Newport Beach, California
It was late at night. Fashion Island was on the verge of closing down for the day.
A young, seemingly typical Southern California girl was leaving the sprawling, trendy outdoor mall with a gaggle of other typical Southern California girls. While she couldn't be called beautiful or sexy, there was something bright and sunny about her. An optimism that would draw you to her. She was cute and perky, but not in any annoying way. Not anymore, anyway. She'd learned how to calm herself down.
If you watched her closely, though, there was something different about her. Something that set her apart from the other girls. Sure, she was dressed like one of them in a pair of short white shorts, a ruched knit top with gauzy chiffon sleeves, and a pair of heels. Her hair, long and blonde, was wavy and currently pulled back in a loose, half-ponytail half-bun thing. A few delicate but trendy pieces of jewelry adorned her lithe, athletic body. Yes, she definitely looked like one of them, but there was a slight difference in the way that she carried herself. It was almost as though she was more aware of her surroundings, more knowledgable about the things that were around her. Like she was on alert or something.
Which she was.
She knew of a world that her rich, somewhat snobby friends had no idea of. A dangerous world. A world which was pretty much unlike any world that the girls lived in. Sure, it had it's drama and it's soap operatic elements, but it was far more deathly, far darker than the world of Orange County high society. And it was a world that she tried her hardest to bring her sunlight and sparkle into.
The girls walked to their cars, a bevy of the latest sportscars and SUVs, giggling and making jokes. Even our blonde in question, though her eyes searched the surrounding neighborhood.
Gas prices had gotten high. Crime rates had followed suit. Criminals had become more open, more daring about the crimes they committed.
And what better crime fodder than a gaggle of girls with Daddy's credit cards late at night?
The young woman cursed.
They should have left earlier. They all should have left earlier.
She had just approached her car when her biggest fear that night came true.
"Put yo' hands up in the air."
Mary Elizabeth "Bette" Kane froze.
Oh no. Oh hell no. This was not something that she was going to be privy to. This was not something that she was going to be a victim to.
Marissa "Ritzi" Sharp yelled out a little yelp. "Ew! If you're going to steal from Newport, at least dress the part you stinky little tamale."
Bette cringed. So not the time to be a racist bitch, Ritz.
Jules Crawford glared at Ritzi, giving voice to Bette's thoughts. "Just...give them what they want."
Bette looked at the guns in the hands of the would-be thieves. There was about five of them, as opposed to the eight young women standing before them.
Bette needed a diversion. Fast.
Thankfully, she was standing next to her car.
With it's door open.
She squealed and jumped in, turning the little red and yellow sportscar on. Her tires screeched as she tore away in mock horror. The men, all of them Latino, didn't even graze her car.
She drove away. They wouldn't shoot her friends. They weren't killers. They were just desperate for cash.
She drove up into the shadows and brought the car to a screeching halt. Fumbling, she changed out of her civilian clothes and into a bright yellow and red costume. She leapt out of the car and threw on her mask.
Seconds later, she was at the top of the escalator, looking down at the would-be thieves and her friends.
"It's not worth it, boys," Flamebird said, her costume strikingly bright against the shadows out of which she was retreating. She noticed that by now, all of the girls except Ritzi and Ritzi's lackey Gemma Greene had started handing over their things. Flamebird had arrived just as Wilhelmina "Billie" Russell was handing over a pair of earrings that Bette knew had been in the Russell family since the eighteenth century. Billie, surprisingly, was not putting up a fight for them. "Rich girls from Newport? They've started putting tracking devices in their jewelry. The only way to get rid of them is to destroy the entire piece. Totally not worth it."
"Eh, who the hell are you, eh mami?" One of the men asked Bette.
"Probably some stupid sorority girl from one of them UC's."
Bette rolled her eyes from behind her mask. Was she ever going to get any respect from anyone?
Still, on the bright side, the guns were pointed at her.
Bette sauntered down the steps of the escalator, not bothering to wait for one to bring her down. In her hand were three bird-shaped boomerangs.
"Yeah, probably. Might even be your lucky day. I mean, look at me. Fancy costume. Clearly expensive weapons. Damn. I must be richer than the seven dumb valley girls standing right in front of you. No offense, ladies." Bette offered them a smile. "Just trying to save your collective, cardio bar produced asses."
"I think she likes to hear her voice a bit too much, yo."
"I agree."
"Maybe we should -"
Thwip! Thwip! Thwip!
Flamebird had leapt into action. The guns knocked out of three hands, Flamebird threw a couple of punches and kicks, knocking them out effectively. The other two were easier. It was obvious that any of them didn't really do this often. One of the thieves took off. A bola followed him and wrapped around him, taking him down. Flamebird took the last down with a handspring over his shoulders.
Easy. It was too easy. She wanted something more challenging. Something that she could truly prove herself with.
Was that asking too much?
Still, her friends got their precious things back.
At the moment, that was what mattered.
"Wow. So, like, did you learn that at Cardio Bar or something?" Ritzi asked, clearly impressed.
"Yeah, that's exactly it," Flamebird chuckled. "Cardio Bar. Look, the police will be here in, say, five minutes. Tell them what happened. Leave me out of it. Let's just pretend that one of you guys took these guys down, as unbelievable as that seems." Flamebird turned around to walk away.
As she headed back towards her car, a small smile crept up to her face. She'd done well tonight. By herself. No problems. Sure, it was easy, but...she had done well.
And soon?
Hopefully soon she would prove more and finally gain the respect of her fellow heroes.
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