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Aaron Keening vs Inferno vs Subway Jack

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Not one to take chances with those she deems potentially unstable, Commissioner Stern delegated the task of dealing with Inferno to a subordinate. In this case, she chose the Head of Security, Russell "Midnight" Simmons.

Now, Simmons is a large man, and he knows how to take care of himself should trouble arise. That's why he was hired in the first place.

But he's also a smart man. And a smart man never risks running into trouble when there is no benefit from it.

And because Simmons is a smart man, Inferno arrives at the lockerroom to find sitting on a bench the TCW Transcontinental Championship. There's no fanfare as the big man picks up the belt, but there's no denying that this man fought damn hard to earn it.

Aaron Keaning couldn't get the song out of his head, no, not a song, it was a shard of broken glass. The ending to a song. It played over and over in his head, looking for a beginning.

*****

The beast wears a mask, always, it's a rule. Walking, stalking with a cold fire like a cancer eating it away inside, wondering the same question it had asked itself every night...

What?

Since the night it had blinded the boy...

The Fuck?

Since it been rewarded with a title for the deed...

Is wrong with this picture?

Since Valerie Stern had paid a monster like him, who brought darkness, to hunt Darkness...

Was he willing to work for a monster like her? Or was she willing to work for him? Maybe it was just too much to think about...

Maybe he needed to fucking simplify...

*****

"Or, maybe it's just an excuse to mash bodies together."

Jack half listened. He had seen this porn before, and wasn't about to let reality get in the way of his fun. "But why do you need an excuse then, why not skip to the climax?"

"Think of it like a catalog. Half the fun is playing with the combinations in your head before you try them on."

Her name was Sharade. He looked at her in the night, dark as the night, watched her pretending not to watch him study her while she watched the movie, and decided this made too much sense. "I think I'm falling in love."

"So what's keeping you from hitting the dirt?"

"I think I'm falling in love."

"And that'll be the end of the legend, won't it?"

He was aware a line had been drawn. He was being asked to walk it. "I never asked to be famous."

"So don't be."

He took the first step, across the line. "I'll ask them to stop filming."

Tomorrow he would quit the TCW.

Real life was becoming too much like the porn video.

****

After being eliminated in the Majestic Cup, Aaron Keening...wasn't too despondant at all. It was just a wrestling match, after all. Much like with music, there are times when you just can't win. Times where you just can't get that beat in your head.

But there were times when you had to win, at any cost. You had to pour your all into reaching your destination, when handed an opportunity. And this new song...no, this ending, was so brilliant, he knew this was a time where he had to win. He had to fit a beginning to the end. Imagine watching the end of a movie, where, perhaps, the prince finally kisses the princess, and they lived happily ever after. But what makes that ending beautiful is the body of the movie, what had to be done to earn it.

So in essence, Aaron felt like he was writing the beginning of a movie, to fit it's beautiful end. It was going to be difficult to live up to the conclusion, but he felt it could be done. He'd know when all the pieces fit.

In the mean time, wrestling felt secondary to him. It was astounding, how he could be so unconcerned when he knew that pure evil was in his upcoming match.

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The TCW Transcontinential Title. It was nothing more than a belt of heavy, expensive gold, on it's own. But in the federation it was a symbol of a champion, and each championship held a story behind it.

Inferno had wondered, just for a while, if he could become a champion of the people. Someone they loved.

What, was he fucking stupid?

Of course not. In one day, he had systematically crushed three different people on the way to the belt, and blinded somebody who wanted to love him. Whenever he came out of the darkness he destroyed something. If Chi thought he was a child, he was the kind who just couldn't stop breaking his toys.

So that championship belt proved that he was a monster. Where would he go from here? He knew that he would forge his own path. Valerie knew he was dangerous. She had seen his match with Darkness. But he would not destroy him for her. He would do it on his own terms, on his own time. He would leave Bam to have his shot at him, after all, he'd earned it.

But there was one other person who had arguably beaten him before, and he'd be facing him again. He'd proved he was a monster, now it was time to destroy...

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"Hey, just wanted to let you know, I quit."

Jack turned towards the door and reached for the knob. The stunned Valerie took a moment to absorb it, before she laughed.

"That's a great joke! You're one hell of an entertainer after all...no, seriously, what did you want?"

"I quit." Jack said, pulling the door open.

"You're serious? You don't really know how things work around here, do you? Why would you want to quit, anyway?"

"I'm in love," he said.

"That's very flattering, but let's keep this professional. You come in here and tell me you want to quit, while you're...under contract," Stern said.

"I told you I'm in love, that's why," Jack said. "With the most beautiful girl in the universe, and no damn wrestling's gonna get in my way."

Stern looked confused. "You know you're not making any sense. Even if I did release you, how would you make any money?"

"Don't you get it? I'm not gonna let this violent sport keep me away from my beloved Sharade. That's why I quit."

"But I just told you, you CAN'T!"

"But that's against the law," Jack said. "If you make me work, it's slavery." He nodded.

"You...are....UNDER...LEGAL...CONTRACT..." Stern said, speaking slowly. "You...CANNOT...quit...until...your....contract...is...UP!" she said, now using hand signs. "Do-you-get-it?"

"Then fire me," he said, and before Stern could say another word, he left.

"Fucking IDIOT!"

Bruce couldn't help it. He laughed. The laughing ended when Stern's keyboard shattered on his face.