-Open-
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New York City
Vega's Penthouse
Present Day
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Vega sits on a stool in front of his kitchen table wearing a white tank top and black track pants. Nothing else. His bare feet rest on the pegs beneath his stool, holding it steady. He leans over the table as he eats a bowl of cereal that Alexis just put out for him. She walks over to the refrigerator with the opened carton of milk and opens to door to place it back inside. As she does so, she looks over to Vega before closing the door shut.
Orange juice?
No, thanks.
Alexis closes the door shut. Before she can say anything else, a ringing can be heard coming from another room.
That's my cell.
Vega, already knowing this, barely acknowledges her statement as he continues to eat his cereal. Alexis casually exits the room to go answer her phone. It's silent in the kitchen. Only the sound of Vega's spoon clanking against the bowl is heard, followed by the muffled crunching noises coming from Vega's mouth as he chews on his cornflakes. He's basically emotionless, almost as if it's too early in the morning for him to feel anything worth getting animated about.
We can hear Alexis talk on the phone in the distance, but she's too far away for us to understand what she's saying. Vega couldn't seem to care less about the conversation she is having, even as her voice begins getting louder the more she gets closer to re-entering the room. The look on her face seems a bit confused as she is now listening to the other person on the line. Alexis looks over at Vega with a facial expression that alerts him that the conversation is indeed about him.
No, he's not with me at the moment.
...
A tag team match?
Now Vega furrows his eyebrows as Alexis' phone conversation has drawn his interest. He continues to eat his cereal, but his eyes remain focused on Alexis.
Uh... okay. I'll tell him.
Alexis hangs up the phone with a perplexed look on her face. She continues to look down at her cell, trying to make sense of what she just heard. Vega swallows a mouthful of cornflakes and breaks the silence.
Well?
Alexis looks up from her phone and back towards Vega.
Do you know a Becky Serra?
No. Should I?
Alexis shrugs as she walks over to the table.
Maybe. She just told me what your match at Aftershock is gonna be.
And it's a tag team match?
She sits down on a stool on the other side of the table in front of Vega.
Yeah. Your partner is Isabel Stone.
Who the hell is that?
She's the girl that came in second in the Mentor Program.
Vega emphatically closes his eyes as he silently laughs to himself, all the while shaking his head in an almost expected disbelief.
Really?
Alexis bites her lips as she nods her head.
Isn't that the same broad that Ricky Runn put out of business?
Yup.
This gets another subdued laugh out of Vega. He holds his spoon in his hand, sort of waving it around, almost as if he doesn't even know what to do with it at this point. He's just confused.
So you're telling me that I have to team with Isabel Stone?
Yeah.
A girl who lost to Krypto?
That's the other thing.
What?
That's who you're facing.
Who?
Krypto.
Vega tosses his spoon into his bowl of cereal as he throws his hands up into the air, as if he's giving up on trying to make sense of this. Milk splashes up from the bowl and onto the table. Vega doesn't even acknowledge it, but Alexis notices the mess. She doesn't try to clean it up, though.
I have to beat Krypto, again!? Wasn't beating him in his own match enough? I defended my Mayhem Championship against him, one on one, in a damn Flying Saucer match for God's sake... and beat him! I put him to sleep with my triangle choke. I dragged his sorry little carcass up that freaking ramp. I dragged him into the damn saucer, I picked him up, and I planted his stupid, E.T. Go Home, alien face into the cold steel with The Killswitch. Then walked out and shut the door on his own flying saucer, simultaneously shutting the door on any dreams he had of becoming the Mayhem Champion... just as I've done over and over again to so many others. I crushed his spirit. He's been a shell of himself since I disposed of him. Krypto now has to mask his defeats with the notion that he loves to endure pain.
If that's the case, Krypto and I should be best of friends. I am a man capable of things that make my peers crawl to confessionals in search of divine mercy. There isn't a single man, woman, alien, or robot in this company that is capable of being as evil as I am. I have eyes that have seen sights none of them even dare conjure up in their worst nightmares. I've stared into the eyes of men as I took their last breaths away from them. For me? Most of my matches are just another weekend. But for my enemies? For my victims? It's a night that they never ever forget for the rest of their lives. Krypto obviously wants another memory engrained into his microscopic brain once again.
I used Krypto to show WZCW the error of their ways. They ignored me at first, looked over me and chose 8 other wrestlers they saw more potential in. They put all of them in the Mentor Program, and their crowning achievement was... Krypto. A damn pea brained waste of skin who thinks he's a freaking alien. I remember that night, too. After Krypto won his match, he had his little backstage segment where he finally gained both of his mentors' respect. It was supposed to be this big deal that Krypto gained Action Saxton and Saboteur's respect? Seriously? That's the exact hypocrisy I'm talking about. Krypto's mentors, a tag team that has done nothing but lose for the past two months, get more air time than I do. They went from being tag team champions to watching the Bearded Gents walk around with their titles. They lose titles, lose matches, and yet... are all over WZCW. Maybe I'm not funny enough. Maybe I should think I'm a hero, or say "sucka", or dress up like a damn alien to get some attention thrown my way. Instead, I get garbage.
Vega shakes his head, growing more frustrated the more he thinks about this match.
That's the other thing. I have to beat Krypto again, but this time with the help of somebody who already lost to him!? Not only that... but Isabel effin' Stone, who hasn't wrestled in 2 and a half months!? And I can't even remember the last time she's even won a match. Do you realize, she was seriously injured at the hands of a man I made my bitch? I mean... Ricky Runn? Seriously? Ricky Runn was as much of a threat to me as the cockroach I accidentally stepped on this morning. Ricky Runn is less then a damn afterthought to me. But for my partner? Ricky Runn nearly cost Isabel Stone her career. If she wants to obsess over him, that's fine. I get it. She can do that on her own. There's no need for me and her to even be in the same room, much less the same match as partners. I mean, I would even understand if they had me face her one on one. I mean, I've disposed of garbage in this company before... I have plenty of space on my boots to step on more cockroaches.
Isn't it funny that the first two people who thought they had entrance into Lethal Lottery are the two people I defeated to defend my Mayhem Championship for the very first time? I took out Ricky Runn to win the title, then I took him out a second time, as well as Connor Reese, at Unscripted '12 to defend it. In fact, that's all I do is defend the Mayhem Title. There isn't a single wrestler in this company that was forced to defend their championship three consecutive times since All or Nothing except me. Not "Showtime" Cougar, not Sam Smith, not Rush, not The Bearded Gentlemen... it was me! Vega! Three times in a row I walked into the ring as Mayhem Champion, and three times in a row I walked out as Mayhem Champion. Down went Krypto, down went Thrash, and down went Sandy Deserts. Isabel Stone is no different then all of these peons that actually thought they belonged in the same ring with a man like me. I don't care if she's my opponent, or my partner. She doesn't deserve to be in the same ring as me in any capacity.
Why are you talking so badly about your partner? Shouldn't you be focusing on your opponents?
Don't worry, there's enough anger and fury to go around. I'm focused me, myself, and I. I'm better off taking Isabel Stone out myself, and then taking on Krypto and...
Wait, who is his partner?
Mister Alhazred.
For the first time today, a smile creeps across Vega's face. He sits up straight as he takes a deep breath.
Well, at least it's somebody new. That's the perv with the power glove, right?
That's him.
Nice. I'd love to get my hands on him. Fresh meat. New blood for me to spill. See, with Krypto? That's old news to me. Kind of boring. I'll take him out just to show this company he's simply not on my level. Krypto is somebody whom I've already shown can't hang on my level. But, I've never faced Mister Alhazred. At least there is one thing in this match that intrigues me. The funny thing is, pretty soon, I'll be bored of him as well. Just like every other victim on my hit list.
You can't trust anybody, Alexis. There is no honor among thieves. It's a lesson I've been trying to teach you since day one. I have only suffered two losses in this company. Just two, and one of them was in a tag match. My partner was that pathetic reject Jacoby Capone. Look at him now. He's out of the company. Walked away. Quit! And me? I'm currently the most dominating force in this entire damn company.
Vega stops for a moment, and smirks once again as he think of something.
Maybe that's why I was booked in this match. They gave me the weakest partner they could find... a woman 2 months removed from her last match due to injury. I mean, look at all of the singles champions in this company. "Showtime" Cougar, Sam Smith, Rush, and myself... Vega. "Showtime" has been this great champion, yet I recall seeing him get his shoulders pinned to the mat last week by Drake Callahan. Oh, and Sam Smith? Same exact thing. Pinned. Defeated by Constantine. And don't get me started on Rush. That old bastard decided to take a damn vacation with his title after All or Nothing. He sits back at Sandals Resort in Jamaica sippin' on strawberry daiquiris with his Eurasian Title nestled gently against his sun bathed chest... all the while I'm here, busting my ass defending my title by spilling my blood show, after show, after show! Three damn times in a row! And for what!? What do I get for three consecutive title defenses? What do I get for going undefeated for 5 and a half months?
A random throwaway tag team match.
Vega remains seated on the stool. The only motion he makes is when he breaths. In fact, he's breathing rather heavily at this point. The anger is apparent in his eyes. We can hear the air enter and exit his mouth rapidly. He's worked himself up just thinking about his current situation within the company.
Where is my respect.
Vega gets up off the stool and slowly begins to pace around the kitchen and into the living. Alexis calmly gets up and grabs a paper towel. She returns to the table and cleans the little bit of mile Vega had spilled earlier in his diatribe. She tosses it into the garbage and follows him into the living room. Vega is standing there with his back towards her. He looks out through his sliding glass door which leads to his balcony overlooking the park. The sun is bright this morning. The light is shining right on Vega, as he stands there just basking in it. Alexis realizes he seems to have calmed down a bit.
So, whatever happened to you being patient?
Vega turns around to look at Alexis.
What?
Remember, a while back? You told me you had no problem being patient. That you knew people would take notice of you sooner or later. I think they have.
Who have?
Well, the fans for instance. They seem to be aware of how dominating you've been in the Mayhem division.
Vega's facial expression is as confused as he's been all morning.
Who... gives a shit... about the fans!?
Alexis can't help but laugh at Vega's animated reaction.
Here's the thing, Alexis. There's a difference between being watched, and being noticed. See, the guys in the office making all the decisions for this company? They couldn't help but notice me. I made it so that "Vega" was impossible to ignore. But! They're still not watching me. They're too busy watching "Showtime" Cougar and Sam Smith and Rush and Action Saxton and Saboteur and Steven Holmes and Drake Callahan and Triple X and Chris K.O. and S.H.I.T. and Barbosa and El Califa Dragon and Constantine and pretty much every other God damn superstar in the freaking company before they ever dare give Vega a piece of the spotlight.
Vega turns back around, facing the sun again and away from Alexis.
I wanna feel that light, Alexis. That spotlight? I wanna know what it's like to have a piece of it. What this company is doing to me... is a very dangerous thing. See, they're making me hungry. They're making me want to take this place over more and more with every day that passes by. So far I have mostly kept to myself. I've only unleashed hell on my opponents in matches. I'm not one of these people that walks around the hallways attacking people, or running in on other people's matches. All I've done is win. But, it's not enough.
I am a very... very dangerous man.
The mayhem I've created in the ring is nothing compared to the evil I'm capable out of the ring.
Soon... I unleash hell.
-Close-
