Felina silently shut the door to Helena's room. Her daughter had fallen asleep once more and Felina was going to take the opportunity to relax. She was looking forward to a light lunch at the hotel before taking a refreshing catnap. It was now around noon local time here on Sanctuary.
It was Monday, almost five days since Helena had been beaten by the White Dragon and brought to the Sanctuary for medical attention. Helena was getting stronger as each day passed. She could stay awake for as many as six hours at a time before falling back to sleep. The medication she was on also made her sleepy.
While not a true superhuman, Helena could heal and repair her body a bit faster than normal. Already her internal bleeding had been stopped and many of her minor cuts and bruises had faded. Provided she passed her examination tomorrow morning, Helena was going to be released into Felina's care. They would return to the Kirby Mansion where Helena could recover at her home. Nightingale promised to stop in daily to check up on the patient.
In Felina's mind there was at least one bright spot throughout this whole ordeal. Helena had decided to hang up her costume. The Huntress had retired. For weeks now Helena had not been satisfied with her performance. Somehow she was lacking the gifts of her parents. It had taken the incident with the White Dragon to finally realize that there was indeed something wrong with her.
The original Hunter had been chemically mutated into a low-end superhuman. His son, Helena's father, received this enhancement and was also considered to be a true superhuman. Felina was even more enhanced than her father when it came to speed and agility. Somehow, this had only barely filtered down to Helena. She could dominate battles against normals, but had time and again been overwhelmed by true superhumans.
Because she could no longer trust her own abilities, Helena decided to quit. Not like she would have been able to do much of anything but heal and recover in the months to come anyway. Maybe she would change her mind eventually, but for right now Felina was pleased with the final outcome.
In Felina's eyes, superpowers had been nothing but a curse. They had ruined her life and that of her families. Felina now wanted nothing more than for Helena to lead a normal, happy life. To settle down with a man she loved and have children. Felina would just love being a grandmother.
"Excuse me?"
The unexpected voice startled Felina out of her reverie. Looking up, she saw a woman with stylish blond hair and green eyes. She wore a white lab coat.
"Hello." Seeing Felina's confused look, Dr. Marin added, "I examined you when you were tested on Sanctuary a few weeks back, remember?"
"Oh, yes of course. My apologies, doctor. My mind has been elsewhere."
"That's perfectly understandable. I was just stopping by to drop off the results of the tests we ran on you and your daughter and how they compare to Hunter. They're quite interesting. Is she awake?"
"No, she's sleeping right now."
"I'll just leave the results with you then." Dr. Marin offered Felina an oversized envelope. Felina hesitated at first, but finally did accept the package.
"Thank you, doctor."
"If you have any questions about my findings, don't hesitate to give me a call."
"We will," Felina promised, but honestly couldn't be sure she actually meant it. The two women shook hands before Dr. Marin left to go about her business. Felina regarded the envelope in her hands, unsure of what to do.
"This could be the answer to Helena's troubles," Felina silently mused. "And could confirm my worst fears."
For a moment, Felina thought about destroying the results. Helena had retired, what the report said no longer mattered. But that thought was fleeting. She would hang on to the report, but wouldn't mention it to Helena. There was no need for her to know about it at this point.
Helena had passed her last medical check and had been released from Sanctuary. Black Diamond and Nightingale had transported Helena and Felina back to New York City. Helena had been placed in a wheelchair and then taken to the island teleporter. The four women then materialized in the matching teleport facility underneath the United Nations building. From there, Helena was placed in one of the Avengers team vans for the drive back to Westchester.
Along the way, Diamond had changed back to her normal identity. None of the others had bothered to be in costume to start with.
"Its good to be home," Felina stated. It had been almost a week since she had left the estate in the middle of that fateful night. That was when her concern over her daughter's tardiness had driven Felina to seek the Huntress out. In hindsight, it was probably the only reason that Helena was alive today.
The grim expression on Helena's face didn't change one little bit. Not even the sight of her family estate could cheer her up on this day.
The rear door of the van was opened up and Christina telekinetically lifted the wheelchair holding Helena out. The psionic-Avenger gently sat her burdens down in the driveway. Linda took control of the wheelchair while Chris and Felina picked up Helena's bags. One of the bags held Felina's cat costume, another what remained of Helena's Huntress costume and her gadgets. Other bags held the various medications that Helena was taking and other medical supplies.
The journey from the driveway to Helena's bedroom was a quiet one. Chris once more used her telekinesis to carry the wheelchair up to the second floor. Soon, Helena was resting comfortably in her own bed. However, her demeanor hadn't changed one bit.
"Is there anything I can get you, dear?", Felina wondered, concern etched on her face. "Something to drink? A sandwich?"
"Nothing right now, mom."
"I'll stop by tomorrow morning to check on you," Christina promised. "Don't hesitate to call me if you need anything."
"I will," Helena answered with a sigh as she absentmindedly looked out the window. It was a sunny and warm day outside. Not that it really mattered to Helena.
Christina and Felina moved out into the hallway outside the bedroom. Chris wanted to go over Helena's medication one more time and review other instructions.
Linda sat down on the bed beside Helena. "Anything you want to talk about?"
"Not really."
"I know you're going through a really tough time right now, but things will get better. It may not look like it now, but they will. I promise."
Helena continued to lie there, staring out the window. She did not respond in any manner.
"I'll let you rest now," Linda finally said. "I'll see you later. Bye."
"Bye."
A moment later, Linda joined Chris and Felina out in the hallway. "Helena isn't taking this very well."
"What can I do?" Felina asked. "She's been like this for days now."
"It's going to take time for Helena to get over this situation," Chris explained. "She endured a very traumatic attack. Like I said before, I'm not worried about Helena healing, its the damaged done to her psyche that concerns me. She's showing signs of depression. Hopefully, I'll be able to help pull her out of it. If not, I may have to prescribe something to help her. Right now, the only one that can get Helena back to her old normal self is her."
The Huntress slowly fought her way back to consciousness. Her body hurt badly and her joints ached. Looking around, Helena found herself lying at the bottom of a crate. Her legs had been folded and were tightly tied to her torso. Her hands were secured to her ankles. The Huntress could barely move.
"You are pathetic!", a voice shouted at her.
The Huntress was drawn towards the source of the shouting. A man in a black bodysuit with dark blue and gray accessories stood over Helena. He wore a cape and cowl combination, but his face was currently uncovered. It was a face that Helena recognized.
"Daddy?"
"Just look at you," Hunter continued as he glared at his daughter. "What was I thinking, that a mere girl could carry on the Hunter legacy? I must have been mad to invest so much time in you."
Tears began to well up in Helena's eyes. In moments they were running down her cheeks. "Daddy, please..."
"You should have been a boy, at least then there would have been another true Hunter, not some useless female version. I wish you had never been born!"
Helena began to sob uncontrollably. "Why are you saying these things? Daddy, I love you..."
"You are disgrace to the family name!", Hunter's tirade continued unabated. "Just looking at you makes me sick!"
Hunter reached down and grabbed the lid to the crate. Before putting it in place, Hunter leered at the Huntress one last time. "Good riddance to bad genetics!" The top was placed on the crate and Hunter began to nail it in place.
"Daddy, please! No!!", Helena whimpered as darkness descended on her. "Daddy!!"
The scream pierced the relative quiet of the Kirby Mansion. Felina was up in a flash and out of her bedroom. It was just a short distance down the hallway to Helena's room. Opening the door, Felina quickly turned the lights on.
Helena was sitting upright in bed, crying hysterically. Felina rushed to her daughter side and drew her into her arms.
"It's alright now," Felina whispered as she held Helena's shaking body close. "It was just another bad dream. No one is going to hurt you any more. I promise."
Next morning Helena lay in bed propped up on pillows staring off absentmindedly into space. Her breakfast tray sat close by, but Helena had only eaten sparingly. Nothing seemed to matter any more. Not even eating. The nightmare from the night before was only one of many she had as of late.
A light tap at the bedroom door startled Helena back to reality. "Who is it?"
"Just a friendly cowboy from the great state ah Texas," a man's voice responded in a drawl. "You reckon I can mosey on in?"
"Ranger?", Helena responded in a puzzled voice. What was he doing here? "Come on in."
The Texas Ranger opened the door and peeked inside. While he wasn't in his costume, his current state of attire had a definite western flavor to it complete with a white cowboy hat. "Howdy, Ma'am," Ranger intoned as he stepped inside. From behind his back, Ranger produced a small bundle of flowers. "I stopped and picked a bunch of these fer ya."
"I must say that I am surprised by all of this."
Ranger casually crossed the distance to Helena's bedside. He offered the flowers, which Helena accepted after a pause. Helena smelled in their fragrance, while Ranger grabbed a nearby chair and moved it closer.
"Thank you. They're lovely. I'll have my mom put them into a vase later. What brings you all the way out here?"
"Just bein' friendly, lil' lady," Ranger responded with a cheerful grin. "Thought you might be a bit down and could use some cheering up."
Helena skeptically looked at Ranger for a moment. She still didn't know much about the man, not even his real name. He was a mystery that Helena had yet to solve. "Diamond told me that you were the one who captured the White Dragon."
Ranger looked away for a second. While it was true that he had been the one to stop the White Dragon, he wasn't particular proud of his behavior. How he had almost let his thirst for revenge overcome his common sense.
"Uhm, yes, Ma'am. I managed to get the drop on the slimy varmint. That was no way ta treat a lady."
"I wish I could have gotten my own hands on him," Helena admitted, "but I do appreciate the gesture. Thank you."
"Shucks. It twern't nothin'." Ranger suddenly stood up again and moved his chair back to its regular position. "I reckon' that I should let you get yer rest."
Ranger reached the door, opened it, and then paused. "I jes wanted to make sure you were doin' okay, lil' lady," Ranger said. "And to tell ya that if ya'll should need me for anything, don't hesitate to call."
There was almost an emotional strain in Ranger's voice. It caught Helena completely off guard. "I'll remember that," she finally answered.
"Adios, amigo." Ranger tipped his hat and stepped out of the door leaving behind a very confused Helena.
Ranger exited through the back kitchen door of the estate. Felina was seated out on the patio casually looking through the newspaper. She looked up as Ranger came out of the house.
"Thank you for stopping by," Felina stated. "I really appreciate it."
"Yer welcome, lil' lady," Ranger responded tipping his hat.
"I would also highly approve of Helena have more men in her life." Felina coyly smiled at Ranger. She had noticed his attraction to her daughter before. "In fact, I would encourage it."
Ranger chuckled and grinned back. "Thank ya kindly, Ma'am."
"Talk about being on a major downer!", Lydia Jansen stated as she entered the kitchen. Megan Pierce followed a few footsteps behind Lydia. "I feel like I've been to a funeral."
"That's not a very nice thing to say," Megan objected. "Even if it's the truth."
Felina was here in the kitchen, waiting for the girls to finish up their visit. She was nursing a glass of milk. It was now Thursday evening. "I was hoping that your visit would cheer Helena up. No one else has managed to get her out of this funk."
"Sorry, Mrs. K," Lydia apologized. "All she wants to do is lay there."
"I can understand her being down from what happened," Megan added, "but this seems a bit extreme to me. Helena seemed so lifeless up there."
"She's been like this for days now. I'm really starting to get worried." Felina's concern was clearly etched on her face. "I wish I knew what to do to make her feel better. Seeing Helena like this is just tearing me apart."
"If there's anything we can do, just give us a call. My job with the Wild Cards has been keeping me pretty busy, but I'll make time for a friend."
"Me too!", Megan chimed in. While not working for the Wild Cards like Lydia was, Megan was a full time student in the Circle. She was being further trained in her use of sympathetic magic.
"Thank you," Felina gratefully stated. "Helena has made some very fine choices in her friends."
Felina waited patiently in the hallway outside of Helena's room. It was Friday afternoon and Nightingale was currently performing her daily checkup on Helena. Finally, the door opened and Christina stepped out in the hallway. Felina stepped up to the Psionic Avenger, a hopefully look on her face.
"Physically, Helena is healing nicely. I removed the sling on her arm. It would do her good to get out of bed for a while. She shouldn't have problems using crutches at this stage."
"But...?" Felina could sense that she was hearing only the good news.
"Her depression is getting worse. I can almost sense that she's lost the will to go on. Her life has become meaningless. Here's a prescription for something that might help her get out of this. If that doesn't work, then stronger measures are going to be needed. I wish I could give you better news."
"You're doing your best," Felina answered. "Helena can be most difficult when she wants to be. Just like her father."
Chris smiled lightly and put her hand on Felina's shoulder before departing.
Felina stood there in deep contemplation for a few moments before stepping into Helena's room. Her daughter was in bed, as she had been most of the time since returning home. "Anything I can get you, baby?"
"I'm fine, mother."
"That's open for debate." Felina silently crossed the room and sat on the edge of the bed next to Helena. "It would do you a world of good for you to get out of bed for a while. How about I take you down to the patio and whip up a salad for dinner?"
Helena didn't respond.
"It's a beautiful day outside," Felina added hopefully. "The sky's clear, the birds are singing."
"I'd just as soon stay here."
"You can't stay in bed the rest of your life, dear. I know things are difficult right now, but you're going to have to patient. You'll be back to normal before you know it."
"I've never going to be normal again, mother," Helena stated a faraway look in her eye. "Life as I knew it is over. It all ended when I quit being the Huntress."
"Don't say that, Helena. There is far more to life than being the Huntress. You have your law practice to fall back on. You could even take up your magician act again. We could travel the world and see the sights. You've got a full life ahead of you and all the choices in the world for a girl in your situation. Risking your life by being the Huntress is senseless."
"I doubt that the people I've helped by being the Huntress would agree with you." After a long pause, Helena added, "You just don't understand, mom."
"No, I don't," Felina admitted. "I never understood that aspect of Lane either. But don't you see all the trouble and hardship that putting on a costume has cost this family? It ruined the relationship between your grandmother and I. It tore your father and I apart. Now it's doing the same to you."
"I'm sure that dad would have found that a small price to pay for all the good he was able to accomplish. How many lives did he save during his career? Can you put a price tag on something like that?"
Tears began to well up in Felina's eyes. "Is it so wrong to want my daughter to lead a safe and happy life?"
"No, of course not. I can't blame you for trying to protect me. Any parent would do the same thing. What you have to understand, mom, is that I've been in training one way or the other to be Huntress. My entire life has been spent to reaching that goal. I thought I had reached it, but I failed. I failed miserably. I let everyone down. I let myself down. I let dad down."
Helena continued to speak after a short pause. "When you came back home you spoke of how you became addicted to the thrill and excitement of stealing. How it was so intoxicating to you that you couldn't stop. I get the same sort of feeling from being the Huntress. For the first time in my life I felt truly alive in that costume. Everything in my life was leading up to that point. It was my destiny to be the Huntress."
Felina reached out and gently stroked her daughter's hair. "I think I can understand what you mean. At least when you put it that way."
"But that's over with now. Everything I've worked for is gone. It's like life no longer has any meaning. Nothing really matters any more."
"Please don't say that," Felina gently chastised. "You matter to me more than anything in the world. You have many friends, Helena. There are people who care about you and depend on you."
"And even more who depended on me being the Huntress."
Felina looked away, as if torn on what to say next. "I just want for you to be happy."
"Sorry to disappoint you."
"You've never disappointed me, dear," Felina said as she turned back towards Helena. "I'm very proud of you. If anything, it's myself that I'm disappointed in. I kept trying to do what I thought was right for you, no matter what you really wanted. I know now that I would rather see you happy being the Huntress than as you are now."
Helena looked at her mother in surprise. "Mom? What are you trying to say?"
"I-." Felina looked away as she struggled to find the words. "I might have some idea why you're not as powerful as your father."
"And you never told me?"
"No. I wanted you to lead a normal life. To settle down and have a family, not fight criminals. Is that so wrong? I honestly thought I was doing the right thing."
"In that respect, no I guess I can't blame you," Helena admitted wistfully. "I can't honestly say I wouldn't have done the same thing for my daughter. But, please tell me what you know."
"I don't know how useful this will be, but before you were born Lane and I talked about many things, including when he was a young man. He was in his mid-teens when your grandfather started to train him as the next Hunter. That's when Lane discovered that he wasn't as powerful as his father. That somehow the treatment that changed your grandfather had only partially been passed down to your father."
"Just like in me," Helena realized in an astonished whisper. "Obviously, something must have happened to change this? What was it?"
"I'm not very clear on this part. Your father did mention something about a booster shot of some type. Something that unlocked his full potential. I truly don't know any more about it than that."
"A booster shot," Helena repeated thoughtfully. "Could you grab my housecoat and crutches please? I've got some work to do."
"Yes, of course, dear." Happily, Felina went to comply with her daughter's wishes. At least now she was showing signs of life.
The change in Helena was palatable. Her grim and depressed demeanor was gone. She now had purpose once more. There was determination in her eyes. Helena threw off her covers and gingerly slid to the edge of the bed.
"What are you going to do?"
"Dad must have notes about this booster shot to the Super Soldier Formula somewhere. If I can find them, then just maybe it'll work for me like it did for him."
"I suppose that's possible," Felina admitted as she helped Helena into her housecoat. "But where would he have kept them at?"
"Where dad kept everything else: his computer."
It took Helena nearly half an hour to make her way down to the sub-basement underneath Kirby Estate. The stairs were tricky for her to negotiate with the crutches on her own. Helena refused Felina's help, as she wanted to do this by herself. Felina did stay close by to help Helena just in case.
Finally, Helena gently lowered herself into the chair in front of the main computer in the Hunter's Lair. The Lair looked more or less the same as the last time Helena had been down here. She had heard that Muskateer and the Scarlet Sabre had used the computer in their search for the Enchantress in her absence.
"This could take awhile," Helena admitted. "Didn't I hear you mention something about making a salad?"
"Yes, I did," Felina happily answered. "I'll go get it ready."
"Great!" Helena actually smiled for the first time in nearly a week and a half. It brought joy to Felina's soul.
Helena activated the computer system and tried to guess where Hunter would have stored such information. She had spent many an hour searching Hunter's numerous files and notes for information in the past. Only now did Helena realize that she had never come across any files about herself.
Hunter had been training Helena from a very young age, covertly grooming her to be the Huntress. There should have been copious notes on her progress along with his projections and comments. But there was nothing in the files Helena had already searched.
"Therefore there are files that I haven't been able to access yet," Helena reasoned. Helena had encountered several encrypted folders in the past that required passwords to access. Maybe the information she was seeking lay inside one of those?"
So far the passwords had been easy for Helena to guess given her close relationship with her father. What sort of password would he use that Helena was not likely to guess at? Only one word came to mind. Helena typed in the word 'Felina'.
A moment later, an entirely new directory opened up on the screen. There were literally hundreds files here. It was going to take hours to read through them all.
"I've got lots of time on my hands," Helena rationalized. She was immensely pleased with her correct guess of the password. "At least my deductive skills haven't failed me."
The hours flew past as Helena read the files her father had written about her. Each file held numerous insights and information that Helena simply had not realized at the time or had forgotten with the passage of years. So far there had been no mention of a booster shot to improve her abilities.
Felina regularly stopped in the lair to check on Helena's progress. She was just happy to be seeing signs of life in her daughter. Of course, Felina wouldn't be all that disappointed if Helena didn't find the information she was looking for.
The files started when Helena was five years old. They contained Hunter's observations and insights as he watched Helena grow and become more skilled. All her life Helena had felt like she was trying to win her father's respect and admiration. As she read the files and reports, for the first time she realized that he had always been proud of Helena's achievements, even if he never came out and directly told her so. To read the words of her father's praise couldn't help but make Helena fell good inside. It was a feeling that had been missing for so long.
Finally, the first mention of her diminished abilities surfaced when Helena was sixteen. Lane had been waiting for Helena to go through the changes of puberty to make sure that there really was a problem. He speculated if whether the same booster shot that had received would provide the same results for Helena.
The entries on Helena became less and less frequent at this point. Helena had already gone off to college by now and Hunter was fully involved in the Avengers. There simply wasn't much free time to further train and observe Helena.
There were a few more mentions of the booster shot in the last batch of files. Hunter had contacted the designer of the original Super Soldier formula and the booster shot, a Dr. Sebastian Radcliffe, to determine if it would also work properly on Helena. The answer was that gender should not be an issue, since the original formula had not only created the first Hunter, but the heroine Lady Victory as well. That was something that Helena had not been aware of. Hunter and Lady Victory had been members of the Liberty League, the first true superhero team.
Lady Victory had a long and distinguished career as a heroine, ranging for being a member of the Liberty League during World War II to being one of the founders of the Minutemen in the sixties. She was the first true heroine role model for young girls everywhere. Victory had finally retired when the Minutemen broke up in 1980.
Dr. Radcliffe did mention that a blood sample from Helena should be taken for testing purposes. Helena honestly had no idea if such a sample had ever been taken. She couldn't recall her father taking any samples of her blood, but really couldn't be sure.
Still, from the sound of it, Hunter was in possession of the formula that corrected his problem. One of the responses even estimated how large of a dosage should be given to Helena.
"All I have to do is find this formula and all my problems will be solved," Helena deduced as her eyes wandered about the lair. "But where would dad keep it stored at?" Finally, her gaze settled on a small refrigerator. "Bingo."
Helena had completely explored the Hunter's Lair in the early days of her career. Mainly to make herself familiar with its contents. There were things that she could not ascertain a purpose for, but was hesitant to throw anything away. Helena recalled an anti-toxin kit that was kept in the refrigerator. It held nearly a dozen vials to combat various poisons and venoms. There was also one bottle that she found particularly odd at the time.
Using her crutches, Helena slowly made her way towards the refrigerator. Once there, she opened it up and sorted through the contents. Finally, she found the box she was looking for. The box was quickly opened and the bottles inside examined. Halfway through the box Helena found the vial she was looking for. It wasn't like the others and only had 'SS - Booster' written on the label.
Nearly trembling with excitement, Helena regarded the vial of clear liquid. "This is it. The answer to all my hopes and prayers. Finally, I'll be able to live up to the family legacy."
Several hypodermics were included in the box. Helena picked one at random, removed the protective cover and siphoned off the dosage that had been recommended to Hunter. Without hesitation, or without a second thought, Helena injected herself with the shot.
There was no immediate change. No rippling of muscles, no convulsions, no burning sensations or things that nature. Helena didn't feel any different. At least not yet.
"It probably will take some time to take affect," Helena rationalized as she stuffed the box back into the refrigerator. The needle she absentmindedly left on top of the refrigerator.
As she made her way back to the computer, Helena began to realize just how tired she really was. Instead of heading towards the computer, Helena changed her course towards the stairs. It took almost all her strength to cross that short distance.
"Mom?", Helena called out as she used the railing for support. Her head was beginning to spin.
Felina's appeared at the top of the stairs a moment later. "Are you okay, Helena?"
"Just tired. I think I overdid it. Can you help me back to bed?"
"Of course, dear."
Felina was down the stairs in a flash to support her daughter. Helena continued to get weaker and Felina virtually had to carry her half of the way to her bedroom. As gently as she could, Felina put Helena to bed.
"Thanks," Helena weakly mumbled as she closed her eyes.
"Anything I can get for you? A drink of water?"
"No. Just need some sleep."
"You get a good night's rest, Helena." Felina reached out and gently stroked Helena's hair. "You've made real progress today. I'm so proud of you."
Helena managed a weak smile. "I promise that I'll be a whole new person in the morning."
"Good night, dear." Feline gently kissed her daughter's forehead. She crossed the room in silence, turned out the lights, and quietly shut the door behind her. Helena was already sleeping.
"I pray I've done the right thing," Felina said to herself.
Felina awoke with a start. Glancing at her clock on the nightstand she discovered that it was almost midnight. Felina had been sleeping very odd hours ever since Helena had been hurt. She could make out muted noises coming from Helena's bedroom. Felina's hearing was sharper than a normal person.
"She's having another nightmare," Felina rationalized. Helena had been having regular nightmares from her ordeal. She had woken up in the middle of the night screaming several times before. Once more, Felina would go to comfort her daughter.
Felina slipped out of bed and into her housecoat. As quickly as she could, Felina made her way to Helena's room. She didn't bother with the hallway lights, as the darkness was no hindrance.
As she neared Helena's door, Felina heard a loud growl coming from the bedroom. It almost sounded more like an animal then a person. Her concern growing, Felina rushed to the door and threw it open.
Felina could make out a shape on Helena's bed. It was dark and furry in appearance. Could some type of animal have broken into the mansion? Shouldn't it have tripped the security system?
Felina couldn't believe what she was seeing. She reached out and flicked the light switch on, illuminating the room. Felina couldn't help but gasp in shock.
There was a creature on the top of Helena's bed. It seemed like a cross between a person and a feline. Dark fur covered its body, but it also had a long black mane mixed in. The cat-creature's long claws had slashed the sheets and blankets, making a mess. It even had a tail. The bed was empty, save for the creature.
"Oh my sweet lord!", Felina uttered in astonishment.
The cat-creature spun and regarded Felina with curiosity. It sniffed the air, taking in her scent. It was a familiar scent, but one that its animal intelligence could not recall. Felina stared into the creature's eyes and in that instant she knew the truth.
"Helena? What's happened to you?"
The creature Helena Kirby had become didn't answer, nor could it. She let out a roar and then leaped off the bed with the grace that only a feline could possess. The creature was lightning fast and smashed through the window before Felina could even budge. Felina rushed to the balcony, but the thing that used to be her daughter was gone. Vanishing into the night...
