[The Dreamhouse.]

[A toy wrestling ring sits in a room. Beside it, a tiny plastic ladder.]

[Dolly Daydream kneels beside the ring, straightening one of the ropes.]

“Last week was interesting.”

[She tilts her head.]

“I asked a very simple question.

‘Did I prove I could be a hero like you, Mr. Shield?’”

[A small shrug.]

“That didn’t seem like a hard ask.

But instead…”

[Her smile fades.]

“…you pushed me.”

[A beat.]

“And the whole Temple got very quiet.”

[She taps the toy ladder.]

“That told me something about you, Ace.

Heroes don’t shove when things get complicated.”

[Her voice softens.]

“You looked like your thoughts were being very loud.

And loud thoughts make people panic.”

[Dolly stands.]

“But that’s okay.

Because this week isn’t about you.

This week is about the eight people standing in the ring before Invasion.”

[She gestures to the ladder.]

“The ladder match.

The briefcase hanging high.

But we’re not climbing yet.

This is the moment before the climb.

Turns out… I do have some hard asks, Ace.”

[She begins pacing around the toy ring.]

“They’re for who I face at Slam.

Padre Del Vengeance… I think that’s how you say it.

A man who promises belonging if people stop thinking and join his Family.”

[She tilts her head.]

“I’ve seen that kind of love before.

It usually comes with chains.

But what happens when the flock watches the shepherd fall?”

[She steps around the ring.]

“Blackhead Moretti.

You think every problem can be solved by breaking someone until they pay.”

[She shrugs.]

“But fear isn’t control. It’s borrowed time.

What happens when the man who collects debts… finally owes one?”

[She spins the ladder.]

“Jam Ram.

To you the ring is a stage.”

[She smiles.]

“I like that.

But ladders don’t care about rhythm. They care about gravity.

What happens when the music stops… and gravity takes over?”

[She stops pacing.]

“And then there’s Luke Bellator.

A warrior who believes he was chosen to bring divine light.

That must feel comforting.

But what happens when the light realizes it’s the one casting the shadow?”

[She looks down at the ladder.]

“Four men.

Four big ideas about power.

And four very hard asks.”

[She steadies the ladder.]

“And the funny thing about hard asks?”

[She grins.]

“They get answered the hard way.”

[Dolly lifts the toy ladder and sets it upright in the ring.]

“This week we pretend we’re teams.

But at Invasion there aren’t any.

Just the ladder.

And the fall underneath it.”

[A beat.]

“And Ace… maybe you’re watching.

Maybe you’re still wondering if I belong in your little academy.”

“That’s okay.”

[She taps the ladder.]

“Because the way I see it, Slam is just practice.

Eight people in the ring.

Eight egos.”

[Dolly steadies it.]

“And every one of them thinks the ladder is theirs.

But ladders don’t belong to anyone.

And at Invasion?

I’m climbing it.

And when I come down with that contract in my hands…

…maybe then, Mr. Shield, you’ll understand something.”

[She smiles sweetly.]

“I wasn’t asking permission to be a hero.

I was asking a hard question.”