The Huntress struggled to free herself from the grip of the vampires holding her arms. Their inhuman might was too much for her to overcome. She couldn't budge an inch. "If only my hands were free," the Huntress thought to herself. "Then I could find some weapon to use against these creeps!"
Nearby, Crusader was locked in his own struggle. His right arm was tightly pinned behind his back by the vampiric police officer. Crusader was also unable to free himself from the powerful grasp.
"You do have spirit, my pretty one," Gratz announced, turning back to the Huntress. The master vampire was dressed all in black. It sharply contrasted his ghostly white hair and full beard. He eyed Helena hungrily, finding her to be most pleasing. "I may even make you my consort for all eternity."
"I'll pass," the Huntress spat back defiantly. "I might work after dark, but I'm not a creature of the night!"
"My dear, you do not have a choice." Gratz reared his head back dramatically and bared his fangs. The first bite would start the Huntress down the path toward becoming his vampiric minion. The first of his next generation of vampires who had once been superheroes.
"BWAAHAAHAAHAAHAAHAAA!!"
Bizarre laughter filled the penthouse suite startling everyone inside. Crusader and the Huntress both looked around, trying to figure out where the eerie laugher was coming from. Gratz and his minions actually seemed afraid.
"What the hell was that?", Crusader wondered aloud. He had never heard any such thing before. Nor did he want to hear it again. The laugher was so chilling that it actually made the hairs on the back of his neck stand up. He noted that the grasp on his arm was not as firm as it had been a second ago.
The Huntress overcame her momentary shock and acted. "If I'm going to get loose, it has to be right now!" She could feel the vampires holding her easing up, their attention now focused on the strange laughter. The heroine shifted her weight to her left foot and delivered a sharp snap kick to the torso of the vampire holding her right arm. So distracted was the vampire, that he lost his grip and bounced off the wall.
Crusader got into the act next. He maneuvered his right leg behind the legs of the vampire holding him and took a step back. Both the vampire and the vigilante tumbled backwards to the carpeted floor. His arm now free, Crusader rolled to his feet, ready for battle. Taking his shield, he slammed it down hard across the vampire's head.
"Not again!", Gratz cursed as he wildly looked about the penthouse suite. The master vampire actually seemed afraid. "Find that fool! Destroy him!" So caught up in the bizarre laughter was Gratz, that he hadn't even noticed that his captives were in the process of escaping.
The Huntress dropped to the floor and rolled, forcibly tossing the vampire on her left arm over her hip and across the room before he even realized what was going on. Retrieving her hand-held crossbow, the Huntress loaded another stake-bolt into her weapon.
Crusader followed up his first strike by slamming the vampire across the face with his dark blue shield. It hit the former police officer with a resounding clang. Dazed, the vampire tried to move away from Crusader.
At that moment the balcony door shattered, sending shards of glass and wood splinters flying in a shower of shrapnel! Bursting on the scene was an unusual appearing individual. Mostly he was dressed in an black & dark blue costume, except for the large orange pumpkin head. Even stranger, the pumpkin head was on fire!
Carried aloft on a large metallic gray bat winged glider, the Jack O'Lantern soared through the room, laughing maniacally. "Gratz, old friend, I'm feeling slighted. You threw a party, and I wasn't invited!", the newcomer almost chanted in an eerie rhyming voice.
All eyes in the suite locked onto the new arrival as he circled about the suite on his glider, a trail of smoke forming behind him. The vampires, even Gratz, and the heroes were temporarily transfixed on the Jack O'Lantern and were unmoving. It didn't take him more than a moment to take advantage of the situation. Quickly pulling a smaller pumpkin from the black pouch over his shoulder, the intruder lobbed it toward Gratz. "But a rude guest I will not be. Have this gift, to you, from me!"
Recognition formed on Gratz's face, but he was unable to move before that pumpkin landed at his feet. Everyone was forced to turn away at the bright flash that erupted along with a powerful burst of fire. In less than a moment, Gratz was engulfed entirely in flames!
The master vampire screamed in anger and pain as he staggered about the chamber, body ablaze. "Destroy him, my minions!" A moment later, the sprinkler system kicked in creating a downpour in the room. The flames began to subside, but the damage had been done. Gratz shifted back to his mist form to escape further injury.
Shaking herself out of her momentary stupor, and helped by the sudden shower of cold water, the Huntress took aim at one of the other vampires as they closed in on the fast moving Jack O'Lantern. The heroine squeezed off a shot and pierced the vampire's heart by way of his back. The vampire screamed an unearthly scream as he frantically tried to reach the stake in his back. The effort was ultimately futile and he collapsed to the floor, truly dead.
The former vampire's body rapidly decomposed. The flesh seemed to melt away exposing his bones, which in turn quickly disintegrated into ashes. The sprinklers quickly washed away the dusty remains of the vampire.
The Huntress watched this transpire in horror. "My God...", was all that she could utter. At first she found it hard to believe that vampires even existed, but found that to be true. Now having seen a vampire die wasn't any less of a shocking revelation. "Nothing human would have decomposed like that...", she tried to rationalize to herself.
Following the lead of their master, the other vampires turned into mist and wafted out the smashed balcony door out into the night. "Run, run, run away!", the Jack O'Lantern taunted. Steam formed about the head of the hero as the sprinklers drenched his burning pumpkin head. "You don't want to be out when it turns to day!"
Crusader cautiously approached Jack O'Lantern, eyeing over the unusual man. "Thanks for the assist," the crime fighter stated. "Your arrival was most fortuitous."
"Fortuitous? You may be right. But Gratz will be back some other night."
"I take it you two have met before?" The Huntress folded up and stored her hand-held crossbow as she approached. She, like the others, were already drenched by the sprinkler system. The incidental fires caused by the napalm bomb seemed to be under control for the moment.
The Jack O'Lantern turned towards the Huntress. She only wished that she could see his face so that she could pick up any subtle clues it might offer. His body language wasn't much help at the moment.
"I've killed him once or twice in the past," Jack O'Lantern's eerie voice answered. "But so far it has yet to last."
The Huntress and Crusader exchanged skeptical glances. "So, just who are you anyway, son?", Crusader added, as he turned back.
"Uncle Henry calls me Creepy, but I happen to prefer Jack O'Lantern." The newcomer fired up his bat winged flyer and circled once more around the room, spewing more smoke as he went. Before he soared out the open door, Jack O'Lantern added, "Unless you enjoy being vampiric spawn, don't return home until after dawn." Out in the night, Jack O'Lantern's laughter echoed long after he was gone.
That made the Huntress pause. She supposed that it would be possible for one of the vampires to follow them. Still, the implication did give her a chill. "Our odd friend does have a point."
"Still, I wish he would have stayed to answer more questions. At any rate, we'd better get moving anyway," Crusader announced as he watched the odd hero disappear into the darkness. The heroes could already hear commotion out in the hallway outside the penthouse suite. No doubt a response to the sprinklers being set off. The crime fighter moved to the balcony and threw his climbing line off into the night. "Before we have to give answers to things I'd rather not try to explain. I'll see you around."
"'Night, Crusader." The Huntress realized he was right and joined him on the balcony. She fired off her own climbing line and without another word, the crime fighters went their separate ways into the night.
"Come on, Jimmie! What's the hold up?"
Willie nervously checked up and down the street. No sign of the police so far. Oh, there were a few street people out at this hour, but they were of the harmless variety. Your typical collections of bums, winos, and homeless. And of course, thieves like Willie and Jimmie.
"I'm tryin', dammit!", Jimmie cursed. "I've never seen anything like this before!" Jimmie tried the lock again, but once more he failed to turn it. He already tried to force the door and met with no success.
The two petty thieves couldn't believe what they thought was their good fortune. They had been just out walking around, looking for a score to keep them in cash and drugs for a few days. That's when they found what they thought was the mother lode.
A black corvette parked at the curb at this time of night. No one in their right mind did that. Such expensive machines were usually stored in private garages overnight. Breaking in should have been an easy enough task. Jimmie was a pro at passing locks. They should have been inside the sports car and gone in less than a minute. The fine vehicle would give them enough cash to last for months. But that was not to be the case. The 'Vette's locks were beyond Jimmie's skill to pick.
"I'll handle this!", Willie finally declared in frustration. He didn't want to damage the 'Vette at first, but now they had to pull this off before someone called the fuzz. Producing a small crowbar, Willie advanced on the car. Walking up the driver's window, Willie swung the crowbar in an attempt to shatter it.
To his immense surprise, the crowbar bounced harmlessly off the window. "What the---!?" Enraged, Willie swung repeatedly, but continued to fail in smashing the glass. "What the hell kind of car is this?!"
"Urk!"
"Jimmie?" Willie spun about, looking for his partner in crime. He was nowhere to be seen. Drawing his crowbar close for protection, Willie gingerly moved around the car in a search for his partner. "Jimmie? Where are ya, man?"
"Jimmie's taking a nap," a woman's voice announced. Willie gasped and spun to find the Huntress several steps behind him, her long cape obscuring most of her body. Jimmie laid sprawled unconscious at her feet. "No one messes with my car. No one."
Willie dropped the crowbar and ran for it.
"What a coward!", the Huntress thought to herself as she drew her hand-crossbow. Calmly she loaded in a blunted shaft and fired. Her aim was true and the bolt struck Willie square in the back. The small time crook went down in a heap. Returning her weapon to its holster, the Huntress advanced on the prone man.
The heroine had been surprised at first to find someone trying to break into her father's car. That hadn't happened to her before. "I guess it was just a matter of time," Helena thought to herself. "Especially when it comes to sports cars." Fortunately, Hunter had modified the 'Vette to counter theft attempts.
"Oh no you don't..." Willie had tried to regain his footing as the Huntress drew closer. A right handed jab caught Willie square in the jaw, knocking him out. With a pleased look on her face, the Huntress grabbed the thief by the nape of the neck and dragged him towards a nearby parking meter. Using her tie-wraps, the Huntress secured both Willie and Jimmie to the metal pole. "There, that'll keep you out of mischief until the police can find you."
Turning back to her car, the Huntress deactivated the security system by touching the remote stored on her gadget belt. Sliding behind the wheel, the Huntress drove off into the night without looking back.
Taking the mysterious Jack O'Lantern's advice, the heroine drove around for the next few hours. She never saw any signs of being followed, but could never be totally sure. It was far more prudent to be overly cautious when dealing with something like vampires.
"It's funny," Helena thought to herself. "Those two thugs were pushovers for me, but I was easily overpowered by the vampires. Dad was considered to be superhuman when it came to strength and agility. Mom definitely has superhuman speed and reflexes. And me, I don't have either."
The thought depressed the heroine. She had worked so long and so hard to be her father's successor that it was hard to comprehend why she was falling short of that goal. "I always figured that I'd inherit dad's physical abilities so I concentrated on developing my mind and deduction abilities. I never dreamed that I would be let down by my own body."
Helena was much stronger than the average man, let alone woman. But she was still in the realm of what was considered possible and not truly superhuman. Her agility and eye/hand coordination were marginally superhuman, but not by much. While she was hunting her father's killer, she was too obsessed with her task to worry about such physical imperfections. But now that Roxie had been dealt with, these failings were becoming more and more noticeable. Felina returned and discovering her mother's incredibly agility and leaping ability only served to heighten her concerns even more.
"There has to be an answer to this. A reason why. There must be." Helena swore to find out what that reason was and rectify the situation, no matter what the cost. She wouldn't be able to live up the expectations of being the third generation of Hunters without more powers.
The sun was already over the horizon as the Huntress drove the Corvette into the underground garage underneath the Kirby Estate. Parking the sports car, the Huntress got out and yawned. It had been a long time since she had been up all night. Even worse, she had only a few hours sleep the night before. The past few days had been emotionally draining as well due to Felina's return. It was all beginning to catch up to her. Wearily, she stored her costume and climbed the stairs up to the main house.
"Helena!" Felina was up already. She approached her daughter, concern clearly etched on her face. "Where in the world have you been? I've been worried sick."
"I had some things I wanted to check up on. It just took a little longer than I thought it would. Nothing to worry about." Helena decided for the moment to not mention her close encounter with the vampires. At least not yet. Not before she decided upon her next move.
"In the middle of the night?" Felina's right eyebrow raised in skepticism.
Helena sighed, realizing that a better explanations was going to be required to satisfy her mother. "I stopped at the Four Seasons Hotel to examine the crime scene. As you well know, it is the best time to investigate these kinds of things. I got side tracked with some petty thieves along the way. Typical stuff. I didn't think I was going to be gone this long."
That seemed to satisfy Felina. At least for the moment. "I see. You could've at least left me a note. It was alarming to wake up and find you gone without any explanations."
A grin on her face, Helena stopped and gave her concerned mother a hug. "Next time I will, I promise. Meantime, I really need to get some sleep."
"Yes, of course, dear. I'll see you in a couple of hours."
"Time to rise and shine!"
Helena was unexpectedly jerked back to consciousness. The wake up call was made even worse as Felina opened the blinds to allow the full effect of sunlight into the bedroom. Hands shielding her eyes, Helena managed to groggily sit up. "What's the big idea?"
"It's noon already," Felina explained and she opened more windows, further illuminating the room. "I didn't think you wanted to sleep the whole day away. Not when you have obligations to fulfill."
"Obligations?" Helena tried to shake the cobwebs from her head. "What obligations?"
"I had the most delightful chat with Lydia this morning. She called to make sure that your shopping excursion was still on. I thought that it was an excellent idea. A chance for us to get away from heroics and spend some time as just mother and daughter."
"I'd forgotten about shopping with Lydia." Not surprising, considering just how Helena's life had gone off in unexpected directions in the last few days.
"That was my assumption as well. So, I let you sleep for as long as I could. But now, it's time to get up and get going. We've got about an hour before we are due to pick up Lydia and her friend."
Helena stretched and yawned. She threw her covers off to one side and rose to her feet. A quick shower would perk her up. "She's dragging Kor along?" Kor being Kor Hunter from the Circle. He and Lydia had started dating a few weeks back.
"No. A girl named Willow?"
"Willow," Helena repeated. "Oh, she must mean Willow Witch. That should be interesting." Willow Witch was one of Kor's fellow students in the Circle. She was a budding mage that Helena had met during the raid on the DEMON base. (Editor's Note: Back in Huntress #9 & Avengers # 11 & 12)
Helena quickly showered and got herself ready. Since losing all of her belongings in the apartment fire, Helena, assisted by Lydia, already had made several shopping excursions to rebuild her wardrobe. Today's was just the latest trip. After drying off, Helena slipped into a light gray skirt with matching vest over a white blouse with sensible shoes and stockings.
Felina was waiting for her daughter down in the kitchen. Her style of dress was far more casual consisting of a light blue floral dress with white low-heeled shoes. "Very prim and proper," Felina noted of her daughter's attire.
"What's wrong with that?"
"Nothing at all, dear." Felina took her daughter by the arm and led her outside towards the garage. She had a feeling that her daughter's dressing habits might be more on the rigid side and this just proved it. Hunter had been a great man, but when it came to raising little girls, Felina found him to be lacking. "But it never hurts to let your hair down every once in a while and live a little. You're going out with friends, not to a business lunch."
"Well, my wardrobe is a bit lacking since the apartment fire," Helena tried to explain.
"Not to worry, dear. We'll find something nice for you this afternoon." That actually made Helena worry a bit. Just what did her mother have in mind?
Helena was torn on what to do. Something had to be done about the vampires. She was also curious as to just who this Jack O'Lantern was and his connection to Gratz. So many questions to answer and she was going to go out shopping. "I doubt that's the way dad did things," Helena lamented to herself.
Nearly forty-five minutes later, Helena's sedan pulled up outside of Lydia's apartment building and she laid on the horn. A moment later Lydia and Willow Witch came out.
Felina eyed the young women as they approached. To her surprise, Lydia was very nearly a clone of Helena. They were both the same height, had the same colored hair, and probably were close in weight as well, although Lydia appeared to be a little slimmer. Other then facial features, it would be easy to consider them to be related. Lydia was very casually dressed for the occasion in well-worn, but tight blue jeans, sneakers and a Joan Jett and the Blackhearts T-shirt.
Willow was as different as Lydia as night was to day. She was far more petite in size and just a little shorter than Felina. Her short blond hair was styled and fashionably presented. She wore a denim skirt with a matching jacket over a blue T-shirt.
"Hi, gals!", Lydia greeted as she slid into the backseat with Willow. "Ready to shop 'til ya drop?"
"Mom, this is Lydia and Willow." Helena gestured towards the two as she introduced them. "Girls, this my mother, Felina."
"Nice to meet you, ladies," Felina answered with a wave.
"Ma'am," Willow nodded in greeting. "Willow is a bit too formal for my tastes. You can call me Megan."
"We had a nice long talk on the phone this morning," Lydia explained with a grin. "I think me and Mrs. K here are going to get along just fine."
Helena didn't doubt that any. Lydia was very outgoing and her mother seemed to be quite similar.
"So, ladies, where shall we begin?", Felina asked. "It's been ages since I've been shopping in New York. What are the local hot spots nowadays?"
"There is this one boutique I wanted to stop at...", Lydia started to say.
"How about some lunch first?", Helena interrupted. "Personally, I'm famished."
"Food works too! I hate to shop on an empty stomach!" The women chuckled at Lydia's comments as Helena eased her car out into traffic.
"Or do anything else for that matter," Megan added coyly.
An hour later, the women were winding down their meal at Il Toscanaccio's. Felina had just wrapped up a tale from her time in Europe.
"It must have been wonderful to explore all those grand old cities," Megan stated dreamily. "I would just love to be able to travel like that."
"Maybe I'll treat myself after making my first million," Lydia added with a laugh.
"If you're there too long, the magic begins to wear off," Felina explained. "The same is true no matter where you are. The excitement of being in some place new does not last. In time, your surroundings become common place."
"Still, it would be nice to visit the land of my birth," Megan continued.
"I thought you were from Maine?", Lydia wondered.
"Oh, I am. I ran away from Maine and came to New York City, but I was actually born in Wales."
"It's a lovely area," Felina added. "But you have no trace of the distinct Welsh accent."
"My mother brought me to the states when I was two years old. Never had the chance to learn one," Megan shrugged. "Then I ended up running away from her." A trace of sadness came to Megan's eyes.
"What happened?," Helena asked. "I just assumed that you came down here to join the Circle." A moment later, Helena realized that Megan did have ties to the Circle and therefore possessed information about things supernatural.
"Actually, they found me, I didn't go looking for them. My mother is the head of a coven of witches and expected me to follow in her footsteps. I refused and ran away. Lucky, the Circle found me and took me in."
Helena nodded her understanding. Megan had always struck her as a practical young woman, not as freewheeling as Lydia. She wondered how knowledgeable Megan was when it came to vampires. "You've must have seem some pretty bizarre stuff as a member of the Circle."
"That's something of an understatement, Helena. You truly have no idea."
"Oh, I don't know..." Helena casually swished the last swallow of wine in her glass around. "What about... say... vampires?"
That made Felina and Lydia both turn and stare at Helena. Even Megan seemed a bit surprised by the statement.
"Helena?", Felina wondered. "Is there something you're not telling us?"
"I've been told that they are real," Megan answered slowly. "Not that I've been up close and personal to one."
Helena signed and drank the rest of her wine. Then she launched into a Reader's Digest version of the events from the previous night with the vampires in a quiet voice so as not to carry to other tables.
"Why didn't you tell me this earlier," Felina complained. She seemed genuinely hurt to have such a thing hidden from her. "Don't you trust me?"
"It's not that, mom. I was very tired this morning and needed sleep more than I needed a lecture."
"I'm sorry. I don't mean to lecture you." Felina looked down at her plate a bit. "It's just that you're my only child and I want to protect you. Even from yourself at times."
Helena smiled slightly. She wasn't used to having her mother around, nor was Felina used to looking after her child. I was going to take time to work their relationship out.
Lydia was nearly in shock. "Gross me out! You mean, like these things are really out there? And after us? Well, I guess they've got good taste to want me on their team, but still..."
"Moonsilver is right then," Megan added. "For weeks now he and Blackfire have been out hunting vampires. I never took it seriously until now."
"Believe me, it's very serious," Helena stated. "I'm still trying to figure out just what to do about it. How I'm going to be able to stop them all."
Felina reached out and placed her hand over Helena's. "That's where you are making your first mistake, dear. You don't have to take these creatures on alone. You have friends to help you and are part of a team."
"You're right, mom," Helena realized. "I'm still not used to thinking in terms of a group, but you are absolutely right. This is a matter for the Avengers, not a lone crime fighter."
"Good," Felina answered with a smile. "Since that's been taken care of, shall we get down to some actual shopping?"
"I like the way you think, Mrs. K!", Lydia chimed in. "As I was saying before there's the little boutique I wanted to visit..."
A short time later, Helena pulled up in front of the shop in question. "Lydia, are you sure this is the place?" Helena gestured towards the sign in the front window. The sign read: 'The Shiny Boutique: Vinyl, Leather, & Latex fashions for the Modern Woman'.
"You betcha! There's this pair of skintight vinyl pants I've been saving up to buy. Today I'm finally going to get them. You have no idea just how sexy I look in them!", Lydia proudly stated.
"As if you need to make yourself look any better," Megan quipped.
"I don't know about this...", Helena muttered.
"Don't be such a prude, Helena," Felina added with a grin as she got out of the car. "Lighten up and live a little. Who knows? I may find something I like." Lydia and Megan quickly joined her as Felina entered the shop.
"Great," Helena said to herself. "My mom gets along better with my friends than I do. Oh well, here goes nothing." Closing and locking her car behind her, Helena joined her friends inside the Shiny Boutique.
To her surprise, the establishment was actually very clean and tasteful. Much like any number of other boutiques that she frequented. This one just dealt with a bit more exotic clothing.
"This stuff is really in style nowadays," Lydia explained as she headed towards the vinyl section. "You wouldn't catch any rock stars without hot clothing on stage. You wanna be a star, you gotta dress the part, I always say!"
"A charming little place," Felina noted. "And very sedate in their stock."
"You've been in places like this before?", Helena wondered.
"Of course, dear. Europeans are not as prissy as Americans when it comes to expressing their sexuality. This shop is very tame by comparison. Browse around, try a few things on. You never know, you might like something."
"I don't know..."
Felina chuckled at her daughter's reluctance. "This coming from someone who runs around in the middle of the night fighting crime in a skintight costume?"
Helena couldn't help but laugh herself. "Point taken. I guess I'm kind of being silly."
"You're an attractive woman, Helena. You shouldn't be afraid to dress in a sexy or provocative manner. After all, I would like to have grandchildren one day."
"Very well, mother," Helena answered with a smile. "How can I argue with logic like that?" Moving away from Felina, Helena wandered the shop and ended up heading towards the leather apparel department. She had liked how she looked in the bikers outfit she wore a while back. Maybe they had something like that in her size...
Helena stood back and regarded herself in the changing room's mirror. Her skirt had been replaced by snug fitting black leather trousers. They hugged her legs, but were not overly tight and felt comfortable. She had donned a matching jacket and biker boots. "I said it before and I'll say it again, I do look good in this."
"And now the big test..." Gathering up her courage, Helena exited the dressing room. The others should be outside waiting for her. Then she would see what her friends thought of this.
Felina had taken residence in a nearby chair and was serving as an advisor to Lydia and Megan as they tried out various choices. Currently, she was helping Megan out who was modeling a black latex mini-dress.
"I've got a pair of boots at home that would be great with this dress," Megan stated as she slowly spun in a circle. "I like the way it feels on my skin."
"It looks lovely on you, dear," Felina complimented. "Very fashionable. Very sexy."
"You want to talk sexy, try this on for size." Lydia came out in the vinyl pants she had mentioned earlier. They were black, very shiny, and were ridiculously tight. "Now this will turn heads."
"Good grief!", Helena exclaimed. "How in the world did you get those things on you? Spray paint?"
"It pays to be strong," Lydia answered with a grin. "Speaking of which, nice duds!"
"Thanks," Helena mumbled, slightly embarrassed. All three women approached to check out Helena's ensemble. "So what do you think?"
"Looks like you should be riding a motorcycle," Megan offered.
"That partially was the idea."
"In that case you succeeded, Helena," Felina offered. "All you need now is a suitable pair of sunglasses and you'll have the image down pat. It looks very good on you."
"Thanks, mom."
Lydia came over and put her arm around Helena's shoulder. "You know, girls, we are looking pretty hot right now. What say that we hit the town tonight and break this stuff in?"
"Well, there were some things that I was planning on doing...", Helena started to say until cut of by Felina.
"What a wonderful idea! A little nightlife to break up the evening. Count us in!"
"I'm always ready to party!", Megan added excitedly. "I'd just need to stop back at the apartment first."
"But---", Helena tried to say once more.
"Don't be a party pooper, dear." Felina cut Helena off once more. "There's nothing that you'd be doing tonight that you can't put off until tomorrow."
"But the vampires--"
"Do you know where they are located at?"
"Well, no...", Helena answered.
"So that precludes any conflict with them, does it not?
"I guess. But there are other--"
Once more, Felina didn't give Helena a chance to finish. Getting her daughter to go out and meet people could only be a good thing in her mind. "Helena, let's face facts. There's a crime committed in New York every few minutes. There is no way that you can stop or prevent all of them. Thinking that you can is going to give you ulcers or making you into an obsessed vigilante like that Crusader fellow."
"Come on, it'll be fun," Lydia added in a tempting voice. "Don't be such a stick in the mud all the time. I know this hot club where the men are so hot..."
"Oh, All right, all right."
"That's a good girl," Felina complimented as she gave her daughter a hug. "Now, why don't you ladies make your purchases and we get moving on to the next store. There's so many things I want to see."
"And so many stores to shop!", Lydia added excitedly. "Helena, your mom is just so cool!"
Helena couldn't help but smile. She had been right. Felina and Lydia were very much alike, both very outgoing and enjoying life to its fullest. Megan was similar in temperament, but not as wild about it. With this crew, it was going to be a very interesting night.
