The driver of the sedan abruptly made for the curb and screeched the vehicle to a halt. He peered at the building through the tinted windows with an impressed look on his face. "Pretty snazzy digs you got here, Helena."
"Well, we wealthy brats have to live somewhere, Muskateer." Helena turned to face her costumed driver. "Thanks for the lift. Oh, we still on for tracking down the Hanged Man?"
"Count on it. Are you in any shape for the hunt?"
Helena touched her stomach wound by reflex. "I'm alright. I'm a pretty fast healer and wearing that armor protected me from aggravating it. Tell you what, I'll stop by tomorrow night and update the Avengers' database. Then we'll figure out what we're going to do about the Hanged Man."
"Works for me. Later."
Helena stepped out of the vehicle and shouldered the bag containing her costume. She watched as Muskateer drove off into the New York City night, before entering her apartment building. Helena cleaned up and then turned in for the night.
The next day was a typical Blue Monday for Helena. A day spent at the office, just waiting for the day to end. Finally, five o'clock rolled around and she returned to her apartment. But only long enough to gather her things and change clothes. She donned her costume, minus the mask and gloves, and then pulled a pair of loose fitting jogging pants and a sweatshirt over them.
Adding the zip drives to the bag she had been storing her costume in, Helena returned to street level and made her way across Central Park. No one paid her much attention, as she seemed like nothing more than another jogger taking advantage of Central Park.
Once across the park, Helena made her way to an out of sight spot in an alley close to the Avengers Mansion. Once assuring herself that no one had noticed her, she quickly removed the jogging gear and added the final touches to the Huntress' costume. She then approached the Avengers Mansion and entered.
Jeeves greeted her at the front door. "Welcome, madame. We've been expecting you."
"Thank you, Jeeves. Is Muskateer in?"
"I believe he is awaiting you in the electronics lab. However, I have been informed that Black Diamond wishes to speak with you upon your arrival. She awaits you in the dining room. I took the liberty of saving you some supper as well. What would you care to have as a beverage?"
"Jeeves, you constantly amaze me," Helena answered in an impressed tone. "I was sort of hoping to catch supper here."
"Simply part of the job, madame. I am well aware of how poor hero eating habits can be."
"Low-fat milk will be fine."
"Very good, madame." Jeeves nodded his understanding and headed off towards the kitchen.
The Huntress watched him depart then made her way into the dining room. Black Diamond sat at the head of the table, finishing up her desert and coffee. She looked up as the Huntress entered the room. "Helena," the Avengers' Leader said with a smile. "Glad you could make it."
The heroine took a seat close to Black Diamond. "Thanks. What's on your mind? Jeeves said you wanted to see me."
"I do." Black Diamond paused as if to consider her words. "I had a long discussion with Muskateer this morning about the future of the Avengers." (Editor's Note: As seen in Avengers #14)
"I'm not sure what you mean. The future of the Avengers?" Jeeves quietly entered the room, bearing the Huntress' dinner. He placed it before her and gathered up Black Diamond's dishes before departing again.
"We're down to five active members right now and we discussed the possibility of adding new members."
Helena stopped in mid-bite. "I think I know what you're getting at, Linda, but I--" Black Diamond raised her hand to stop Helena from completing her sentence.
"At this time, we've decided to leave the active roster at five members. And yes, I have considered asking you to join. There are valid pros and cons regarding the issue. At this time we felt you were not ready."
"Good. I hope to one day be an Avenger, like my father, but I also want to earn the honor."
Black Diamond beamed with almost motherly pride. "To someday then. But for now, we'd like you to become a Reserve Avenger."
"What exactly does that entail?"
"Should something come up where we need assistance, we'll contact you. It gives you limited access to the Mansion and the computer system. Pretty much, it just provides a title to what you already have been doing." Black Diamond took a sip of her coffee. "So, Helena, are you in or out?"
"Count me in!"
"Then welcome aboard." Black Diamond offered her hand and Helena accepted.
"Thank you, Linda," the Huntress said with a smile. "I won't disappoint you."
Black Diamond nodded and produced an Avengers ID card. "Here is your access card. I trust you know how it works?" The Huntress nodded her affirmation. "Good. I understand that you're assisting Muskateer in a project tonight?"
"Yeah, we're installing the rest of Hunter's files into your database. And we've got an angle on the manufacturer of the armor Artemis wore. We're hoping to track her down that way."
"I hope you do find out who Artemis is," Black Diamond said as she stood. "I certainly owe her a lump or two. At any rate, have a good evening. Firestar and I are off to visit Nightingale on Sanctuary. Oh, we can run you through the Combat Simulator at your convenience too. Just let me know when."
"Sounds good. I'll talk to you later then."
The Huntress finished her supper and then made her way down to the electronics lab located deep beneath the Mansion.
"'Bout time you got here, Sprout," Muskateer taunted as she entered the lab. The hero was at the workbench with several piles of electronics about him.
"Some of us have real jobs to attend to, Muskateer," the Huntress answered as she sat her bag on the counter.
"Why? I mean, I thought you were wealthy already? Why bother working when being a hero is a whole lot more fun than the nine-to-five scene?"
"I--" The thought took Helena off guard. "I never thought about quitting my practice and concentrating on being the Huntress full time. It is an interesting idea."
"It would certainly simplify your crazy life," Muskateer offered. "You wouldn't have to explain long disappearances to anyone, or the occasional injury either."
The Huntress opened her bag, produced the zip disks, and handed them to Muskateer. "The idea certainly has its merits. I'm not sure that I want to just forget about something I've trained most of my life to be."
"I thought that you trained to be the Huntress, not Perry Mason."
For the second time in the span of a few seconds, the Huntress was at a loss for words. "When you put it in that light, you are right."
"Of course I'm right. It's part of my job description. Now let's get down to business." Muskateer inserted the disks and began the file transfer.
The Huntress eyed the parts scattered about the workbench. "What were you working on?"
"That mess? Oh, it's a bunch of stuff we got out of the DEMON base. Just playing around with them to see if they have any practical uses."
"Anything good? The concussion grenades they used were certainly handy."
"Some possibilities." The transfer process didn't require Muskateer's immediate attention, so he joined the Huntress at the electronics table. "This one has some definite promise."
Muskateer reached into the mess and pulled out what looked like a bracelet. He attached it to his wrist and pressed one of the buttons on it. Suddenly, a field of light blue energy appeared before Muskateer, centered on his wrist.
"It's a personal energy shield," Muskateer explained, moving the shield about. "Can run about a minute before the batteries need recharging. But for us non-bullet proof types, it could be useful."
"Impressive. Any side effects?"
"Not that I've discovered, but I'm going to play with it some more." Muskateer replaced the bracelet on the workbench. His eyes locked on to another piece of equipment. Grabbing it, he then presented it to the Huntress. "Unless I'm terribly mistaken, this is yours."
The Huntress accepted the piece of equipment. It looked much like an answering machine. "I can't say that I've seen it before."
"I think it was your father's. I found it after the government bozos ripped the place apart when they dumped the Avengers. Apparently it was secured in a secret place in the sub-basement and connected to a dedicated phone line." (Editor's Note: As see in Muskateer #9)
"Oh, I know what this is!", the Huntress said, realization coming to her face. "Hunter had a tip line. In fact one of the messages I found is what led me to think VIPER was behind his death. The system in the Hunter's Lair downloaded the messages once a day."
"Not any more. You've been disconnected."
The file transfers went smoothly. As she waited, Helena silently considered Muskateer's words from earlier. He did make a great deal of sense to her. Being the sole heir to the family fortune, Helena certainly did not want for money. So why continue on as a practicing lawyer?
Her practice had been interesting in the beginning, but it was nothing like the thrill she had as the Huntress. Being the Huntress made her feel alive. Being a lawyer now bored her to tears. Perhaps Muskateer's comments were truly worth considering...
Upon completion of the transfer process, the Huntress joined Muskateer at the computer station. "Do you have a plan about finding the Hanged Man?"
"Of course." Muskateer produced a small computer print out. "I managed to convince some guys on the street to give me this. It's a list of goods the Hanged Man produces."
The Huntress accepted the print out and began to page through it. It was several pages long with very small print. "Hand guns, assault rifles, ammo, grenades... Nothing all that special in here."
"Right, just basic gear. But check the last page."
Flipping to the last page, the Huntress found what Muskateer was talking about. "Special orders at variable cost," she read.
"My guess is that's the exotic stuff. I'm going to call him and convince him that I want something not on his list. Hopefully, a face to face will be required-- then we question him about Artemis." Muskateer picked up a phone and began to dial.
"Wait a minute, Muskateer," the Huntress said, interrupting. "I think calling from the Mansion would be a bad idea. If this Hanged Man is as smart as Scarlet made him out to be, then he'll probably trace the call. I doubt he'd show up for a meeting arranged from the Avengers Mansion."
"Good thinking, Sprout. The calls aren't traceable by normal means to here, but who knows what we're dealing with here." Muskateer returned the phone to its receiver. "Let's go for a ride."
"If I didn't know any better, I swear that this was just an excuse for you to drive this car again." The Huntress was buckled into the passenger seat in her father's machine.
"Good thing you know better." Muskateer weaved around the slower moving traffic, as he made his way towards the suburbs. It was twilight as the shadows turned into night "All we need to do is find a pay phone with no one around it."
"I've got the equipment ready to go."
"Great. Let's see if we can track this twerp down." Muskateer turned the vehicle into the parking lot of one of those gas and shop mini-marts. On one side of the lot a pay phone sat at car level. "This'll do nicely."
Muskateer lowered the car's window and picked up the receiver. The Huntress handed him a piece of equipment that he snapped over the speaker. Wires from the device ran into the car's computer. The Huntress double checked the connection. "We're good to go."
Muskateer nodded and dialed the number shown on the back of the catalog. "It's ringing," he announced. The phone rang twice, followed by a click, and then silence. About a minute later, the line was disconnected. "That was really weird.... Did you get anything?"
The Huntress tapped the keyboard, bringing up the necessary information. "The tracer worked. The call was re-routed several times, but we were connected long enough to find the source. The computer is working on the location right now."
The pair watched the computer screen for a few moments and then the information was displayed.
"Now this is curious," the Huntress muttered. "The address is in Chinatown."
"That have some significance for you?" Muskateer could place the general area, but having only been in New York for a month, his knowledge of the city was somewhat limited.
"Very much so. It's part of the turf belonging to the Dragon Lords. A gang of thugs that I've run into before."
Muskateer rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "Perhaps the Hanged Man supplies the Dragon Lords with weapons in exchange for protection?"
"It's possible that they are connected. It's also possible that it's just a coincidence. The address is a bar called 'Jax'."
Muskateer started the engine, bringing the car to life. "Only one way to find out for sure." Shifting into gear, the vehicle sped off into the night once more.
Jax was a seedy looking bar located in Chinatown. Patrons freely entered or exited the establishment, with almost a dozen milling around out front.
"I would say the term 'dive' fits perfectly in this case," Muskateer stated, as he slowly drove past.
"Disreputable at the very least. Best keep going and park at an out of the way spot." The Huntress had her spyglass out and was closely observing the people out front. "I can make at least two Dragon Lord operatives in that crowd. The bar must be one of their hang outs."
"How do you want to play this?"
"Do some reconnoitering first. Our evidence is circumstantial at best."
"And going through the front door would defeat the purpose." Muskateer circled the block, looking for a place to park. "Too bad. I tend to prefer the direct approach, myself."
Muskateer found a spot and parked the car. The heroes disembarked, the Huntress activating the security system. The few passersby gave the two a wide berth.
The Huntress pointed to a nearby fire escape. "The rooftops are usually less crowded."
"After you, rookie," Muskateer said with a bow and sweep of his hand.
The Huntress leaped into the air and grabbed the side of the second floor landing. Using her gymnastic skills, the heroine swung back and forth and then flipped up on the fire escape. Muskateer followed.
The pair moved silently across the rooftops towards Jax's. The Huntress suddenly held her hand up and came to a stop. "Guards," she whispered, pointing.
Muskateer looked and spotted two men with rifles slung over their shoulders walking back and forth several roofs ahead. "Ah yes, the welcoming committee. I'll take the one on the left, you got the one on the right."
The Huntress nodded and glided across the rooftop, using what cover she could. The target Muskateer had picked for her was on the far side of the roof. Ducking behind a large vent, the Huntress unfurled her hand crossbow. A blunt shaft was selected and a knockout gas pellet placed in the small indentation in the face of the bolt.
Looking back, the Huntress could see that Muskateer was now in position. He was crouched in the shadows of the low wall that separated the buildings. The guard in that area of the roof moved closer to his position.
The Huntress took another glance at her intended target. He wasn't facing her, and seeing that the other guard was not looking in her direction either, she glided to the barrier between the buildings. The heroine aimed her crossbow and waited.
Muskateer could see the guard's faint shadow approaching his location. Taking a small stone, he skipped it across the roof. As he had hoped, the guard stopped and looked onto the roof Muskateer was currently on. The sword-wielding Avenger reached up and grasped the man by his shirt, hauling him over the short wall and slamming him to the rooftop. A follow up punch easily put the man out.
The second guard turned at the sudden noise his comrade had made. At that moment, the Huntress nailed him with her crossbow. The bolt struck him square in the chest, the knock out gas billowing up right into his face. He collapsed a moment later.
The Huntress vaulted onto the roof and made sure the man was out. Taking a tie-wrap out of one of her belt pouches, she secured the man's hands behind his back. "That was easy enough; now to take care of their toys." She picked up the man's rifle and snapped it in half over her knee.
Muskateer had likewise joined the Huntress on the roof of Jax's Bar. He advanced towards the closest of two skylights that were in the middle of the roof. The glass in each was extremely dirty, but he could make out a hallway below that ran the length of the building. The hero could make out three more armed guards spread out along the hall down below.
The Huntress approached, after pausing to secure the guard Muskateer had defeated. "The serial number on this rifle has been filed off. We've got some stolen weapons on our hands."
"Good. No more need for recon; now we clean house."
Looking through the skylight, the Huntress spotted the next batch of guards. "This could get tricky."
"Then we'll have to get tricky ourselves." Muskateer made for the only door on the rooftop. Behind them were stairs that led down inside the building. "Yeah, this'll work."
"What do you have in mind?" The heroine joined Muskateer near the exit.
"We need to draw one of those goons up here to even the odds up. Keep a watch through the skylight."
The Huntress nodded her understanding and took a position where she could see both Muskateer and the guard near the bottom of the stairs on the floor below.
Back at the door, Muskateer placed his hands around his mouth. "Hey, Jose!"
The Huntress just shook her head. "The Dragon Lords are Chinese. But it seems to be working..." Down below, the guard opened the stairwell door tentatively and looked up. He called out something, but the Huntress couldn't make it out clearly. Puzzled, the guard moved up the stairs. "He's on his way," she stage whispered.
Muskateer nodded and flattened himself on the side of the door. As soon as he could see the barrel of the guard's rifle, he acted. Grabbing the barrel with both hands, Muskateer wrenched it forward, sending the startled guard flying out onto the roof.
The Huntress rushed him and delivered a flying kick to his face that put the guard down for good. She flashed a thumbs-up to the hero after using another tie-wrap on him.
Muskateer returned the gesture. "You go down the stairs and draw the guards. I'll drop in from behind."
Nodding, the Huntress moved towards the stairs. Once Muskateer was in place, she headed down. About halfway down, the stairs turned to the left and came out at the far end of the corridor. The door was currently halfway open. Hugging the inside wall, Helena eased her way down the stairs.
Daring a quick glance, she spotted the two remaining goons further down the hallway. Her mind played over the options open to her. The first guard was too far away. She'd never reach him before he could open fire. Not without a distraction, anyway.
Reaching into her pouches, the Huntress grabbed handful of smoke pellets. The heroine flung them down the hallway and could hear them break open, the gas issuing forth. She silently began to count. "One... Two..."
In the hallway, black smoke quickly filled the area. The guards called out in confusion. They readied their weapons to fire, but could see no target.
Using the chaos to his advantage, Muskateer dropped in from the skylight. The noise masked his landing. Rushing forward, Muskateer plowed into the back of the rear guard, sending the man sprawling forward.
"Five!" The Huntress finished her count and launched herself into the corridor. Keeping low to the floor, the heroine rushed down the hallway. The second guard had turned his back to her after hearing the other guard go down. That bought the Huntress enough time to reach the thug before he knew what was going in.
A quick chop to the man's hand caused him to drop his rifle. This was followed by an over the hip throw that hurled the thug down the hallway. He landed in a pile, but quickly rose to his feet. Drawing a knife, he started to run down the hallway towards the Huntress.
The heroine crouched in preparation for the approaching attack. It never came as an arc of electricity rushed past her and struck the advancing goon. He stiffened up and screamed as the electricity played about his body. The power faded and the guard crumbled to the floor.
"Thanks," the Huntress said as Muskateer came up along side.
"Just helping a teammate out, Rookie." Muskateer continued on down the hallway with the intent of making sure the goon was down for the count. A nearby door swung open and several men with guns issued forth.
"What's going on out here?"
"Lo Tan! Report!"
The Huntress ran forward, still partially obscured by the smoke from her pellets. She leaped into the air, tumbled, and came down feet first on the chest of the first gunman. The impact threw the man back into the gunmen behind him and the whole lot collapsed into a pile back in the room they had emerged from.
Muskateer rushed in to the room, past the prone Huntress in the doorway. He grabbed the thug on the top of the pile and threw him across the room. Before the other men in the pile could regain their wits, the Avenger had relieved them of their weapons. "I'll take those!"
With a scream the first thug grabbed a chair and slammed it over Muskateer's back. The Huntress, now back on her feet, went to Muskateer's aid and introduce her knee to the man's bread basket. The thug doubled over in pain. A double-fisted smash sent him to the floor.
In the meantime, Muskateer had knocked out another thug out and had the last one firmly in his grasp. He picked the man up like a doll and slammed him face first into the wall. "Okay, pal, I want some information and I want it now."
The thugs fully under control, the Huntress took a position by the ajar door. No doubt there were more Dragon Lords in the building and the combat might have attracted them. The heroine slid behind door and kept watch through the crack between the door and the jam.
"The Hanged Man," Muskateer calmly stated. "Where is he?"
"What are you talking about?" The man Muskateer had pinned to the wall seemed genuinely confused.
"Don't play games with me, friend. We know the Hanged Man is working out of here."
One of the guards defeated earlier in the hallway had regained his feet. Everything had happened so fast, that the Huntress was unable to secure him like she had done with the thugs up on the roof. She waited until the man was in the doorway, then she slammed the door into his unsuspecting body. The goon collapsed to the hallway floor once more.
"You're nuts!", the thug yelled. "This is a Card Shark operation!"
"What?!"
"Just look in the closet!"
Muskateer eased up on the man, and guided him towards the closet. "You first."
Using his free hand, the man gingerly opened the door. Inside was hanging a costume of some type. It consisted of a light blue body suit with white gloves and boots. Over this was worn a red tunic that suspiciously looked like a playing card. Emblazoned on the left shoulder was the number three inside a diamond.
The Huntress approached with interest. "He's right-- the Three of Diamonds. This is a Card Shark operation."
Nearly an hour later, the Huntress was seated on the roof of Jax's looking up at the stars. The police had been summoned and most of the Dragon Lords and Card Sharks present had been taken away. An adjacent room was found to be filled with cases of weapons. It was a significant bust, but the Huntress didn't appear to be pleased with the victory.
Muskateer approached. "That's over with, thank goodness. Thanks for ducking out on me, Sprout."
"You're the Avenger-- I'm just the reservist. The Hanged Man set us up."
"Looks that way. My guess is that they knew we were tracing the call and fed us the information that brought us here."
The Huntress nodded in agreement. "It makes a world of sense. If we broke up this operation, then the Hanged Man has one less competitor in the illegal arms business."
"And if we didn't have the right stuff, the Dragon Lords would do his dirty work for him. Either way, the Hanged Man comes out on top. This twerp is every bit as clever as Red said he was. What an annoying git."
"Very." The Huntress got to her feet and headed back towards her car. "We'll have to try this again-- without the tracer if we're ever going to get to the Hanged Man."
"Agreed, but I somehow doubt it's going to be that simple. Still, tomorrow's another day."
"Yeah, let's call it a night."
"It's a night."
The Huntress groaned and walked on.
