Injustice: Darkest Night

[Ghost Spike]

I had an epiphany of sorts over the last week or so, it came when Kathy Conway strode down to that ring and stabbed me right in the gut, with a smile on her face as she did it. I knew, deep in the back of my mind, that something was going down. After all, Jake doesn’t just escort his wife to the ring without a reason, right? That reason wasn’t to show her support, it wasn’t to show the fact that she’s been doing a great job spearheading a division with about five fucking people worth a shit in it, no…..HIS job, was to protect her…

From me.

As soon as my name left her lips, I knew it. Years, and years, of built up aggression, and thirst for revenge for my actions came crashing down on me, and do I even have a right to blame her? Do I even have a right to be upset with the family closest to my own? The Conway kids were the closest that my son had to family after Brad and Freya moved away…...my life is a soap opera, and it’s never been more painfully obvious than it is now…..but this epiphany, was that everything is being taken away from me…

Brad….

Xander…

River….though, that is through my own doing, because if I see her again, I might not be able to control myself…

Rob…

Fuck, Rob has lost his job, and I didn’t do anything to help him. I was so caught up in my shit I let my best friend down, not that he would have accepted any help I offered….but it’s the principal….now I’ve lost my road buddie, my travel partner, my best friend, my brother…

Now they want to take the only thing I have left that is worth a shit. This man of steel championship. The belt that I have made actually mean something over the past several months, a championship that has become prestigious because I am the man who holds it, because I am the man who has turned away challenger after challenger….then I didn’t, I did the exact opposite….and they want to punish me. I get it, I really do. I understand. Thing is, what kind of monster books a man grieving for his son? What kind of sick bastard forces a man to defend a championship when his son has barely been buried!?

….and I’m the bad guy?

But I’ve realised now, that this is the only thing I have left that means anything…..and I’ll do whatever I have to, to keep it around my waist. If that means breaking the heroes you throw at me, so be it. If that means breaking the upstarts you sacrifice to the God of steel? Then. So. Be. It. If that means really ending the career of Andrew Jacobsen?

Then so be it.

~~~

“My name is Hal Jacobsen, and I am the Green Lantern of Space Sector 2814, which in case you didn’t know, includes Earth. I’ll never forget the day of my greatest shame, a day that I failed not only my home, but a friend too. We Lanterns have an oath, it goes a little like this:”

‘In Brightest Day, in Blackest Night,
No evil shall escape my sight.
Let those who worship evils might,
Beware my power, Green Lanterns Light!”

“Yet on that day, evils might prevailed, and we….I, failed, it really was Earths own darkest night. Ever since then our world has changed, Superman has changed, and a part of me knows that he needs our help, but his new direction he’s heading in? It’s actually working. He’s rounding up criminals, and locking them up. He’s told every single government around the world to disarm their nukes or he’ll disarm them himself….and crime has gone down. Falcon doesn’t agree, and a part of me wants to side with him, but you can’t argue with these numbers, and at my deepest core, I’m just a space cop-”

Gillborg: Green Lantern, do you read?

Green Lantern: I’m here Johnny, what do you need?

There’s a few moments of static as Gillborg is clearing typing away at one of his many computers up at the Justice Leagues satellite base, the watch tower.

Gillborg: I have a signal Hal, it’s coming from Imperialopolis

“Superboy!?”

As Hal Jacobsens eyes grow wide he immediately begins to take flight towards the ruins of Imperialopolis, when the comms comes to life once more.

Wonder Woman: I’m on my way also.

Green Lantern: Jess?

Wonder Woman: We can withstand the radiation Jacobsen, we must do this for him.

No more words need to be said, the Justice League know that no normal human being could have survived the carnage wreaked by the Jokers dastardly nuclear bomb trick, the list of candidates that it could be was painfully short, yet at the same time it also brought a ray of hope, hope that they wished to deliver to their friend who was in pain and dealing with grief like never before. It wasn’t long before both Jacobsen and Jess arrived at the location that Gillborg had given them. They landed on the ground amongst the wreckage, now a mass grave, and approached the building slowly.

Wonder Woman: Is this…?

Green Lantern: The old DiamondCorp building? Yes.

Suddenly, and without warning, another figure lands behind them with a loud thud, as debris bounces away from him. It’s none other than the man of steel himself. He walks towards the building, as both Green Lantern and Wonder Woman move out of his way.

Wonder Woman: Spike, we just wanted to check before we told yo-

Superman: It’s fine. I overheard Johnny, and came as fast as I could. If there’s someone alive in there, I need to know who it is…….it’s lead lined, no wonder why I couldn’t find them before…

The three of them walk into the building and down into the basement, as they approach through the wreckage an untouched cube made of god knows what, but clearly - as pointed out by Spike - lead lined, lays untouched. Superman reaches forwards and rips the door off, as inside, a bald man in an incredibly expensive suit flinches and turns to see who his intruders are, before bursting into a huge smile.

Rob Diamond: Spike!

Superman: Rob!?

Both Green Lantern and Wonder Woman exchange glances, as the two men embrace each other.

Rob Diamond: I thought I was the only one left from Imperialopolis!

Superman: As did I!

The smile spread across the face of the man of steel brings one to his friends also, it wasn’t what they expected, but at least the outcome was what they were after. The man who had at one point been Supermans greatest enemy seemed now to be his greatest friend, and for the first time since the death of his son, the last son of Krypton had smiled.

“Maybe today ain’t so dark after all”

Oh…..if only he knew.

~~~

I feel sorry for you Andrew, I really do…..I just want to get that out there. You see, on a personal level? I actually kind of like you. You’ve always been that guy who will always try to look for the right path, take the road less travelled, do whatever feels right in the end - I mean, there’s been a few blips on the path, right? But….nobody is perfect are they?

So yeah, I feel sorry for you.

Because when you step into the ring with me at the Open Fight Night, you aren’t going to get a friendly competition, you arent going to get some form of one upmanship between two superior athletes, hell it;ll barely be able to be called a wrestling match. I’m going to take you apart Jacobsen, piece by piece, and it isn’t even your fault….it’s Kathy and the Board of Directors fault. Oh, don’t worry, you don’t need to tell me it won’t bring Xander back - do I look like a fucking idiot to you? I have anger issues on a normal day Andrew, can you imagine how Monday is going to be?

Absolutely barbaric.

I think you have promise here Andrew, I really do….despite what shortcomings you may have, or had in the past you’ve come back to IWF with a fire under your ass….and yeah, I mean you beat Nighthawk to get this shot…..because that is such a huge accomplishment - now, before you get your panties up in a bunch - I actually respect Nighthawk, unlike 90% of this roster, why? Because he doesn’t talk a bunch of shit. He’s hands down one of the best wrestlers this world has ever seen, and he doesn’t talk out of his ass, he doesn’t talk himself up and oversell himself like some people do, he doesn’t brag on and on about his accomplishment, he prefers to let his in-ring work do the talking, but tell me Andrew…..what has Nighthawk actually done here in IWF?

Been Invictus Champion?

Nope. He’s just lost every shot he ever had, that just happened to be against my s…..against my s….against ..

The same person you ended up having yours against, right? Tell me Andrew, when you couldn’t beat my s…..when you couldn’t beat my so…..when you couldn’t beat WARREN when your career was on the line, what the fuck makes you think you could beat me!?

HE put you on the shelf and he didn’t even want to Andrew, did you think about that? I’m ten times more dangerous than he ever could be, and a thousand times more vicious, I have the mean streak that he could never foster….and you have to be wondering going into this match, not “can I win?” but simply “can I survive?” because trust me Andrew…..I do not plan on going even remotely easy on you. I know you’ve held this belt before Andrew, I know that you know what it feels like to be the MAN of steel, but look upon me Jacobsen, look upon me and really see me for who I truly am, for what I’ve become, and what I’ve raised this championship up to…..I am more than just the man of steel champion, I am the God of Steel, and I swear by the graves of my two children, if you honestly think you’re taking this belt from me and leaving me with absolutely nothing?

You’ll have to bury me too.

I know you want to do the right thing. I know you THINK you’re defending Kathy Conway’s honour, or some shit….but trust me on this, she knew exactly what she was doing, she knew exactly what buttons to press and what the outcome would be. She wanted me to lay my hands on her so she could have the satisfaction of ending my career as revenge on me for dropping her on her head so long ago, and fuck it, maybe I deserve it….but I’m a warrior Andrew, and I will not go out like that….I will go down swinging, no matter what, til the day I die, I will go down swinging, and I’ll take the fucking world with me when I do. Everyone I care about is gone, everything I care about is lost…..this business, this fucking business….it’s a conundrum, and a trap…

If it wasn’t for wrestling I never would have lost the things I have.

Yet,

Without wrestling, I’d never have had them in the first place.

It’s hilarious, isn’t it?

So come on hero, do your thing, save the world, get the girl…

And pry the last thing I have from my cold dead fingers.