In spite of her initial misgivings, Helena did indeed have a good time, although her memories of the past evening were fuzzy at best. It had been so long since she had gone out to simply enjoy herself. Upon reflection, Helena realized that after the strain of the last few months that she really did need to cut loose. Even if only for her own mental state of well being.
"Far better to dance the night away than have vampires at your throat, I guess. Geez, talk about a no-brainer!"
Glancing at the clock on her nightstand, Helena was shocked to find it nearly two in the afternoon! "Guess I really needed to catch up on my sleep," Helena mused as she threw the covers back and got up.
"No point in showering just yet." Helena discarded her sleeping clothes and slipped into one of her exercise leotards. She would get her morning exercise routine in before worrying about taking a shower. Pulling her hair back into a ponytail to keep it out of the way, Helena departed her room. To her surprise, the house was seemingly deserted. There were no answers to her calls on this Sunday afternoon. Her mother might have simply gone out on some errand and chose not to disturb Helena.
Reaching the East Wing of the mansion, Helena strolled into what had originally been the ballroom. In the last week it had been converted into a home gym. Numerous pieces of gymnastic equipment, weights, and exercise machines filled the chamber. It gave Helena the convenience and privacy of having workouts any time of the day or night.
About halfway through her exercise routine, Helena became aware of activity out in the foyer. Grabbing her towel, Helena went to investigate.
"Set those right there if you please." Entering the Foyer, Helena found her mother directing Lydia Jansen on where to place a stack of crates that the young girl was carrying. Following behind Lydia was Megan Pierce porting a much smaller load. The two women were better known as Night Owl and Willow Witch.
"Gotcha, Mrs. K," Lydia responded as she set down the stack of crates. While more powerful in darkness, Night Owl was still superhumanly strong during the day. She wasn't even breaking a sweat. Megan set her burdens beside Lydia's.
"What's going on here?", Helena asked as she approached. Each crate bore several tags and labels. It was obvious to the observant that they had passed through US Customs.
"Good afternoon, dear," Felina stated in greeting as she gave her daughter a hug. "You were sound asleep when we left, so I thought I'd let you get your rest."
"The way you partied last night, you definitely needed to sleep it off," Lydia teased. "I was so proud of you! I honestly didn't think you had it in you."
"And to think that Kor calls Lydia a 'Wild Spirit'," Megan added, as she playfully elbowed the much taller Lydia. "She almost put you to shame."
"Almost, but not quite, short stuff. I was holding back because I didn't want to embarrass any of you."
"Well, I'm just full of surprises," Helena almost sheepishly explained. While remembering that she did have a good time, Helena's memory wasn't very clear when it came down to exact details. Maybe that was a good thing. "Getting back to my earlier question, what's going on here? Where are all these crates coming from?"
"My personal belongings," Felina casually explained. "I wasn't sure just how our meeting was going to work out, so I put my things into storage. Since we brought Lydia and Megan home with us last night, I asked if they wouldn't mind assisting me in collecting my things. A task made much easier given Lydia's strength."
"I was more than happy to give Mrs. K a hand," Lydia added. "Your mom's the best!"
"Oh, I see," Helena mouthed. She should have realized that Felina had more than a few suitcases of belongings since she moved back to the United States. And it made sense to cover herself by moving things into storage rather than just showing up on Helena's doorstep with all this stuff.
"I figured I'd just stack the things up here in the foyer and sort through and store them later on," Felina added. "I hope you don't mind."
"No, of course not. In fact let me give you gals a hand."
"Great!" Megan paused to speak to Helena as she approached. "I just wanted to say thanks for last night and letting us spend the night here. This place is pretty awesome."
"Just wait until you see the mansion I buy once I'm rich!", Lydia inserted as she passed, heading out the front door once more. Several yards away was the rental truck that had been used to transport Felina's belongings. "There'll be hot and cold running men in each room!"
"You're welcome," Helena told Megan. "In fact, you might as well stay for dinner. Mom?"
"Already covered, dear," Felina explained as she started to head towards the kitchen. "I took a roast out of the freezer this morning. Let me get things started while you girls are busy with the truck."
The next few hours passed quickly. Helena assisted Lydia and Megan in bringing the rest of Felina's belongings into the house. A task that was made all the more easy due to Lydia's and Helena's greater than normal strength.
"Good thing I have a mansion," Helena thought to herself upon seeing the rag-tag collection of crates and boxes. "It'll take at least three rooms to store all this stuff."
The moving complete, Helena returned to finish her workout while Lydia and Megan kept Felina company out in the kitchen. Upon completion, Helena showered and changed into more suitable attire before rejoining the others.
It was nearly five by the time that dinner was ready. Helena took the opportunity to chat with her friends and to show off her home. Both were equally impressed.
"Yep. I gotta get me one of these someday," was Lydia's comment on the whole thing. "As soon as I make my first million."
Megan remained a bit more skeptical of Lydia's pursuit of wealth. "Are you kidding? With all the money you spend on clothes and partying, you'll never be rich."
It had been a very long time since the main dining room had been used. Helena even pulled out the good china for the occasion. But, as the day started to turn into evening, the guests were getting ready to head home.
"It's been a great weekend," Megan stated gratefully. "Thank you so much for having us over."
"Can you make it next weekend?", Helena asked. "At my mother's urging, we're throwing a pool party Saturday night. Bring a date if you like."
"Cool", Lydia exclaimed. "I'll have to go shopping for a new bikini. Want to come along?"
"Count me in!", Megan added enthusiastically.
"Sounds like fun. Just let me know when," Helena explained. "I'll see if I can make it."
"If you girls are ready, I can drive you home," Felina offered as she emerged from the kitchen. "And we can return the rental truck. I figure that Helena has a few things that she'd like to work on."
"Things that kept getting pushed back further and further," Helena lamented. "I'll see you all later on."
"Bye."
The rest of the day passed by in a blur as Helena descended into the Hunter's Lair. There were several things that she needed to check up on and phone calls that needed to be made. She contacted Black Diamond at the Avengers Mansion first thing. Primarily to inform the Avengers' leader of the dangerous threat posed by Gratz and his thralls.
Her secondary reason was to speak to the Enchantress. From Helena's conversations with Willow Witch on vampires, it became clear that the Enchantress could possibly know a great deal more on the subject. The Avenger's Sorceress was far more experienced in this sort of thing.
"Thanks for calling, Helena," Black Diamond responded over the phone. "This is a very serious situation. I'll pass on the warning to the rest of the team personally. However, I'm afraid that the Enchantress is out of town this weekend."
"That's unfortunate."
"She's in Texas helping the Sorceress get over the death of the Comet."
"I heard about that," Helena replied. Comet was a member of the Superior Seven, like the Sorceress. The hero had perished during a clash with VIPER in El Paso last week.
"I do expect her back and at our meeting tomorrow morning. You haven't forgotten, have you?"
"No, of course not, Di. I'll try to talk to her then. Bye."
That task complete, Helena turned her attention to Hunter's database. She wanted to see what information her father had on vampires in general and on the Jack O'Lantern in specific. The actual information on 'Vampire' was somewhat sparse. There were only two separate occasions when Hunter had previously confronted vampires.
The first encounter involved a string of odd robberies at hospitals and blood banks. According to Hunter, the vampire in question was a recent conversion that sought to survive without infecting others by raiding blood stores. He took his own life when Hunter finally cornered him.
Further investigation of the first incident led to the second vampire encounter. This time it involved the Avengers themselves. The first vampire turned out to have been a sewer worker who had stumbled upon a underground group of vampires. They lived on the fringes of society, only taking what they needed to survive. However, a powerful leader emerged from the group and he sought to take much, much more. Hunter needed the full compliment of the Avengers to survive this particular encounter.
In addition, he sought the assistance of the man known as Photon. Possessing the Armor of Astegor, Photon hunted the real monsters of the world. Vampires were right up his alley. His aid proved pivotal in this particular case. Hunter would go on to consult Photon on several other cases.
"If he was good enough for dad, he's good enough for me."
Locating Photon's 800 number, Helena dialed it on her phone. It rang several times before being picked up.
"Yeah?", a man's voice simply answered on the other end.
"Uhm, hello. We haven't been formally introduced, but you've worked with my father before on certain, shall we say, unusual cases?"
"Look, sister, I don't have all day. Why don't you spit out what you're trying to say?"
"Of course. We seem to have a vampire problem here in New York City..."
The conversation with Photon was interesting, to say the least. Convincing him that she was Hunter's daughter was a task, but the monster hunter seemed to take it all in stride. Photon was a fountain of information on the subject of vampires and was more than happy to assist. He claimed that he was currently down in Texas, but should hit the Big Apple by next weekend.
After hanging up, Helena turned her attention to the mysterious Jack O'Lantern. Turns out that mysterious was the right word to describe him. The hero seemed to avoid the spotlight even more than the Huntress had. There were only a few reports of him in action and typically there was a supernatural element present in the majority of those occurrences.
Those immediate concerns dealt with, Helena turned her attention to the Dragon Lords. She activated the spider-spy she had placed in the Golden Lotus club, but was disappointed as the image flickered to life. The club was empty and the lights were out. Apparently there was to be no excitement tonight.
"There's always tomorrow," Helena thought to herself. Before calling it a night, she put a call in to NYPD Commissioner Daniel Webb, bringing him up to speed on her investigation of the death of Jimmy Portoni. It was no surprise that he was skeptical of her explanation of vampires.
The days that followed passed at a rapid pace. As the Huntress, Helena attended the routine Monday morning meeting of the Avengers. She never did get a chance to discuss vampires with the Enchantress, as the magical Avenger was off to Dallas once more at the end of the meeting. (Editor's Note: Shown in Avengers #23)
However, the Huntress was introduced to the Texas Ranger, the newest reserve on the team. The heroine wasn't quite sure what to make of the man. He was about the same age as Helena but spoke with a distinctive western accent. Ranger made heavy use of 'western lingo'. So much so as to make Helena suspicious of the man.
"It's got to be an act," Helena mentally deduced. "No one can actually talk like that. At least I dearly hope not. I'm not sure just who Mr. Ranger is, but I'm going to find out." It was this kind of puzzles that the Huntress enjoyed solving.
After the meeting, Helena caught up with Muskateer and the two conversed for a couple of hours, bringing each other up date on the latest news. So much had happened since the two had last chatted at Kari Madigan's party. (Editor's Note: Way back in Muskateer #14)
It was actually a pleasant experience, as Helena wasn't as eager to prove herself as she had been. The change in attitude was a pleasant surprise to Muskateer. However, being true to himself, he left her with a parting gift. A 'Vampire Survival Kit' was his idea of humor. (Editor's Note: This all happened in Muskateer #19)
A call from Felina brought the visit to an end. Earlier in the day, Jessica Flynn had called the estate and spoke with Felina. Much like Muskateer, Jessica, as the Scarlet Sabre, had been injured during the struggle against the Crimson Claw out in California. After a short stay at Bryn's Clinic, Scarlet had just returned to New York City yesterday morning.
And so, Helena returned to the mansion to meet up with Jessica. Introductions to Felina were made and they all talked for most of the afternoon. Later they went to the Zephyr Grill for dinner. As they exchanged news, the subject of the Dragon Lords came up once more. It didn't take much encouragement to get the Scarlet Sabre to team up with the Huntress to take on these criminals.
However, the Dragon Lords had different ideas on the night's entertainment. There was a priceless Ming Dynasty exhibition opening at the Met later in the week. Somehow, this gang of thugs had learned the secret route that the exhibit was going to be taking and planned to hijack the treasures.
What the Dragon Lords failed to take into consideration was just how well protected the exhibits would be. The caravan was guarded by the personal security force of Duchess Industries, for the owner of the treasures was the head of DI itself-- Ms. Henrietta von Drotte. She was only the richest woman in the world. The security was daunting and impressive enough that Felina didn't even make an attempt on the exhibit while it was touring Europe.
The Huntress found herself in the odd position of actually trying to protect the Dragon Lords from a superior force. The heroines themselves found out just how well protected the caravan was when it fired upon them while they flew overhead in the Sky Sabre.
Reaching the site of the Dragon Lord's ambush, the heroines raced against time to neutralize their threat before the convoy could arrive. They succeeded in part, but an explosion revealed the threat to the DI security force. The caravan stormed through and quickly put down any threat the Dragon Lords might have offered. Several of the criminals died in the assault, mostly by their own hands. (Editor's Note: A quick re-cap of Scarlet Sabre #4 & 5)
While their endeavor met with only marginal success, the other Dragon Lord activities for that night came to a dead halt. Jaime had alerted the police via anonymous tips and the authorities either stopped the Dragon Lords or at the very least thwarted their plans. There was no activity from the Dragon Lords for the next several days. No doubt they were still licking their wounds. It appeared that the Huntress was winning the war when it came to putting this band of criminals out of business.
By Thursday afternoon Felina's belongings had been put away. The rest of the house had been spruced up and the guestrooms formally arranged. As the Huntress, Helena had been on the lookout for vampire activity, but had yet to spot any. She wasn't sure if that was good or bad.
Most of the week had been spent in preparation for the pool party coming up on Saturday. The lawn furniture was taken out of storage in the garage and hosed down. The grill was wheeled out and its cleaning was an afternoon in itself. Then there was buying food for the gathering. Considering the appetites of some of her guests, Helena bought enough food for four or five normal parties. She hoped that it would be enough.
But on this afternoon, the heroine had other tasks to contend with. The Huntress drove to the Avengers Mansion in Hunter's Corvette with her mother. Felina was dressed in her Cat burglar outfit for the occasion. Passing through the back gate, the Huntress parked the vehicle and went inside the Mansion, Felina following.
"Here we are," the Huntress announced. The Texas Ranger and Muskateer were waiting for her arrival in the kitchen. To the heroine's surprise, the Enchantress was present as well.
"Howdy, ma'am," Ranger intoned as he tipped his hat to the ladies. The Texas Ranger was a tall man, standing a solid 6'2" in height. He had bright red hair with a full mustache.
"'Bout time, Sprout," Muskateer stated. "Let's get this show on the road."
"Hello, Ranger," the Huntress responded in greeting. "Ranger, Enchantress this is my mother Felina."
There wasn't much information available on Ranger, the Huntress discovered over the last few days. According to his Avenger's file, he had been a PSI student for only a few months when the heroes who would become the Avengers smashed their Buffalo operations. The young telekinetic went into hiding the next seven years down in Texas. He came to New York to offer his assistance to the Avengers when he learned of the death of Hunter, Black Tiger, and Sargon. Ranger felt that he was paying them back for his earlier rescue.
"A pleasure," the Enchantress nodded towards Felina.
"I can plum see that the apple didn't far fall from yore tree, lil' lady." The Texas Ranger dashingly took Felina's hand and kissed the back of it. "Welcome to our little shindig."
"How refreshing," Felina answered with a smile. "A proper Texas gentleman. I like him."
"If you would care to do the honors, 'Tress," Muskateer told the Enchantress.
"Of course," the magical Avenger replied and began her spellcasting.
"I thought we were going use that teleporter over at the UN I keep hearing about?" At least that's what Black Diamond had led Helena to believe from past conversations.
"Why travel coach when we can go first class?" No one had the chance to respond to Muskateer as all five individuals in the room disappeared in a reddish display of energy.
A few heartbeats later, the quintet reappeared on Sanctuary Island, over six thousand miles away.
"See what I mean?", Muskateer finished, as he gestured around with his hands.
"That was most unexpected," Felina noted as she took in her surroundings. True enough, she now found herself on a sun drenched tropical island, complete with palm trees. It was much warmer than New York City. Felina was quickly beginning to regret wearing her all black costume.
"You could have at least warned us!", the Huntress strongly objected.
"I gotta be me. Okay, troops, let's get the lead out. We've got lots to do."
Muskateer led the band towards the island Arrival Center. All the while, the Huntress silently considered her situation. As a lawyer, Helena saw a great many problems with the concept of Sanctuary. It had been given nation status by the UN, making the club actually its own country. In effect, the Director of Sanctuary was the equivalent of a president or a tyrant, depending on his whims. There were club rules at Sanctuary, but anything like laws or a constitution did not exist. Legally, every guest was subject to the whims of the director. Be they good or bad.
However, this was just going to be a short visit and one with a good cause. As an Avenger, the Huntress was required to come to Sanctuary for a medical examination. The information would be stored and could be used should she ever be in need of medical treatment. While Helena wasn't the most abnormal super around, she could see the wisdom in such a practice.
But more importantly, the Huntress wanted to have her medical records checked against those of her father. Over the last few weeks, she had noted that she wasn't anywhere near his power level. Granted, it was possible that the formula that had changed her grandfather into the first Hunter had weakened as it passed through the generations. But her drop off seemed too severe to completely account for that.
Especially when you added Felina into the equation. While Marie Kirby was a normal woman, her son, Helena's father, was still superhuman. Both of Helena's parents were truly superhuman while she was only marginally. Helena swore to do whatever it took to find the reason why and correct this problem. As the Huntress, she had the legacy of the Hunters to continue. In her present physical condition, that would be a very difficult task.
So that was why Helena didn't put up much of a fuss with Black Diamond's request. Felina agreed to come along as well, so that the results of all three could be compared. Perhaps they could find an answer for this seemingly unsolvable problem.
Being the newest of the Avengers, the Texas Ranger was also along for the ride. Upon discovering that the Enchantress hadn't undergone this procedure yet either, the sorceress was added to the mix.
The secondary reason for coming to Sanctuary also concerned her mother. After Felina had been sent away, Helena was primarily raised by her grandmother. Grandma Jenny was Felina's own mother and currently was spending her retirement years on Sanctuary. It had to be at least twenty years since the two last spoke. If Helena and Felina could come to some sort of understanding, then perhaps Felina and Jennifer could as well.
Reaching the Arrival Center, Muskateer led the group inside. There were forms to fill out. These seemed harmless enough and no essential information was required to complete. From there, each of the new arrivals were given an examination by the Sanctuary doctors. Helena complied with all the requests the doctors made of her.
Those tasks completed, Muskateer led his charges to 'Training Town'. This was a part of the island where guests could practice using their powers. It was almost like a Hollywood movie set, as there was a regular downtown street with buildings lining the sides. The buildings were primarily hollow shells and not the real thing.
Each of the four new applicants would be wired up and tested in mock combat to further measure their abilities. Tigress and Archangel of the Young Champions were on hand to act as opponents during this phase of the testing. (Editor's Note: While not mentioned in that issue, this occurred during Young Champions #13, before the Tigress disappeared.)
The Texas Ranger was the first to go. The rookie Avenger's lack of polish rapidly became apparent. He wasn't as fast as the two Young Champions and was defeated by the Tigress. The duel with Archangel was a draw as Ranger was able to keep the winged Young Champion at bay with this telekinesis.
The Enchantress went next. Thanks to her mastery of magic and the versatility of her spells, she easily defeated both Tigress and Archangel while barely raising a sweat. Neither Young Champion could do much harm to her thanks to the mystical shield that surrounded the Enchantress.
There was a break between the mock-combats for rest. Then came the Huntress' turn. Archangel was to be her first opponent.
"I promise to be gentle, cheri," the winged Young Champion confidently stated in an unmistakable French accent. He was as tall as Helena, but a little on the lean side. Archangel was quite handsome with his shoulder length platinum blond hair. Helena wasn't sure whether his large, feathery white wings enhanced his looks or not.
"Good," the Huntress answered with a confident grin. "Because I won't be." She had observed Archangel in action in the previous two battles, gauging his strengths and weaknesses. The winged hero was much faster and with his ability for flight, far more mobile. However, he lacked any type of long distance attacks, meaning that he still had to physically strike his foes. Judging by his lean frame, the Huntress figured Archangel to not be overly strong. Most likely, she had the advantage when it came to raw physical power. Plus, with her crossbow, she could attack Archangel from range.
The combatants were a dozen paces apart when the command to begin was given by Muskateer. Instantly, Archangel surged into the air and straight at the Huntress. Helena immediately went for her crossbow, one hand retrieving it from its holder on her right leg, the other producing a blunt shaft from her hip pouch. This was supposed to be mock combat after all.
However, Archangel was faster as he reached his objective and he rammed into the Huntress shoulder first. "Have it your way, good-lookin'! You wanna play rough, we'll play rough!"
The impact forced Helena back on her heels. Instead of fighting it, the Huntress tumbled over backwards, twisted and came up ready to fire her crossbow. The blunt bolt was fired, but it sailed harmlessly past Archangel.
"So far my observations are right on the mark, even if my aim is not," Helena thought to herself as she kept track of Archangel. The attack from the winged Young Champion didn't hurt the Huntress all that much.
Archangel was on the Huntress before she could even re-load her crossbow. The man's speed and agility in the air was amazing. The Huntress tumbled away from the attack and sprung up once more. "Air power-- you've gotta love it!", Archangel taunted as he circled back around once more. "So tell me, a fine looking heroine like yourself got a steady boyfriend?"
"I'll say one thing, you're not lacking in confidence," the Huntress responded as she dove for cover once more. "And my personal life is none of your business."
"Well, aren't we the cold fish." Archangel swung back around after his latest pass. "Time for me to end this showdown, darlin'!"
Archangel came in low and fast on this attack run. The Huntress managed to fire off another crossbow bolt, but Archangel simply flew around it. The winged hero slammed hard into the Huntress this time, sending both to the ground in a cloud of dust.
The Huntress was momentarily dazed from the assault and before she could re-gather her wits, Archangel was standing over her with a goofy grin on his face. "Yield, my lovely, for the battle is mine. So, you doing anything for dinner tonight?" Archangel offered his hand for the Huntress to use to pull herself up from the ground.
The Huntress wearily took Archangel's hand. "I don't think so!", she retorted as Helena delivered a snap kick to Archangel's bread basket. "You just made the mistake that's going to cost you this fight-- letting me get close enough to hurt you!"
"Suckered in by another pretty face, wings," the Tigress taunted from the sidelines.
Archangel nearly doubled over from the pain of the unexpected attack. But he maintained his grip on the Huntress and unexpectedly launched himself into the air once more. A startled Helena suddenly found herself airborne carried aloft by Archangel. "Try to be a nice guy and see what it gets you," Archangel commented mostly to himself. "Give up or you'll go splat," he threatened the Huntress. The earlier jovial tone in Archangel's voice was now gone.
"Ah'll save ya, lil' lady!", the Texas Ranger shouted from the sidelines. The Avenger had only risen a few feet into the air when Muskateer called him off.
"Chill out, Tex! Let the Huntress fight her own battles," Muskateer commanded. Upon noticing the concerned look in Ranger's eyes, he added, "But be ready just in case she does fall."
"Gotcha, pah'ner."
To her credit, the Huntress remained calm as Archangel took her higher and higher into the sky. She swung herself up and grasped Archangel's torso with her legs. Archangel's eyes grew wide in surprise as he felt his torso being crushed while the Huntress applied all the strength in her legs. "I'll make you a counter proposal," the Huntress calmly responded as she continued to apply pressure. "You surrender and I won't snap you in two like a twig."
"You win!", Archangel managed to croak out. Immediately, the Huntress eased up the pressure on the winged Young Champion's torso as they flew closer to the ground. Moments later, both were safely on the ground. Archangel stalked away from the others, seemingly in anger.
"You had me worried there for a few moments," Felina commented with concern as Helena approached. "Would he have really dropped you?"
"If he knew what was good for him, he wouldn't," the Tigress added. "Sarge would really go postal on him for purposely injuring a guest."
The Huntress was unsure just whom the Tigress was referring to, but obviously it was someone important on the island. "I'm okay," she told the crowd. "That just got a little more intense than I expected.
"Congratulations there, lil' lady!" The Texas Ranger gave the Huntress a friendly pat on her back. "You sure broke that bronco!"
"Thanks, Ranger." Whoever Ranger really was, he definitely was the friendly sort.
"Take five to catch your breath," Muskateer instructed. "Then we'll see how you do against little Ms. Kitty-Cat here."
A few minutes later, the Huntress and Tigress were all set to square off. If Helena had thought that Archangel was going to be a challenge, the Tigress was an even a greater obstacle. She had speed and agility that put her into Felina's class. While Archangel had been tall and lean, the Tigress was more compact with excellent muscle tone.
"Take your best shot," the Tigress taunted as the Huntress pulled out her crossbow once more. "It'll probably be the only chance you'll get."
Helena tried to control her emotions and not let the Tigress get under her skin. Such tactics had worked well against Ranger, but fell on deaf ears when Tigress tried them on the Enchantress. "You want it, you got it!"
The Huntress fired a blunt bolt at the Tigress. Her aim would have been true had Tigress actually stood still. Instead, the feline Young Champion leaped forward! "Too late! My offer has just expired!"
But instead of leaping at the Huntress, the Tigress leaped over her, landing behind the heroine. Helena spun to face her foe, but the Tigress was already upon her. One well placed kick later and the Huntress' crossbow was sent flying through the air. It had all happened in seemingly a blink of an eye!
"You're fast!", was all the Huntress was able to utter. Acting on instincts more than anything, Helena took a swing at her nimble foe.
"Only in a tussle," Tigress shot back as she ducked the clumsy punch. "Just ask Wings! This is one kitty that only seeks attention on her own terms!"
The Tigress leaped up into the air again, but this time kicked the Huntress in the chest with both feet. Helena was sent flying backward from the attack. Spots played before her eyes after the rough impact. The force of the kick had knocked the air from her lungs.
"Hmmm... I think we've seen this scene before," the Tigress noted as she playfully moved towards the prone Huntress. "If you think you're going to sucker-kick me, you've got another thing coming."
The Tigress waited until the Huntress was on her feet once more. Helena fought the dizziness in her head and continued on. "Is that all you've got?"
"Yer a tough broad, I'll give you that," Tigress complimented. "But let's face facts. You can't keep up with me and I'm not going to do anything stupid like 'Wings did. Just give up and that will be that."
"Never!" The Huntress gritted her teeth and fired a jab towards the Tigress. But the Young Champion was faster and latched on to Helena's arm as it sailed passed. Using her own momentum against her, Tigress sent the Huntress flying down the street of Training Town. Once more, Helena hit hard, but this time she didn't rise.
"Up and at'm, Sprout," Muskateer stated as he waved smelling salts under Helena's nose. The vile smell was beginning to show signs of working as the Huntress finally opened her eyes.
"Ugh!"
"Let me give ya a lift," Ranger drawled as he offered his hand. Reluctantly, the Huntress accepted and was pulled to her feet.
"Are you all right?", Felina asked with noticeable concern in her voice.
"I'll live," the Huntress finally answered in a disappointed voice. "The only thing hurt was my pride."
The Huntress was led to a nearby bench to recover from her combat with Tigress. In a few minutes, Felina would be up against the two Young Champions. However, Helena really didn't notice as her mind was plagued with dark thoughts.
"This only further illustrates the problem. It was a struggle to beat Archangel and I was totally outclassed by Tigress. Unless these tests turn up something, my career as the Huntress is not going to be very long..."
