Honeyed Cabernet | H. Bartinelli ✔

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The arrow pierced through the wind at a sheer pace, landing straight in the heart of the man standing across from her. A lithe figure stepped out of the shadows at last, heels clicking against the cobblestoned path menacingly.

Blood tainted the ground where her opponent lay helpless and her eyes swept over the sight in disgust. "One down, four more to go," she breathed, looking around vigilantly for the rest of his partners. A mask covered her face yet her grey eyes still seemed to glow in the dark.

She knew very well that the remaining four were fully aware that their time was up and there was no rescue from their ultimate death that sauntered the alley in the form of Helena Bartinelli, commonly known as the Huntress.

The crossbow held in her arm had four arrows set at the ready, waiting to launch upon the remaining opponents in due time.

And soon enough, her sharp ears picking up on the slight sounds carefully as she assessed the hiding spots. Taking aim from her crossbow, she released the arrows one by one and four cries pierced the atmosphere simultaneously indicating that the arrows had hit the intended target.

A triumphant smile played upon her deep red lips as she retrieved the crossbow, slinging it on her shoulder, eyes scanning the area for any other witness to the incident but there were none. Judging that there was no other threat lurking in the area, she disappeared in the shadows once again, fading in the darkened alleys of Gotham city.

The sound of her heels died down as swiftly as if she hadn't even been there in the first place but the air seemed to resonate from her presence, as if warning against her.

Helena Bartinelli was the literal personification of the word femme fatale. For she was a ravishing beauty who could kill in the blink of an eye and held no mercy for her opponents.

Sole daughter and heir to the feared crime lord of Gotham, Guido Bartinelli, she had learnt about brutality at a very young age. Her family was a notable Mafia in Gotham and had all been killed at a wedding in front of her.

After their demise, she had vowed to put an end to all the crime families of Gotham, embarking on a journey to train herself and then returning to her native city as Huntress, soon becoming rather feared among the notorious criminals of Gotham.

Her crusade against the crime families had been stopped by Batman himself who had asked her to become an alley to the Bat vigilantes then later she had joined the Birds Of Prey alongside Batgirl and Black Canary.

After Batgirl's identity had been leaked to the Joker and she was shot, she had taken position of Oracle after her recovery, guiding the Birds Of Prey while Spoiler had joined in her place.

Right then, the Huntress had put an end to a group of rapists who had recently emerged in Gotham city, endangering the lives of the citizens as they roamed in the darkened alleys, preying upon young girls and children.

Helena herself had been a victim to a similar situation back when she had been merely six years of age and her intense hatred towards them had led her to killing all five despite the fact that Batman and the Birds of Prey refrained from murdering their opponents.

She strongly believed that such people did not deserve to live and giving them another chance would only result in endangering the lives of more people for redemption was seldom an option for them.

And while Batman and his vigilantes believed in withholding themselves from murder, Helena had never had such boundaries.

She killed where it was just.

And when she decided to kill, there was no mercy, the sharp arrows leaving her crossbow as swift as the cold night air that gushed through the sinister alleys.

But she was more than just a highly trained vigilante scouring the streets of Gotham to finish off scoundrels. Underneath the mask, Helena was even more sinister and the magnetic effect in her personality seemed to put all under an unbreakable spell.

Her mask did not conceal her identity but only served to conceal her fierce eyes that could turn one to stone akin to the Medusa herself.

And just like Medusa, she was no easy feat for any man declaring to win her over. She was lethal, with poison that could kill those who got closer to her hence she had never allowed any soul to penetrate the thick walls of her heart though many had tried to gain her attention but to no avail.

Helena Bartinelli was a shard of glass; sharp but elegant, dangerous but alluring and held the power to subdue almost anyone be it through the arrows in her crossbow or the sharpness of her personality.

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