Chapter 1

Nightingale leapt off the roof, soaring into the night sky. She free-fell for a moment, savouring the rush as the cool air whipped through her hair. After a flip, she fired her grappling hook and latched onto a nearby building. At thirty, with nearly ten years of experience as a hero, she had mastered the art of city traversal. As she swung through the dark streets, her communicator buzzed. It was Detective Luke Thatcher.

“Good evening, Detective,” she greeted him. “What’s up?”

“There’s some deal going on at the rundown factory on Burgundy Street. I’m trying to round up some officers to investigate, but you know how it is. Think you can check it out for me?”

“For you of course I can. What should I expect?”

“Guns. From what I’ve heard there’s a trade going on between the Corpses and the Westerns.”

“Wait, the Corpses and the Westerns? Aren’t they rival gangs? Why are they working together?”

“Not sure. Crime in this city is changing, gangs are teaming up. Criminals are getting smarter and there’s been an uptick in supervillain sightings, so be careful.”

"Understood, boss," she responded with a sly grin, hearing Detective Thatcher's grumble just before the call ended. Thatcher was one of the best, an unwavering, dedicated cop who had earned her respect. They’d crossed paths when he was still an officer and over the years they'd tackled a few cases together. She'd even met him in her civilian life a few times, not that he knew that. As a parole officer she had to work alongside police. Though he wasn’t one to share his emotions easily, Rikki had come to think of him as a friend.

Just as she refocused on the task ahead, her communicator rang again.

“Hey babe,” she answered.

“Hey babe,” Finn, her boyfriend spoke. “I’m at the restaurant. Where are you?”

Rikki's stomach dropped.

Shit, the date!

“I’m so sorry, babe. Work ran late. Had to file some extra reports and deal with a couple of parole violations,” she lied, the words coming out all to easily.

“Right... So, are you coming, or...?”

“I can’t tonight but I’ll make it up to you, I promise. Maybe I can swing by yours later?”

“Okay... sure,” Finn replied, his frustration clear in his voice before he hung up. Rikki sighed, guilt weighing on her. This was the third date in a row she’d missed because of "work" and she could tell how frustrated Finn was. Maybe she should tell him the truth, that she was a superhero, but they’d only been together for six months. She wasn’t ready to share that secret just yet. Only a handful of people knew her true identity, and it would stay that way for now.

Still, the guilt gnawed at her. Finn was a good guy, thoughtful, kind and passionate about his work as a teacher. He genuinely cared about making a difference in his students’ lives. If she didn’t start fixing things with him, she feared he might leave her, just like the others had. She could never find that elusive balance between her superhero and personal life.

As she reached the factory she pushed those thoughts aside, she had a job to do. Nightingale peered through a hole in the roof, spotting a handful of gang members from both the Corpses and the Westerns inside. She’d arrived just in time to see the weapons being inspected.

Damn, that is some serious firepower.

Money exchanged hands, and that was her signal. She didn't waste any time, launching herself off the roof, she dropped into the middle of the group.

"Evening fellas," she greeted them, her voice smooth as she cartwheeled across the room and landed a solid kick to one of the gang member’s heads. Most of the thugs readied to fight, but a couple of them bolted, making a run for their vans.

"Where do you think you're going? The fun’s just getting started!" Rikki called out with a smirk, tossing a couple of throwing knives. They struck the vans' tyres and air hissed as they deflated. With the escape route sealed, she turned back to the remaining thugs. Her super agility and enhanced strength made quick work of them, each punch and kick landing with the precision of a trained fighter. She didn't even need to use her sound-control powers on these guys.

Unfortunately, the ease of the fight made her mind drift. Her thoughts wandered back to Finn and the date she’d missed. She was running out of chances to make it up to him. Just as she was about to shake off the guilt, the sound of van doors slamming open broke her out of her thoughts. A man in high-tech knight armour stepped out, wielding a large sword and a round shield.

He called himself Rogue Knight, real name Anthony Meekin. He considered himself a supervillain but in reality he was just a thug in expensive armour, hired muscle, nothing more. Rikki had fought him a few times in the past and knew exactly how it would go. She’d always beat him with little effort.

"Hey there, toots. Miss me?" Rogue Knight sneered, spinning his sword playfully in his hand as he closed the distance between them.

“Mmm, who are you again?” Rikki raised an eyebrow, feigning confusion.

“Very funny bitch.” Rogue Knight swung his sword at her which she easily dodged.

“Really you guys couldn’t have gotten a better villain to help you?” She asked one of the last remaining conscious thugs. Knight swung at her again this time she blocked it with her stun batons and sent an electrical charge up the sword. Rogue Knight staggered back, his grip loosening on the sword as the electricity surged through his armor.

“You think I’m your typical goon?” he snarled, struggling to stay upright. “You won’t get me that easily, I’m the Rogue Knight.”

“You sound like an idiot. You know that right?” She asked, frustrated that the man she was spending time with tonight was this clown. “You know I’ve fought bigger bads then you right? I mean have you ever won a fight against a super before?” She dodged another wild swing from Knight’s sword. She let out a frustrated sigh as she flicked her stun batons to discharge another low-level pulse to keep him immobilized. Knight gritted his teeth, trying to regain control, but the pain was too much.

“This is sad, you’re just muscle for street gangs. Hope you do refunds because they got ripped off. You’re pathetic Meekin.”

Nightingale uppercutted Knight so hard his helmet came flying off exposing his face. He crumpled to the floor in defeat.

“So pathetic,” She teased as she watched him try to crawl away. She began beating on his face, hitting him over and over again even after he was ****, letting her frustration out on him. Finally, she stopped, leaving him bloody and broken.

Nightingale started walking away, her chest rising and falling with the weight of the fight. The adrenaline was still coursing through her veins, but the **** had left a bitter taste in her mouth. The factory was silent now. The thugs who had managed to escape would be a problem for another day, but for now the weapons and the money remained, an undeniable victory.

She wiped the sweat from her brow, her eyes lingering on the bloody mess that was the Rogue Knight. This wasn’t how she liked to do things, she wasn’t normally unnecessarily violent but sometimes anger took over.

Nightingale met Detective Thatcher on the rooftop of the police station, the city sprawled beneath them.

"Everything good?" she asked, rotating her shoulder.

Thatcher exhaled heavily, running a hand through his graying hair.

“It’d be a hell of a lot better if the cops in this city weren’t so fucking useless. Half are on the take, the other half wouldn’t lift a finger unless their pension depended on it. Makes my job damn near impossible.”

Nightingale offered a wry smile. “Good thing you’ve got me then.”

“And you,” he snapped, his voice cutting through the night like a whip. “You beat Meekin so badly, we had to send him to medical before we could even get him in a damn cell. That doesn’t exactly make my life easier.”

Her smile faltered. “I lost control." She admitted. "I didn’t mean to take it that far.” Thatcher sighed again, the fight draining out of him. His shoulders slumped beneath his coat, and for a moment, he just stared out at the city.

“No, I’m sorry,” he muttered. “Work’s been brutal lately. Trying to get anything done around here is like pulling teeth, and the wife keeps bugging me to sign the goddamn divorce papers.”

Rikki’s voice softened. “I’m sorry to hear that.”

“Yeah, well. That’s life.” He shoved his hands into his pockets and shook his head. “Alright, get out of here. You did good tonight. Go get some rest. You’ve earned it.”

She gave him a grateful nod, already retrieving her grappling hook from her belt.

“Goodnight, Detective."

Sometime later, Rikki arrived at an apartment. The door swung open to reveal her boyfriend, his expression worn with exhaustion and frustration.

“I’m sorry..” Rikki began.

"Save it," he interrupted, holding up a hand. "Look, it’s late, I’m tired, and I’ve got work in the morning. We’ll talk about this later, alright?"

Rikki nodded, her eyes downcast. "Sure."

"But you can start making it up to me by coming to bed," he said with a playful glint in his eyes. The tension between them eased, and they exchanged a soft smile as they made their way to the bedroom.

As they settled in, Rikki sighed, "I don’t deserve you."

"No, you don’t," Finn teased, flashing a grin and leaning in for a kiss. Making their way to the bedroom the couple embraced, kissed deeply and had some pretty vanilla sex. It wasn’t as good as Rikki might have liked but Finn certainly tried his best.