Post by TheNewBreed on Nov 25, 2023 23:15:31 GMT -5
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Yellowed pillars of faded stucco stretch across the top of the short set of steps leading up to the wide glass front doors of the Florida State Prison in Raiford, FL supporting the barbed wire coils atop the roof overhead. As the double doors swing open, none other than Johnathan Cable and Terry Borden emerge from within the prison. Somber and thoughtful, both men make their way out across the shallow porch, and down the few stairs onto the sidewalk.
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“Thanks for coming with me, Terry. I know Sebastian was happy you made it out here.” John says beneath the golden filigree face-plate as he removes his dark blue suit jacket and loosens his matching tie.
“Brother, I needed to be here. I ain't been out to see him in a few months, and I definitely should make that more of a priority, Jack. He's been in a long time, and I know how much he misses being out here raisin' Cain with all of us.” Terry says as he slides his red and yellow Dream-A-Maniacs bandanna off of his shiny bald pate and shakes his bright blonde ring of a mane in the Florida sunshine.
“Well I appreciate it anyway. I know he did too. It's been really hard getting down here with everything going on. I've spent all of my free time at the garage with R2 trying to figure out this problem with that other John... not that I have a lot of free time to begin with.” John says as he slides his tie out of the crisp white color of his button up shirt.
“Speaking of things you got going on, John... what ya gonna doooo about Space Lord on SMASH, Dude?” Terry asks, cocking his head to the side with a grin.
“What do you mean, what am I gonna do? I don't even know why I'm fighting him. Spencer got drafted to BRAWL so I'm not in contention for the Tag Titles right now... unless you want to make a return to the ring, that is?” John chuckles as he taps Terry on the shoulder with a balled fist suggesting he could come out of retirement for another run at the Tag Titles.
“Brother, I am living the High Life of a great retirement from an industry that has taken care of me for a long time. The Dream-A-Maniacs out there still cheer as loud as ever, and the road of opportunity before me and the old harley is a grand one. I'm loving this life, and unless I needed to... retirement suits me just fine!” Terry scoffs
“But seriously, I know you got this fight with Enigma coming up, Brother, but you can't overlook Space Lord on Monday, Jack. He's dangerous, and you need to take this for the challenge it is.” Terry scolds him as they make their way across the parking lot towards John's old Jeep.
“Seriously... I don't know why we're even fighting.” John says flatly.
“Are you joshing me, Dude? You don't know what happened?” Terry stops him with a hand on his shoulder, his grin fleeing his face.
John stops and stares at him from beneath the mask, his eyes blank, taking in Terry's change in attitude.
“No... seriously. I have no idea what happened or why we're booked in this match on Monday, and I definitely don't know why it's billed as a Grudge Match!” John says, the exasperation in his tone evident.
“Brother... they got jumped a few weeks ago by those guys leaving your mask all over the place, and Space Lord thinks you had something to do with it. He called you out on the show a couple weeks back and apparently Barrows seems to think it'll make for good TV to see you tear each other apart over it... so here you are: Grudge Match against the Space Lord on SMASH in the semi main event. Do you not watch the show or what, Brother?” Terry explains to him, flabbergasted that John had no idea what was even going on.
John blinked beneath the filigree mask.
“Look, Terry... I told you... I've been spending all of my free time with R2 at the garage. Between the bookings for the WGWF, the Orcas management, and the Foundation, I don't have a lot of time to watch the show, OK? You know what my days look like... there isn't...” John starts to get excited defending himself, but Terry just laughs at him and puts his hand on his shoulder.
“Take a chill pill and a couple of vitamins, Dude. At least you knew you were booked and that it was a Grudge Match, Brother! I know you're a busy man. You got a lot of people counting on you, and I respect that, but you gotta take this seriously. Space Lord is, and I know that for a fact, Jack.” Terry warns him.
“But I didn't have anything to do with that... and Page even said it wasn't me, so why does everyone keep saying that?” John asks.
“I don't know, Brother, but as long as those guys are running around leaving your mask all over the place you're gonna find yourself in just this kind of situation, Dude... but you sill haven't answered me. What are you gonna do about Space Lord?” Terry presses the question as they finally make their way to the Jeep and climb in.
“Well, maybe I can just talk to him and explain how it wasn't me after all and we can worry about the matches we have coming up instead of fighting in this Grudge Match for nothing?” John says as he shrugs his shoulders and pulls out of the parking lot.
“That bargain bin version of me that runs around with him already tried that, Dude. He wasn't trying to hear any of that whack noise then, and I doubt he's trying to hear it coming from you, Brother. No, Dude... you're gonna have to... wait just a minute.” Terry says before stopping and rubbing his fingers over his thick mustache in contemplation.
“Don't you have a time traveling truck, Jack?” Terry asks looking across the Jeep at Cable.
“Yeah... I mean... it's in the garage at home, but... Oh!” John exclaims as he starts to get the drift that Terry's putting down.
“We could go back and stop them from getting jumped backstage in the first place... and then Space Lord wouldn't have any reason to call me out! If it never happened, then this match doesn't have to happen at all!” John shouts happily as they pull onto the highway headed towards Jacksonville once more.
“I mean, yeah, Dude... that's definitely one way to deal with it, I guess.” Terry says as the Jeep disappears down the highway.
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“Timeline Coordinates are locked in, John Cable. We are prepared for departure.” R2-IDEA chirps in his usual upbeat mechanical tone.
“OK, Terry. You ready to go fix this?” John asks Borden in the passenger seat of the Axtgriff FTV.
“I'm not gonna lie, Brother... timey whimey stuff is a little weird for me, Dude... and I'm still not sure that...” Terry started to protest before the purple smoke began to swirl around the truck. In an instant, the truck was gone with a loud POP.
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John, Terry, R2, and the Axtgriff sped along the rainbow colored timeline strands in the void that existed outside of time itself, where all of the foreseeable futures and pasts were viable all at once. Some time in their journey that lasted mere moments and eternities all at once, the truck zipped by a very familiar phone booth. Inside, an older balding man smoked a massive purple colored blunt with Chris Page as they zoomed by on their own time quest sometime in the near past.
After a few mind blowing moments spending endless minutes careening across the rainbow streaked timeline, with a loud POP... the Axtgriff and it's passengers appear in a swirl of purple smoke and a bright flash of purple light just outside the talent entrance of the Hard Rock Stadium in Miami.
“We have arrived at the appropriate destination, John Cable.” R2 chirped happily.
“OK, Terry... we gotta get in there and stop those guys from getting to their dressing room.” John says as he pops the truck door open and slides out of the driver seat.
“Let's do this, Brother.” Terry answers as he slides out of the passenger side and they head towards the door.
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Terry Borden and John Cable stalk the back hallways of the Stadium searching for Sports Entertainment Xpress' Locker Room. They pass several doors with the names of prominent WGWF Superstars on them, and as they round a corner, they bump into two of the Lock Down Security Guards roaming thehallways.
“Oh... sorry Mr. Cable. I didn' see you coming around the corner there.” one of the young men says as he straightens his shirt, surprised at seeing them in the hallway here.
“No worries, Dude. Look, we're kind of in a hurry here, so can you point us in the direction of the SEX Room?” Terry says flatly, anticipation of the directions palpable in his hurried tone.
“Um... we're not in Vegas anymore, Mr. Borden... I don't think that...” the other young man blushes and stammers a little bit, not understanding the actual question.
“Look... we're just looking for SEX. Do you know where they are?” John pipes in, their frustration growing as minutes tick by.
“Again, Mr. Cable... that isn't something that...” the first man stammers before John brushes him off.
“Let's just go, Terry. We're running out of time to stop them from getting jumped!” John grumbles as they push past the two men and continue looking for the locker room of the Tag Team Champs.
One of the men looks at the other, and shrugs his shoulders.
“I guess at their age, time really does feel like it's running out down there, huh?” he says to the other as they make their way down the hallway in the other direction as fast as they can walk.
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“The event has transpired again, John Cable.” the sad voice of R2-IDEA comes across John's watch for the fifth time now.
“For fuck sake! Now we found the dressing room we're looking for but we still can't seem to get there in time. R2... reset for 10 more minutes before the event and maybe this time we can get this done.” John gruffly grumbles.
“It's OK, Brother. We have time on our side.” Terry chuckles at the situation causing John to growl in frustration.
“Timeshift in 3... 2... 1...” the sullen voice of R2 chirps again from the watch before the two of them disappear in a puff of purple smoke, a flash of bright purple light, and a loud POP.
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“Hey, YOU! Stop right there!” John and Terry hear from down the hallway not too far from the SEX Dressing Room. As they turn, a man rushes past them and knocks them both into the wall on opposite sides of the hall, shocking them both in the abrupt incident.
“Stop HIM! He's getting away!” the two security guards shout at them from down the hall.
Terry and John look at each other in disgust sharing a glance between them.
“Damnit.” John mutters before they take off down the hall after the guy security is chasing instead of stopping by the planned destination to rectify the timeline.
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“Timeshift in 3... 2... 1...” the now aggravated voice of R2 chirps again as the familiar purple smoke and lights are met with a loud POP.
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“OK... last time... we have to save the maintenance guy from the ladder fall when we get in there... then we have to slow down that group of kids near concessions before they get run over by that light truck... then we have to get to the Locker Room to stop the damned time event. Can we just get this done already?” John says, exasperation heavy in his gruff voice.
“Don't forget we have to make sure that tee shirt gun doesn't go off in that guys face near Devlin's room and we have to stop the thief in the hallway outside their Locker Room too, Dude.” Terry chimes in.
“For fuck sake...” John sighs dejectedly.
“Let's do this...” he shrugs as they head back into the building yet again.
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“The event has transpired yet again, John Cable.” the voice of R2 chimes across the watch once more.
“Brother... this isn't working.” Terry says as he slumps to the floor.
“Well I have to do something! I mean... damn. Why is this so hard?” John laments as he too slumps to the floor opposite the hall of Terry.
“Perhaps, John Cable, this is a nexus event.” R2 chimes in.
“What does that mean, R2?” John asks tentatively.
“A nexus event is an event that happens in the timeline no matter what course of events precedes it. Perhaps... if you are a wrestler in the timeline, this match is destined to happen no matter what you do to prevent it, and this effort has been all for naught, as admirable as it is to have at least tried to have saved them from the assault.” R2 chirps.
“Well, Brother... in that case... whatcha gonna do when even the timeline says you have to fight Space Lord on Monday and no amount of time hopping will get you out of it, Jack?” Terry asks, a grin spreading across his face.
“Man... damnit. Well... at least we saved those kids... and that maintenance guy... and we stopped that guy from getting blasted in the face from that tee shirt gun...” John sighs.
“And we stopped the thief too... don't forget that, Brother.” Terry puts his two cents in.
“Yeah... yeah... we stopped the thief too. I guess... if it's meant to be, then it's meant to be. I know what I bring to the ring... and the fans are ready to see me put on a show. I guess I've got a job to do, and Space Lord better be ready to light up SMASH... cause I sure as Hell am.” John says flatly as the scene fades to black.
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