The Ride of the Valkyrie




After surviving a perilous encounter with one of Helix's projects, Nocturne
was more determined than ever to take the corporation and all its evil schemes
down. However, in that last encounter Nocturne managed to overcome the odds by
sheer luck. Had Miss Fortune betrayed her, her encounter would had most
probably gone down in a horrible way. It was time to face the facts, if
Nocturne was to take down Helix Institute she would need help, alone she stood
no chance.

Nocturne stood in a rooftop of a nearby building, waiting for her associate.
Hopefully he would know what to do, after all, the first time they met he
mentioned that he was part of some sort of team. Perhaps this team could lend
a helping hand. But to her dismay, Hawke was nowhere to be seen. They had
agreed to meet in this very spot at 10:00 PM, yet it was 10:35 PM and there
was no sign of him.

"Where did you go...." Nocturne pranced around the rooftop, quite worried that
something might have gone wrong and that he could be in danger. Nevertheless,
her train of thought was soon interrupted by a shadowy figured that landed on
the rooftop.

"Sorry to have kept you waiting." The figure spoke as it moved closer to
Nocturne. As the figure took form, it was clear that the man clad in a dark
robe was none other than Hawke.

"It's unusual for you to be late...." Nocturne's tone was not her usual strong
one, it was a bit more frail, "I was....afraid that you had run into trouble."

"Ahh, am I to believe that the Mistress of the Night was worried for me?" With
his attire, his only feature visible was his mouth and it clearly showed a
grin, as if trying to tease Nocturne, "I have to admit, I am flattered. I
didn't think you care that much for me."

"Ohh hush, don't flatter yourself! It just would had made things more
complicated if I had to save your butt!" Nocturne tried to dismiss a blush
with brashness, "Anyway what do you have for me?"

"I traced the leads that you gave me and after a bit of tracking down, I came
up with two concrete leads;" Hawke looked at Bethany as he spoke, "It is as
you expected, they have set up operations across the states. Apparently after
you constantly getting in the way of their plans, they are moving a bulk of
their operation to a place called Steel City."

"Steel City, huh? Any clue as to what exactly they are moving there?" Bethany
seemed intrigued by the lead.

"Yeah, it's not too far away, probably a 7 hour drive;" Hawke paused for a
moment, "I been there, it's a nice place. Though you can easily find yourself
in trouble if you get into the wrong side of the city. Heard rumors of
vigilante activity, though. As for what they are moving there, your guess is
as good as mine."

"Hmmm, I'll keep that in mind. Anyway, what's your second lead?" Nocturne
inquired.

"You remember what I told you about Helix " scholarship" plans? Turns out that
some of those scholarships trace back to a university in Crawfordsville, but
as expected, no signs of those students attending class. Might be something
worth checking out." Hawke paused for a moment, "So my dear Mistress of the
Night, what's the plan?"

Nocturne crossed her arms and frowned her brow, lost in thought. "As much as
it pains me to admit this, we cannot hope to defeat Helix by just the two of
us. I have an assistant, but I don't want to put her into this kind of danger.
Which reminds me, didn't you say you were part of an order. Surely we could
use their assistance."

"Yeaaaaah...." Hawke began to scratch the back of his head nervously, " I may
have parted ways with them recently....kind of have some issues to work with
them..."

Nocturne sighed, "So no assistance from your oh so fabled group?"

"None at all!" Hawke laughed nervously.

"Perfect! Just the kind of news that I needed." Nocturne sighed, "Well then,
we don't have much choice. For the time being, I think we should split up and
follow our two leads. Hopefully we'll come up with a better plan along the
way."

"Sounds reasonable enough. Do you have in mind the lead you want to follow or
should we toss a coin." Hawke asked.

"I'll follow the Steel City lead. If what you heard is right, I would like to
meet these so called vigilants. You can have as much fun as you want with the
sorority girls." Nocturne smirked.

"As tempting as that might sound, I have a feeling that things won't be as
pleasant as you make them sound." Hawke retorted.

"Ohh? You had girl trouble in college?" Nocturne moved closer to Hawke and
smirked, clearly teasing him.

"Not the point at all!" Hawke shot back, "Don't derail the subject!"

"Ohh, I'm sorry if I touched a nerve, no need to get all bitter." Nocturne
giggled, "Anyway, meet me in four days in this exact spot. If I am not back by
then, send help, ok?"

"Got it and likewise. I might need you to rescue me from the clutches of those
sorority girls. They might go crazy for a dashing handsome man with a cape."

"Don't flatter yourself, kiddo." Nocturne chuckled as she bid goodbye to her
companion.

Nocturne descended from the rooftop and into the night sky. As she glided back
home, she thought about her plans for the upcoming operation. Truth be told,
things were getting quite complicated and if they didn't find help soon
enough, Helix would be unstoppable.

The next night, Nocturne made her way to Steel City. Along the way she stopped
a few crimes, in the hopes of attracting the attention of the city's supposed
crime fighters, but alas there were no signs of heroic antics.

After stopping a robbery, Nocturne decided to track down the lead that Hawke
had mentioned. If his information was correct, the port would be the best
place to track Helix down. Which is why Nocturne took up to skies and decided
to scout the port from a nearby abandoned building.

For the next fifteen minutes all seemed peaceful at the port, but just as
Nocturne expected, not long after a few Helix trucks came to the pier,
apparently seeking some cargo from a nearby ship.

This prompted our heroine into action. She descended from the building and
into the shadows, if she was to successfully track them down she needed to
remain undetected. As she hid in the shadows, she took the opportunity to
snoop in on the conversations and gather some intel. From what she gathered,
she deducted that Hawke was right after all.

Helix was indeed moving some of their super soldier projects to Steel City in
an attempt to avoid Nocturne's interference. Little did they knew that she was
right on their tail. However, something piqued Nocturne's interest. One of the
thugs mentioned something about the shipment being guarded by someone called
Subject Delta. Nocturne remembered her brutal encounter with Subject Alpha and
she wondered if this Delta had any sort of relation to Subject Alpha.

One thing was clear though, Nocturne needed to be even more careful now. Her
encounter with Alpha had been brutal, Delta could be even deadlier and it had
back up to top it off.

After thirty minutes or so, the crew finished packing everything in their
trucks and decided to move back to HQ. Nocturne with swift speed took up to
the skies once more and gave chase through the rooftops. She kept at steady
pace that was on par with the trucks' speed.

It seemed that everything was going according to her plan as the trucks moved
into an alley and what she believed would be their HQ.

However as she tried to take vantage point in one of the rooftops, she felt a
powerful force tackle her and knock her down the roof into the alley. Nocturne
managed to cushion the fall and avoid any lethal damage from the fall, but
things were far from pretty.

As she got back on her feet, she noticed what had caused the fall. It was
Subject Delta who had tackled her and it seemed that the cyborg received no
damage from it. To make things worse, Helix goons were ready to shoot her,
however Delta motioned them to stand down.

"You! You are the one who hurt father!" The cyborg spoke in what felt like a
feminine ai's voice.

"Ohh you are Alpha's little robo daughter? Ohh how cute, a robo family!"
Nocturne shot back.

"I WILL MAKE YOU PAY FOR WHAT YOU DID!" Delta launched against Nocturne.

Nocturne tried to apply the same strategy she used against Alpha, but it would
not work with Delta. Delta was faster and more precise than Alpha, which gave
Nocturne a drastic disadvantage in this predicament. However her strategy
wasn't entirely flawed, as using the environment against Delta resulted in a
few good hits.

The battle raged on and while at first it seemed that Delta had the upper
hand, Nocturne used her speed against her, making her Delta crash against the
wall three times in a row. Delta also gave Nocturne a few hits, shredding a
bit of her fishnets and costume.

Just as it seemed that things were about to go on Nocturne's favor, the thugs
entered the fight. Instead of shooting her, they tried to beat her down and
capture her. Nocturne dodged a great deal of the attacks thrown at her,
quickly knocking two goons to the floor.

However in a team effort the goons used their numbers to drive her back and
corner her against the wall. Nocturne fought valiantly but one goon managed to
seize her cape and gave a hard pull, causing Nocturne to lose her balance.
Using this moment of weakness two others quickly seized her arms. As Nocturne
struggled in their grip another goon yanked her hair and punched her hard in
her gut to knock her wind out. More goons came at her and Nocturne took some
more punches to her face and body. They pulled her leg legs from underneath
her and forced her to the floor.

"Tie her up, the boss wants to have her for himself unscathed."

Forced on her belly Nocturne was held down by several pairs of arms. Her arms
were getting twisted behind her back and she felt rope getting tied around her
wrists.

However, just as hope seemed lost for Nocturne, a figured clad in red
descended from the sky. The thugs took their eyes off Nocturne and focused on
the new figure.

"Ohh shit, another one of those freaks!" One of the thugs screamed.

"The name is Crimson and I do not tolerate thugs in my city.." Crimson moved
closer to the thugs and Delta, "So I suggest that you all get back in your
trucks and leave in the peaceful way."

Delta launched at Crimson but the latter punched the cyborg in the torso and
sent it crashing against the wall.

"Although, I admit that I enjoy the painful way." Crimson spoke once more.

The thugs surrounded Crimson and launched their attack against the red
heroine. This gave Nocturne the opportunity to catch her breath and join the
fight once more. As Crimson took out one of the thugs, another tried to hit
her with a bat from behind, but Nocturne caught him with her grapnel and
launched him back towards her, where she greeted him with a painful kick to
the head, knocking him down.

Nocturne and Crimson soon found themselves back to back, as they each covered
the other. Crimson devastated her opponents with moves so impressive and
powerful, that they almost looked like the product of magic. Meanwhile
Nocturne used every tool in her arsenal to stop the attackers. Between the
two, the dozens of thugs were taken care of in a matter of minutes. The piles
of broken bodies laid in the ground as the two heroines finally had a moment
to catch their breath.

"Never seen you around here, you new in town?" Crimson was the first to speak,
"You are quite the capable fighter, definitely not a rookie."

"Thanks for backing me back there! You were amazing and right on time."
Nocturne panted, "But where are my manners? I am Nocturne, from Fortune City.
I came here because I was tracking these goons back in my city but they fled
town,thinking they could get away from me here." Nocturne extended her hand as
to offer a handshake.

Crimson shook Nocturne hands. "A pleasure to meet you, Nocturne, I am the
Crimson Valkyrie protector of Steel City...."

Before she could continue, Delta rose up from the nearby rubble and was ready
for another fight.

"Let's save the lovely chat for later, ok?" Crimson said.

"Got it!" Nocturne responded.

The two heroines charged against subject Delta. This time around the cyborg
was the one outmatched. Crimson and Nocturne double teamed against it,
striking it from multiple angles and using both Crimson's powers and
Nocturne's gadgets to bring it down once and for all.

Facing what would be an utter defeat, Delta used what little strength it had
left and opted to run away and fight another day. Whether they wanted to admit
or not, Helix faced another defeat on that night.\

A few minutes later, Nocturne and Crimson found their way into a rooftop,
where Nocturne explained everything that was going on with Helix.

"If what you say is true, then Helix Institute is most certainly one of the
nastiest companies out there." Crimson crossed her arms, "If they go unchecked
they could create a terrible war."

"Precisely so, which is why I was chasing these thugs here. They are planning
to take their operation to Steel City..." Nocturne paused for a moment, "After
what I witnessed tonight, I must say, your help would be most appreciated in
this cause."

"I would like to help you in whichever way I can to stop these guys. But
before I can give you my aid, I would like you to do a small thing;" Crimson
took a small paper and wrote an address, "Visit this place and ask for Tiffany
Johnson. Tell her that the Valkyrie sent you. She is a friend of mine and she
can help you."

"All right, I'll take any help I can get!" Nocturne smiled, "Thanks for
helping me back there, I dunno what I would had done without you."

"Hey, don't mention it! I'm glad to have met another capable warrior." Crimson
winked at Nocturne, "Hope to see you around!" And with that she bid goodbye
and drifted into the night sky.

The next morning, Bethany did as Crimson instructed her and followed the
address. She arrived at a laboratory for bio-engineering, considering her
current enemy, this Tiffany could prove to be a useful ally. After talking
with the receptionist and using a bit of charm, she was allowed a meeting with
Tiffany Johnson who apparently was the head of the lab.

Tiffany was distracted by some of her latest work, but when she got informed
that she had a visitor, she quickly told the receptionist to let her him. She
seemed more than excited to meet this person. When Bethany finally met the
woman Crimson had instructed her to meet, she was greeted by a young
attractive redhead woman. Truth be told, she hadn't pictured the woman to be
as attractive as she was, after all her image of scientist was a bit outdated.

"Good morning, Ms. Johnson. My name is Bethany Hunter and I hope I'm not
interrupting anything important at the moment. I was told by a friend of yours
that goes by the name of the Crimson Valkyrie, to meet you here." Bethany
spoke.

"Ah yes, another friend of Crimson, huh? Well it's a pleasure to meet you;"
Tiffany smiled, "If you would follow me to the next room, I'll show you why
she requested this meeting."

"Very well, I see no reason to deny your request." Bethany replied.

"Follow me!" Tiffany began to lead the way into what seemed a small storage
room. After Bethany got in, she locked the door.

"Well...." Bethany was about to speak when she suddenly got interrupted.

Right in front of her very eyes, Tiffany through some method that escaped
Bethany's mind, transformed into the Crimson Valkyrie. She could not explain
what she had just witnessed, but it was needless to say, amazing.

"I'm sorry that I resorted to this way of explaining my true identity, but I
wanted to make sure that we could reveal ourselves in a safe space" Tiffany
spoke, "I couldn't just expose myself right there, and neither could you. This
way we both know who we really are, while making sure the secret stays safe"
Tiffany added.

"It's all right, your idea does indeed sound like the most
sensible...but...how did...." Bethany was perplexed.

Tiffany transformed back into her civilian form and smiled. "I know it takes
some getting used to, but I could try my best to explain things to you with a
nice cup of coffee. What do you say?"

"I think that idea sounds lovely. I love to have a nice chat with you."
Bethany replied cheerfully.

"Great! I know a place right around the corner that makes the best coffee!
I'll give you a tour of Steel City while we are at it!" Tiffany opened the
door.

After all the fighting and confessions, the two heroines certainly deserved a
cup of coffee and some relaxation. They battles were only getting tougher for
Nocturne, but with strong alliances like this, she was one step closer to
bringing Helix down.