My plot is basically about two women who stumble upon a supernatural energy via a goddess that makes them very powerful. Along their way to fame and fortune, they kill several people. They're aware of the murders and the consequences, but the powers they possess puts them in a trance-like state as they're killing, and they accept the bargain that comes with such power (even though they're thoroughly disturbed by their actions). Think vampires that don't suck blood. The ending was that the law would catch up with them and they'd be sentenced to hanging, but that doesn't really make sense if they have the power of a goddess working for them... maybe there's a sensible loophole I'm missing. Another idea would be the internal guilt or struggle they'd have to deal with knowing they killed so many people, but I think that'd be a disappointing climax. I prefer action, or some external force serving as the antagonist. Feel free to ask questions, I'm more than happy to provide more details if I didn't explain enough.
Welcome to the site! My main process for when I get to this point is What are some stories I can think of that did anything similar? What don't I like about those stories, and how can I do them better As somebody who is also writing an Urban Fantasy about a group of Villain Protagonists discovering the secret existence of magic: Breaking Bad is my favorite story about a protagonist slowly becoming more and more villainous, Chronicle is my favorite story about normal people developing abnormal super-powers, and Death Note is an amazing combination of both (though without the "slowly" of Breaking Bad). I say this having only seen most of Breaking Bad and about 1/3 of Death Note (both of which are series), but I did see Chronicle (just a movie) from beginning to end. Are you familiar with any of these? Or any others which tackle similar ideas?
Have you considered another god or goddess who would act as a counter-measure? You see this a lot in universes like The Elder Scrolls where many different gods are influencing and controlling the world and its inhabitants. Also, what are the motivations of the goddess for bestowing these two individuals with these powers?
This depends on what kind of Goddess you've got, how much she likes her subjects, and what kind of powers she gives them. How powerful are we talking? Because, like... Captain America is 'Really strong', and Superman is also 'Really strong', but that doesn't mean they're remotely on the same plane. Unless the characters truly become godlike, it's not likely that they could just use brute power to escape the law forever. At least in the USA, the police are very heavily armed, especially if SWAT or special forces are called in. Even if they could kill the first wave of police sent to arrest them, they can't fight off the police as a whole, and the longer they try, the bigger a hole they dig for themselves. (Think 'Dracula VS an entire town of people with pitchforks and torches.') Or, if their powers are less 'Literal strength/speed/physical attributes' and have more to do with, like, manipulation of circumstances, illusions, etc, have them be outwitted by a regular mortal. One of the things about spinning lies and illusions is that keeping them all straight is nigh impossible after a while. A good, old-fashioned no-nonsense gumshoe will eventually see through all their BS.
Why does the goddess care about these girls and why do they need to kill? Does she personally use the girls to give her sacrifices or something, or is she just indifferent? If the former, and if I were a god, if my pawns started to get too much negative attention, I'd just dump them. I wouldn't want mortals finding out about me or, worse, finding a way to kill me or otherwise cut off my means of sacrifice. If society found out about my pawns I'd rather leave them for dead. If the latter (as in, the goddess is more of an indifferent force of nature than a benevolent entity), perhaps there can be some force that negates her powers, maybe someone or a group of people know of this sort of event and know of a way to disable the girls' powers.
Maybe the goddess likes chaos/suffering, even when it's affecting her subjects. Maybe there's a rival god/dess who's more powerful than the girls' patron.
Maybe the power that the goddess gave them had a finite length (either in amount of raw power or in time, I prefer the first) and it simply runs out when they aren't expecting it... If you did this, you'd need to seed some subtle clues in around the time they got the power, so the reader doesn't overtly notice but doesn't feel cheated when it comes out. Like Agatha Christie's clues...
The gods have a tendency to withdraw their patronage when their minions screw up. Maybe getting caught and drawing attention to the deity counts?
I decided to go with the idea that the power becomes too much for humans to handle. It affects the decisions they make, the challenges they take on, etc. I think that's pretty plausible and works so well with the main plot. I know external antagonists are more interesting and adds to the cast, but there's definitely something resonant about being defeated by one's own power. Thanks for the suggestions - they got my wheels turning for sure
Inner turmoil is a fantastic source of drama if you can write it well. It's not easy to do, so I wish you all the best.
Maybe they get away with it, via the law using their powers, but an unsuspected/anticipated vigilante sort who has observed/been involved in the process 'enforces justice.' Or the let the process go through, believing their powers will allow them to survive the hanging...and once hung, even if they survive, their sentence is served and they're free to go. But someone enchants, or protects the ropes from enchantment, and the pair actually do hang and die.
