Prologue

-.-.-.1998.-.-.-

"Come on!" yelled an enthusiastic teenager to her comrades. Her bright blue eyes danced in the sunlight, her smile bright and genuine. Elizabeth Pennies was fourteen years old and it was the first Monday off from school since school began, and Elizabeth Pennies, Lily Falda, and Parker Kiehof were going to spend it together as friends on a camping trip.

Elizabeth was trying to get the others to get out of the house and hurry up. Her long blonde hair was pulled up into a simple ponytail, her flip-flops smacking against her feet with each step. Parker Kiehof – well, her real name was Marie, Parker was her nickname – hurried out of the house and tossed her duffle-bag into the truck of the car.

Parker brushed her hands and smiled in accomplishment, her dimples clear and obvious. She flicked her blonde bangs out of her face, annoyed with her short hair cut. It was longer than a pixie cut, but still qualified as one. She was only thirteen, not at the same school as Elizabeth or Lily. She turned towards the house. "Hurry up, Lily!" she yelled.

"I'm coming!" Lily insisted, coming out of the door with her arms filled with bags. Her chest length black hair was straight and slick. Her dark brown eyes looked almost all pupil. She stepped towards the car and shoved all of the bags in the trunk.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Lily, Elizabeth, and Parker had decided to go on a hike that evening, but didn't think it through. They didn't know it would rain. But here they were, running as fast as they could back toward the campgrounds. None of them had brought rain jackets or umbrellas and it was coming down hard. Lily rushed ahead, running as fast as her legs could take her. Elizabeth had fun with the situation and jumped across logs and over boulders. Sometimes it even seemed as if she were flying as she jumped through the trail. Parker merely trundled along, thinking to herself.

Far above their heads, unknowing to the situation, an alien ship exploded, having gotten far overheated. A majority of the debris merely stayed in space, not straying too far. The alien oil powering the ship, however, fell through the atmosphere, merging with the rain and falling down on the exposed trio of friends. They didn't notice it for several days, but the three of them had gained supernatural powers in this event.

-.-.-.1999.-.-.-

Parker – or Nightingale, who was her alter ego she was currently dressed as – looked up at the giant doombot looming ominously over her. Crystal and Wonder – Lily and Elizabeth – tried to keep the other, smaller doombots busy. "Parker," said Lily. "Have you ever destroyed something from the inside?"

Parker understood. She ran forward and used her gadgets to climb up the side of the leader doombot. Nightingale jumped in through the top and began to pull on some levers, thinking it through in her super-mind. "Parker!" Lily screamed. "Get out, get out now!"

Parker didn't wait for an explanation. She pulled herself up out of the doombot. She didn't care how far off of the ground she was, Crystal sounded serious. Nightingale took a leap off of the metal robot top, but not soon enough. Guns fired as the doombot shot itself, trying to get rid of Parker. It blew up in a flurry of flames and metal, catching Parker in the commotion. She yelled in pain as her shoulder was engulfed in fire and metal.

Parker tumbled to the ground and rolled several yards away, crying out. She didn't remember much of what happened next. All she knew was she was injured, and she never saw the rest of the Golden Trio team again.

1: A Study in Pink - Part I

Parker tossed and turned in bed. All she saw were the bots. She saw the doombots swarming in from all angles, surrounding her and her fellow heroes. People screamed, children cried, lasers shot, blowing up every building in their path. She climbed to the top of the main doombot. There were screams. She jumped out of the robot as it exploded, catching her body in a storm of fire and metal. When she heard her name being called out in her nightmare, Parker jolted awake, distressed and panic-stricken. She sat up in her bed, wide-eyed and breathing heavily until she realised that she was safe and a long way from the the robot invasion. Flopping back onto her pillow, she tried to calm her breathing as she continued to be haunted by her memories. Eventually, unable to stop herself, she began to weep silently.

Later that day, she visited her psychotherapist's office and she sat in a chair opposite of her. "How's your blog going?" asked Katie.

Parker was silent for a moment. "Blog? Oh! Right, blog…um…yeah…Good, it is…still good…"

Katie scribbled some things down. "You share the same website as two of your friends, correct?"

Parker nodded. "Yeah. But they haven't written since…never…"

"You haven't written a word, have you?" asked Katie after a small silence.

Parker gestured towards her psychotherapist's notepad. "You wrote down 'trust issues'," she said, trying to change the subject.

Katie sighed, setting aside her notes. She leaned forward, arms on her knees. "Marie–"

Parker made a subtle coughing noise.

"–Parker," Katie corrected, using her nickname, "you have two completely different identities. You've trusted me of all people with this information and I'm glad you really do trust me like that. You fought in a battle when you were young, Parker. It will take a while to adjust to civilian life; and writing a blog about everything that happens to you will honestly help you."

Parker tapped her fingers on her crutch, shaking her head. "Nothing ever happens to me."

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In Russell Square Park, Parker limped briskly through the park, leaning heavily on her cane at her side. As she walked past a woman around her age sitting on the bench, the girl stared after her, clearly recognising Parker. "Hey!" she called out. Parker turned around. "Is that you? Parker, is that really you?"

Parker blinked. "Elizabeth?" Elizabeth grinned.

"Yeah! Oh my gosh, I still can't believe it's you!" She grinned, not really sure whether to hug her friend or shake her hand. "So how've things been? Haven't seen you since…you know…doombots. Rumour had it you got injured." Her eyes flickered towards Parker's crutch momentarily. "So what really happened?"

Parker shuffled her feet awkwardly. "I got injured.

They both looked embarrassed.

A little later they had bought some hot chocolate and were sitting side by side on a bench in the park. Elizabeth looked at Parker worriedly. Oblivious, the former hero took a sip from her cocoa then looked across to her old friend.

"So what have you been doing?" she asked. "Been keeping up the Wonder name or have we both dwindled away?"

Elizabeth shrugged. "I write. Just some children's stories. Not quite enough pay to be completely on my own. You?" she asked before Parker could question.

Parker copied Elizabeth's shrug. "Became a doctor. Haven't found the right job though. Just living in a bedsit. Tiny…bedsit…On my own…Yeah…"

"Couldn't Wesley help?" Elizabeth suggested quietly.

Parker humphed. "Yeah right. He's got his own family to look out for. Doesn't need to worry about his kid sister."

Elizabeth shrugged. "Surely you could come up with something. Get a flat-share or…somethin'."

Parker scoffed. "Really, who'd want me for a flatmate?"

Elizabeth looked slightly surprised. "That's the second time this week I've been in this situation." Parker looked towards her fellow hero, a bit confused. "I managed to sort out the first one."

"…Who was the first one?"

-:-:-;-;-:-:-;-;-:-:-;-;-:-:-;-;-:-:-;-;-:-:-;-;-:-:-

Lily sat in her make-shift lab at Saint Bartholomew's Hospital. To be completely honest, she had no clue what she was doing. She promised the Inspector she'd have evidence by friday and she only had a day left. Two people walked in and she knew the first woman yet it took a few moments for her to realise who the second was. Lily glanced across at them both and did not look back at her work again. Parker limped into the room, looking around at all the equipment.

"Well…a bit different from our day," she said, looking at Elizabeth. Elizabeth shrugged.

"Liz, can I borrow your phone?" asked Lily.

"Is there something wrong with the landline?"

"No, I just like texting better."

Elizabeth shrugged. "Sorry, left mine at the flat."

Parker reached into her back pocket. "Here," she said, fishing out an iPhone, "you can use mine."

Lily looked at the phone. "Oh! Well then…thanks…"

Elizabeth stepped in, trying to make the situation a bit more comfortable. "Well then, this is Marie Kiehof." Parker couldn't ignore the feeling in the back of her mind that said she already knew who this lady was. Why did Parker have deja vu?

Lily smiled briefly. "How do you feel about piano nowadays, Parker?"

Parker was slightly confused. "Why do you ask? Wait, how can you possibly know my nickname?"

"Elizabeth's constantly playing so I hope you like it," Lily said, completely ignoring Parker's question. "Would that bother you? Potential flatmates should know the worst about each other," said said, gesturing to everyone in the room.

Parker stared at Lily then turned to Elizabeth. "So you told her about me?"

Elizabeth folded her arms and leaned against the table, looking smug with herself. "Nope."

Parker turned towards Lily. "Then who said anything about flatmates?"

"I did," said Lily, donning her coat. "I told Elizabeth earlier this week that I must be a difficult person to find a flatmate for. She helped me out and became my flatmate. We still didn't have enough money and needed another person to split the share. Now here she is just after lunch with an old friend who's been through battles most people would never have dreamed."

"How do you know about the battles?" wondered Parker, worried this woman might find out who she really is.

Lily ignored the question. "Liz and I have got our eyes on a nice little place in central London. All together we ought to be able to afford it." She walked towards Parker. "We'll all meet there tomorrow evening; seven o'clock. Sorry – gotta dash. I need to inform the Inspector that Elizabeth got a break through in our becoming of detectives."

Lily slipped out the door but Parker stopped her. "How do you know all this? You know about me but I don't know about you, is that how things work now? You said piano nowadays, as if you knew me before." Parker was very serious. "I don't know where we're meeting and I don't know your name." Parker still had the thought that she recognised this woman from somewhere.

Lily stuck her head back in the door. "The name's Lily Falda, AKA Crystal. The address is 313G Kaber Street. See ya later, Nightingale. By the way, sorry I never had the chance to congratulate you on your new younger sister. Tell Wesley good job on getting a family. Oh, and your limp's psychosomatic." She strode out the door and Parker turned to Elizabeth in shock.

"Lily? Lily Falda? Crystal? Our Lily?!"

Elizabeth nodded. "Yep…Golden Trio reunited."

Parker turned and stared back at the door, still in shock. That's how she knew all about her.

-:-:-;-;-:-:-;-;-:-:-;-;-:-:-;-;-:-:-;-;-:-:-;-;-:-:-

Parker limped along the road and reached the door marked 313G just as a black cab pulled up at the kerb. Parker knocked on the door as Lily and Elizabeth got out of the cab. "Hi," said Elizabeth with a grin. Parker nodded, smiling. "You don't have to be so formal ya know. We are friends."

"Were friends," she muttered quietly.

"Hm?" Lily wondered, not catching that.

"Nothing," Parker assured. "Well, this is a prime spot," she said, changing the subject. "Must be expensive."

"Oh, it doesn't cost as much as it seems. We got a good deal. The landlady, Mrs. Coleman, owes us all a favour," said Elizabeth. "During the doombot invasion we didn't know it but we saved her life."

"We saved lots of lives," Parker said. "Wait, did you tell her we're the Golden Trio?"

The door opened and an older lady was in the doorway. "Oh, Elizabeth, Lily, hello!" she said kindly. She put out her arms and hugged the two of them, first Elizabeth, then Lily.

"Mrs. Coleman," said Lily, gesturing towards Parker, "Doctor Marie Kiehof, the third member of the Golden Trio, Nightingale."

"Hello," Parker said politely.

"Please, come in," Mrs. Coleman said, stepping aside. Elizabeth nodded in thanks and the Trio went inside the building and Mrs. Coleman closed the door behind them. Lily and Elizabeth trotted up the stairs to the first floor, then Elizabeth made Lily pause and wait for Parker to hobble upstairs towards them. "Just like the good old days, huh?" said Parker. "Leaving me behind again?" As Parker reached the top of the stairs, Lily opened the door ahead of her and walked in, revealing the living room of the flat. Parker followed her in and looked around the room and at all the possessions and boxes scattered around it.

"Well," said Parker, "it's…nice."

Elizabeth nodded. "Lily refuses to clean up her junk though," she sighed. "I'm just imagining what things will be like once you move in. Remember when he had to clean your room when you were twelve? We filled up three trash-bags!"

Parker chuckled. "And you broke my homemade clock."

"Still holding a grudge about that?" Lily asked with a grin.

"Well, I've gotten better at keeping clean and organised."

Elizabeth and Lily walked across the room and made a half-hearted attempt to tidy up a little, throwing a couple of folders into a box and then Lily took some apparently unopened envelopes across to the fireplace where she put them onto the mantelpiece and then stabbed a pocketknife into them. Parker noticed something else on the mantelpiece and lifted her cane to point at it. "Is that what I think it is?" she asked. Lily looked at it and Elizabeth glanced over.

"Depends," said Elizabeth. "What do you think it is?"

"It's just a souvenir from one of my singlehanded battles," said Lily, gesturing towards the odd shaped skull. "Alien." She paused. "When I say alien…" she trailed off leaving Parker come to realise it wasn't the type of alien as in from another country.

Mrs. Coleman walked into the living room carrying a tray with three cups of tea. "So how does it look, Doctor Kiehof? There's just one room left so be glad those two didn't find someone else to share the flat with." Parker smiled lightly. "Made it just how you like it," she called out to Elizabeth. "Herbal. And Lily's favourite, with honey." The two other heroes came over, grabbing their cup. "Didn't know how Marie liked her's so I made another cup of herbal."

"Thank you. Parker, please."

As Mrs. Coleman left the flat, Parker walked over to one of the two armchairs, plumped up a cushion on the chair, and then dropped heavily down into it. She looked across to Elizabeth and Lily who were still tidying up a little (sort of). "So what was that sign on the door?" Parker asked. "Dynamic Duo Detective Agency?"

Elizabeth nodded. "Lily and I have opened up our own private detective agency…And we may or may not have have connections with Detective Inspector Lestrade of Scotland Yard. Sometimes we help them with cases." She gestured towards Parker. "Care to join?" Parker opened her mouth when Mrs. Coleman walked on in.

"How about these suicides, girls? Seems like a good first case for your business. Three all exactly the same."

Elizabeth walked over to the window and peered out. "Four," she corrected. A police car had stopped right outside. "There's been a fourth."

Lily hurried over to the window to get a look. "A fourth?" Mrs. Coleman wondered. Detective Inspector Lestrade walked into the flat. Parker silently wondered how he got in. Wasn't the door locked?

"Where?" asked Lily.

"Brixton, Lauriston Gardens."

"What's different?" Elizabeth wondered. "You wouldn't come to us if there was no change."

"You know how they never leave notes?" Lily and Elizabeth both nodded. "Well this one did. You coming?"

"We're right behind," Elizabeth said.

"Thank you." The Inspector nodded and left.

Once he reached the front door, Lily fist-pumped the air. "Yes! First real case! Serial suicides! Big case, big day! Oh, this is Christmas! Come on Wonder, Nightingale, we have one more battle as the Golden Trio!" Elizabeth and Lily rushed out the door.

Parker merely stayed seated in her chair. She sighed and picked up the newspaper about the apparent suicides and began to read the article. Elizabeth poked her head back in the room. "So you really became a doctor, hm, Parker?" Parker nodded. "Your dream come true. Any good at your job?"

"Of course."

"As expected, you were always a hard studier. You got injured in the doombot invasion. You've been through battles."

"Yes, you have too."

"But you've been through the most dangerous parts of the most dangerous battles." She stepped closer to Parker. "You've seen people die right before your eyes."

"And it was terrible…"

"This involves more–"

"Thank goodness," Parker said, rushing out the door.

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Elizabeth, Parker, and Lily sat in silence in the taxi. "So…" said Parker, glancing towards Lily. "I never told you I was a doctor and you introduced me to Mrs. Coleman as Doctor Marie Kiehof. And you said I have a new younger sister."

"Yep," she said. Parker glanced towards Elizabeth.

"Did you tell her anything?"

Elizabeth raised her hands in a surrender position. "Not a word."

"So how'd you know?"

Lily sighed. "You're comment when you walked into the room when we first re-met."

"Well…A bit different from our day."

"So you recognised the equipment and not to mention you always wanted to be a doctor when you were a kid. Not a hard conclusion to come to. Anyone could have got it with that information." Parker had to agree.

"You said my limp–"

"Was psychosomatic, yes. Your limp's really bad when you walk but you don't ask for a chair when you stand, like you've forgotten about it, so it's at least partly psychosomatic. That says the original circumstances of the injury were traumatic. Wounded in action, then. The last time I saw you was when you were severely injured in the doombot invasion. Didn't see what happened, didn't see the wound, didn't see you since."

"You knew Wesley has a family, how?"

"I would've thought your brother would help you out. He's the kind of guy that would do that. Clearly he hasn't. Why hasn't he helped you? Because his money is heading somewhere else. He has a family of his own."

"Sister…?"

"Your phone. It had the name 'Sam Kiehof' engraved on the back. There are only so many Kiehof's in the world and all are related to you. Could be a cousin but none of yours were close enough to give you their phone and if they were you would have spoke of them more often when we were teenagers. So a sister. Younger, obviously, I knew your family. She isn't spoken of often in your immediate family though."

"How do you know?"

"She's a drunk."

"And how…can you possibly…know that?"

"Power connection: tiny little scuff marks around the edge of it. Every night she goes to plug it in to charge but her hands are shaking. You never see those marks on a sober person's phone; never see a drunk's without them. Your family's very serious about your religion and your religion says no drinking. Sam's fallen away then. Therefore, not spoken to often by your family. Except by you. Why would she give you her phone if you seldom spoke to her?"

Parker blinked at her friend. "That…was…uh…well…"

"Elizabeth helped me out a bit," admitted Lily quietly.

Parker laughed.

As the cab arrived in Brixton, the Trio stepped out onto the kerb. "We got a lot of things wrong, didn't we?" said Lily. "I'm terrible at this detective stuff. Better at being a superhero than a regular, everyday hero. I'm sure Liz can concur."

Parker shrugged. "Sam's a drunk. Wesley has three kids, two twin boys and a girl–" Elizabeth 'awwwww'ed – "I got severely injured in the doombot invasion."

Lily looked surprised with herself. "We got it all right? Whoa!" She high-fived Elizabeth.

"And Sam is short for Samuel, not Samantha."

Parker continued walking, smug with herself, as Elizabeth and Lily stopped dead in their tracks. "Sam's a boy…" said Elizabeth. "Darn it!" She and Lily whispered angrily to each other as they began to walk again.

"Okay, what are we gonna do here?" asked Parker. "And where are we anyway?"

"Brother!" fumed Lily, ignoring Parker. "So close!"

The three of them walked up to the yellow police tape and a sergeant stepped in front of them. "Hello, Falda," she said angrily. Her tone lightened. "Elizabeth. What're you two doing here?" she asked.

"Hello, Donovan," Lily said with an annoyed sigh.

"Nice to see you again, Sally," said Elizabeth politely.

"We need to see the Detective Inspector," said Lily.

"Well you know what I think?"

"Nope," she said, ducking under the tape. Elizabeth copied her actions. "And I'd rather not." Elizabeth held up the tape for Parker to walk through.

Sergeant Donovan stopped her. "Wait, who's this?"

"Doctor Marie Kiehof," Elizabeth said. "A friend of ours."

Donovan looked slightly surprised. "A friend? As in a friend of Falda's, too?" she asked, pointing to the mentioned.

Lily rolled her eyes. "Yes. Parker, Sally Donovan. Old friend," she said, voice dripping with sarcasm.

"I thought you said her name was Marie?" Donovan said, slightly confused.

Lily ignored this question and walked on with a roll of her eyes. She led the other two towards the house. Elizabeth looked all around the area and at the ground as they approached. As they reached the pavement, a man dressed in a coverall came out of the house.

"Ah, Anderson," said Lily. "Here we are again."

Anderson looked at the group with distaste. "It's a crime scene," he said. "I don't want it contaminated. Are we clear on that?"

Lily took in another deep breath through her nose. "Of course," she said sarcastically. She smiled smugly, then turned and went into the house. Elizabeth walked past then followed Lily inside. Parker smiled apologetically at Anderson and the other two Golden Trio members led her into a room on the ground floor where Lestrade was putting on a coverall. Elizabeth pointed to a pile of similar items.

"We'll need to wear one of these," she told Parker.

"Who's this?" Lestrade wondered.

"She's with us," said Elizabeth.

"But who is she?"

"I believe Elizabeth said she's with us," said Lily, putting on her latex gloves. Parker had taken off her jacket and picked up a coverall. She looked at Lily who had merely a pair of latex gloves and no coverall.

"Aren't you gonna put one on?" she asked.

Lily just looked at her sternly. "So where are we?" she asked Lestrade.

Lestrade picked up another pair of latex gloves. "Upstairs."