October 4th
Abaco Island, Bahamas

“Aaaaaand... BOOM!”

Ruby pressed the power button on the TV. It crackled with static for a while, until the picture sprang to life.

It was a simple thing, yet it was met with a great many cheers by the residents of the building’s common room. The people of the Bahamas had been living without the most basic of needs for such a long time, but now, thanks to well-organized reconstruction efforts, some of them were slowly starting to rediscover the meaning of the word ‘comfort’. Simple things, such as a roof over their heads, running water, electricity,… It all seemed so taken for granted where Ruby came from. But to these people, it was luxury.

Ruby straightened her back and turned around towards Javon, one of the local guys she’d met. He was a good-looking guy, tall and in his mid-twenties. As soon as Centurion had asked her to appear on the Bahamas show she had gratefully accepted. Sure, wrestling for charity was fun, but actually going out into the streets and help people was even better. Javon was one of the first people she’d come across, and he had accepted her help without a second’s thought. And he’d been proof that you didn’t need a cape, mask or costume to be a hero, proving himself to be utterly selfless and completely devoted to helping his community.

“High five!” Ruby yelled and jumped up into the air. Sure enough, he didn’t leave her hanging. The clap of the hands reverberated around the big room, and a few others clapped hands as well. Having watched their success, a few others tried turning on some screens of their own, from phones, tablets, laptops, and the like.

“Thank you, Ruby,” Javon said, nodding in appreciation. “I gotta say, you’ve been a massive help. You’re surprisingly strong, for eh…” Javon’s voice drifted off into an awkward silence.

“Such a frail-looking little girl?” Ruby said with a teasing grin. She punched him softly on the shoulder. “It’s okay, you can say it. Trust me, in my profession, people make a living from trying to come up with the worst possible insults. Most of them are very bad at it, or just very one-dimensional. In any case, trust me when I say I’ve heard worse.”

Javon smirked and ultimately shrugged.

“I guess so. Still, I don’t want to disrespect you. In fact, I wish I had something to thank you with.”

“Oh?” Ruby frowned, the bit her lower lip as the corner of her mouth curled up. She grabbed his hand, intertwining his fingers with her. “I’m sure I can think of… something…”

She pulled him closer, stood on her tippy-toes, leaned in and…

Loud static shook up what might’ve been a romantic moment (who knows?) as the image on the TV and every other screen in the room got scrambled. People moaned and complained immediately, hitting their devices with the palm of their hand, or ticking against the back.

“Nooo!” Ruby said, letting go of Javon and walking over to the TV.

“Weird,” Javon remarked. Ruby chose to believe that he was talking about all the screens in the room suddenly going haywire.

“Yeah… the power’s still on, but there’s no signal!”

No sooner had she spoken the words than an eerie silhouette appeared in the center of the TV, just like it did on every other screen in the room. People looked at each other in confusion, wondering what was going on. The character on the screen was impossible to recognize. Ruby had a bad feeling about this.

A big, booming voice emanated from every speaker, clearly modified to make it sound unrecognizable and deeper than Barry White.

PEOPLE OF THE BAHAMAS

FEAR ME FOR I AM RUIN

FEAR ME FOR I AM DESTRUCTION

DO YOU THINK YOU’VE HAD IT BAD

I AM JUST GETTING STARTED

TONIGHT I WILL UNLEASH MY MASTER PLAN

AND BRING ALL THAT’S LEFT STANDING

CRUMBLING TO THE GROUND

IT BEGINS

AND ENDS

IN BAY STREET

A second or two of static, and the regular screens popped back, as if nothing had happened. Javon frowned and looked at Ruby.

“Even weirder.”

“Very,” Ruby agreed.

“He mentioned Bay Street. That’s in Nassau. I’m not sure what this guy is up to, but it doesn’t sound good. I’m sure the police will handle it, though.”

“Yeah… yeah, definitely.” Ruby felt her stomach twist and turn. Javon was right, this probably WAS police business, but her mind could only think of one thing. And while her mask and costume were locked inside her closet a few thousand miles away, she could still feel them call to her.

“So…” Javon said, putting his arm on Ruby’s shoulder. “I believe we were talking about ways to thank you?”

“Yeah… no… I gotta go,” Ruby said. As she walked away, Javon’s hand fell off her shoulder. He frowned as he watched her leave, the disappointment in his face palpable.

***********************************************************************************************************

***********************************************************************************************************

Later that night
Bay Street

Ruby walked around the streets of the capital of Nassau. Whilst it had been largely spared by Dorian, it had groaned under the weight of the refugees from other islands, whose plywood houses had been utterly demolished. It was generational devastation. And if there was but one madman threatening to destroy the last true foundation the Bahamas had left, then Ruby needed to do her part and try to stop him.

Still, she felt naked and vulnerable without that embrace of a mask on her face. And she wasn’t certain it was a good idea to put herself in harm’s way during a possible fool’s errand the night before her match against Alyssa Ferro. But some things were simply stronger than herself. She knew she wouldn’t get a moment’s rest before she caught whoever was behind this terrorist threat. So she balled her hand into a fist, steeled herself, and moved on.

The streets were remarkably empty, considering the recent influx of refugees. It didn’t put her mind at ease. And where was the police, like Javon had said there’d be? Maybe they were too busy dealing with actual problems, rather than wasting their time on a wild goose chase.


"HALT!" a loud, booming voice suddenly roared, piercing the night air.

"WHO DARES APPROACH?"

"Me, bud," Ruby replied, looking up and around to try and spot the source.

"Saw your message. Can't let you do what you're trying to do. Not very cool, my guy. These people have lost enough, don't you think?"

"FOOLISH GIRL! THE WORLD WANTS TO END! IT HAS GIVEN US A SIGN! I AM MERELY DOING ITS BIDDING."

"Yeah, no, not gonna happen."

"LOOK AT ALL THAT HAS HAPPENED. NATURAL DISASTERS! PLAGUES! VIRUSES! TRUMP! THE WORLD WANTS TO DIE. AND WHO ARE WE TO FIGHT IT?"

"Wants to die? Sounding a bit off your rocker there, bud. I've seen the world. I've seen plenty of it. And it's a beautiful place, filled with great people, and some not so great ones, but it's a place worth sustaining. Worth living in. So how about you get down here and we can get this over with?"

"NOBODY CAN STOP ME! I AM THE NATURAL DISASTER! I AM THE VANGUARD OF OUR OBLITERATION."

A shadowy figure jumped down from a rooftop, landing on its feet, surrounded by smoke. The silhouette spread its arms wide in dramatic fashion.

"FOR I! AM...!"


"THE TORNADO!"

"...beg pardon?"

Ruby frowned as she finally saw the silly-looking hooded figure in the moonlight. He was breathing heavily, trying his best to put on a menacing face, knitting his eyebrows together and looking down his nose at her.

"I SAID I AM! THE TOR-"

"Yeah, no, no, I heard you the first time, bud. But... tornado? Really?"

Ruby looked around for a bit, then back at the Tornado.

"Don't you think that, given the situation, sometyhing like 'The Hurricane' might be a bit better?They're more powerful, too."

"Oh, errrr..."

The guy's voice suddenly stopped booming, adapting a completely normal speaking tone. He shrugged.

"I actually did think about that, but it was taken by some dude. Gotta be original, you know?"

"Oh, I hear you on that one."

"Besides, I didn't really wanna rub it in these people's faces."

"You just wanna end their entire world, because that's much better."

"Just because I'm a villain doesn't mean I can't show a bit of class. Jeez, what is WRONG with you?? Why are you making fun of my name?"

"I mean, Tornado is taken too. Isn't that the name of Zorro's horse?"

"Sidekicks don't count!"

"So you'd never call yourself Batman, but Robin would be fine? Buddy, have you been drinking?"

"Just a bit! And it's different! Tornado is a horse! I am a supervillain. I am THE Tornado! I will cause supermassive destruction of 10 on the Richter Scale!"

“Yeah, gonna have to stop you there again, bud. Richter Scale is used to measure the strength of earthquakes. Not tornadoes. You’re looking for the EF Scale, methinks. How about you say you’ll hit the Bahama’s with an F5?”

“That sounds like a really lame villain move. Why are you correcting me, anyway? Can’t you let me be villainous in peace, you little know-it-all?”

“I’m not gonna lie to you here, bud. A hero’s only as good as his villain and I’m feeling pretty generic right now. What even IS your master plan anyway?"

"Plan? Oh! Yeah! Ahem..."

The Tornado cleared his throat and retrieved something from his pocket. It seemed like a detonator, with a big red button in the middle... except it was made out of cardboard, and the button was drawn on with permanent marker.

"AS SOON AS I PUSH THIS BUTTON, I WILL UNLEASH A NATURAL DISASTER SO GRAND IT WILL BRING ALL OF NASSAU TO THE GROUND! I..."

"Buddy, that thing doesn't even work, does it?"

"Hey, don't interrupt me, I was doing my monologue!"

Ruby rolled her eyes. What a waste of time this had turned out to be. If this 'adventure' would ever be written down, she was certain the reader would share that sentiment.

"Fine. You know what? Press it. Go ahead, I won't stop you. Execute your grand scheme!"

"...what?"

"Push the button!"

"...but...no! That's not how this works, you're supposed to stop me! You're supposed to stop me and beat me up!"

"Look, I'm getting real tired of this, okay? I came here to help people. Help them out in the streets, help them get their lvies back in order. I came here to wrestle in a charity show put up by the XWF so we may raise money for reconstruction efforts. I'm facing Alyssa Ferro tomorrow, who is a complete and total stranger to me, in my first XWF match that isn't a part of Anarchy. Now, I'm sure Alyssa is nice and all, but I'm also sure she'll beat me up into a bloody pulp if I let my guard down. This isn't some kind of game to me, you know. I've been trying to get my colors back, by EARNING them. I used to feel like a real hero, but while I've been dabbling with the midcard and having zero direction, I've been surpassed by one superstar after the other. I've wasted enough time here. I hope you find what you're looking for."

Ruby turned around, put her hands in her pockets and started walking away.

"No! NO! You can't walk away! Not yet! You haven't beaten me up yet! Please beat me up!"

The Tornado started pursuing Ruby, until he caught up with her and he started running cirlces around her.

"Beat me up, pleaaaaase! Beatmeupbeatmeupbeatmeup!"

"Go away, dude!"

"I'll go away if you beat me up!"

"What is your PROBLEM??"

"You haven't beaten me up yet!"

"Look, I work with some people that have got some very strange fetishes, but..."

"Come on, bi-"



"No profanity!"

Tornado keeled over, unconscious before he hit the ground, with Ruby's knuckles imprinted into his temple.No sooner than when he hit the ground, sirens started blaring in the distance. Ruby peered at them, as she saw a car approach. Fire department? Police? Ambulance?

A big white van stopped right next to the duo, with Ruby worried she could get in trouble. Two men in long white coats emerged from the vehicle, and approached her.

"Evening, ma'am," the oldest of the pair said with a polite nod, before looking down at the 'Tornado'. "Looks like you caught him. We've been looking all over!"

"...caught him?" Ruby asked.

"Yeah, he escaped from the insane asylum. Damn hurricane sent a tree into the wall of his cell, if you can believe it. Gave him an easy escape route. Should've taken better safety precautions I guess."

"I guess so."

The two doctors crouched down next to Tornado before picking him up by the ankles and arms.

"Mad as a hatter, this one," the doctor continued. "Used to be a brilliant technical engineer, until all of a sudden he wants to get beaten up by everybody. Thinks he's some kind of supervillain out to destroy the world. I think he read a bit too many of those comic books, if you ask me."

"...yeah..."

They threw Tornado back into the van and the doctor dusted his hands off. The other one already went back behind the steering wheel.

"Well, thanks for the assist, ma'am. Handled yourself well. Last thing we need are masked lunatics running around the streets, huh? Anyway, we'll be off. Have a nice evening!"

He jumped into his seat behind his colleague and the sirens started again. Ruby sighed.

"Masked lunatics," she whispered to herself. "Yeah, who needs those?"

Ruby shook her head and continued her walk, back to the hotel.