Golden Girl

The police car's sirens blared, clearing the cars in front like a parting of the seas. The thrilling part of the job that Madison enjoyed the most was weaving in and out of traffic at high speed towards a crime in progress with hopes of being the one to save the day. Until Madison managed to get a promotion to detective, it was all she could do to stay relevant and in the good graces of her captain.

Her partner, Liam, handled the radio while she zoned out driving as she usually did.

"She's there already." Liam said.

"Fuck."

Madison almost smashed into another car when she received the news. Part of the problem of being a cop was that half the time they were made redundant by that annoying stupid superhero Golden Girl. She had super strength, she could fly and somehow, she seemed to always make it to the crime scene first. It's like she had her own team working for her behind the scenes giving her intel. Either the cops were first to the scene and had to bust their asses and use their wits to contain the situation or they arrived and found that Golden Girl had already cleared everything up. It just wasn't fair

But Golden Girl wasn't getting to get full credit this time. Not if Madison had anything to say about it. She stepped on the gas causing Liam to tightly grip the holy shit bar.

"This won't solve anything, Madissson."

Back in the zone, she didn't care what her partner thought as she dodged traffic. All that mattered was they at least did something to help the case. After dangerously running two red lights, Madison pulled into the warehouse parking lot. It was one of Kollar Tech's old plants before the ethical PR storm had hit the company and forced all of the skeletons out of the closet. Having been abandoned a long time, it wasn't the dumbest place for a hideout.

Liam got out of the car and caught up with his partner who was almost running towards the building.

"So, what's the plan?" Liam asked.

"Let's see what we're dealing with first." Madison said.

The two officers found a broken window and entered. Systematically, they searched each room in the vicinity, with Madison hoping to find something useful that they could use for a reward. But the place was seemingly empty with no sights or sounds of activity.

"Maybe it's the wrong place." Liam said.

"Shhh." Madison said. "I hear something."

Liam's ears perked up and he signaled that he heard it too. The two cops hurried down the hallway towards the noise, hastily checking each room on the way to ensure they wouldn't be blindsided. When they got to the door at the end of the hallway, there was no doubt that the noise was coming from whatever was behind it. The two cops paused and waited to see if they could hear anything else from inside. There were a few sounds, but nothing substantial.

"What was the report for again?" Liam asked.

"Some sort of illegal chemical, I think." Madison said.

"Is it really safe to go in there? Maybe we should let Golden Girl handle this one."

Madison's eyes pierced through to his soul. This wasn't about safety. This was about taking risks and receiving rewards. It was a temperament that Liam clearly lacked.

"I'll scout and let you know." Madison said.

She didn't have time for his cowardice. Besides, she knew that he'd eventually follow her lead. If there was one thing that Liam feared more than entering a potentially dangerous situation, it was losing his partner in a potentially dangerous situation. She didn't have to look behind her to know he was covering her rear.

On the other side of the door, despite being an abandoned warehouse, there was a lot of activity, indicating that the bad guys had been there quite some time. In the middle of the room, Golden Girl was surrounded by men with guns pointed at her. Madison wasn't sure if the men were stupid or just didn't know that guns weren't going to hurt the superheroine. It was possible that the comfort of pointing something at Golden Girl was all that was keeping the men from running around in terror.

"You tell me who's the boss and I won't smash the rest of your faces." Golden Girl said.

The powerful hero had a squeaky-clean media image that made her out to be a saint. But Madison had seen her in action often enough to know that Golden Girl thoroughly enjoyed beating bad guys up.

"You think we're scared of you." One man said. He was the only one who was not pointing a gun at Golden Girl.

Golden Girl turned to him. "Ah, so you're the one in charge."

She tried to rush towards him, but she couldn't move from her spot. Golden Girl tried repeatedly, but her feet wouldn't budge.

"You fell right into our trap, Golden Girl." The man said. His only distinguishing feature was the scar on his right cheek.

"This is impossible. How are you doing this?" Golden Girl said. For the first time in Madison's experience, the superheroine's tone had a hint of fear.

"Science." Scarface confidently said confidently. "And now that you are in are custody, nobody's going to stop us."

Madison had heard enough. The power source for whatever was holding Golden Girl was clearly coming from the ceiling directly over her head. As much as Madison didn't want to release her rival, the men had automatic weapons that she and Liam couldn't handle it. All she needed to do while Golden Girl took out the other men was put a bullet in the leader's head. Win win.

"Brace yourself." Madison said.

"Are you crazy? They have automatics." Liam said.

"Well then let's hope this plan works."

It was one of her worst qualities but acting first without thinking the plan through had served her well so far in her career. She wasn't about to stop it now. Madison aimed high and emptied her clip in the contraption on the ceiling. A small explosion signaled that something had been destroyed as the debris and large chunks of the roof fell to the ground on top of Golden Girl.

Liam yelped at the sight of Golden Girl being crushed. Madison didn't blame him because if the hero dead, so was their only chance of survival. All the men, except Scarface, were looking at the debris in the middle of the room, hoping that it didn't move. Unlike his henchman, Scarface was looking for the source of the gunfire and he spotted Madison leaning out from behind a stack of containers.

"Hey, we got cops in here!" Scarface yelled.

Madison quickly reloaded her clip. If she was going down, it wasn't going to be while she was running away. It was going to be taking as many of them with her.

"I'm sorry, Liam." Madison said.

"No, you're not." Liam said with bitterness. He wasn't going to abandon her no matter how afraid he was. Like Madison, he had pride in the fact that he was a dependable teammate. Even if that meant dying.

Madison and Liam braced themselves for the hail of gunfire. But instead of the echo of bullets flying, the thunderous sound of concrete hitting the floor made everyone turn. To Madison and Liam, it was the equivalent of seeing a guardian angel in a time of need. A Golden angel.

"You really thought that could hold me." Golden Girl said, now standing among the debris.

There were screams of panic as the men ran in every direction. Like a predator picking off its prey, Golden Girl caught each person one by one, completely disarming and knocking them out cold before moving onto the next one. With the distraction now set, Madison looked for Scarface among the chaos and found him heading towards the exit. The problem was that Golden Girl had spotted him too.

Madison took off running and Liam reluctantly followed. But Golden Girl was too fast. She caught the guy in no time leaving Madison no choice but to take her shot. The risk-taking cop stopped in her tracks and aimed for the head of the leader, firing the shot without remorse. Golden Girl heard the shot and deflected it with her hand back towards Madison and Liam.

The bullet flew by Madison and pierced the barrel behind her causing a chemical explosion. The last thing Madison saw was the ground before she blacked out.

***

Two months later

Madison and Liam sat in Captain Kooler's office waiting to be verbally berated now that they had been both discharged from the hospital and cleared to return to duty. The warehouse incident had set off a discussion about the use of cops when Golden Girl was on the scene. There were new safety procedures and new training required to be allowed on duty with Golden Girl. Of course, this was all a PR stunt to give it a positive spin, but the police department had no intention of making exceptions for hothead cops.

What the department heads did want was to ensure Madison and Liam never stepped foot in a crime scene with Golden Girl again. Because she wasn't injured, Golden Girl told her perspective of what happened which included a crazy gun-wielding Madison looking to raise her kill count. It wasn't a lie, but it wasn't the whole truth. If it wasn't for Madison, Golden Girl would still be trapped. For someone so powerful and righteous, she sure had a hard time admitting to fault and had a knack for stretching the truth.

The door slammed, bringing Madison back to reality. Captain Kooler sat down at her desk. Their captain was an older attractive lady, but she had a mean streak when she wanted to get a message across.

"Officer Wind and Officer Norris, you two have left one hell of a mess to clean up."

"Sir, if I could just say my..."Madison started but was cut off by Captain Kooler's hand.

"I heard the story. Multiple times. I know you took a shot at the known leader of that operation going for the kill. I also know that Golden Girl deflected said shot which resulted in your accident. With the chemicals involved, you're lucky you weren't killed."

"Did she tell you about the part where I saved her ass?" Madison asked.

"Enough games, officer Wind. Your time to speak was after it happened, but you were two busy recovering from your mistakes."

"This is bullshit!"

The Captain went silent to let Madison dig her hole further. But Madison restrained herself.

"Now that you're both back on duty, I'm afraid there needs to be consequences for your actions." Captain Kooler said. "Do you know what those consequences are?"

Madison leaned back with her arms crossed. Suspension. They were actually going to suspend her for saving Golden Girl from capture.

"A promotion to detective." Madison said sarcastically.

A strange look came over Captain Kooler. Her body released its tension and relaxed. Her furrowed gaze transitioned into a warm smile.

"That's right, both of you are going to be promoted to Detective. If you can't cut it out in the field, I think the best thing is for you to move up and show up to the crime scenes when everything is said and done."

Madison and Liam looked at each other. Madison turned her attention back to their Captain.

"You're fucking with me."

"No, I'm dead serious. You are now Detective Wind and Detective Norris." Captain Kooler said.

Madison wanted to probe further, but Liam grabbed her arm.

"Let's get out while we're ahead." Liam said.

Madison couldn't agree more. The two new detectives thanked their Captain and left the office more confused than anything.

"What just happened?" Madison asked.

"Guess fortune does favor the bold." Liam said. "I'll see you around, partner."

Liam walked away and Madison suddenly realized that she had reached her goal. She was at the next level. It actually worked going for the top bad guy. The moment wasn't going to feel real until she saw the look on Golden Girl's face.

**

It felt like getting away with murder. Madison just couldn't understand why the captain had rewarded her instead of punishing her. The strangest thing in the whole encounter was the Captain's jarring transition from angry to happy. Something was going on and she needed to figure out what it was right away.

Recalling the memory, it was Madison who had suggested the promotion. Was she the one that caused the change in behavior? And if so, how?

Then it hit her. The chemical explosion. The doctors said that there would be no long-term effect on her, but what if they didn't know what kind of effect they were looking for? Somehow Kollar Tech had found a strange concoction that didn't actually kill people. There were even conspiracy theories that Kollar Tech was somehow responsible for creating Golden Girl, a rumor that Kollar Tech had vehemently denied.

If Madison was able to alter people's decisions, she needed to test it out. And what better way to test it than around the office. Madison walked up to Detective Henry Holt, who was busy working on the Kollar Sorority Case.

"Hello detective." Madison said.

Holt took one look at her, and then focused back on his work.

"So, you're a detective now. I hope you can cut it." Holt said.

"PFft, I've been training for this my whole career. I'll show you and all of those other shitheads who doubted me."

Holt didn't say another word. But his smile said all he needed to say.

"Why don't you pick your nose?" Madison said.

Holt didn't turn his head from his computer, but his eyes darted from the screen to her face with raised eyebrows. He didn't react and the silence became awkward.

"Um, pick your nose." Madison said as a command instead.

"If you're not here to talk about a case, get the hell out of my face." Holt said.

Madison embarrassingly excused herself. So maybe she didn't have powers. It was wishful thinking anyway. Whatever the reason was for the promotion, she was going to make sure no one questioned the decision because of her actions.

**

"Heard you're moving up." a soft voice said.

Liam turned to see his colleague, Bailey, twirling her hair as usual. If there was one thing that he wanted more than the promotion, it was to have one night out with Bailey. Despite her hints and flirting at work, he just couldn't bring himself to ask her on a date out of fear of rejection and the teasing he would then endure from the rest of the force. As much as he wanted it, there was no guarantee. With some other colleagues who had tried with their office crush, the friendship had disappeared almost immediately. It was go big or go home and Liam preferred to go home.

"Yep, it was a nice surprise." Liam said, playing it cool.

Bailey sat on his desk. "A well-deserved one, if you ask me."

"Thanks Bail."

"Well, I personally think it's bullshit. You and that crazy bitch almost killed Golden Girl and then you get promoted. You should be fired if you ask me." Ronan said. He was a hothead cop who also had eyes for Bailey and never shut up about it.

"Well, that's why you're not in charge." Bailey said.

She left the testosterone filled room before both men could start trying to outwit one another to impress her. It was another trait that Liam admired about her. Ronan watched her ass as she walked away before grinning back at Liam.

"Guess you're going to miss out on that ass." Ronan said.

Liam got up and grabbed his coat. He didn't want to waste time and energy on someone like Ronan.

"Unless she's into people who advance in their career." Liam said with a contemptuous grin. He didn't need to see Ronan's reaction to know it was a sour one. As much as the cop could chirp him, he was still a cop and Liam was now a detective.

His first case to solve was how the hell did he become a detective.

**

On her way out of the building, the last person Madison wanted to see was standing at the end of the hallway. Golden Girl, the town's perfect sweetheart. If only they knew what a cold hard bitch she really was. If the city didn't pay her, she would have taken off ages ago for a better gig. But the city bent over backwards for her, and she acted like its queen.

"Officer Wind."

"That's Detective Wind." Madison said.

The superheroine laughed as she walked closer.

"What a joke." Golden Girl said.

"The real joke is you lying to people. If it wasn't for me, you'd still be stuck in that trap."

"I wasn't stuck."

Golden Girl stood right in Madison's face.

"Bullshit." Madison said.

Golden Girl smiled and leaned in to whisper into Madison's ear.

"You better watch yourself detective. Things can go wrong in a crime scene in the blink of an eye."

Golden Girl walked by and shouldered Madison, which from a superheroine was like shouldering a wall of steel. But the brute force was not going to intimidate Madison. Sooner or later, Golden Girl was going to slip up and show everyone the piece of shit she truly was. Until then, Madison was going to focus on her job and do police work that even Golden Girl couldn't do. She was going to solve some important cases.

**

With the new job came a need for new outfits. Madison's first stop after work was to one of her favorite clothing stores to buy some power suits and formal outfits for work. Having to wear a uniform had become kind of a relief for figuring out what to wear everyday so it was a bit overwhelming to think about choosing something different for every shift.

After trying on several different outfits, the sales lady brought more in. But Madison wasn't sure what kind of image that she wanted to portray. Strong and Powerful? Sexy and Dangerous? Loose and Free? She couldn't decide.

"Is there anything else I can help you with?" the sales associate said.

Rebecca, according to her nametag, looked like a college student trying to make some money on the side. Her style was conservative except for in the chest area where she let her natural gifts do the talking with a deep neckline. Oh, to be young and naive again.

"Yes, please tell me what kind of style I should choose for work."

Rebecca suddenly became very serious and eyed Madison up and down.

"Well, just from our brief interaction, you sound like someone who wants to be taken seriously. So, I'd pick something that conveys that and avoid drawing attention to your.... you know."

The girl's eyes glanced down indicating her own personal display. For a young sales associate it was quite a surprising and candid response.

"Thank you." Madison said.

The girl's cheeks turned red. "You're welcome. Is there anything else you need?"

It was a complete longshot, but Madison, having thought about it all day, couldn't wrap her head around why she had been promoted instead of being suspended or fired. The Captain was pissed and then suddenly she wasn't. The only thing Madison could pull from the experience was that the Captain had asked a question and Madison's answer had become a reality.

She stared at the young woman. If Madison wanted to confirm her suspicions, especially after the girl's honest response, now was the time to do it.

"Yes, please take your breasts out and massage them." Madison said. It was a risky thing to say as a cop, but easy to deny from a woman's perspective.

The sales associate's confused face quickly washed away as her hands pulled down her top and bra and then began massaging her bare breasts while staring at Madison. The newly minted detective wasn't sure how to respond. Did she really have powers like Golden Girl? Was the sales associate really influenced by her? Or was this some joke by the sales associate? It seemed like it was an absolute guarantee that her power theory was correct, but with promiscuous college kids these days, it could also be a trick.

"Is there anything else I can help you with?" The sales associate automatically asked again.

Madison looked around the change room and saw a lingerie set on the rack that someone didn't want along with matching heels below it. It looked to be about the sales associate's size. In the store, there was a lingerie display with plenty of mannequins. If this girl was fooling around with Madison, how far would she go?

"Yes, please put on that red lingerie outfit and heels and go stand in the lingerie display like you're another mannequin for the rest of your shift."