Nothing ever seems to change in the world. No matter where she went, Private Investigator Cheryl Sterling couldn’t escape the grime of a corrupt city. The one she was in now was no different than her home back in Caligino City. An old acquaintance had directed her to a lucrative job in the shrouded city of Weston to look into the illicit dealings of one of the city’s most prominent businessmen.

Always diligent in her work, Cheryl found out everything she could about this city much like her own and yet... oddly different. It looked like any other city; tall buildings lining the downtown core and streets full of busy people. But Cheryl could never quite put her finger on what it was about Weston that felt so... weird.

Weston had more than its fair share of trouble. They had just had the Director of their covert spy Agency deposed on corruption charges but things had actually gotten worse. The police had all but disappeared from the streets and were deep in the pockets of mobsters and what some in the city had started calling ‘super villains.’ None of them had really stood out yet and they hadn’t yet wrested control from the mob but people were starting to worry. What made it worse was that the only resistance to this corruption was nothing more than a rumour. Some woman with shining eyes was said to be all that stood between Weston and chaos but Cheryl didn’t believe it. The way she had heard people talking made her sound like a fairy tale.

Worse still, the corrupt police were not even the biggest problem in Weston. High powered CEO's from corporations controlled most of the city’s wealth and were nothing short of brazen in their illegal activities. One such businessman played the city’s rival gangs against each other, selling weapons to the highest bidder. He was smart about it, however, and covered his tracks at every turn. And that was where Cheryl Sterling came in.

This old acquaintance of hers had been sent to Caligino to recruit the PI’s help in taking down the illegal arms dealer and CEO of White Corp, Trent White. The source who sent for Cheryl asked to remain anonymous but, digging deep enough, Cheryl found out it was the Mayor of Weston herself, Vera Calloway. She kept this information quiet, of course, but she could only wonder why the mayor wanted Trent White out of the way. It was hard to believe that anyone in this dirty city could grow a conscience but Cheryl decided it didn’t matter. Taking illegal guns off the streets was only right, even if this city wasn’t her own. Besides, she was getting a sizable up front payment to take on this job and she needed the money. Not that money ever came before justice to Cheryl but it felt at least a little good to finally be making money on a job.

The clouds above were a dismal grey and a gentle rain pattered against the windshield of Cheryl’s car. She waited across the street from a closed up steel mill where an arms deal was said to be taking place. Trent White himself would be making an appearance. The event was rare for the CEO himself to be showing up to a deal so this had to be an important deal.

Armed with her camera, Cheryl waited to snap some decent incriminating photos to use against White. It might not be enough to take him down but it would be a start.

The PI was not an especially tall or muscular woman and she would be heavily outnumbered so there was no way she would be confronting any of these gun toting mobsters. She blended into the shadows in her car, leaning forward as a motorcade of black vehicles began to approach the mill. Cheryl brushed aside some of her shoulder length, red hair and glared through the camera lens with one of her sharp, green eyes.

Dressed in her usual outfit, Cheryl certainly looked the part of a plucky PI. The white, button up blouse she wore contrasted against her red tie and black vest. She wore a skirt, high heels, and stockings all to match her smart vest.

The motorcade arrived and stopped at the rusted, chain link gate of the abandoned steel mill. Four big men with heavy assault rifles slung over their shoulders climbed out first, followed by two equally large women who each tightly gripped shotguns.

“Jeez...” Cheryl said to herself. “Is there a war on or something?” She started snapping pictures of the gangsters as they took up positions around the gate, with one large man staying with one of the cars to open the rear door. Two sharply dressed people, one man and one woman, climbed out of the backseat together and stood on either side of the heavily armed man.

Cheryl’s diligent research told her that these were the brother and sister mob team of Max ‘One Shot’ Trenton and his twin Kara ‘The Knife.’ She really didn’t like the sound of their nicknames and wasn’t about to try and find out how they got them.

Max was a burly, broad shouldered man with a well-trimmed, grey beard on his face and expertly groomed grey hair. His brown eyes were angry and cruel but, from the looks, Cheryl discerned that he wasn’t the real brains behind the operation. Indeed the brother of the two, dressed in a brown, pinstripe suit, was really just there for intimidation. He gave the orders and made sure they were obeyed. His sister Kara, on the other hand, ran everything.

She made sure all the money made it into the right hands, pressured the rich and powerful into brokering deals and, very occasionally, would keep their people in line. Kara would often do that by demonstrating just how she came to be known on the streets as ‘The Knife.’

Cheryl shuddered at the thought as she snapped a picture of the dark eyed, stone faced woman dressed in a brown, pinstripe jacket and skirt that matched her brother’s suit.

Both mobsters stood with their hands folded in front of them, waiting patiently for Trent White to arrive. Both of them checked their watches, seemingly in sync, and Cheryl realized that Mr. White must be running late.

She watched them look at each other and utter a few words, though she couldn’t hear what they were saying. Both of them also shielded their mouths with their hands as though they knew someone was watching and preventing any lip-reading.

As Cheryl raised her camera to snap another picture, she heard a heavy tap on the outside of her window.

A tall, thin man wearing a crocodile smile leaned down into her window, his angry, hazel eyes boring into hers. He motioned with his hand for Cheryl to roll down the window.

Cheryl didn’t want to comply but she took a quick look around. She had been so preoccupied in watching the mobsters that she didn’t see her car surrounded on all sides by four black vehicles, blocking her in. She also couldn’t help but noticed the people on either side of her car brandishing holstered pistols on their hips.

She wound the window down and held the cold gaze of the thin man still grinning at her.

“I take it you are Ms. Sterling?”

Wait... how does he know who I am? she thought.

“Care to tell me who you are first?” Cheryl asked.

The man chuckled, though there was nothing happy in his voice. Cheryl didn’t like the cold anger in the man’s eyes. He wore his grey streaked, black hair slicked back and complimented that with a pure white suit. Everything about him screamed ‘used car salesman’ though Cheryl suspected he was more than that.

“If you insist, Ms. Sterling,” the thin man said. “My name is Trent White. And I do believe you are trespassing on private property.”

“No I’m not,” Cheryl said. “I’m parked her legally.”

Trent White chuckled again, a little louder this time. Cheryl could detect frustration in his voice. “I don’t think you understand, Ms. Sterling. You aren’t from around here so I won’t be too hard on you. But this is my city. And as long as you think to interfere in my business then you are most definitely trespassing.”

“Listen, you can’t just bully random people,” Cheryl said. “You don’t even know who I am.”

She still didn’t want to give away that he had found her out but it was becoming clear that playing dumb was pointless.

“A little bird may have told me about a certain, red-headed Private Investigator nosing her way into my city from Caligino was it? You see, I hear a lot of things from little birds in my city, Ms. Sterling. So think it’s best that you drop the act and step out of the vehicle.”

The people surrounding her vehicle drew their pistols and pointed them at her head. Without much choice, Cheryl raised her hands and climbed out of the car, standing up to finally come face to face with Trent White. He was at least a foot taller than her though he looked even thinner and more gangly when he stood to his full height.

He grabbed the camera from around Cheryl’s neck and flipped through the pictures.

“Hmmm. I wonder what my friends over there would think of these photos, Ms. Sterling.”

Cheryl said nothing, still holding her hands up and hoping that none of White’s people had itchy trigger fingers.

He tossed the camera to a large man behind him. “Take that to the twins,” he ordered. “And someone restrain Ms. Sterling. I believe the Trentons will want to have a discussion with her.”

A pair of rough hands grabbed Cheryl’s arms and forced them behind her back. Her wrists were handcuffed behind her back. At the sudden restraint, Cheryl couldn’t hold back her anger.

“Get off me! You can’t do this to me! Hey! Somebody hel-mmmph!”

A thick hand was clamped over her mouth and Trent White approached her with a roll of duct tape.

“Now now. We won’t be having any of that, Ms. Sterling. Let’s ensure you stay quiet then, hmmm?”

He handed the roll of tape to the man holding onto her and he quickly started wrapping the tape around Cheryl’s head, sealing her mouth shut and keeping her completely silent.

“Mmmmph! Lmmt mm gmmm!” Cheryl protested as she was shoved forward toward the front gate of the abandoned steel mill.

Trent White remained silent as his people led the PI away toward the mobsters. He shook his head and let a wry smirk curl his lips as he followed behind.

While the CEO led his captive away, a pair of golden eyes watched it all from a rooftop above. The woman shook her head and let out a short breath. “Well that complicates things,” she said to herself. “Damn these amateur sleuths. They never learn, do they?”

The figure in yellow disappeared into the shadows while the captured PI was getting pushed closer and closer to the mobsters. Cheryl knew this couldn’t end well. She just hoped they were feeling merciful that day.

...

“Mmmmph! Hlllmmmp!”

For the time being, Cheryl had been left alone. Her hands were still cuffed behind her and the tape still clung tight to her mouth. But now sturdy rope bound her arms to her sides. Yet more rope attached her to the steel chair she was sitting in and her ankles had each been tied to one of the chair legs.

The mobsters had done little more than peruse the pictures on her camera before promptly destroying it.

“Nmmm!” Cheryl squealed when they smashed it on the pavement. It wasn’t that she was particularly attached to the camera, nor even that it had any real evidence to be used against Trent White. It was an expensive camera and being a PI wasn’t exactly a high paying job.

Kara Trenton had brandished a knife at Cheryl but only glared coldly into the redhead’s eyes, gripping it tight. It was her usual tactic, letting a prisoner’s imagination run wild. It was just one of many methods Kara had for getting people to talk. Not that Cheryl could with all the duct tape on her mouth but it was clear what they would want to know. The mobsters and Trent White would both want to know who it was that hired Cheryl to take on this case.

While they were gone and deliberating, nobody was left to guard Cheryl and she was alone in the parking lot of the aged steel mill, tied up and gagged. All she could do was rock the chair back and forth but she put a stop to that when she almost fell over.

The light rain was beginning to soak her hair and her favourite outfit was getting wetter by the second. Great she thought. Now I have to go to a dry cleaners. Yet another thing to do in this dirty city. If I even get out of here, that is.

Cheryl continued to struggle against her bonds but, even unguarded, she couldn’t make any headway. The cuffs hugged her wrists tightly and the thick rope held her fast to the chair.

“Mmmmph!” she screamed into her gag. The stifling tape wrapped around her head kept her silent and it, combined with the rain, drowned out her calls for help. That didn’t stop her from trying, though.

“Hlllmmp mmm! Smmbdmm hllmmmp! Hllllmmmmp!”

For a moment, Cheryl thought she spotted someone. They were dressed in bright yellow and only remained visible for a split second. The figure she thought she saw disappeared again though she swore she saw them go behind an old dumpster.

Cheryl struggled a bit and turned her head when she heard a small thump somewhere behind her. She could have sworn that she heard someone land on the roof of the mill itself. When she turned around, though, she could see nothing but the rain stinging her eyes.

“Hllmm? Whmmph thmmr?”

Silence answered Cheryl’s muffled question and her heart sank when she saw the twins and the CEO returning from the mill. She struggled hard against her tight bonds but there was nothing she could do.

Ten people with guns soon surrounded her and their three leaders stepped into the middle of the circle. Trent White approached her first, leaning down into her face.

“Well, Ms. Sterling, it looks like you’ve failed. Our deal was a resounding success.”

“Mmmmph!”

“Of course, that came with... stipulations.”

Cheryl’s eyes widened. She didn’t like where this was going.

“My friends here need to ask you some questions. On my behalf, of course, but they are so much more persuasive than I am. In exchange for answers, you get to keep your life.”

“Hmmmph! Nmmm!”

“As long as your answers are truthful, that is. Of course it may not be exactly like your old life, living as the prisoner of lovely Kara Trenton but I can assure you she will treat you well.”

Cheryl struggled in her bonds. “Nmmmm! Ymm cmmt dmm thmmmph!”

“All right, Ms. Sterling. I think it’s high time you met the Trenton twins at last. I do hope you give them what they want. And by that I mean what I want. I always get what I want, Ms. Sterling. You’ll come to learn that very soon.”

Trent White stepped back and the twin mobsters slowly approached. Cheryl struggled in her bonds again, desperate to keep the pair of them way from her.

“Nmmm! Stmm ammmwmmm! Hlllmmmmp mmm! Hllllmmmmp!”

Before they could reach her, however, something clanged to the ground beside her and rolled to a stop. This distracted the mobsters for a moment and they simply stared at it.

“What the hell?” Max said, kneeling down to look at the thing.

Another small sphere clanked to the ground beside Cheryl and Kara bent down to pick it up. Her eyes widened and she quickly dropped it.

“Get back, Max! It’s a-”

She was interrupted by a deafening boom and a blinding flash of light. Everyone then began to cough and hack as some sort of gas started to fill their lungs and sting their eyes.

“What the hell is going on!?” Trent White demanded.

Cheryl blinked a few times and her ears were still ringing from the explosive sound beside her. When her vision cleared, a blur of yellow flashed before her vision and one of the armed goons was dragged backward, disappearing into the cloud of smoke. His gun appeared through the fog and crashed down a few feet from Cheryl but she saw no sign of the man who once held it.

“It’s her!” Kara said, frantically looking around for their mystery assailant. “It’s the-ugh!”

Kara was knocked forward and a strong arm grabbed her around the waist. Cheryl watched as a figure in yellow pulled Kara Trenton into the mist and took off into the air. The sight was... impossible. Could that person fly? More importantly, who were they and why were they here?

After that, Cheryl heard a few pained grunts and shouts from people all around that she couldn’t see. The remaining people pushed in close to a tight circle, back to back. Two goons, Max Trenton, and Trent White remained of the group that had arrived.

How the hell is that possible? Cheryl asked herself.

Finally, she got her first good look at the figure in yellow who had been darting in and out of her vision. They landed on the ground in front of Cheryl, standing between her and the remaining criminals. It was a woman, judging by her lithe figure, but she was quite muscular. She had impressive biceps and thick forearms as well as toned, powerful legs. She wore a two-piece yellow outfit that clung tight to her skin. Her shirt was cropped and sleeveless with a high, tight collar and bore her midriff and toned abs. A pair of matching, yellow shorts clung to the woman’s strong upper thighs but left most of her legs below the knees bare, save for the flat, yellow shoes she wore. A heavy, black belt with myriad pouches was strapped to the woman’s waist and she also wore long, yellow gloves that covered part of her forearms.

From the look of her, Cheryl discerned that she wasn’t much taller than Cheryl herself and even had the same, bright red coloured hair cut into a neat bob. But the yellow eye mask the woman wore concealing her identity displayed something Cheryl had never seen before. Shining, beautiful eyes the colour of golden sunlight shot her a quick glance before glaring at Cheryl’s captors.

I can’t believe it. The rumours were true? Cheryl thought to herself.

“One chance,” the woman’s stern, emotionless voice said to the captors. “That’s all you’ve got. Walk away and leave the girl alone.”

Still coughing, Max Trenton stepped forward and wiped tears from his eyes, his vision still blurry from the gas. He raised his fists and the goons with him did the same.

The woman in yellow stiffened her muscles and rolled her shoulders. “Let’s do it, then.”

Cheryl couldn’t be certain she had ever seen a human being move faster than the mysterious woman in yellow. Max Trenton threw a heavy fist at the woman’s head but it seemed like she hardly moved to avoid it, countering with a knee to the stomach and following that up with a strong punch to the chin.

Max tumbled to the ground on his back while his goons rushed the woman together, trying to get on either side of her. The woman back up so they couldn’t get behind her and let them get closer. Leaning into a punch from one of them, she blocked it with one stiff forearm, delivering a swift left to the man’s stomach followed by a roundhouse kick that sent him sprawling to the ground beside his boss.

The second wasn’t prepared for the uppercut and leg sweep that brought him low. The woman followed this up with a hefty punch to the forehead to knock him out cold.

Max and the remaining goon got up to try and rush her again but she reached to her belt and flung a small, needle-like object at Max. It stuck into his chest and electricity coursed through his body, causing him to collapse to the ground and black out.

The last goon turned on a heel and tried to run. With a sigh, the woman reached to her hip and held a strange looking gun in her right hand. With a squeeze of the trigger, a long cable shot out of it and wrapped itself around the man’s legs. He fell to the ground and screeched as he was pulled backward toward the gold-eyed terror that now gripped him. One final punch knocked his lights out and left the CEO completely alone.

Holstering her strange grapple gun, the woman caught up to Trent White before he could run. He wasted time staring, dumbfounded at the turn of events. He was terrified when the woman grabbed him by the scruff of the neck and picked him up off the ground.

“Y-you’re... you’re real?” he stammered.

“I look like a fairy tale to you?” the woman asked gruffly.

“N-no.”

She growled under her breath and pulled the CEO close to her face, gritting her teeth. “You’re finished,” she said.

“P-please. Don’t kill me! I-I’ll do anything!”

“Dissolve your assets,” the woman said. “And turn yourself in. If you do anything else just remember, I know who you are and I know where you sleep. Don’t make me come after you again, Trent White.”

She dropped him on the ground and he fell down on his back. He sat up and shuffled backwards away from her while she slowly walked toward him, looming over top of him.

“All right! I’ll do it! Just, please, don’t hurt me!”

“Don’t give me a reason,” the woman said.

She grabbed him by the scruff of the neck again and pulled him close. She threw a punch and Trent closed his eyes. He opened them again when he realized that he was pressed up against an old dumpster. The woman still holding him had punched the hard steel, mere inches from his head.

“Now get lost.”

She let him slump to the ground, still shaking, but he scrambled to his feet and ran away without looking back.

The woman sighed again and turned her attention to Cheryl, still bound and gagged on the steel chair. She knelt down to meet Cheryl’s eyes. Cheryl couldn’t help but shrink back a bit. The woman had been impressive and a little bit frightening.

“You’re a PI?” the woman asked.

“Mmm hmmm,” Cheryl said, nodding quickly.

“Heard about you. Those creeps have been watching you since you got to town. Still not sure how they heard about you. But I thought Private Eyes were supposed to me smart.”

“Hmmmph?”

“The hell were you thinking, coming in here alone? Awful bold of you to think you could take down Trent White on your own.”

The woman reached forward and removed the tape from Cheryl’s mouth. Cheryl worked her jaw a bit once it was free and stared at the woman in awe. “Who are you?” she asked.

“Someone like you, I guess,” the woman said. “Someone who cares too much to just stand by. I’ll admit, it was admirable of you to come here and try to do good for a city that isn’t even yours. But it was stupid to come to an arms deal alone like that.”

“Yeah, I guess...” Cheryl said.

The woman untied the ropes binding Cheryl and reached to her belt for a black handcuff key to finally free Cheryl from her bonds.

“Thank you,” she said. “I really owe you one.”

“Then do me a favour and leave Weston to me,” the woman said. “This place can only be cleaned up from the inside. It’s too dangerous for you here.”

“You don’t want help?”

“I don’t need help. Go on back to your city. Do the good that you can. Leave this city to me.”

“What do I tell my client?” Cheryl asked.

The woman smirked. “Who? The mayor?”

Cheryl gasped. “How did you-”

“I’ll make sure you’re paid for your trouble,” the woman said. “The mayor owes me about a thousand favours anyway.”

Cheryl shook her head and couldn’t help but repeat her question. “Who are you, really?”

The woman reached to her belt again and tightly gripped her grapple gun. “Can’t tell you that,” she said, turning away from Cheryl. “But I hear they have a name for me.”

“What’s that?”

The woman smirked. “The Maiden.”

“The Maiden? That’s not very... intimidating.”

“Why?” the woman asked, whirling around to face Cheryl again. Her piercing gaze made her stomach leap and she took a step back.

“Um... it’s fine. It’s plenty intimidating.”

The woman’s golden eyes softened and she turned away from Cheryl again. “Take care of yourself, Ms. Sterling.”

“Can you at least tell me your name? I mean, your actual name?”

The Maiden hesitated. She didn’t turn around. “Meryn. Ask the mayor about me if you’re ever in town again. But I’d advise against staying. Take care, now.”

Cheryl watched the amazing woman fire her grapple gun toward the top of the steel mill and shoot off into the sky. When she was out of view, Cheryl was still in shock. She shook her head and started walking back to her car. “I need a nap,” she said to herself, letting go of a long breath.

Even though the experience exhausted her, it would be hard for Cheryl to forget the day that this Maiden, a woman with golden eyes, had saved her life.