Post by mosler on Apr 24, 2023 11:49:27 GMT -5
(Hospitals.)
(Would you believe that Deathless has spent more time in health care centres than hotels over the last decade? As a result they have become a second home to him. Given how many of his muscles have faded away leaving bone to grind against bone, The Sacrificial Idol is a constant state of pain. A life in which even the slightest of movements can break skin, can leave one perpetually guarded and on edge. For all the anxiety and the agony of the next bump, however, there is one place where he can still feel at ease.)
(Patients groan and wail. Their loved ones raise voices and press underpaid orderlies for preferential treatment. Gurneys slam into doors, because it’s awkward enough for the attendant to drag around without worrying about the niceties of handles. Calls ring through. Ambulances shriek their arrival, cutting through the night. Paramedics bring in new cases. Nurses are constantly shuffling around. Even when ignoring the human factor, machines every manner of electronic noises to reassure all that pulses remain.)
(A symphony of tension for some, but this hellish soundscape is practically a lullaby for Radu Matei.)
(Perhaps it’s that no matter which hospital he goes to, the strangers that make up the staff represent the few people in Matei’s life that don’t delight in his physical abuse? Or that constantly having one foot in the grave, it’s just comforting to be around folks who will know what to do when the other shoe drops.)
(The fact remains that this is the closest thing to a good night’s sleep that The Sacrificial Idol can look forwards to until a member of Dark Nova shatters his hip at Supremacy.)
(Deathless should be sleeping like a baby.)
(So why are tired, bloodshot eyes staring at the ceiling?)
(The water stain on the stone wool-ceiling tile doesn’t seem to be growing.)
(Maybe it's that the usual sounds are being drowned out by the pumping swoosh of countless respirators? Or the frightened look in the staff’s eyes? A sense of suffering and finality, which feels so much larger these days. There is also an added element of danger to even getting better. Or it could be that his wrestling based stunt damage has led to complications, and a lifetime of abuse has resulted in some sobering news.)
(Regardless of the cause, Deathless shuffles in his bed, crushed under the oppressive atmosphere.)
(Tossing and turning.)
(This is getting ridiculous.)
(The weight of the world might be on his eyelids, but sleep will not come.)
(Shifting, Deathless turns to his book on the nightstand. James Gleick’s Time Travel: A History. Just out of reach. A slight roll and stretch might offer the distraction he needs, but it’s not worth risking tearing his dressing. Night staff are taxed enough as it is, without worrying about patching him back up. With a frustrated sigh, Matei turns to his phone.)
(73 new messages.)
(This is to be expected. Fond wishes for a safe surgery, general inquiries into how it went, even concern about touring schedules would show some thought. Instead of positive sentiment, what greets Matei are general grievances, ultimatums, head games and idle gossip.)
(...Nothing surprises Deathless at this point, but its enough inane bullshit that it really makes him question his continued bloodshed.)
(The spirit is wiling but the flesh is weak.)
(More scar tissue than man, the only thing keeping this walking corpse shambling across the squared circle is spirit. Abuse the flesh all you want, but when the spirit takes a hit? It goes a long way.)
(Now as his body reaches its breaking point, with little time left in his career of choice, and more memories than prospects, Radu Matei wonders…)
(…about a life spent.)
Radu Matei: Did you know that XHF inexplicably has more time travellers than it does cyborgs?
(Deathless speaks to the water stain in the ceiling.)
Radu Matei: And Turner isn’t even the most unpleasant of them. Time travellers, that is...
(The codeine might be taking effect, as Matei seems to be cutting a promo in lieu of counting sheep.)
Radu Matei: It has always struck me as odd... that out of all the times and places you could be... if you had the ability to be anywhere, you’d be here. I love wrestling, the XHF, and the fans – but if I had all the time in the world. ...I’d probably spend a little less of it on the road, and more with my family. Or meet a few heroes. ...right a few wrongs. That’s just me though. ...Different strokes for different folks. Failing to win titles is cool too, I guess.
(Normally collected, there is a deep frustration in The Sacrificial Idol’s voice.)
Radu Matei: No regrets. That was the promise. A promise kept. So I’ll soldier on – but with what little time is remaining, what do I have left to give?
(His eyes tell everything.)
(The Sacrificial Idol is broken.)
(One sling too many…)
(And with that... he closes his eyes.)
(Darkness.)
Nurse: Mister Matei.
(So close.)
(Blurry eyes open to a woman in white, surrounded by a glowing halo. A nurse is backlit by the ceiling lights.)
Nurse: Mister Matei, it’s time.
Radu Matei: I... what?
Nurse: Aliens have infiltrated the Earth from a planet located fifty thousand years in the future...
Radu Matei: I had a feeling they might...
Nurse: Gladiators functioning as mercenaries and backed by their mates...
Radu Matei: So a whole nest of ultraviolent, time hopping hopheads.
Nurse: Remember when the Cosmo Kid planted an explosive device in Angela DeWitt’s head?
Radu Matei: I was firmly in favour of it, and disappointed when it didn’t go off.
Nurse: Well they found the idea of her head blowing up to be objectionable.
Radu Matei: That confirms that they’re aliens... and my archenemies.
Nurse: We don’t know what horrible plans they have cooked up for the Earth, as their secret missions never last in a federation for long. They seem to want to keep a low profile for their nefarious schemes, and the most logical way to do that is winning titles. At Supremacy they have their sights set on the XHF Global tag titles.
Radu Matei: So you mean...
Nurse: Even if you have nothing left to give, the fans, The XHF, THE PEOPLE OF EARTH – need you and Anthony Caffrey to protect the planet from this army of interstellar, time travelling secret agent, gladiator, mercenaries... and mates.
Radu Matei: How did I know you were going to say that.
(The Sacrificial Idol sits up from his hospital bed, immediately splitting 500 stitches.)
(He fights through the pain.)
(It’s kind of his thing.)
Radu Matei: ...Once more unto the breach...
(The pain is blinding.)
(Nothing to do but no sell it.)
(...And if Radu Matei doesn’t sell pain... why is he selling the fourth dimension?)
(A white flash takes us to the year 1912. Cork Harbour is located on the south coast of Ireland. It is Thursday April 11 at 11:30 in the morning. A large ship is docked to take on passengers, while the captain poses for pictures.)
Captain Edward Smith: It is a favourable wind-
(Charging across the dock is Radu Matei! Before the respectable captain knows what’s hit him, Deathless kicks him in the stomach, then drops him on his fucking head! Without its captain, the ship won’t be able to sail and the crisis shall be averted.)
(The impact of the head drop is so intense that it actually causes an iceberg to break off from a glacier...)
(While the Titanic still sinks, now at least it will be so tragic that a major Hollywood movie will be made about it, causing the baby boom of 1997. Chalk one up for the good guys!)
(A flashing light takes us to an office in 1994, where director James Cameron is looking over some headshots with a casting director.)
James Cameron: Leo had the best audition.
Casting Director: I don’t know, I think Corey Haim is about to make a comeback.
(Running into the room, Radu Matei kicks the casting director in the gut, and drops him on his fucking head. Thanks to Deathless, Leonardo DiCaprio picked up the role that would make him permanently afraid of Icebergs, and committed to concerns about climate change. Saving the planet one actor at a time. Chalk one up for the good guys.)
James Cameron: I really wasn’t going to go with Corey Haim.
(Not appearing in Titanic, Corey Haim was free to make Demolition High AND Demolition University. A commitment to higher learning? Will the positive benefits of Deathless’ time travel know no bounds?)
(A white flash takes us to SWAT’s Haunted House match, just as the roof starts to collapse on Zoran Sainovic! Zoran’s life flashes before his eyes...)
#Huff#
(Only for Radu Matei to push him out of the way!)
Zoran Sainovic: ...Ra…Rad… you saved me.
(A tearful Sainovic puts an appreciative hand on Matei’s shoulder- only for Deathless to kick him in the gut and drop him on his fucking head. The impact causes the house to explode, just like it did before! But whose to say this slight variation didn’t open the door for Zoran get a second chance at life? Reincarnated as a Puerto Rican teenager – with every opportunity to live a better life. Plus Radu got to drop him on his fucking head. Chalk one up to the good guys.)
(A blinding white light takes us to 1988. Gasthaus Wiesinger, Leonding, Upper Austria, Austria-Hungary. On a rival bank, an older gentleman walks up to a young woman.)
Man: Guten Abend Fräulein!
(The young woman smiles up at the man...)
Woman: Es ist mir eine Freude, Sie wiederzusehen, Sir.
(The two draw closer for a romantic moment...)
#HUFF#
#HUFF#
#HUFF#
#HUFF#
#HUFF#
(Heavy breathes draw closer and closer. The couple stop their embrace to look around- just as Radu Matei charges into frame.)
Man: Was scheint das Problem zu sein, mein guter Mann?
(Burying a knee in the older man’s gut, Radu Matei lifts Alois Hitler Sr. up in the air, and drops him on his fucking head!)
(...The impact is so hard that even Alois’ future kids will feel it!)
(This doesn’t stop their romantic coupling, but at the very least Alois and Klara’s child will grow up with serious mental issues as a result of this violent attack. Far from a "charismatic leader" their child’s more likely to be a psychopathic troll universally reviled as one of mankind’s worst monsters. Chalk one up for the good guys.)
(Happy with his work, Deathless continues his journey into the cosmos. At this point you’re not sure if it’s the codeine, delirium, substantial brain damage from a career of rough head blows – but the history does check out.)
(Deathless continues to make the world a better place... even if all roads lead to...)
(Hospitals.)