Post by Victoria Travis on Feb 10, 2024 23:51:04 GMT -5
Victoria Travis sits at a table in a dark room. She drags a hunting knife, the same knife she used to cut Denni Summers' hair to make the bracelet she wears, the same knife would later wield to hack off Slingshot Red's hair and some of Avery Wright's to make the necklace that is around her neck. She scrapes the blade across the whetstone, sharpening it.
“You've been on my mind as of late, Harper. But, that, I think is stating the obvious, don't you? After all, we've been doing this particular dance for the last few months now. It'd be strange if I wasn't thinking about you.”
She doesn't look up, doesn't move her eyes away from sharpening the weapon she holds in her hand.
“I've been thinking about you and me. What will happen to us when this is over. We're going to be doing this for as long as we are both in the CPW, aren't we? We're going to end each others careers. Maybe I take you out. Maybe you take me out. Maybe we take each other out in the same match. Probably later. Maybe a lot sooner. That is how this ends, isn't it, Harper?”
“And really, what other way can it end between us? At the rate we are are going, one of us is going to take the other out, or we take each other out at the same time. There is no other way. And you look at your entire career, Harper, you know it is true. You know deep down, you know I am right. You may hate to admit it, but you know I am right. And how can I not be? I've watched your career, all the way from the start and all the way to today. I know you. And, truly, Harper, it's like you've never had a rival of your own until I came along.”
“You were out the door after Brody Stevens beat you for the Elimination Championship and gone for years. Then again, not like Brody suck around much longer. The only difference, Harper, is you returned and have had a pretty decent run since, all things considered. He popped back in for less than a year. Here is a guy who won King of Chaos, won the Elimination and Devastation Championships and yet, seems like he accomplished nothing and didn't do anything except be the springboard for Amy's Elimination Championship title reign. Seems kind of a waste, doesn't it? Like why did this guy ever swing by? But, he hardly seemed like the opponent for you. I really can't imagine how that feud would have gone.”
She shakes her head a little bit. Not bothering to try to picture what something like a feud between Brody Stevens and Slingshot Red would have been like. Instead, she keeps focusing on sharpening the knife.
“And, of course, you made your return to the CPW to fight Legion and avenge Julia Davenport's injury. And you brought in Avery to help. How long did that last Harper? How long? Seems to me it ran almost a year, didn't it? And, it's funny to me, that you and Avery seemed to be so hellbent on taking Legion out and avenging Julia Davenport, but she didn't seem interested in lifting a finger to help you fight her battle. It only takes two to three months to heal a broken hand enough to reengage in sports, like wrestling. But, she never bothered to come back. She never bothered to help you against Legion, to fight her battle that she just handed off to you, even though she would have been medically cleared to do so. Nope, she just left you to handle her dirty work and take care of it.”
“The Serial Killer” sighs, almost as if she's disappointed by these events, a member of Legion breaking Julia Davenport's hand, and then Slingshot Red turning to fight Legion, a fight that would see the introduction of Avery Wright to back up Slingshot Red, but no return of Julia Davenport.
“Think about it, Harper. Honestly think about it. She got hurt, should have taken two to three months to heal and be back in the ring. There is literally no excuse for why she did not help you against Legion. It was her fight. And you can try to justify it, Harper, but you can't. I'm sure she gave you some reason as to why she didn't rush back to help you that you believed because you believe she's a good person. But she's not. She was lying. She didn't want to do it herself, so she decided to use someone else. It's the story of her life. She could have sent Constantine, the man breve enough to step into the ring if he can get into the ring, but too gutless to actually lace up a pair of boots and try his hand at wrestling, to aid you, but she didn't. She could have shown up with a chair, but she didn't. She uses people, Harper. She didn't have the guts to face Amy Zing, someone she once said was beneath her, in the ring one-on-one, but managed to recover from her injuries and clear her schedule to make the time to be the referee in her last match. She used you to fight her battle. And what did you get out of it, other than driven through a lot of tables? Should have been you and Avery, not Sugar Rush or anyone else getting a shot at the Triple Crown Tag Team Championships. But that's not how the CPW works. But at least you got to fight Julia's battle for her.”
“And what a battle it was. Tag team match after tag team match ending in disqualifications, and then being driven though a table on a near weekly basis until you and Avery finally beat two of them in a match to somehow end it. Yes, they lost a match by pinfall and that was clearly enough to vanquish Legion. Their leader exploded and their evil tower collapsed and the land was freed from just how goddamned boring and worthless they were. And you, Harper, stood side by side with Avery Wright, having won someone else's war.”
Victoria stops and examines the blade in her hand. She looks over it carefully, seeing if she has sharpened it enough. She turns it, studying the blade, looking over it.
“But, that wasn't the last time you were dragged into someone else's fight, was it, Harper? No. It wasn't. You were right there with Avery to fight Disturbed with her. I honestly do not understand why. They kept putting you in a bunch of handicapped matches they advertised as triple threat matches I really do not. But it ended how most Disturbed feuds end. He loses, get another title shot, wins and starts to refocus on the Xtreme Chaos Championship. And even then, it was Avery's fight, not yours. But, you went in there. You did. That's the type of person you are, Harper, willing to fight someone else's battles, because you think it's heroic. Pretty sure its safe to say Avery had it. Has Disturbed ever beaten her one-on-one? I honestly do not recall. And yet, there you were, heroically going after him in two-on-one scenarios. Then again, makes sense, seeing as how no one was coming after your title. Honestly, I feel like if you hadn't been helping Avery with her fight, you may very well have had that shot at the Xtreme Chaos Championship people wanted you to have.”
“I'm honestly surprised that whole thing with Mud Mouth and you didn't go any further. You beat him for the Air Raid Championship and it seemed like that was going to be this really intense thing. He had to beat you, had to regain the championship, had to show your win was a fluke. But you beat him in a rematch, and then he wins King of Chaos and drops you like that was enough. Yeah, he won King of Chaos, got the Xtreme Chaos Championship title match and was suddenly done with you. Even when he won the Xtreme Chaos Championship, no one considered you for an opportunity. Shame really. Then again, he threw you away after King of Chaos. Guess he learned that from Kenny. After all, he watched him throw away Mayday and Mighty Frank, and then the Libertines. I'm sure he's off, somewhere, channeling dark gods or whatever evil nonsense.”
Victoria keeps looking over the blade and nods in approval as she deems it sharp enough for what she needs to do with it. She pockets the whetstone as she casually handles the knife.
“But, really Harper, I thought you and Mud Mouth would be at it for awhile. It was kind of disappointing to see him just walk away after he won King of Chaos. He acted like the Air Raid Championship meant so much to him, but then got a chance at the Xtreme Chaos Championship and then neither you nor the belt mattered to him. It's a bit hypocritical no one says anything about that, when I have heard that accusation against someone else before. But, hey, it's the CPW. You just have to ignore the hypocrisy. And really, in the grand scheme of things, he's only ever beaten you once. Hardly seems like a settled score to me. You are ahead in the numbers,”
“And then, that brings us to me.”
Turning the knife in her hand, Victoria drives the blade into the table in front of her, smiling that sadistic, cruel smile of hers. She shifts herself in the chair, and stares ahead, like she's talking face to face with someone, and given the subject she's been talking about, there is only one guess who she would be addressing.
“Deny it all you want, Harper, try to ignore it if you can, but we both know I'm living rent free in your head. Now, you probably thought it was all over between us two years ago. We had our whole thing with the Aristocracy against you, Avery and Julia, and that ended with Julia being put through a table, never, apparently, to wrestle again because of her injuries. And then you beat me at Damnation And A Day, and you were absolutely certain that that was the end of it. And why shouldn't you have been? I didn't put you through a table the following Pure Mayhem or do anything against you. In your mind, you thought it was over. That's how it seems to go with most of your rivalries, isn't it, if they don't try to beat the hell out of you after the pay-per-view, it's clearly over.”
“But, it wasn't, was it, Harper? You thought it was over, the story was ended. I, on the other hand, was planning the sequel. After all, Harper, you are a superhero, running around in your play suit mommy made like a child playing pretend. But, every superhero needs a villain. Where would Batman be without the Joker, Penguin or Riddler terrorizing Gotham? Who would Spider-Man be without the Green Goblin? Heroes, Harper, always need villains to fight. And whether you want it or not, Harper, I am yours.”
“We are not finishing the story at Super Brawl. No. No we are not. Not at all. What we are doing is writing the latest chapter. Now, I win and we go on to Damnation And A Day, with you getting your rematch and this dance continuing. Or I lose and we part ways for a time, allow ourselves to turn our attention to other affairs and concerns, and I take some time to plot how I come at you the next time I feel the need to torment you as your antagonist.”
“Because I am going to feel that need again, Harper. I am going to. Sure, I could go back to Denni, torment her a bit, but I literally broke her. I could really go after Francisco Lopez, and he does seem to be asking for it, but, as I said, nothing I can do to him will be worse than him knowing he will never be Xtreme Chaos Champion. I could find some brand new victim, someone fresh through the door. But sooner or later, I'll turn my attention back to you, Harper. And we will do this dance all over again after I find a way to get your attention I'm sure I'll think of something.”
“I know, Harper, I cannot break you. I know I cannot I can beat you down physically, but I can't break your spirit. And really, that's the goal here. That's what I want to do. That's what I need to do. That's the curse of being someone's villain. You will do everything to torture them, to torment them, And you will end up living rent free in their heads. But at the same time, they could end up living rent free in yours.”
“No one knows you better in this ring than I do, Harper. I have inflicted so much pain on you, done so many brutal things to you. I am every scar, every bruise, every shooting pain you have had in your body for the last two years. And I am not done yet. You once commented that in another life, you and I may have been friends. Well, in a strange way, we already are. See, Harper, I know you, the real you better than anyone here, because I have seen you when stop pretending to be a superhero and get real. I now the hate that you keep buried, the rage and the anger. Because I am the only one you seem to want to ever unleash it on.”
“So, come on, old friend, let us write the latest entry into our story with your blood. The eyes of the world are on us Harper, and you know how much I love attention. After all, what's the point of being a lunatic if no one watches? Well, I suppose it's like being at costumed superhero with no villain to fight.”
Victoria grabs the knife and pulls it out of table. She suddenly flips the table to the side and lunges, driving the knife into the chest of a mannequin seated across from her. It is a mannequin that is dressed as Slingshot Red, wearing an exact replica of the outfit Harper Brooks wears when she competes. Victoria leans in slowly and whispers to the mannequin as if she were whispering to an actual person, which is somewhat more disturbing as she has not let go of the knife.
“No one, best buddy, gets to end you except for me. We are done, Harper, when I SAY WE ARE. Not you. It's not your choice. It never was, my friend.”
She smiles. The smile starts to widen as she draws the knife out of the mannequin.
“HehehehehahahahaHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!”
The scene fades out on the image of Victoria holding the knife and laughing.
“You've been on my mind as of late, Harper. But, that, I think is stating the obvious, don't you? After all, we've been doing this particular dance for the last few months now. It'd be strange if I wasn't thinking about you.”
She doesn't look up, doesn't move her eyes away from sharpening the weapon she holds in her hand.
“I've been thinking about you and me. What will happen to us when this is over. We're going to be doing this for as long as we are both in the CPW, aren't we? We're going to end each others careers. Maybe I take you out. Maybe you take me out. Maybe we take each other out in the same match. Probably later. Maybe a lot sooner. That is how this ends, isn't it, Harper?”
“And really, what other way can it end between us? At the rate we are are going, one of us is going to take the other out, or we take each other out at the same time. There is no other way. And you look at your entire career, Harper, you know it is true. You know deep down, you know I am right. You may hate to admit it, but you know I am right. And how can I not be? I've watched your career, all the way from the start and all the way to today. I know you. And, truly, Harper, it's like you've never had a rival of your own until I came along.”
“You were out the door after Brody Stevens beat you for the Elimination Championship and gone for years. Then again, not like Brody suck around much longer. The only difference, Harper, is you returned and have had a pretty decent run since, all things considered. He popped back in for less than a year. Here is a guy who won King of Chaos, won the Elimination and Devastation Championships and yet, seems like he accomplished nothing and didn't do anything except be the springboard for Amy's Elimination Championship title reign. Seems kind of a waste, doesn't it? Like why did this guy ever swing by? But, he hardly seemed like the opponent for you. I really can't imagine how that feud would have gone.”
She shakes her head a little bit. Not bothering to try to picture what something like a feud between Brody Stevens and Slingshot Red would have been like. Instead, she keeps focusing on sharpening the knife.
“And, of course, you made your return to the CPW to fight Legion and avenge Julia Davenport's injury. And you brought in Avery to help. How long did that last Harper? How long? Seems to me it ran almost a year, didn't it? And, it's funny to me, that you and Avery seemed to be so hellbent on taking Legion out and avenging Julia Davenport, but she didn't seem interested in lifting a finger to help you fight her battle. It only takes two to three months to heal a broken hand enough to reengage in sports, like wrestling. But, she never bothered to come back. She never bothered to help you against Legion, to fight her battle that she just handed off to you, even though she would have been medically cleared to do so. Nope, she just left you to handle her dirty work and take care of it.”
“The Serial Killer” sighs, almost as if she's disappointed by these events, a member of Legion breaking Julia Davenport's hand, and then Slingshot Red turning to fight Legion, a fight that would see the introduction of Avery Wright to back up Slingshot Red, but no return of Julia Davenport.
“Think about it, Harper. Honestly think about it. She got hurt, should have taken two to three months to heal and be back in the ring. There is literally no excuse for why she did not help you against Legion. It was her fight. And you can try to justify it, Harper, but you can't. I'm sure she gave you some reason as to why she didn't rush back to help you that you believed because you believe she's a good person. But she's not. She was lying. She didn't want to do it herself, so she decided to use someone else. It's the story of her life. She could have sent Constantine, the man breve enough to step into the ring if he can get into the ring, but too gutless to actually lace up a pair of boots and try his hand at wrestling, to aid you, but she didn't. She could have shown up with a chair, but she didn't. She uses people, Harper. She didn't have the guts to face Amy Zing, someone she once said was beneath her, in the ring one-on-one, but managed to recover from her injuries and clear her schedule to make the time to be the referee in her last match. She used you to fight her battle. And what did you get out of it, other than driven through a lot of tables? Should have been you and Avery, not Sugar Rush or anyone else getting a shot at the Triple Crown Tag Team Championships. But that's not how the CPW works. But at least you got to fight Julia's battle for her.”
“And what a battle it was. Tag team match after tag team match ending in disqualifications, and then being driven though a table on a near weekly basis until you and Avery finally beat two of them in a match to somehow end it. Yes, they lost a match by pinfall and that was clearly enough to vanquish Legion. Their leader exploded and their evil tower collapsed and the land was freed from just how goddamned boring and worthless they were. And you, Harper, stood side by side with Avery Wright, having won someone else's war.”
Victoria stops and examines the blade in her hand. She looks over it carefully, seeing if she has sharpened it enough. She turns it, studying the blade, looking over it.
“But, that wasn't the last time you were dragged into someone else's fight, was it, Harper? No. It wasn't. You were right there with Avery to fight Disturbed with her. I honestly do not understand why. They kept putting you in a bunch of handicapped matches they advertised as triple threat matches I really do not. But it ended how most Disturbed feuds end. He loses, get another title shot, wins and starts to refocus on the Xtreme Chaos Championship. And even then, it was Avery's fight, not yours. But, you went in there. You did. That's the type of person you are, Harper, willing to fight someone else's battles, because you think it's heroic. Pretty sure its safe to say Avery had it. Has Disturbed ever beaten her one-on-one? I honestly do not recall. And yet, there you were, heroically going after him in two-on-one scenarios. Then again, makes sense, seeing as how no one was coming after your title. Honestly, I feel like if you hadn't been helping Avery with her fight, you may very well have had that shot at the Xtreme Chaos Championship people wanted you to have.”
“I'm honestly surprised that whole thing with Mud Mouth and you didn't go any further. You beat him for the Air Raid Championship and it seemed like that was going to be this really intense thing. He had to beat you, had to regain the championship, had to show your win was a fluke. But you beat him in a rematch, and then he wins King of Chaos and drops you like that was enough. Yeah, he won King of Chaos, got the Xtreme Chaos Championship title match and was suddenly done with you. Even when he won the Xtreme Chaos Championship, no one considered you for an opportunity. Shame really. Then again, he threw you away after King of Chaos. Guess he learned that from Kenny. After all, he watched him throw away Mayday and Mighty Frank, and then the Libertines. I'm sure he's off, somewhere, channeling dark gods or whatever evil nonsense.”
Victoria keeps looking over the blade and nods in approval as she deems it sharp enough for what she needs to do with it. She pockets the whetstone as she casually handles the knife.
“But, really Harper, I thought you and Mud Mouth would be at it for awhile. It was kind of disappointing to see him just walk away after he won King of Chaos. He acted like the Air Raid Championship meant so much to him, but then got a chance at the Xtreme Chaos Championship and then neither you nor the belt mattered to him. It's a bit hypocritical no one says anything about that, when I have heard that accusation against someone else before. But, hey, it's the CPW. You just have to ignore the hypocrisy. And really, in the grand scheme of things, he's only ever beaten you once. Hardly seems like a settled score to me. You are ahead in the numbers,”
“And then, that brings us to me.”
Turning the knife in her hand, Victoria drives the blade into the table in front of her, smiling that sadistic, cruel smile of hers. She shifts herself in the chair, and stares ahead, like she's talking face to face with someone, and given the subject she's been talking about, there is only one guess who she would be addressing.
“Deny it all you want, Harper, try to ignore it if you can, but we both know I'm living rent free in your head. Now, you probably thought it was all over between us two years ago. We had our whole thing with the Aristocracy against you, Avery and Julia, and that ended with Julia being put through a table, never, apparently, to wrestle again because of her injuries. And then you beat me at Damnation And A Day, and you were absolutely certain that that was the end of it. And why shouldn't you have been? I didn't put you through a table the following Pure Mayhem or do anything against you. In your mind, you thought it was over. That's how it seems to go with most of your rivalries, isn't it, if they don't try to beat the hell out of you after the pay-per-view, it's clearly over.”
“But, it wasn't, was it, Harper? You thought it was over, the story was ended. I, on the other hand, was planning the sequel. After all, Harper, you are a superhero, running around in your play suit mommy made like a child playing pretend. But, every superhero needs a villain. Where would Batman be without the Joker, Penguin or Riddler terrorizing Gotham? Who would Spider-Man be without the Green Goblin? Heroes, Harper, always need villains to fight. And whether you want it or not, Harper, I am yours.”
“We are not finishing the story at Super Brawl. No. No we are not. Not at all. What we are doing is writing the latest chapter. Now, I win and we go on to Damnation And A Day, with you getting your rematch and this dance continuing. Or I lose and we part ways for a time, allow ourselves to turn our attention to other affairs and concerns, and I take some time to plot how I come at you the next time I feel the need to torment you as your antagonist.”
“Because I am going to feel that need again, Harper. I am going to. Sure, I could go back to Denni, torment her a bit, but I literally broke her. I could really go after Francisco Lopez, and he does seem to be asking for it, but, as I said, nothing I can do to him will be worse than him knowing he will never be Xtreme Chaos Champion. I could find some brand new victim, someone fresh through the door. But sooner or later, I'll turn my attention back to you, Harper. And we will do this dance all over again after I find a way to get your attention I'm sure I'll think of something.”
“I know, Harper, I cannot break you. I know I cannot I can beat you down physically, but I can't break your spirit. And really, that's the goal here. That's what I want to do. That's what I need to do. That's the curse of being someone's villain. You will do everything to torture them, to torment them, And you will end up living rent free in their heads. But at the same time, they could end up living rent free in yours.”
“No one knows you better in this ring than I do, Harper. I have inflicted so much pain on you, done so many brutal things to you. I am every scar, every bruise, every shooting pain you have had in your body for the last two years. And I am not done yet. You once commented that in another life, you and I may have been friends. Well, in a strange way, we already are. See, Harper, I know you, the real you better than anyone here, because I have seen you when stop pretending to be a superhero and get real. I now the hate that you keep buried, the rage and the anger. Because I am the only one you seem to want to ever unleash it on.”
“So, come on, old friend, let us write the latest entry into our story with your blood. The eyes of the world are on us Harper, and you know how much I love attention. After all, what's the point of being a lunatic if no one watches? Well, I suppose it's like being at costumed superhero with no villain to fight.”
Victoria grabs the knife and pulls it out of table. She suddenly flips the table to the side and lunges, driving the knife into the chest of a mannequin seated across from her. It is a mannequin that is dressed as Slingshot Red, wearing an exact replica of the outfit Harper Brooks wears when she competes. Victoria leans in slowly and whispers to the mannequin as if she were whispering to an actual person, which is somewhat more disturbing as she has not let go of the knife.
“No one, best buddy, gets to end you except for me. We are done, Harper, when I SAY WE ARE. Not you. It's not your choice. It never was, my friend.”
She smiles. The smile starts to widen as she draws the knife out of the mannequin.
“HehehehehahahahaHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!”
The scene fades out on the image of Victoria holding the knife and laughing.