Valor ↠ Prequel [0] ✓

01 | The Road To Heroism

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VALOR
i. THE ROAD TO HEROISM

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   THE YEAR IS 2008.

   It's an enchanting time to be alive, whether you're on Earth or perhaps a far off planet somewhere in the universe. Congregated on every corner every single day is history, especially in the United States of America. Something new is being unfolded every second. It had the people of this country wondering what the world would look like in one decade—in the year of 2018. Hopefully (and most likely), good things.

   Five years have gone with the wind since Riley Juniper O'Dair was taken in by the Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement, and Logistics Division, otherwise known as S.H.I.E.L.D. That would also make it five years since the penitent tragedy that altered Riley's life completely.

   The tragedy was, of course, the harrowing deaths of Dr. Athena and Rob O'Dair—two of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s many bright scientists. Widely known for their contributions in regards to the public government organization, the O'Dair couple was famous in the world of science.

   One of their most anticipated works involved extensive research regarding cellular generation, mutation, and modification. Rumor was that they were making extraordinary strides in their research — progress that could change the way we view the world, to its basic foundations, forever. The married couple, however, refused to release any information before their project's completion.

   This unfortunately never occurred, for in 2003, they were killed—struck down by their naïve two-year-old daughter in their own lab after recklessly wandering around and accidentally pressing the wrong button in the room. Athena and Rob were gone with the blink of an eye, leaving Riley O'Dair as the sole survivor of the accident.

   Although Riley knew that what she had done was a pure accident, she carried a lot of guilt from the experience. Even if she was practically a fetus at the time, Riley just couldn't forgive herself for what she had done. Riley wasn't sure if she ever would. Maybe not today, but maybe tomorrow, maybe in nine years in 2017. Who knows!

   After the accident, S.H.I.E.L.D. chose to conduct tests to determine how the accident affect young Riley's body, considering the O'Dairs' field of research. Could the explosion have impacted Riley's cells, for better or for worse?

   As it turned out, it did. With these tests, S.H.I.E.L.D. learned that Riley's cells were disappearing at a rapid rate, but not because they were damaged (which would have meant her cells were killing her from the inside out).

   As a matter of fact, her cells were still there, which was proven following a biopsy. They were simply transparent, invisible, hidden from the naked eye. That would have to explain why Riley suddenly disappeared from the room in the middle of her procedure.