[ Laurie doesn't seem to know what to say to that, but Jaime's not sure what he'd say either. Guilt isn't a logical thing. It's an odd, ephemeral thing, something that can't be pinned down by reason. He can't imagine how it makes Laurie feel, nor can he imagine the complexity of that emotion. ]

I, uh... I should've been.

[ And that's one thing he's never going to forgive himself for. This wasn't how it had to be. Eddie shouldn't have been on-duty in the first place, and if someone had stepped forward and taken leadership, if he had, with all the powers at his disposal, things could have gone differently. They spent so much time arguing like children that they never noticed him slip away and deal with the real problem at hand, did they?

It should have been him in that plane. He would've made it out just fine. ]

Me and my team, we were all out together when the whole area got attacked. One guy had explosive powers, and he couldn't keep 'em in -- he was going to blow, and take the whole boardwalk with him. So Red shoved him in a plane, flew him up to where he couldn't hurt anyone but them.

[ Jaime inhales deeply through his nose, hoping to keep his composure. He hasn't had to explain this one to anyone else yet. He'd mentioned Eddie's death, sure, but the other heroes just said that they were sorry, never even bothered to ask how it happened.

Assholes. ] He went out a hero.

[ Just like every other hero, but at a certain point, even if that was Eddie's highest aspiration, it's not enough. ]