenly his eyes turned darker, more haunted, burning with rage and pain, and fear. And I knew what he was seeing. We all knew what his worst fear was. He was seeing himself as everyone had expected him to turn out, the distinctions between himself and his father disappearing. We called out to him, trying to bring him back, but he was too far gone already. He died, a victim of his greatest terrors, and one of mine came to pass that day.

Me and Will were alone then, almost too numbed with pain to even feel. Alone, when we knew the end was drawing nearer to us as well.

As much as I loved him, thinking in a crisis wasn't Will's strong point, and even with super-strength he had limits. One blow too many, perhaps, left him exhausted and fighting an enemy who had their master plan perfected down to every last detail, and it included him. But when I saw that pipe go through him, then, well, then they got the full taste of my powers. but I was too late, and as I watched the last and dearest of my loved ones slip away, my only comfort was in knowing, no matter how horrible and painful, he didn't die alone. I was there, telling him that help was on the way and that he was going to be alright, and I think, if only for my sake, he almost convinced himself to believe me. In truth, no help was coming, because I knew he would be gone long before they arrived. And he was. That day I learned the true meaning of the word lonely.

But I wont be lonely much longer. Because all of them are near. I can feel them close by. Along with something else. Something dark but not unpleasant. Almost welcoming actually. Death. And I only regret that it saved me for last. It claimed all of us, one by one, catching most of us by surprise and taking us with our greatest weakness. But now, I don't fear it, I yearn for it, and as it approaches, as I stare at the long drop before me, I smile, because I'll be with them soon.

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Ok, what did you think? I warned you it was depressing. Stupid plot bunnies. Please review!