Ten Thousand Thanks to my Beta Reader. This story would not be half as good without you! Thank You. To all you readers- please Comment. Please. I beg of thee. Comment.

Time is made up of stories. Events tend to follow certain patterns, and history has a habit of repeating itself. There are certain stories that the world keeps repeating, over and over: the names change, the settings shift, but the plot stays the same. There are only so many outcomes, when a young man goes to war. Every time a person falls in love, there are only so many ways for the heart to break or remain whole. When you roll the dice, there's a limited number of sides for them to land on.

Likewise, Roxanne knew that there were only so many ways for her story to end. Somewhere between the first time Metro Man saved her and the day when Megamind handed her her first 'Frequent Kidnapping Card', she realized that she was a Damsel. This came as a bit of a shock to her, as she had never thought of herself as the 'Damsel in Distress' type. She took self-defense classes. She never left home without pepper-spray and a taser. And yet, over and over again, she became the helpless hostage of a certain Supervillain. Over and over again, she found herself waiting for Metro Man to come save her. Roxanne Ritchi was a Damsel in Distress. And everyone knows that there are only so many ways for a Damsel's story to end. In fact, it might seem that there are only six. Roxanne knew. She made a list.

She could die. Her family and friends would mourn. The City might give her- not a statue, but maybe a plaque? Metro Man's war against Megamind might escalate in violence. But none of that would matter to Roxanne, because she would be dead.

If things continued as they were now… she could end up marrying Metro Man. Wayne Scott. They could get married. It would be a relationship of convenience, not love- same as now, only more so. He could give her a very comfortable life, and she would make a very pretty trophy-wife. But that was not the life she wanted.

She could break up with Metro Man and fade into obscurity. It would mean sabotaging her career by giving up hard-earned air-time, potentially damaging her relationship with her good friend Wayne, and missing out on all the excitement of her current lifestyle, but it might be worth it. She could have a shot at a normal, sane life. It was an option.

If Roxanne became a villain- no a Supervillain- she could have it all: money, power, respect, and never having to put up a creepy coworker again. But only if she was willing to break any rule, damage anything- property, relationships, lives- for the sake of her goals. And only if she was willing to bow to the King of the Metro City Underworld- because Roxanne knew (oh, she knew) that Megamind did not tolerate upstart villains who didn't follow his Rules in his city.

Roxanne could probably run away, if she tried. She could go into Witness Protection and get a new name, and new job, a new life… and never see her family, her city, or her friends again. She would certainly never be TV news investigative reporter again. Because if she didn't run all the way away, Roxanne had no doubt that someone (Megamind) would bring her back into the game. She could probably do it. If she wanted to.

Roxanne has always wanted to be a Hero. They say that when it comes to battling Super-Villains, only a Superhero would do- and Roxanne doesn't have any powers. She can't fly, she's not bullet-proof, and she doesn't have super-strength. There are others far more qualified than she. Roxanne knows that she is not the hero her city needs today. It doesn't stop her from wanting.

Six paths for destiny to choose. Six sides on which the dice could land. Six ways for Roxanne Ritchi's story to end.

Roxanne had heard somewhere that our lives were determined by Destiny, and every destiny was set in stone, unchangeable from start to finish. She had never really believed it, though. She believed that the course of our lives was determined by our actions. If you just worked hard enough, took every opportunity, fought for your goals and never, ever gave up, you could change your fate. Roxanne honestly, truly believed that.

But Roxanne Ritchi was also a storyteller- because that's what News is, when you get right down to it. She made her living by finding the story, by finding out the Who, What, When, Where, and Why's that made the world tick, then packaging it into a sequence on the Evening Broadcast that people could understand, one that would (hopefully) make them think. With a bit of care, a well-told story can change the world. Yes, Roxanne Ritchi knew about stories. And she knew, because she had studied books of history and of mythology, because she had read old news-stories from other cities with different heroes and different damsels, because she had interviewed people and searched and and read and researched- she knew that there were only so many ways for a Damsel's story to end.

Death. Marriage. Obscurity. Villainy. Escape. Heroism.

Which one would she fight for?

I plan on writing a chapter for each item on the list. I already have some outlines, but if you have any suggestions and/or requests, please let me know in the Comments section. Anything I use, I will credit. And again I say, Please Comment and Review!