The Valora Chronicles: UOW Season 2, Episode 1: From the Ashes
Valora’s private island, somewhere in the middle of the Caribbean:
Valora stood in what passed for her war room in one of the buildings on the island. She was staring at the map that showed where the missiles had hit. Next to it on the wall was a giant plasma screen playing video taken from a small army of news helicopters, military helicopters and drones circling the area.. Some of the drones were hers. Valora glanced over her shoulder and looked at Samantha Topher on her laptop. The woman rolled her eyes. “Really distressing that the U.S. military can’t do better cyber security than this..” She said hitting a few keystrokes and Valora began seeing images from military aircraft and helicopters. As she surveys the destruction we are treated to a rare sight as a single tear, then another, streams down her cheek. She clenched her hands in a tight fist. “Sam… I’m...I’m getting too old for this shit.”
Samantha stopped her typing and her glasses covered eyes peeked up over her laptop. “Valora… what you did was almost superhuman.” Valora punched the wall. “God damn it! Tell that to those poor fuckers that got vaporized! Like the Fallout video games?! Well The West Coast just got a real life fuckin’ version to try out for the next 70 years or so! I I had just been a little faster…”
Samantha stood up and walked over to Valora putting her hands on Valora’s shoulders. “You are the first and only UOW Franchise champion. You killed 2 people in brutal matches. Then you led the roster of UOW that survived in a escape from North Korea and yes.. 2 cities got nuked.. But you saved 4 cities from the same fate… remove yourself from the equation.. There’s a lot more damage… oh and you kept pace with Abbigail while she was on a super soldier serum and killed the CEO of Warhammer…”
Valora sighs. “Yeah.. Vastrix is going to hate me for that… On the serum, do we-” Samantha cut her off. “Still looking at it. It’s next level stuff, what I would expect from Warhammer. I watched the footage of her but.. Well… the fastest and most accurate way for me to analyze it would be to hook Abby up, monitor her biosigns before and after the drug is administered.” Valora glanced back and had already started shaking her head no. Samantha nodded. “Then it’s going to take time. I’ll find the answer, Val. Warhammer scientists aren’t anymore advanced than scientists outside the company, they just don’t have to worry about moral or ethical constraints. Certainly there’s no one there better or smarter than me.” Val smirked. “And what makes you say that?” Samantha smirked. “Let’s just call it a hunch for now. A better question is, I didn’t think Vastrix liked his father… why would he be pissed at you for killing him?”
Valora shrugs. “Because now he has to try and run Warhammer. I’d like to say that means he’ll actually have to take responsibility for once but.. Vastrix and I have something in common.” Samantha raises an eyebrow hearing this. “What could that possibly be?” Valora smirks. “We’re both masters of deception. The world sees the two of us exactly as we wish the world to see us, not as we truly are. Vastrix decided to ensure his father and the board members of Warhammer did not see him as a threat, so he played the drunken womanizer. I decided to use the racism and sexism of the world against it and let people write me off as just another Mexican whore from the barrios with a big mouth. And now, both of us are on top of the world in different areas, to be sure.. But we are both among the very best in what we do.”
Samantha thought about this for a moment and stood up. “Speaking of public perception…” Valora sighed and lowered her head. “Yes. that. What does the public know, do you think?” Samantha sighs. “The feed from North Korea was… uncut, unedited.. Every intel agency in the world saw you fight.. And your exact style of Krav Maga is fairly easily traced back to MOSSAD. I’m tempted to say. ‘Funny, you don’t look Jewish.’ just to add some levity but I know ex-MOSSAD agents like to hire themselves out as mercs.” Valora nods. “They do, and people love to pay them for their skills. But I believe the one who taught me was still with MOSSAD.. Why she agreed to train me, I don’t know. But it’s a useful skillset.” Samantha nods, continuing on with her briefing. “It’s hard to know what the fallout will be. On one hand, we have North Korea. I’m still trying to sort out how much of what the public knows, but public opinion of the UOW wrestlers who fought and survived there is through the roof. So you’re going to be welcomed as an American heroine.. Even MOX news viewers seem to think highly of you, well higher of you than they previously did, at any rate. I don’t think the public will hold your skillset against you, the main threat is going to be from governments, criminal organizations, and corporations.. To the American public, you’re essentially a female spy, like James Bond, Jason Bourne, Natasha Romanoff, etc.Further, you used your skills to save American lives.. As I said, I’m worried more about corporations, especially ones like War Hammer, enemy governments and criminal elements. There is also another potential outcome that could be a good thing or a bad thing..” She said, trailing off as she glanced at Valora, knowing how Valora felt about the option Samantha had led to.”
Valora sighed and nodded. “Yeah, some people are going to hope I lead some type of uprising or revolution. They’ll be disappointed.” Samantha looks at Valora and clears her throat. “Playing Devil’s Advocate here… why not? You have the resources.. You have your own island, you have allies, we can fill a variety of roles, you can garner a lot of support…” Valora sighs and nods. “Yeah and the moment I’m at the head of a violent movement against the government, I give McStrump and his fascists a symbol to point to and yell “See?! We told you they’re all criminals and rapists and murders.” I’ll pass on that. Besides.. I’m a problem solver, not a leader. I don’t trust anyone except a very small, select group of people. No, I like the Muhammed Ali comparisons that are being made, the man was a huge role model for me and the fact that people mention my name and his in the same sentence is the greatest honor I’ve ever won in my career. I’m gonna keep doing my thing.”
Samantha thinks about this for a second and nods. “Alright. We can discuss this more later, for now.. We have a match coming up.. Where’s Abbigail?” Valora shrugs. “This is her first big title match. She came to me and asked me what our plan was. She wants to work with me to help me hold onto the belt.” Samantha raised an eyebrow at this and Valora nods. “I gave her a few names, told her to take this title chance.. If she pisses away this title shot, she might not get another.. And I don’t need help to protect my belt.” Samantha nods. “Do you think she’ll try to beat you?” Valora thinks for a moment and shrugs. “Probably not, but that’s her advantage.. She doesn’t need to beat me.. She can pin Sato or Huckleberry and take my belt.. I feel bad for Huckleberry.. That simple gringo bastard doesn’t know what he’s walking into. Abbigail was trained by me. She’s tag team champs with Sato. he’s the odd man out and in this kind of match, that often spells big trouble.” Samantha nods. “And how do you plan to survive?”
Valora gives her trademark smirk as she glances at the map again. “Strike hard. Strike fast.. First person I see in trouble is getting knocked the fuck out. I’m not ready to give up my belt just yet.”