Post by Avery Wright on Jun 17, 2023 17:37:38 GMT -5
”Just to be clear, we did not help Victoria Travis, right? Like, it doesn’t even look that way?”
Harper rolled her eyes at me, but it was a very serious question! Yes, we had briefly clashed with Disturbed again at the last Pure Mayhem, but it certainly wasn’t for Victoria’s sake. She can rot for all I care. The idea that it might even look like we were helping her… Well, I shudder just thinking about it.
Noticing my expression, Harper sighed and shook her head.
”No, I’m pretty sure it’s clear we were just stopping him from going crazy on a bunch of innocent people. It had nothing to do with Victoria.”
”Damn right it didn’t. Frankly, I was hoping the two would find a way to spontaneously combust while fighting each other.”
Okay, so I was joking a little bit. For one, I didn’t actually want them to spontaneously combust. After all, that’d take away the fun of beating them myself. And two, well… In truth, we had to combat Disturbed no matter who he was facing. He’s the threat right now, and we’ve already been making progress in keeping him from hurting anybody. We just had to figure out how to finish the job.
”On the plus side, I think we’re really making an impact. You saw Kelly James step up to Victoria, right?”
I nodded, grinning. She was right, that actually was a pretty big plus. We knew Kelly had been really thankful for us helping her when Disturbed tried to attack her after her match, but I don’t think we realized what all it apparently meant to her. I certainly hadn’t seen it coming when she pretty much threw herself in Victoria’s way out of the blue. To know she was doing it because we had inspired her to want to help people, too, well… I’ve gotta admit, it was a damn nice feeling. It’s been what Harper has been fighting for this whole time, to inspire people to stand up against people like that, and to see it actually happen meant we had to be doing something right, at least.
”Love to see it. I think Kelly can take her, too. Of course, I’ll be more than happy to step in if Victoria tries to pull anything like the shit she tried to pull against us…”
”Yeah, definitely. It’s just nice to see we might actually be reaching people, you know? I want people to stand up for their right to just enjoy being here again, and not have to worry about somebody randomly deciding that they want to hurt them for… Who knows what reason. I think we’re making progress against Disturbed, too. The cracks in the armor are there. We’ve managed to stop him several times, now. I know we’ll probably never stop him for good, but if we can show people that he can be taken down, then maybe more people will see how we did it and fight back successfully. That’s been the goal, right?”
Eh, kinda.
”Well, my goal was to stomp his face so far into the ground that they don’t dig him back up for millions of years, but…”
”Avery…”
”But your idea is fine, I suppose.”
Honestly, I didn’t know how this was going to go. We were getting another crack at him at Wrestlepalooza, and for all we knew, the head stomping idea really would be what it’d take. Regardless, we had come too far to stop now. I was feeling a lot better, most of my injuries had healed up, and I was ready to do whatever it’d take to stop his threat to us for good. Or, at least, as much as we could, anyway.
”We’re ready for this, right? No matter what he brings out way, it won’t be like last time. No matter what he tries, we’ve gotta be ready to respond in tune, no matter what it takes.”
I knew it wasn’t easy for Harper to fight like this. She had hoped to change things with as little violence as possible. Unfortunately, Disturbed had proved that wasn’t going to work, so we had to go all out, no matter how difficult it was. Luckily, I knew we were on the same page, as she reached over and took my hand in hers.
”Yeah, we’re ready.”
And just like that, I no longer had any doubt. We were on the same page, completely, even with everything that had happened… And with us on the same page, well, it felt like nothing could beat us.
————————————————————————————-
”I was an idiot last time.”
It’s the truth, no point in denying it. I let my anger and desire for revenge drive me, and I went into a match I had no business being in. Because of that, Disturbed just managed to break my body even further, and even worse, he hurt Harper. I was a liability, but I will not be one again.
”I let you get so far into my head that I did something completely foolish by taking part in our match at Damnation And A Day when I wasn’t in any condition to do so. I ignored doctors because I wanted the chance to get you back for everything you had done. That was a mistake, and it just lead to more pain. This time, though, things are different. I’ve had the chance to rest and heal up, and now I’m going into Wrestlepalooza in a lot better shape. Now, nothing is holding me back.
We’re actually on a bit of a roll against you, even. We’ve stopped your rampaging and attacks on people several times in a row, now, which leads me to believe that, come Sunday, we can stop you again. We need to do more than just stop you, though. We need to put you down and show the world that, when push comes to shove, you’re not too dangerous to fight back against. Oh, you’re dangerous, don’t get me wrong, but I’m not sure you really know how to handle yourself when people fight back so much. You’re used to being able to just have your way and hurt whoever you want, but lately, we’ve been stopping that at every turn. We’ve been showing that you can be stopped, even if just for a little while… But when that little while keeps you from the blood and carnage that you crave, what happens then? What are you going to do if people like us keep stopping you from achieving the violence you seem to love so much? What are you going to do when people no longer see you as a monster, just a man? I’m sure curious to see what becomes of you then, because you already don’t seem to be taking it very well.
You’ve hurt Red, you’ve hurt my sister, you’ve threatened my niece… I want to bash your brains in like you wouldn’t believe. I don’t want to be that person, but I can’t deny the feelings I get when I think about the things you’ve done. I also know, though, that doing so wouldn’t stop you. You’d just continue right where you left off when you came back… Hell, probably even more deranged. No, we’ve got to break your image, instead. The threat behind your name… The fear people feel when facing you, we need to break all of that. We need to show people that when they push back against you, it shakes you to your very core. When you can’t just intimidate everybody with threats and violence, what do you have left? I guess we’ll find out.
You keep spewing all of this ‘fake hero’ crap, do you think that bothers me? I never claimed to be a hero, and I’m sorry that your inability to take anything as other than literal has gotten you so stuck on this idea. Don’t get me wrong, I’d love to be a hero. I’d love people to look up at me like they do Red, but that day, if it comes, is far in the future. It’s not today, and I’m fine with that. Yet still, you cling to this accusation like it’s some bit ‘gotcha’ moment that only you see. Have you ever stopped to think, though, that if only you can see it, then… Maybe, just maybe, it’s not the ‘gotcha’ you think it is? Just a thought.
At the end of the matter, it doesn’t matter what you say. I’ve heard it all from you before. Hell, I hear worse from others every day, and have for most of my life, for things I can’t even control. Do you really think I’m threatened by any of this? Not a chance. I’m going to be at Wrestlepalooza, and like I said, it’s not going to go like last time, that’s for damn sure. I’ve proved I can beat you myself, so with Red and I together, with nothing holding us back? Well, this may be our best chance yet at taking you down for good.
Of course, if I happen to need to beat your brains in to achieve that, well… That’s just fine with me, too.”
I wasn’t going to make the mistake I made last time. I wasn’t about to be a liability again. I was ready this time… Rested, recovered, cleared, and nothing was going to stand in my way.
Harper rolled her eyes at me, but it was a very serious question! Yes, we had briefly clashed with Disturbed again at the last Pure Mayhem, but it certainly wasn’t for Victoria’s sake. She can rot for all I care. The idea that it might even look like we were helping her… Well, I shudder just thinking about it.
Noticing my expression, Harper sighed and shook her head.
”No, I’m pretty sure it’s clear we were just stopping him from going crazy on a bunch of innocent people. It had nothing to do with Victoria.”
”Damn right it didn’t. Frankly, I was hoping the two would find a way to spontaneously combust while fighting each other.”
Okay, so I was joking a little bit. For one, I didn’t actually want them to spontaneously combust. After all, that’d take away the fun of beating them myself. And two, well… In truth, we had to combat Disturbed no matter who he was facing. He’s the threat right now, and we’ve already been making progress in keeping him from hurting anybody. We just had to figure out how to finish the job.
”On the plus side, I think we’re really making an impact. You saw Kelly James step up to Victoria, right?”
I nodded, grinning. She was right, that actually was a pretty big plus. We knew Kelly had been really thankful for us helping her when Disturbed tried to attack her after her match, but I don’t think we realized what all it apparently meant to her. I certainly hadn’t seen it coming when she pretty much threw herself in Victoria’s way out of the blue. To know she was doing it because we had inspired her to want to help people, too, well… I’ve gotta admit, it was a damn nice feeling. It’s been what Harper has been fighting for this whole time, to inspire people to stand up against people like that, and to see it actually happen meant we had to be doing something right, at least.
”Love to see it. I think Kelly can take her, too. Of course, I’ll be more than happy to step in if Victoria tries to pull anything like the shit she tried to pull against us…”
”Yeah, definitely. It’s just nice to see we might actually be reaching people, you know? I want people to stand up for their right to just enjoy being here again, and not have to worry about somebody randomly deciding that they want to hurt them for… Who knows what reason. I think we’re making progress against Disturbed, too. The cracks in the armor are there. We’ve managed to stop him several times, now. I know we’ll probably never stop him for good, but if we can show people that he can be taken down, then maybe more people will see how we did it and fight back successfully. That’s been the goal, right?”
Eh, kinda.
”Well, my goal was to stomp his face so far into the ground that they don’t dig him back up for millions of years, but…”
”Avery…”
”But your idea is fine, I suppose.”
Honestly, I didn’t know how this was going to go. We were getting another crack at him at Wrestlepalooza, and for all we knew, the head stomping idea really would be what it’d take. Regardless, we had come too far to stop now. I was feeling a lot better, most of my injuries had healed up, and I was ready to do whatever it’d take to stop his threat to us for good. Or, at least, as much as we could, anyway.
”We’re ready for this, right? No matter what he brings out way, it won’t be like last time. No matter what he tries, we’ve gotta be ready to respond in tune, no matter what it takes.”
I knew it wasn’t easy for Harper to fight like this. She had hoped to change things with as little violence as possible. Unfortunately, Disturbed had proved that wasn’t going to work, so we had to go all out, no matter how difficult it was. Luckily, I knew we were on the same page, as she reached over and took my hand in hers.
”Yeah, we’re ready.”
And just like that, I no longer had any doubt. We were on the same page, completely, even with everything that had happened… And with us on the same page, well, it felt like nothing could beat us.
————————————————————————————-
”I was an idiot last time.”
It’s the truth, no point in denying it. I let my anger and desire for revenge drive me, and I went into a match I had no business being in. Because of that, Disturbed just managed to break my body even further, and even worse, he hurt Harper. I was a liability, but I will not be one again.
”I let you get so far into my head that I did something completely foolish by taking part in our match at Damnation And A Day when I wasn’t in any condition to do so. I ignored doctors because I wanted the chance to get you back for everything you had done. That was a mistake, and it just lead to more pain. This time, though, things are different. I’ve had the chance to rest and heal up, and now I’m going into Wrestlepalooza in a lot better shape. Now, nothing is holding me back.
We’re actually on a bit of a roll against you, even. We’ve stopped your rampaging and attacks on people several times in a row, now, which leads me to believe that, come Sunday, we can stop you again. We need to do more than just stop you, though. We need to put you down and show the world that, when push comes to shove, you’re not too dangerous to fight back against. Oh, you’re dangerous, don’t get me wrong, but I’m not sure you really know how to handle yourself when people fight back so much. You’re used to being able to just have your way and hurt whoever you want, but lately, we’ve been stopping that at every turn. We’ve been showing that you can be stopped, even if just for a little while… But when that little while keeps you from the blood and carnage that you crave, what happens then? What are you going to do if people like us keep stopping you from achieving the violence you seem to love so much? What are you going to do when people no longer see you as a monster, just a man? I’m sure curious to see what becomes of you then, because you already don’t seem to be taking it very well.
You’ve hurt Red, you’ve hurt my sister, you’ve threatened my niece… I want to bash your brains in like you wouldn’t believe. I don’t want to be that person, but I can’t deny the feelings I get when I think about the things you’ve done. I also know, though, that doing so wouldn’t stop you. You’d just continue right where you left off when you came back… Hell, probably even more deranged. No, we’ve got to break your image, instead. The threat behind your name… The fear people feel when facing you, we need to break all of that. We need to show people that when they push back against you, it shakes you to your very core. When you can’t just intimidate everybody with threats and violence, what do you have left? I guess we’ll find out.
You keep spewing all of this ‘fake hero’ crap, do you think that bothers me? I never claimed to be a hero, and I’m sorry that your inability to take anything as other than literal has gotten you so stuck on this idea. Don’t get me wrong, I’d love to be a hero. I’d love people to look up at me like they do Red, but that day, if it comes, is far in the future. It’s not today, and I’m fine with that. Yet still, you cling to this accusation like it’s some bit ‘gotcha’ moment that only you see. Have you ever stopped to think, though, that if only you can see it, then… Maybe, just maybe, it’s not the ‘gotcha’ you think it is? Just a thought.
At the end of the matter, it doesn’t matter what you say. I’ve heard it all from you before. Hell, I hear worse from others every day, and have for most of my life, for things I can’t even control. Do you really think I’m threatened by any of this? Not a chance. I’m going to be at Wrestlepalooza, and like I said, it’s not going to go like last time, that’s for damn sure. I’ve proved I can beat you myself, so with Red and I together, with nothing holding us back? Well, this may be our best chance yet at taking you down for good.
Of course, if I happen to need to beat your brains in to achieve that, well… That’s just fine with me, too.”
I wasn’t going to make the mistake I made last time. I wasn’t about to be a liability again. I was ready this time… Rested, recovered, cleared, and nothing was going to stand in my way.