Birth Name

Valerie Orinda Andersen

Born

October 2, 1977

Died

January or February, 2007. (Exact date unknown.)

Abilities

Valora was a fierce warrior endowed with great strength and stamina, but her most incredible feature was her flesh itself. It behaved in a non-Newtonian fashion, in that the harder it was struck, the less resilient it became, making her skin virtually impervious. Her armored costume and weapons were essentially just for decoration and image.

Affiliations

The Saints (1995-1997)

The Angels (1997-1999)

The Condors (1999-2001)

The Bay Scouts (2002-2006)

Biography

A midwestern girl, Valerie Andersen’s abilities manifested at the age of nine. Her parents urged her to keep them secret, but this did not stop Val from being a top athlete in her school. After graduation, she became one of the youngest members of the The Saints, a group local to St. Paul, Minnesota. In 1997, she relocated to Los Angeles, where she was a member of The Angels for somewhat more than two years before taking leave of the group. In 1999, she moved to San Francisco, where she was a member of the short-lived team, The Condors. She joined the Bay Scouts shortly after The Condors dissolved and was a member until the group disbanded in 2006. Valora was killed by her double in another world in early 2007. Her body was retrieved by Dynamistress, who joined Scoutmaster in returning her body for burial in her home town, St. Paul, Minnesota.

Personality

Valora had a brusque demeanor, often seeming arrogant. She was, however, fiercely loyal to her teammates and a staunch ally.

Excerpt from Reckoning

An Amazonian blonde, Val was one of those heroes who seemed to have it all: beauty, brains, and brawn. Her position in the “family” wasn’t as the mother figure, as there was little motherly about her, save for being a protector figure. Valora’s flesh behaved like a non-Newtonian fluid, similar to a mixture of corn starch and water that turns momentarily solid if you smack it with your first, but remains a soft goo if you push your finger in slowly. This made her incredibly resistant to any strong impact, including bullets. Val appeared to be second-in-command, though that was just my perception, not an official standing.

“You know,” I offered, “I often have the sense that you don’t think Daniel’s a good leader.”

Val bristled slightly, then relaxed. “Daniel is a good man, and I strongly respect his sense of justice and morality. And the others do, too, which makes him the right person to lead this group.” She hesitated, then said, “On the other hand, the Bay Scouts is not much of a team.”

“Why is that, do you think?”

“Two reasons,” she said. “First, the government doesn’t need it to be. They have groups like the Gatekeepers to be the high profile teams. We’re the grunts. Second, Daniel is content to keep it that way.”

I frowned. “Does he have a choice?”

Valora looked into my eyes. “There is always choice.” She frowned. “Daniel is just unwilling to deal with the consequences of making the Bay Scouts into an aggressive team. He and I exemplify two sides of the same coin. He is a soldier. He does as he’s told. I am a warrior. I do what needs to be done.”

“Which am I?” I asked, though I really didn’t know why.

“You?” She smiled slightly. “You’re a good ally,” she said, putting her hand on my shoulder. “But I think you’re more of a mercenary.”