The Origin of Mantaur (Part 1)
Aug 1, 2023 20:12:43 GMT -5
mosler, Cross Recoba, and 1 more like this
Post by Mongo the Destroyer on Aug 1, 2023 20:12:43 GMT -5
*Room. We’re in a room with some decorative curtains hanging in the background. In the foreground is a simple table holding a television, it’s an old TV with dials on it. Though logic tells you that in the modern age, such a relic is almost certainly a façade, your imagination wants to believe that this old television is authentic. From the right side enters a massive hulk of a man…taur. His hands are in that weird tent shape artists do with his fingers all touching each other and he’s in a suit- which is impressive considering his girth and large headpiece. Mantaur addresses the camera seriously.*
Mantaur: Mantaur, mantaur mantaur, mantaur mantaur mantar.
*He pauses and holds up his hands, then closes one so as to hold up a single finger.*
Mantaur: Man, man-mantaur mantaur mantaur.
*The massive man…taur breathes in deeply and holds a contemplative hand to his headpiece’s mouth.*
Mantaur: Mantaur….mantaur man taur.
*A solemn nod. He holds up a hand and continues seriously.*
Mantaur: Mantaur mantaur, man mantaur.
*With the warning given, Mantaur reaches down and clicks one of the dials on the TV. It lights up with a 1980’s vision of a computer screen typing. As it types the lights go down and we focus on the TV itself, letting it take over our screens.*
*The screen goes blank.*
Neil Armstrong (voiceover): That’s one small step for man…one giant leap for mankind.
*SMASH CUT to Mike Halec performing in a gym-sized wrestling show. The meager fans watch as the massive man tosses his opponent to the outside over the top rope.*
Commentator (off camera): One minute, someone’s cuing my microphone. …Ok, stand by for systems ok, Steve.
Steve? (off camera): What are you talking about, Al? This is a wrestling show.
Al: Just trying to get into the mood of what’s about to happen.
Steve: What’s about to happen?
Al: I believe that WWF legend, Mike Halec is about to take a test flight!
Steve: WHAT!?
*Indeed, the former and future Mantaur starts to very slowly make his way to the turn buckle corner. The sparse fans cheer in anticipation.*
Al: Roger, at 0-0-8 hold it steady (fake mike garbling sounds).
Steve: Am I Roger for this?
Al: No, that’s test pilot ground control talk for “ok.”
Steve: Ahhh, roger that.
*Halec continues the arduous journey for a 400lbs man to climb up a turnbuckle.*
Al: Ok Steve, winds are westerly at 10 knots.
*There appears to be no wind in the gymnasium at this independent show as Mike Halec makes it to the top rope.*
Al: Let’s go Mike, all systems are ok here!
Steve: There’s no way he’s going to do this.
Al: This is CWW 1 at 10 seconds now…
Steve: 10 seconds, roger.
*The crowd counts down with the announcers.*
Crowd: FIVE! FOUR! THREE! TWO! ONE!
*QUICK CUT to a computer looking background as the words “THE SIX THOUSAND DOLLAR MANTAUR” appear on the screen in some ghastly outdated font.*
Al: We have liftoff!
*NOT-AS-QUICK CUT back to the indy show. In slow motion we watch as the massive frame of Mike Halec jumps from the top of the turnbuckle to the outside. The picture freezes as underneath we’re told that this is “Starring MIKE HALEC”.*
Steve: Wait…oh no…
Al: We’ve got a blowout!
*As the footage returns to moving we watch as Mike’s foot gets caught on the turnbuckle as he comes down, he didn’t get enough space in his jump. He starts to rotate in slow motion as the botched jump because increasingly evident. Like an over-played over-slowed Zapruder film we watch as in terribly grainy and slow footage the former WWF star sinks below the camera frame, presumably to a very damaging crash on the floor outside the ring. Explosion sounds play which sort of undercut the seriousness of the moment. Then blackness.*
Steve: SOMEBODY GET AN AMBULANCE!
*ULTRA CUT to a surgical room! The camera takes a bird’s eye view of a surgery obscured by a lighting fixture. A disembodied voice takes over the audio.*
*Cool computer graphics (if you were in the 70’s-80’s anyway) quickly display. We see that whatever this is it’s CLASSIFIED.*
*LED displays show different body parts and bull parts too because why not.*
*More of these different displays continue to show us the rebuilding of Mike Halec, though artistic and computery rather than realistically.*
*We cut to the Mantaur we know and love running on a treadmill. It is too much for him and he falls. Heroic music plays as we cut to Mantaur running towards the camera. Don’t worry; it’ll take him a long time to get there as he’s very slow and big. As the music continues we cut to more shots of Mantaur running- slowly. Then we are once again reminded that this is…*
*And that’s it. The camera quickly zooms us out of the television and back into the room with the curtains and the Mantaur in it. THE Mantaur looks at the TV.*
Mantaur: Mantaur. Maaaaantar?
*He seems genuinely confused as he cocks his large headpiece to the side. There’s a long pause. Finally he holds up his massive hands and waves this off while shaking his headpiece.*
Mantaur: Mantaur. Man-mantar.
*It would appear he doesn’t agree with this interpretation of his origin story. He needs to think a moment. Finally he holds up a finger.*
Mantaur: Mantaur, mantaur man-taur. Mantaur.
*And with that promise for a solution…I think? Have you guys noticed he doesn’t seem to say anything beyond his name? Is that just me? Anyway, with whatever he just said we fade out, hopefully for our myriad of questions to be answered in the future…*
Mantaur: Mantaur, mantaur mantaur, mantaur mantaur mantar.
*He pauses and holds up his hands, then closes one so as to hold up a single finger.*
Mantaur: Man, man-mantaur mantaur mantaur.
*The massive man…taur breathes in deeply and holds a contemplative hand to his headpiece’s mouth.*
Mantaur: Mantaur….mantaur man taur.
*A solemn nod. He holds up a hand and continues seriously.*
Mantaur: Mantaur mantaur, man mantaur.
*With the warning given, Mantaur reaches down and clicks one of the dials on the TV. It lights up with a 1980’s vision of a computer screen typing. As it types the lights go down and we focus on the TV itself, letting it take over our screens.*
MAN’TAUR
“A HUMAN BEING WHOSE ORIGINAL PARTS HAVE HAD TO BE REPLACED TO ONE EXTENT OR
ANOTHER BY MINOTAUR PARTS THAT PERFORM THE SAME FUNCTIONS.”
“A HUMAN BEING WHOSE ORIGINAL PARTS HAVE HAD TO BE REPLACED TO ONE EXTENT OR
ANOTHER BY MINOTAUR PARTS THAT PERFORM THE SAME FUNCTIONS.”
*The screen goes blank.*
Neil Armstrong (voiceover): That’s one small step for man…one giant leap for mankind.
*SMASH CUT to Mike Halec performing in a gym-sized wrestling show. The meager fans watch as the massive man tosses his opponent to the outside over the top rope.*
Commentator (off camera): One minute, someone’s cuing my microphone. …Ok, stand by for systems ok, Steve.
Steve? (off camera): What are you talking about, Al? This is a wrestling show.
Al: Just trying to get into the mood of what’s about to happen.
Steve: What’s about to happen?
Al: I believe that WWF legend, Mike Halec is about to take a test flight!
Steve: WHAT!?
*Indeed, the former and future Mantaur starts to very slowly make his way to the turn buckle corner. The sparse fans cheer in anticipation.*
Al: Roger, at 0-0-8 hold it steady (fake mike garbling sounds).
Steve: Am I Roger for this?
Al: No, that’s test pilot ground control talk for “ok.”
Steve: Ahhh, roger that.
*Halec continues the arduous journey for a 400lbs man to climb up a turnbuckle.*
Al: Ok Steve, winds are westerly at 10 knots.
*There appears to be no wind in the gymnasium at this independent show as Mike Halec makes it to the top rope.*
Al: Let’s go Mike, all systems are ok here!
Steve: There’s no way he’s going to do this.
Al: This is CWW 1 at 10 seconds now…
Steve: 10 seconds, roger.
*The crowd counts down with the announcers.*
Crowd: FIVE! FOUR! THREE! TWO! ONE!
*QUICK CUT to a computer looking background as the words “THE SIX THOUSAND DOLLAR MANTAUR” appear on the screen in some ghastly outdated font.*
Al: We have liftoff!
*NOT-AS-QUICK CUT back to the indy show. In slow motion we watch as the massive frame of Mike Halec jumps from the top of the turnbuckle to the outside. The picture freezes as underneath we’re told that this is “Starring MIKE HALEC”.*
Steve: Wait…oh no…
Al: We’ve got a blowout!
*As the footage returns to moving we watch as Mike’s foot gets caught on the turnbuckle as he comes down, he didn’t get enough space in his jump. He starts to rotate in slow motion as the botched jump because increasingly evident. Like an over-played over-slowed Zapruder film we watch as in terribly grainy and slow footage the former WWF star sinks below the camera frame, presumably to a very damaging crash on the floor outside the ring. Explosion sounds play which sort of undercut the seriousness of the moment. Then blackness.*
Steve: SOMEBODY GET AN AMBULANCE!
*ULTRA CUT to a surgical room! The camera takes a bird’s eye view of a surgery obscured by a lighting fixture. A disembodied voice takes over the audio.*
“Mike Halec, professional wrestler.
A man barely alive.”
A man barely alive.”
*Cool computer graphics (if you were in the 70’s-80’s anyway) quickly display. We see that whatever this is it’s CLASSIFIED.*
“Gentlemen, we can rebuild him,
We have the technology.”
We have the technology.”
*LED displays show different body parts and bull parts too because why not.*
“We have the capability to make the world’s first Mantaur.”
*More of these different displays continue to show us the rebuilding of Mike Halec, though artistic and computery rather than realistically.*
“Mike Halec will be that man…taur.
Better than he was before,
Better, stronger, more alive (than right now anyway).”
Better than he was before,
Better, stronger, more alive (than right now anyway).”
*We cut to the Mantaur we know and love running on a treadmill. It is too much for him and he falls. Heroic music plays as we cut to Mantaur running towards the camera. Don’t worry; it’ll take him a long time to get there as he’s very slow and big. As the music continues we cut to more shots of Mantaur running- slowly. Then we are once again reminded that this is…*
THE
SIX THOUSAND
DOLLAR MANTAUR
SIX THOUSAND
DOLLAR MANTAUR
Mantaur: Mantaur. Maaaaantar?
*He seems genuinely confused as he cocks his large headpiece to the side. There’s a long pause. Finally he holds up his massive hands and waves this off while shaking his headpiece.*
Mantaur: Mantaur. Man-mantar.
*It would appear he doesn’t agree with this interpretation of his origin story. He needs to think a moment. Finally he holds up a finger.*
Mantaur: Mantaur, mantaur man-taur. Mantaur.
*And with that promise for a solution…I think? Have you guys noticed he doesn’t seem to say anything beyond his name? Is that just me? Anyway, with whatever he just said we fade out, hopefully for our myriad of questions to be answered in the future…*