Valor ↠ Prequel [0] ✓

05 | The Invincible Iron Man

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VALOR
v. THE INVINCIBLE IRON MAN

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   THE YEAR IS 2010.

   The world is growing stranger and stranger as the days pass. With rich, caucasian men flying around in tin cans and jolly green monsters demolishing Harlem, no one knows what to expect next. Aliens? Gods? Super soldiers? Witches? The possibilities are infinitely endless, and with these possibilities, all we can do now is wonder and prepare for what's to come next.

   That's why public organizations like S.H.I.E.L.D. exist—to protect the people from whatever may haunt Earth next. The only question left is: Can they protect us?

   Riley O'Dair was confident that there would be a day where she would have to fight to save the world. She wasn't sure when, but Riley was sure she'd be way older when that happened. She liked to think she'd be well into her thirties before she had to save the world, so at least if she died in action, she'd have already lived a full life.

   Of course, Riley had yet to learn that she was one of the unluckiest people in the galaxy when she thought this through.

   Until the day came where Riley O'Dair would save the world, she'd have to keep training to become a hero. She was confident she'd become a superhero one day. After all, what else was she meant to do with her supernatural powers? It just made sense to the 9-year-old.

   Riley O'Dair didn't know what to think when she arrived for training early one morning and her trainer was absent. She stood around for a solid minute before deciding to get started on her daily stretches.

   Yes, oddly enough, Riley and Natasha Romanoff let their training sessions last for an entire year. No one had expected the two to last so long in their partnership. Surprisingly, the council and Fury were accurate about one thing: Employing Natasha to train Riley alongside her other duties was the right call.

   Riley had transformed a lot throughout the past year. It was clear as day that she'd adopted a lot of Natasha Romanoff's personality from spending so much time with her. Not only had she become a skilled Level 6 agent, but Riley was colder and more ruthless.

   Riley hardly let her emotions overcome her as they used to in the field. Hell, Riley rarely ever showed her emotion during her fieldwork nowadays, excluding a few judgemental facial expressions here and there whenever someone would do something stupid. Riley had matured as an agent, and it showed.