Alexandra Smith really liked drinking coffee.

      Every morning at work, you would catch her bringing one cup of coffee into her lab at the precinct and later on in the day, she would bring in even more. Alex didn't know exactly how to explain her caffeine addiction since she drank at least four cups of coffee and that just during work. If anybody in the precinct knew of her other job, they would know why exactly she drank a bucket of caffeine everyday and wore sunglasses each morning she came into the lab (those glasses were huge and also helped in covering all the bruises she got from her nightly shenanigans).

      At least, having superpowers helped in burning all the caffeine off, not to mention the slightly fast metabolism helped in explaining why she always carried a chocolate bar in her pocket (a low sugar problem was the excuse she used)

      But coffee? That was Alex's thing. Maybe that was why there was always the slightest coffee smell surrounding her, but in a good way. Thank god tonight was a slow night, both when it came to work and her nightly job, which was why she was back home by eleven at night. A bit unusual for a town like Brooklyn, but it wasn't like she minded it. 

      Once Alex was out of the Supernova outfit, which was hung up in her closet, she immediately crashed on her bed. (The name Supernova was kind of cheesy, but seeing as she could shoot cosmic energy out of her hands and punch through solid metal and fly ...maybe it suited her. Although, the super strength part always drained her, so she preferred blasting people).

      Not killing them. It was just some harmless, throwing people into wall things. Superheroes/Vigilantes usually did this, right?... Never mind. Six years of doing this, and Alex was still confused about doing what she did and all the rules that came with it. Especially since half the city considered her a menace and the other half sang her praises; while the NYPD was a mix of both.

      Best not think about this before she went to sleep. It would bring her mood down in the morning. For the first time in a long time, Alex would probably be getting a full eight hours of sleep. (Note that she said probably; which meant something would happen and she would have to wake up to solve it. It was part of being a superhero and CSI, you know?). Plus she also had to work on those crazy kidnappings taking place in Brooklyn, so she definitely would have to get up early.

      But for now, it was rest for the hero. Because there were far bigger challenges coming and she needed all the sleep she could get.

      A simple touch and the video played. It was a news report from Gotham, sent over by another CSI at her precinct. The video was similar to one of the kidnapping cases that had happened in the past week. People just grabbed off the street by a mysterious figure dressed in all black. 

      "New insight on the rash of terrifying abductions plaguing Gotham City. Warning, this footage may be too mature for younger audiences." The screen shifted to showcase a video. It was a man walking towards an ATM, an activity he might have done routinely. Then, the flash of torn darkness appeared, grabbed the man with inhuman speed and disappeared from the frame. The news channel had themselves slowed the video, giving the viewers a fleeting glimpse at what appeared to be Batman dressed in his dark cape. "Is this the mysterious Batman who has been spotted in Gotham?"

      'But it couldn't be him, could it?' Alex thought to herself as she held her phone with one hand, while tugging on her cloak with another. 'Kidnapping people off the street doesn't seem like his style. Plus why would he even come to New York? It's my city.'

      "Guess I'll just have to go to Gotham to find out," Alex muttered out loud as she kept her phone in the inner pocket of her cloak, where it would stay protected. She turned away from her closet, and stared into the mirror, looking at her costume. It was a material of her own design, partially inspired by fireman's suits. The suit was electricity proof, fireproof and bulletproof to a certain extent (it can handle something like machine gun fire, but definitely not a bazooka or something along those lines). It was blue and red, with golden lines running across it, meeting in the middle of her chest and forming a golden star. With this she also wore a white cloak, emblazoned with the same golden star. 

      Her wrist was adorned with a digital watch modified and developed by her, courtesy her degree in mechanical engineering. It showcased her vitals, plus could send signals and was able to receive the news.

      Her cowl covered almost the entirety of her face, leaving only her mouth visible and concealing her identity with ease. Plus the eyes of the cowl were fitted with night-vision and thermal vision goggles that she could turn on and off with a flick of a switch and the earpiece she wore was connected to the 911 and the police switchboard so she had a steady stream of information about crime happening in the city. This suit was a tech marvel, all thanks to her.

      She was damn proud of her creation. 

      Making this suit had been expensive, but her amazing Uncle Zach, had chosen to leave her with all his wealth. And he was rich. Not millionaire rich, but their family came from money and on top of that, he was a doctor. And she had invested it all of what he left her as well as her small trust fund into this secret job. At least, she knew she had made her uncle proud by blowing all the money on this supersuit, so to speak.

      The house Alex currently stood in also belonged to her uncle and was left to her. It was located in one of the richer suburbs of Brooklyn and she was glad this entire house (almost a small bungalow), belonged to her. Otherwise the rent on this place would have emptied her pocket and she wouldn't even have had the chance to develop the suit she had been wearing for the past six years, hiding in the dark as she saved the city. 

      Alex walked over to her bedroom window, peering out at the house next door. The curtains were drawn and the lights were shut and the house bore an empty feeling. This could only mean that the neighbours were out somewhere and she had an easy path to fly over to Gotham. She stepped on the window sill and looked towards the sky, where the sun was starting to set. She slowly floated outside, locking her window behind her. 

      "Okay, Supernova, time to work!" Alex silently exclaimed before shooting straight up into the sky a hundred feet above her house. The sun had almost completely set and the last traces of its light were giving way to the inky blackness of the night sky. She stared down at the roofs of the houses on her street before looking away into the distance to see the familiar skyscrapers looming all over the sky. 

      Alex took in a deep breath, letting the cosmic energy build up inside her before she released it, speeding through the sky like a beam of pure light, dotted in blue and gold as she flew towards Gotham City, towards whatever danger awaiting her. 

Hello! Here's a short prologue to give you background about Alex, her powers and her suit. More of her past will be explored later on in the book, including why her parents left her. And if there's one thing I am excited about is to showcase her and Hal's relationship. It's going to be awesome as heck and they're just gonna banter a lot and annoy Batman. 

I hope you liked reading this chapter! Let me know what you think!