What Lies Ahead.

[Falcon]

{Falcon managed his way up the walkway with three paper bags stuffed into his hands. If he missed anything about having a weird assistant following him everywhere, it was probably the extra set of hands when they were needed. Shifting bags from both arms to one to free up a hand for his pocket so he could grab his keys and unlock the door. Of course, as he went to do that, he realized it was open. Easing it open slowly for several seconds until.. he just pushed the door open to find her standing there. He gave her a scowl. She gave him a song.}

Jane: Oh the bitch came back, the very next day.. The bitch came back..

{He exhaled a sigh, moving past her with the groceries. Bags went on the counter, he started putting things away. She meandered after him, leaning a hip against the counter.}

Jane: Not even the least bit curious as to why I'm here?

{A hand shot up, waving dismissively. He didn't even bother to turn around, almost as though he expected it at some point.}

Jane: Well, I was thinking, and you were right, trying to dictate how you acted with threats and guile was rather childish of me. If I learned anything really, it's that the passion for this industry seems to revolve more around the industry itself than any of the aspects that come with it, unlike.. well.. pretty much everyone I was used to dealing with.

{She sideglanced away, looking out the window for a long moment, her face almost sheepish. Falcon waved a hand emphatically, beckoning her to move so he could get to the cabinet behind her.}

Jane: But.. I think I understand now. I mean, stalking the primary physician kinda helped, but I never understood that whole 'love of the game' concept everyone kept talking about. After all the controversy surrounding superstar athletes and vying for bigger deals, I became jaded on the whole deal that anyone played for more than just money.

{She gave a small chuckle, as he closed the cabinet and went back across the room.}

Jane: You proved me wrong though. In a way, I also lost why I took this job in the first place. You'd probably think it's stupid.. but..

{She trailed off, looking at him. After a moment he turned to look at her expectantly, eventually rolling his wrist to urge her to continue or move on. One of the two.}

Jane: I used to try and put guys with the right team. I studied every sport stat I could, learned ins and outs. I used to be able to tell you what plays in any teams playbook could beat a cover 2 and how likely it was.. but.. I just sort of let it all slip away when I stopped caring. But you.. you showed me that caring for something, even if the world thinks it's a silly notion, doesn't make you weak. In fact it takes more strength to care about things people dismiss as silly than to just follow the crowd. So for that...

Probably the first genuine, non sarcastic smile.

Jane: Thanks.

{He shrugged like nothing could be simpler. She shook her head.}

Jane: There's that nonsensical dismissiveness I missed. ...That's a terrible sentence. So, have you been feeling alright? It's been a tough couple weeks, hasn't it?

{He shrugged again, as if a tough week was nothing new.}

Jane: By the way, last I checked, you weren't cleared.. how did you get into the match with Pooler, and the one with Cutler..?

{Falcon just smiled.}

New reality...

Viral obscenity

Bloodstained Walkers all around

Insecurity...

Death of humanity

Contaminating the air with rotten flesh

{We shifted to the same Doctor's office we'd seen a few times already. The doctor himself is scribbling things down in his Doctor terrible handwriting. His phone rings.}

Doctor: Hello?

{Several moments and nods as though he was listening to something important. As time passes his face turned to one of confusion.}

Doctor: Wait.. repeat that? .....I sure as hell didn't clear him for that, not after... Uh huh. I did.. did I?

{He reached for his little notepad. They were sheets that had in writing when and if a wrestler was cleared or not to wrestle, so there would be a physical copy to prevent future legal action in case something went wrong. He flipped through the pad.}

Doctor: Yea, I have my pad right here. So I don't see how..

{When he promptly discovered that a bunch of pages had been torn out in the middle.}

Doctor: That son of a bitch!

Violence becomes the way!

Terminate, Eliminate

Fear everything inside!

Eliminate, Disintegrate

{Jane was watching his smiling face, the idea that he had done something outside the box to get what he wanted slowly creeping in, and all the possibilities of what that might have been. She found herself grinning back.}

Jane: You, sir, are a very courageous, and stupid man.

{Falcon shrugged as if that was also nothing new.}

Empty are the eyes of everyone

Who's dead inside

Guilt as you slay agonizing ones

Demonized

So, the extinction event. Sort of a fitting name, isn't it? Sort of as in, well people don't literally die in the ring that often, so it's not much for literal extinction, but after such a cataclysmic event things are rarely the same for everyone involved. So, yes.. this will be an event, but the question remains of what will actually be changing? While I could list all the silly little nuances about who and what, there's one thing I want to touch on.

This match will expose House Howlett as the time bomb they are.

Why you ask? So polite, I'll explain. You have the three vaunted champions, members all of this house of cards, each wanting to defend their own title with a passion that is rarely matched. That seems normal, but the fact that each one is secretly worried about two other unrelated things is the simple kindling that will ignite the fuse.

First, they have to be worried that not only can they lose their belt to a challenger, they can lose it to anyone on that team. Cable doesn't have to worry about just Dre, he has to keep his guard up from attacks by Falcon and JFK, people he normally wouldn't even come close to thinking about. And we all know how whiney Cable is, despite his small dingle compensating bravado face he likes to throw out, along with his mean and vague threats.

I've heard worse on Xbox live, second hand. Seriously.

You think JFK isn't going to lurk in the shadows? Sure, technically he's always on about being the man of steel, but if he gets half a chance to take any belt, he simply would, just to have it. Cable hits an impact move and while he's getting up? Bam! There comes the lurker with a move to take him down, going straight for the kill. Now you may be asking me why is this any different from any other big match of this type, with a lot of hectic action and bodies flying about?

Because the time bomb is expected to be a 'unit.'

That's the problem with putting a bunch of selfish self obsessed jerks together to form some sort of cohesive unit. They all jumped on the bandwagon for personal glory. Now that they have it, what's next? Keeping it. You might think that they have half a chance, but if you think someone like Cable Arcane is going to put his title in jeopardy to save Spikes, you're mistaken, plain and simple. Cable isn't the type to lay down on the wire, and let the other guy crawl over him. And Spike's track record is blatantly obvious. Without the outside interferance, they'll revert to being solitary predators, and all it will take is one mistake for that prissy bitch standing on the outside to suddenly start looking for new champions for her house. And Noah, well he's the wildcard..

He'd sooner drag a prone body over either of them just to sit back and laugh about it.

So despite being a team, they aren't a team. That's the second thing they need to worry about, that they're expecting to work together, they're expected to dominate, and win. Cable sees Spike getting pinned, a part of him knows he's expected to run over and help out. A man who called his mentor a useless never was, is going to aid one of the biggest lying sacks of betraying shit? You'd have a better chance of being eaten by a shark, while being struck by lightning, and holding a winning jackpot lotto ticket.

Kids, anything is possible.. but this is so unlikely as there being a 'best of' Noah Field dvd that's not just boring filler.

Sure, this other team has no cohesion. JFK would sooner give himself a colonoscopy than save Dre Cutler from being pinned. Falcon and Dre might get along well enough, but even then there's no permanent alliance there. I don't really know or care what Dre and Doofus Mcdingus actually want out of this match, but I do know a few things you might not. The more chaotic, hectic, and dangerous you make something..

The more he loves it.

Falcon may be a walking cripple waiting to happen, but he still has a heart that beats for this business stronger than everyone in this match put together. Put him in a room where there's enemys, allys, and all sorts of wicked ways to do damage, and he's in his element. As a famous comic book character said...

I'm not locked in here with you, you're locked in here with me.

See, while neither team is really a team, or even really a loose friendship, the one thing the challengers possess is a lack of pressure. They have nothing to lose. While champions are trying to focus their mind on winning, retaining their belts, keeping an eye out for the knife in the back as well as waiting for the chance to stick it to another.. the other team, is just conducting business as usual. Falcon doesn't care about titles, so to him, it doesn't matter who falls before him, this is just what he lives for. A cornered animal is the most dangerous, and Falcon is backed so far into a corner fighting just to remain standing, that most of you don't really have a prayer to begin with. As the song says..

I am dying, but I will not die.

So, sit back, grab your popcorn and wait for the inevitable excuses. Wait for 'just a half second too late from breaking up that pinfall', or 'I wanted to help but I was dealing with something that wasn't really a factor'. The House can think they have all the power, but all of it was stunted by one simple edict, revealing them to be a bunch of crybabies. If Laura had any faith in any of you doing anything on your own, why would she care if there was an enclosed cell, or that Dre Cutler was involved?

She can see the cards tumbling down already.

And she's making moves to replace all of you. So, hope you all had a great holiday weekend with your families, because your TV family is about to fall fucking apart, and there's not a damn thing you can do about it. Hope you gave lots of thanks!

Open are the wounds inside us all

Fragile as your loved ones start to fall

Empty are the eyes of everyone

Who's dead inside