Revenge of the outlaws

The beautiful and magnificent copper sphere of hope was ascending little by little into the pale indigo heavens, as the stars and moon were banished, for their daily exile from the skies. The warm and soothing sunrays began to slowly unfolded upon the sleeping city. It was like a magical spells the way it cast it's magic to empower the inhabitants with its tantalizing as well as invigorating energy.

Eco-city looked like paradise as the break of day continued upon the city. Eco-city was alive and well as their huge solar plant was busy absorbing the free and clean energy of the sun. It took a very huge solar battery to power the entire city. Eco-City had been a vision for their city's founders Colin and Lacey Planet.

The young couple had had a vision for a city that was free of pollution and that showed that man and nature could coexist without one being more powerful then the other. That man didn't have to be a subjugator or a cause of death to the planet. That nature's beauty along with power didn't have to be secluded from the rest of humanity in order to preserve it. Therefore, to achieve their dreams of such a world, the couple founded the corporation Eco-Inc, and had mass produced green technology, and then with other visionaries started and built Eco-City.

It truthfully was a vision and dream to keep fighting for, for both mankind and the fragile Earth, those so needed its people to defend in addition to safeguard it. Eco-City was a great place to live, and it certainly tried to live up to the dream its founders had for it. Crime was also extremely low in the city. Despite the fact that it was still there, and they'd an exceptional police force, it still wasn't perfect. Like with so many other cities world over there was always room for help.

Eco-city was no exception for the need of a hero. So it was no surprise that a self-appointed guardian angel had emerged in this city. Unlike most cities that had heroes in them, Eco-City wasn't defended by a man. Their defender was a woman, and she went by the name of Sparrow Hawk.

Sparrow Hawk hadn't been around for very long, nevertheless she'd verified she was proficient enough to protect the city. She even honored Eco-City's dream by using weapons and tools powered by green technology. It was nice to know even a superhero could do their part to ensure not only their home was protected, but also the planet.

None of the drowsy natives of this beautiful city bothered to look up as a large shadow mixed with the rich and enchanting colors of the dawn. Sparrow Hawk was busy finishing her nightly patrol. She spread her arms wide for a moment as her wind glider surfed through the air. Laughing for the pure joy of flying she let her spirit soar as high as she was.

"Oh, man, is this the coolest!" she laughed gleefully as she banked right to avoid hitting a radio tower. After doing a few more tricks, she pressed a button on her glider and for a moment she shimmered, then she vanished into thin air. She had to admit having this cloaking equipment if truth be told helped greatly with things. One of the major good reasons about it was it easier to sneak up to her prey, and the number two reason was it was also good for helping her to sneak home, without anyone figure outing her secret identity.

Pressing another button the roof to her penthouse opened wide so she circled it once and then descended into her home. Once she was safely home she undid the cloaking ability and got off her glider.

"Well, that was an incredibly interesting night, that much is for sure!" she remarked quietly to herself as she little by little removed her costume. It took only five minutes for her to go from being a heroine to her civilian identity of Judge Rebecca Young.

The black skinned redhead young lady put her costume back in its hiding place before making sure all her gear was safely hidden as well. Then she clapped her hands three times and the lights went out. When they came back on her crime fighting gear was gone and she was standing next to her aviary next to her collection of different and exotic breeds of birds.

"How are my little darlings today?" she cooed as a brightly colored bird flew down to her outstretched finger. It was a lovely and rare Lilac Breasted Roller. Kissing it gently she reached into her gray pants pocket to remove a small bag of food.

"Eat well, my darlings. You'll be pleased to know I saved your brethren last night. A number of idiots tried to abduct several of your brothers and sisters from the Bird Sanctuary. Luckily I stop them. They'll in next to no time be in my courtroom, and hopefully I'll have good enough lawyers, there with correct evidence I require to convict them, and send them to jail for an extremely long time. Won't Daddy be proud of that?"

The birds gave no verbal reply but simply broke into song. Rebecca just sighed happily as her babies danced within their own private sanctuary. She giggled happily as her pets just danced and flew like they're fairies with all their charming voices and colors. She finished feeding them and went to fix herself some breakfast. Glancing back at them she had to smile happily and thought about her own life.

She had always been fascinated with birds, as much as she'd been in love with the law. It was only natural she felt that she'd been drawn into the family tradition of being in some type of law and order work. After all her grandfather had been one of her hometown of Gotham City well-known and respected Police Commissioner James Gordon. She had to smile at that.

Strolling over to the marble fireplace she took a small photograph off it. It was her as a very young child with her family. In the photo she was being held by her mom who had a big smile on her face. Her mom Barbara who had followed in her father footsteps and now was Commissioner herself. Next to her mom was her father Sam Young who now was the D.A. of Gotham City. So it would seem her only fated choice was to be a Judge after being the daughter of three famous and respect lawful figures. Her parents looked so young in the picture though her grandfather was already old in the picture. She must've been what? Four years old in that shot?

Rebecca always regretted that she hadn't had the chance to really get to know her grandpa, given the fact that she was born so late in her mom's life. If there were bedtime tales she loved to hear more then about the Batclan it was stories of her grandfather. It was also the tales of Batman that really fueled Rebecca's determination to be Sparrow Hawk. Not a lot of people knew her mom's secret past. Not even her own father knew that his wife, her mom had once been the Dark Knight's Fair Maiden, Batgirl!

If it was one thing Rebecca prided about herself more then just being told she was her mom's daughter it was she was smarted enough to figure out secrets. She knew the only way her mom could've told those stories so well was if she'd lived them herself. Not to mention she had seen photos in old newspapers of the former Batclan so for her it wasn't hard to deduce.

"Don't worry, Grandpa, I swear I'll make you proud of me. Just like I promised you so long ago," she murmured quietly to herself as a silver teardrop landed on the snapshot. Drying her radiant sapphire eyes she placed the photo back on the mantel. As she turn to leave she glanced at the other photos on her mantel. One of the newer ones caught her attention. It had been taken last month at Wayne Manor at the Gotham City Anniversary party.

It was a very beautifully captured moment in time. In the colored photo on the right side was the original Batclan, consisting of Bruce Wayne, Dick Grayson, Tim Drake and her mother of course. The only one missing from the old team was of course Alfred Pennyworth whom unfortunately was dead. So he couldn't be in the shot. Though if you looked closely you could see his own photo on the mantel in the background. On the left side of the photograph was the new Batclan. Everyone in the latter one was standing where the former where. So Terry, Terra, and Max and she were standing where their successors had been. There were three extras in the photo though they're still important. Ace the Bat Hound loyally at Bruce's feet and standing loyally next to their true loves were the Tan cousins, Dana and Danny whom knew the truth as well.

Given the fact she was an only child, she considered all of the people in the photo to be family. She thought of the Bat Twins as her siblings. She was only ten years older then them anyway so it wasn't like it was a reasonable foster family bond.

She finally pulled away from the photos and made her way to her kitchen to cook herself some breakfast. As she made some toast she noticed that her answering machine was blinking. She took a big bite out of her peanut butter and jelly toast and pressed the red button.

"You've got two new messages. Message one. "Hello, Rebecca, it's your mom calling. I just wanted to check on you and make sure you're alright. I've had several incredibly horrific dreams recently, and I was concerned for you. Your father's is extraordinarily busy right now dealing with a number of malevolent members of some unknown new cult. Whoever they're they've been doing some severe damage as well as other shit to the city. Don't be concerned about that though. Your father and the rest of the force are perfectly capable of dealing with it. My only concern is for you. Therefore I'm coming to see you this coming weekend. I've got some vacation time coming up so I'll be taking the express train this Friday to come and see you for the next week and half. So you better prepare your guest room. See you soon, Rebecca, love Mom."

Rebecca pause the answering machine for a moment as she gulped down some orange juice with her toast. Letting out a long exasperated sigh she threw her hands in the air "Great! Mom's coming because she had a nightmare! Wonderful! Oh, well seeing her in my own town would be a nice change of things. Still I'm a grown ass woman, and she's coming because she just had too much to eat before bed? I so do not need a lot of henpecking with the stress I'm already under! God! Okay now, so let's hear what message number two is."

"Message two, "Becky! How are you doing, sweetheart? I've heard through the grapevine someone gonna be doing some superlative judging this weekend! I've in addition heard that my favorite judge has been nominated for a very special award next month! So I think my favorite judge deserve a special weekend of fun! So Becky I'm coming to see you soon! And I can't wait to empty some spray cans with you! Of course I mean that figuratively since I know spray paint ain't allowed in Eco-City. So can't wait to see you again so I can see you shining in the starlight! See you soon, Becky! Love, Warren!"

Rebecca flushed a lovely shade of carmine on her light black skin. It looked a bit odd for a second but she just had to smile. "Oh, Warren!" she exclaimed happily with a far-off look upon her lovely features. Warren Alan Williams was not only her best friend, but she was starting to think he might just be her soul mate.

They had known each other since meeting at their first day at law school. Both had been especially young at the time, in fact they had been much younger then the rest of the new arrivals, which had also arrived that school year. Both Rebecca and William felt a bit insecure about being the same three things. One was their age, two was the fact they're biracial, and three was they'd both had a lot to live up too by their own families.

Warren's mom was also a judge, Judge Libby Mason to be exact. She was in fact, the only female judge in all of Gotham, at the time when she and Warren were first at school. Libby had a reputation for being tough but fair and she always spoke her mind. She didn't let anything get in the way of her job and expect people to be treated fairly, equally and respectfully. So she was both terrifying and inspirational.

Warren's father who's name was Alan, his middle name was also an important person in the judicial system. He was a one of the most respected lawyers in all of the country Alan Williams. He'd done it all, taken down corrupt corporations, Wall Street, and even some people in the government who'd done some serious transgressions. And the best part about it all? He'd NEVER lost a case! So it was a lot for his and Libby's son to live up too.

It was these quirky similarities that had drawn them together. Still neither had been really ready to pursue a deeper relationship. Not without worrying about their friendship. As a result, despite the fact that she did care deeply for Warren, she still wasn't ready to be in a deeper more serious relationship. It didn't help matters that she lived in Eco-City and he still resided in Gotham. She wasn't about to leave her city unprotected, but it seemed Warren didn't want to make the choice to come to her.

"Warren, I wish I understood my feelings more in this subject," Rebecca stated sadly as she finished her breakfast. Glancing at her bird song clock on the wall she realized she was running a little behind schedule. So grabbing her keys she bolted out the door so fast she almost forgot to lock it. She took the water pressure golden glass elevator down, and met up with the doorman Joshua, and his niece Ronnie, brought her solar powered purple Porsche around for her to drive away in.

"Thanks, Ronnie! You're such a sweet young girl! It looks really good!"

The preteen girl just smiled happily at the judge and said in a slightly shy tone of voice. "It was nothing, Ms. Young. I washed and waxed it very well and I already scheduled a tune-up for next week. If there anything else you need, Ms Young, I'm more the willing to help!"

"You're a good kid, Ronnie! How about I buy you that chocker you've been admiring at Esmeralda's Jewelry?" I know you've wanted that for over a month now. So how about I get you that?"

Ronnie's pale features flushed brilliant crimson. She looked a bit like candle burning. Her lengthy raven tresses were flowing freely in the early morning breeze, and with her dazzling emerald green eyes, really stood out against her ruby red face from her mild shyness. "Um, that would be very nice, indeed, Ms. Young. But you don't have to do that!"

"It's no big deal, sweetheart. You along with your uncle are just so nice and helpful! It's just nice to have such kind people to count on. Beside isn't it your birthday next week anyway? It'd be a good present for you. So I'm not taking no as an answer. See you later, Ronnie!" as she drove away to her job.

The Eco-City Courthouse was a magnificent building to behold indeed. The grounds outside it were bursting of gorgeous and rare plant life, along with an enormous golden sculpture of the Lady Justice, in the most beautiful water fountain. The building itself had its own unique and amazing appearance, that alone made it stand out from the rest of the courthouses in the world. For one thing it had a stunning frieze, in addition to carvings blended together in a way that it told a story all its own. The inside was also rich and like the rest of the city blended man and nature.

Parking in her usual spot she went to her chambers and got ready for the day. When she got to her office though she was greeted by someone she wasn't expecting. Standing next to her office door was a young gentleman she had only recently become aquatint with. He was on the cute side and he seemed very nice, but looks could be deceiving. The man name was Darien French and he was the newest judge in Eco-City. He'd been appointed last month while she'd been in Gotham visiting her family. She'd been in shock when she came home to Eco-City and first met him. Again it wasn't he was a bad guy; it just was their personalities didn't mix.

Rebecca was free-spirit, fun-loving, incredibly compassionate along with fair, and just. She knew how to have fun, be relaxed and loving out of the courtroom. Darien was very much the opposite in this sense. He rarely laughed; his smile wasn't cheerful in the least bit. Furthermore he was far too serious as well as wooden for Rebecca's taste.

Despite the obvious differences between them, Darien seemed to have taken a fancy to her. Consequently, she'd been putting up with his attempts to pay her court, which in truth she really found more infuriating then anything else. Today the dark haired man was dressed in an ugly gray suit as she got to her office.

"Hello, Darien. How are you today?" she asked politely as she finally got into her own chambers. He followed her inside and took a good look around her personal chambers. Rebecca's colorful personality shined even within her own private space. Like all the other places in the city it ran on solar power so the soothing ceiling lamp that changed colors made it warmer and cozy. The walls were painted her favorite color of purple and everything just her.

"I'm just fine, Ms. Young. Thank you so much for asking. Oh my you've done a great job with your chambers! I just love the pretty shades of purple you've here. My personal favorite color is turquoise. Maybe you could tell me who's you decorator and have them make my chambers as beautiful as this."

"I can give you their number later. Right now I've got to focus on the case I'm overseeing this afternoon. I also have a lot to do when I get home tonight."

"Like what exactly?"

"You know, Darien? I really don't feel like talking about it. So if you'd excuse me I've got to review my notes and get ready for court. See you later," as she hurried him out of her chambers.

Sighing heavily she picked up a grayish blue watering can and started to water her plants. She didn't hear the door creek open slightly, nor did she see a pair of honey colored eyes spying on her. The eyes of course belong to Darien. He seemed entranced by the attractive Rebecca Young. He'd always had had a thing for redheads. He couldn't comprehend why she was so cold and distant with him. He was still spying on Rebecca, whom at that moment was eating a huge scarlet apple, while looking at the file for her case today. He almost didn't hear the sound of high heels clicking down the hallway as a young woman in a teal dress was coming down the corridor. He looked up just in time and mange to bolt by the time she looked up from her own folder file.

The woman knocked on Rebecca's door and it opened slowly. "That peculiar," the lady muttered quietly. It wasn't like Ms. Young to leave her chamber's door opened like this. "Judge Young? Rebecca? Are you in today?"

Rebecca threw her apple core into a diminutive bottle green plastic bin. Leftover food of any type was picked up regularly, and taken to be made into natural compost heap, to help the city grow its food, in a natural and non-polluted way. Yes even the trash was done it's best to be recycled in any shape or form to maintained its 'green' world and reputation.

"Yes, Kendra? What is it?" she called back to lady in the teal dress. Kendra smiled and walked slowly into the room. Her short blond pageboy hair bounced lively matching the enthusiasm of her almond shaped teal eyes. All in all she was a very pretty young lady.

"So, Judge Young, how are you today? You look a bit tired to me. If you want I can go and let get a small nap in before you've got to be in court," she suggested as she blushed some.

"Kendra?"

"Yes, Judge Young?"

"Could you stop referring to me as "Judge Young"? I thought you knew I don't like being called that when I'm not working. I'd expect Judge French to call me that, but not you Kendra; I don't call you Ms. Burgess, do I? We're best friends for crying out loud! You're more then just my assistant you know! Yes, I am a bit tired, but not enough to put a dent in my day. And I'm so glad you're here, Kendra. I really needed your help this coming weekend."

"Alright, Rebecca, I will try to loosen up some. So tell me, what do you need of me?" Kendra asked kindly to her boss. Though it was like Rebecca had just said no more then a moment ago, they're more like best friends, then her being her boss, and her just being the lowly assistant. So she reached into her briefcase and pulled out her I-Tablet and turned it on. Ready to work and do what she could for her friend.

"Well, if you must know, Kendra, I'm expecting two guests this coming weekend. It's my mom and," she said while blushing a bit, "Warren. My mom is coming to visit me for awhile, won't that be entertaining and full of surprises!" she laughed heartily and then brushed her red hair out of her face, "and Warren coming to the city to celebrate my nomination into the Law and Order Legal Hall of Fame. Do you really think I've got a chance at winning the coveted award?"

"If anyone can do it, Rebecca it would be you! But still not for another three weeks. So you're just gonna have to do a lot of phenomenal work if you want to tip the scale in your favor. Still I do believe you've' got a strong chance of winning. So should I ask if you've got reservations to a fancy restaurant with Warren?"

"He says he'll surprise me when he gets here, I really hope he picks a good place to celebrate. Somewhere that dreamy and romantic at the same time," she sighed lovingly for a moment lost in a daydream.

Kendra gave her a look and giggled some. "So you really like Warren a lot, I take it? Do you have a picture of him I can see?"

Rebecca went to her mahogany desk and reached into one of the drawers. She slowly took out a small heart-shaped frame. Handing it to her assistant she gingerly took it and gazed at the photo with some amusement. Standing in front of a university in graduation gowns and caps was two people. Rebecca was on the right and on the left was Warren. He was very tall and extremely attractive. Like her he was black with dark eyes with very short hair. So short he looked almost bald. Still he seemed good-natured in addition to exceedingly vivacious.

"He seems like such a sweetheart. I mean you did tell me you've been on a few dates with him, and he took you to a dance or two. So is this why you find Judge French so unappealing?" Kendra inquired inquisitively as she handed back the picture.

Rebecca scoffed a bit and seemed a tad irked by the name of her unwanted suitor. "Darien is a sweet guy. He's just far too serious for my taste, plus he doesn't have a sense of fun at all. He's all work and no play, and frankly Warren and I have much more in common then Darien. I mean I can respect Darien, which I sincerely do, Kendra, nevertheless he's just not the one for me."

"Just no spark I take it? Well, I won't inquire more into your love life. I just wish I had one of my own," Kendra replied sadly. At this Rebecca looked a bit confused by her friend's statement. Cocking an eyebrow she gave her friend a curious look.

"Didn't you get that subscription to that online dating site I hooked you up with last month? Have you not even had a nibble in the sea of potential catches?"

"Not really, no. Not for lack of trying though. I've been stood up twice already. I just hope that this date I've got on Friday with an orthodontist named Ernie Cooper pans out somewhat."

"I've got an idea that hopefully will make a spark ignite. We can go to the beauty shop and get makeovers on Thursday. So that should really help you. Now let's get going. I've got a serious case with those douchebags who tried to steal from our Bird Sanctuary."

"That's already on the table? I know that gang of smugglers been after our endangered animals for weeks. I just didn't expect it to be on your case load today. Seeing how Sparrow Hawk only stopped them last night at 2:20 in the morning."

"Well, she has been helping the police out for weeks now and with her help they finally nailed them. The DA was busy already preparing to have a trial of some type ready at a moment's notice and luckily last night was the break the city's been looking for. So come on, Kendra! We've got to get going! You take care of my home and I'll get ready for this case!"

The two lovely young ladies left Rebecca's chambers, making sure the door was locked securely before leaving. When they're out of sight Judge French emerged from his own chambers just around the corner. He made sure no-one was watching then picked the lock and went into Rebecca's chambers. He was hoping to get a clue or two on how to get her to go on a date with him. But after twenty minutes of searching he discovered not much though he did see the photo of Rebecca and Warren. He knew now he had a rival. Putting the photo back into her desk he left making sure to make it looked like nothing was out of place.

The week went by very quickly; it always seemed once you hit your teenage years, time went by incredibly fast. So before she knew it was Friday and she was on her way to the train station to pick up her mom. She looked at herself in her full length mirror before leaving. Yesterday's trip to the health resort was just the thing she and Kendra had needed. She could only hope for Kendra's sake that her date that night went smoothly.

Rebecca waited patiently for her mom to disembark from the train. It seemed that it took forever for her to get off the train, but she finally emerged from the crowd. Rebecca dashed into her mom's waiting arms and hugged her tightly.

"Oh! Mom! I'm so glad you're here! Finally you've come to me without me having to come to you!"

"I'm elated to see you too, my darling child. Oh, Rebecca, I'm just relieved you're okay!" Barbara replied as she hugged her beloved daughter tightly. Her bad dreams had felt much more like a premonition of danger, so she wasn't about to take a chance that her child was in danger. She trusted her instincts. Her father James had for ever and a day had told her to trust her guts no-matter-what.

Unknown to both of the ladies was that in the nearby shadows they're being watched. Three men were watching them both intensely with special equipment and it looked like they're bad news. The trio was dressed all in black clothing, which was odd, in view of the fact that it was so warm that day, and they must be overheating. One took a few pictures of the pair as they hurried outside. The tallest one who seemed to be the leader glanced at his cohorts and then motion for them to follow. Once they're outside they'd saw Rebecca and her mom leave in her car.

Walking nonchalantly too them was Judge French, who pretended to drop his briefcase as he 'accidentally' tripped over a loose stone. The leader of the three men in black bent down and pretended to helped Judge French up. No-one noticed that money was being exchanged and secret notes we're being passed.

"You'll get what you want, Mr. French, as long as we get what we want," whispered the man in black. He quickly glanced around to see if anyone was paying attention to them. Thankfully everyone seemed more preoccupied by their own business to pay any heed to them.

"Remember, Ven," hissed Darien quietly to the man in black, "I want the girl alive. You can do whatever you desire with the mother. You may also capture the daughter for a little bit to play along with the charade. Nevertheless keep in mind I get her in the end. Also I've got another piece of business for you to take care of."

"What's that, sir?" Ven hissed back as he handed back his metal briefcase. Darien's honey colored eyes looked deeply into the shaded eyes of the mysterious man named Ven. He slipped him a photo with a bull's-eye on the target.

"I want this man Warren Alan William eliminated when he gets here. Otherwise, Ms. Young won't ever be mine. I want you to make sure he's taken out of the picture literally. Keep an eye out for him when he gets here."

"And what of this Sparrow Hawk? What if she's gets in the way?"

"Kill her too if she gets in the way. If she's foolish enough to play the game of hero, then she must die for her foolishness. However, if you and your bumbling lackeys, stick to the plan, and don't do anything particular stupid, we might just get lucky enough to all get what we want. Now go!"

"You've my word, Mr. French; we shall do as you've bid us. For now we must be off on the hunt. So see you later, sir. Though, I feel I must warn you of something, Mr. French. And that is I hope your pockets are deep enough to pay for our services."

"Don't worry about your creds, Ven. If this works we'll all get what we want, both materialistic and living," he chuckled as they parted ways for the moment.

Something sinister and wicked was afoot in Eco-City, and unknowingly Rebecca Young would have to deal with it. But what neither she nor anyone else realized was that everything that the young woman cherished was about to be in mortal peril. Could Sparrow Hawk rise to the occasion? Or would she and her alter-ego as Judge Rebecca Ruth Young end up in a danger that would kill them or worse? It was anyone guess.