First Flight

The ability to fly. For most individuals, it was a lifelong dream to be able to soar through the
skies under their own power, to not be constrained to the ground or to the laws of gravity.
However, the closest they would ever get to achieving such a goal is either take a flight on
an airplane, or use a hang glider. Both of which were nice in their own right, but it still wasn't
enough to completely quench the thirst for true flying. For most ordinary people, the dream
of flying would stay just that...a dream.

For one individual though, this was not the case, as he, or rather She, was one of those
rare souls blessed with the gift..and boy, was she taking advantage of it.

"Yahoo!" A cheerful female voice cried out as the owner of it flew through the sky, her black
cape fluttering in the breeze behind her. The owner of the Valkyria was having the time of
his/her life. It had been several weeks since he had found the item that changed his life,
and given him the power he sought. Aside from a few hiccups she'd all but gotten the flying
thing down pat, and was now on the search for some trouble.

She came to a halt in the sky over a bustling town in her home state of Canada and observed
the place from up high,"Hmm...doesn't seem like anything's happening..still, looks can be decieving.."

The armored gal floated there while keeping an eye out...

Indeed, to fly as carefree as a bird is a wish of many. Like an albatross, its breadth of wing spanning from the ocean waves to the tiptops of clouds, freedom unrestricted by mortal boundaries such as gravity, public safety or speedbumps. To gain access to such freedom, one must possess unparalleled scientific knowledge, supernatural artifacts or superhuman abilities...
...or dump fifty million dollars on a helicopter.

Valkyria is not the only bird in the sky--a V-22 Osprey, cruising along at a steady three-hundred fifty kmh, flying very low--just above the trees. Twin rotors keep the craft aloft, and despite its heavy payload, maintain the maneuverability of its namesake. It is crewed by two men--or one man, if you wanted to be technical. The pilot awake, the copilot sleeping, the cargo bay filled with nine metric tons of hearts and kidneys.

Valkyria swoops over the osprey, displaced wind leaving the helicopter shuddering in its wake. The pilot, Vincent, is surprised, but quickly manages to correct the chopper before looking up. He freezes for a moment, his mouth forming a perfect O, before tugging on his headset and yelling into it. "Vinny wake up, Iron Man almost just hit us!" The co-pilot--curiously identical to the pilot--startles awake, a novel falling from his lap.

"What is it, Other Vinny?"
"Iron Man! He just tried to hit us or something." The co-pilot rummages around a moment in a side compartment, pulling out a pair of binoculars and training them on Valkyria.
"Hell no man, that ain't Iron Man--that mothafucka ain't real--and this guy's all anime an' shit."

The pink-haired gal heard something echoeing in the wind, like the rotary of blades
rapidly spinning. She turned her head and her eyes widened at the sight of the chopper
right behind her, and in the cockpit spotted the two guys who were likely the pilots.

"Huh..now that's a fancy-looking chopper if I ever seen one.." Valkyria murmured to
herself as she admired the vehicle. It certainly looked state of the art...which meant it must've
costed a fortune to build and purchase.

She also took notice of the bemused expressions on both pilot's faces as they watched
her like deers caught in headlights. The hero/heroine figured she might as well make sure
they were ok before she flew off.

The gal propelled herself to the side of the cockpit and rapped lightly on the window with
her fist,"Excuse me, are you two ok? I'm sorry if I frightened you."

CORE had been, yet again, prowling the streets. Well, not really the streets as much as the buildings around them. He had been quietly hopping from rooftop to rooftop, searching for a target, when someone over to his side shouted and jumped into the air above him. He looked up at the figure as i almost collided with a helicopter that had also been passing overhead. As the figure returned to possibly apologize to the pilots, CORE started to ascend towards them to see what the figure was saying. "-I'm sorry if I frightened you." CORE called out to them then, "Hello there? You, with the uhhh... Armour, can I speak a moment with you?"

"Awwww sheeit man, you pissed off Iron Man!" Pilot-Vinny says to co-pilot-Vinny.
"Hell no, that's your fault--and for the last time, that ain't Iron Man!  Get us outta here!"
The Osprey veers to the side, taking evasive action, sweeping low over the trees.  It possesses maneuverability unmatched among helicopters--but here the Osprey has the agility of a fat pigeon, ungainly and inelegant.

As CORE rises into view, the two Vincents look at each other, and simultaneously say "Yup, that's Iron Man."

At that very moment, the guy in the girl suit taps the discount glass windshield, cracking it.  Neither Vincent--both wearing noise-canceling headsets and surrounded by the noise of the engines--can hear her speak, but the rapping certainly gets their attention.
"It's trying to break in!  It must smell the blood!  We're dead man, we're dead!" Co-pilot-Vinny shrieks.  pilot-Vinny pulls back on the throttle, causing the Osprey to lurch upwards, out of Valkyria's reach.
"It's gonna eat our hearts then eat all the hearts in the--oh wait, I got a call."  Co-pilot Vinny plugs his phone into the headset jack.
"Goddamnit, Other Vinny."

After the system's obligatory reminder that the message is a voicemail, it plays it back:

"Hello, this is, uh, Doctor Monty, head of a private research team in New Zealand. We've recently begun a new project and are in need of a geneticist to work with us, and as one of the best in the field, I think you are suitable for the work we're doing here. I can't give you too much information on the project at the moment, but if you call me back, we can work something out. I can be reached at the following number..."

James watched as the two seemed to be having a panic attack within the confines
of the cockpit. Was her appearance really that frightening? The occasional crook she
fought didn't think so, seeing her as more of a cosplayer than a genuine threat..at
least until she broke a few of their bones with hardly any effort.

She kept a curious eye on the two as they piloted the vehicle up out of her reach,
she also took notice of the fact her rapping had cracked the window glass,"..Huh..either
that's really cheap glass...or I don't know my own strength.."

The pink-haired warrior shook her head and sighed before finally taking notice of
the presence next to her. She turned her head and rose an eyebrow at what she
saw. It looked humanoid but its body seemed to consist completely of state of the
art machinery and electronics...definitely not of earthly origin.

"Ermm.." She took one more glance at the retreating chopper and shrugged,"Sure, I
got nothing better to do right now."

CORE nodded and looked towards the two identical pilots scrambling around inside the helicopter. "Should we go somewhere with less Ospreys, or do you like it up here?" He asked, moving backwards slightly. "I have a feeling they have places they need to be."
He moved his left hand to face the vehicle in the case that it moved towards them. Turning back towards the armoured female, he spoke again. "I am CORE, by the way. What's your name?" His visor turned a soothing shade of green from it's usual blue, as he was feeling rather relieved by the break in routine.

James turned and glanced up the slowly retreating vehicle. She frowned, feeling a tad
guilty that she might have been the cause for their retreat..although to be fair, he/she wasn't
exactly something you saw everyday either,"Hrrmmm..you're probaubly right.."

She averted her gaze away from the fleeing machine to the one in front of her,"Nice to
meet you CORE. I'm Valkyria..can't tell you my real name for..well, obvious reasons.." At
this she chuckled nervously while massaging the back of her neck.

"But yeah, I think we should get moving."

He nodded and lowered himself to the rooftop of the building below. "Do you know of somewhere we can sit? I can stand as long as I want to, but if you'd rather find somewhere other than a rooftop, that'd be fine too." He stood looking over the town. "I'd like to speak to you about a few things, so it might take a while." He shrugged and motioned towards the places the town had to offer. "Whatever you'd like."

James followed suit and landed beside him on the rooftop, she wasn't too sure she could trust this
fella..yet..but than again, she had trouble trusting many people these days,"This here will suffice
for me. I don't feel very tired so I can stand for quite a while,"

She folded her arms and tilted her head,"So, what exactly did you wish to speak of?" She
asked politely.

Pilot-Vinny rights the helecopter and nervously veers away from the frolicking superhumans.  The Osprey flees like a portly man being chased by ill-tempered bees.
Co-pilot-Vinny ignores these things, his panic vanished.  He dials Doctor Monty's number.

After a few rings, the call is answered. The voice sounds a little more tired than the voicemail, the words slow but rehearsed.

"Hello? This is Monty. May I ask who I'm speaking to?"

Co-pilot Vinny flips a couple switches, canceling the sound from the engines.
"Hullo Doctor Monty" he says, with a fake English accent, faking the role of a secretary. "I'm representing Ohad Genetics--you inquired as to possible contract work?"

"Uh, just a moment." The gulping may or may not have been heard, but the sharp click of glass against wood was, as well as the footsteps that followed. A door opened, and then another, and finally some papers were rustled around before John began to speak again.

"Right, Ohad Genetics. Yes, I did."