AS63: Grand Mystique vs. Ricky Runn

[Viola Moonlight]

Ricky Runn is the most unlucky man in WZCW. He's injured friends and fellow superstars alike in a series of hapless accidents, and was even prevented from participating in the Lethal Lottery on suspicion of being a terrorist! After a long and uncomfortable investigation by the TSA, he's free to compete in WZCW events once more, but he'll run into a man who is no laughing matter, the grim leader of the Sacrificial Altar, whose ranks swelled with the addition of DC at Lethal Lottery. A betrayal by Derek Jacobs cost Mystique the chance to eliminate Mikey Stormrage once and for all, and he'll be looking to take out all his frustrations as he meets Ricky Runn on WZCW Ascension!

Deadline is Tuesday, May 28th 2013, at 11:59 P.M. (Central Time Zone)​

 

[GI Cake]

We are taken to a scene of a musty old carnival in Miami, Florida. With a newspaper being held up declaring the victory of George W. Bush in the 2000 election, we then find a 11 year old Ricky Runn, with his father entering a tent. Ricky's eyes are filled with excitement, mainly due to the fact that this was his very first carnival, and he was excited to see the grizzly bears.

Lil' Ricky:"Hey dad, did you know that grizzly bears can weigh up to as much as 800 pounds! That is insane!"

Ricky Sr.:"Yeah yeah, that's nice. Just stay close and don't get lost son. I'm only taking you here because you promise to stop acting like an ape on the monkey bars at school."

Lil' Ricky:"Well excuse me for taking monkey bars literally."

Ricky's father simply rolls his eyes while he directed his son to the entrance of the big tent. The sign over head reading...

Stan Rogers vs Big Curly (the 1,500lb bear!)

Once inside the tent, Ricky and his dad sit down. The young child stares in awe at the wrestling ring and began speaking to his dad with high pitch, high speed joy.

Lil' Ricky:"Oh my god this is so exciting. Real wrestlers wrestle bears. You know who wrestles bears? Stan Rogers, Lou Bart, Dene LeGell, and Daniel Danielson!"

Ricky senior listens to his son and lets out a groan and gets up and says to his son.

Ricky Sr.:"Listen Ricky, I'm gonna go get a drink and some snacks. Stay here, understand?"

Ricky simply nods and waits for the distance between him and his dad are enough to where the young Daredevil can slip out of his dad's sight and begin sneaking through the tent, all in hope of finding Big Curly. It didn't take long, but Ricky found himself in the backstage of the tent, but before Ricky could find Big Curly, the lights begin to dim, and the announcer began to introduce Stan Rogers to the ring!

Lil' Ricky:"Oh Ham--"

Ricky then spots the object that he was searching for in the one ton grizzly bear. Ricky then ducks into a small room marked "Do not enter!" peeking through the creek in the door, he stares in awe at the grizzly bear making it's way to the ring. Suddenly, Ricky looses his footing and feels a tug at his legs. Ricky jerked forward in shock and turning down to see what he was caught on, he had pulled out a large, yellow wire. In seconds, the lights in the entire tent go out! Ricky searches the ground frantically, and plugs the wires back in. When the lights did appear back on the stadium. A blood curdling scream could be heard then someone yelling frantically.

???:"OH MY GOD, BIG CURLY HAS ESCAPED, EVERYONE RUN FOR YOUR LIFE!"

Lil'Ricky:"Hamburgers..."

From youthful exuberance, the expression upon Ricky's face turned to one of complete dread. Of course, it changed to complete and utter shock when he saw before his very eyes Big Curly crawling past him, the bear looked toward Ricky and looked the young man in the eyes, then slowly, but surely the bear stood on two feet, and placed on a ski mask before making a 'shooshing' expression with his paw and walking away on its hind feet...

Ricky:"And they never found Big Curly again... some say he is out near the beach, eating anyone who camps at night. I barely made it out of that tent alive."

We are then taken back to the present, where we see the now older Ricky Runn standing behind Rob's office. Rob, Ricky's agent took in the information for a solid minute before looking up from his computer and said to his long time friend.

Rob:"That is really stupid, Ricky.I could only really believe like half of that story. Anyway, what does any of this have to do with Redemption?"

Ricky nodded and began looking over Rob's shoulder as he sifted through his Email.

Ricky:"Because today marks the 10 year anniversary of the escape of Big Curly, and I think he is out to finish the job. By taking me out."

The usual boastful or happy Ricky was replaced by one of paranoia and fear.

Ricky:"Come on man, it only makes sense. Put the pieces together. Curly escaped because of me, and since then he had to be tying up loose ends, he waited till I hit my peak after beating Austin Reynolds to strike. Which then would explain my bad luck, because we all know that bears are natural predators that eat luck."

Rob sighed and straighten the glasses that rested on his face and said reluctantly to his friend.

Rob:"Okay, okay. We will look through the Redemption footage, and if it is not a bear, you end this silly talk about Big Curly, deal?"

Ricky than gave a rough pat on Rob's shoulder and stared at the screen and said to his friend.

Ricky:"Deal!"

Rob:"Alright, here we go."

Opening up the backstage footage of the Redemption pay-per-view. Rob stops the footage with the screen having both Ricky, and the masked assailant on screen.

Ricky:"Zoom, enhance!"

Rob:"Ricky, this is just an iMac, I can't do--"

Ricky:"Zoom, enhance!"

Rob sighs and taps his mouse onto the face of the assailant. Once the pixels on the screen cleared up. The image of who attacked Ricky became vividly clear. Both Rob, and Ricky's jaw drop to the ground.

Rob:"Ricky... that's... that is Grand Mystique!"

Ricky:"It-- it all makes sense!"

Ricky moved from the desk and moves to the window and says loudly to his friend.

Ricky:"Grand Mystique isn't all he appears to be, Rob! The attack on me just scratches the surface of this all! He is not a man, Rob. He is the very symbol of evil, and chaos! For he is... BIG CURLY!"

Rob:"Uhhhhh what!?"

Ricky begins scratching his chin curiously as his mind begins to piece together the motive behind the attack.

Ricky:"Okay lets see, he attacks me, steals my good luck like a bad case of Space Jam. He then uses my good luck to take out me, and my friends. Why else would he attack James Howard and Mikey Stormrage? You ask why? Because Curly hates the wrestling business! After years of wrestling humans. He decides he must destroy the number one company in the world! The fact I am in the crossfire is just icing on the cake!"

Rob:"Ricky... that is just... stop."

Ricky:"Don't you see it, Rob? Big Curly, Grand Mystique, The Sacrificial Altar, whatever you want to call them are just insurgents for the great bear army, and they want to tear down the very foundations of our pop culture with their bear hands! I can't let that happen. I won't let that happen. It may not have been personal before, and hell, I was willing to let bygones be bygones with whoever attacked me. But now.. now it is personal."

Ricky took in a deep breath, with a serious face, he looked down at his fists and said with a new found sense of anger.

Ricky:"This all started, the attacks on Strikeforce, the my bad luck, Izzy's neck, Jacoby Capone's career, it can all be traced back to that one fateful night I let Big Curly escape. My foolishness let him escape, and I simply allowed him to run wild in the backstage. This all began in a big circus tent in Miami, but this will all end at the Xcel Energy Center in Wisconsin!"

Rob:"Ricky... I don't think it is in Wisconsin..."

Ricky:"Minor details, Rob! The Xcel Energy Center, man, bear, whatever. Grand Mystique is going down, and nothing you, or PETA can do to stop me! Oh man I am feeling PUMPED! Ahhhhhh!

With the combination of anger, adrenaline, and energy running through Ricky's body, he rips his shirt right off and begins storming his way out of Rob's office to where he yells.

Ricky:"I need to go and get ready to wrestle a bear, Rob!"

Rob:"Ricky wait, how exactly are you--"

Before Rob was able to finish his sentence, Ricky had left the office in a huff. Storming off to the local zoo. After waiting several hours in line, and paying for his ticket, the shirtless Ricky Runn makes his way to the bear exhibit in the zoo, the bears were enclosed by a glass plate to which Ricky pointed his finger at the case and said boldly.

Ricky:"Listen up you godless killing machine! I'm onto you and your kind, and I'm not going to stop until I get my good luck back, and your kind will be prevented from taking over the world like you plan, you hear me!? My first stop will be Grand Mystique, than I will come back to each zoo and put you all in bear h--"

???:"Uhh sir, aren't you Ricky Runn?"

Ricky stops in the middle of his little rant to see a Zoo attendant, and a Police Officer with stern looks.

Ricky:"Uhh, yeah. What's up? If this is about the Airport thing, we got that all cleared up, I swear!"

Officer:"We were told that you were banned from the Zoo, and now that you are here we are going to need to bring you in."

Ricky looks wide-eyed and then points up behind the officer and the zoo employee and yells.

Ricky:"Look it is Barrack Obama punching a baby in the face while waving the Russian flag!"

Officer:"Huh, damn Obama!"

The officer goes to look where Ricky pointed, and just as the man turned, Ricky bolted out of the Zoo, running back to his home.

 

[a0161613]

Crash! A wooden chair is smashed on the floor. Splinters fly everywhere and the remaining body of the chair is thrown against the nearest stone wall. Bang! A trio of crystal balls follow them and explode on the stone into a million pieces.

“There is a greater plan that is known. What happened at the Lethal Lottery was simply meant to be.”

“Except you didn’t win. That was the plan right? You didn’t win, two of your victims have returned and Mikey Stormrage looks like a man reborn. That sounds like a bad night at the office.”

“Stormrage was very nearly under our grasp. It’s proof that the process is viable. Under our control we dominated the biggest names in the company. We found our rightful place as the dominant group in the company. There is no-one who can hide from us. The whole world knows this now.”

“So what’s the next step?”

“No bazookas.” Mason picks up the large net gun and breaks it over his knee before flinging the larger half at the wall. “We take what we want and we make things happen. We trigger our destiny and tip it in our favour.” He drops the smaller part on DC’s lap but he makes a clear point of looking at The Grand Mystique while doing so before pointedly talking to DC. “This will only work if you believe.”

“I’m not going to apologise for not bending over and taking the shaft of destiny down in one gulp.” The aggressive and sarcastic nature of DC’s retort pushes the acolyte pastor to the edge. “Are you kidding me?! You’re a clueless idiot!” DC gets in Masons’ face, grinning as Mason’s reaction seems to delight him. “That’s enough.” DC looks to continue pushing his relationship with this reluctant ally but GM gets in between and both men realise that the leader of The Sacrificial Altar is much bigger than them both.

“I will not allow this to continue. You will both leave; seek calm while we prepare for the outright, brutal destruction that will be led by our hands because I expect nothing but a brutal demonstration of our power. The Lethal Lottery has passed us by and the unwashed masses now possess hope. I will not allow Kingdom Come to be lost in the same way.”

DC looks bemused. Mason doesn’t react as he fails to remove his glare from DC.

“I said to go. We will meet again later to discuss the details”

Soon The Grand Mystique is alone.

“The Lethal Lottery was a dark day. But the light is coming and soon the sins of WZCW will be lifted. It has started as I have brought a proud soul in our midst. He is running on empty, he has nothing left and that means he is ready to sacrifice everything. I welcome that and he will be the first of many to embrace the true meaning of sacrifice.”

“WZCW is full of many idiots who ignore their sins and would absolutely benefit from a small sacrifice. Stormrage’s gluttony and Howard’s wrath is Strikeforce’s envy. These men are cursed to soak in the juices of their sins because they will never be allowed to seek revenge. Their ego drives them to better things.”

The eyes and mouth of The Grand Mystique portrays a proud satisfaction as he talks about the actions of his Sacrificial Altar.

“Most of the roster is doomed to failure and some are burdened with more than they can take. This curse is a weight that hangs around the neck and is designed to strangle the life out of an oversized ego. This blight can be crippling to the right person and the best time to pick a target is when they are furthest from their nadir. They feel unbeatable, untouchable and impossible to be hurt from risk or dare; that’s when they are most vulnerable.”

“Stormrage and Howard are plagued because Strikeforce were picked apart at my will at the height of their powers and after their greatest success. I cursed Stormrage to a desperate and ill-fated pursuit for revenge and Howard to an injury-plagued quest that is driven by pure rage. But is anyone truly naive to believe that they are the only ones to benefit from being cursed at my hand? They fail to see that this bad luck stalks them for a reason. It is Destiny.”

The villainous masked madman lights up when he details how Strikeforce have fallen, how it has been orchestrated at his hands. The same hands hold a crystal ball with great care and his eyes look deeply into the orb.

“We have stalked countless members of this company and these victims continued on with their clueless existences. These men will be sacrificed as their time comes and it begins again. Many men will have a new hope and belief that Lady Luck will shine on them on the road to Kingdom Come but these men are blind. They will not see our intent as we lurk in the shadows and wait for Destiny to take her place. We are the weapon of Destiny and she will lead us to great successes. We do not have to worry about luck; we only need to concern ourselves with those who will be lined up to take their place at The Sacrificial Altar.”

Raising his gaze expectedly, GM looks to the door in the dark corner of the room. Within a few seconds, there’s a firm knock.

“Ricky Runn is front and centre of this group. Ricky Runn can join Strikeforce at the head of the queue that leads to our Altar. Ricky Runn is in the darkest corner of all.”

He stands and opens the door to two hooded druids enter with bowed heads.

“Luck is a distraction used by those who aren’t good enough. They can blame it when their plans don’t work out and they thank it when they benefit from the misfortune of others.”

The druids sit down at the same table as The Grand Mystique and pull crystal orbs of their own from within the vestments. They are placed in a line with the original that begins to glow.

“The Sacrificial Altar does not rely on luck and we will sacrifice those who are stupid enough to consider it a driving factor. It is another sinful notion that the roster is guilty of abusing.”

The masked face that had previously displayed a fierce pride now reveals disgust that narrows his eyes and contorts his mouth, twisting and curling his lip into a trademark sneer.

“Austin Reynolds is the only reason that Ricky Runn didn’t break his neck in his first six months in WZCW but Reynolds was the first, sacrificed for his egotistic and selfish nature. I knew that man better than anyone and I am the reason that he is not here.”

“And soon, Ricky Runn will not be in fit condition to be here either. I will drain him of all hope and his energy and then what will he have left? His bad luck?”

The druids raise their hands and then in turn, bring them crashing down to the table. Their crystal spheres are crushed. The Grand Mystique nods in agreement as the hands of the druids begin to bloody.

“I don’t want to wait until Kingdom Come to deal with Strikeforce and Derek Jacobs. The Lethal Lottery has proved that these men are surviving on nothing but hope. We have numbers in our favour, we must crush them where they stand so I can claim my rightful destiny at the top of this company. Until then I will finish the job that I started as a prophecy at Redemption.”

We see a victorious Ricky Runn as he walks backstage. He is very content, taking the handshakes of the crew who work behind the scenes. He turns into his dressing room and shuts the door. Suddenly there is a loud crash, a blood-curdling scream and a bang from the door vibrates noisily as it seems something is thrown against it. And there was no noise coming from the room at all.

A large figure clad head to toe in all black rushes from the room. His face is covered and he moves speedily by and no-one sees him as the lights flicker and flash. The camera moves back towards the dressing room and Ricky Runn is laid out on the floor. His nose is streaming with blood and already his eye is tremendously bruised. He tries moving but falls flat. The camera catches some of the destruction in the room as Ricky appears to have been used like some sort of battering.

Out of the blue, a couple of staff come by and raise the alarm. The camera is cut off but not before muffled calls for paramedics are heard.