{The scene opens with Roxi finishing her training for the day. Roxi lightly hits the heavy bag, and it doesn’t sway as much as normally, but it also appears Roxi isn’t really trying. Keira has been watching the whole time as Roxi steadies the bag, but she can feel Keira’s presence in the room. She lifts her head, catching her breath.} Roxi – Yes?
{Keira is startled for a second, but shakes her head.} Keira – How long did you know I was here?
Roxi – Since you walked in.
Keira – I... I just was checking on you.
Roxi – I'm fine Keira. You wanted me to train for this match and that’s what I’m doing.
Keira – Not very hard.
Roxi – I see. Am I doing it wrong now?
Keira – It's not like that. I just... I don’t know, I thought you might be training training for it.
Roxi – Why?
Keira – Because I want your best.
Roxi – And you’ll get it. I don’t think that means I need to kill myself over it.
Keira – I don’t want you to kill yourself, but... Are you saying you’re not going to put any effort into.
Roxi – No. I’m saying I don’t need to.
{Keira looks puzzled, almost insulted by this.} Keira – You do realize that this is all out. NOTHING held back, right?
Roxi – I do.
Keira – You understand I’m coming at you with everything I have, right?
Roxi – I do.
Keira – And you’re not going to take this seriously?
Roxi – I am taking this seriously. You wanted this match, and you’re going to get everything you want. I get it, Keira. This is everything, but I also know, that you’re not going to blow up the planet or anything close to it. You want a test, not a fight.
Keira – I... want your best.
Roxi – And you’re going to get it. You don’t need to question my methods.
Keira – I was... I was just making sure everything is in place.
Roxi – It is.
Keira – Do you have your induction speech ready?
Roxi – Yes. Keira, we went over this already. I have it all ready. I will have everything ready. It’s going to go down just like it was planned. You need to relax. That’s really why you’re here isn’t it? You want to see if I’m as stressed as you.
Keira – No, I just wanted to see how your training was going.
Roxi – And you saw, and you questioned it. You would think after all these years you would trust me enough to know I'll be there and I will have everything ready.
Keira – I wasn’t quesitoning...
Roxi – Yes, you were. I told you, relax. It’s not the end of the world.
Keira – Just the end of mine.
Roxi – You act like you’re going to die. You’re going in the hall of fame. It’s great. I’m proud of you. The moment you realize that, and just relax, the better you will feel. You’re going to make yourself sick worrying about the tiniest details. Things will happen. And whatever happens, happens. It’s going to be okay.
{Keira still looks annoyed, nervous, scared, a whole host of emotions. She approaches Roxi, and hugs her tightly.} Keira – I'm sorry.
Roxi – Sorry? For what?
Keira – I've been stressing over this. I want this to be perfect. The best ending ever. And every day that we get closer, I get more and more nervous, more scared. It’s a day I knew was going to come, but now that I chose it, I really don’t want it to come.
Roxi – I get it. Things are crazy right now, but once Sunday comes, it’ll be here and gone before you know.
Keira – Right, and then what?
Roxi – I don’t know. I suppose we’ll just have to find out. But I’m excited to find out what it is. You have so many things ahead of you and that’s a pretty cool way to be. And whatever that is, I’ll be right beside you.
Keira – Just like always.
Roxi – Together.
Kiera – Together.
{Roxi and Keira share to hug and a kiss as the scene fades.}
“Everything's impossible until somebody does it.”
- Batman (Batgirl Vol 1 #34)
Hello SCW.
I suppose I knew this day was coming. It seems like it was just one of those moments where you know it’s coming, and you know it’s real, but you don’t want it to be. Like when an older family member is in the hospital or perhaps accepting of their reality. You feel for them, you want it to not be the way it is, but you know in your heart, it’s real. It’s going to happen and there’s nothing you can do to stop it.
The truth is no, I don’t want my wife to walk away, but she is going to. The most important thing to me is that she’s happy with that decision. It is for purely selfish reasons I feel bad about this, because I feel like there’s so much more she could have done. But, my wife is content. She’s spent the past week picking out dresses, making appointments for her hair and makeup, and practicing her hall of fame speech in the mirror. I cannot express how proud I am of my wife and all she has accomplished. She was, essentially, the first person I ever trained. She is my first student. But she has evolved beyond that obviously. She’s not my student anymore. That part didn’t even last that long. She is, and always will be, my contemporary. She is an equal in my eyes, even if she doesn’t see it.
And that is why it kind of upsets me that her own insecurities are the reason she wanted to have this last match with me. I know that it really sticks with her that everyone called her my shadow, that she was only anything because of me. Despite how many times she proved to the contrary it still makes her upset. It is infuriating obviously. To work so hard, bust your butt day in and day out and no matter what you do, you’re just considered a cheap imitation of someone else. It’s never been that way, and I will tell you and anyone watching that we are equals.
And now, she seeks this match. Maybe it was always going to end this way. Maybe. I don’t know. But now, I am faced with this ugly truth. I have to step into the ring with her, and at the end, she’s going to leave. And if I beat her, all her haters were right. If she wins, is it because I let her? The narrative is already out there. It’s lose-lose for both of us.
But I owe her as much. I owe her this.
Hello, Keira.
You and I have been together for nearly 10 years. And you have made it some of the best times in my life. And I can never fully express how much my love for you grows every single day that you have been a part of my life. You and I accomplished quite a bit together, but what makes me more happy, and more proud, is what you did on your own.
I told you a while back that I was throwing you in the deep end of SCW. It was no longer going to be my watching over you at every turn. You were going to do what you were going to do on your own. It wasn’t because I grew tired of you or that I was trying to hurt you or shun you. I knew, much like you did at the time, that you needed to be on your own and find you way. I was confident that you would swim in the deep end, and not drown. And I was right. You swam, and you did exactly what I knew you could do. You won. You won all the titles in SCW, and you did it on your own. I mean, outside of the tag titles, but we did that together already. We already established ourselves and changed the game. But you needed to prove yourself and you did.
I watched you win time and time again. I was simply watching you, not watching over you. Because I knew you didn’t need me to do that for you. You simply needed to prove to yourself you could do it without me. Because I know that there were times you didn’t think you could do it. But slowly, over time, you did it. A Roulette championship win may have seemed fluky, but at the end of the day, you won it twice. I’m proud of you for that. You got yourself a Bombshell’s championship match, and when nobody else thought you could do it, you did it. You put yourself in elite company.
And yes, I watched you struggle time and time again trying to complete the puzzle and win that last championship, and almost give up the fight for it, but you returned, and finally, you got over that hump, and you completed the Grand Slam. That was all you. I merely watched from the sidelines, and you, you made me as proud as I ever could be by continuing to chase your dreams until you accomplished them. My only regret in this whole thing, is that you are I were never holding the titles at the same time. But that’s just a small thing. Icing in the cake, so to speak. You did everything you wanted to do. And I’m happy and proud to see you see it through.
And now, we come to this match. It just took me a while to figure out what this actually was. Though the end will suck regardless. I finally understand what this is. This is a celebration. It’s the way you and I both would have wanted for this final moment. It’s not about a fight to see who is better. It’s about you and me, sharing that moment we never truly got the chance to. And I will be there for you one last time.
I love you, Keira. And this is how our moment comes. Let’s make it the one to remember.
I will see you in the ring, and wherever this journey goes, soon.