*Heavy breathing.*

Mark: Good. Take a breather.

*PHMPH* *PHMPH* *PHMPH*

Mark: Okay! Okay!

*PHMPH PHMPH*

Mark: Solace!

*Solace roars as she winds up her right fist and plunges it into her trainer’s sparring pad.*

Solace: You need a break?

*Mark smirks at her audacity.*

Mark: You don’t want to over-extend yourself. It can do more damage.

*Solace lifts up her gloves.*

Solace: I know my limits. *She jabs with the left as he quickly lifts his pads to block.*

Mark: I know you are… feeling… good after… your first… win…

*Solace throws a devastating right hook before stopping to meet his eyes.*

Solace: Thanks… but that’s over. I need to focus now on her.

Mark: Oh, that Kenzi Gray chick.

Solace: Yes. *She lifts her gloves again.*

Mark: Hey, make sure you get me her autograph, okay? Big fan. *With a cocky smile.*

Solace: Oh, is that funny? *Solace smiles, pumping her fists into the pads more viciously than before. He begins backing away as she hits relentlessly.

Mark: I’m kidding, calm dow- *That right hook surpasses the pad and connects with his unprotected face. He drops the pads down and favors his cheek.

Solace: Oops. Maybe you should quit talking and focus before you get punched in the face.

Mark: Where’d you learn to box?

*Solace simply lowers an eyebrow as she waits for him to realize the answer. *

Mark: Right. Daddy.

Solace: That’s right… and I don’t pay you to be my Daddy so you can chill with the ‘lookin’ out for my well-being shit to get in my pants.

Mark: Whoa! You are paying me to train you and part of training is knowing when to give your body a rest. That’s all I’m saying.

Solace: I’m sorry, buddy. I just… I have to be ready for Kenzi. They boosted me up the card and my last match being my first… and my second is like… the actual real first match. I can’t fail, especially since it’s Kenzi.

Mark: You don’t like Kenzi?

Solace: It’s not a matter of ‘liking’ Kenzi. Kenzi is my opponent… and Kenzi is damn good at what she does, in the ring or on the screen. I don’t know if I’m ready.

Mark: Hey, you showed how skilled you were this past Anarchy. Plus, Commissioner Lacklan even gave you a shout out. That’s a good thing, right?”

Solace: Wait, you watched it? I thought you didn’t like wrestling?

Mark: Well, Uh, I mean… I was skimmin’ through channels and...

Solace: Right. *Solace grins.* Yeah, I mean, I don’t know if it’s a good thing, I imagine it was a good thing considering I was given Kenzi as my second match but Jesus, this pressure is mounting.

Mark: Take a breath, Solace. You have to remember to keep your mental health in check just as much as your physicality.

Solace: I know… I know…

Mark: Maybe we should put the gloves down and do some hot yoga.

Solace: You want to get hit again? Let’s do some drills.

Mark: Wait, you want to do drills... Again…

Solace: It’s not just Kenzi. I have March Madness to prepare for now too. There’s so much opportunity and it’s like I arrived in the XWF at the best time to prove what I’m worth.

Mark: You don’t get discouraged easily, do you?

Solace: Not in my vocabulary. There’s always a way and when there isn’t, you better damned well learn from it or you’re just wasting everybody’s time.

Mark: I mean, there’s going to be people you can’t beat…

Solace: Can’t think that way. Gotta assume I’m the best if I want to be the best.

Mark: Fake it till’ you make it?

Solace: Nah… Do it till’ you through it. Now, let’s go…

*Mark holds up his hands in front of his face.*

Mark: Wait… do you need to do one of those things again?

*Solace lowers her gloves.*

Solace: Shit. Yeah. Let’s make it quick and get back to this.

*She removes her gloves and reaches down on the floor near her sneakers. When he retrieves her phone she sets up the camera for video mode and hands it to Mark who has now removed his own pads. He holds it up and hits record the moment she nods.*

Solace: Joey Oddjobs, It's me Solace Tatum. I just wanted to say it was great of you to show up but the pleasure of defeating you was all mine! Look, I'm not here to make friends but I'm certainly not here to make enemies either. Joey, it was a valiant effort but in the end, I was just the better man, so to speak. So, maybe you should just stick to the odd jobs and leave the in-ring work to someone more qualified going forward.

Anarchy was a warm-up, but now, Commissioner Lacklan has twisted the dial all the way clockwise it seems. Kenzi Grey. March Madness. I would be an idiot to squander either of these shots at becoming who I'm meant to be. *Solace can't help but close her eyes and take in a deep breath.* I've waited so long to receive this opportunity.

Kenzi, I respect you as a woman of great success, but unfortunately, you remind me of someone close that abused her success, reminiscent of the way you do. I understand that when one becomes absorbed in a life of privilege for as long as you have, it's only natural that one might become diluted, ungrateful, and lack the hunger that once fueled their ambitions. And, just as in nature, when the apex predator becomes old, comfortable, and weak... a newer, dare I suggest, a better predator will come along to challenge the established role, and in this case, upend your reign and replace you as the dominant predator... but, I suppose after Tula, and now Ruby has proven, you haven't been the dominant woman here in some time. I do hate to see a fellow strong woman fall in most cases, but in this case, Kenzi... your downfall has been the well-deserved consequence of becoming complacent. Once a goddess... now, the relic of a forgotten religion. For you, this might seem like a match against a rookie but to me... the rookie... this is a stepping stone. So, my advice to you... Search your soul, I know I've been searched mine and you know what I found? Not just a place in XWF, but the new face of Anarchy. See you, Thursday Kenzi.