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Post by Admin on Nov 24, 2020 23:15:37 GMT
A New Hero for Marble City IntroductionA new hero takes the place of the retired Dr. LambdaSetting
Marble City, Md : September, 1949PrologueMarble City had been without a resident super-hero for almost 2 years. Dr. Lambda had announced his 'semi-retirement' in October of 1947 in a press conference. It was a very emotional press conference, and unique, because as far as anyone could tell, this was the first time a 'mystery hero' had ever publicly announced his retirement. Before his retirement, Dr. Lambda had embarked on a vigorous 2 week personal crusade against crime, bringing so many criminals to the police that they were almost tired of seeing him. By the end of the second week, violent criminal activity in Marble City had almost ceased. Most criminals decided to go somewhere else, and it was several years before the crime rate returned to normal. Marble City was named 'America's Safest City' in 1947 and 1948.
During this lull in crime, the Marble City Council reduced the size of the Marble City police force, 'saving' money that they could then divert to their own districts. In Police Commissioner Charles Ranger's opinion, Marble City only had half the cops it needed, but the City Council refused to listen to him. Marble City politicians had a long history of dismissing 'alarmists' and their causes - it's what politicians do. As the level of criminal activity rose, the politicians all pointed fingers at the police - conveniently ignoring the fact that they had cut police funding by 50% over the past 4 years.Deadly Accident in a Championship MatchMarble City War Memorial Auditorium was rocking with almost ten thousand wrestling fans cheering a charity match between Gorgeous George and the Obsidian Warrior. The match went back and forth - at first, the Warrior seemed to have the advantage, slamming George into the mat, then stunning him with his patented 'Head Hammer', but George got his second wind, pulled a reversal, and the Warrior barely escaped. Then something went terribly wrong. Gorgeous George grabbed the larger Warrior, and straining mightily, lifted him overhead in a stunning feat of strength. While lifting the Warrior, George pulled a muscle in his leg, staggered sideways, fell over the top rope, and dumped the Obsidian Warrior headfirst to the concrete floor. The Warrior was knocked cold, cut badly, and was bleeding heavily!
Trying to avoid panic, the referee pretended that it was all part of the show, counted the Warrior out, and raised George's hand as a sign of victory. Amid thunderous applause, the ring announcer presented the Global Wrestling Emporium World Championship Belt to Gorgeous George. The Obsidian Warrior was loaded onto a stretcher and into the back of an ambulance that was waiting on the auditorium floor. No one in the crowd suspected that the Warrior was seriously injured, this kind of thing was common in pro wrestling.
Suddenly, the ambulance virtually exploded! The patient compartment was shattered from the inside, and a 12' tall gleaming black figure, seemingly made of living obsidian, burst forth! The crowd cheered wildly, thinking this was part of the show. Now they were getting their money's worth! Until the giant figure knelt down, smashed both hands deep into the cement floor, and an earthquake began. Now, panic erupted, with people screaming and running for the exits or for the auditorium floor. Very few people in Marble City actually knew what to do in a quake, but everyone instinctively knew how to panic!
Suddenly a dynamic figure flashed down through one of the new holes in the roof and smashed his shoulder into the Warrior's stone stomach, wrapped his arms around the stone figure, and used the stone giant as a battering ram to blast through a side wall. As the giant's arms were yanked from the ground, the earthquake ceased instantly. The crowd continued to race out of the building.
The flying figure, a huge man dressed in brown with a red hood and cape, quickly carried the Obsidian Warrior several miles to Marble Park where no civilians would be endangered, then threw the giant roughly to the ground. The mystery hero stepped on the monster's chest with one foot and stood above him with his arms crossed.
“I don't suppose you plan to come quietly, do you?” he asked the prone figure in a deep powerful voice. “It will be a lot easier that way.”
The Warrior let out a mighty roar and sat up, slamming his head into the hero's chest, driving him backwards through a concrete park bench. Any normal man would have killed, yet this mystery hero was already flying back to the attack!
“So, you want to play rough, eh? Well, it'll take a lot more than that to stop Vic Valor!” he boomed.A Mighty BattleValor battered the Obsidian Warrior with a two-fisted blow to the chin, driving the giant's head backwards into the ground, but the Warrior bounced instantly to his feet and roared again! Valor flew in a slow circle around him, and as he did, the Warrior turned to keep him in sight. Suddenly Valor rushed at the giant again, but this time the Warrior was prepared.
As Valor drilled in, the Warrior stepped aside, grabbed the smaller Valor and executed his famous Head Hammer! With one hand, the Warrior positioned Valor's head on his own knee, and then brought the other elbow down hard, trying to crush Valor's skull with all of the greatly enhanced strength in his body of living obsidian. There wasn't a wrestler in the world who could have lived through that blow, much less kept fighting afterwards.
Yet Vic Valor was incredibly tough! Chips flew from the Warrior's elbow and knee, and he roared again, in pain this time, as Valor rolled away. Valor shook his head as if slightly dazed. Both opponents got to their feet and they stood there warily, each alert for the next move of his opponent. This time the Warrior moved first. He gestured at the ground near Valor, and suddenly, the earth and rocks at his feet seemed to come alive. Within seconds the new mystery hero was being attacked by 3 new rocky creatures which had seemingly clawed their way out of the ground at Valor's feet. These creatures looked a lot like the Obsidian Warrior, and seemed to be under his control. They weren't as large as the original, but they were composed of granite and they hit very hard.
They hammered on Valor from every direction; even his mighty form couldn't sustain this pounding for long. He launched himself into a super-speed spin with both arms extended, hands clenched into steel hard fists. Battered by dozens of blows in a second, the three golems fell back and the Obsidian Warrior was staggered. This broke his concentration and the three golems simply fall apart.
“Well, giant, if that was your best shot, you might as well give up now and save yourself more pain!” Valor advanced slowly, but the Obsidian Warrior stood solid and said nothing. “OK, fella, you had your chance! I'll try not to hurt you too badly!”
Valor launched himself high into the air, then turned around and dove at the Obsidian Warrior at high speed, planning to drive the Warrior into the ground like a fence post! The Warrior moved faster than expected, and Valor missed, drilling almost half his body head-first into the ground. This was damn embarrassing, as well as dangerous! The Warrior pulled Valor free by his legs, then battered him against the ground like a baby with a stuffed animal might bang it on the floor. After slamming Valor down twice, the Obsidian Warrior threw him as hard as he could against a granite outcropping, and the stunned hero slumped to the ground. He wasn't unconscious, but he was dazed and unable to move.
The Obsidian Warrior could have killed him then, but instead, he raised his clasped hands above his head and roared! And then ran at top speed back towards the Auditorium. A 12-foot high man moving at top speed can run pretty fast, and the Warrior was back inside the building in only a few minutes. He spotted the GWE championship belt on the canvas where it had been dropped when everyone had stampeded from the building during the earthquake. He climbed into the ring, picked up the belt, and raised it over his head. He slowly turned towards every section of the Auditorium, bowing each time he turned as if accepting the cheers of the crowd for winning the GWE World Championship.
At that moment, Vic Valor flew through the smashed door of the building and landed in the ring behind the Warrior. As the Warrior finished his turn, he slumped to the canvas and turned back into his human form. Valor examined the unconscious, badly injured wrestler and determined that he needed immediate medical attention. The mystery hero gently picked up his former foe and flew at top speed to the emergency room at the nearest hospital. He quickly gave the injury details he knew to the attendant in charge, and tried to make a quick exit. But he was too late - as he made his way out the exit, he was swarmed by reporters!
Valor really didn't want to talk to reporters about his fight with the Obsidian Warrior. He had been soundly trounced, and while he knew it was only because he hadn't taken the Warrior seriously, he didn't want people getting a bad first impression of him. However, it quickly became evident from the questions the reporters asked that nobody had actually seen the fight! Half a dozen reporters pressed around him, hemming him in a corner. He would either have to answer their questions or use his powers to free himself. Well, he wasn't shy, and they would print whatever he told them! Vic Valor gathered himself for his very first press conference. But certainly not his last!Vic Valor in the News
Rather than wade through all the details of shouted questions and rushed answers, here's the headline story from the Marble City Register Extra edition the following morning:Marble City Welcomes a New Mystery HeroVic Valor Saves the Day!byline: Carson JenkinsMarble City welcomed a new hero last night. With powers perhaps superior to Major Power, Vic Valor burst gloriously onto the scene, defeating a super-powered monster and saving Marble City from an earthquake and potential devastation.
It began at the War Memorial Auditorium, during a pro wrestling exhibition. Something went terribly wrong, and a monster was created. The wrestler named the Obsidian Warrior was seriously injured in the bout. As an ambulance carried him towards the hospital, some unknown force mutated him into a giant stone creature that could command the very rock beneath the earth. The monster started an earthquake. Who knows how much damage it might have caused if Vic Valor had not showed up to stop it?
Valor, who confided to reporters that he is planning to make Marble City his home away from home for the next few years (see related story, below) was alerted by the quake. Being new to Marble City (and to Earth) he used his super sensory powers to determine that there are no faults underneath Marble City, so he flew to investigate the epicenter of the quake. When he discovered that the monster was causing the quake, he stopped it, and then carried the stone giant to Marble Park where their upcoming fight would not endanger anyone.
It was a short fight. The monster used its mysterious powers to create several duplicates of itself, and while Valor was disposing of these unliving duplicates, it tried to escape by running back to its place of origin, the Auditorium. Valor arrived only seconds later and they fought again. The new hero was forced to hold back to avoid demolishing the auditorium, but with his superior powers and battle savvy, he was easily able to knock the monster unconscious.
Apparently whatever force caused the Obsidian Warrior to change into a monster abated at that point, and the monster changed back to the man - an unconscious man, barely breathing. Valor quickly carried the unconscious Obsidian Warrior to an emergency room, where he was admitted and treated for head wounds and concussion. A group of reporters caught up to the new mystery hero at the hospital and learned something of his story.
The doctors who examined the Obsidian Warrior theorized that the many different dietary supplements, power drinks and medical potions he had consumed over many years in an attempt to improve his strength as a wrestler, combined with the surge of adrenaline and the flood of endorphins he experienced when he was injured somehow triggered the physical change from human into obsidian monster. They have no idea if he might ever again experience such a change. He will be retained in the hospital for further observation. The Police have not yet decided what charges to file.
This reporter is thrilled to once again have a super hero in Marble City, especially one with the mighty powers and evident nobility of Vic Valor!You can read the Who's Who entry for Vic Valor below, or click to go directly to the next chapter:
Next: Valor Makes an ImpressionVic Valor (from the Who's Who Among the Mystery Heroes of America, 1948)| Real Name: | Ultimate Victorious Valor, Invincible | Ultimate is a military rank equivalent to Colonel. On his home world of Danismir, Victorious Valor is an Ultimate and commander of the an elite law enforcement agency called 'the Invincibles' | | Occupation: | Commander of an elite Law Enforcement agency | Currently on detached duty to observe and study law enforcement techniques on other planets | | Based of Operations: | Currently: Marble City, Eorth | Home: The city of New Duan on the satellite Danismir which orbits a brown dwarf star named Dimidium, which is part of the 51 Pegasi star system located approximately 50 light years from Earth | | Group Affiliation: | The Invincibles | The Invinicibles are rigidly selected, highly trained and superbly equipped to support the twin causes of peace and justice. | | Personal Information |
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| | Height: | 6'8“ |
| | Weight: | 450 Pounds |
| | Hair: | Unknown | He wears a brown hood as part of his costume | | Eyes: | Unknown | He wears brick-red goggles. The light on his planet is much shifted toward the infrared and he is unable to see normally in visible light. | | Powers |
| Valor wouldn't comment on all his powers but these are the ones he displayed in his first public appearance | | Enhanced Strength: | Able to lift at least 2 tons | While his maximum lifting capacity is unknown, he was able to lift the Obsidian Warrior in his giant stony form, which is estimated to weigh about 2 tons | | Enhanced Vision: | Near Ultraviolet through Far Infrared, telescopic and microscopic | Valor's natural vision is in the IR, and his goggles allow him vision in the visible range through the near UV. They also allow him to see normally over a much wider range of intensity. He can adjust his googles for telescopic and microscopic vision. Without his goggles, Valor claims to be functionally blind during Eorth daylight | | Flight: | Natural ability to fly | Able to fly and carry significant weight. Maximum range and speed so far unknown | | Enhanced Durability: | Resistant to damage that would kill or cripple a human | Withstood powerful blows from a giant made of obsidian | | Energy Weapons: | Heat vision, disintegration beam | Valor claims to have these powers, though he did not exhibit them in his first public outing | | Battle Prowess: | Skilled warrior | Highly trained in multiple schools of martial arts of his planet; skilled with hand-held projectile, energy and bladed weapons |
Vic worked his way up through the ranks, until he reached his present rank of Ultimate, and was assigned to the Invincibles, a squadron of elite law enforcement agents who work mostly independently, and mostly undercover. This rank of Ultimate is similar to the rank we know as Colonel. Valor came to Earth on a 3-year assignment of his own devising, to study our law enforcement techniques. When he learned that Marble City is routinely named America's Safest City, he reasoned that the safest city in the safest country must have the most efficient law enforcement capabilities.
Danismir is a very large planet, circling a brown dwarf star called Dimidium which is part of a binary star system. Valor's people have evolved so that they can see perfectly in the very faint light provided by this brown star. Daytime sunlight on Earth would blind him, and even at night, he must wear special goggles to protect his eyes.
Vic learned English from radio and TV programs that he picked up using the advanced instrumentation on his space ship. He claims to have left his ship parked on the moon, while he commutes between Earth and the moon using a much smaller vessel.
Next: Valor Makes an Impression |
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Post by Admin on Nov 24, 2020 23:33:55 GMT
A New Hero for Marble City The V-SignalLate the next night at Marble City Police Headquarters.Marble City Police Commissioner Charles Ranger was working very late - again! His police force was far too small for the population of Marble City. They had been lucky over the past few years, as criminal activity had been kept artificially low by the threat of Dr. Lambda, but everyone was starting to realize that Dr. Lambda was gone for good. Ranger was certain that the spit was about to hit the fan, and knew he was standing directly in front of that fan. Right now, he was trying to figure out how to avoid getting splattered.
He had heard about a new hero, Ultimate Victorious Valor, Invincible, all day today, who had supposedly adopted Marble City as his home. So far, Ranger was skeptical. The man's name indicated incredible arrogance, even if Valor did claim that on his own world 'Ultimate' was just a rank and his organization was called 'The Invincibles'. If he had really studied Earth as closely as he claimed, he should have known better and used some other translation that wouldn't put people off. And what was the deal with him being an alien? Only a few years ago, nobody even believed in aliens, but a number of mystery heroes had fought with them, and the Alliance of Mystery Heroes had even publicly introduced one as an ally. Would the city accept an alien protector? Could the police ever trust him?
So Charles Ranger was working late, poring over work schedules, trying to find ways to put more officers on the streets with fewer and fewer dollars. He had his numbers guys digging into budgets, looking for money to hire new officers. He'd already released some of his clerical staff, which shot the hell out of morale among the rest of the staff while forcing them to work even harder, in order to pay for promotions to keep some of his best men from leaving for better positions and better salaries in other cities. They had all been over the same schedules and budgets several times, and Ranger was reduced to hoping for a miracle.
A loud thumping coming from the roof interrupted his concentration. When it didn't recur, Ranger figured it wasn't anything important, so he called his assistant on the intercom and asked him to send someone to look into it, then went back to work. About 5 minutes later, an officer rushed into his office. Breathlessly he reported… “Commissioner! Dat new mystery man, Vic Vigor or whatevah, the guy what's been all over da news today! He's on da roof and he wants to talk to you!”
Ranger really didn't want to go up on the roof. It was a cold, blustery night and he was already running on caffeine. If this Vic Valor really wanted to study the methods of the MCPD as he had claimed, he needed to do a better job of getting on their good side than he had so far! “Did he say what he wanted? What was that thump all about?”
“Commissioner, he said sometin' 'bout da Lynx Signal, and dere's a big box on da roof. I t'ink you had betta see f'youself!” The cop was pretty nervous. The Commissioner valued initiative in his subordinates and didn't like it when a problem got kicked upstairs, but he couldn't see anything else he might do in this situation. He hoped the Commissioner saw it the same way he did.
He was greatly relieved when the Commissioner sighed, “I think so too.” Ranger grabbed his greatcoat and stomped out of the office and up the stairs to the roof. He realized that it was even windier than he had expected. He saw a huge man in the typical mystery hero long underwear, standing next to an even bigger crate. He walked over to face the man.
“Greetings, Commissioner Ranger!” Valor had a deep, rumbling voice that almost seemed to shake the building. “I am Ultimate Victorious Valor, of the Danismir Invincibles. I'm very pleased to meet you!” Valor stuck out his hand, but Ranger ignored it.
“Charmed, I'm sure, Mr. 'Valor'.” Ranger responded, sarcastically. “What are you doing on my roof so late at night? And what's with the giant crackerjack box?” Ranger wasn't being intentionally rude, but he was letting Valor know he wasn't all that pleased at Valor's choice of meeting times and locations.
“Excuse me, sir. My rank is 'Ultimate' and the correct form of address is 'Ultimate Valor'. 'Mr. Valor' would be reserved for a civilian.”
“Sonny boy, around here, a rank is a sign of respect, and so far, I got no reason to respect you!” Ranger replied gruffly “If you can convince me you deserve it, I'll be happy to use your rank.”
Before he could continue, Valor interrupted. “Commissioner Ranger, when you greet police officers from other cities, don't you offer them the respect of using their correct titles? Have I done something already to lose your respect?” Valor honestly seemed puzzled.
“I read the newspaper reports of your fight last night. Made you sound like a big hero! But I heard an eyewitness who was in the Auditorium when you were supposedly fighting with that Warrior monster. He said that big guy collapsed and turned normal before you even got there!”
Valor couldn't remember anyone being in the Auditorium. “Was this man a reliable witness? Why didn't he go to the newspapers with his story?”
Ranger tried to hedge on his answer. “I have no reason to doubt his report!” he said, with emphasis.
Valor thought for a second and then responded “Then sir, I assume that the man was inebriated and already well-known to your department?”
The Commissioner was stunned! His mouth dropped open, and he just stared at Valor for a few seconds. “How in God's name could you know that? There's no way you could possibly know this guy!”
“No, sir.” Valor agreed. “But at the first sign of the earthquake, everyone ran from the building. The man who remained must have been too incapacitated to leave in a hurry, but not injured, or an emergency crew would have removed him before the Obsidian Warrior and I returned to the building. So by deduction, the man who you talked to must have been in the audience, and been inebriated, therefore unable to quickly escape the building.”
Ranger narrowed his eyes. Maybe this Valor wasn't as big a flake as he seemed to be. He was exactly correct so far.
Valor continued “And, sir, from my studies of your culture, I know that most people do not usually get temporarily incapacitated due to inebriation at events like this one. Those that do are usually consistent offenders, and most of these consistent offenders are well known to the local constabulary and are usually considered unreliable sources.”
Ranger almost let himself be impressed! The big man's logic was perfect! “Well, Mr. Valor, it doesn't really matter to me what this witness said!” Valor noted that Ranger had not contradicted his deductions. “If you want to get off on a good foot with the Marble City Police Department, and me, you're starting off in a big hole, droppin' in on me unannounced like this, so late and in this awful weather! Whataya got to say for yourself?”
“I'm sorry, Commissioner. I can't operate during your daylight. Your sun blinds me, so I can only meet people at night. I didn't wait for nicer weather because I thought you would probably want to get the beacon set up as soon as possible.”
“Kid, you've lost me again. What the hell beacon are you talking about?” Ranger's bluster was somewhat blunted by Valor's display of deductive logic, his constant politeness, and Ranger's own curiosity about 'the beacon'.
“I'm sorry, sir. My research shows that it is traditional for a city's Police force to have a rooftop beacon in order to reach the resident mystery hero who protects that city. I assumed that your prior beacon had been removed when your previous protector retired, so I took it upon myself to deliver you a new one. Behold, the 'V-Signal'!” Valor moved very quickly, and the crate was opened almost before Ranger could blink. The Commissioner was speechless, for probably the first time in his life, so Valor continued. “San Francisco has the Lynx Signal, Buffalo has the Storm Signal, and now Marble City has the V-Signal!”
Inside the crate was a giant spotlight. Valor turned it on with the flick of a switch. A very pale reddish beam was projected upwards, and Ranger could barely make out a large pink 'V' on the underside of the clouds. Valor immediately turned his back, raised one arm to protect his eyes and quickly turned it off again.
“I apologize, I had forgotten just how bright this beacon is! You probably ought to wear dark glasses when you use it, to protect your eyes!” The Commissioner was sputtering now. He was trying to talk but he couldn't get out anything coherent to come out, so Valor kept on talking. “The V-Signal works off of this bank of batteries,” he pointed to a compartment in the stand that supported the spotlight. “You can charge them by plugging them into any standard wall socket” and he held out a standard plug “plus, I've built in a gasoline generator to supply power if the electricity ever goes out! You can see, I've thought of everything!”
Commissioner Ranger had so much to say to this arrogant snot that he couldn't even figure out where to begin. He was saved when he heard some fire sirens, and a speaker built into the V-Signal's control panel started announcing a multiple-alarm fire across town.
“As you can see,” Valor said proudly when the voice finished its report “I've built a radio receiver into the V-Signal that automatically scans the emergency frequencies!”
The Commissioner couldn't believe that Valor was still here! “Damn it, Valor, if you want to prove yourself to me, go help with that fire!”
“Excuse me, Commissioner Ranger?” Valor was puzzled. “Do you think that the fire was set by a lawbreaker, or that someone will break the laws while the fire is burning?”
“No, you idiot!” Ranger's face was turning read, and his blood pressure was causing his ears to throb! “Go help the firemen! Save people and put out the fire!”
“I'm sorry, Commissioner Ranger, but I'm a law enforcement officer,” Valor explained in a reasonable tone of voice. “My union won't allow me to do work that should be properly performed by 'other' agencies.” The way that he said other made it clear that he meant 'inferior'.
“Your union?! Your UNION?! Your planet must be pretty damn strange, boy! You're on Earth now and on Earth the police and the firefighters work together to protect the people. If you ever want to learn anything from us, you better learn that, fast, and get your ass over to that fire and do your damned best to save people's lives! That's your first lesson about Earth law enforcement and it's free!”
Almost before Ranger was finished speaking, Valor was gone. The Commissioner looked after him in amazement and suspicion. In his prior experience he had found that most people who acted that arrogant and that naïve were working a con of some kind. He didn't know what Valor's angle was, but he was sure the big man had one! Well, it wasn't easy to con Charles Ranger. And, if Valor were the real thing, maybe working with him could postpone the inevitable spit crisis of too few cops until after Ranger retired. Things might just be looking a little better! Ranger went downstairs for a hot chocolate, with marshmallows, then went home for the night. He had a lot of thinking to do, figuring out how to make the best use of Ultimate Vic Valor!
As he got into the limo the force provided him, he was thinking “That spotlight was almost too dim to see, yet it was blinding Valor. Maybe he really is an alien after all!”
Fighting Fire with ValorValor used the emergency band radio built into his helmet, as well as the sirens, to quickly locate the burning building. It was around 12 stories tall, he estimated, and the fire was located on the 4th floor. Several fire trucks had already arrived and hoses were blasting streams of high-pressure water into the danger areas. Valor located someone who was yelling orders, and he landed nearby. He walked up to the yelling man.
“Pardon me, sir, are you in charge here? I am Ultimate Valor and Police Commissioner Ranger sent me to assist you with this emergency. How can I help?”
The fire chief had seen Valor land and remembered reading about him in the paper today. If this flying guy had Ranger's approval, the chief could certainly use the help of a mystery hero!
“Can you put out the fire?” he asked brusquely.
“I'm not certain, sir. I have never actually tried to put out a large fire before - it has always been against my union rules. But Commissioner Ranger tells me that rules are different here. Can you confirm for me that it is acceptable for a law-enforcement officer to also engage in firefighting activity?” The chief couldn't believe what he was hearing!
“How can Ranger trust an idiot like you? This is an emergency!” The chief was astonished.
“Ah, I see!” Valor sounded pleased to have figured out a difficult issue. “In the event of an emergency, normal rules may be suspended?”
The chief had had enough. “Listen, buster, if you don't know how to put out the fire, make yourself useful and get people down from the floors above the fire! If you can't figure out how to do that, and fast, then get the hell out of our way. We have work to do!”
Disgustedly, he turned back to his firefighters, and resumed giving orders. He would have something to say to Ranger the next time he saw him, you bet your butt! He quickly forgot about Valor as the fire required his complete attention. Valor reviewed the conversation and decided that the chief had in fact agreed that in an emergency, normal rules were suspended. He realized that he had been given an order, and since he didn't know how to put out the fire, he had been ordered to rescue people!
He leaped into action, flying to the 5th floor, smashed into the building through a window and searched the floor at his top speed. Fortunately, this was an office building and there were only a few maintenance people around this late at night. In a couple of minutes searching, he found two people, and he carried them safely to the ground, then flew back to the next floor and looked for more people to rescue. About a half-an-hour later, he finished evacuating the top floor of the building. By then, the firefighters had the flames under control, although the fire was still burning.
His current task finished, Valor went looking for the chief again. “Ultimate Valor reporting, Sir! As you ordered, I've evacuated the building. Does the condition of emergency still exit?”
“Hell, what do you think, flyboy? We've still got a fire!” the chief yelled at him.
Once again, Valor interpreted this as agreement from the chief, and he awaited the next order. The chief had noticed Valor's successful rescues, and decided to cut him a little slack.
“Can you survive in that fire?” he wanted to know.
“Yes, sir, I believe I can. I seem to be invulnerable to harm on your planet.” Valor replied earnestly.
“Good. Do you think you could use that water tank” he pointed at a water tower on the roof of a shorter building nearby “to put out the fire?”
“Yes, sir!” Valor was instantly away.
He flew to the roof of the other building and picked up the tank. He smashed a hole in it, and then carried it back to the burning building. He picked a section of building that was burning, tilted the tank so water gushed out, and then slowly flew back and forth next to the burning section until the flames died. He then moved to the next area, and repeated the process. When the tank ran out of water, he flew to the river and refilled it. With Valor's help added to the job the firefighters were already doing, the fire was quickly extinguished. The chief was extremely pleased to see that once he had started to undertake a specific job, Valor had been able to overcome problems such as running out of water without having to ask for further instructions. He had thought he was going to have to explain every step to the costumed man. Valor's combination of arrogance, ignorance and inconsistent initiative was extremely annoying.
Valor landed near the chief. “I am pleased to report that with the assistance of your men, I've completed the rescue operations and the extinction of the fire. You and your men are certainly brave and well trained, but your lack of special abilities seems to put you at something of a disadvantage when dealing with a potentially major disaster such as this fire.”
Egads, this boy was arrogant! But the chief had to admit, there was truth in what he had just said, though not a truth any firefighter would be comfortable hearing! Besides that, the chief felt that the bravery and training of the firefighters that Valor had mentioned were, in fact, 'special abilities'. Still, he cut off his angry response. The boy had done a good job tonight. And if he really was a recently arrived alien, as the papers reported, he probably didn't understand just what an ass he was being right now.
“Thank you, son! You saved a lot of lives tonight. Say, if Ranger ever puts you out of a job, come look me up! Marble's bravest can sure use more like you!” His thanks were sincere.
“Why, thank you, sir! I would be honored to work among men and women as courageous as these - even if you only have the powers granted to normal humans.” Valor didn't bother to correct the mistaken assumption that he worked for Commissioner Ranger.
He flew off into the night, leaving the chief steaming and confused! Even when he was being 'gracious', this Valor guy was still an arrogant S.O.B! Well, he still had work to do. But he hoped Valor would never return to take him up on the job offer.Meet the PressAfter the fire, Valor stopped off at the Marble City Register office. He walked into the pressroom. There were 3 or 4 employees sitting near their phones or reading the press tickers. One of these was a very attractive young woman. Valor walked directly up to her and introduced himself.
“I am Ultimate Victorious Valor, of the Invincibles. Although I have only been on Earth for a short time, perhaps you have heard of me? May I have your name, please?”
“Umm, uh, hey, Hi!” she said, hesitantly, then brightly. “I'm Lily DeLuna. I'm a copy.. ” Lily coughed. “Sorry! I'm one of the night reporters. I read about you in the morning news! You're the new mystery hero in town, right?”
Lily wasn't really a reporter (yet!), she was a copy editor on the night shift. She had a degree in journalism, and was working two jobs to support herself, she waited tables in the afternoons and evenings and did copy editing for the Register at night. But her boss always told her that everyone who works for a newspaper ought to consider herself a reporter, and promised that if she ever gave him any good stories, he would give her a byline. She noticed that he never said that to any of the male copy editors, and she figured he was actually trying to give her some other kind of line. But she was going to take him at his word tonight, and get the next Vic Valor story! And none of this byline crap, either! This was HER story! After all, Valor was talking to her, nobody else!
“What can I do for you, Mr. Valor?” she asked politely.
Valor immediately started to correct her. “Please call me by my
” he was about to reprimand her for her form of address as he had Police Commissioner Ranger, but then he looked at her more closely. Tall, with long shining black hair, her facial features showed an exotic Asian cast (Lily's mother was half Korean), and she had an athletic figure that her business dress-suit couldn't hide. He decided he didn't want to be severe with this woman. He finished, smoothly “ name, Vic, if I may call you Lily!”
Lily was pleased. “Vic it is then! So what are you doing at the Marble City Register so late at night?”
“If you haven't got the complete story on the big fire, tonight, would you be interested in hearing a first-hand account?” Valor wondered.
Of course she would! She could hardly believe an opportunity like this had just dropped in her lap! Valor told his story, and for the next half hour she quizzed him on the details. Finally she read her notes back to him to make sure she had the facts straight. By then, most of the 'real' night reporters had gathered around her desk, and she could see that they were jealous that this copy writer was getting 'their' story, but Valor made it clear that this was Lily's story, and if she didn't get it, he would take his exclusive story to the other paper instead of the Register. Once the reporting was done, Valor did let one of the staff photographers take several pictures.
Once that was done, he turned back to Lily. “I've got to leave before the sun comes up, or I'll be blinded!”
“Thanks for the exclusive! It will be in the morning edition.” Lily replied enthusiastically. “Please read it and drop by tonight to let me know how you liked it!”
“I'm sure it will be fine,” he rumbled. “Yes, I look forward to seeing you again tonight!”
Lily waved as Valor flew away. She was examining him avidly and she noticed that he seemed to move awkwardly. He wasn't clumsy, he just reminded Lily of someone whose shoes were several sizes too big. Maybe it was a difference between his alien species and humans? That thought led to other thoughts, and she wondered just how thoroughly human he was? Lily blushed at the thought, and quickly finished her story.
Her boss tried to put his name on that story with Lily's name as a byline, but the night editor had heard Valor's threat and having more Valor exclusives was more important to the paper than the night supervisor's ego. Lily got the exclusive and was instantly assigned the task of being the Register's personal liaison with Valor. It didn't get her a raise, but the night editor promised that if she kept getting exclusive Valor stories, a raise and promotion to reporter would follow shortly.
The next morning the Register had the exclusive story with exclusive pictures! The issue quickly sold out, and the Register did a one-time special print run later that day to fill the clamorous reader demand for more copies! There was nothing in the story that was false, but Valor had told the story in such a way that his own role was emphasized and the Fire Department's role was minimized, and Lily had written the story almost exactly has she had heard it. Both Police Commissioner Ranger and Fire Commissioner Thurman believed that the story was slanted, but they didn't want to complain publicly - readers might think it was a case of sour grapes.
Marble City's other major newspaper, the Evening Gazette, ran the same story as recounted by an official Fire Department spokesman. One of the editorials in the Gazette that evening hinted that if Valor hadn't been involved, the Register would probably have run the fire story no sooner than page 3, and suggested as well that the Register might be less than objective regarding Valor, in an attempt to boost circulation. If that was the case, so far it was working spectacularly! There had always been a low intensity rivalry between the two papers and now that rivalry threatened to burst into a feud!
Over the next several nights, Valor made news again and again. And every night, he talked to Lily about his exploits. Within a few days, Lily had the promotion and raise, and was well on her way to becoming Marble City's most well-known reporter.
Next: Valor in the Swamp |
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Post by Admin on Nov 24, 2020 23:45:27 GMT
A New Hero for Marble City Valor in the Swamp
Valor heard the explosion at the airport from miles away, as he was flying night patrol over Marble City. He headed that way at top speed, while using his telescopic night vision to examine the explosion site. He could see that the explosion had totally demolished all the temporary buildings involved in the airport expansion project. Compass Cove Airport was located on the edge of a swampy area just across the Gunpowder River. The Marble City Trade Authority had decided that the airport needed to be expanded, but the only option was to expand into the swamp. If the swampland could be totally reclaimed, it would provide enough land to just about double the size of the existing airport.
About 6 months ago, the land reclamation project had begun. The Army Corps of Engineers had built a levy separating the river from the swamp. Powerful pumps ran day and night to keep the swamp drained. The City Sanitation Department delivered organic trash to a new trash compacting plant at the edge of the swamp, where it was compressed into dense bricks, which were then laid in the now-dried swamp bed. When most of the swamp was filled with these bricks, the plan was to add a cover layer of soil and stone, and then build the new airport facilities on top of that. It was a win-win-win project. The airport would be expanded, the worthless swampland would be reclaimed for human use, and the Sanitation Department didn't have to pay for rubbish incineration costs for over a year. Everyone benefited!
One of the demolished buildings had been the trash compacting plant. With the compactor demolished, the airport expansion timetable would certainly be delayed. Valor had no idea who might want to sabotage this project, but it didn't matter, either. If the saboteurs were still around, he would capture them.
As he examined the area with his enhanced vision, he detected a string of time bombs laid along the top of the levy. They were going to go off in sequence, and only seconds remained until the first one exploded! Valor increased his speed, and managed to reach the first bomb just in time to smother the explosion with his invulnerable body. Which turned out to be a really bad idea; by directing the force of the blast downward, he had greatly increased the destructive power of the blast and the levy under him virtually disintegrated. The gap in the levy must have been 20 feet long, and immediately water started pouring through, making the ragged tear even bigger. The raging water threatened to totally undo the months of work that had gone into the landfill.
The next bomb went off, not too far away from Valor, and then the next and the next. Without the added destructive power Valor had unwittingly supplied to the first bomb, the rest of the bombs barely blew small craters in the top of the levy. The Army Corps of Engineers did good, solid work, and the saboteurs had significantly overestimated the destructive power of their bombs. If Valor hadn't unwittingly assisted in the destruction of part of the levy, the Corps of Engineers could easily have repaired the minor damage to the levy the next day.
Valor didn't have time to cry over spilled glurten, though. He flew to the storage yard next to the compactor and tossed one brick of compressed garbage after another high into the air towards the breach in the levy. Before the first brick fell back to earth, Valor was back at the breach, and he guided the bricks, one after another as they fell, building a wall to seal the tear. He then flew to a huge mound of dirt that was going to be used to seal the landfill, and gathered up a big ball of dirt, which he carried over his head as he flew back to the breached levy. He would pack the dirt around the edges of his repairs to make the whole thing watertight.
Suddenly, he saw some dull red flashes near the damaged buildings, and he saw two hand-grenades land on the levy! Valor realized that the saboteurs must still be nearby. Well, he would deal with them shortly. He immediately extended an arm towards the grenades, his palm vertical. A very pale blue beam washed out from his palm, and the two grenades vanished. Perhaps Valor had miscalculated the range on his disintegration beam, or perhaps he was still getting used to his new powers. Whatever the reason, the disintegration beam immediately ate another large hole into the levy before Valor could shut it off. He was sure glad there was nobody nearby but the saboteurs to see his gaffs. As an added indignity, as soon as Valor had removed one hand from the ball of dirt, the entire ball collapsed on him. He was immediately buried under several tons of topsoil.
But this was only an inconvenience - he burst free instantly. Leaping back into action, Valor quickly had the new gash plugged with bricks of trash. He used more soil to plug the gaps. However, the rushing current of the river threatened to quickly erode his hasty repairs. Valor hovered over the newly repaired levy and a cone of heat came from his eyes. He played his heat beam over the mixture of fresh mud and trash, and he continued baking it until it achieved the consistency of fired pottery. That should hold for awhile.
More Trouble at the AirportWhile Valor was repairing the second gash in the levy, the Marble City Police and Fire Departments had arrived on the scene. The Fire Department started to work on the still-burning buildings, and the Police spread out and started an extensive manhunt for the bombers. A dense cloud of steam and smoke was rising from the hot levy, and a brisk evening breeze was blowing it towards the airport and the emergency response teams. Fortunately for Valor, he was high enough in the air to avoid being engulfed in this cloud, because the stench of burning mud and trash was incredible, and the mixture was irritating to the eyes, nose and throat! The Police and Firefighters, and the team of saboteurs, were not so lucky, as the stinking cloud enveloped them entirely.
It was worse than tear gas. The stench was so bad it was stunning, and some of the victims passed out due to the stench alone. The victim's eyes started watering and itching, and virtually everyone who was caught in the cloud was temporarily blinded. Worst of all was the effect on victims' lungs. On the first breath, the linings of the lungs started to swell, and victims' lungs closed up, much like the effects of asthma. Within seconds, all those who were caught in the cloud were laying on the ground, retching and gasping for air, many of them barely conscious and the rest passed out. This disaster just got worse as the night wore on!
Valor quickly touched his belt buckle. A secret compartment sprang open, exposing some controls inside. He pressed a button, closed the compartment, and flew into the cloud at top speed, ignoring the terrible smell. He quickly gathered up the moaning, gasping men and carried them away from the cloud. He moved faster than he had ever moved before, and he had everyone to safety in only a few minutes.
He quickly disarmed and bound the saboteurs. There were some ambulances approaching the airport by now, and Valor flew to them and carried them quickly to the safe area where some of the cloud victims were starting to recover. Some of them would clearly be all right, and some of them just as clearly needed emergency medical treatment, now. The medics indicated four victims who would die if they weren't hospitalized immediately, and Valor quickly delivered these four and the medic who had examined them, to the nearest emergency room. Finally he went back to the airport.
There was still a dangerous cloud of poison gas blowing towards Marble City. Valor wasn't quite sure what he ought to do, but then he figured it out. He quickly landed in the path of the cloud, raised both arms, and used his disintegration beams on the cloud. He was very careful to control the range of the beam, so it disintegrating nothing but poison gas and air. He used his speed to circle the cloud and insure that he disintegrated as much of it as possible. Finally, he picked up a large tank of some kind that had been damaged in the explosion, and used it to pour water over the still-steaming levy, cooling it off until it no longer emitted noxious smoke.
He repeated his earlier actions with the belt buckle. As soon as he did so, he apparently realized just how bad he smelled, because he quickly headed for the river and used clean river sand to scour himself vigorously. He then flew around at high speed until he had dried off. Satisfied with a good night's work, he headed for the Register and Lily.Lily’s Story the Next DayLily reported the story exactly as Valor recounted it to her. From the front page of the Marble City Register, the next morning:Marble City Welcomes a New Mystery HeroVic Valor Stops Airport Sabotagebyline: Lily De Luna
Last night, Marble's amazing new hero, Ultimate Victorious Valor, captured a band of saboteurs with suspected communist ties who were attempting to derail the multi-million dollar Compass Cove Airport expansion project. Shortly after midnight, a massive explosion shook the airport, and totally destroyed the landfill trash compacting plant that was the center of the expansion project. Only minutes later, Valor reached the scene. He spotted other explosives dotted along the levy along the river, with their timers still counting down.
Valor's arrival was almost too late, as one of the exploding bombs knocked out a big section of the levy, and the river started to flood the dried swamp. The airport expansion could have been delayed for years. Valor acted quickly to rebuild the levy using some of the landfill 'bricks' of highly compressed trash.
While Valor was rebuilding the levy, the Marble City Fire and Police Departments arrived on the scene. The Fire Department took charge of the burning buildings, while the Police quickly began an extensive search for the bombers. The well-equipped six-member sabotage team attempted to cover their escape by attacking the emergency teams with tear gas. This tactic almost worked, as the emergency workers were all-but-paralyzed by the painful affects of the gas. Fortunately for the cause of justice, Vic Valor proved to be immune to the effects of the gas, and his mighty powers made short work of capturing the saboteurs.
Valor then assisted in the efforts to rescue the emergency workers, delivering three police officers and one firefighter to the hospital, where they are expected to make a full recovery. Forty-two other emergency personnel were treated and released at the scene.
A spokesman for the MCPD issued the following statement: “As you know, this is not the first criminal incident involving the airport expansion project. In December, vandals tore open hundreds of 'bricks' of highly compressed trash, which were waiting to be used in the landfill. Papers and other garbage from these bricks were spread throughout the airport. Although the earlier incident involved inconsequential vandalism while this incident involved serious sabotage, we will fully investigate any links between the two incidents. We intend to prosecute the captured saboteurs to the full extent that the law allows!”
When asked about a suspected link between the saboteurs and the American Communist Party, the police spokesman had no comment. A pre-trial hearing will be held at 10:30 this morning in the Municipal Court Building. 7. |
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