Dilemmas. They’re a part of life ever since you’re born. Disneyland or MovieWorld? Chocolate or strawberry ice cream? Waffle House or IHOP? Marvel Comics or DC Comics? Ruby had always been able to compromise. Convincing her dad to go to two theme parks instead of one had been a walk in the park. Getting two scoops with both flavors? Not an issue. Waffle House on Wednesdays, IHOP on Fridays. Get Spider-Man and Batman comics instead of two from the same publisher.

Now, however, the dilemma she was facing wasn’t so easily solved. Fury’s machinations had pitted her against the man she… loved?

Yes, she thought the word was appropriate at this point. It had started with professional respect, but had grown into so much more over the years. Centurion was a special guy, who made her feel special in turn. And now, she was being forced to face him in as grueling a match as B.O.B.’s leader could conjure up. There wasn’t a single fiber in her being that wanted this, but what choice did she have? On one hand, it was a plan easily sabotaged by both of them. Take a dive, literally, and get through Anarchy unscathed. But that would also betray everything she had worked for all of her life.

The path to becoming a wrestler hadn’t been easy for Ruby. She had always been small and underestimated, from her first steps in the indy circuit to the big leagues in XWF. She had gotten to where she was right now by always giving it 100%, never backing down for any kind of challenge. Sabotaging Miss Fury’s plans by scheming a predetermined outcome would be a betrayal of all of her preteen self’s hopes and dreams. That dream was to be the very best, always and everywhere… Superhero style!

Her distraughtness must’ve been apparent in the family’s weekly Zoom call. When her dad cracked an AMAZING joke about how the calendar was finished because its days were numbered, it barely even registered.

Olivia: “Okay, honeybun. Talk to us.”

Ruby’s mother put on a serious look and elbowed her husband in an effort to get him to stop with the endless torrent of lame dad jokes. Ruby tried to shrug it off.

Ruby: “Talk… I’m talking to you.”

Olivia: “Don’t play coy. Your father and I aren’t blind, we know what you’re up against this week. You and your boyfriend with the handsome face, pitted against each other in a match that shouldn’t even exist. I know you, Rubes, I’m your mother. This is eating away at you, I can tell.”

Nicholas: “Yeah, I tried to make you feel better by taking out the never-fail repertoire of Nicholas Debuchy’s greatest hits, but no score. What gives?”

Ruby didn’t know how to feel. On one hand, she didn’t want to talk about it, on the other she wanted to unleash a torrential non-stop tirade that would continue until dawn.

Ruby: “Look, I don’t know you guys. I’m torn. But I shouldn’t be. My purpose should be clear. My glorious purpose, and all that. I’ve never backed away from a challenge, but how can I do such gruesome things to my mans, especially if that plays right into Fury’s hand?”

Ruby’s dad sighed, and leaned forward like pro gamers do.

Nicholas: “Sweetheart, do you remember when I used to read you from Sun Tzu’s Art of War when you were just a wee kiddo?”

Ruby: “Of course. I have it memorized.”

Nicholas: “Well, then. Finish this sentence… To ensure that your whole host may withstand the brunt of the enemy’s attack and remain unshaken…”

Ruby: “…this is effected by maneuvers direct and indirect.”

Nicholas: “You and your ‘host’ have withstood plenty of attacks. Now you must remain unshaken. By maneuvers direct…”

Ruby: “… and indirect.”

Olivia: “…I still wish you’d have read to her from Alice in Wonderland…”

Ruby snapped her fingers.

Ruby: “Of course! I know what I must do. How could there be any doubt! Gotta go, fam. Love you!”

…

From Ruby’s Go-Pro…

We meet our Super Dear’O in Centurion’s loft. The place is spic and span, yet its owner is out for some deep dish pizza. An opportune moment for the Banana-Lime Blur to address the match that the whole world is waiting for.

Ruby: “My flippies! I know you’re all waiting with bated breath for the next episode of Anarchy. And why shouldn’t you? A+ show, am I right? But obviously, everybody’s looking forward to watching my mans and I shove each other off a scaffold. I’m sure Miss Fury thought herself real clever when she booked this, and hey… I applaud the effort. Pitting a couple against each other is a classic bad guy maneuver. But you forgot one thing, Missy. Centy and I aren’t cut from the same cloth as you and yours. People have the audacity to call my mans boring, but I call him stable. I call him responsible. I call him professional. Traits I love and admire. And it’s because of those traits that your silly scheme has failed before it has begun. True loyalty, love and care are alien to you. So yes, we will compete. We will fight. We will go all-in to win, and give the fans a show. Because we are professionals. We are entertainers. And we have enough awareness to realize that in this business we call show, we’ll have to do things that aren’t always up our alley. But I can promise you this, Centy and I will go to battle. For the fans. For Anarchy. No grudges, no games. And whoever comes out on top, will nurse the other one back to health with all the love and care he or I can muster. And that’s a metric flip-ton, believe you me.”

Ruby takes a deep breath.

Ruby: “Throw everything you want at us, even each other. This bond can’t be broken. But you can. You will.”