Under the clear blue sky, within the fortified walls of the vast Narfinex City, in the highest peak of the largest castle sits our blue-haired heroine reclined back on a chair, the back legs teetering as she bounces her foot against the large table occupying most of the room. She blows an azure strand of hair from her face; her large round eyes unmoving as they fixate on the mural painted on the ceiling. An ancient battle depicting heroes of old fight against an intangible mass of darkness and cruelly malformed warriors. A slam of a palm on the table shakes Game Girl’s pupils to the person across from her. The Princess holds herself up on the painted oak as she pierces GG’s gaze.

“Are you even listening to me?”

Game Girl halts her rocking of the chair and leans forward, the legs hitting the granite floor with a gentle clunk.

“Nah.”

Princess exhales a deep sigh, her eyes gently closing and she stands up straight and interlocks her hands. She looks down at GG as she moves around the table.

“We’ve lost too much land; we have reports of other worlds being corrupted by The General.”

“Big Bad.”

Game Girl interrupts with a finger point. Princess rolls her eyes; her hand stroking a finger across the table to rid it of a speck of dust.

“Sure. We’ve made little to no progress in stopping him even an iota and with Game Boy gone.” Princess pauses briefly, looking at GG who averts her gaze. “The only force we have is within this city, protecting the people and… You.”

Our hero scoffs with a slight shake of her head. Princess halts her movement as she looks out at the balcony.

“I like to think I’ve done pretty well, and I’m strong enough to stop him, it’s more of a matter of when I’m allowed to stop him.”

Princess turns around with a raised eyebrow.

“So the fact that you almost died after that ambush in the Lost Woods?”

“Ambushes don’t count! They surprised me is all.”

“You sprung the ambush!”

GG nods to herself.

“It was a surprise how well they handled it.”

“And then there’s your second attempt attacking their stronghold in The Storm Hills. What exactly happened again?”

“Kind of a blur to be honest.”

“What was it? Seven? No! Eight miles away we found you after one of his henchmen punted you like a football.”

“He was more of a boss.”

“And don’t get me started on what happened last time.”

She digs her fingernails into her palms before quickly regaining her cool. Game Girl sinks into her seat somewhat more and her right-hand clutches at the empty left arm of her jacket.

“You lack so much tactical knowledge and common sense to not even realize we all need to work together and form a solid plan.”

“A solid plan!?” GG stands to her feet, the chair sliding back and hitting the ground. “You mean wait here and die? You know how many innocent lives that monster has taken!? Even if I fail, even if lose everything at the very least I slowed him down so you can get people out of here!”

A look of aggravation grows on Princess’s face as she steps closer to GG.

“To where Paige?”

GG hesitates for a moment. Princess leans in to match Game Girl’s height.

“If you know of some magical place where we can keep people safe then please enlighten me.”

Silence fills the air. Princess fixes her posture as she glares down at Game Girl.

“I thought as much. We can’t go anywhere, and even if we could what kind of monarch would I be abandoning my kingdom? No, we don’t need people to leave, we need a way to get heroes here to help fight.”

Game Girl’s eyes widen as the lightbulb above her head shines bright, with a joyous breath she smiles and curls her hand into a fist pump.

“We can get heroes here!”

Game Girl sprints towards the open doors of the balcony as Princess looks to her.

“Pardon?”

But no response as GG giddily hops over the balcony with a whistle and free falls quickly to the city below before being caught by a small golden cloud which whisks her away to the forest in the distance. Princess watches her leave with a loose fist over her heart and sighs.

---

“Hey everyone!” :D

“I first of all just wanted to say I am SO excited to be back although let’s be honest it will be a brief fly-in visit. Turns out I’m kinda busy all the time now which blows. Life used to be simple, y’know? Travel the universe, smash some bad guys and relax with people I like. Like VV! I miss VV… Heard she’s a vampire now though which could be problematic… Or awesome I’m honestly very conflicted.”

“I’m rambling, sorry.”

“I guess it’s only polite to introduce myself to people who may not know, my name is Paige or you can call me Game Girl as is my title. Yes, I am a video game character but I can travel kinda anywhere. I lost my arm recently which sucks but I can still bop people in the nose real good so don’t get confident haha. I’ve had a few matches here in XWF when I find the time, beat some pretty big names, been beaten by some big names but that’s how the game goes, right? Can’t win ‘em all. There was another version of me, I guess, named Game Boy. We have the same powers but it’s… It’s complicated but we do share a record here just in case you get confused.”

“Anywhoo, let’s get to the meat. I am here to chew bubblegum and kick butt, and I’m all out of bubblegum >:) I want to start off talking about the captain of the opposite team, Mister Mastermind who has used his brains to assemble a pretty darn good team. A team of people who have accomplished a ton in the XWF and it’d be rude of me and I’d be a liar if I didn’t admit that his party members are forces to be reckoned with. It’s just a shame that Mastermind is so overshadowed by his teammates. With how long Mastermind has been a part of this company, longer than all of his comrades, he has never reached the heights the others have achieved and on top of that, Mastermind has his own team, Misfits I believe, which he has managed so poorly that they’re basically not even here anymore. How can you trust a leader you know you can do a better job than? Not even think you can do better, you KNOW you can do better as Dolly and Thaddeus have both been a part of better teams in the past that have accomplished much, much more. How can you follow someone into battle who doesn’t know what they’re doing? Someone with more losses than his entire team combined and doubled! I don’t want to pick on the weakest link but it honestly boggles my mind that this man was chosen to lead!”

“War Games World Record Speedrun 100% Any% (in love with the name bee tee dubs) has a better leader in Blue Tango Calypso, someone who has the ability to shock and surprise people, to cause an upset when people think of him as the underdog and is truly the hero the world needs! NKWC, who I’ll be honest I’m iffy on morality wise, has proven how incredible he is within a team! He is half of the tag champs, he won War Games last year and overcame Thaddeus Duke’s team with his compatriots! He is the glue that can hold us together. Hanari Carnes is like a shark in the water, he can target a limb and tear it off, and trust me I know people that can do that.”

Game Girl points to her missing arm with a side smile.

“He’s our sniper. And me? Well, I came in and helped beat Mastermind’s last mismanaged War Games team many years ago. As Game Boy though. But same powers, same records. Moving on to Peter Vaughn, firstly, sir, I respect custodians and salute your hard work and labor!” GG gives a stern salute. “And your career here, while not too long, is highly impressive. Universal Chamion! Well, former until Alias took it back but you were an amazing interim champ! And now you’re Supercontinental Champion! Both huge title wins in such a small space of time! No wonder you were a first round pick! If I was a captain, based on stats alone, I would have demanded to be able to make the first pick of the round just so I could choose you! Weird that wasn’t the case, total misplay on the others parts. I personally don’t know you too well, Mister Vaughn but I can’t wait to face you and see for myself what an excellent fighter you can be!”

“Thirdly, Dolly Waters *sigh* the girl I just cannot beat. Well, they always say third time’s the charm. Dolly, last we fought, I slept on you, I had my eyes set on other targets and that was ultimately my downfall, the first time we faced I slept literally hehe. I’m not trying to make excuses, you beat me fair and square and I won’t say otherwise! But I feel like I’ve lived hundreds of lives since last we talked, I’ve died and respawned, I’ve learned more and forgotten less, I’ve won more battles than I can remember and lost more than I care to admit. You’re an amazing fighter Dolly, a true talent and a good hearted person but with all due respect, why have you never won the Universal in your tenure here? I’m not saying this to anger or hurt you, I’m saying this because the most heartbreaking thing in this universe is wasted potential and you’ve worked so hard to stay in the middle and it just saddens me. You’re capable of so much more! Yet, you lack the motivation to seize your opportunity. It’s kills me; hopefully after our third outing, the least I’ll be able to do is open your eyes.”

“And lastly.”

“A late replacement.”

“Thaddeus Duke is a man who needs no introduction, one of the greatest wrestlers in the XWF by far replacing someone who hasn’t even peaked.” GG shakes her head. “Looking at this it just seems like blatant cheating to me, and that’s coming from someone with a “cheat list”. Any other team would be shaking in fear over the great Thaddeus Duke entering the enemy team and challenging them. Me? I see a team that got a power-up to put them on equal footing with us. An advantage with special treatment. An extra life. A cheat code. And quite frankly it makes me sick, it annoys me that this is even allowed but I beat your daddy, Thaddeus, how hard can it be to knock down someone still in his shadow?”

---

Nestled within the giant trees lays a small wood cabin; grey smoke pours from the chimney as a group of deer grazes nearby. We enter the hovel; GG sits on a stump sipping tea across from a small purple-robed witch, the brim of her wizard hat covering her eyes as she swirls a sturdy branch in the cauldron in front of her.

“I’m half certain what you’re asking me to do is breaking every dimensional law I can think of.”

“And you’re cool with that I imagine?”

GG gives a smile as she goes back to her tea. The witch looks up, her piercing yellow eyes lock on to Game Girl.

“I mean if I don’t we’re all doomed anyway.” She releases the branch which glides along the inside of the cauldron and she dusts off her hands before clasping them behind her back. “So, who are we plucking from existence?”

GG finishes her tea and places the cup at her feet before clearing her throat.

“Well, I don’t know many people anymore but I have a great team of heroes to help us out. Firstly, we have Urf’s mightiest hero.” Game Girl leans forward making a huge show of this/ “The Blue Tango!”

The witch blinks slowly, unimpressed.

“Who dat?”

“Who dat?” GG stands as she grows more offended. “WHO DAT!? Didn’t you hear me, Gretchin? He’s URF’S MIGHTIEST HERO!”

“How?”

“Whu?”

“How is he Earth’s mightiest hero?”

GG taps her foot on the floor trying to think before flailing her one arm to dismiss the question.

“Just trust me, please!”

“Aight.” Gretchin shrugs before stretching her arms out over the cauldron. “Hm. Can’t seem to get a bead on this Blue Tango.”

“What!?”

GG rushes over to the cauldron and looks inside seeing nothing but swirling liquid.

“Wait, I’ve got him… Hmm, maybe it could be him. Well, worst-case scenario we send some poor idiot here and use them as cannon fodder.”

“Gretchin!”

“I’m kidding! Chill bro.”

“... You’ve changed ever since you started eating that funny smelling herb.”

“You do odd things in the end times. You’ll understand when you’re older.” Gretchin gives a brief look up to GG before cracking her knuckles and going back to the cauldron. “How you wanna get him here?”

Game Girl thinks for a moment.

“I mean… I don’t want to scare him by just booting him here and it feels wrong if he doesn’t know what he’s getting into… Plus, we’re gonna need to acculate them to how this world works so might be smart getting them into a training program or tutorial. How about we send him something he’ll recognize? Like a-a game console! Even heroes must relax on the weekend with some video games?”

“One dimensional-travelling-highly-illegal-games-console coming up.”

“Make it a Commodore 64, I bet he’d get a kick out of that.”

Gretchin gives a quick thumbs up before twirling her wrists and dropping dust into the cauldron’s contents which then explode into a plume of green smoke; GG coughs as she wafts the smoke away, taking a few steps back.

“He’ll get it in no time. Who’s next?”

“North Korean War Criminal.”

Gretchin halts all movement, her head slowly tilting up to look at GG.

“... Excuse me?”

“Don’t judge a book by it’s… Title?”

“War Criminal?”

“Just listen to my reasoning here before you judge me.”

“W A R C R I M I N A L ! ?”

“Every super cool team needs a wild card, right? Someone who will do something the hero won’t.”

“Yeah, Paige, he’ll do war crimes!”

GG frowns trying to think of a response.

“I’m sure he’s super nice when you get to know him.”

Gretchin shakes her head but waves her hands over the cauldron with some reluctance.

“Screw it, what’s the worst that can happen anyway?”

A nervous smile grows on Game Girl’s face; her hand goes to her side.

“Send him an NES; I have a weird gut feeling that he’s ignorant to the joy of video games so best to ease him in.”

Gretchin nods and the cauldron booms once more. The witch exhales and wipes sweat from her brow.

“I’ve got enough power for one more. Who’s next?”

“Hanari Carnes.”

“This another criminal? Cartel, perhaps? The new El Chapo?”

“I-I don’t know what those words mean.”

“Forget it.”

“He’s a good wrestler, smart, technical and he’s got lots of credits behind him too. And I heard that money talks! Which is good? Yeah?”

Gretching bends her fingers in rhythm.

“Sure.”

“Are you mad? You seem mad.”

“I’m…” Gretchin stops registering her tone. “I’m just tired, Game Girl.”

“Okay… Sorry… Send him a Gameboy Advance! People love GBAs.”

“A Game Boy… Okay…”

BOOM! The mix of orange dust flows into the extended plume of green mist before the cauldron’s bubbling dies down and the contents become still; the fog dissipating. Gretchin's hands rest upon the cauldron; GG goes to reach out a hand but Gretchin waves her away before she can approach.

“Don’t worry about me; what’s the plan now then?”

“Well.” Game Girl pushes strands of hair behind her ear and gives a nod before forcing a smile. “We save the universe.”