Skylar Moon arrived outside Sentinel Cities Execution Room for The Criminally Dangerous and Condemned at precisely 11:40 PM. In her left hand, she held the letter she'd received from Magnus Rook; the letter inviting her to bear witness to what Sentinel Cities' greatest criminal mastermind had called his 'final denouement'.

Never one to miss out on the end of things – even if the said thing was an execution – Skylar had written back she'd attend.

Her colleagues at work had been utterly baffled by her decision, no doubt assuming a detective three days from her retirement would be taking it easy – perhaps planning a vacation.

But Skylar wasn't interested in doing either of those things.

What she wanted – no – what she needed was answers.

And her answer lay just beyond the great gray door in front of her where she knew her nemesis would meet the end of his rope in less than ten minutes.

Not wanting to waste another moment, Skylar reached for the knob and opened the door, walking straight into the belly of the beast.

"You came."

It was a statement.

Not a question.

Magnus Rook stood a few feet across from her on the executioner's platform, a noose wrapped like a ribbon around his neck. His time spent behind bars had aged his once handsome features significantly, as his normally clean-shaven face was stubbled and his once impressive voice – the voice that had lured so many over to his cause – had become raspy like an old man's.

Skylar only nodded in response, unsure of what to say. It was hard knowing how to approach a conversation with a criminally condemned person – especially when they'd been your rival for so long.

"How are you doing?" Skylar asked, settling on a polite question.

A ghost of a smile crossed Magnus's mouth. "As good as one can be when they're about to die. But you'd know all about that, wouldn't you?"

Skylar felt her lips press together. "I'm unsure what you-,"

"You're dying," said Magnus matter-of-factly, "Just like me - only your death won't be quite so swift, will it?"

Skylar tried to mask her surprise.

She knew what he saw: the dark circles under her eyes from lack of sleep were something no amount of concealer could hide.

Her doctor had delivered the life-shattering news mere hours before she had made her 999th arrest.

She had cancer - something her gift of clairvoyance hadn't been able to foretell in the visions she'd been receiving since a child; the visions that had made her a crime-solving genius.

"I am nothing like you," Skylar insisted. "I'm not a criminal."

Magnus laughed at this, though she saw his eyes look nervously at the clock.

11:43 PM.

Seven minutes until his end.

"I think we all have a bit of criminal lingering inside us," Magnus said, flexing his fingers. "I'm just the only one of us that's been brave enough to accept that." He paused, cocking his head to the side. "But that's not why you came. Why are you here? It can't be just because I asked you to come."

"I want to know why," Skylar said simply, letting her words hang in the air between them.

Magnus raised an eyebrow at her. "Why what?"

"Why you choose a life of crime!" Skylar said, throwing up her hands in frustration. "You could have done anything with your life. You could have been a doctor, a teacher, a lawyer – hell – you could have grown up to be President! But y-you choose to waste your gift of clairvoyance - a gift that we share - on petty crimes and thievery!"

Magnus scoffed. "Should I have been a toe-the-line-and-do-as-i'm-told copper like you?"

"I don't know," Skylar admitted. "But you could have been something..."

"I was something," Magnus insisted, only to wince at what Skylar assumed was his use of past tense. "I am something! What are you, Sky? What have you done with your life besides brand all those you lock up as criminals and call it justice?"

"I don't-,"

"You say I'm a criminal, yet you know nothing about me beyond what my record says. You think all those years in your field would teach you that a piece of paper about someone doesn't mean shit. It's a person's character that matters - though I suppose your clairvoyance can't tell you that, can it?"

Skylar winced at the jab.

"Then tell me who you are." Skylar pressed, eager to know what made her nemesis; the only one in the world who'd ever challenged her, tick.

"You want to know who I am?" Magnus asked, his tone softer now. "I was the boy who everyone in his neighborhood relied on for answers because of my gift. I was the scrawny kid who got beat up because he was too strange to fit in, and gave answers to things that the wrong people didn't want to hear."

Magnus paused for a moment before continuing. "You know, I was ten years old when I figured out I was good at stealing? But not in a selfish kind of way. I decided to use my ability of seeing into the future to rob the rich and give back whatever they'd seen fit to take. I even had my own costume and kicks so I could look cool while doing it too - my own armour."

"Are you wearing your armor now?" Skylar whispered.

It was hard for her to imagine him in his youth, donning a mask and a cape like some crimson crusader.

Being clairvoyant often came at the cost of people wanting to exploit you, and it was clear to her that Magnus had been one of the exploited.

"I've been wearing my armour for years," he admitted.

"I suppose you're right," Skylar said, "We all have parts of ourselves that we hide away."

"And what does Sentinel Cities' clairvoyant detective hide, hmm?" Magnus asked, his eyes glancing once more at the clock.

11:46 PM.

"I hide the fact that I'm afraid," Skylar said, the words free-falling from her mouth, "I became a detective to solve puzzles and solve real crimes with my gift, but my whole life I have been unable to figure out who I am only to find myself at the end of it and dying."

Skylar looked at him then, her eyes wide. "Does that sound crazy?"

"No," said Magnus. "If anything, it makes you human. I honestly believe that we're all just doing our very best to make it to the end of life's line - whether we're blessed with powers or otherwise."

The end...

Only two minutes remained.

Panic washed over her then. She couldn't let this happen. She couldn't let him fall – let him die. 

Surely there must be an allowance in the law for mercy? For understanding?

Could she help him escape? Or would that make her a criminal too?

Should she remove the noose from his neck and try to convince the jury to give him a second chance?

Should she...?

Could she....?

"Sky?"

She glanced up at Magnus. Surprisingly, his features were calm – almost as if he knew something she didn't.

"You don't have to save me." He said. "You just have to do better and take care of yourself before your own story ends. Okay?"

Skylar felt a single tear slide down her cheek as she thought about their shared story. Even though they'd chosen different paths, she couldn't help but feel as if fate had had a hand in their meeting.

Their game of cat-and-mouse had spawned thousands upon thousands of comics, movies, and TV shows depicting her; Skylar Moon as the hero, and Magnus as the "Big Bad."

But he wasn't bad. Not really.

Skylar looked over at the clock.

50...

40...

"I'm sorry," Skylar said. And she meant it. "I should have taken the time to listen to you, to hear what you had to say. You've tried to bring about real change where the law wasn't able to..."

Magnus shook his head. "Don't be sorry. You did what you thought was right. But you came when I asked you to, which means that you're capable of changing for the better. You just need to find someone that sees you for you and not rely so much on what you think your powers are showing you. Being Clairvoyant means you can see the future - yes - but that doesn't mean you should ignore what's right in front of you."

Magnus glanced up at the noose and closed his eyes.

30 seconds.

20.

10...

What are you, Sky? Magnus had asked her.

I hide the fact that I'm afraid, she'd said.

At that moment, the present could never be clearer of what to do.

You just need to find someone that sees you for you, he'd told her.

Skylar stepped forward, reaching for the rope.