Nobody (A Storm [Showcase/GXW] RP)

[ForeverKuroi]

Fade in. Well... you can't really fade in. If you fade from black and it's so dark, it's not really fading in. There's a rumble in the background. A lot of anger. A lot of urgency. It's hard to describe it, but you can tell there's fear or anger, and it's building. Like a shaken up can of soda, the pressure is building.

Click.

The camera appears to be viewing a bedroom. The nightstand lamp just illuminated the room. We appear to be in Michael Storm's room. Storm is covered from the waist down, but is shirtless. His bed-sheets appear to be an onyx black. The lamp post appears to be luxurious and made of the finest silver from the north of Spain. The noise is getting louder and Storm is forcing his eyes to blink him awake.

: "What the fuck is going on?"

Storm reaches underneath his bed and pulls out his safe. He quickly enters the combination and pulls out a .45 Smith & Wesson 1911 - silver in color. He points it at the door, ready to strike. He expects the offender to try to jiggle the handle or knock on the door. But NO - the door was just BROKEN OPEN, just as if the Kool Aid Man himself was prepping himself for his commercials.

BANG!

Storm fires his gun! It missed and hit the wall. Not more than an inch from the bullet hole to the left is Michael Clarke Duncan, dressed in a red t-shirt and blue jeans.

: "Storm! You won't believe what's going on?!"

A wrinkle forms underneath Storm's brow. He's gritting his teeth together.

: "Is it death!? Did someone just die? Because If you didn't notice just now, that someone was almost you! You've got to fucking think sometimes, Duncan!"

Michael Clarke Duncan looks at Storm, offended. Offended like someone insulted his mother or ran over his puppy. Duncan covered his heart.

: "Why would you try to shoot me, Storm? You keep talking about how you're above that whole black stereotype. You don't rap no more. You don't wear those raggedy jeans no more. You can't do all that then try to perpetuate all of that black on black violence! We're better than that! We be black men. We stay together. We've been through the thick and thin. The rough times and bad. The-"

: "For fuck's sakes, Duncan. I didn't try to shoot you. I didn't know that was you rushing into the house. And for fuck's sakes, you couldn't have just called me?"

: "It was important. I had to talk to you right away."

Storm reaches on top of his night stand and pulls out something hand-held.

: "You fool! Have you heard of a cell phone? What makes you think you can out-run a cell phone?"

MCD thinks about it for a second. He opens his mouth and speaks quite unassuredly.

: "Well, I mean... You saw how fast I was running."

: "Faster than a cell phone, huh? Think about it from my perspective. I hear fucking Jumanji outside of the room. I didn't hear anyone calling my name. No worries or clues that the someone acting like a rampaging elephant could be you. And hell, man. You broke my door! I don't keep my door locked. You should have knocked, rang the doorbell, SOMETHING. And instead, you do this shit. So, what the hell is so important?"

Michael Clarke Duncan jumps on the bed next to Storm. Storm's eyes bulge open and he forcefully pushes MCD off.

: "Do you mind? First off, I'm fucking naked underneath this blanket. How about this - wait downstairs. I'll find you.

---

Two minutes later.

---

Storm walks downstairs. This time, he's dressed in a yellow t-shirt and black sweat pants. He finds Michael Clarke Duncan, nearly hopping in the air.

: "What took you so long, Storm? I waited like forty-five minutes!"

: "No you haven't. Keep in mind I'm doing you a favor, being up at some ungodly hour to entertain your foolish notices. What's so damn important?"

: "Spike Kane filmed a promo!"

Storm stares at Duncan for a moment, unimpressed. Storm exhaled an exasperated sigh.

: "Okay, Duncan. Do you think he just did it right now? When was this promo released?"

: "Like six hours ago."

Storm takes a moment to think of some reason he could be misunderstanding the situation and instead, not thinking his best friend is a complete moron.

: "O...kay... And is there some reason you couldn't have shown this to me six hours ago? You know, during the day light? During the times that people are awake, about and doing their thing? You could have shown it to be then, and not during the ONLY eight hours of the day when I'm sleeping and would prefer to be left alone?!"

Duncan smiles. He raises his hands in a defensive manner and takes a step back.

: "Storm, buddy! You're missing the entire picture! Hey, I'll explain it to you! So Spike comes from a place called Eeeenglaaaand.'" (He said that really slow, as if Storm was stupid.) "And you're from 'Ammmeeeericcaaaa'. And there's something called 'Tiiiiiimmmeeee Zooooooonneees.'"

: "Okay, Mike. If you can stop talking to me like I'm an idiot, I'd really appreciate that. I know where I live, I know where Spike lives and I know what time zones are. What's your point?"

: "Well obviously you don't. Because if you did, you'd know that England is behind Eastern Time in America by six hours. And that means if someone from England films something, you can't play it for six hours! If you do, bad things could happen. Like altering the space-time continuum. Have you seen Back to the Future? DO YOU WANT TO MAKE OUT WITH YOUR MOTHER?"

Storm shakes his head. he nearly had an anyeurism out of the stupidity.

: "I can barely comprehend how little sense you've been able to make in a single breath. First off, England isn't behind America by six hours; that's the other way around. Secondly, I'm pretty sure Spike Kane might be in America right now. We have a match coming up and so he isn't going to fly into America the day of. Do you really think he's going to fight this match jet lagged? Even if not, the difference in time zones would have meant nothing to when we watch it. If Spike Kane is in England right now and he uploads a video of his promo right now, that means he did it... right now. It means we can watch it... right now. England is six hours ahead of Eastern Time, that's right. But England is ALWAYS six hours ahead of America. So if you found out about this video six hours, that means you should have told me... six hours ago."

You know that loading pinwheel icon when a page is loading? We can almost see that on Michael Clarke Duncan's face. Drool is nearly dripping from his face as he's attempting to allow all this information to sink in.

: "So if Spike Kane travels to America, he's going six hours... in the past?"

: "Kind of, yeah."

: "But you can't go back in time like that! The time circuits! The plutonium! The 1.21 gigawatts!"

: "Holy shit. I don't know how you have such a flawed understanding of how time zones work. How do you not know this? We've traveled when we were in the XHF together! We've traveled to Europe, Asia, Australia! I'm completely astounded to how devoid of the logic normal people have. Which brings to mind, if you know this promo came out six hours ago, why didn't you just call me and say, 'Hey Storm, I want to show you Spike's promo which just came out. I'll show it to you in six hours!' At least that way I could explain it to you instead of going on some sort of remedial class issue at some hour which is too early for even the roosters to crow!"

: "You sound stressed, Storm."

: "I AM STRES-"

Michael Storm begins to realize just how stressed he is. He takes a deep breath and allows himself a moment to recollect.

: "You're right. Look, I don't mean to come off like this. I'm just getting back to all the bad shit the XHF used to have for us. I'm getting name-dropped by people I've never even wrestled with. People I don't have any beef with, or at least, people I didn't think I had beef with. I'm being talked about, saying I'm having sex with women I don't even know in order to insult some girl I've barely met before."

: "Oh shit. Who is she?"

: "Carli. MGK's old girlfriend. I think I've met her like once or twice from when we were in Darkside. I don't know her too well so I shouldn't really say anything, but she seemed pretty nice. She definitely didn't deserve what happened to her or this back-talk she's getting."

: "Come on, Storm. Are you really getting annoyed for people saying you slept with some hoe you barely know?"

Michael Clark Duncan laughs.

: "Hah! Hey Mike, I didded a rhyme!"

: "...You mean to say, you rhymed? Congratulations. But yes, I'm pissed. I don't care about the accusation. I care about WHY it had to be me. I don't think Doc wanted to use me as an example because of my history in the hardcore division or because of my previous affiliations with MGK. It's because I'm black. A black man becomes known to the wrestling world and automatically I have to be fucking some white girl in order to insult her romantic attachments. It's disgusting."

: "Don't mind me so much. I don't mind people thinking I got a big cock. 'Cuz I do."

: "..."

: "And me being good at basketball. They can think that too. But if they talk about me being some sort of monkey, that's crossing a line."

: "I think all of it is crossing a line. For me, don't tell me who I am until you fucking get a chance to know me. And believe me, it doesn't take a long time in order to get to know a little bit about who I am. But that's besides the point."

: "Well it seems like a good thing that you're on good terms again with MGK."

: "Woah. I never said that, Mike. MGK and I aren't on good terms. At least, I'm not on good terms with him. I don't know how he sees me. Not quite sure I care. He's turned me into something I'm not. He turned me into a monster. The only credit I can give him is that at least he knows it. At least he knows that he's fucked in the head. He's accepted it, and I at least think he hates himself for that, that he feels a little bit of remorse for the things that he's done.

: "And Spike?"

: "What about him?"

With a smile, Michael Clarke Duncan produces a DVD disc and inserts it into Storm's DVD player. He grabs the remote and plays it.

---

However Long The RP Is In Minutes Later

---

Storm leans back and thinks. He's absorbing the message that he's received, unsure of how to respond to it. After a moment or so, he leans back forward. Duncan's face is nearly in his face, giddy with excitement.

: "So!? Thoughts?"

: "It's the same damn thing all over again."

: "What do you mean? I think this is the first time you're going to wrestle Spike."

: "It's not just Spike. This kind of promo reminds me exactly of what I've been dealing with in the XHF. It reminds me of why I hated the XHF toward the end, why I wanted to turn to something else."

: "You hated the XHF?"

: "Parts of it. Specifically, these parts. People were acting like children. It was the same old, 'Look at me. I'm better than you. You're not even qualified to lace my boots!' kind of bullshit. I've gone so far without having to see this stuff again. I mean, a lot of us have grown and matured. A lot of us became smarter, wiser. In fact, I'm probably not far from getting a silver hair or two to prove it! But this... I can't respond to something like this."

: "But Storm, you gots to!"

: "No I don't. I get paid to wrestle, not trash talk. I'm well aware of the nature of the business and how this sport involves entertaining. And I can do that. I can go to the ring and on the way, I can high five. I can kiss babies and sign autographs. But I'm not going to be a monster, not like this Spike Kane guy is goading me to be."

: "But he called you a nobody!"

: "...And? Should I be scared? Should I be offended? Do I hold him in such a high regard where his lack of reverence for me should bother me in the slightest? I'm a nobody, sure. In what way? Is it because I've never been the XHF Champion before? Or the X*Crown Champion? Did he think I have the same dreams that every other person in the locker room had? Where it was my number one dream? It's a fair assumption to make, but an assumption no less. I've stayed in the Hardcore realm. I've been a multi-time champion in the Hardcore division. Spike should care about that, right? Surely he cares about respecting the sanctity of the Hardcore mindset. The one issue is that this guy appears that he cares about what hardcore is. Why else would he have dressed the way he does and call himself 'The Spiked One' throughout his entire XHF career? He calls himself The Blood God, and The God of Xtreme."

: "And he calls himself a mother fucking 'Living Legend.' This guy ain't shit!"

: "Let's not stoop to his level, Mike. We're not here to fling shit."

: "But he said that you're the one fighting above his height."

: "And you know what? He can think that. In America, we can think what we want. We can say what we want, but we have a responsibility to ourselves and the words that come on. This guy called me a punk-ass bitch. Worse, he called me nothing. Despite the fact that I've made a name for myself in the World of Hardcore. Despite the fact that I've been able to go against racial adversity and leave the ghetto to turn myself into something. If Spike Kane is a penny, I'm a dollar. But hey, to him - I'm nothing. And do you think I'm worried about that comment? Not a bit. And do you want to know why?"

: "Tell me, Storm!"

: "Because this Sunday, in the Long Beach Convention Center, if I'm able to stand up and stand up to this guy fist for fist, blow-for-blow and end out on top then that means that a two-time XHF Champion lost to... well, a nobody. I'd have to say that would be quite embarrassing, right?"

: "I'd say so."

: "It's another thing I've learned during Darkside, and my teacher? It was life itself. No one wins all the time. We are going to lose at some point. Everybody makes mistakes and every strategy has a weakness. Look at Spike Kane. He likes to brag a lot. He calls himself a Two-Time XHF Heavyweight Champion. Well here's a question you might want to ponder a bit. How did he become a two-time champion? Why wasn't he just a champion once? It's the same reason I was a multi-time Hardcore Champion - it's because someone beat me and took it off of me. I had to win it back, just like Spike has to. Spike doesn't just say, 'I was an XHF Heavyweight Champion' but he accentuates the 'Two-Time' even though he's basically advertising his losses to people."

: "God damn, Storm. You haven't stepped into the ring and you're already killing Spike."

: "Don't be so sure of that, Mike. I'm not going to be cocky. I just said I have to keep open the possibility of losing. Remember, I've only had one match under my belt since I got back into the wrestling world. Spike said he has had owned several wrestling promotions and has been in the game since the end of the XHF. If there's one thing I have to agree with Spike, I do have a tough match ahead of me. There's a good chance I'm going to walk into that ring and lose."

Michael Clarke Duncan looks down at Michael Storm. He cocks his head to the side.

: "So... Why are you smiling?"

: "It's like I already said. If - on the other hand - I win, Spike Kane will have lost to a nobody."

Fade out.