It was a moonless night. The only light that appeared in the dark sky were the stars, twinkling as the sombre streets of New Mexico slept silently. A street lamp sputtered and finally faded, giving in to the dark figure who crept in the shadows. A man walked drunkenly past the lamp, oblivious to the eyes that were watching him, the stare of a dangerous predator watching its innocent prey. But on that moonless night, this was not the case. This prey was not innocent.

He staggered into an alley, making himself comfortable among the garbage bags tossed nearby a full bin; reaching into his coat, he pulled out a glass bottle of whiskey. As he pulled the bottle to his lips and took a swig, he could hear the sound of footsteps approaching. He squinted his eyes in the semi-darkness, trying to make out the outline.

"Who are you? What do you want?" He slurred, yelling, "I can kill you, you know!"

"Oh, I know…" A feminine voice rang out in the darkness.

The man jumped to his feet armed with a switch-knife, roaring as he tried to think straight, "I'll slit your throat, Girly!"

He took towards the voice only to hear a laugh, "I wouldn't do that… For you see in another three steps you'll trip like the drunken fool you are, and you'll fall on top of your left hand, which currently holds that blade. In short, three steps and you'll die."

"No I won't!" He shouted looking around, childishly.

"Well, do you wanna try and prove me wrong? Not that I mind whether you do or don't; I'll get what I want in the end." He could hear the malicious teasing tone in her voice.

"Which is what?" He asked the air curiously.

"You locked up for the rest of your miserable life or dead, your choice really."

He cursed at her, "Show yourself, witch!"

A sigh echoed off the brick walls of the ally, "If that is what you wish…"

He strained his dark eyes to see the young woman step out of the shadows and into the light. His eyes widened; wild bronze hair framed her face which was covered by a silver mask. He could see her eyes peering at him through the mask, the right iris was blue while the left was a different colour, brown. She wore an emerald green leather jacket, underneath that was an orange-gold bodice, on her feet were black knee-high boots and she wore black leather pants, held up with a thick belt that looked as if it were made of solid gold. Upon her head was a thick gold circlet with an emerald stone placed in the centre.

"What… Who are you?"

"We'll start with my question first, will you surrender yourself?" The woman said with a smirk, her hands placed upon her hips.

"Surrender? To a little girl like you? Never! I'd rather die." He snarled, taking a threatening step forward.

"I see…Well, if we are referring to my name, it's Mystress, I am a seer of the future and the past. But right now, you can call me…" She trailed off gazing at the stars.

"W-what?" He stuttered, "W-what can I c-call you?"

She smiled at him darkly, launching at him to grip his neck tightly, "Your death."

The next morning the New York police found an envelope and a note placed on top of a wooden coffin inside the constable's office. The words on the note were written in silver ink,

Dear officers,

This man, Samuell Barret is responsible for the rape and murder of Bernadette Smith in 2006. It was just after my 16th birthday when I saw this man commit this crime, I was tied to a chair in an abandoned house and watching but unable to help this innocent woman, my statement was heard and reviewed but disregarded as useless, the investigators never found him and decided to close the case less than a year later; I was 17. In 2010, just after my 20th birthday, I managed to secure the case file and did some researching of my own, finding the complete identity of this man. I moved from my home and over to this town; I collected more information and I am sad to say I did break quite a few laws doing so and for that I apologise. I'd been tracking him for a year and during this time he stole from two houses, assaulted three people, murdered a man, attempted rape on three women and succeeded on two.

I gave him the option of being locked away and death, he ultimately chose death. He suffered by my hand but I swear to you he is the first, the only and the last. I would rather you not open the coffin for his face is… slightly deformed and as a male, his prime organ is… shall we say missing? But I have placed him here for you to give him a proper burial, or whatever you see fit. I may be spiteful but I am not cruel.

Inside the envelope you will find a large sum of money. This is 60% of the reward money for finding Samuell Barret; the remaining 40% resides with me. Although my team and I did all of the work, I believe that you would find more use of the money.

As for me… All my past records no longer exist, my name has been changed and I am a completely different person. You will not find anything on my past or current identity and you will not find me, and for now that I have achieved my goal I no longer need to fight against people like you. I can blend in and live a peaceful life now knowing that Miss Smith has been avenged and brought to justice, I won't be a thorn in your side any longer. This you can believe.

Sincerely and finally,
Mystress

Sorry it was short… Constructive criticism is adored (even though I've already finished writing this story) - so, for future references.

If you want to see Mystress' costume, you can find it here:

black onyx persephone . deviant art art/ Luka-Psychikos -Mystress-Enchantress-Design- 319958114

(remove the spaces)

Or just look in the Luka Psychikos Folder.