Post by Zane on Feb 3, 2018 13:07:45 GMT -5
The Office of the Creative Lord
Tuesday Afternoon
Donovan sits upon his throne and ticks at the Newton’s Cradle that rests on his desk. It clacks back and forth and his gaze follows it intently. His head bops from side to side as a song plays somewhat quietly in the background. His focus on it is so intense that he doesn’t notice as Owen and Larry enter his office and plop down in the chairs that sit across from him. They both look around the room before they look back at him quizzically. He seems not to notice as he mouths the lyrics to himself.
“This is not my home. It’s where I’m locked away.” He sings to himself.
Owen and Larry look at each other and then back to him, their expressions of confusion deepen. Larry opens his mouth to speak but he quickly stops. Owen gestures at him to ask whatever he was going to ask but Owen shakes his head “no”.
“Why the heck not?” Owen asks him irritably.
Larry casts a furtive look at Donovan before he looks back at Owen.
“He scares me.” He says sheepishly.
Owen rolls his eyes and gestures towards Donovan again.
“He’s not going to hurt you.” he insists. “Trust me.”
Larry quivers in his seat and shakes his head “no”. Owen rolls his eyes and shakes his head in frustration.
“You can’t be serious.” He replies irritably. “Just do it. Show a little spine.”
Larry energetically shakes his head in refusal.
It’s in my design.
“It’s not my circuitry.” Larry replies. “I don’t know where you got the idea that I’d do that, but this is not who I am.”
Owen replies with a raised eyebrow.
“This is not who I am?” He asks. “Who talks like that?”
Larry shrugs.
“Apparently I do.” He replies tersely before he turns his head, raises his chin looks indignantly in the opposite direction.
Larry shakes his head again and runs his hand down his face.
“Larry.” he replies pleadingly. “Don’t be angry.”
Larry replies with a perfunctory “humph”, but doesn’t turn around. Larry looks from him to Donovan, who is still entertaining himself with his Newton’s Cradle as his head bops back and forth in time with the music. He rolls his eyes and looks back at Larry.
“I’m sorry, Larry.” he says. “I wasn’t trying to insult you. I just don’t get why you won’t ask Donovan the question you want to ask him.”
Larry whips around red faced and thrusts a finger at Owen, who jerks back in surprise.
“He put me the ‘Hands of Fate’ last week because I brought him a sandwich that still had crust on it!” He half growls and half wails.
You’ll never see me behind this killer’s face.
Owen blinks at him as if this is a non-issue.
“And?” He replies.
“AND!” Larry yells. “Normal people don’t do over crust!”
Owen stares blankly at him and then begins to laugh heartily, much to Larry’s irritation.
“Seriously?” He bellows shrilly.
“What?” Owen asks. “You’ve only been around him for a few months”.
“Unbelievable!” Larry replies indignantly.
Owen shrugs and looks back at Donovan, who’s gone from playing with his Newton’s Cradle to playing with finger puppets. He sighs to himself.
“You get used to it eventually.” He replies.
Donovan continues to battle with his finger puppets.
These aren’t my hands. These needles take their place.
Later that day.
Backstage, UGWC Arena
Zane stands in front of a table with an item in his hand. He holds it out for the young man at the table , who takes it from him and slips it into the laptop that sits in front of him. The computer lightly whirrs for a few seconds before the screen glows to life. The man at the table taps a few buttons, moves the mouse around a bit, clicks on a few things and then looks up at Zane, clearly confused.
“What is this?” He asks.
Zane replies with a smirk.
“He’s an old friend.” He replies.
The man looks from the screen to Zane and back again.
“An old friend?” He replies. “You have some strange friends.”
Zane chuckles in reply.
“You have no idea.” He replies.
The man looks back towards the screen, rotates the image around and then looks back at Zane, who raises a curious eyebrow.
“So?” He asks. “Do you think you can do it?”
“Sure.” The man replies with a nod.
“Excellent.” Zane answers with a smile.
The man looks back to the screen and then back at Zane.
“Can I ask you a question?” He asks.
Zane grins.
“It would seem so.” He replies.
The man looks at him in confusion.
“Was this all a part of the plan?” He asks. “Whatever your plan is.”
Zane’s grin widens.
“It’s a part of it.” He replies. “Would you believe that this isn’t me, in spite of what others have told you?”
The man’s brow furrows in confusion.
“I’m not sure that I follow.” He replies.
Zane folds his arms across his chest and smirks.
“Believe it or not.” He says. “I’m not a bad guy. I know that everyone thinks that I’m designed that way, but it’s not true. Granted, a lot of what people think of me isn’t true anymore.”
The costume designer shrugs at him.
“You’re always been friendly to me.” He replies. “And you seem to genuinely like Larry, who is a nice kid, in spite of how weird he is.”
Zane nods.
“I do like Larry.” He replies. “Sure. he’s a goofball and not everyone around here understands him, but he’s a genuinely a good kid. Some, like Jet, think that he’s mentally defective, but he’s not. He’s just been very...sheltered.”
The costume man laughs in agreement.
“Yeah.” He answers. “I noticed that. I guess everyone just expects you to turn on him at some point, given your history here.”
Zane nods his head in understanding.
“That’s fair.” he answers.
He pauses for a second as he taps a finger against his chin. The designer looks at him but doesn’t interrupt. Zane finally looks down to him.
“I can’t help but hurt those close to me.” He answers with some sorrow in his voice. “It’s never bothered me before and if you’d asked me why I acted that way, my response would have been ‘I can’t see a way out of it’.”
The designer nods at him.
“This time?” He asks. “If I may get to the point.”
This time it’s Zane who shrugs.
“This time it’s different.” he replies. “It’s hard to blame them, or you, for feeling as most do about me. I even scare myself. I was always treated like I was built to kill and as I look back on it, it always seemed to be detrimental to my health.”
The designer nods.
“I remember.” He answers. “It must have been hard to miss that year after Killian tore your ACL and MCL.”
Zane nods.
“Looking back on it, I guess I should have known.” He explains. “If you look at what happened in ‘The Syndicate’, as powerful as we were, there was always a certain degree of volatility in it.”
The man laughs loudly.
“Eden Morgan was in it.” He replies. “Of course it was ‘volatile’.”
He abruptly laughing stops when he catches himself. He looks slightly embarrassed at the outburst. Zane chuckles himself.
“Don’t worry about it.” He replies. “And you’re right, Eden is volatile. She’s always been volatile for as long as I’ve known her, even when she was wide eyed and naive. By the time we formed ‘The Syndicate’ with Alan and Killian, she was starting to grow into the destructive cult leader that she’s become.”
The designer casts a quick fearful glance around the room before he looks back at Zane, who rolls his eyes.
“She’s not here.” He replies.”She’s probably in New York with her minions.”
The man noticeably exhales in relief and looks back at Zane.
“She terrifies me.” He says. “And so does Gabriel.”
He’s on his way down.
Zane shrugs.
“That’s what they want.” He replies. “You can’t give in to it.”
The man shudders again and looks back at the screen. He examines the image and then looks back up at Zane.
“I can do what you want.” He says. “But I’d rather that Eden and her friends not know that I did it. I don’t want to be on their hit list if it pisses them off.”
Zane nods.
“Sure.” He says. “I’ll put in a good word with Donovan for you and I’ll remember this when I claim my World Championship again.”
I hear him just above.
“Thank you.” the man replies with a smile. “I would have never expected that from you. It actually feels good to be wrong.”
Zane smiles in return and pats him on the shoulder.
“I have a lot to atone for.” He replies. “And I’m glad I can do some of that here.”
The designer smiles.
“Thanks.” he says. “Good luck against Eden.”
Zane nods his head and replies with an sanguine smile.
“For once it feels good to seem like the underdog.”
The man pulls the memory stick from the computer and hands it to Zane, who slips it into his pocket. He nods at the designer and then turns and walks back towards the office of the Director of Creative Pain.
When pushing comes to shove.
At least I won’t be alone.
Wednesday Morning
Yonkers, NY
Cafe 28
“Lamentations of a War Machine”
Zane sits with a coffee in his right hand as he waits for his guests to arrive. He blows across the opening of the mug to cool it, momentarily dissipating the steam that wafts up from the black liquid. He looks out of the window and out over the ice blanketed Hudson River. The southern New York skies are blanketed with white clouds and appear to threaten snow. This doesn’t seem to bother Zane, who looks incredibly relaxed, almost serene, considering what awaits him in a few days.
He’s dressed for the weather, as a blue peacoat is draped over the back of his chair and he’s adorned in a white short sleeved white “Pain and Paradox” t-shirt and jeans. He smiles as he watches a Coast Guard icebreaker slowly claw its way northward towards his hometown of Poughkeepsie and he looks down toward the road and to the end of the street to the Metro North station, where NYC bound train sits on the platform and waits as the passengers do the normal loading and unloading ritual.
He looks up as two reflections appear in the window and a smile grows on his face. He turns and looks towards the door to see Colin and Spyder walking towards him. Colin is smiling, while Spyder is his usual implacable self. The two men walk up and extend their hands. Zane and Colin shake hands and hug, while Zane and Spyder just shake hands. Zane disengages his hand from Spyder’s monstrous paw and gestures towards the two empty seats at the table. He waits for his teachers to sit and then returns to his chair.
“It’s great to see you both.” He says with a smile. “Even if I just saw you on Monday.”
He looks at Colin when he says it and Colin smiles in return. A microscopic smile pulls at the corner of Spyder’s mouth, although anyone who doesn’t know him like Zane does would completely miss it. A pretty dark haired waitress walks over and smiles at the three men. Zane gestures to his teachers and she looks at them.
“Good morning, gentlemen.” She says. “What can I get for you?”
“Black coffee, please.” Colin says with a smile.
She smiles and scribbles his order down, then looks at Spyder and noticeably pales. He nods his head at her.
“English breakfast tea, please.” He says in his deep and quiet voice. “And a glass of ice water.”
She scribbles his order down and nods at all three of them.
“Are you gentlemen ready to order, or would you like a few minutes?”
Colin looks from the stoic Spyder to her and smiles.
“We’d like a few minutes to look at the menu, please.” Colin says.
“Ok.” She replies with a nod. “I’ll be back with your drinks shortly.”
“Thank you, miss.” Colin replies with a smile.
She flashes a quick smile at Colin, another nervous look at Spyder and then turns and walks towards the kitchen. Colin watches her go and then turns to Zane.
“I notice that Eden didn’t say anything about the appearance of my alter ego last week.” He says. “And by the way, I would have appreciated being told that you were going to do that.”
Zane grins and shrugs, then takes a drink from his coffee.
“Sorry about that, Colin.” He replies. “But I needed your body language and behavior to be as normal as possible so that she’d believe it was you.”
Colin nods.
“And she wouldn’t respond to it because she wouldn’t want you to know that it hit a nerve.” he says.
“Right.” Zane nods. “We both know that Eden always has to look like she’s in control and when ‘you’ came out, that facade dropped for just long enough to reveal the insecure and vulnerable girl underneath the cold, calculating and merciless ‘Ice Queen’ she shows everyone.”
Colin nods his head.
“Be careful with that mental dichotomy.” Colin advises. “While it’s an accurate assessment of her, we both know that she’ll go to any length to protect .the image that she’s taken such great pains to craft and protect.”
Zane nods.
“I know.” he replies, and pauses as the waitress brings the drinks. She places them down and pulls her order pad.
“Are you gentlemen ready to order?” She asks.
Zane waves a dismissive hand.
“This’ll do for me for now.” He says.
Colin looks at her and smiles.
“Two eggs, scrambled with hash browns and a side of wheat toast.” he says.
She smiles and writes his order down.
“And you, sir?” She asks as she looks at Spyder.
“A corn muffin and five eggs, fried.” He says as he hands her the menu.
She blinks at his mentioning of “five eggs” but writes it down and then turns and walks from the table. Zane looks at Spyder with a raised eyebrow.
“Only five?” He asks.
Spyder shrugs.
“I’m not that hungry.” He replies tonelessly.
Zane chuckles at his teacher’s response.
“Right.” he says as he turns back to Colin.
“I understand what the risks are with Eden.” He continues. “It seems that no matter what happens in our lives, that we can’t get away from each other. At one point I thought that we could be the most untouchable allies in this company.”
“And now?” Colin asks.
“Now she’s plainly stated that she wants to end me.” He says with a shrug. “That leaves one option going forward.”
Colin Shakes his head.
“Yes.” He replies. “She’s sort of made your decision for you.”
Zane’s eyes narrow and he shakes his head.
“No.” he replies. “I made that decision. I don’t just want want to get the World Championship back. I need to get it back. If that means that I have to go through Eden to get it, that’s exactly what I’ll do.”
He pauses and takes a drink from his coffee before he looks back at his mentors.
“She and her new devotees can talk whatever trash about me that they want to and we all know that they have and will.” He says with a shrug. “At this point it doesn’t matter anymore. I wasted too much time chasing the respect and acceptance of people who don’t understand the meaning of the word. They used my self-doubt and self-loathing as a cudgel to me with. I can’t hold the strategy against them. I allowed it to work when I shouldn’t have. That’s my fault.”
Zane nods and smiles while Spyder keep his inscrutable gaze locked on his former student. The three sit in silence for a few seconds before Spyder is the first to speak.
“You’ve grown and changed for the better in the last year.” he says. “I’m proud of you. I get the feeling, however, that this quest for the World Championship is just a part of the overall equation with you.”
Zane nods his head in agreement.
“Yes.” He replies.
Spyder gestures to him.
“Continue.” He says.
Zane takes another sip from his coffee and looks out the window.
“I spent years chasing power and glory as their own ends.” he says without looking towards them. “In that time I stepped on and over everyone I felt that I had to in order to get where I was obsessed with being. I did a lot of harm without a thought to the consequences for others…”
“And...” Spyder says.
“And I never considered the consequences for myself.” He says.
He turns and looks at his teachers and both can see that the look in his eyes is different from the one that he normally has. There’s genuine remorse behind them. The three sit in silence for a few seconds before Colin breaks the silence.
“What changed?” He asks.
Zane inhales and lets out a slow exhale that sounds slightly like a sigh.
“It slowly dawned on me that all I was doing was lashing out at people because of how insecure I felt about myself.” He explains. “And in all honesty, Larry had a lot to do with it.”
“How so?” Colin asks.
Zane looks at him as if he’s positive that his mentor knows the answer and is asking less for his own edification than he is to hear Zane actually hear himself say the words out loud.
“At first I saw Larry as an annoyance and an inconvenience.” He explains. “I couldn’t see the wisdom of John’s decision in assigning the goofy kid to be my assistant when I was injured. It was strange. Larry’s physical weakness mirrored my internal weakness but ironically enough, internally Larry is one of the strongest people that I’ve ever met.”
“How’s that?” Spyder asks with a slightly raised eyebrow.
Zane looks out the window and smiles as a slow snowfall starts to come down. He stares out of it in silence for a few moments before he turns and looks at his teachers.
“It’s simple.” he explains. “Because the simple fact is that no matter what happens to Larry. No matter what indignities and embarrassments are visited upon him, Larry never changes. He wants so much to see people be happy that he doesn’t care when they hurt him, because he figures that they’re just showing everyone outside how sad they are inside. He’s told me that if doing what they do to him helps make them even a little bit better as a person than he’s all for it.”
Zane takes a long and slow breath.
“I can’t help but respect that.” He says. “The more time that I spent with him and the more I watched that unevolved thug Grevane push him around without drawing a complaint or any thought of retribution from Larry, the more I began to appreciate and then eventually respect and like the kd. Sure, he’s a bit of a doofus. But he’s one of the best people I’ve ever met and that counts for a lot to me.”
Colin and Spyder look at each other and smile.
“He finally gets it.” Spyder says to Colin.
“Yes.” Colin replies. “He’s finally figured out what others never learn.”
The two men look at him and Colin speaks.
“We’re proud of you, Zane.” he explains. “You finally figured out what it means to have a friend. To have someone who you’d literally do anything for and you’ve finally figured out what that does for you as a person. Eden hasn’t figured that out yet.”
Zane raises an eyebrow.
“You don’t even think she feels that way about Jet?” He asks.
Colin shakes his head.
“No.” he replies. “She thinks she does. This cane scar that she left me on my neck is a daily reminder that Eden will try to destroy anyone, no matter how much she claims to care about them. All they have to do is seriously fail once at being who she needs and wants for them to be.”
Zane raises an inquisitive eyebrow.
“But you admitted that what you did to her with the ‘Cemetary Man’ idea was a terrible mistake.”
Colin shakes his head in agreement.
“Yes.” he replies with remorse in his voice. “It was wrong and I shouldn’t have done it that way I deserved most of what she did to me for that.”
“Except for that.” Spyder says, his voice unforgiving. “Regardless of how she felt, trying to kill you as she did was going too far.”
Colin shrugs.
“Maybe.” He says sadly. “Or maybe it was just what I deserved for it.”
Zane shakes his head.
“No.” He replies flatly. “You didn’t. You made a mistake. Good people make mistakes. They don’t deserve to be killed or crippled for them.”
“Regardless,” Colin continues. “That’s the path that Eden is on. She’ll eventually see Baal and Jet do something that she can’t ‘forgive’ and she’ll focus all of her destructive fury on them. They’ll be the focus of her wrath.”
Zane laughs contemptuously.
“Baal has already felt that fury.” He states. “The fact that he considers her to be such a close ‘friend’ after everything she did to try and ruin just shows you the foundation that their relationship is built on. That foundation is rotten.”
He looks down a bit.
.
“A part of me feels a little bad for Baal.” He says.
“How so?” Colin asks.
Zane sighs slightly.
“Baal is so obsessed with being seen as the man who has everything under control that he’s blind to the weaknesses that he’s left for himself. One of those weaknesses is his dismissal of Lucy Wylde. The other glaring one is his misplaced trust in Eden. Those are both going to come back around on him in time.”
Colin smiles.
“And it doesn’t hurt that you’d absolutely love to ruin his day by winning the World Championship bak.” He says.
“There is that.” Zane says with a smirk.
A slow grin forms on the right corner of Colin’s mouth, but it’s Spyder who speaks.
“Fallen in love with the idea of holding every championship, have you?” He asks. “I think that Mr. Wallace might have something to say about that, seeing as he’s the current Cross-Hemisphere Champion and also someone you may have to face in this tournament.”
Zane nods.
“To answer your first question, yes.” He says with a smile. “The thought of winning and holding three championships, especially with the World Championship included, is honestly a challenge that I can’t help but be excited by. It’s never been done in the history of the company and I’d love to be the first and so far only person to ever do it.”
Colin raises a curious eyebrow.
“And you don’t think that sounds arrogant?”
Zane shrugs and smiles.
“It might.” He replies. “I don’t mean it that way. I’m honestly excited by the challenge that would come with that victory and I’d love the challenge of having the chance to represent the company that way. It would be the thrill of my career.”
Colin and Spyder both nod.
“What of Wallace?” Colin asks.
Zane exhales slowly and nods.
“Given the competitor that Alan is, I guarantee you that he’d understand.” He replies. “He wants to be known as the ‘Greatest of All Time” and he’s made a great case for it being so. I want to be spoken of in the same breath that he is. That means that I have to beat him. It’s not personal. It just has to be that way.”
“What of Lucy?” Spyder asks.
Zane shrugs.
“She’s in the way.” he replies. “It isn’t personal with her anymore. I get her better than I did and I respect her. That doesn’t change the fact that she’s in my way and I need to get her out of it.”
Zane pauses for a moment.
“In the end, this isn’t a conflict against Alan or Baal or Lucy or even Eden.” He explains. “It’s a conflict against myself that I can’t afford to lose. Getting my World Championship back isn’t all there is, but it is an enormous part of it.”
Would you believe this isn’t me.
That what you get isn’t what you see.
Colin nods in understanding.
“I know.” He replies. “I was you once. I understand what the drive for greatness feels like.”
Zane looks down into his coffee.
“It’s more than that, Colin.” He says. “It’s more than just that simple, yet complicated desire. I have to reckon with more than the fact that I lost the World Championship and failed to get it back. I have to reconcile with who I was and what I’ve done. Many, if not most, see this alliance...this burgeoning friendship with Donovan as if it’s some kind of bad joke.”
Colin raises a calming hand.
“It’s not a joke to you.”
“No.” Zane replies. “It’s not a joke at all.”
Colin shakes his head in agreement.
“Friendship never is.” He answers.
“Someone tell Eden that.” Zane replies blandly.
Deep underground, ten miles down
A man stands below the city he will destroy...[/b][/font]
Wednesday Afternoon
Chicago, Il[/i]
UGWC Arena
Zane walks through the backstage area on his way back to the Office of the Lord of Creative Pain. He pauses as his phone begins to ring in his pocket and reaches into it. He retrieves the phone and looks at the name on the screen. Seeing who it is, he smiles, presses “answer” and holds it up to his ear.
“This is Zane.” he says.
He listens as the person on the other end speaks and a smile spreads across his face.
“Excellent.” he says. “Send it to Donovan’s office.”
He pauses as the person on the other end says something else. He shakes his head.
“Yes.” He replies. “That’s perfect. Thank you.”
He disconnects the call and places his phone back into his pocket. He continues walking and eventually he comes to the costume designer that he’d previously spoken to. The man stands up and offers his hand, which Zane takes. The two men shake hands and then the man sits back down.
“I think that you’ll love what I did with the changes you asked for.” He says.
He sits down and and his fingers dance across the keyboard. A few seconds later a set of images come up on the monitor. The designer looks at it, beaming with pride and then turns it towards Zane. Zane looks at it for a few moments and smiles.
“It’s perfect.” He says. “Thank you.”
The two men are interrupted as a man walks by with a donkey tow. The man looks up at Zane and notices a smile on his face.
“A donkey?” He asks.
“You’ll see.” Zane replies as he rubs his hands together gleefully.
Later.
The Office of the Lord of Creative Pain
How can I retract these claws?
Those are your hands.
Zane stands in Donovan’s office and looks thorough a folder of papers. He moves quickly from one page to another, turning each page with the tip of his right pointer finger. Donovan sits at his desk and appears to be reviewing something as both Owen and Larry clean up around the office.
All appears to be going well until Larry gets to the “Cardboard Lord” and accidentally knocks it over with a loud “thud”. Both Zane and Donovan look up and Donovan’s eyes go wide. He springs from his desk and where his cardboard facsimile lays on the floor. He picks himself up from off of the floor and pales when his head slowly lolls to the left and nearly falls off.
“No!” He states disconsolately. “I’m injured!”
He looks up at Larry with fury in his eyes.
“You injured me you little twerp!” He bellows. “I may never help Zane defend our Co-Operative Championships again because of you! The greatest partnership in the history of wrestling...or at least the second greatest partnership after Travis and I, may forever be ruined because you’re an uncoordinated and maleficent klutz!”
He looks up and over at Zane.
“No offense.” he says.
“None taken.” Zane replies with a shrug.
“Thank you.” He replies. “You are a gentleman and a scholar.”
Zane declines his head as Donovan does the same. They both look up at the same time and Donovan returns his aggrieved glare to Larry.
“How dare you try to assassinate the Cardboard Lord, one-half of the UGWC Co-Operative Championships! Do you wish to leave your master partnerless? Is this a conspiracy to overthrow my regime and steal the Co-Operative Championships from our golden clutches?”
Larry blinks at Donovan, clearly dumbfounded.
“It’s a cardboard cutout, Mr. Donovan.” he replies. “I’m sorry that I broke it, but you can easily get another one by going to the merchandise stand or to ‘UGWCshop.com’.”
Zane looks up at him with a crooked grin.
“Nice cheap plug.” He says.
“Thank you.” Larry replies with a smile.
Donovan looks up at Zane as if he’s genuinely wounded by Zane’s response.
“How can you stand there and make jokes at a time like this?” He bellows melodramatically. “Your partner may never wrestle again!”
Zane barely stifles a smile and a chuckle before he manages to force a serious look onto his face.
“I’m sure he didn’t intend to do that, Donovan.” He replies.
Donovan holds himself up and cradles his head gently, taking extra care not to hit himself with the brick thats affixed to the back of his head. (Are you confused yet?). He looks furiously at Larry.
“You can’t take back the damage you cause!” He continues. “What would you go if we’d decided to take a golden shower together after our victory?!!”
“Ewww.” Larry replies as he face screws up in disgust as Zane audibly chokes on something.
“Um, Donovan...” He says. “Wording.”
Donovan pauses and appears to consider what he’d just said. Upon realizing that his phrasing wasn’t the finest execution of dramatic wordsmithing of his career, he holds up an apologetic hand.
“My apologies.” he replies. “I got caught up in the moment.”
“Yeah.” Zane answers with a bit of extra emphasis. “Please don’t do that again.”
Donovan shakes his head apologetically.
“Be that as it may, what if you’ve forever destroyed the team of ‘Pain and Paradox’?” he asks.
“And you did so merely because you, young Lawrence, are too much of a walking human disaster to keep from being an inadvertent harbinger of chaos?”
Larry blinks at the barrage of words that have just been shot at him and then looks at Zane, who just shrugs.
“Don’t look at me.” He replies with a smirk. “You got yourself into this mess.”
Larry looks from Zane back to Donovan.
“I’m sorry, Mr. Donovan.” He stammers. “I didn’t meant to hurt...uh...you.”
“You should be sorry!” Donovan replies.”What would we do if it turns out that you have indeed ended my career in such a careless way? I may have to find Zane a new partner!”
“That would indeed be tragic.” Zane says as he takes a drink from his bottled water.
Donovan turns and looks at him.
“Don’t be so flippant.” he answers. “What if I’d had to substitute myself with someone far more inferior, some minor peasant who doesn’t deserve to stand at Zane’s side?!”
“You’d strap a brick to the back of his head, too?” Larry asks.
Donovan pauses as if he’s considering the merits of Larry’s suggestion, but quickly recovers and continues along his rant.
“What if I’d been forced somehow to pair our dear friend Zane with the worst and most boring wrestler you can think of?”
“Dave Rydell?” Zane blurts out.
“I was thinking Travis Pierce.” Donovan admits. “But now that I think about it, there isn’t much difference.”
Zane grins.
“I’m already accused of being boring.” He says with a sly grin. “Just imagine the ratings you could pull in if you put together ‘The World’s Blandest Tag Team’.”
Donovan rubs his chin thoughtfully. Zane takes another drink from his water before he caps the bottle and puts it down on the bar.
“Before you take that less than serious suggestion to its least logical conclusion, why don’t I introduce something else to your head.”
Donovan arches a curious eyebrow.
“It’s not a steel chair, is it?” Donovan asks. “I’d like to think that we’ve moved past that, but maybe you’re having a sudden flashback under the stress of the moment.”
Zane rolls his eyes and walks over to the table on the far side of the room. He picks a flash drive up from off of it and walks over to Donovan. Donovan momentarily shies away before he leans forward and flashes a very Donovan-ish grin at Zane, who chuckles in return.
“Smart ass.” He replies as he hands the drive to Donovan.
“The Lord Director could not pass up such an opportunity at mirth.” He answers, his smile firmly in place. “What is this?”
Zane smiles.
“Put it in the drive in your laptop and turn the TV on.” Zane answers before he walks over to the smaller throne that sits to the right hand of Donovan and sits down.
Donovan inserts the memory stick into his computer and waits as the TV glows to life. A few moments later music begins to play out of it and Donovan’s face lights up.
The song has been rewritten to be heavier than the original and the lyrics have been altered so that every time “Megaman” is said it says “Mega Zane” instead. Donovan watches it and is so enraptured by it that he doesn’t notice Zane leave the room. He also fails to notice two delivery men bring in a grand piano and set it up in the open corner of the office and walk out without saying a word. Oddly, Owen says nothing about it. A few moments later a man walks in with a donkey in tow and leads it up to the piano. He moves the bench back and waits as the donkey steps up over the back of it, steps down and then steps up with its back legs before it sits down.
Donovan fails to notice as Larry walks into the room and comes to stand next to the piano. The donkey looks at him but stays in place. It’s a truly preposterous scene.
The Megaman theme ends and Donovan looks up. He noticed the donkey and the piano that have “suddenly” appeared in front of him. His face lights up in a gigantic smile and he stands up from his desk and takes a couple of steps from his desk when Larry nods at the man next to the piano. The man walks up and pats the donkey on the shoulder and it begins to play a piano rendition of the Megaman theme.
Donovan turns as Zane suddenly reenters the room. He’s adorned in a light blue costume. Larry looks at him and stands up to his full height.
“Mr. Donovan.” He bellows in a voice that’s surprisingly forceful. “I present you with...”
He pauses.
“MegaZane!”
Donovan turns and looks at Zane and his smile widens.
“That’s amazing!” Donovan exclaims.
Zane bows his head.
“Thank you.” He replies with a smile. “I figured that with the momentus nature of this event and what it could mean for me and for ‘Pain and Paradox’, that I should bust and old friend out of storage and give him an upgrade. With that in mind, I had my old friend the ‘Zane Nine-Thousand’ redesigned by the costume department.”
Donovan walks around his desk and up to Zane. He looks over the costume and notices the six notches. Two are at either side of his waist and four on his shoulders. Donovan looks at them and then to Zane.
“What are these for?” He saks.
Zane grins.
“Those are for attaching championship belts to.” He explains. “The ones on the outside of my shoulders rotate so that the championship belts can hang down over the outsides of my arms.”
Donovan nods his head in approval.
“That’s clever.”
“Thank you.” Zane replies.
Donovan looks at it and at Zane’s right hand.
“Does the gun retract?” He asks.
How can I retract these claws.
Zane smiles and the cannon extends and then retracts. Donovan smiles and takes a step back to look at it. He nods approvingly.
Those are your hands.
You can’t take back the damage you cause.
“I never thought I’d see this side of you.” He says. “I’m happy that you’ve embraced this.”
How can I take off this mask.
That is your face.
“There’s no better way to answer mockery than with mockery.” He says with a shrug. “Besides, I’m really pleased with how this came out.”
You can’t remove the fear you cast.
Donovan smiles and pats Zane on the shoulder.
“I’m happy that I’ve been here to be a part of it.” He replies.
How can I turn off this hatred that fills my eyes.
“I’ve been told repeatedly that I can’t change my path” he says. “I asked myself when I can stop being bad.”
Donovan raises an eyebrow.
“And?” He asks. “What do you say to those who say that that’s how you are?”
Zane’s jaw sets and his eyes take on a look of determination.
“If that’s really who I am, then I’ll fight who I am.” He answers resolutely. “No one controls me but me.”
“Huzzah!” Donovan proclaims. “Let’s celebrate your impending success!”
I’m not a bad guy.
I’m just designed that way.
No matter what I try
I can’t help but hurt those close to me.
Zane and Donovan walks to their respective thrones and sit down. Owen walks to the bar and pours two drinks. He brings them over and places on in front of Donovan before handing the other to Zane. The two men raise their glasses.
“A toast to your future success!” Donovan declares.
Zane raises his glass and the two men clink them together and then drink. They lower them and Zane looks at Donovan.
“I always felt trapped by who I was before.” He says. “I see a way out this time and I’m going to seize it.”
Donovan raises his glass.
“The Creative Lord approves.” He says and then a curious look comes across his face as someone knocks on the door.
Owen gets up and walks over. He opens it and then turns and looks at Donovan.
“It’s Rydell.” he says.
Donovan rolls his eyes and looks at Zane.
“Is the trap door working yet?”
Zane nods.
“Sadly, no.” He replies.
Donovan shotguns the rest of his drink.
“Fine.” He says with a sigh. “Show him in.”
And now I see a way out this time.
Tuesday Afternoon
Donovan sits upon his throne and ticks at the Newton’s Cradle that rests on his desk. It clacks back and forth and his gaze follows it intently. His head bops from side to side as a song plays somewhat quietly in the background. His focus on it is so intense that he doesn’t notice as Owen and Larry enter his office and plop down in the chairs that sit across from him. They both look around the room before they look back at him quizzically. He seems not to notice as he mouths the lyrics to himself.
“This is not my home. It’s where I’m locked away.” He sings to himself.
Owen and Larry look at each other and then back to him, their expressions of confusion deepen. Larry opens his mouth to speak but he quickly stops. Owen gestures at him to ask whatever he was going to ask but Owen shakes his head “no”.
“Why the heck not?” Owen asks him irritably.
Larry casts a furtive look at Donovan before he looks back at Owen.
“He scares me.” He says sheepishly.
Owen rolls his eyes and gestures towards Donovan again.
“He’s not going to hurt you.” he insists. “Trust me.”
Larry quivers in his seat and shakes his head “no”. Owen rolls his eyes and shakes his head in frustration.
“You can’t be serious.” He replies irritably. “Just do it. Show a little spine.”
Larry energetically shakes his head in refusal.
It’s in my design.
“It’s not my circuitry.” Larry replies. “I don’t know where you got the idea that I’d do that, but this is not who I am.”
Owen replies with a raised eyebrow.
“This is not who I am?” He asks. “Who talks like that?”
Larry shrugs.
“Apparently I do.” He replies tersely before he turns his head, raises his chin looks indignantly in the opposite direction.
Larry shakes his head again and runs his hand down his face.
“Larry.” he replies pleadingly. “Don’t be angry.”
Larry replies with a perfunctory “humph”, but doesn’t turn around. Larry looks from him to Donovan, who is still entertaining himself with his Newton’s Cradle as his head bops back and forth in time with the music. He rolls his eyes and looks back at Larry.
“I’m sorry, Larry.” he says. “I wasn’t trying to insult you. I just don’t get why you won’t ask Donovan the question you want to ask him.”
Larry whips around red faced and thrusts a finger at Owen, who jerks back in surprise.
“He put me the ‘Hands of Fate’ last week because I brought him a sandwich that still had crust on it!” He half growls and half wails.
You’ll never see me behind this killer’s face.
Owen blinks at him as if this is a non-issue.
“And?” He replies.
“AND!” Larry yells. “Normal people don’t do over crust!”
Owen stares blankly at him and then begins to laugh heartily, much to Larry’s irritation.
“Seriously?” He bellows shrilly.
“What?” Owen asks. “You’ve only been around him for a few months”.
“Unbelievable!” Larry replies indignantly.
Owen shrugs and looks back at Donovan, who’s gone from playing with his Newton’s Cradle to playing with finger puppets. He sighs to himself.
“You get used to it eventually.” He replies.
Donovan continues to battle with his finger puppets.
These aren’t my hands. These needles take their place.
Later that day.
Backstage, UGWC Arena
Zane stands in front of a table with an item in his hand. He holds it out for the young man at the table , who takes it from him and slips it into the laptop that sits in front of him. The computer lightly whirrs for a few seconds before the screen glows to life. The man at the table taps a few buttons, moves the mouse around a bit, clicks on a few things and then looks up at Zane, clearly confused.
“What is this?” He asks.
Zane replies with a smirk.
“He’s an old friend.” He replies.
The man looks from the screen to Zane and back again.
“An old friend?” He replies. “You have some strange friends.”
Zane chuckles in reply.
“You have no idea.” He replies.
The man looks back towards the screen, rotates the image around and then looks back at Zane, who raises a curious eyebrow.
“So?” He asks. “Do you think you can do it?”
“Sure.” The man replies with a nod.
“Excellent.” Zane answers with a smile.
The man looks back to the screen and then back at Zane.
“Can I ask you a question?” He asks.
Zane grins.
“It would seem so.” He replies.
The man looks at him in confusion.
“Was this all a part of the plan?” He asks. “Whatever your plan is.”
Zane’s grin widens.
“It’s a part of it.” He replies. “Would you believe that this isn’t me, in spite of what others have told you?”
The man’s brow furrows in confusion.
“I’m not sure that I follow.” He replies.
Zane folds his arms across his chest and smirks.
“Believe it or not.” He says. “I’m not a bad guy. I know that everyone thinks that I’m designed that way, but it’s not true. Granted, a lot of what people think of me isn’t true anymore.”
The costume designer shrugs at him.
“You’re always been friendly to me.” He replies. “And you seem to genuinely like Larry, who is a nice kid, in spite of how weird he is.”
Zane nods.
“I do like Larry.” He replies. “Sure. he’s a goofball and not everyone around here understands him, but he’s a genuinely a good kid. Some, like Jet, think that he’s mentally defective, but he’s not. He’s just been very...sheltered.”
The costume man laughs in agreement.
“Yeah.” He answers. “I noticed that. I guess everyone just expects you to turn on him at some point, given your history here.”
Zane nods his head in understanding.
“That’s fair.” he answers.
He pauses for a second as he taps a finger against his chin. The designer looks at him but doesn’t interrupt. Zane finally looks down to him.
“I can’t help but hurt those close to me.” He answers with some sorrow in his voice. “It’s never bothered me before and if you’d asked me why I acted that way, my response would have been ‘I can’t see a way out of it’.”
The designer nods at him.
“This time?” He asks. “If I may get to the point.”
This time it’s Zane who shrugs.
“This time it’s different.” he replies. “It’s hard to blame them, or you, for feeling as most do about me. I even scare myself. I was always treated like I was built to kill and as I look back on it, it always seemed to be detrimental to my health.”
The designer nods.
“I remember.” He answers. “It must have been hard to miss that year after Killian tore your ACL and MCL.”
Zane nods.
“Looking back on it, I guess I should have known.” He explains. “If you look at what happened in ‘The Syndicate’, as powerful as we were, there was always a certain degree of volatility in it.”
The man laughs loudly.
“Eden Morgan was in it.” He replies. “Of course it was ‘volatile’.”
He abruptly laughing stops when he catches himself. He looks slightly embarrassed at the outburst. Zane chuckles himself.
“Don’t worry about it.” He replies. “And you’re right, Eden is volatile. She’s always been volatile for as long as I’ve known her, even when she was wide eyed and naive. By the time we formed ‘The Syndicate’ with Alan and Killian, she was starting to grow into the destructive cult leader that she’s become.”
The designer casts a quick fearful glance around the room before he looks back at Zane, who rolls his eyes.
“She’s not here.” He replies.”She’s probably in New York with her minions.”
The man noticeably exhales in relief and looks back at Zane.
“She terrifies me.” He says. “And so does Gabriel.”
He’s on his way down.
Zane shrugs.
“That’s what they want.” He replies. “You can’t give in to it.”
The man shudders again and looks back at the screen. He examines the image and then looks back up at Zane.
“I can do what you want.” He says. “But I’d rather that Eden and her friends not know that I did it. I don’t want to be on their hit list if it pisses them off.”
Zane nods.
“Sure.” He says. “I’ll put in a good word with Donovan for you and I’ll remember this when I claim my World Championship again.”
I hear him just above.
“Thank you.” the man replies with a smile. “I would have never expected that from you. It actually feels good to be wrong.”
Zane smiles in return and pats him on the shoulder.
“I have a lot to atone for.” He replies. “And I’m glad I can do some of that here.”
The designer smiles.
“Thanks.” he says. “Good luck against Eden.”
Zane nods his head and replies with an sanguine smile.
“For once it feels good to seem like the underdog.”
The man pulls the memory stick from the computer and hands it to Zane, who slips it into his pocket. He nods at the designer and then turns and walks back towards the office of the Director of Creative Pain.
When pushing comes to shove.
At least I won’t be alone.
Wednesday Morning
Yonkers, NY
Cafe 28
“Lamentations of a War Machine”
Zane sits with a coffee in his right hand as he waits for his guests to arrive. He blows across the opening of the mug to cool it, momentarily dissipating the steam that wafts up from the black liquid. He looks out of the window and out over the ice blanketed Hudson River. The southern New York skies are blanketed with white clouds and appear to threaten snow. This doesn’t seem to bother Zane, who looks incredibly relaxed, almost serene, considering what awaits him in a few days.
He’s dressed for the weather, as a blue peacoat is draped over the back of his chair and he’s adorned in a white short sleeved white “Pain and Paradox” t-shirt and jeans. He smiles as he watches a Coast Guard icebreaker slowly claw its way northward towards his hometown of Poughkeepsie and he looks down toward the road and to the end of the street to the Metro North station, where NYC bound train sits on the platform and waits as the passengers do the normal loading and unloading ritual.
He looks up as two reflections appear in the window and a smile grows on his face. He turns and looks towards the door to see Colin and Spyder walking towards him. Colin is smiling, while Spyder is his usual implacable self. The two men walk up and extend their hands. Zane and Colin shake hands and hug, while Zane and Spyder just shake hands. Zane disengages his hand from Spyder’s monstrous paw and gestures towards the two empty seats at the table. He waits for his teachers to sit and then returns to his chair.
“It’s great to see you both.” He says with a smile. “Even if I just saw you on Monday.”
He looks at Colin when he says it and Colin smiles in return. A microscopic smile pulls at the corner of Spyder’s mouth, although anyone who doesn’t know him like Zane does would completely miss it. A pretty dark haired waitress walks over and smiles at the three men. Zane gestures to his teachers and she looks at them.
“Good morning, gentlemen.” She says. “What can I get for you?”
“Black coffee, please.” Colin says with a smile.
She smiles and scribbles his order down, then looks at Spyder and noticeably pales. He nods his head at her.
“English breakfast tea, please.” He says in his deep and quiet voice. “And a glass of ice water.”
She scribbles his order down and nods at all three of them.
“Are you gentlemen ready to order, or would you like a few minutes?”
Colin looks from the stoic Spyder to her and smiles.
“We’d like a few minutes to look at the menu, please.” Colin says.
“Ok.” She replies with a nod. “I’ll be back with your drinks shortly.”
“Thank you, miss.” Colin replies with a smile.
She flashes a quick smile at Colin, another nervous look at Spyder and then turns and walks towards the kitchen. Colin watches her go and then turns to Zane.
“I notice that Eden didn’t say anything about the appearance of my alter ego last week.” He says. “And by the way, I would have appreciated being told that you were going to do that.”
Zane grins and shrugs, then takes a drink from his coffee.
“Sorry about that, Colin.” He replies. “But I needed your body language and behavior to be as normal as possible so that she’d believe it was you.”
Colin nods.
“And she wouldn’t respond to it because she wouldn’t want you to know that it hit a nerve.” he says.
“Right.” Zane nods. “We both know that Eden always has to look like she’s in control and when ‘you’ came out, that facade dropped for just long enough to reveal the insecure and vulnerable girl underneath the cold, calculating and merciless ‘Ice Queen’ she shows everyone.”
Colin nods his head.
“Be careful with that mental dichotomy.” Colin advises. “While it’s an accurate assessment of her, we both know that she’ll go to any length to protect .the image that she’s taken such great pains to craft and protect.”
Zane nods.
“I know.” he replies, and pauses as the waitress brings the drinks. She places them down and pulls her order pad.
“Are you gentlemen ready to order?” She asks.
Zane waves a dismissive hand.
“This’ll do for me for now.” He says.
Colin looks at her and smiles.
“Two eggs, scrambled with hash browns and a side of wheat toast.” he says.
She smiles and writes his order down.
“And you, sir?” She asks as she looks at Spyder.
“A corn muffin and five eggs, fried.” He says as he hands her the menu.
She blinks at his mentioning of “five eggs” but writes it down and then turns and walks from the table. Zane looks at Spyder with a raised eyebrow.
“Only five?” He asks.
Spyder shrugs.
“I’m not that hungry.” He replies tonelessly.
Zane chuckles at his teacher’s response.
“Right.” he says as he turns back to Colin.
“I understand what the risks are with Eden.” He continues. “It seems that no matter what happens in our lives, that we can’t get away from each other. At one point I thought that we could be the most untouchable allies in this company.”
“And now?” Colin asks.
“Now she’s plainly stated that she wants to end me.” He says with a shrug. “That leaves one option going forward.”
Colin Shakes his head.
“Yes.” He replies. “She’s sort of made your decision for you.”
Zane’s eyes narrow and he shakes his head.
“No.” he replies. “I made that decision. I don’t just want want to get the World Championship back. I need to get it back. If that means that I have to go through Eden to get it, that’s exactly what I’ll do.”
He pauses and takes a drink from his coffee before he looks back at his mentors.
“She and her new devotees can talk whatever trash about me that they want to and we all know that they have and will.” He says with a shrug. “At this point it doesn’t matter anymore. I wasted too much time chasing the respect and acceptance of people who don’t understand the meaning of the word. They used my self-doubt and self-loathing as a cudgel to me with. I can’t hold the strategy against them. I allowed it to work when I shouldn’t have. That’s my fault.”
Zane nods and smiles while Spyder keep his inscrutable gaze locked on his former student. The three sit in silence for a few seconds before Spyder is the first to speak.
“You’ve grown and changed for the better in the last year.” he says. “I’m proud of you. I get the feeling, however, that this quest for the World Championship is just a part of the overall equation with you.”
Zane nods his head in agreement.
“Yes.” He replies.
Spyder gestures to him.
“Continue.” He says.
Zane takes another sip from his coffee and looks out the window.
“I spent years chasing power and glory as their own ends.” he says without looking towards them. “In that time I stepped on and over everyone I felt that I had to in order to get where I was obsessed with being. I did a lot of harm without a thought to the consequences for others…”
“And...” Spyder says.
“And I never considered the consequences for myself.” He says.
He turns and looks at his teachers and both can see that the look in his eyes is different from the one that he normally has. There’s genuine remorse behind them. The three sit in silence for a few seconds before Colin breaks the silence.
“What changed?” He asks.
Zane inhales and lets out a slow exhale that sounds slightly like a sigh.
“It slowly dawned on me that all I was doing was lashing out at people because of how insecure I felt about myself.” He explains. “And in all honesty, Larry had a lot to do with it.”
“How so?” Colin asks.
Zane looks at him as if he’s positive that his mentor knows the answer and is asking less for his own edification than he is to hear Zane actually hear himself say the words out loud.
“At first I saw Larry as an annoyance and an inconvenience.” He explains. “I couldn’t see the wisdom of John’s decision in assigning the goofy kid to be my assistant when I was injured. It was strange. Larry’s physical weakness mirrored my internal weakness but ironically enough, internally Larry is one of the strongest people that I’ve ever met.”
“How’s that?” Spyder asks with a slightly raised eyebrow.
Zane looks out the window and smiles as a slow snowfall starts to come down. He stares out of it in silence for a few moments before he turns and looks at his teachers.
“It’s simple.” he explains. “Because the simple fact is that no matter what happens to Larry. No matter what indignities and embarrassments are visited upon him, Larry never changes. He wants so much to see people be happy that he doesn’t care when they hurt him, because he figures that they’re just showing everyone outside how sad they are inside. He’s told me that if doing what they do to him helps make them even a little bit better as a person than he’s all for it.”
Zane takes a long and slow breath.
“I can’t help but respect that.” He says. “The more time that I spent with him and the more I watched that unevolved thug Grevane push him around without drawing a complaint or any thought of retribution from Larry, the more I began to appreciate and then eventually respect and like the kd. Sure, he’s a bit of a doofus. But he’s one of the best people I’ve ever met and that counts for a lot to me.”
Colin and Spyder look at each other and smile.
“He finally gets it.” Spyder says to Colin.
“Yes.” Colin replies. “He’s finally figured out what others never learn.”
The two men look at him and Colin speaks.
“We’re proud of you, Zane.” he explains. “You finally figured out what it means to have a friend. To have someone who you’d literally do anything for and you’ve finally figured out what that does for you as a person. Eden hasn’t figured that out yet.”
Zane raises an eyebrow.
“You don’t even think she feels that way about Jet?” He asks.
Colin shakes his head.
“No.” he replies. “She thinks she does. This cane scar that she left me on my neck is a daily reminder that Eden will try to destroy anyone, no matter how much she claims to care about them. All they have to do is seriously fail once at being who she needs and wants for them to be.”
Zane raises an inquisitive eyebrow.
“But you admitted that what you did to her with the ‘Cemetary Man’ idea was a terrible mistake.”
Colin shakes his head in agreement.
“Yes.” he replies with remorse in his voice. “It was wrong and I shouldn’t have done it that way I deserved most of what she did to me for that.”
“Except for that.” Spyder says, his voice unforgiving. “Regardless of how she felt, trying to kill you as she did was going too far.”
Colin shrugs.
“Maybe.” He says sadly. “Or maybe it was just what I deserved for it.”
Zane shakes his head.
“No.” He replies flatly. “You didn’t. You made a mistake. Good people make mistakes. They don’t deserve to be killed or crippled for them.”
“Regardless,” Colin continues. “That’s the path that Eden is on. She’ll eventually see Baal and Jet do something that she can’t ‘forgive’ and she’ll focus all of her destructive fury on them. They’ll be the focus of her wrath.”
Zane laughs contemptuously.
“Baal has already felt that fury.” He states. “The fact that he considers her to be such a close ‘friend’ after everything she did to try and ruin just shows you the foundation that their relationship is built on. That foundation is rotten.”
He looks down a bit.
.
“A part of me feels a little bad for Baal.” He says.
“How so?” Colin asks.
Zane sighs slightly.
“Baal is so obsessed with being seen as the man who has everything under control that he’s blind to the weaknesses that he’s left for himself. One of those weaknesses is his dismissal of Lucy Wylde. The other glaring one is his misplaced trust in Eden. Those are both going to come back around on him in time.”
Colin smiles.
“And it doesn’t hurt that you’d absolutely love to ruin his day by winning the World Championship bak.” He says.
“There is that.” Zane says with a smirk.
A slow grin forms on the right corner of Colin’s mouth, but it’s Spyder who speaks.
“Fallen in love with the idea of holding every championship, have you?” He asks. “I think that Mr. Wallace might have something to say about that, seeing as he’s the current Cross-Hemisphere Champion and also someone you may have to face in this tournament.”
Zane nods.
“To answer your first question, yes.” He says with a smile. “The thought of winning and holding three championships, especially with the World Championship included, is honestly a challenge that I can’t help but be excited by. It’s never been done in the history of the company and I’d love to be the first and so far only person to ever do it.”
Colin raises a curious eyebrow.
“And you don’t think that sounds arrogant?”
Zane shrugs and smiles.
“It might.” He replies. “I don’t mean it that way. I’m honestly excited by the challenge that would come with that victory and I’d love the challenge of having the chance to represent the company that way. It would be the thrill of my career.”
Colin and Spyder both nod.
“What of Wallace?” Colin asks.
Zane exhales slowly and nods.
“Given the competitor that Alan is, I guarantee you that he’d understand.” He replies. “He wants to be known as the ‘Greatest of All Time” and he’s made a great case for it being so. I want to be spoken of in the same breath that he is. That means that I have to beat him. It’s not personal. It just has to be that way.”
“What of Lucy?” Spyder asks.
Zane shrugs.
“She’s in the way.” he replies. “It isn’t personal with her anymore. I get her better than I did and I respect her. That doesn’t change the fact that she’s in my way and I need to get her out of it.”
Zane pauses for a moment.
“In the end, this isn’t a conflict against Alan or Baal or Lucy or even Eden.” He explains. “It’s a conflict against myself that I can’t afford to lose. Getting my World Championship back isn’t all there is, but it is an enormous part of it.”
Would you believe this isn’t me.
That what you get isn’t what you see.
Colin nods in understanding.
“I know.” He replies. “I was you once. I understand what the drive for greatness feels like.”
Zane looks down into his coffee.
“It’s more than that, Colin.” He says. “It’s more than just that simple, yet complicated desire. I have to reckon with more than the fact that I lost the World Championship and failed to get it back. I have to reconcile with who I was and what I’ve done. Many, if not most, see this alliance...this burgeoning friendship with Donovan as if it’s some kind of bad joke.”
Colin raises a calming hand.
“It’s not a joke to you.”
“No.” Zane replies. “It’s not a joke at all.”
Colin shakes his head in agreement.
“Friendship never is.” He answers.
“Someone tell Eden that.” Zane replies blandly.
Deep underground, ten miles down
A man stands below the city he will destroy...[/b][/font]
Wednesday Afternoon
Chicago, Il[/i]
UGWC Arena
Zane walks through the backstage area on his way back to the Office of the Lord of Creative Pain. He pauses as his phone begins to ring in his pocket and reaches into it. He retrieves the phone and looks at the name on the screen. Seeing who it is, he smiles, presses “answer” and holds it up to his ear.
“This is Zane.” he says.
He listens as the person on the other end speaks and a smile spreads across his face.
“Excellent.” he says. “Send it to Donovan’s office.”
He pauses as the person on the other end says something else. He shakes his head.
“Yes.” He replies. “That’s perfect. Thank you.”
He disconnects the call and places his phone back into his pocket. He continues walking and eventually he comes to the costume designer that he’d previously spoken to. The man stands up and offers his hand, which Zane takes. The two men shake hands and then the man sits back down.
“I think that you’ll love what I did with the changes you asked for.” He says.
He sits down and and his fingers dance across the keyboard. A few seconds later a set of images come up on the monitor. The designer looks at it, beaming with pride and then turns it towards Zane. Zane looks at it for a few moments and smiles.
“It’s perfect.” He says. “Thank you.”
The two men are interrupted as a man walks by with a donkey tow. The man looks up at Zane and notices a smile on his face.
“A donkey?” He asks.
“You’ll see.” Zane replies as he rubs his hands together gleefully.
Later.
The Office of the Lord of Creative Pain
How can I retract these claws?
Those are your hands.
Zane stands in Donovan’s office and looks thorough a folder of papers. He moves quickly from one page to another, turning each page with the tip of his right pointer finger. Donovan sits at his desk and appears to be reviewing something as both Owen and Larry clean up around the office.
All appears to be going well until Larry gets to the “Cardboard Lord” and accidentally knocks it over with a loud “thud”. Both Zane and Donovan look up and Donovan’s eyes go wide. He springs from his desk and where his cardboard facsimile lays on the floor. He picks himself up from off of the floor and pales when his head slowly lolls to the left and nearly falls off.
“No!” He states disconsolately. “I’m injured!”
He looks up at Larry with fury in his eyes.
“You injured me you little twerp!” He bellows. “I may never help Zane defend our Co-Operative Championships again because of you! The greatest partnership in the history of wrestling...or at least the second greatest partnership after Travis and I, may forever be ruined because you’re an uncoordinated and maleficent klutz!”
He looks up and over at Zane.
“No offense.” he says.
“None taken.” Zane replies with a shrug.
“Thank you.” He replies. “You are a gentleman and a scholar.”
Zane declines his head as Donovan does the same. They both look up at the same time and Donovan returns his aggrieved glare to Larry.
“How dare you try to assassinate the Cardboard Lord, one-half of the UGWC Co-Operative Championships! Do you wish to leave your master partnerless? Is this a conspiracy to overthrow my regime and steal the Co-Operative Championships from our golden clutches?”
Larry blinks at Donovan, clearly dumbfounded.
“It’s a cardboard cutout, Mr. Donovan.” he replies. “I’m sorry that I broke it, but you can easily get another one by going to the merchandise stand or to ‘UGWCshop.com’.”
Zane looks up at him with a crooked grin.
“Nice cheap plug.” He says.
“Thank you.” Larry replies with a smile.
Donovan looks up at Zane as if he’s genuinely wounded by Zane’s response.
“How can you stand there and make jokes at a time like this?” He bellows melodramatically. “Your partner may never wrestle again!”
Zane barely stifles a smile and a chuckle before he manages to force a serious look onto his face.
“I’m sure he didn’t intend to do that, Donovan.” He replies.
Donovan holds himself up and cradles his head gently, taking extra care not to hit himself with the brick thats affixed to the back of his head. (Are you confused yet?). He looks furiously at Larry.
“You can’t take back the damage you cause!” He continues. “What would you go if we’d decided to take a golden shower together after our victory?!!”
“Ewww.” Larry replies as he face screws up in disgust as Zane audibly chokes on something.
“Um, Donovan...” He says. “Wording.”
Donovan pauses and appears to consider what he’d just said. Upon realizing that his phrasing wasn’t the finest execution of dramatic wordsmithing of his career, he holds up an apologetic hand.
“My apologies.” he replies. “I got caught up in the moment.”
“Yeah.” Zane answers with a bit of extra emphasis. “Please don’t do that again.”
Donovan shakes his head apologetically.
“Be that as it may, what if you’ve forever destroyed the team of ‘Pain and Paradox’?” he asks.
“And you did so merely because you, young Lawrence, are too much of a walking human disaster to keep from being an inadvertent harbinger of chaos?”
Larry blinks at the barrage of words that have just been shot at him and then looks at Zane, who just shrugs.
“Don’t look at me.” He replies with a smirk. “You got yourself into this mess.”
Larry looks from Zane back to Donovan.
“I’m sorry, Mr. Donovan.” He stammers. “I didn’t meant to hurt...uh...you.”
“You should be sorry!” Donovan replies.”What would we do if it turns out that you have indeed ended my career in such a careless way? I may have to find Zane a new partner!”
“That would indeed be tragic.” Zane says as he takes a drink from his bottled water.
Donovan turns and looks at him.
“Don’t be so flippant.” he answers. “What if I’d had to substitute myself with someone far more inferior, some minor peasant who doesn’t deserve to stand at Zane’s side?!”
“You’d strap a brick to the back of his head, too?” Larry asks.
Donovan pauses as if he’s considering the merits of Larry’s suggestion, but quickly recovers and continues along his rant.
“What if I’d been forced somehow to pair our dear friend Zane with the worst and most boring wrestler you can think of?”
“Dave Rydell?” Zane blurts out.
“I was thinking Travis Pierce.” Donovan admits. “But now that I think about it, there isn’t much difference.”
Zane grins.
“I’m already accused of being boring.” He says with a sly grin. “Just imagine the ratings you could pull in if you put together ‘The World’s Blandest Tag Team’.”
Donovan rubs his chin thoughtfully. Zane takes another drink from his water before he caps the bottle and puts it down on the bar.
“Before you take that less than serious suggestion to its least logical conclusion, why don’t I introduce something else to your head.”
Donovan arches a curious eyebrow.
“It’s not a steel chair, is it?” Donovan asks. “I’d like to think that we’ve moved past that, but maybe you’re having a sudden flashback under the stress of the moment.”
Zane rolls his eyes and walks over to the table on the far side of the room. He picks a flash drive up from off of it and walks over to Donovan. Donovan momentarily shies away before he leans forward and flashes a very Donovan-ish grin at Zane, who chuckles in return.
“Smart ass.” He replies as he hands the drive to Donovan.
“The Lord Director could not pass up such an opportunity at mirth.” He answers, his smile firmly in place. “What is this?”
Zane smiles.
“Put it in the drive in your laptop and turn the TV on.” Zane answers before he walks over to the smaller throne that sits to the right hand of Donovan and sits down.
Donovan inserts the memory stick into his computer and waits as the TV glows to life. A few moments later music begins to play out of it and Donovan’s face lights up.
The song has been rewritten to be heavier than the original and the lyrics have been altered so that every time “Megaman” is said it says “Mega Zane” instead. Donovan watches it and is so enraptured by it that he doesn’t notice Zane leave the room. He also fails to notice two delivery men bring in a grand piano and set it up in the open corner of the office and walk out without saying a word. Oddly, Owen says nothing about it. A few moments later a man walks in with a donkey in tow and leads it up to the piano. He moves the bench back and waits as the donkey steps up over the back of it, steps down and then steps up with its back legs before it sits down.
Donovan fails to notice as Larry walks into the room and comes to stand next to the piano. The donkey looks at him but stays in place. It’s a truly preposterous scene.
The Megaman theme ends and Donovan looks up. He noticed the donkey and the piano that have “suddenly” appeared in front of him. His face lights up in a gigantic smile and he stands up from his desk and takes a couple of steps from his desk when Larry nods at the man next to the piano. The man walks up and pats the donkey on the shoulder and it begins to play a piano rendition of the Megaman theme.
Donovan turns as Zane suddenly reenters the room. He’s adorned in a light blue costume. Larry looks at him and stands up to his full height.
“Mr. Donovan.” He bellows in a voice that’s surprisingly forceful. “I present you with...”
He pauses.
“MegaZane!”
Donovan turns and looks at Zane and his smile widens.
“That’s amazing!” Donovan exclaims.
Zane bows his head.
“Thank you.” He replies with a smile. “I figured that with the momentus nature of this event and what it could mean for me and for ‘Pain and Paradox’, that I should bust and old friend out of storage and give him an upgrade. With that in mind, I had my old friend the ‘Zane Nine-Thousand’ redesigned by the costume department.”
Donovan walks around his desk and up to Zane. He looks over the costume and notices the six notches. Two are at either side of his waist and four on his shoulders. Donovan looks at them and then to Zane.
“What are these for?” He saks.
Zane grins.
“Those are for attaching championship belts to.” He explains. “The ones on the outside of my shoulders rotate so that the championship belts can hang down over the outsides of my arms.”
Donovan nods his head in approval.
“That’s clever.”
“Thank you.” Zane replies.
Donovan looks at it and at Zane’s right hand.
“Does the gun retract?” He asks.
How can I retract these claws.
Zane smiles and the cannon extends and then retracts. Donovan smiles and takes a step back to look at it. He nods approvingly.
Those are your hands.
You can’t take back the damage you cause.
“I never thought I’d see this side of you.” He says. “I’m happy that you’ve embraced this.”
How can I take off this mask.
That is your face.
“There’s no better way to answer mockery than with mockery.” He says with a shrug. “Besides, I’m really pleased with how this came out.”
You can’t remove the fear you cast.
Donovan smiles and pats Zane on the shoulder.
“I’m happy that I’ve been here to be a part of it.” He replies.
How can I turn off this hatred that fills my eyes.
“I’ve been told repeatedly that I can’t change my path” he says. “I asked myself when I can stop being bad.”
Donovan raises an eyebrow.
“And?” He asks. “What do you say to those who say that that’s how you are?”
Zane’s jaw sets and his eyes take on a look of determination.
“If that’s really who I am, then I’ll fight who I am.” He answers resolutely. “No one controls me but me.”
“Huzzah!” Donovan proclaims. “Let’s celebrate your impending success!”
I’m not a bad guy.
I’m just designed that way.
No matter what I try
I can’t help but hurt those close to me.
Zane and Donovan walks to their respective thrones and sit down. Owen walks to the bar and pours two drinks. He brings them over and places on in front of Donovan before handing the other to Zane. The two men raise their glasses.
“A toast to your future success!” Donovan declares.
Zane raises his glass and the two men clink them together and then drink. They lower them and Zane looks at Donovan.
“I always felt trapped by who I was before.” He says. “I see a way out this time and I’m going to seize it.”
Donovan raises his glass.
“The Creative Lord approves.” He says and then a curious look comes across his face as someone knocks on the door.
Owen gets up and walks over. He opens it and then turns and looks at Donovan.
“It’s Rydell.” he says.
Donovan rolls his eyes and looks at Zane.
“Is the trap door working yet?”
Zane nods.
“Sadly, no.” He replies.
Donovan shotguns the rest of his drink.
“Fine.” He says with a sigh. “Show him in.”
And now I see a way out this time.
2013, '18, '23 
2013 
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