In this latest chapter of Birds of Prey fanfiction, Sonya Blade confronts Seattle crimelord, China White.

Want to read from the beginning? CLICK HERE!

Sonya stood inside the restaurant’s entrance and took in the layout. Spotting some stairs in the back, she headed in that direction.

A waiter approached her. He was barely out of his teens but looked athletic enough to be a problem if he started anything.

“Please wait in front to be seated, ma’am,” the waiter said. He was cordial, inviting.

“Not here to eat, thanks,” Sonya replied. She continued toward the stairs. The waiter blocked her path. Sonya’s gaze fell to him.

“Our bathroom is for customers only,” the waiter said. He wasn’t going to budge on this.

Sonya realized he wasn’t just a waiter. That’s why she didn’t feel the least bit bad about throwing him into an arm lock.

Over the man’s grunt of pain, Sonya asked, “Tell me about those stairs. Where do they go? And if you say ‘up,’ I’ll break your arm and start on the other one.”

“Offices!” the waiter squeezed out through gritted teeth.

“The building is three stories. What’s on three, and how do I get there?”

“We’re not allowed up there!”

Sonya dropped the waiter to the ground.

Her show of force was enough to make the other waiters, waitresses, and customers stay away. Their eyes followed the detective as she headed up the stairs, throwing aside a curtain that blocked the patrons’ view of the upper area.

The stairs led Sonya to the center of a hallway. Doors lined the walls in front of her, presumably leading to the offices the waiter mentioned.

Heavy drapes covered the walls across from the doors through which a person could look down at the restaurant. 

Someone tried to hide a camera within a sconce at the end of the hall.

Sonya approached the door closest to her. As she reached for the handle, a door further down the hall opened.

Four men in suits emerged. They were far more intimidating than the waiter downstairs.

Still, they weren’t anything Sonya couldn’t handle.

“This is a private level,” one of the men said. “You need to go back downstairs.”

Sonya took up a fighting stance. “My captain always complained about my inability to listen to authority.”

The four men were looking for a fight; two of them pressed forward. She met one of them with a fist to the jaw that sent the man to the ground.

Sonya spun back around for another punch, but her target parried the blow and launched one of his own.

Sonya ducked the punch, spinning to a position behind her attacker with her back to the other two men. They held their positions while Sonya dispatched their ally with a chop to the throat.

Turning, Sonya looked at the other men. “Sure you wanna do this?”

The men raised their hands, balling them into fists. Then one of the men, the one who had addressed Sonya, hesitated. Sonya noticed he wore an earpiece. The man listened for a moment.

Whoever he talked to must have told him to stand down because he lowered his hands.

His partner flashed him a look of confusion. The listener addressed Sonya. “Mistress White wishes to speak to you.”

The upper floor of the restaurant took up the entire level. The design was that of a sparring chamber suitable for training twenty or thirty people at a time.

Those twenty or thirty people were assembled in the room now, dressed in suits and lining the walls. All stared at Sonya as the two other suited men led her into the area.

Ahead of them, Sonya looked at the source of her problems, the city’s problems, really:

China White.

The Chinese woman sat in a high-backed chair as if she were a queen lording over her domain. As per her name, she dressed in an all-white jumpsuit that matched the color of her flowing hair.

White appraised Sonya as the detective approached.

“Sonya Blade,” White began. “You have been quite the annoyance.”

“My partner would say the same about you,” Sonya replied. “If he weren’t dead.”

“I heard of his death on the nightly news. So unfortunate when a dedicated law officer, a father of two, a loving husband, dies doing what he believes is right.”

Sonya’s escorts stopped her a few yards away from China White. Sonya pushed their hands away. She turned to look at White.

“I’m picking up where he left off, White. I don’t intimidate easily.”

China stared hard at Sonya. “Kano tells me you have a new partner.”

Sonya nearly laughed. “If you think you can intimidate Black Canary —”

“Did I intimidate your other partner? Or did I just kill him?”

Sonya’s anger rose. She scanned the room, taking in the odds. Then she realized Kano wasn’t here. Fear struck her, but only for a moment.

“Canary wears a mask. You don’t know who she is, so you won’t know how to find her.”

“The thing with you hero types is you cannot help yourselves,” China said. “All that is required to draw you out is endangering the right people.”

Dark thoughts moved through Sonya Blade’s mind. “What did you do?” she asked.

To be continued next Tuesday…

While writing this fanfiction, I used Green Ronin’s Mutants and Masterminds, 3rd Edition RPG, to leave some things to chance. Check it out!

Like this Sonya Blade fanfiction? Check out Mark’s original “Shadowdance” saga books!