This was written for a competition I entered for rEdRoSe-StArFiRe-RoSeFiRe. It's supposed to be all gloom and depressing. Enjoy.

A Soul Lost

Here lies John Lucas Anders,

beloved son to Kori Anders.

Loved and cherished till the day he died.

She read the inscription over and over, feeling the stab of pain with every recitation, knowing the past would never change and can never be altered. It had been two years to the time the fates weaved their cruel injustice, two years that changed this former happy and spirited soul by plunging it into the darkest caverns of devastation, depression, anger, and hate.

Her pager beeped, alerting her that she was needed. Taking it out and giving it a swift glance and a glare she turned it off and shoved it back into the pocket of her expensive waistcoat. This was her time, her moment, and nothing was going to hinder her from it.

The life of a successful businesswoman should have made Kori Anders feel better, given her something to look up to, but it didn't. He had kept his promise, the one she now worked for, he was responsible for her success, he opened doors of opportunity for her, and because of that she had gained so much, the wealth, the recognition, and forget connections, she was the connection, but still it didn't complete her. She sighed. Life was so different when her parents were here….

Her parents were warm, loving people, they were regarded well because of their family background, coming from a long line of royal descendants, and Kori was the only child, the last of the royal line. Kori hardly cared much for her status, perhaps the reason being was because she was surrounded by so many close friends, they had all made her feel special during the time they knew her. Her family and friends were all her heart desired and nothing else, but that still didn't mean the fate of her parents would be revoked. They died tragically in a fire, leaving Kori orphaned at the age of seventeen. She abdicated her throne stripping her title of Princess, not wanting anything to do with any part of the life reminding her of the ones she lost. She stayed with her friend, Rachel Roth until she was eighteen and able to support herself, moving into a run down apartment working as a waitress. Her friends tried to help her with her expenses but she would only refuse them, not wanting to be a burden on anyone.

Though it had initially been a struggle things were going well for her, until the night she was raped while coming home from work. That incident had resulted in her getting pregnant with her son. She had barely begun getting over her loss when she found out she was expecting. However, the pregnancy had given her something to hope for, a reason to move on, and in some miraculous way sped up the healing process. During the pregnancy Kori became more career minded knowing that after the baby they would both need some support, so she decided to steer her interest in Business Studies, (she had a bit of a knack for it anyway). She educated herself as much as she could before the baby arrived, passing her course with flying colors. Then a healthy baby John Anders was born on May 26th while Kori was only nineteen years of age.

For the next five years she worked hard academically but also took on another hobby; martial arts. She wasn't going to let herself become a victim again. With strong determination and drive her skills advanced, both in her educational and physical aspects, but that didn't stop what was going to happen next. Her son was shot dead accidentally by a group of thugs, John was just caught in the line of fire. He died at the age of five.

That was the breaking point for Kori, her son's death plunged her down a spiral of depression and darkness, isolating her from the world. She cried out her pain, and only one answered the call, and his name was Slade Wilson. She was rotting on the streets when he found her, but he knew she had talent, he knew there was something in her he could harness, and so he took her in and made her what she was today, a cold hearted business woman. He knew her loss and used it to fuel her rage, for he turned her into more than a cold figure in society, she became a dark icon of the night. He trained her well, enhanced both her physical and mental abilities, and soon had her stealing valuable gadgets, weapons, information, anything he could use to benefit from. She was so good she never got caught, in fact, very few knew of her existence, thanks to the ninja suit Slade had made for her, equipped with state of the art weaponry and gadgets of all kinds.

Kory knelt down to the gravestone and read something on the bottom of the inscription:

John Lucas Anders

Born May 19th 2001 – Died February 13th 2007

Most of her life had been spent in tears with one thing after another, who could blame her for what she was about to do. Reaching into her pocket she thought about the person she started out as, and the person she became. It wasn't really something to be proud of, twenty six years old and probably the most hated person in the world right now. Thanks to her she had a hospital torn down only to be replaced by another one of her company buildings. That wasn't even like the Kory Anders everyone used to know, the one her friends used to know. Now she was left with no one, except a boss who won't leave her alone, it was either go out on one of his missions, or endure his sick perverted fascinations with her. Yes, he expressed his desire in her but she never wanted any part of it; that she made clear, though she knew it would only be a matter of time before she gave in, thus giving her the strength to pull her hand out of her pocket grasping the gun she kept and pointing it to her temple. She asked herself one last time: Is this what she wanted? Suddenly she sensed another presence but didn't turn around.

"Kory?" the voice said.

She knew that voice, it was one of her best friends from long ago.

"Richard. What do you want?"

Richard Grayson, her closest friend, had followed her here to the cemetery. He cared for her more than anyone and was secretly in love with her, no matter what she did. Being wrapped up in his father's endeavors he was too busy to be there for her as much as he would've liked and deeply regretted that. He was shocked to see her standing here with a gun to her head. Sure, life had been cruel to her, but even so she wasn't one to give up so easily. He cautiously approached her keeping his voice calm.

"Kory honey, what are you doing?"

"It's no use Richard, my mind's made up. I just want it to end," she replied in a monotone voice.

"No Kory, this isn't right. You can't do this, we need you."

"No one needs me, in fact, the world will be better off without me."

"That's not true. What about our friends?"

"Friends..." she chuckled sinisterly. "They don't care about me anymore."

"I do." She looked at him this time. "If you put that bullet in your head, you'll be making a huge mistake. I mean there's so much to live for."

"To live for?!" she growled. "I lived to see my parents die, I lived to get raped, I lived to see my friends disappear…and…and…I lived to see my son die," she sobbed. "Now tell me what's left!"

Richard would've given her anything for her not to pull that trigger, he had to think of something.

"The truth. The truth is left."

"W-what?"

"The truth about John's death, it wasn't an accident."

Kory couldn't believe what she was hearing. "That's a lie. He was just there at the wrong place at the wrong time, he wasn't…" She saw Richard shaking his head no as he kept his gaze on her. "What are you saying, Richard?"

"Kory," he stepped closer, "He was murdered by the man you now work for."

"Slade…killed him? But why? Why would he…" At this point the gun was dropping slowly from her head and Richard felt a little relief then, but it wasn't for long as she lifted it back up again.

"Kory, please…" he stepped forward but Kory wasn't phased, "You can be normal again," he took another step, "Be the person you once were," another step, this time Kory began to feel intimated, "because you are worth so much more."

A tear trickled down her face. No one had ever spoken this way to her in a long time, she felt her hard exterior melt and the real Kory breaking free.

"Why do you say such things, Richard, after all the wrong I've done?"

He gave her a warm smile. "Because…I love you."

More tears trickled down her face as she stared him in the eyes, realizing the truth before her and said, "Save me."

He grabbed at the gun but her hand held fast, it wouldn't budge. Kory didn't want to pull the trigger but her body wasn't under her control anymore. There was a struggle, and then…BANG. Both stopped moving until a body slid down and fell to the floor.

Kory gasped in shock as she felt the control come back to her body.

"Richard! Oh my God, Richard!" Kory saw the blood and cried into Richard's chest. "No. No, no, no! Please don't die. I can't…I can't live without you."

"You won't have to," he groaned.

Her head shot up as soon as she heard his voice and saw Richard's smiling face. "Richard? You're not dead."

"Not today, sweetheart. That shot got me in the arm, but you're okay, that's the main thing."

Kory couldn't believe it, it was like she saw everything in a new light. She hugged him for a long time, and whispered something he'd always wanted to hear.

"I love you."

Richard felt so comforted by her words he forgot about the pain and hugged her back the best he could, before letting her help him up, and together they left the cemetery to embrace the new dawn in their lives.