All at once, the simulation came to an end. The laser turrets went into stand-by mode; the ramrods, lifts, and targets all retracted into their hidden cavities.
Linda Taylor exited the Simulator Control room and made her way to the exercise area. "You okay, Helena? You should have eased your way into the exercise. Work your way up instead of jumping in at a more difficult level."
Having caught her breath and coughed a few times, Helena sat up on the exercise mat. "I'm fine," she said in a terse tone. "Let's run the program again."
It was Tuesday evening in the depths of the Avengers Mansion. Linda was running a simulation drill called 'Strike and Evade' on the young heroine. Random attacks would be sent at Helena from various directions. She had to avoid them and hit the associated target that deactivated the attack. Portions of the floor would rise underneath the unsuspecting heroine, or sections would shoot down from the ceiling. Low powered laser beams would streak in from various directions, and small ramrods rounded out the attack forms.
Black Diamond looked on, mildly concerned. It seemed to her that Helena had an obsession with proving herself to everyone. She drove herself, far harder than Black Diamond thought was necessary. "Helena has the tools to do the job," the Avengers leader silently mused. "What she's lacking is patience. It seems like she expects herself to be the best right off the bat."
"Why not take a break?", Black Diamond offered out loud. "You've been at this for a couple of hours now."
Helena sighed before nodding in agreement. She strolled out of the testing area and took a seat on one of the benches. After gulping down a generous portion of water, she toweled herself off. Her exercise leotard was drenched from perspiration. "How badly am I doing?"
Linda took a seat next to Helena. "As compared to whom? If you mean your father, you're not even in the same ball park."
The words seemed to sting the young heroine. "Thanks a lot."
"Stop it, Helena!", Linda said in an authoritative tone. "Quit comparing yourself to your father. If that's the yardstick you've set for yourself right now, then you're going to fall short of your goal. You've got to be realistic about this."
"You don't understand."
"Oh, I understand perfectly. You're a third generation hero stuck on the idea that you have to be as good as or better than your predecessor. That's one huge chip on your shoulder."
Helena let out a long sigh. "Your point is noted, Linda. I've always strived to be the best in everything I've done."
"There's nothing wrong with that. But set the bar to the peak of your abilities, not your father's. After all, you have no reason to believe that the formula which enhanced your grandfather, enhanced his son to an equal degree. Likewise, you're probably a bit less enhanced than your father. You've been at this for weeks; Lane did this for twenty years. Expecting yourself to be just as good is asking way too much. Your dad was the second Hunter, but you're the first Huntress. So why not be the best one you can be?"
Staring that the floor, Helena remained silent for a long time. Linda's advice did make a great deal of sense, as did Muskateer's the day before. Becoming the Huntress had greatly complicated the life of Helena Kirby. For over a decade now Helena had been, in effect, training to become the Huntress. Not consciously at first, but later with a defined purpose. She never imagined that it would be this difficult. Dad was supposed to be there to help her out, to show her the way. At times Helena felt so lost.
"I'm not trying to be hard on you," Linda stated, not totally sure Helena was even paying attention. "I may not be as experienced as Lane was, but I've seen more than my share of heroes come and go. Those who have staying power are the ones who just 'be themselves'. Everyone has their limits. Right now you need to figure out just what yours are. Then we can work on pushing past them."
"I get the message--," Helena finally said. With a small smile, she added, "Mom. We'll do it your way." She was too tired to argue with Black Diamond on the subject. Maybe starting at the beginning would be easier, help build up her confidence.
"It's not so much my way, but your father's. He wrote the 'Strike and Evade' simulation. The idea was to work your way up from simple to difficult. As you might expect, he holds all the records for 'Strike and Evade'."
That seemed to put Helena somewhat at ease. In a certain sense, her father was still overseeing her training. It sent a chill through her.
"I'm ready." Helena took another long drink of water before rising from the bench. She took her starting position and waited for Linda to set the Simulator into motion once more. The exercise began at a much more leisurely pace. Helena easily evaded the attacks that were sent her way and emerged without a scratch.
"That's great," Linda announced. "I'm now going to step up the tempo."
"This is going to be a long night," Helena thought to herself...
The next day, Helena was in her office, absent-mindedly tapping her fingers on her desk. She was still tired from the night before, but at least she was somewhat pleased with her progress. Hunter's records were still secure. At least for the moment. All the hours she spent doing gymnastics were certainly becoming time well spent.
As had become a habit, Helena found herself waiting for the night to come. Tonight she and Muskateer were going to try once more to make contact with the Hanged Man. He was a munitions dealer who created the suit of armor used by the mysterious woman calling herself Artemis. This Artemis had nearly killed Black Diamond. All they had to do was find this Hanged Man and make him reveal the true identity of Artemis. Simple really.
"Why don't I believe that?", Helena wondered aloud. "But that's for later on. Right now I need to make some decisions about my life."
The decision, of course, was what to do about Helena's career. While en route on her goal to become the Huntress, Helena had also become a lawyer and now held a high position in her father's firm. There didn't seem to be enough time to be both the Huntress and be a lawyer simultaneously. One of them had to go, and deep in her heart Helena knew that her days of practicing law were numbered.
But she didn't wish to simply drop her career cold turkey. She had responsibilities in the firm that she simply couldn't ignore. As majority stockholder, she had a controlling interest in Stone, Hanson, and Kirby.
The clock on the corner of the desk read 9:30 AM. Helena sighed and reclined in her chair. This day wasn't going to pass fast enough.
"What do you mean you've already contacted the Hanged Man!?" After the long day at the office, Helena was more than eager to vent her frustration on some criminal. Instead, Muskateer was the target of her wrath.
"I did it last night," the hero replied nonchalantly. "You and Di were busy using the Simulator, so I took some initiative."
"I thought we were working on this together? You know, as a team? After all, you keep throwing up the idea of team work to me," the Huntress said venomously. "So you turn around and do this to me!"
Muskateer closed the gap, standing nearly nose to nose with the young heroine. "Don't get your tights in an uproar, Sprout. I want this Artemis at least as much as you do."
"That's not the point..."
"That is the point," Muskateer interrupted forcefully. "I saw an opportunity and I took it. You would have done the same thing. I don't need your help to make a telephone call."
The Huntress sighed. He was right in that aspect. She just wanted to be there to make sure everything had gone right. "You could have at least let me know."
"I didn't get a chance. I felt the need to make something happen as soon as possible. Now we have a meeting tomorrow night. So you gonna sulk about this or you still in?"
The Huntress turned away and mumbled something under her breath. "Yeah, I'm in," she answered, turning back.
"Good," Muskateer said. "Then let me lay the rest of it on you..."
The following afternoon, Helena Kirby pulled up to one of the many entrances at the sprawling Campbell Industries International complex. She was still fuming a bit at all the additions Muskateer had made without her knowledge.
Not only had he gone and placed an order with the Hanged Man, but he had brought the Scarlet Sabre and the Enchantress into the picture as well. On the one hand, she could understand his reasoning for each decision. On the other, it galled her to no end that he simply went and did it without her knowledge. Of course, all would most likely be forgiven if this stunt actually worked and they could track down Artemis. What really annoyed her is that he thought of it first!
Helena had never been to CII before, but she had driven past on more than one occasion. The plant was huge, virtually a small city out on Staten Island. The guard shack seemed to be empty. There was a panel set at car window level, complete with speaker box and security camera. Stopping her vehicle beside the panel, Helena rolled down the window.
Before she could speak, a voice called out from the panel. "Welcome to Campbell Industries International, Helena. Jess is expecting you."
"Uhm, thanks," Helena answered. She had not been quite prepared for the advanced technological nature of the CII installation. And this was only just the beginning. "Is that you--, Jaime?"
"That is correct," the voice responded. It did sound just like Jessica. Knowing the existence of Jessica's cybernetic sister had led her to deduce the identity of the speaker. "A guide drone will arrive momentarily. Just follow and it will lead you to Jess' lab."
"Understood."
A moment later, a small silvery sphere flew up to the car and hovered. "I guess this is the guide drone she was talking about. Weird." The device slowly moved off, with Helena driving after it.
The strange device led Helena to a parking spot and then into one of the many buildings. The heroine felt very strange to be following this flying ball bearing, but those she passed didn't seem to pay any attention to the odd scene. Helena just shrugged. "They're probably used to it by now."
Earlier in the day, Muskateer had contacted Helena regarding the rest of the details of his impending meeting with the Hanged Man. It was going to take place tonight in one of the more seedier spots in town. "It's a trap," was her first thought.
The plan was for Muskateer to go to the meeting, sans his heroic identity. Helena and Jessica would act as his back up. All the while, the Enchantress would be around, invisible, attempting to locate some kind of remote unit they believed the Hanged Man used. Since this was a mission where they were going incognito, she would not need her Huntress garb. Muskateer mentioned that Scarlet had an idea on alternate costumes and that Helena should hook up with her to iron out the details.
The silvery orb led Helena to the entrance of Jessica's lab and then flew off down the corridor. Helena slightly shook her head as she watched the device fly away. Pushing the door open, Helena entered the lab.
"Ah, Helena, nice to see you again." Nearby, Jessica was working at one of the lab tables. Some sort of black cloth was spread across the working area. It contrasted greatly with her white lab smock.
"Pretty impressive place you've got her, Jess." Helena warily eyed the contents of the room, most of which she had no idea what they did.
"I trust that Muskateer filled you in?"
"More or less. What this about alternate costumes?"
Jessica picked up one of the pieces of cloth on the table and held it up for examination. "This is a prototypical material that CII has been working on," Jessica explained. There didn't seem to be much there in the way of clothing. Although, the garment did seem to be a full body suit, just greatly compacted. "Our little covert endeavor this evening seemed to be the ideal chance to test this fabric out."
Helena eyed the garment critically. "You're kidding, right? That thing barely looks big enough to fit a ten year old." She grasped one of the legs in her hand and felt the fabric. It certainly seemed lighter than the ballistic cloth that her Huntress costume was constructed from.
"Don't let its appearance fool you. This new fabric is incredibly elastic. Care to try it on?"
"You first," Helena answered. "This thing is your baby."
Jessica shrugged. "As you wish." Jess removed her smock and sat it on a nearby chair. All she had on underneath was a sports bra and bottoms. "I had a feeling that you'd be a bit stubborn about this idea and was prepared."
After slipping her shoes off, Jessica took one of the black outfits from the table. She grasped the neck opening and it enlarged with relative easy. Carefully, she worked herself into the garment. It went on far easier than Helena imagined it would. The outfit hugged Jessica like a second skin.
"There, that wasn't so bad. Now you try it."
Helena accepted the outfit and Jessica pointed out a screened off area where she could change. A few moments later, Helena came out in a matching skintight outfit. Like Jess, she had left the hooded portion hanging at the back of her neck.
"This is incredible," Helena said in a pleased tone as she approached. She ran her hands over her arms and stomach. In spite of the tightness of the fabric, it was a most comfortable fit. Almost like it was a natural part of her body-- a second skin.
"I know. The biggest difference between this stuff and the cloth our regular outfits use is that the skin can breathe. It feels more like terry cloth than stiff spandex. It still has the same resistance to penetration as our costumes, but this offers more comfort and flexibility. It's also non-reflective."
Helena posed before a full-length mirror Jessica had set up. "I'm impressed. Sure, I'll help you try this out." Carefully, Helena worked the hood up over her head. The small opening that she had widened to put the garment on ended up being just large enough to expose her nose and mouth. Eye holes allowed her to see. "I'll say this, any body imperfections are glaring in this thing."
Jessica chuckled at the comment. "And we used to say that spandex was unforgiving."
It was now night and the deal with the Hanged Man was going down. Jaime had dropped the two off in the Sky Sabre nearly an hour before the designated time. The two scoped the area out from the rooftops, looking for signs of a trap and traces of the Hanged Man's advanced technology. Each carried an over-the-shoulder bag filled with gadgets that Jessica thought might be of use.
Using the night sight binoculars, they kept a watchful eye on what was developing down in the streets below. Of particular interest was a van that pulled up to a condemned building. Several young men got out, carrying a large crate with them. They disappeared into the building, and only two came out. The van then drove off.
"I smell a rat," Helena remarked in a whisper.
"I can see one too. I've identified several of those men as members of a gang called the Overlords. They're led by a punk called Buckshot, but I don't seem him down there."
"It's a trap. I was right."
"Maybe, maybe not," Jess offered. "This is as close as I've ever been to the Hanged Man. Let's not rush to any conclusions and blow it just yet. 'Sides, Musky can take care of himself."
"We've got some time before he's due to arrive. I'm going to try and get into that place."
Jessica nodded in agreement. "Sounds like a plan. I'll man the fort on this end."
Keeping to the shadows, Helena made her way down the block and across the street unnoticed. From a nearby, higher rooftop, she checked out the building the deal appeared to be taking place in. A portion of the roof was gone, probably having collapsed at some near point in the past. "That's going to make climbing rather tricky," she remarked to herself.
Continuing on, Helena closed the distance to the building. The northwest corner seemed to be the sturdiest, but she couldn't be sure. Down in the street below, she could see Muskateer dressed in plain clothes approaching the meeting spot. "I don't have the time to waste..."
Helena gauged the distance between herself and the building in question. It was a good twenty feet. "Should be a piece of cake," she mused to herself. Taking a few steps back, Helena ran forward. At the last moment, she leaped into the air, did a flip and landed on the roof with a tumble. Thankfully, the corner held her weight. "Phew..."
Silently, she made her way to the front of the building. Across the street she could see Muskateer speaking with two men. On the rooftop behind them, Helena spotted Jessica also observing the conversation. One of the gang members pointed to the building Helena currently was atop. A moment after that, Muskateer and the two gang members began to casually approach.
Somewhere overhead was the Enchantress, Helena imagined. The Avenger's sorceress was cloaked in magic and should be undetectable to all. The heroine had yet to see or even speak to the Enchantress in this endeavor. Helena could only carry on as if the Enchantress wasn't even here.
Down below, the three men entered the building. Gingerly, Helena made her way down the stairs, trying to remain silent. Fortunately, the building creaked and groaned on its own enough to mask any accidental noise she might create.
One floor overhead, Helena located a place where she could watch virtually unobserved. She could make out Muskateer moving and talking down below.
"Are you sure it's safe in here?" The Avenger did not get a reply.
A light was turned on and it illuminated the crate the gang members had carried in earlier.
"This is it, I presume? You guys gonna help me carry it outside?" Silence was again Muskateer's only reply.
Then a form began to appear, hovering over the crate. It resembled an image on a TV screen-- two dimensional, making it difficult to make any judgements about height and weight. The image, a hologram most likely, resembled a medieval hangman dressed in a black, hooded robe.
"The Hanged Man, I assume?", Muskateer asked down below.
"I am," was the image's response.
"Great. My armor's in the crate then?" Muskateer began to approach the large wooden box.
"The crate is empty. You are trying to deceive me-- something I do not tolerate."
"What are you talking about?" Muskateer came to a stop and took a step back.
"Now it's hit the fan!", Helena thought to herself. Moving from her hiding place, she stealthilly made her way towards stairs down to the ground floor.
At the landing between floors, Helena spotted two gang members armed with some type of advanced weaponry at the bottom of the stairs. Without hesitation, she leaped from the landing, tumbled in mid-air, and came down feet first on the unsuspecting Overlords. One of the thugs cushioned Helena's crash to the floor, the other was slammed into a wall.
As Helena tried to regain her feet, an unseen third thug tackled her from behind. Strong hands encircled Helena as she struggled to stand up. The thug holding her had pinned her arms to her side and forced her to her feet.
"Hey, check this out!", the thug announced to his pals. "It's some kind of ninja-chick!"
Helena planted her feet on the floor and pushed off hard. She and the thug holding her were driven into the wall. The unexpected maneuver caught the thug off guard and he relinquished his grip on the heroine.
One of the other thugs rushed wildly towards Helena, yelling as he approached. The heroine sidestepped the clumsy attempt, striking him with a karate chop in the back of the neck as he passed. The man's momentum carried him into the thug who had tackled Helena earlier, sending both to the floor.
The third gang member was shaking off the effects of being driven into the wall. Helena didn't give him a chance to recover. A snap-kick put him down for good.
Turning, Helena saw the first two thugs had pulled themselves off of the floor. One rushed her once more, the other dove to retrieve his weapon. Helena waited until the first one was in position then she leaped into the air, effortlessly vaulting over him. She pushed off on his back for good measure, sending the man crashing into a wall.
The momentum gained from vaulting the thug sent her flying towards the one going for the gun. She crashed into him shoulder first. Both hit the floor once more. A follow up punch put him down.
The man Helena had vaulted over was dazed and offered no immediate threat. Sounds of blaster fire could be heard close by. Helena raced into the chamber where Muskateer had been, expecting the worst.
More gang members had entered the main chamber. One of the gunmen had his back to Helena and offered a most tempting target. Another snap kick put him down.
"Hey! The guy's got a friend," one of the other thugs in the room called out.
"Waste her!", another one yelled.
The first thug had Helena dead in his sights. They were far enough apart that Helena would be unable to reach him before he fired. The heroine prepared to dodge the incoming attack. The thug aimed and fired. And nothing happened.
"Looks like your little toy is out of batteries," Helena said, more than a little relieved.
The thug continued trying to fire, ignoring Helena as she tumbled towards him. "What's with this stupid thing!? Must be..." He never did finish his thought has Helena drove him into the concrete floor. A quick karate chop put him away.
Helena found herself in the center of the room, Muskateer close by. "Glad to see you could make it," he remarked. The pair surveyed the damage surrounding them. None of the Overlords were in any condition to threaten the two.
"Traffic was bad. You know how it is."
A moment later, the disguised Jessica Flynn came in from the front, dragging a fallen gang member behind her as she went. "Looks like this plan turned out to be a snafu," she commented.
"Yeah," Muskateer uttered in agreement. "These guys were packing some heavy firepower. At least while it worked." He picked up one of the blasters and visually examined it.
"A common tactic of the Hanged Man," Jessica answered, added her thug to the pile. "Most of his weapons are powerful, but can fail at the most inopportune moment. Inopportune to the user that is. At least from what we've seen before."
"What good would it do to sell sub-standard equipment?", Helena wondered out loud.
"If the creeps with the heavy hardware get caught, who are they going to complain to? The police?" Muskateer walked over and leaned on a nearby support that had partially collapsed. He let out a long, irritated sigh.
"Yeah, I doubt that he cares about his BBB rating," Helena said with a chuckle.
Unexpectedly, Muskateer quickly turned and punched the pillar, shattering the upper portion of what remained. "This guy is really starting to piss me off."
"You're not alone," Helena added.
Helena rounded up the thugs and secured them with tie-wraps while Jessica explored the building, looking for traces of Hanged Man technology. Muskateer recovered the money he had invested in this endeavor, but it really didn't make him all that happy.
The Enchantress then arrived on the scene. She used her magic to create a matching black outfit for herself. "I fear that I have nothing useful to report. I observed nothing out of the ordinary."
"And here's the reason why." Jessica walked up, bearing a small piece of machinery. "This device generated the hologram that spoke to you. It self-destructed."
"That's just flippin' great," Muskateer muttered, throwing his hands up in the air. "Now we're right back were we started."
"No closer to finding Artemis," Helena stated in disgust.
An hour later, Helena was back at Jessica's lab, changing clothes.
"The mission might have gone south, but the new fabric passed the test with flying colors."
"Glad you're happy about something," Helena muttered from behind the screen.
"You can't win them all," Scarlet answered with a shrug. "If I start worrying about every little detail that goes wrong, I'd end up with ulcers."
Helena stepped out from behind the screen, now back in her street clothes. "I just can't help thinking things might have worked out differently, if I--"
"Can I give you some advice?", Jessica said interrupting.
"Why not? Everyone seems to be lecturing me as of late. What pearls of wisdom do you wish to dispense?"
"Relax."
A long pause followed, broken only when Helena asked, "That's it? That's the shortest lecture I've ever had."
"I just think that you're trying too hard," Jessica explained. "You're trying to be flawless and by doing so you're coming across something like a Prima Donna. I think everyone new to this business goes through the same thing to varying degrees. You feel like you have to prove yourself to everyone else, and so you try to show off."
"A Prima Donna, huh?"
Jess shrugged and smiled slightly. "You've got an impressive pedigree going for you. I think that's making you try even harder and it can come across to others as arrogance. Muskateer has the similar type of problem, but with different circumstances. I wouldn't be surprised if the real reason he acted without your knowledge was to prove to you, and to himself, that he could get things accomplished on his own."
"I never thought about it that way," Helena conceded.
"So my basic advice is to just relax. You'll prove your worth over time, not overnight."
"You've given me some things to think about."
"Good. In the meantime, would you like to keep one of these costumes for further testing? It seems like an ideal outfit for covert activities."
Jessica held one of the garments up. After a pause, Helena accepted it. "Sure. The stuff is much nicer than my costume."
"I'd have to agree there. Tell you what, when we get it finalized, I can provide you enough material to re-do your costume."
"Thanks, Jess. Thanks a lot." Helena started to make her way to the exit.
"Hey, that's what friends are for. Have a good night, Helena."
"'Nite, Jessica."
