An End and A Beginning
Helena kneels at the edge of the pit, staring into its bubbling depths. She's come a long way and sacrificed a lot to do this. Oracle will never trust her near her computer again. Actually, none of the Birds will ever trust her again period. After all, given the choice between the all-powerful computer!goddess in her tower and a slightly tattered, non-meta vigilante... well, that isn't much of a choice at all.
Helena closes her eyes and breathes deeply. The acrid smell of sulphur burns her nostrils and drives away the pangs of loss that echo through her heart. She doesn't- no, she can't regret this choice. She was a free agent once and she can function as a free agent once more. She owes him this, if nothing else, for his help before she'd joined the Birds... and Helena Bertinelli always repays her debts.
A little smile flits across her face as she flips the latches of the case at her side. Oracle is a good coordinator and a good planner, but in the end, she's a Bat. And the Bats always underestimate the Huntress's capabilities because she isn't one of them.
But then, I guess that's a good thing... After all, it's why they're running around in Gotham while I'm having my little party here.
Helena's smirk widens as she carefully lifts the barely-thawed bundle out of its packing. It had been hard transporting him all the way here to the cave from that frozen wasteland out in the middle of nowhere, but she'd managed with Misfit's help. All it had taken was a few kind words and a playful 'this is our little secret' wink.
Maybe I've picked up a little of Oracle's plotting-fu after all this time.
She rolls back off of her knees and onto the balls of her feet, then stands. She shifts the weight of her burden over to one arm, letting his feet drag limply on the floor as she checks the crossbow at her belt. Once she's sure it's loaded, her mouth pulls into a tight grimace of a smile. She mutters under her breath as she heaves her arms upward.
"Well, here we go..."
And then Helena throws Vic Sage's body into the roiling depths of the Lazarus Pit and pulls her crossbow.
As she waits, she prays.