I’m writing an 18+ superhero story. My main character is a young man/woman (I don’t know their gender yet). They are a stripper and get powers from overdosing on a street drug that gives you superpowers. After that, their 31-year-old boyfriend dies (he’s older than my main character). My character decides to find his killer and originally plans to kill them but chooses justice over revenge and hands them over to the police, and then they decide to become a superhero vigilante.
Really this origin story is about love and justice VS revenge. It’s a young man or woman in love with a slightly older man or woman with baggage, and when they are murdered, my main character with their superpowers has to decide how they move forward. They know they are taking the law into their own hands, but will he/she choose revenge or justice? Will they let their hate and grief control them to murder the killer, or do the right thing and honor the boyfriend/girlfriend and bring their killer to justice?
It's about how these people murdered this innocent man/woman that my main character loved. The pain you gave was unprovoked, but despite all this, they know the boyfriend/girlfriend wouldn't want them to become a murderer and get revenge, so they decide to send them to prison. They choose justice despite in their hearts wanting to kill them.
What could make the tragedy even heavier is if, before the person is killed, they cheat on their partner with an ex. They get into a heated argument with that ex, yell, and then immediately regret it. Feeling awful about what happened, they confess everything to their partner and genuinely beg for forgiveness. But the partner leaves. Heartbroken and jealous, knowing the person truly loved their partner more, the ex kills them. This adds to the survivor’s guilt—if they had stayed, they might’ve saved them. It also brings a more mature layer to the relationship, showing how people can make a terrible mistake, feel genuine remorse, and still seek forgiveness.
How old do you think my character is?