Chapter 1: Coming of Age

Chapter 1 Coming of Age

New Gotham Sometime in the Near Future

Kara let gravity pull her into a screaming dive. She glorified in the speed of her descent. The sharp snap of her cape as it caught the air ripping past her body emphasized the terrific velocity as she used her mental powers to further increase her acceleration. Approaching the speed of sound she slowed, arcing upward once more. Sonic booms tended to bother the inhabitants of the city and she didn’t want any more complaints about broken windows.

It seemed a quiet night. So far there was no sign of activity in the city she had chosen as her new home. She had left Metropolis just a month ago, one day after her eighteenth birthday. Her older cousin had protested, of course, but now that she was legally an adult he had no right to order her around, and he had to admit that her arguments made sense. Metropolis was not large enough to need the services of two superheroes. Cousin Kal-El had the city well in hand. Kara wanted to strike out on her own and prove that she was capable of dealing with the criminal element without his assistance. She had chosen New Gotham precisely because of its reputation as a hotbed of criminal activity. Tonight was her first patrol.

She angled herself toward the docks. If any neighbourhood of the city was in need of surveillance that area was. She gained altitude and began to sweep the streets below with her X-ray vision. She was careful about her targets. It wouldn’t do to be accused of violating the rights of New Gotham’s citizens to a certain amount of privacy.

Angling her right foot slightly she changed direction. It was an almost unconscious action. She had been flying even before she could walk; if flying was the right word for it. It was really more a form of levitation. She simply commanded her body to rise and move through the air. It was something that neither she nor her cousin could explain. Apparently it was something that Kryptonians could do as part of their nature. It had given her foster parents fits until they were able to get her to promise never to do it without their permission. She had not honoured that promise, of course; flying was simply too much fun. She simply made sure that she practiced when her foster parents were not keeping an eye on her. Sometimes she had even sneaked out at night. Now there was no one to tell her what to do. She could fly whenever she chose and it was her preferred method of travel.

It was an incredibly exhilarating experience. Every part of her body was involved. She could change her flight by the slight twitching of her muscles; the raising of a hand; changing the angle of her head; deflecting her feet slightly. It was like being one with the air. She could think of nothing more wonderful. Except perhaps sex. But that was an area that was still a mystery to her.

It was not that she did not find members of the opposite sex attractive, far from it. She sometimes found herself drooling over some hunk the same as any teenaged girl, but she had learned to be very careful around boys, ever since she had broken the arm of a playmate in kindergarten. As she got older she had avoided intimacy by making herself as unattractive as possible. It wasn’t difficult given the shallow nature of most people her age. All she had been required to do was wear thick plastic glasses, adopt an unflattering hairstyle, and wear shapeless clothes to disguise her budding beauty.

It had worked all too well. Most boys didn’t even seem to be aware of the presence. Those who did thought her some sort of sexless nerd. It had been a lonely adolescence, but it had kept her from hurting anyone and protected the secret of her super powers. One day she intended to change all that. After all, she was only human – well superhuman. And she had developed into a beautiful and intelligent young woman.

She was tall and blonde, standing about five foot ten and weighing a solid 135 pounds. Her shoulder length golden blonde hair gleamed with health and vitality, framing an exquisite heart-shaped face. Piercing eyes of the most vibrant blue stared intensely beneath beautifully arched eyebrows. A pert nose, bow-shaped mouth, and pouting lips completed a picture of alluring femininity. However, she only allowed her shapely body and perfect features to be seen when she was in costume.

She had rejected the somewhat staid outfit designed by her cousin. Talented as he was his ideas of appropriate attire for superheroines was altogether too sixties. Instead she had altered her costume to a svelte body-hugging outfit that showed off her goddess-like body to full advantage.

She had kept the vivid blue, red, and gold colours, but modified the short blue skirt, deciding that it made her look too much like a cheerleader. It didn’t cover much, leaving a good deal of shapely bare leg showing. Underneath it she wore a very revealing pair of tight blue… Well, panties were really the only way to describe them. They were so sheer that they left very little to the imagination. Kara reasoned that most of the time her short skirt would cover them and when she was flying she would be too high for anyone to make out any details. They did, however, make her feel deliciously sexy as she soared above the city.

Her torso was covered in a long-sleeved top that was so audaciously thin that the nipples of her impressive breasts were clearly visible beneath the gossamer fabric. Just below her collar-bones and extending between her breasts was the gold shield emblazoned with the stylized red S that told the world who she was. Knee high red boots, a long red cape, and red gloves completed her outfit. Altogether, Kara was well satisfied with her creation. It was daring, spectacular, and utililitarian; a costume fit for a superheroine.

She described a slow arc over the harbour. There was nothing so far; and then she spotted a dark shape on the water. At first she thought it might be a pleasure boat that had slipped its moorings, but changed her mind when its steady movement revealed that it was being guided by a human operator. “No lights,” she thought. “At the very least that is a violation of maritime law.” Hovering, she watched its progress. Using her enhanced vision she could make out five heavily armed men on the deck and three more below deck. More important though was what they were guarding. Stacked below deck were dozens of neatly taped packages. It was clear that the boat was carrying a cargo of illegal drugs.

Kara’s brow furrowed. As a superheroine she had a natural loathing of those who preyed upon the weaknesses and vices of others. However, she kept her cool. Where there were drug smugglers there were buyers. She wanted more than just one boatload of cocaine and the villains that smuggled it; she wanted to haul in some of the bigger fish as well. Maintaining her distance she followed the darkened vessel toward the docks.

The section of the harbour where the boat docked was about as far from the central area of the harbour as possible. It was a miserably run down wharf, so dilapidated that Karra found it hard to believe that it didn’t collapse into the filthy water. The entire area stank and Kara realized that the quay was located just down from the New Gotham sewage outfall. Stifling her superheroine sense of smell, she followed the boat to the dock, descending to a section of the wharf where the few lights had all burned out.

Her X-ray vision pierced the sides of the decrepit wooden building that was perched atop the wharf. Inside more than a dozen men waited. All of them she noted were very heavily armed. Crouching in the darkness she waited to see what would transpire.

Dressed in dark clothing two men scrambled onto the dock. From within the warehouse two other men stepped forward. “That you Roloff?” asked one of the men.

“Who else would it be, Dirkson? You expecting someone else?”

Dirkson chuckled. The sound was rather unpleasant and entirely humorless. “Guess not. You got the goods?”

“Two thousand kilos of Colombian snow. You got the cash?”

“It’s inside,” Dirkson replied. “Unload the merchandise and then come and count your money.”

“I don’t think so,” said Roloff. “Show me the money first.”

“What’s the matter? Don’t you trust me?” Dirkson’s voice held a slight hint of humour.

“Would you? Let’s not play around. The money first and then the merchandise.”

“Follow me then,” said Dirkson, turning and heading into the warehouse.

“Not a chance. Bring it out here.”

“You’re a real trusting son-of-a-bitch aren’t you?” Dirkson said. The humour was gone from his voice now. “Alright, have it your way.” He turned to the man who had come out with him. “Wallace, get the cash.”

Wallace nodded and ducked into the warehouse while Dirkson remained outside. A minute or so he reemerged carrying a medium sized suitcase. Three other men came with him. Carrying the suitcase over to Dirkson, he held it horizontally so that Dirkson could click it open.

“Count it,” Dirkson said.

“Don’t worry I will,” Roloff replied. He leafed quickly through the bills, nodded and closed the suitcase, handing it back to the man who had accompanied him. “Unload the boat,” he ordered.

Kara watched as the boat was unloaded. She made no attempt to interfere. She wanted all of the cargo on the dock before she made her move. One bundle after the other, the lethal cargo was placed on the dock. Dirkson stood close by monitoring the exchange. Every now and then at random he chose a bundle and cut it open, checking the contents. Each time he nodded in satisfaction and resealed the bundle. Finally the last bundle was brought up from the boat and stacked beside the other. Then Kara made her move.

Stepping out into the open she stood with hands on hips in plain sight of the sweating men. It took them almost a full minute to notice her. “What the fuck?” said one of the men suddenly. He turned on her, his pump action shotgun at the ready.

“You’re really not very observant are you boys?” Kara asked. “I could have picked off every one of you if I’d had a gun.”

“Shit, it’s just a girl,” sneered Roloff. “What’s the matter, honey; get lost on your way to the Girl Scouts’ meeting?”

Dirkson, however, was more cautious. “Look at the way she’s dressed. Looks like one of them superheroines.”

“More like a ballet dancer,” said Roloff. He advanced toward Kara. “Come on sweetie; you and me can have some fun.”

“We certainly can,” said Kara calmly, “but not in the way you think.” As she spoke she stepped forward, caught hold of the front of Roloff’s jacket and threw him twenty feet across the wharf into the pile of cocaine.

The impact scattered the bundles of the drug in every direction and left Roloff lying unconscious amidst the broken bundles of white powder. It also triggered an immediate reaction from every one of the heavily armed men. Turning their weapons on the heroine they opened up on her.

Kara did not wait for the bullets to hit her. She was not afraid of being hurt. It was very unlikely that the barrage of lead would have pierced her skin, but there was a great deal of kinetic energy in a slug moving at high speed and being hit by several dozen of them at once would have knocked her off her feet. There was also another reason. Although the fabric of her costume was indestructible, the impact of the bullets would have parted the fibres and torn great holes in it. She had spent too much time designing and putting it together to have it spoiled by a bunch of thugs and so she darted among them striking left and right. She pulled her punches. She had to if she wanted to avoid killing every man she hit.

The thunder of the gunfire was tremendous and mingled with were the screams of injured men. For an instant Kara was confused and then she realized that Roloff’s and Dirkson’s men were firing so wildly that they were hitting one another. She hadn’t counted on that. In spite of her ambition to eradicate the two criminal gangs, she had no desire to see anyone killed. What she wanted was long prison terms for each of the drug traffickers. But there was little she could do to halt the shooting except continue her assault on the panicked thugs.

The resistance didn’t last long. In short order a dozen men lay unconscious on the dock and several others lay screaming from bullet wounds. The rest broke and ran. She had little trouble catching up with the gangsters who headed back to the boat. There was no- where for them to go and she cornered them easily. Those in the warehouse were a different matter. Most of them had fled the scene, heading up the dock, but Kara knew where they were going. Several expensive vehicles were parked next to the warehouse, along with a cube van. She wasn’t particularly worried about them escaping that way, however. There was only one way off the dock and it would be easy to head them off.

First, however, she wanted to be sure the money did not disappear. During the melee she had caught sight of Dirkson grabbing the suitcase and heading back into the warehouse. She went after him first. Her X-ray vision spotted him near the back door. For some reason he wasn’t running, but was fumbling with what looked like a pipe. Kara darted through the door of the warehouse, heading straight for the gang leader.

The rocket almost caught her dead centre. Only her incredible superheroine reflexes enabled her to avoid a direct hit. As it was it glanced off her breast as she turned her body and then exploded. The explosion blew her through the wall of the warehouse and right across the dock. Her hurling body did not stop until she slammed up against one of the mooring posts. The impact snapped the post off like a toothpick, but stopped her from hurtling out into the bay. It also shredded her costume, blasting most of the fabric off her body.

Kara slumped to the wooden surface of the wharf. She was endowed with super strength and near invulnerability, but there was a limit to what even her body could endure. The explosion was equivalent to a normal person being hit hard on the jaw and it rendered her unconscious.

Dirkson emerged from the warehouse, a triumphant grin on his face. “I got the superheroine bitch,” he crowed. But crossing the wharf to the fallen heroine he stared in amazement.

Kara lay on her back, her arms and legs spread out to the side. She appeared dead, her body blackened by the chemicals of the high explosive. But incredibly her chest rose and fell rhythmically.

“Christ,” exclaimed Dirkson, “the fucking bitch is still alive.”

By this time several of the fallen thugs had regained their senses and joined him. “Jeez,” exclaimed one. “Look at that body. She’d be a great fuck!”

“What a pair of tits,” chimed in another. “I’d sure like to suck on those.”

“Forget her tits, moron,” said Dirkson. “She just took a direct hit from an RPG – 7 rocket. There shouldn’t be anything left of her to fuck. We better find some way to put her out of action.”

“How about these?” said Roloff, dragging a set of heavy mooring chains.

Dirkson looked at them. Each link was an inch thick. “They should do. Wrap her up in them. We’ll figure out what to do with her later.”

Kara’s head swam. Something strange had happened to her; she couldn’t move her arms or legs and there was a strange vibration and sense of motion. Dimly she could hear voices coming out of the dark shroud that surrounded her consciousness. She kept her eyes closed. Still confused about what was going on she felt that feigning insensibility was the best plan.

“Man she’s got a body,” said a voice from out of the darkness.

“Yeah, but it’s gonna be pretty hard to have any fun with her as long as she’s wearing those chains. I wonder how long she’s going to be out.”

“Who knows. She took a direct hit. There shouldn’t be anything left of her but a smear on the dock.”

The first voice chuckled. “Yeah; she’s a tough one, but it looks like she’d clean up real good. I’ve never seen such a great body. Looks like she was designed for fucking.”

Both men laughed. Kara now recognized the sound and the motion. She was on board a truck, probably the one Dirkson had brought to pick up the cocaine. She opened her eyes the barest slit and saw the two men. They were sitting on the plastic wrapped cocaine bundles, smoking and chatting back and forth. She also saw that she was swathed in several layers of very heavy chain.

Kara experienced a moment of doubt. She knew that she had abnormal strength, but she had never actually bothered to test exactly how strong she was. Would she be able to break free? There was only one way to check and that was to attempt to snap the heavy links. But a thought came into her head. She had hoped to catch both the drug smugglers and the buyers. That was now impossible. Roloff and his thugs would be long gone. There was still Dirkson, however, and it was most likely that he was taking her to his headquarters. If so he might lead her to even more important prey. Closing her eyes again she continued to feign unconsciousness, trying all the time not to think about the fact that almost all of her costume had disappeared, and pretending not to hear the numerous coarse suggestions as to what her two guards would like to do to her once the chains were removed.

The ride lasted another half hour or so. Eventually the truck slowed and Kara could hear the sound of a large door being opened. No doubt the truck was being driven into some warehouse where it could be unloaded in private. As soon as it stopped the door of the truck was opened and Kara heard several men enter.

“Are you out of your mind? You brought a superheroine in here? Why didn’t you just cal the DEA instead. They’d go a little easier on us.”

“It’s OK, Mike,” said Dirkson’s voice. “She’s out cold. An she’s not going to get out of those chains.”

“How the hell do you know? You know something about superheroines that I don’t? Shit, I’ve never even seen this one before. How do you know what she can do?”

“All I know is that a rocket was able to take her out. That means she’s not invincible.”

“That’s fucking reassuring,” said Mike. “So a rocket that is supposed to be able to punch through a foot of armour knocked her out. But it didn’t kill her. That should tell you something about her. She’s too dangerous to keep around. Get rid of her and do it fast.”

“Right Mike,” said Dirkson. “But I was sort of looking forward to…”

“What? Screwing her ass off? Yes, I bet that would be a lot of fun provided she didn’t flex her thighs a crush your dink as if it were a wet noodle.”

“Right,” said Dirkson again. “I guess I never thought of that. Alright boys. Haul this bitch back to the waterfront and dump her in. We’ll see if she can swim when she’s wearing all that iron.”

Kara opened her eyes. Things had gone about as far as she wanted. It was time to test her strength. Four men stood in the doorway of the van, the two thugs who had so frankly discussed their desire to rape her; Dirkson, and another tall dark-haired man. No doubt this was the boss; the one Dirkson had called Mike.

“Jeeezuuuss, she’s awake!” shouted one of the men who had so lewdly discussed Kara’s charms. Immediately every man went for his gun.

Kara flexed her muscles. At first nothing happened. Then the links of the chain began to bend, and suddenly with a sharp snap there was an explosion of metal and her fetters flew apart scattering bits of steel in all directions.

Stunned, the assembled thugs fell back, their arms raised to shelter themselves from the flying steel fragments. Kara leaped to her feet breathing heavily from excitement. For a few seconds she and the astonished criminals stood facing one another. “Jesus Christ,” said Dirkson slowly, his eyes fixed in wide eyed wonder on Kara’s body. The other hoodlums seemed equally amazed, gawking at her in undisguised lust and admiration.

Karra turned bright red. Naked except for the very sheer pair of panties that barely covered her luscious loins, she was acutely embarrassed. But her mortification quickly turned to anger.

She had a lot to be angry about. Not only had she been supremely humiliated, but she had allowed the drug smugglers to get away. In addition, her carefully crafted costume had been blown to bits. She knew that somewhere in the dock area she would find the tattered remnants of her outfit. Its fibres were indestructible, but it had taken her weeks to design and put it together. She could forgive Dirkson for firing the rocket at her, but the destruction of her costume was something else again. Eyes flaring in anger she charged into the astounded hoodlums.

She caught up with Dirkson first. Picking him up she tossed him across the warehouse into a pile of crates. The two men who had stood guard over her were next. She grabbed each of them by the collar and sharply rapped their heads together. Mike the boss man, she twirled over her head and heaved into the rafters. He only prevented serious injury by grabbing hold of a wooden roof beam and hanging on for dear life.

The commotion brought the rest of the gang at a run, but Kara had little trouble dealing with them. She passed among the disorganized gang members like a whirlwind. Within a minute the floor of the warehouse was littered with unconscious or groaning men. Kara took extra care in controlling her strength. Her anger would have made it very easy for her to have killed someone. But she acted in a controlled rage, hitting just hard enough to render each man insensible but not hard enough to break any bones. At least most of the time it was that way. Sometimes she misjudged her own strength. “Sorry,” she murmured as she snapped the forearm of a man who tried to hit her with a crowbar. She put him temporarily out of his misery with a quick tap to the jaw. And then it was over. She stood alone in a warehouse full of defeated men. Only Mike remained, hanging desperately from the roof bean where she had thrown him.

“You bloody bitch,” the crime boss yelled from his precarious perch. “I’ll make you pay for this. I’m going to find out who you are and track you down.”

Kara bit back a retort. She felt far too vulnerable in her almost naked state to hang around and bandy words with the drug lord. Instead, she found a phone and called the police, remaining in the building only long enough to hear the sound of sirens as the police closed in. There was more than enough evidence in the warehouse to convict Mike and his gang several times over. As the police closed in she made her way to a window and launched herself into the night sky.

Hidden in the darkness, she headed back to the harbour. The smuggler’s boat was long gone as she had expected, but she was after something more important. She found the scattered fragments of her costume without much difficultly. Her night vision and super sight helped in that. She shook her head sadly. She had really botched her first mission. Half the crooks had gotten away and she had been taken prisoner and humiliated by being rendered naked. She hoped that when the police arrested Mike and his gang that that part of the story was not revealed. It was simply too humiliating. Climbing back into the night once again she headed home. It had been an eventful and not altogether successful evening. Next time she would try to do better.