The Life of Valor (Grave x Kat)

Jessica blushed more as she panted and moaned, whimpering shyly under his gaze before she blushed more at him laying her head down then gasped and trembled, whimpering and moaning more as he sucked and licked her nipple while fingering her so fast. "O-Ohhh... Oh god... S-Scott...!" She tensed a little as she felt herself building, beginning to gasp more and more.

Scott continued to pleasure her the same ways he had been. He could tell by her gasping and by the contracting in her vagina that she was getting close.
"That's right, babe. Cum for me."
His skilled finger began hitting both of her spots at the same time while he lapped at her nipples, enjoying the ravishing of her body. His heart was pounding, and he wanted her to feel the same great feeling she had given him earlier.

Jessica blushed more and whimpered briefly at his words then she began gasping more and more, tensing as he pleasured her so much before she arched her back and moaned deeply as she twitched, cumming onto his fingers. "O-Ohhhhh....! S-Scott...!"

Scott felt his finger being drenched in her warm juice, and moved back a bit as she arched her back. As she laid back down, he lowered her shirt back down to normal and withdrew his hand from her pants. He licked her juices off of his hand, and it tasted delicious. He then laid down and held her close as she caught her breath.
"You were great. We can rest now, just you and me."

Scott kissed Jessica and then settled into a comfortable position with his arms around her. The smell of her hair was in his nose, and he relaxed as he felt a closeness with someone that he had not felt in years. A part of him worried that getting Jessica involved in this life was not a good thing. Aliens and supervillains would always be a part of his life, and it was only a matter of time before one of them found out about Jessica and tried to hurt her to get to him. But he was not going to let something like that deny him happiness. He would do the best he could to protect her, and that's all he could do.

Jessica was panting heavily as she slumped back onto the bed and blushed madly, whimpering in embarrassment as she saw him lick up her juices. She nodded shyly at his words and closed her eyes quickly falling asleep in the warmth and security of his arms.

Scott had fallen asleep not long after Jessica did. During the night, he had another dream, a memory from his time at the Shadowgreen Institute. His second week there had been long enough to let him know that he was not considered a true mutant/metahuman because his powers did not come from his own body, and that many thought he should not have been there. The Monday of the second week, he had returned to his room after class and found Enjela waiting for him. She instructed him that he should do all that he could to prepare for the Grymwar invasion there at Shadowgreen, but that would also put him in touch with two super beings that would train him further. The two were Alan Arnan, a human who had the ability to control fire who had become the God of Fire, and Chiang Kaishu, a Buddhist monk who had become a Bodhissatva and existed in a spiritual form, similar to a ghost.

Enjela had opened a portal for him, and they were soon in a pocket dimension right on the line separating the dimensions of Earth and Kasha. This pocket dimension was the home of Alan, and he had fashioned it to be ready for his arrival. After Enjela left, Alan informed him that he would train him in every martial art that existed on Earth to toughen and strengthen his mind, body, and spirit. Chiang would train him in the use of all weapons within the martial arts, so that he could better understand how to treat Valor as an extension of himself. The training would strengthen the bond between Scott and Valor so that they could draw on more and more power over time. Scott had been ready for this training, and though harsh and difficult at times, he would persevere.

Thus was his training schedule established. Every week day he would work out for two hours, battle with at least one schoolmate of his same rank to get practical battle experience, and then go to the Fire Dimension for training with Alan and Chiang. On weekends, he was not to work out, was to abstain from battle unless directly challenged, and would go to the Fire Dimension for meditation and spiritual training using Buddhist and other ancient Asian and Indian techniques. Scott devoted all of his time to this when he was not doing schoolwork, and so friendship and love affairs with his classmates was nonexistent. However, those that had once been quick to badmouth him found themselves hesitating as more and more New Bloods ended up in the infirmary, carried there by Scott himself. Scott Young was on the path to becoming Crusader, and those that wanted to get in his way often bit off more than they could chew.

Jessica's dreams that night were slightly fitful. Though comfortable as she fell asleep in Scott's arms she soon found herself in her usual nightmare. She was 7, at her mother's funeral, the casket was shut and she kept begging to see her mother but no one would open the casket. Eventually, Jessica managed to sneak past her father and the other mourners and threw open the casket's lid, wanting to see her mother one last time, only to cry out in shock and sorrow of what she saw. Her once beautiful, sweet faced, fair skinned mother's remains were simply that, remains. Her face was scarred, burned, and torn. The rest of her body was not in much better condition, burns and tears in the skin covered every inch of her body. What could have done this? No hit and run could have done this, though that's what the police had said when they found her body along the side of the road.

She continued her nightmare, going through her childhood with that horrible image of her mother's body haunting her mind. She didn't want to be weak, she never wanted to be weak, she couldn't let herself be picked off like her mother was, and hurt her father like her mother's death had. She got into fights as a child, she had never had any friends. Those who didn't try to pick on her because she was weird were scared of her because she was different. She'd always had this haunted look in her eyes.

She would go through memories of early childhood with her mother, but each memory morphed into a horrific ending of her mother's skin burning and peeling as she died in a thousand different scenarios...

Jessica was twitching in her sleep, whimpering and sniffling softly.

The next morning at around noon, Scott woke up and leaned over to look at Jessica. She was still asleep, but had a troubled expression on her face that left him disconcerted. He gently kissed her cheek and then got out of bed to head for the kitchen. Scott put on a pot of coffee and poured two cups, one for him and one for her. He did not know how she took hers, so he left it black and sitting on the counter while he added milk, cream, and sugar to his until it turned a light brown. He gently sipped it and looked out the window, seeing the trees rustle in the light wind and thinking that it was a beautiful day.

Scott checked the mail and found a square wrapped package in with the envelopes. He brought it all in and set the envelopes aside while he opened the package, which was stamped with an address that he recognized as being one of the Shadowgreen Institute's cover addresses. Inside the package was a small sheaf of papers labelled "Blood Sample Report", as well as a couple newspapers. He opened the report and began to read it, also seeing some pictures of the blood cells as taken by a microscopic camera. Amid all the technical jargon, the report said that the Shadowgreen scientists had been unable to match the blood sample directly to any known species on Earth. The conclusion of the report, that the blood actually had a mix of wolf and human DNA had the hair on the back of his neck standing up.

If ever there was proof of real-life werewolves, this was it. However, what had him confused was the blood in the equation. Traditional belief held that werewolves became what they were by being bitten or scratched by someone who also had the disease, and that they would turn into the wild beast during the full moon. While variations on the legend and the effects of the disease varied, not one version of the story mentioned injecting the blood of a werewolf through a hypodermic needle in order to transform. However, just like all of the other versions of the werewolf, there had to be an original source of the disease. Unfortunately, that original source was just outside the scope of what they had, since the human-wolf DNA sample had been very unstable and broken down soon after testing, making them unable to match the human DNA to a person.

Scott put down the report and picked up the newspapers. They were rather unremarkable except for the back pages, which mentioned strange creature sightings at different, mostly rural areas across the United States. Each person interviewed gave a similar story, that they saw a strange human-like figure dashing through the woods outside of their property. One particular farmer took exception and fired at the creature with his twelve-gauge shotgun, though he had not hit anything. When asked for a description, all said that it looked like the legendary werewolf, and some speculated that it might have been the Wolfman or Dogman that was a legend in some of those areas. Overall, it would be easy for most people to dismiss these sightings as related to the Sasquatch sightings, all speculation and no substance.

However, given what Scott knew, he saw it in a chillingly different light. The point behind including the newspapers was to show that there was definitely more than one of these werewolf creatures. It would be impossible to say how many, but wherever they were, the population was in danger. As he set the newspapers aside, he saw two items he had missed the first time. One was a bag with several capped syringes in it, and the other was an envelope stamped with Madame Shadow's seal. He opened the letter and looked over it as he sipped his coffee.

Scott,

The blood sample that you have submitted and the circumstances surrounding the case indicate that a possible werewolf infestation is upon us. The danger this poses to the general public is incalculable. Each of these creatures must possess the blood of the original host, but the disease is so unstable that it breaks down the testing before a proper DNA profile can be created. The only choice we have is to get multiple blood samples from these creatures and use them to piece together a profile. It is dangerous, but we are counting on you to get the samples.

All the best,

Madame Shadow


Scott set down the letter and looked at the bag of syringes. Tracking down these dangerous creatures with only unconfirmed local sightings was not his idea of a good time, but there was little choice. He had seen the power of these creatures himself, and knew well the carnage they could cause on a regular human. He looked toward the bedroom and a sad expression crossed his face. The thought of leaving Jessica now was a painful one, but the thought of taking her with him was a scary one. He sighed and closed his eyes in thought as he sipped his coffee, weighing the pros and cons of each scenario.

Jessica opened her eyes and sighed, wiping the dried tears from her face before she looked around, realizing she had stayed the night at Scott's and she got out of bed, blushing a little as she washed her face in the bathroom before coming out to the kitchen and smiling at Scott shyly. "Morning..." She murmured.

Scott was snapped out of his thinking as Jessica came walking in. In the morning sun and in his pajamas, he thought she looked radiant.
"Good morning, beautiful," he said with a smile.
He gestured over toward the coffee cup.
"I poured you a cup of coffee. Feel free to make it however you want."

Scott put the newspapers, letter, and bag of syringes back in the package and closed it. He then folded his hands on the table.
"Jessica, I'm going to be out of town for a little while."
He turned to her.
"There are some important things I need to tell you. However, some of it is supposed to be kept top secret, so you can't tell anybody about what I'm going to tell you, okay?"

Jessica smiled softly and nodded. "Thank you." She said as she went over and poured a bit of cream and a lot of sugar into her coffee before looking up at him and nodding softly. "Of course..." She said, looking at him worriedly.

Scott sipped his coffee as he gathered his thoughts.
"Shortly after I received Valor from Pashara, I was enrolled in the Shadowgreen Institute, a top-secret school for mutants and metahumans in France. For security reasons, I must keep its exact location a secret, for now. All of these scars all over my body came from battling my fellow students there, seeking to be the strongest before the Grymwar invaded our planet. Though I have graduated from and am no longer living there, I still maintain communication with both the school and the secretive billionaire who runs it, who I will refer to only as Madame Shadow."
He stared into his cup of coffee as he continued his story.

"A short time ago, I was working a case in which I ran up against human traffickers. The man running the operation on-site injected himself with a strange substance that transformed him into a werewolf-like creature. I defeated the beast and collected the syringe before sending it off to Shadowgreen to have it tested."
He placed his hand on the package.
"The results came back today in this package. It turned out that the substance that the man injected himself with was a mixture of human and wolf DNA."

Scott sighed.
"However, it has so far been impossible to trace the human DNA back to a specific person. The mixture is so unstable that it breaks down almost immediately in open air, making it impossible to generate a full DNA profile even with the advanced techniques available today. The only solution is to collect enough samples to build up a sufficient profile. Only once the profile has been completed can I stop the man responsible for these monsters."
Scott removed one of the newspapers from the box and passed it across the table to her.
"Read the story on the last page, about the strange sighting."

Jessica's eyes were wide, this was really unbelievable but she nodded and read the article. Blinking in surprise. "Oh yeah, we had a couple sightings like that up in Maine." She murmured then her eyes widened. "You mean... these... werewolves are responsible for all these sightings?"

Scott looked into her eyes and nodded grimly.
"That's right. Whoever is creating these werewolves is doing it en masse. I believe the human trafficking operation was simply to gather people for him to inject his blood into them."
Scott chuckled a bit as he realized an error.
"I keep saying "man" and "him", but there's no reason to believe that a woman could not be behind this."

Scott produced the second newspaper and turned it so that Jessica could see it as he placed it on the table.
"Of great concern is this article dated yesterday of a strange sighting in the Tennessee woods. These creatures seem to be popping up in wooded, rural areas all over the continental United States, and if a spike in missing persons accompanies this, then it is certain that our mastermind is creating them from the local population."
He sipped his coffee as a deep frown crossed his face.
"What scares me even more is that these notoriously violent and savage creatures are not attacking random people. They show up briefly and then disappear like they were never there."

Scott folded his hands.
"It could be that injecting the blood into people does more than just transform them into werewolves. It's possible that the mastermind has them under mind control, and if that's the case, this person could deploy them anywhere at anytime. If that's the case, the person could have dozens, if not more, of these creatures ready to strike at will. We might be looking at someone with a private army of werewolves."
The statement hung in the air as the horrible implications passed through Scott's mind.

"I have received orders from Madame Shadow to investigate these sightings and collect the blood of these creatures. Using the blood, Shadowgreen could generate a DNA profile and reveal the identity of the person responsible for all of this. That's why I have to leave town for a little while."
He reached across the table and gently took Jessica's hands in his.
"I know it's awful timing, but with people's lives at stake, I can't afford to put this off. You can stay here at my house while I'm gone, since it's much safer than your apartment."

Jessica's eyes were wide in horror as Scott explained what was happening and then they widened more as he said he had to leave and she gripped his hands tightly. "I want to go with you." She said suddenly yet certainly.

A sad expression crossed Scott's face as Jessica said she wanted to go with him. He had been almost certain she would do this, and a chill swept through him as he imagined one of these monsters getting a hold of her.
"Jessica, this is way too dangerous for you to be coming with me. I fought with one of these things and they are worse than you could imagine. I have my Valor Armor to protect me, but you have nothing. If anything were to happen to you, I couldn't live with myself."

Scott gently squeezed her hands back.
"I know that you're a strong, athletic woman. But these creatures are so strong and their weapons so sharp that no amount of human muscle would make a difference. Even with all of my training and conditioning, I would certainly have been killed without Valor. I can't even stand the thought of you being at risk like that."
He looked deep into her eyes, pleading with her using his own not to do this.

Jessica looked at him sadly as he told her not to and she shook her head. "No. I'm coming with you. I can't just sit around here and wait like a useless woman, wondering helplessly if you'll ever come back. I won't be that person. Even if I have to stay in the hotel or in the car, I'm coming with you. I want to make sure you're safe." She looked back into his eyes as they pleaded, but her's were determined and unmoving.

Scott sighed as she refused to be left behind. Her posture and unwavering stare told him that there was no way he could talk her out of it. He shrugged his shoulders and chuckled a bit.
"Well, I guess that's that. There's only one problem, though."
He folded his hands.

"Are you sure you can take the time off of work to do this? My job allows me to travel, but yours requires you to be there. I can't guarantee how long this is going to take us, and I don't want you to lose your job over this."
He gave her a small smile.
"So, I hope you've got some vacation time built up. It might take all of it and then some for this one."

Jessica smiled a little and nodded. "Don't worry about that. I'll work it out." She got up and sipped her coffee again before going over and pulling out her phone to call work.

Scott watched as she went over to the side of the kitchen to call work. He finished his cup of coffee and washed it out before setting it on the counter.
"All right, then. We should start getting our stuff packed. I've got an extra travel case you can use if you want."
Once she was off the phone, he approached her and put one arm around her waist before giving her a short kiss on the lips.
"I'm glad you're coming with me."

Scott then went into his bedroom and pulled one of his travel cases out from under the bed. He took some clothes, an electric razor, deodorant, aftershave, the box with the letters and syringes, and other necessary things and put them in the bag. Part of being a P.I. was always being ready to travel, so it didn't take him more than thirty minutes to get packed. Once his bag was completely packed, he walked over to the desk in his home office and opened the drawer where he had been keeping the gun he had confiscated from one of the punks who had tried to rape Jessica. Scott opened the bag and tossed it in the garbage before checking the gun. It was clean and fully loaded, ready for use at any time, but thankfully with the safety still on.

Scott walked back to where Jessica was and held the gun out to her as he held the barrel.
"I want you to take this, so that you have some way of defending yourself if I'm not around. It won't do much good against werewolves, but maybe if you shoot one in the face or the eyes it will give you time to get away. I hope we won't need it, but it never hurts to be prepared."
Scott got his bag and stood in the doorway looking at Jessica.
"Do we need to stop by your place to get anything?"

Jessica looked up at him as she got off the phone and blushed a little at the kiss, nodding softly. She pulled on her clothes from the day before and waited for him to be ready, blinking in surprise when he gave her the gun, nodding slowly as she took it and followed him out, nodding. "Just a few things." She said.

Scott nodded as he headed for the car.
"All right, we'll stop by then."
He placed his packed bag in the back and then got into the car with Jessica. He started it and began driving back to her apartment, having memorized the route after driving her home the night she was attacked. He parked in front of the apartment complex.
"Will you need help carrying anything out?"

Jessica shook her head and smiled softly. "I'll be quick." She said and hurried inside and upstairs. She packed some clothes, toiletries, a couple books, and her mothers old teddy bear that she never went more than one night without. She stuffed it all in a travel bag and hurried downstairs with that and her purse. She threw it in the back and climbed back in the car. "Ready."

Scott nodded as she got in and told him she was ready.
"Okay. The first stop is actually to Maine. There have been more recent sightings there, and since it's the closest to us, that's a good place to start."
He started up the car and began driving toward the interstate, so that they could make their way to the extreme northeast. He was thankful that he kept full gas cans in the back for traveling, since they would need them.

Once they were on the interstate, it was pretty much just cruising. He gave a side glance at Jessica, thinking that this would be a bit like coming home for her. Although he was still unsure about her safety, he had to admit that it was nice not to be traveling alone. As he continued to drive with one hand, his other hand reached out and gently took hers. He said nothing, but it was easy to tell how he felt by looking at his expression, which was a mix of determination and concern. He would do everything he could to protect her and get the job done.

Jessica blinked in surprise as he said they were going to Maine first and smiled a little. "Oh, that's cool, do you think I could pay my dad a visit? I haven't been home in over three months and he keeps pestering me on the phone to visit him." She watched out the window as they rode and relaxed back in the seat, turning the radio on to a song she liked. She blinked in surprise and looked over at him as he held her hand. She could tell he was worried about her and didn't want her to be hurt. She felt the gun she'd stuffed in her hand bag and lifted his hand to kiss the back of it gently. "I'll try to be careful..." She promised.