AS 44: Saboteur vs. Johnny Scumm (Lethal Lottery Qualifier)

[Ty Burna]

Deadline is Tuesday, February 7th at 11:59 PM Central Time

 

[JGlass]

Vance Bateman and Alvin are sitting in Bateman’s office. Alvin looks very nervous, but Bateman is, as he always is, very confident and stern. He sits in his large leather chair placed behind his desk, looking Alvin square in the eye. On the other side of Bateman’s desk, Alvin squirms in his seat, anxiously awaiting why Bateman has called him to his office.

Bateman leans forward on his desk and speaks softly to Alvin to break the silence.

Bateman: Alvin, do you know why I called you in here?

Alvin: If it has anything to do with the food poisoning that the crew got at the last Meltdown, I SWEAR that wasn’t my fault! Jane was on the food that day, and I told her not to order the fish…

Bateman holds his hand up and Alvin stops talking immediately.

Bateman: It has nothing to do with that, Alvin. I called you here because I know you’re one of the few people backstage that isn’t under the influence of Ty Burna and his minions. I didn’t hire you as an intern here because I thought you had a great resume or because you came highly recommended. I hired you because I detected loyalty to your company. I knew you wouldn’t leak company secrets to the dirt sheets or release any private information. You’re here, in my office, because I need you’re one of the last good men working here at WZCW, and I have a mission that I need you to complete.

Alvin is both flattered and terrified. Crossing Ty Burna and his men could result in pain and torture, but his morals prevent him from allying himself with the Apostles.

Alvin: Why… thank you sir! What is it that you need me to do?

Bateman: I need you to tell Saboteur that I offer him all my help and resources in locating his roommate, Garrett.

Alvin makes an audible gulping noise.

Alvin: Talk to… Saboteur? I’ve dealt with him before, sir, and he’s no picnic when he’s happy; who knows what he’s capable of when he’s angry!

Bateman: That’s why I’m sending you Alvin. Saboteur doesn’t trust me, but he trusts you. You were with Saboteur during his Shark jumping commercial shoot, and you flew with him on the plane to Mexico for his Action Saxton adventure. He keeps you around during his most dangerous endeavors because he knows that you’re a man that he can put his faith in.

Alvin: I’m more worried about him putting one of his katanas in me. Have you seen the guy lately? He’s gone absolutely insane!

Bateman: Like I said, I have faith that he will respond positively to you.

Alvin: With all due respect sir, I’m going to have to decline. Any other week I’d be happy to do it, but Saboteur has gone completely off his rocker.

Bateman: Hmmm, well when you put it that way, I guess I’ll have to put it this way: Do it or you’re fired.

Alvin sighs and slowly gets up out of his chair, resigned to completing this dangerous task.

Bateman: Oh, but before you go, Alvin, I need you to sign this release stating that you won’t hold me or the company liable for any injuries you occur when talking to Saboteur.

-----A few minutes later-----

Alvin makes his way through the halls of the WZCW training facility when he sees Saboteur inconspicuously staring at the wall. After a deep breath, Alvin approaches the lunatic wrestler.

Alvin: Um, Saboteur… sir? I have a message for you from…

Saboteur turns around, revealing that he’s wearing a pair of Groucho Marx glasses, complete with eyebrows, nose, and mustache.

Saboteur: Who’s this Saboteur guy? I’m Groucho Marx, famous comedian! Now who are you son?

Alvin is relieved that Saboteur has picked such an innocent person to imitate, but nonetheless annoyed with what he has to deal with. He rolls his eyes and responds…

Alvin: My name is Alvin, Mr. Marx.

Saboteur: Alvin! Have we met before? You seem familiar.

Alvin: Yes, we’ve met a few times actually…

Saboteur: Well I never forget a face. But in your case, I’ll make an exception!

Alvin: Sabo… Mr. Marx, I have a very important message that I need to give to Saboteur, have you seen him around?

Saboteur: Again with this Saboteur guy! You’re not much of a conversationalist, you know that Alvin? Next time I see you, remind me not to talk to you.

Alvin: Alright, well I guess I’ll be going to find Saboteur. It was nice talking to you Mr. Marx.

Saboteur: I had a perfectly lovely time. This wasn’t it.

Alvin: But if you see Saboteur, will you tell him that Vance Bateman is offering him his help and resources in locating Garrett?

By the time the camera cuts back to Saboteur, he has already shed his ingenious disguise. Saboteur grabs Alvin and pins him up against the wall.

Saboteur: Bateman?! I bet he’s the one responsible for all of this! He’s trying to lure me into a trap, which makes you… ONE OF HIS HENCHMEN!

Saboteur puts Alvin in a head lock and drags him over to the crafts services table.

Saboteur: Alright Alvin, where can I find Bateman? I have business to finish with him!

Saboteur puts his hand behind Alvin’s head and thrusts it down into a bowl of cheese puffs. Alvin struggles out of confusion rather than pain, but is pulled up out of the snack bowl by Saboteur after a few seconds. With powdered cheese covering his face Alvin exasperatedly says…

Alvin: His office. You should go talk to him.

Saboteur: LIES! You’re just setting me up for a trap!

Saboteur slams Alvin’s head against the table and reaches into a jar of liquorish and starts whipping Alvin’s arms with the stringy candy.

Alvin: Ouch! That kind of hurts!

Saboteur: Alright, if I can’t talk to Bateman, maybe I can get you to talk. Where’s Garrett?

Alvin: I don’t know! That’s why you should talk to Bateman! We just want to help you!

Saboteur: And why should I believe you?!

Alvin: Because we’re buddies, remember Sab? We went to Mexico together! I was part of your campaign team!

Saboteur realizes that Alvin is indeed his friend, and stops trying to torture him with snacks. But before Saboteur can confide in Alvin, he is startled by footsteps from down the hall.

Saboteur: We’re being followed! Quick, we must flee!

Saboteur picks up a cupcake, bites the manachino cherry on top off with his teeth, and tosses it down the hallway.

Saboteur: That smoke grenade should cover our retreat! MOVE MOVE MOVE!

Saboteur grabs Alvin by the arm and drags him down the hall into a janitorial closet. He slams the door behind them and they are left in total darkness.

Alvin: Oh come on Saboteur, this is getting crazy.

Saboteur: Shhhh. Don’t talk.

Alvin: There has to be a light switch in here somewhere… oh, here we go.

Alvin pulls a chord from the ceiling, turning on a light, and revealing that he is in a blonde woman’s wig, and Saboteur is wearing a tuxedo.

Saboteur: Hush Svetlana, don’t say a word, your eyes tell me everything I need to know.

There is shock and horror in Alvin’s eyes.

Saboteur: This may be a cold war, but what we have between us is hotter than hell.

Saboteur picks up Alvin’s hand and begins kissing his way up Alvin’s arm. Alvin quickly flails his arm away from Saboteur.

Alvin: Okay! This is getting a little too ridiculous! Saboteur, I know this is a really crazy time for you, but you need to listen to me! We want to help you! Bateman has money and the resources that you could use to help locate Garrett!

Saboteur: And what would my government do if they found out I was accepting help from the Communists? I’d be thrown in jail for treason and never let out! It would be like I never existed! No Svetlana, I have to take down the Alien Mother Ship on my own, for the good of planet earth!

Alvin: Alright, I give up! I’m out of here.

Alvin tosses his wig to the ground and opens the closet door and walks out of it. No sooner does he take a step outside before Keith, one of the henchmen that kidnapped Saboteur and brought him to the woods, grabs him and throws him against the wall. Shelton, Keith’s partner, starts pummeling Alvin with punches.

Keith turns around and is immediately kicked square in the chest by Saboteur, knocking the wind out of him. He bends over in pain, and Saboteur hits him in the head with a hard knee and follows it up with a devastating punch to the throat. With Keith incapacitated, Saboteur turns his focus to Shelton. He pulls Shelton off of Alvin, and throws the henchman head first into the wall. Shelton clutches his head in pain, but Saboteur allows him no recovery time and pulls him up by the collar of his shirt and slams his head against the wall a few more times before pinning his head against the wall and hitting Shelton square in the forehead with a headbutt. Shelton drops to the ground like a rock as blood trickles down from the crown of his head and some of the cement from the wall falls into his hair. Saboteur notices Keith getting to his hands and knees and finishes him off with a kick to the midsection, and the satisfyingly cringe-worthy sound of breaking ribs can be heard.

Saboteur takes some angry breaths before turning to Alvin, who is tending to his bloodied nose.

Saboteur: Were they with you?

Alvin responds hysterically.

Alvin: What do you think you moron! Of course not! Why would I hang out with people who abuse me with violence? Oh, that’s right, I’ve spent half of my internship here tending to you and your needs! I’m starting to notice a pattern!

Saboteur: Just as I expected, they’re trying to take me out of the equation before Lethal Lottery. They don’t want me to win.

Alvin: None of this makes any sense! Who are those guys?

Saboteur: Keith and Shelton.

Alvin: Oh, well that explains it!

Saboteur: I know you were only trying to help me, but I can’t trust anyone right now, most certainly not someone in power like Bateman: he’s too close to Ty Burna. No, I need to take care of this myself.

Alvin has calmed down considerably and is prepared to deal with a slightly saner Saboteur.

Alvin: Saboteur, Bateman’s clean, you can trust him. He wants to see Ty Burna removed from power just as much as you do! He just wants to help.

Saboteur takes a deep breath and mulls the offer over in his head.

Saboteur: Accepting help from a rich man like Bateman never comes free. He’s going to call in a favor sooner or later, and I can guarantee you, it won’t be something pretty. I’ve accepted help from a lot of wealthy people, and they’re all the same. They didn’t get wealthy by being honest and just; they got wealthy by being opportunistic and shrewd in the worst kind of way. If I accept Bateman’s help, maybe I get Garrett back, but then what? Will I be forced to be Bateman’s muscle in WZCW? Will I be forced to turn my back on my values and friends just to do the bidding of a new master?

But the reign of Ty Burna is the reign of something that needs to be toppled, and I can’t do that without Garrett. He was one of the reasons I was able to beat Ty Burna the first time around, and without him, I’m not a threat to Ty Burna’s crown.

So here’s what I’m going to do: I’m going to destroy Johnny Scumm on Sunday. I am going to spill the blood from his head that he wishes was decorating the Mayhem Championship. I have come a long way since my first brawl with Scumm, and he has gone nowhere fast. He’s my last chance to make it into the Lethal Lottery after losing last week to Barbosa and Toyota, and mark my words, and some loser that couldn’t even cut it in the Mayhem Division will NOT deny me the pleasure of getting my revenge on them. Oh, I also owe him for costing me that goddamn tuxedo match. Ridiculous as it sounds, I wouldn’t hate having that one back.

Alvin: And what about Bateman?

Saboteur: I’ll talk to Bateman after I qualify for the Lottery. I don’t like it, but I’m going to need some help finding Garrett.

Alvin: So what should I tell him?

Saboteur: Tell him to start getting his private helicopter ready for me and to find me some weapons. I’ll need them next week. For now, I need to focus on kicking the ever loving crap out of Scumm. Lord knows he’s full of it.

Saboteur extends his hand to Alvin, and Alvin cautiously grabs it. Saboteur pulls Alvin to his feet and nods at him before walking away purposely as the camera slowly fades to black.

 

[Johnny Scumm]

A brutal Mayhem Championship match has just taken place and Johnny Scumm ending up on the wrong end of a pin, missing out on his chance to win his first ever Championship in WZCW. The crowd can still be heard shouting and calling things out to the ring, even though AfterShock has come to a close. Justin Cooper and his “High Society” have left the building and Johnny Scumm was being tended to at ringside by the EMTs, who are now attempting to bring him out to the back.

“Leave me alone!”

Scumm pushes an EMT holding him up away from him, as the other looks afraid and backs away before Scumm can touch him.

“What the hell was that? What was listed was Johnny Scumm vs. Justin Cooper, but we were all treated to Johnny Scumm vs. Cooper and the motherfucking so-called “High Society”. They’re lucky, lucky in the sense that I didn’t beat them down even more. That “beast” Vladimir is nothing that he thinks he might be. I took him right out of that match with next to no difficulty. What’s really pissed me off is that tonight, multiple times; I had the Mayhem title in my grasp. I could feel it; I could picture myself leaving with it in my hands. I’ve built myself up to withstand the pain. You can see me standing in the centre of the ring, taking the blows, but nothing was happening. But everyone has a limit and mine was crossed when Cooper planted me through a table, right in the centre of the ring. As I crashed down to the mat, I knew there would be no bleeding that night, where I decorated my title in crimson. No winning, nothing that would cement me as the Champion and take me into the Lethal Lottery pay-per-view as the Mayhem Champion, defending MY belt.”

Scumm puts his head in his hands and stifles a shout. He looks back up, then over to his shoulder, where a Mayhem title could’ve rested.

“No! From now, there is no focusing on what could’ve been. The only way to look is forwards, where we mark the future of Johnny Scumm reigning supreme over WZCW as the Heavyweight Champion. No more looming over Cooper as his pathetic group, it’s time to move on. Next week, I’m going to get myself in the Lethal Lottery. Twenty-five men will enter the ring, but only one will be left standing. That man will win a shot at the WZCW World Title…and it will be me. But, I need to get in the match somehow. Beating someone hasn’t been an option yet, I’ve been placed in matches that haven’t given me the opportunity. You know what you need to do Scumm? Take some action. Go home tonight, then tomorrow, come back. I’m going to storm right through the door of Vance Bateman’s office and make sure that he knows that I want in to the Lottery. If he doesn’t see it, I’ll make sure that he’s agreeing with me before I leave that office, no matter how long it takes. That way, I’m in the Lottery and let’s just say, the beginning of the “Era of Scumm” begins.”

Scumm picks up his black bag, filled with all his equipment that he had to hand in the Mayhem title match. He pushes himself up and looks around.

“Tomorrow, tomorrow marks a change”.

Scumm puts his bag up on his shoulder and limps slowly as he makes his way out of the building. As he makes his way to the door, he pulls out his mobile phone and calls a number, as he opens the door and begins to walk away.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The next day, a Cameraman is standing outside WZCW HQ, talking to a man who cannot be recognised at first. Eventually, it’s shown to be Chris Kline, Johnny Scumm’s only friend made from his backstreet fighting days.

“So, Scumm’s paid you to come and film…and he’s called me here for where? All I got yesterday was a voicemail that said “Meet me tomorrow, WZCW, making an impact”. God knows what’s going through his mind, he’s never been stable-“

“Talking about me?!”

Scumm walks up to Kline and the cameraman, who are both standing in the street, outside the entrance. He shakes the hand of Kline and only glares at the cameraman.

“Right, let’s get this mother burning.”

“What? Look, Scumm, you’ve not made any sense to me since last night, none at all. It’s like you’re talking in code or something. Do you wanna tell me what’s running through that sick, twisted mind of yours?”

“Sick, twisted…me? Never! Here’s what’s happening. Just a little…plan of mine. See, once we enter these doors and trawl the corridors, we’ll find the office of Vance Bateman. What you and this, man behind the lens will see after that is me, Johnny Scumm, kicking the door down, making sure that I’m entered into the Lethal Lottery, which will allow me to earn myself a World title shot, after I eliminate twenty-four other men. Then I move on to Kingdom Come, WZCW’s biggest pay-per-view. From there, I become the WZCW Heavyweight champion, after defeating whoever may be holding it, during this game of “Pass the Title”. May it be Steven Kurtesy, Titus, even Ty Burna! I’ll take them on in the ring, right there and beat them clean. From then on, I’ll hold that title forever. A year from Burna? A lifetime from me.”

“Are you sure about doing this Scumm? What’s to say that Bateman doesn’t just fire you right on the spot after you kick his door down and threaten him?”

“Believe me, Bateman knows better. He wouldn’t do that. You ready for this?”

Scumm opens the door forcefully. He doesn’t hesitate at all as he paces down the corridors, Kline and cameraman in tow, dragging behind. Scumm stops at the beginning of a new stretch of concrete and looks down. He points at a door towards the end, labelled “Vance Bateman, GM”.

“You ready Chris?”

Kline looks at Scumm, wary of his actions, but Scumm paces down the corridor towards the office door of Vance Bateman. He stares at the door, bracing himself for the force he’s going to deliver, but from nowhere, the boom of a voice is heard.

“You wouldn’t do that if I was you Scumm!”

Scumm looks around and out of the corner of his eye; he catches a glimpse of Vance Bateman, out of his office.

“You would’ve looked pretty stupid, wouldn’t you? Bursting into a room to find that no one’s there, what kind of act is that?!”

Scumm turns around and walks up to Bateman, coming nose-to-nose with him.

“Don’t act all cutesy with me Bateman; I’m here to talk business. You’re going to put me in the Lethal Lottery and you will regret it should you not.”

“I am, am I? I’m going to put Johnny Scumm in the Lethal Lottery, because he believes that he can outlast another twenty-four men, move onto Kingdom Come and become the WZCW Heavyweight Champion? Hell no I’m not.”

Scumm grabs Bateman by the scruff of his shirt, pushing his face into Batemans.

“You’re already regretting saying that Vance, I know you are. So you’re making a choice to not put me in the Lottery?”

“Why would I? You’re losing matches all the time, only had a win against Jack Skinner, then again, who hasn’t? Now you’ve lost in a title match against Justin Cooper, I have no faith in you Scumm!”

Scumm pushes Bateman away, looking at him in disgust, as if he feels hurt inside by Batemans comments.

“I tell you what I am going to do though? You challenged Saboteur, who has made a significant amount of progress recently, to a match. I’m going to give you that match. Let’s see if everything you say finally comes into fruition eh?”

“Saboteur…now there’s a man who needs his head kicking in. You’ve made a good choice there Vance, but you need to change your mind on the Lethal Lottery. I don’t want to have to make sure that Ty Burna gets involved, do I? You know what he’s like & I know you don’t like him. Maybe you’re…scared?”

“Look, I know what I’ll do. You, Johnny Scumm will face Saboteur on Ascension. In a Lethal Lottery qualifying match!”

“Is that the best you’ve got? You’re lucky that I already know that I’m going to win this. If Saboteur was an actual threat, rather than a spandex-wearing twat, you might have faced the other side of me. But this, this can work. I can take Saboteur; beat him to a pulp and move closer to becoming the WZCW Champion. Smart thinking there, killing two birds with one stone. Now, hurry along and get out of my way.”

Bateman looks confused as if Scumm’s playing a real schizophrenic and starts to walk away, to his office which remained untouched. Scumms turns to Kline, looking at him with a wide grin.

“Got it! I’m in the Lottery!”

“No, you’re not. You have to beat Saboteur, or didn’t you listen to a word Bateman just told you?”

“Don’t get smart with me Chris. You know and I know, even this guy with a black box on his shoulder knows that I’m going to beat Saboteur. Remember this from now on, it’s Scumm over Spandex. Forever and always. Saboteur’s nothing more than a joke. When I turn up on Ascension, he’s going to regret stepping in the ring against me.”

“Didn’t he beat you the last time you met?”

“Shut it. Follow me.”

Scumm & Kline walk down the corridors, cameraman following on behind. Eventually, they reach the entrance.

“You can leave us alone now. Myself and Chris have something important to talk about.”

The cameraman stops at the entrance as Chris & Scumm leave. The two men begin walking down the street as they hear a voice call out to them from across the road.

“Hey Scumm!”

Scumm looks around to see a kid, maybe 13 or 14, short and stumpy staring over at him.

“What?”

“You suck, you can’t wrestle!”

Scumm starts raging and gets ready to charge over the road, but Kline stops him in his tracks.

“No Scumm, don’t you dare. He’s a kid, you’re not that deranged. Look, let’s get back to your place, you need to get yourself in the mood for a match against Saboteur.”

“Look at him. Little fat kid, doesn’t know anything about me. He probably knows I can wrestle, I can fight, he’s just trying to look cool.”

At that point, yet another voice calls out, but from behind Scumm.

“Hey, you’re Johnny Scumm!”

Scumm turns around to see a little kid, maybe 12 with a backpack on.

“What kid? You’re gonna tell me I suck as well? I’ve heard that more than enough and you really don’t wanna push my buttons.”

Scumm looks up to see the kids mother next to him, her arm over his shoulder. Scumm winks at her, but she just looks disgusted.

“N..n…n..no Scumm, I don’t think you suck! Every week, I watch you, if its on Meltdown, Aftershock or Ashenshion! I just wanna know if you’ll sign a piece of paper for me!”

Scumm doesn’t know how to react to what the kid has said, let alone want to teach him how to properly say “Ascension”. In any normal mood, he would put the kid to one side, but a small smirk comes from the corner of Scumm’s mouth.

“Yeah, go on kid. Why not?”

“Thankyouthankyouthankyou!”

The kid is both visibly and verbally happy and he goes into his backpack and grabs a piece of paper and Sharpie pen, which he hands to Scumm. Scumm scribbles his signature on it and hands it back to the boy, who is lost for words. He smiles and Scumm reaches out his hand, which the little kid grabs and shakes. Scumm lets off a small smile as the kid walks away.

“Mate, what was that?”

“To be honest Chris, I’m not sure what’s coming over me recently. Last night, that match against Cooper, they were cheering me on. Calling out my name, popping for when I done something to hurt Cooper or one of his pathetic lackeys. I don’t get it. I thought that they all hated me. Or is it just the wrestlers?”

“Look back on the old days John. None of the other guys liked you, because you’re were too good. But the guys watching? They loved you and they loved everything that you done. You’re entertaining, you’re a fighter. You give everyone what they want, but you don’t like them. You despise everything they stand for apparently. Apart from that little kid it seems.”

“Yeah… the wrestler’s in WZCW hate me, I hate them. Those feelings are mutual. I don’t get these cheers though. Do I change on their behalf? Am I meant to come out and slap their hands and call out to them? Hell no. But it sure is something I’ll put on board. Who knows, maybe it might do someone some good.”

“You’re changing Scumm, it’s weird. I’ve not seen a nice side to you before.”

The two men arrive at Scumm’s apartment block. Scumm opens the door and both men go inside and up to Scumm’s apartment. Scumm takes perch on the arm of his sofa and Kline goes into the kitchen, searching the fridge.

“Stop telling me that I’m changing Chris. I don’t wanna consider that. I’ve got a match to focus on. It involves Saboteur and beating the living shit out of him. There’s a Lethal Lottery place on the line here and I’m not giving it up for anything.”

“I can see you’re not. But let’s get things straight here, put your mind on track. You’ve never beaten Saboteur, do you really think you can do it this time?”

“Think? I know I can. Listen to me here Chris. Come Ascension, the so-called Superhero won’t know what has hit him. Who knows, maybe I can convince him we’re best friends and then beat the living life out of him. Or maybe he’ll just jump from the rafters to his death, which would put me in the Lottery pretty much immediately. What I need to do is study his moves. If I know ways that I can reverse his big moves, he doesn’t stand a chance. Not that he does anyway. He might wanna kick me with that “Death Blow” of his, but I know ways that I could avoid that, letting him fall right into my trap, hitting him square with the Facebreaker! Moving down, I’ll cover him and get the 1…2…3. It’s that simple.”

“You sure it’s that simple Scumm? It’s Saboteur, remember just a couple of weeks ago, he brought Penguins down to ringside for his tag match with you.”

“Fuck Penguins. Nothing is going to ruin my focus anymore. Not little kids, not Justin Cooper and definitely, not Sabo-fucking-teur. I’m going to kick him down and continue to do so while he’s down until my hand gets raised in the centre of that ring. When I’m finally in the Lethal Lottery, things will change. I will be wrestling at Kingdom Come and I will be wrestling in the WZCW Heavyweight Championship match, come rain or shine.”

Scumm picks up a gym bag from the floor and walks over to the apartment door.

“Kline, I’m gonna get to working on destroying this spandex prick. Make sure you’re there at Ascension.”

Scumm walks out and shuts the door behind him. About 10 seconds later, he opens the door and sticks his head around the corner.

“Remember, Scumm over Spandex. Always.”

The door slams once more as Scumm heads to prepare for his match against Saboteur. Will he end up in the Lethal Lottery?