In a murky back alley, two groups of four shady characters are standing right in front of each other. Their clothes are dark and inconspicuous, their faces mostly hidden from the shadow the moonlight casts below their caps. Yet, it’s clear who the leaders of their packs are. Both groups have one person standing in front of the other three, who are hanging back with their arms crossed, clearly in a state of high alert should all heck break loose.

“You got the goods?” asks the guy from the group on the left. He is easily a head taller than anyone else around, but the guy opposite him is not intimidated in the slightest.

“You got the dough?” is the answer thrown his way.

The big man grins, revealing a set of yellow teeth, before conjuring up a briefcase he was holding behind his back. The lock clicks open and he flashes its contents to the opposing side, revealing stacks of crisp CA$20 notes.

“It’s all here.”

“It better be.”

“It is. Now, the goods.”

The opposing man lights up a cigarette, the match’s flame revealing a huge fresh scar that runs from his forehead, over his eye and almost down to his chin. He nods, and the men behind him slowly roll out a few suitcases before directing them towards their prospective buyers.

“Damn. Looks like you got got by a tiger,” Big told Scar.

“Nah. Not a tiger. Something way smaller and way more annoying, if you ask me.”

“What’s that?”

“You haven’t heard? Last week my cousin got his two middle fingers broken for pissing against a building. It’s crazy. There’s some vigilante roaming these here streets, and she’ll make you pay for even the slightest offense. Stuck one of her claws in me ‘cause I sold a bag of weed to a couple of teens.”

“Oh, that? I thought that was just a joke.”

“If only. Best pray she doesn’t show up tonight, or you’re gonna have to use up half that product to wipe away your trauma.”

“Better not. Demand for this stuff is crazy. We can’t sell it fast enough.”

“I suppose you’ll be wanting another shipment soon, then? Say, this time day after tomorrow, eh?”

“That’ll depend.”

“Depend on what?”

“We’ve been receiving complaints. From customers. ‘Inferior product’, they’ve been calling it. Not good for our business rep, see? This current batch better does what it says it does, because if I have to hear one more complaint about the lack of absorption I might just break a man’s face.”

“Just tell them to buy more… That’s what I’d do.”

“That’s not how that works. My boss wants to talk to yours, hash this out. We’re losing money over this. And if the product’s as bad as it was last time, those talks aren’t gonna be pleasant.”

Scar sighed and shrugged.

“Okay, Karen, I’ll lt you speak to the manager. Now if that’s everything, we gonna get going before the banana-lime blur shows up.”

“The what now?”

“That’s her. One who gave me this beauty.” He pointed at his face. “Gives me a lot of street cred. Just wish the story behind it was as good. But trust me, break the law and she’ll be on your case. I haven’t said a swear word ever since another cousin of mine had his jaw broken for swearing at a traffic stop.”

“All right. Pack it in boys, we’re leaving!”

He put his hand in the air and twirled it around. The two groups disbanded, yearning for the safety of their home base.

But none of them noticed the pair of hazel eyes, watching them from above through a mask of purest green. A gloved fist clenched itself tightly, before a *swoosh* and a *whish*, until nothing but the dark embrace of night remained.

---

---

An old yellow-green car stops at a seemingly very average semi-terraced house, parking in the short driveway. The car’s horn goes off, blasting part of the recognizable theme of Julius Fucik’s ‘Einzug der Gladiatoren’. Seconds later, two people in their sixties burst through the front door with open arms and our un-costumed/un-masked Super Dear’O exits from her car, displaying the exact same enthusiasm upon seeing them.

Ruby: “Mom! Dad!”

Nicolas and Olivia Debuchy ran towards their daughter, before engaging in a threeway hug.

Nicolas/Olivia: “Ma petite chérie!”

---

Quote:The camera instantaneously cuts to Ruby, seated on a sofa with crossed legs, comfortably leaning back in the house she grew up in. She’s face to face with the camera, with nobody else around.

Ruby: “So, every year I pick a week to go and visit my mom and dad. We meet up on regular holidays, you know, your Christmases, your Thanksgivings, your Easters,… But because of my day job, which requires quite a bit of travelling, and because of my quote-unquote night job, I don’t have a lot of time to go visit the old geezers. We don’t have regular Sunday, or as dad calls it: Funday, lunches, and because I don’t have kids, yet, I don’t have to drop off my kids here on the regular. SO, I promised: one week every year, I will come and visit them so we can spend some prolonged quality time together. And there’s no better time than the present, you know? We spend the week, and then I’m taking the whole fam to Japan, baby! They don’t always come to the shows, especially Anarchy since it’s in such weird, remote locations more often than not, but for this particular match I’ve got coming up, I’ve asked them to take a leap of faith, and they were happy to! It’s gonna be the greatest thing since garlic bread!”

---

We cut back to our original scene in the driveway. Ruby is grabbing her bags from the trunk as her father excitedly rubs his hands together, barely able to stop himself from skipping towards her.

Nicolas: “Can I see ‘em, can I see ‘em??”

Olivia sighed and shook her head, but Ruby grinned and zipped open the heaviest bag in the trunk.

Ruby: “Here. I knew you were gonna want to get a hold of these.”

She handed her Anarchy and Cross-Hemisphere Championships over to her father, who draped them over his shoulder with the utmost reverence, as if he was a citizen being clad in a Roman Emperor’s purple toga.

Nicolas: “This is amaaaaziiiing! I marked so hard when you won these! We always knew you were the best thing on Anarchy, but to go into the UGWC as an XWF representative and come away with their title was one of the proudest moments of my life!”

The broad and bright smile on Father Debuchy’s face was one in a million.

---

Quote: Ruby: “Yeah, so recently I accepted a very peculiar challenge. A friendly rival wrestling federation of the XWF, called the Unified Global Wrestling Coalition, was hosting open invitations, and the XWF showed up in force! And with great success too, actually. My boy Centy made it all the way to the finals of their big tournament, and I myself managed to nab their Cross-Hemisphere title belt, making me a double champion! Now I’m not going to boast too much about it, or otherwise Gilly will feel neglected, burst through that door and start screaming about all of HIS accomplishments, and how he once beat up someone in some deathmatch thing where you have to dip your hands in glue, then sniff them, and last one to pass out wins a title, or something. The details are vague, as is most of the stuff surrounding that dude, but nevertheless, I was quite proud to do what I did. Vinnie’s hardballing the UGWC a bit, saying I can’t compete on their shows, how this title now belongs to the XWF, and what have you, but I’ll let management handle that kind of stuff. I’m just glad that I made my company proud, you know? Lord knows we can use a few positive role models up in here.”

---

Ruby: “Glad you dig’em, pops! It wasn’t easy, let me tell you. But I gotta treat those titles with respect, because the second you think they belong to you, the hungrier those fish nippin’ at your toes are gonna be!”

Olivia: “I haven’t seen your father this excited since we accidentally bumped into Cher at Costco. At least, we thought it was Cher.”

Ruby smiled and picked up the rest of her bags, putting up her hand as her parents rushed to help her.

Ruby: “No need! I can carry my own flippin’ bags. Y’all are in your sixties, I’m a wrestler in her prime. I can handle a few bags.”

---

Quote:The camera cuts again, this time to Nicolas and Olivia seated in the same sofa as their daughter, with nothing but the camera in front of them.

Olivia: “Our darling Ruby was always a bit… different. Very smart girl, mind you. And so much empathy for others! Oh, I remember back when she was little, the principal called us into his office, and said that Ruby had been getting into fights, which obviously concerned us. What parent wants to hear that, am I right? But…”

Nicolas: “Turns out! She was putting the smackdown on the school bullies! Least amount of lunch money stolen since 1949, can you believe that? Our girl did that!!”

Olivia: “Well, quite, but she didn’t necessarily have to flush every bully’s head down the toilet.”

Nicolas: “Yes, as the popular saying goes, “with great power comes great responsibility.” I had had to teach her that there’s a thin line between stopping a bully and being a bully. But still, she eradicated all bullying! Kids had never been happier! Of course, the school’s football team suffered from a massive lack of self-confidence after that, but people around these parts just act like that loss to the Polar Bears never happened.”

Olivia: “…yeah, they cried when they were 0-80 down. Considering what our baby did at the Toronto Frost, they should’ve put her at linebacker! Still, it’s nice to see a bunch of jocks being taken down a notch.”

Nicolas: “Hey, I was a jock back in high school!”

Olivia: “Darling, you played lacrosse. Who are you trying to fool? Anyway, we always had high hopes for her. She was obviously brilliant, so we were ecstatic when she went to Boulder University in the States and graduated. But then when she came to us and said she wanted to pursue a career in wrestling, it was…”

Nicolas: “…only the best thing ever! Couldn’t have been more proud! My daughter, following her dreams and hopes, and being the best she could be! She’d always been good in a scuffle, so I figured she’d be awesome! And she was!”

Olivia: “Yes, personally, I thought she was throwing away a steady teaching job, but you can’t stop your child from doing what she wants to do.”

---

Ruby walked into the house and dropped her bags next to the stairs that led to the bedrooms, including her old one.

Olivia: “Well, I hope you’re hungry! Because I made your favorite!”

Ruby/Nicholas: “Square pancakes with maple syrup??”

Olivia smiled and nodded, and both Ruby and her father skedaddled over to the dining room, where a true feast awaited them. A giant stack of square pancakes, glazed with the sweetest maple syrup dripping down along the edges, and plentiful condiments like wHipped cream and locally-sourced organic bacon to go along with them, as well as plenty of fruit. The trio sat themselves down and both father and daughter eagerly scooped up a stack of their own, added a cube of butter on top and couldn’t wait to dig in as they watched it melt.

Ruby: “Hey dad! Butter hope these pancakes won’t cause indigestion!”

Nicolas: “I wouldn’t… dair-y… to presume!”

Ruby: “Haaa! Nice!”

Both of them laughed as Olivia rolled her eyes.

---

Quote:As the camera cuts once more, we see Olivia all by her lonesome in the sofa.

Olivia: “Ruby’s always been closer to her father than to me. I mean, that’s understandable. After all, she has MY intelligence, and HIS enthusiasm. They’re like the same side of the same coin, at times. And that sounds like a great thing, but when Ruby proposed they’d breakdance at the father-daughter dance in high school, Nicholas almost broke his neck! Sometimes, enthusiasm needs to be tempered. But I guess that’s why I’m here.”

---

Olivia: “Anyway, Ruby dear, tell us about this match at Leap of Faith!”

Ruby: “Well, funny story that! I didn’t even expect to be in it, if I’m being perfectly honest…”

Nicolas: “Which you always are!”

Ruby: “Had a good teacher! But it’s a pretty big deal, you know. It’s a rafter match…”

Nicolas: “Makes it easier to blow the roof off the place, am I right?”

Ruby: “Hah! Exactly, dad! That’s good, I should use that. My boss Vinnie put me in there, or maybe it was Theo who made the call, I don’t know, but I’m facing five of the federation’s fiercest, that’s for sure! All of that on top of pulling double duty against Geri Miller, who I’m also defending my Anarchy title against, but I’ll cross that bridge when I get to it. Geri doesn’t seem like the worst of gals, for what it’s worth, but she might be biting off a bit more than she can chew here. But hey, girl power and all that! It’s actually weird for me to be facing so many of XWF mainstays at once. I know I’ve rarely stepped out of the Anarchy bubble, and Warfare or Savage aren’t necessarily better shows, but certainly different environments that have vastly different landscapes in terms of talent. I’m facing five other peeps out there and I’ve only ever faced Geri and old Lackersnackers, both of which I’ve beaten at some point.”

Ruby quickly looks over her shoulder towards the dining room door to make sure Peter Gilmour doesn’t come bursting in to boast about everybody HE once beat, even though that list would be very small and unimpressive indeed, much like mostly everything he boasts about. Luckily for everybody involved, they were well out of earshot of the man who claimed to be a legend of the squared circle and needed ALL the validation he could get his hands on to keep on believing that himself.

Ruby: “And fair play to Geri. She was good for a while, even caught me off guard enough to take the Anarchy title until I won it back, but then she up and left for a bit, because… I’m not sure why? Now I don’t wanna sit here and just call people a flake…”

Nicolas: “Because that would be rude!”

Ruby: “Precisely! But part of being a true Superstar isn’t just climbing to the top, it’s following THROUGH, you know what I mean? Geri dethroned me and had the chance to do something special with it. But she didn’t. Can she win this match at Leap of Faith? Heck yeah, fam! Do I trust her to actually cash in and change the XWF landscape for the better? Heckers Checkers, not a chance in heck. Meanwhile, I have brought Order to Anarchy. I went to the UGWC and won their Cross-Hemisphere title. These kinds of things stack up, right?

Now, if I were to resemble my good old buddy Sarah, this is where I’d break down into a deep, detailed analysis of my four other opponents. But I ain’t no walking and talking spreadsheet Still, I’ll make an effort. He’s relatively new to the XWF still, right? First match of his I could find was against Bilbo. Obviously he put the ‘W’ in Samuel W. Jackson right there, but let’s be honest, that’s not even a feather that Mini Morbid would be proud of sticking in his cap, and he’s over on Twitter trying to pick a fight against actual cats! But then, next Savage, respect where it’s due, wins a triple threat that included my good buddy Tula, and he even pinned her! Tula is one tough chick with a lot of fighting spirit and a good heart, so anyone who can put her down for the three is quite a force to be reckoned with. So it seems like his star is rising! Unfortunately for him, the next show a big opportunity is thrown out of the window as he fails to become the X-Treme Champion. Of course he didn’t get pinned, but that doesn’t mean you ain’t putting the middle name in Samuel L. Jackson, know what I mean? So the jury’s very much out on this dude, but rather that stating in very clear terms that he has already peaked and that the only way for him is down, I wanna state that he has, according to my pie chart, a 20% chance to win this match!”

Olivia: “You sure like talking up your opponents, sweetheart, don’t you?”

Ruby: “Hey, somebody’s gotta do it. Bringing some positive vibes into the XWF was much needed. It’s not always as easy, as there are some characters even I find pretty irredeemable…”

Nicolas: “Like that one nerdy kid in school who was selling his homework to the dumb kids!”

Ruby: “Yeah, I wouldn’t have been so hard on him if he didn’t demand payment in the form of naked pictures of their moms. But there’s all sorts of weirdo’s running around in that company. Like that Greggo, I mean… I know it’s common courtesy that when talking about your opponents you give all of them the same amount of attention, but he’s doing such stupid stuff that I feel stupid by association just for even acknowledging it. Because apparently, if I’ve correctly translated the gobbledygook that comes out of that person’s mouth, he has deluded himself into thinking he represents Sarah… somehow? I can make neither heads nor tails of it, and it’s honestly not worth the time to try and do so, and . I don’t wanna keep talking about him because he’s hardly a topic fit for the dinner table, but it’s clear to me that he’s a relic from an XWF past better left behind. A past when it was okay to do stupid stuff and get away with it. An age of zero accountability, respect and reason. Luckily, the market for Greggo’s dumbfoolery is drying up quickly. The hardest part will be tuning out the droning noise that he makes as he goes on another nonsensical rant. I’m not sure why he’s in this match, really. Maybe management was afraid they’d be have to be sold out too quickly and wanted to steer a few people away from the event? Who knows…

“But it’s not all bad, there’s Chronic Chris Page too, who’s been around the block. I’m actually looking forward to locking horns with this dude. One half of the tag team champions, alongside arguably XWF’s greatest performer of the last couple of years, that’s saying something. And the accolades on this guy, sheesh! I mean, we don’t have to like each other to acknowledge that he’s capable of beating the living snot out of pretty much anybody but it’s exactly dudes like him who so easily underestimate a girl like me. Big mistake, if that’s the case. But I don’t have to sit here and demand respect. If stepping into the ring with him in person is what it takes to a least get a bit of a professional courtesy, then I can do that. Until then, I figure we just aren’t on the same… Page!”

Nicolas: “Hah! Classic!”

Olivia: “Your pancakes are getting cold, sweetie.”

Ruby: “Right, right.”

Ruby dug in and worked her way through half a stack whilst her mother took over.

Olivia: “Anyway, after lunch I thought we could go out and do something.”

Nicolas: “Trampolining!”

Ruby: “Oh flip yeah!”

Olivia: “Nicolas, you’re 63 years old, start acting like it! And you’re not getting on a trampoline. Last time you had some crazy idea you nearly broke your hips. Remember jet skiing last year?”

Nicolas: “Sure do! Almost pulled off a double corkscrew!”

Ruby: “And you’d have gotten it too, if that wave hadn’t knocked you off.”

Nicolas: “Good thing my baby girl was there to keep me from drowning!”

Olivia: “And carry you into an ambulance. So no trampolining, no bungee jumping, no rope skipping or parkour free running! There’s a concert tonight, Symphony No.3 by Rachmaninoff. I booked us tickets.”

Ruby: “Well, not exactly the most exciting night out, but sounds like a good wholesome fun time with the fam. I’m game! I’ve got a small thing to take care of after, though.”

Nicolas: “Fine by me. Hey sweetheart look, who am I?”

Ruby’s dad picked up two cherries from a nearby bowl and dangled them in front of his eyes.

Nicolas: “Grrr! First of all!”

Ruby: “Hah! Is that Sarah Lacklan? Classic! Oh! I almost forgot about her. She seemed a bit ticked off I didn’t mention her last time around.”

Olivia: “Well, she does think the world revolves around her. And put those cherries back!”

Ruby: “Nah, she was right. She was going to be a special guest referee, you know? And I’ve actually been getting along pretty well with her, all things considered. Sure, she’s still an evil narcissist, but she seems to shout less at me these days. I call that progress! And Sarah’s still one of the most dangerous dawgs out in the yard! It’s easy to claim I’ve got her number after having beaten her a couple of times, but here’s the thing: I was kind of bragging about holding two titles before, but old Lackersnackers has three! She’s a World Champ in multiple places, literally out fighting the whole world! It’s kind of inspirational, in a twisted way. She’s not afraid to put herself out there and take risks. Alongside Page, she’s definitely the biggest threat in this match. But I need this win more than she does. I need to prove to the entire XWF that the Anarchy peeps aren’t just developmental talent not yet ready for the big leagues. Know how many championships the current Universal Champion managed to grab during his time of Anarchy? Zero. Same for any of his associates. It’s very easy to dismiss Anarchy with a wave of the hand, claim you’re above it, and then never backing up those words with actions. Or maybe they’re just too afraid to come into Anarchy, fall flat on their face, and are forced to return to their so-called ‘main shows’ with their tail between their legs? It’s just a theory. So I guess I’ll have to do what they don’t have the guts for: walk into their PPV’s, join the big leagues, and prove that I can hang. But all this ‘it’s just Anarchy’ talk that has been dredged up countless times before is just a bunch of gibberish!”

Nicolas: “And motherflippers acting like they forgot about Dré! Up top!”

Ruby high-fived her dad and they got up from the table.

Ruby: “Classic! Hey dad, tell me you didn’t take down that basketball ring in the backyard!”

Nicolas: “Of course not! You promised you’d learn me how to slam dunk!”

Olivia: “I told you how. Lower that ring to five feet above the ground.”

Ruby: “Haaa! Classic mom! Come on dad, we got a few hours to kill! We’ll be alley-ooping in no time!”

---

---

On a remote location, late at night in an abandoned parking lot behind an old warehouse, two sets of cars arrived. The soft screech of tires broke the silence as they came to a halt, and two familiar groups exited their vehicles. The gangs of Big and Scar got into position, and it was clear they were accompanied by their superiors, who looked at each other in distrust.

“Heard there’s a problem with the product?” Scar’s boss asked, his tone none too friendly.

“Well if you ain’t cutting the product up, you’re gonna have to tell your supplier to up his game, amigo,” Big’s boss answered. “One more bad deal and we’re out. And we’ll be wanting our money back, believe that.”

“There’s nothing wrong with the product. I tested it myself. Clean as a whistle.”

“You calling me a liar? You’re selling me the cheap stuff, don’t deny it. My customers want the multi-layered stuff, and you’re withholding it!”

“You get what you pay for. You want premium product, you pay premium cash.”

Big’s boss cracked his knuckles.

“We had a deal.”

“I guess it’s off. Wrap it up folks, we’re leaving.”

“Hey w-…”

His words were cut off as a blunt object hit him in the back of the head, knocking him out almost instantaneously. The rest of the two groups immediately drew their weapons, having been put on high alert.

“What the… Who’s there?” Big shouted.

“Oh God…” Scar said, pointing at an emerging shadow. “It’s her!”

A banana-lime blur dashed forward from behind a bunch of crates. She ducked underneath one of Big’s attempts at a haymakers before circling round and bashing the heads of two of his associates against each other, knocking them out cold. She leapt over to the one next to her, wrapped her legs around his head and sent him flying with a headscissor takedown right into Big.

“Ooof!” he exclaimed as he got hit in the middle of the stomach. The vigilante formed a sledge with her hands and hammered him right under the chin, shattering his jaw and breaking a few teeth. Big’s one remaining associate tried to get up, but a quick curb stomp put an end to that.

“Run for your life!” Scar shouted, but his superior held up his hand, belaying that order.

“It’s just one small chick in a stupid costume! Get her! A thousand Canadian Dollars to the one who brings me her mask!”

The masked assailant raised an eyebrow. As the criminals picked up their batons to try and give her a good thrashing, she darted forward like a bow out of an arrow, handily disarming her nearest adversary. She kneed him I the stomach, doubling him over and initiated a tornado DDT, using another guy as launching pad. With skullcracking efficiency she put him down, before turning her attention to the two guys that Scar and his boss were hiding behind. She run up towards them and with a one-legged dropsault on each sent them flying into their superiors. The four fell into a heap and the vigilante ran up, punt kicking one guy senseless before turning one guy’s lights out with a spinning heel kick.

“Please!” Scar pleaded as he tried to crawl away. “Haven’t you hurt me enough? We’re just trying to make a living here, times are tough on everyone, you know!”

A green boot crushed his fingers under its heel. Scar screamed, until a fierce shot of the elbow landed against his temple, sending him into dreamland. Panting, the banana-lime blur stood back up and turned towards Scar’s superior, who was crawling back over to the car. He wasn’t fast enough, and the vigilante grabbed him in a sleeper hold from behind. She cut off the blood flow to his brain momentarily, sending him stumbling back down, enough to make him dizzy but not to turn him unconscious. She opened the trunk of the car and retrieved one of the suitcases, clicking it open and gazing at its contents.

“Please. You can have it. You let me leave in one piece!”

Ignoring his pleas, she grabbed something from the suitcase and walked over to the guy, grabbing him by the collar with one hand. She held the product up in front of his eyes.

Ruby: “The name of your supplier. Now!”

“I… I can’t!”

Ruby: “GIVE ME A NAME!”

“They’ll kill me! What are you gonna do??”

Ruby looked at him, then looked at the roll of toilet paper in her hand. She rolled off a yard’s worth of sheets, crumpled them up into a ball and shoved them in his mouth.

Ruby: “Something much worse.”

She threw him over her shoulder with a strength that belied her small stature, and they vanished into the night.