The Untouchable

[jayshort]

EDITOR'S NOTE: READ AGGRESSION 38 BEFORE YOU READ THIS


[FONT=Tahoma, sans-serif]Applause with echo.[/FONT]

[FONT=Tahoma, sans-serif]"Are you surprised, JA?"[/FONT]

[FONT=Tahoma, sans-serif]FADE: The scene opened up in a dark dressing room. No flash, no backdrop, no reporters – just Sean "Triple X" Stevens.[/FONT]

[FONT=Tahoma, sans-serif]No aches, no bruises, no scars, no pain ... reputation in tact, still UNSTAINED.[/FONT]

[FONT=Tahoma, sans-serif]TRIPLE X: Well, you're not alone. Dave Thomas is surprised, Dean Matthews will never be the wrestler that I am, and because of that, he always feels the need to call matches against me, but even he is surprised. And, Mike Neely probably swallowed his tongue, at the result of our – well ... the match that I piggy-backed you through. [/FONT]

[FONT=Tahoma, sans-serif]"But, let me tell you who else is just as surprised as you are. All of those millions and millions of fans, that tune into Aggression each week – not to see you, because you hardly ever come – but, to see someone knock me off of my throne, are shocked. Yeah, they got their 'go home happy' moment, they got to see their here today, gone tomorrow," finger quotes "'hero' finally win a big match, and walk out of the arena with the big belt. [/FONT]

[FONT=Tahoma, sans-serif]"But, those same people saw me verbally annihilate you promo after promo, as you tripped up on facts(or lack thereof), and so called 'points' designed to put me in my place more than that idiot that cost me the match trips on his own shoe laces when he walks to the ring."[/FONT]

[FONT=Tahoma, sans-serif]Trip shut his eyes, silently counting to ten, before calmly continuing. [/FONT]

[FONT=Tahoma, sans-serif]TRIPLE X: Those same people saw me physically dominate you for twenty minutes, as you laid around in the ring a sorry, sad, busted open, defeated slash destroyed shell of a man. And, those same people know that the only reason you're champ at the moment has less to do with your talent, and more to do with circumstance. [/FONT]

[FONT=Tahoma, sans-serif]"But, you were never able to break through the glass ceiling anyway, so I guess you'll take it how you can get it, right? Well, I was right all along about you, you're desperate. [/FONT]

[FONT=Tahoma, sans-serif]"So enjoy your little reign on top, JA. Enjoy the cheers, the first class flights, and the photo shoots. But, before you do all of that, I want you to do me one small favor. When there's no one around, take off your mask, and look yourself in the mirror. This is the greatest night of your life, dare I even say, the biggest match of your career, yet it didn't even break my top ten. Your face? ...it's scarred, it's bruised, and your body is experiencing pain it's never known, yet I'm able to attend fashion shows, parties, and rub elbows with Fortune 500 bigwigs, with no discomfort, or awkward stares, because it doesn't even look like I wrestled. [/FONT]

[FONT=Tahoma, sans-serif]"You're the champion. You're this companies," a second set of finger quotes "top guy, yet you accomplished it by getting slapped around, dropped on your head, and for lack of a better description? Beat the f[BLEEP]k up for twenty minutes. The only reason why you were even able to get in the position to beat me was because somebody else snuck up from behind me and knocked me unconscious. You know it, *I* know it...[/FONT]

[FONT=Tahoma, sans-serif]"... And, the entire world saw it. [/FONT]

[FONT=Tahoma, sans-serif]"So, if what you went through is what I have to go through in order to be champion in this place – y'know, verbally decapitated, physically annihilated, while playing the role of the Little Engine That Could? You can keep that bullsh[BLEEP]t title, because I don't want it. [/FONT]

[FONT=Tahoma, sans-serif]"I want my crown, and I want Ice Tre in a casket. I don't want the respect of my peers anymore, because I am peerless. I'm the best that this industry has to offer, hands down. And, the fact that you had to jump through hoops to compete with me, only to need an extra assist because your midcard buddies weren't enough to slow me down, proves it."[/FONT]

[FONT=Tahoma, sans-serif]FADE TO BLACK[/FONT]

 

[t r e]

The Unfadeable

(FADEIN: The screen is black. There is no sound but the slow intake and exhale of a set of lungs, low and barely noticeable. When he speaks his voice grips you. When he moves his swagger lifts you. He is Ice Tre. And He Is Yours. The screen remains a serene black.)

ICE TRE: The Tre Giveth... And The Tre Taketh, Ya Heard?

(Screen still black, you can feel his light.)

ICE TRE: You know how it be. It's Your Boy, The Sticky-Tricky-Icky Tee Are Eee layin' it down as only I can, in your grill but out yo' face! Once Again the Game Changer! Once Again the Ever-Present Difference Maker! It can not be denied that ICE TRE MAKES HISTORY *HAPPEN* WHEREVER HIS WHITE ASS GO! Whacthu gon' do, Stevenz? Don't hate, son! Peep the situationals as *I* see 'em!

(Oh my.)

ICE TRE: You may have forgotten but I haven't. I MADE YOU the World Champion of Da Professional Empire. I MADE YOU relevant again. I put you back on top. I made you World Champion and then was CHARITABLIZED enough to beat you in front of the World in a NON-TITLE match. Wasn't yo' belt I was after, Drip.

(CUTTO: Somewhere offscreen, a candle is lit.)

ICE TRE: I came to EPW at 'Verse 2 and let the world know that I was DETERMINATED to compete in the King of the Cage Tournament against the best of the best. And I came to win. To win the Crown.

(CUTTO: A wooden table. Beside a bling'd out candelabra sits, on a velvet pedastal, The 2008 King of the Cage Crown in all of it's unequivical majesty.)

ICE TRE: I won it, yo. I beat you, Sean Stevenz, when da dust settled. And dat shoulda been the END of it. You had yo' belt. I had my crown. We was happy doin' our own thangs, wasn't we? Nah? Nah! You was GREEDY. You had to have it ALL. That's fine, baby. This a new century, a new DAY an' sh!t, you can take from who you wanna take from -- as long as it ain't Me and Mines, know'm'sayin'? You HAD to press the issue wit' da crown. Sickin' yo sick-in-da-head-sidekick STALKER on me like the homeless lapdog from hell that he be. I was gon' let you do YO' thing and I'll do mine. But NO.

(A gem-covered four finger ring w/ thumb attachment came into the shot, resting on the crown lovingly. The word ' B A N K ' artfully spelled out across is.)

ICE TRE: You stepped up the game and JUST 'BOUT kidnapped my peoplez, Cassanova! You changed the game, flipped the script on Your Boy. So guess what? I did the same thing to you. Just like I HANDED YOU the World Championship all those months ago? I SNATCHED IT FROM YA! I gift-wrapped that finish, put it on a platter for my main miggity-man, Jay-to-the-Ay, and said -- Your Welcome, No Gratuities Accepted and Sh!t. I don't expect no "thank you's" or none of dat. 'Cause this ain't got nuttin' to DO with him. I dropped down to that ring, swashbucklin' like a mawfukka, to let YOU know that Ice Tre ain't no joke. I REMAIN the K'ang of the Cage, Stevenz.

(CUTTO: Ice Tre places the crown atop his head, just so. Dapper just isn't the word.)

ICE TRE: You can call yo'self 'Untouchable', Stevenz. Ice Tre Remains UNFADEABLE. You want war? You want the ruckas? I'mma bring da ruckas, G. You want it ALL? I'mma BRING it ALL! Just know that you crossed a line at Dirty Thirty Eight. You took things too far by involvin' 'Nova in thangs; dragging him down to the ring like a goon. You want this Crown? You wanna press thangs? Let's press, fool.

(Unngh.)

ICE TRE: You ain't SEEN me get loose yet.

(unFADEOUTable.)

 

[TH]

Re: The Unfadeable

"Blah blah blah."

The scene is JA's locker room. It's business as usual... except the Anglo Luchador is seated on an ornate throne being fanned with giant palm fronds by several buxom young ladies, another one feeding him grapes. The EPW World Championship is strapped securely around his waist. Lollipop is face down on a table behind him getting a massage by a strapping young lad. JA holds his hand up to the lady feeding him the grapes so as to stop momentarily.

JA: You know, Sean, it's the true mark of the totally pwnt to shrug off a defeat like it was nothin' and then pretend like you don't care about it anymore. Like I said all along, you were scared and it manifested itself when you brought out the cavalry to make sure that I wasn't going to leave that ring with this... *pats the title* around my waist. But a funny thing happened along the way.

You reaped the whirlwind of the seeds of dischord that you had sewn a long time ago.

I mean, I'm not going to sit back and say that match was all that was cracked up to be. I'm also not going to sit here and thank Ice Tre for the assist, because really, he wasn't doing it for me. But I'm also not going to sit here and be all, zomg, eye duznt deserves this title, because if it weren't for Tre, well, your guys interfering might have cost me the match. Yeah, I know, I had Fuse and Douglas out there, and by the way guys, I hope you liked your thank you baskets filled with decorative soaps, Swiss chocolates and Spam-a-Lot tickets. Your Honeybaked Hams are on the way, I promise. Bang up job out there.

Anyways, regardless of how the match went down Sean, the point is this. I've done more to deserve a shot at this title than most people who've ever stepped into this company. I bled, sweat and cried, and all that effort, combined with the seamless raw talent that I have, have finally paid off. If you want to sit there and say that you dominated me for twenty minutes, a bigger mischaracterization than anything the Obama or McCain camps could ever come out with during this election season, well, if that's what gets you to sleep at night. Personally, I'd stop believing that and start with combining Somnia with Jack Daniels... and if Lollipop weren't getting massaged right now, she'd be holding up the "kill urself" sign. If you want to believe that getting back at Tre is more important than this title, then hey, whatever floats your boat.

But deep down inside, Sean, you realize that in that ring, at Aggression 38, I was better than you. It would have manifested itself no matter what. You know it and that's why you don't want any part of me. You don't want to be embarrassed anymore. You want to keep the myth alive that you dominate me and that Aye-Three-Eight was just a fluke. Well, Sean, no matter what you want to believe, whatever you decide you believe today, well, it's fine with me. If you want to keep running from me like the coward you really are, that's fine. IF you want a crack at me, that's fine too.

That's because starting at the pay-per-view, I'm taking on all comers. I'm going to be a fighting Champion, and my goal is to be the greatest damn Champion this place has ever seen. At the show, our fair owner said that there ain't gonna be a Champion like her ever again. Well, that's what I plan to disprove.

I already started it by taking your throne and your crown as "Tha King"...

Another buxom lass enters the scene and places a golden, jeweled crown on JA's head.

JA: ...that was only the beginning. From there, the sky's the limit, baby.

Fade to the EPW logo as the buxom lasses go back to feeding JA grapes and fanning him.

 

[jayshort]

FADE:

"Scared of you?"<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-comfficeffice" /><o></o>
<o></o>
The real champ, "The Untouchable", Sean "Triple X" Stevens, in front of a backdrop.<o></o>
<o></o>
TRIPLE X: Yeah. You got me all figured out, JA. I'm afraid to get in the ring with a guy that probably successfully connected on … what(?) … six – or – seven maneuvers in our entire match. Yeah, I'm terrified; so terrified that I'm shaking in my $1,800 Salvatore Ferragamos(shoes, you idiot, shoes). <o></o>
<o></o>
"Did I shrug off the match that I carried you through? Nope. I just told the truth. A truth that you needed to hear, just in case you dreamt that you played anything resembling a role in defeating me, while you were laid out on the canvas, in deep slumber during the crucial part of our match. <o></o>
<o></o>
"Do I care about the EPW title? No. Why should I? It was made abundantly clear when I won the belt that I wasn't the guy that they wanted to have it, considering Lindsay came and co-signed you – and only you – at the beginning of the King of the Cage tournament that I won. Which, essentially, made it that much easier for Rocko to defeat me for it, and even easier for you to (finally) win it, after I ruined their plan and tossed Rocko three stories out of a window.

"The only difference between King of the Cage and now? Effort. This time around, you did a little more, showed a little more interest, and sounded," he made an inch sign with his thumb and index finger, "a tiny bit more coherent, which allowed the Triple X screw job to look a little more realistic than it would've had they pulled the trigger on this supposed phenomenon known as the JA era all those months ago.
<o></o>
<o></o>
"And, I get it. I'm not the guy that goes around shaking the hands of the boys backstage, and making friends. Partly, because I don't want you b[BLEEP]tches touching me. Mainly, because I'm above you all. I didn't pay my EPW dues like most, because in all honesty, people like me don't pay dues, and because of that, certain people felt like I shouldn't have earned my success so quickly. <o></o>
<o></o>
"I get it.<o></o>
<o></o>
"If you want to prove your theory of me being afraid, you can meet me in the parking lot after my match with Craig Miles on the next Aggression and I can kick your ass for free, but ultimately, that's your decision, and your funeral. But, I'm no longer interested in being EPW's whipping boy, whose sole purpose is to elevate their stars.
<o></o>
<o></o>
"So, no … I don't want a shot at your title. I no longer care about it, or this company. And, I have no interest in selling their pay per view for them, by putting my name and face on the big, shiny billboard because you versus anyone not named Sean Stevens won't bring in any revenue. Anybody with a set of eyes saw what I did to you in that match, and the week leading up to it, for that matter, and it was that convincing that I don't feel it needs an encore performance. So, go right ahead … call me whatever you want. Boast about whatever you want. Everybody outside of the occasional angry blog writer knows the truth.
<o></o>
<o></o>
"I'm better than you verbally, I'm more than you can handle physically, I'm far more intelligent than you, and I'm more deserving than you.
<o></o>
<o></o>
"But, I team with Nakita Dahaka and The Stalker, so none of that other stuff matters, right?
<o></o>
<o></o>
"Stop dancing around the truth, JA, pretending this whole ordeal is something that it's not. Sure, you want it to look authentic, because that would make you look authentic. But that's the thing that sucks about fake plants. You can plant it, water it, and put it in the sun, but in the end, it's still fake. This promotion can push you to the moon, shove you down our throats, and screw the real talent out of our rightful spots and give you our gold. You can sit on a fake throne, have a random bimbo put a crown on your head, and it still won't make a difference. In the end, you're still phony, and everybody knows that no matter how hard you go out of your way to look and play the part, you could never be a king. Or me, for that matter. And, deep down, you know it, too. You know the real story, you know what's really going on around here, and ultimately, could care less, because you're the beneficiary.
<o></o>
"Congratulations (corporate) champ. <o></o>
<o></o>
"You're the best thing since sliced bread. You played a starring role in professional wrestling's biggest coup. You're the man, a real asset to this sport, and all that other bullsh*t, but you'll never EVER be better than me. And, I don't care WHAT you have around your waist."<o></o>
<o></o>
FTB

 

[jayshort]

Re: The Unfadeable

(FADEIN: The screen is black. There is no sound but the slow intake and exhale of a set of lungs, low and barely noticeable. When he speaks his voice grips you. When he moves his swagger lifts you. He is Ice Tre. And He Is Yours. The screen remains a serene black.)

ICE TRE: The Tre Giveth... And The Tre Taketh, Ya Heard?

(Screen still black, you can feel his light.)

ICE TRE: You know how it be. It's Your Boy, The Sticky-Tricky-Icky Tee Are Eee layin' it down as only I can, in your grill but out yo' face! Once Again the Game Changer! Once Again the Ever-Present Difference Maker! It can not be denied that ICE TRE MAKES HISTORY *HAPPEN* WHEREVER HIS WHITE ASS GO! Whacthu gon' do, Stevenz? Don't hate, son! Peep the situationals as *I* see 'em!

(Oh my.)

ICE TRE: You may have forgotten but I haven't. I MADE YOU the World Champion of Da Professional Empire. I MADE YOU relevant again. I put you back on top. I made you World Champion and then was CHARITABLIZED enough to beat you in front of the World in a NON-TITLE match. Wasn't yo' belt I was after, Drip.

(CUTTO: Somewhere offscreen, a candle is lit.)

ICE TRE: I came to EPW at 'Verse 2 and let the world know that I was DETERMINATED to compete in the King of the Cage Tournament against the best of the best. And I came to win. To win the Crown.

(CUTTO: A wooden table. Beside a bling'd out candelabra sits, on a velvet pedastal, The 2008 King of the Cage Crown in all of it's unequivical majesty.)

ICE TRE: I won it, yo. I beat you, Sean Stevenz, when da dust settled. And dat shoulda been the END of it. You had yo' belt. I had my crown. We was happy doin' our own thangs, wasn't we? Nah? Nah! You was GREEDY. You had to have it ALL. That's fine, baby. This a new century, a new DAY an' sh!t, you can take from who you wanna take from -- as long as it ain't Me and Mines, know'm'sayin'? You HAD to press the issue wit' da crown. Sickin' yo sick-in-da-head-sidekick STALKER on me like the homeless lapdog from hell that he be. I was gon' let you do YO' thing and I'll do mine. But NO.

(A gem-covered four finger ring w/ thumb attachment came into the shot, resting on the crown lovingly. The word ' B A N K ' artfully spelled out across is.)

ICE TRE: You stepped up the game and JUST 'BOUT kidnapped my peoplez, Cassanova! You changed the game, flipped the script on Your Boy. So guess what? I did the same thing to you. Just like I HANDED YOU the World Championship all those months ago? I SNATCHED IT FROM YA! I gift-wrapped that finish, put it on a platter for my main miggity-man, Jay-to-the-Ay, and said -- Your Welcome, No Gratuities Accepted and Sh!t. I don't expect no "thank you's" or none of dat. 'Cause this ain't got nuttin' to DO with him. I dropped down to that ring, swashbucklin' like a mawfukka, to let YOU know that Ice Tre ain't no joke. I REMAIN the K'ang of the Cage, Stevenz.

(CUTTO: Ice Tre places the crown atop his head, just so. Dapper just isn't the word.)

ICE TRE: You can call yo'self 'Untouchable', Stevenz. Ice Tre Remains UNFADEABLE. You want war? You want the ruckas? I'mma bring da ruckas, G. You want it ALL? I'mma BRING it ALL! Just know that you crossed a line at Dirty Thirty Eight. You took things too far by involvin' 'Nova in thangs; dragging him down to the ring like a goon. You want this Crown? You wanna press thangs? Let's press, fool.

(Unngh.)

ICE TRE: You ain't SEEN me get loose yet.

(unFADEOUTable.)

[FONT=Tahoma, sans-serif]More applause.[/FONT]

[FONT=Tahoma, sans-serif]"Bravo, Ice Tre ... bravo.[/FONT]

[FONT=Tahoma, sans-serif]FADE: The scene opened up in eerily familiar quiet, brightly lit room with the camera – unmoving – focused on an image on a wall. [/FONT]

[FONT=Tahoma, sans-serif]It's the image Sean 'Triple X' Stevens nailed to a holy cross, eyes rolled in the back of his head, blood and tears rolling down his cheek.[/FONT]

[FONT=Tahoma, sans-serif]"Congratulations on halfway succeeding in your attempt at assassinating my character. Congratulations for the major role you played in damaging the legacy of the greatest wrestler of our era. But, you forgot to do one thing. You assaulted me with a baseball bat, you cost me the EPW title, you humiliated me in front of millions of people ... but, forgot to do the most important thing...."[/FONT]

[FONT=Tahoma, sans-serif]Stevens was still nowhere to be found, the camera stayed focused on the image, and his voice continued to echo off the walls. [/FONT]

[FONT=Tahoma, sans-serif]".... You forgot to KILL me.[/FONT]

[FONT=Tahoma, sans-serif]"And, that's where you f'ked up. Because I have been defeated, sacrificed, and buried(by this company, and you) ... but, I'm alive, and as long as I'm alive ... your health, your safety, and the health and safety of your loved ones is in jeopardy. [/FONT]

[FONT=Tahoma, sans-serif]"You're going to realize that this is a war that you can't win, Tre. At some point, you are going to understand that *I* am God in the form of man. You can crucify me, bury me, but I will rise again. [/FONT]

[FONT=Tahoma, sans-serif]"But, by the time you really realize all that you've done ... it'll be too late. It already is.[/FONT]

[FONT=Tahoma, sans-serif]"I would advise you to quit the sport of wrestling, and hide out in a log cabin in the middle of nowhere, but you won't ... you're too stupid. So, I'll simply say, I'll see you around, Ice Tre. And, when I do? It'd be in your best interests to run." [/FONT]

[FONT=Tahoma, sans-serif]FTB[/FONT]