AS 121 - Constantine versus Logan McAllister

[Da Prophet]

RP Deadline Monday 2nd October 23:59 (Central).

Extensions available upon request.

 

[Dave]

2 days after Meltdown 143​

Constantine lies on his back looking at the ceiling of his bedroom. He looks at the pristine white paint above him and traces the design with his eyes – bored to death of lying in the one place but knowing that there is nothing else that he can do. Constantine screws up his face and closes his eyes, swallowing his anger and hatred and burying it deep within himself. This was all Justin Cooper's fault – there was no doubt about that. Logan McAllister might have been the glove but Cooper was, undoubtedly, the hand behind it all.

In all of his years of wrestling, Constantine had never taken any time out to recuperate but the latest attack on his body had left him almost beaten. If anything, the hurt in his back and his ribs firmly reinforced his decision to retire after Kingdom Come. He couldn't keep doing this any more. He had initially thought that Kingdom Come would come too soon and that it would destroy him to leave something that he had helped to build. But lying in his bedroom with no company and seering pain throughout his body told a different story – a story of how Kingdom Come wasn't coming fast enough.

Opening his eyes and grimacing again, Constantine tried to roll onto his side. The pain was almost too much to bear but as Constantine grabbed his mobile phone and - once more - rolled onto his back, he felt an instant feeling of relief. Movement had become harder after every match for the old man of WZCW. He had been doing this for almost 10 years and the toll that it was taking on his body had become more intense after every year. Another reason to call it quits, he had thought.

Constantine swipes his fingers across the mobile phone a few times, looking for inspiration but finding none. After a few seconds, he lets his arm drop to his side and lets out a heavy sigh of disappointment. In those few seconds, a random variety of thoughts passed through his consciousness but none more so than Justin Cooper and his plot to keep Constantine from exacting the measure of revenge that he so desperately wanted – that he had worked so hard for and that he felt he needed before he hung up his boots. It annoyed Constantine to think of the reign that Justin Cooper had in his stead but he would be a fool to say that Cooper had not gone to prove that he had what it takes to be a Champion. Constantine loathed the Heavyweight Champion but – in many ways – respected the way that Cooper had put the Heavyweight Championship above everything else in his career. It was going to take something special to unlock the puzzle that was Justin Cooper but Constantine knew that he could do it.

As his mind raced towards the Championship match at Unscripted, the Power Trip had an interesting thought. He picked up his phone once more and began sifting through the options until he reached what he was looking for. He bit his lip in anticipation and in fear before taking a deep breath and pressing the call button...

Constantine: This is it.

A Few Days Later​

Constantine sits on the table as a man in a white coat prods and probes with various instruments. In the corner of the room, Mia sits on a plastic chair with a grim look on her features. As the doctor moves around The Power Trip, he bends over and hits his knee with a hammer-like object. Constantine does not flinch as he should – a lack of reaction that seems to trouble the doctor as he gets back up.

Doctor: Yeah, the knee is pretty much shot, John. I don't know what else to tell you but there's just no cartilage in there. It's amazing that you're up and walking around quite frankly. And I have to be honest with you, the deterioration of the reflexes in your knee has been really fast. So much so that I am beginning to worry that there might be some sort of problem with your back too.

Constantine nods along with the doctor's words silently as he feels Mia's eyes burning into the side of his temple. He dare not look at his fiancé but he knows what is coming, sooner or later. The look of worry on her face before the appointment was enough to break his heart in tow but that had been doubled now – Constantine was sure of it.

Doctor: I know you wont listen to me, John, but I sincerely advise you to let go of WZCW for a while at least. You want your swan song to be at Kingdom Come, then take a few months off and get your knee into some sort of shape before the match. If you keep going the way you are right now, it'll be a miracle if you even make it that far.

Constantine takes a deep breath in and then exhales swiftly. Nodding his head and then looking at the doctor stoicly, Constantine seems to grasp the gravity of the situation. He swallows hard over the lump that is forming in his throat but manages to squeeze out a few words.

Constantine: Thank you, doctor. It means a lot to have your honest opinion.

The doctor smiles at Constantine and then Mia as he heads towards the door, opens it and leaves the room. For the longest time, all that follows is silence. In his head, Constantine began to digest the medical opinion of the specialist but, more than that, he began to think about what Mia would say in response to it. He had tried to hide the reality of the situation from her for so long and had done so quite successfully. But now that she was faced with the realisation of the deterioration of his partner's body, he was sure that she would be heart-broken.

Mia: You can't go on like this, John...

Mia's timid voice came from the corner but Constantine hadn't found the strength to look at her just yet. Slowly but surely, she gets out of her chair and moves across the floor to where Constantine is sitting. She throws her arms around his shoulder and pulls herself in towards his body. As the number one contender sat there motionless, he felt a few beads of moisture roll down his chest from the face of his one true love. Constantine dips his chin to his chest and puts one arm around Mia. It is a moment of tenderness rarely seen from such a professional couple but one that they both needed.

Mia: I know it isn't what you want to here, John. But you're tearing yourself apart with every single match that you continue to wrestle. It's not about WZCW any more, John, you have to see that?

Mia pulls herself away from her partner and finally looks him in the eyes – an action that sends a bolt of lightning down the spine of the Power Trip and fills his own eyes with moisture.

Mia: With every single match that you wrestle, you come closer to robbing Casey of memories with you. No walks in the park, no dancing in the lounge. You are going to end up in a wheel chair as your daughter grows up without you. You have to see that surely?

Constantine hesitates but – after a moment – nods his head in agreement. Mia adopts a massive smile as Constantine agrees with her but her joy is very short lived indeed.

Constantine: But I can't stop, Mia. You know I can't.

Mia: But you-

Constantine: I know what the doctor said, Mia, I heard it just as much as you did. But I can't let this be it for John Constantine. I can't go out of this company, the same company I have carried on my back, with a whimper and retreat. You know me better than anyone, Mia, when has that ever been an option for me?

Mia's tears begin to fall with more frequency as she diverts her eyes away from her partner.

Constantine: I am so, so sorry, Mia. I truly am. But I can't go out like this. Every time I get in that ring these days, I feel my body getting slower and weaker. Every time I finish a match, I am riddled with pain all over my body that I used to shrug off. It's not getting any easier for me, Mia, but I can't let this be it.

Mia: But what about the bounty on your head, John? You have to see that this is so dangerous that it really could be the end of you?

Constantine bits his lip to fight back the tears as he looks in his partner's eyes. He knew that she was right, throughout his career there seldom was a time when she wasn't. But regardless of what was right and what was wrong, Constantine knew in his heart that he couldn't let this be his final goodbye to the WZCW audience. He had never taken the easy path before and he damn sure wasn't about to start now.

Constantine: [COLOR"Purple"]I have to be honest with you, Mia. I am scared. I am scared to death of stepping into the ring with Justin Cooper at Apocalypse. I've seen what he can do and what he does to people. I am terrified that he is better than me, faster than me and younger than me. I am frightened that I am going to be embarrassed at Unscripted in front of millions of people. This bounty that he has cooked up has put me right up against it, as if the deck wasn't stacked in his favour already...[/COLOR]

Constantine stops for a moment, considering his words and also considering just how truthful to be with someone so delicate.

Constantine: I am terrified that he rips my knee apart and I spend the rest of my life in a wheel chair, contemplating what life would have been like had I taken this opportunity to get out whilst I still could. But you and I both know that I am not going to do that, Mia. You and I both know that when the going has gotten tough in the past, I have got going. When the tide has risen against me in the past, I have gone above it and will continue to do so.

Mia attempts to interrupt but is soon silenced by The Power Trip in all of his glorious monologue.

Constantine: The bounty on my head is desperate in every sense of the word. As I thought about it the other night, I realised something. For all of the fear that I am feeling as I head into the biggest match of my career. For all of the risks I am taking in stepping into the ring with a deranged maniac... The one thing I realised was that Justin Cooper is more terrified of me than I am of him!

Mia gives Constantine a smile as she looks up at him through wet eyes.

Constantine: There is fight left in me yet, Mia. And I promise you that I will continue to fight until I can't any more. Logan McAllister thought he had put me down forever last week but I got up and showed the world that I am not ready to give in just yet. This week, I will give Logan McAllister and up close and personal look at just how good I am. And yes, my body will ache after the match. Yes, I will be riddled with pain throughout. But one thing is for sure, Mia. I will show Logan McAllister and Justin Cooper just how scared they should be!

Mia throws her arms around Constantine one more time as the power couple in WZCW hold each other for support. Times had been tough before but not like this. Constantine had everything to lose and not much to gain. But when had that ever stopped him before?

 

[K Web V3]

Backstage at Ascension 121
Quicken Loans Arena
Cleveland, OH



Logan McAllister and his manager, Richard Goldman walked silently over to where WZCW's Leon Kensworth was waiting to get a few words before tonight's match versus Constantine. Logan was ring ready and seemed to be in a foul mood. Mr. Goldman had his usual smirk on meanwhile, always confident in his client's abilities.



Leon: Welcome Logan, Mr. Goldman. So tonight your client faces off against the legendary John Constantine. After Logan's attack last show, I'm sure Constantine will be seeking revenge. Your thoughts?


Mr. Goldman: Leon, my client and I know what to expevt from Mr. Constantine. There is no doubting his skill, or his desire. He wouldn't have been inducted into the Hall of Fame otherwise. Now what we DO doubt , is whether or not his body can still recover like it used to. Guess we'll find out though won't we?

Leon: What do you mean by that? We've seen Constantine take much worse beatings in the past.

Mr. Goldman:(slightly chuckling) You said it just now Leon. We mean due to his many successful years here in this company, now, so close to his grand retirement at Kingdom Come, can Mr. John Constantine recover from week to week as he used to? I'm sure he's gonna still be sore, and Logan will gladly add some more pain and anguish to his night.

Leon: Fair enough. What about the bounty? Is Logan looking to collect?

Mr. Goldman: Logan is coming to hurt this man. Hurt him and then move on to the next superstar this company wants to put in his path. No Callie to hold us back tonight, Logan has his history with Mr. Constantine and I don't need to tell you about it. As to whether or not Logan ewants that 5ok....well watch the match and find out Leon. We're done here.

Before Leon can even thank his guests, the pair have already departed, Mr. Goldman whispering intently to Logan as they slowly disappear down the halls of the arena.