Causes, Lost

The superhero opened the filing cabinet and rifled through till he came to a section marked 'Causes, Lost.' He took a folder out from under an arm and placed it in the section before closing the cabinet. Solemnly he walked back to his desk, cape flowing gently behind his back. An old wooden chair behind the desk bore his weight with a creak.

The hero opened a drawer in the desk, and retrieved a bottle of whiskey and dirty mug. He poured himself a quarter glass and brought it to his mouth. He paused for a moment, before putting it back down untouched. He got up and retrieved the folder he'd just filed away.

Jane, Shelly
19 - F
MA
(Deceased)

"The girl with two first names," he spoke aloud to no one.

He had chased every clue he could find. Run down every dark alley, and dimly lit bar. He had knocked on the doors of a hundred perps, and shaken down every shady establishment. In the end he'd missed all the real clues. Because in the end, it was her all along.

She'd been on a collision course for a couple of years. "Heroin for a heroine" the headlines would read. An overdose in the bathroom of her apartment two nights before. He'd gotten there in time to find her there himself. And in that moment, standing over her, he'd felt it. More than ever he'd felt it. He was just a man in a ridiculous costume.

The hero lifted his glass and drained it.