{The scene opens with Roxi once again out on patrol, flying high above the city and once again. She scans each area, but she begins looking for someone in particular. She eventually settles into a busier area than most, but given it’s 1am, there’s not much foot traffic. But, Roxi spots who she’s looking for.} Roxi – There you are.
{Roxi smiles under her mask as she watches the person walk and then he checks his watch, as he bumps into someone else. After an exchange of excuse, the person Roxi is following makes his way in a more hurried pace to get out sight. Once he is, he pulls a wallet from his pocket and chuckles to himself. We recognize this person as Owen, Roxi’s snitch on the ground level.} Owen – Easy money.
{Owen flips through the wallet, finding the cash and dumping the rest. But once he pockets it, Roxi is there in a flash to not only pick Owen up, but the wallet as well. She takes his high into the air, letting him dangle there with one arm.} Roxi – Hello Owen,
Owen – H...hi...hi... Please don’t let me go!
Roxi – I wouldn’t do that, would I?
Owen – No.
{Roxi then just let’s go of Owen, but catches him with her super speed.} Roxi – Just kidding.
Owen – Don't do that!
Roxi – I’m hoping you have some information for me.
Owen – I don’t know anything new. I swear.
Roxi – So then, I guess I have no reason to hold onto you.
Owen – Don't do this!
Roxi – Information is the price. My arm is getting tired.
Owen – All! All I know, is that everybody is gearing up for the war. Guns are being bought, lots of guns.
Roxi – Where?
Owen – All over. Louie’s guys, Hamilton’s guys, a bunch of guys I never seen before. Everybody’s protecting themselves.
Roxi – Where are you seeing it?
Owen – A lot of it on the beachfront.
Roxi – You do realize that Florida a peninsula, right? WHICH beachfront?
Owen – NN... Near the Westin.
Roxi – And...
Owen – That's it! I swear! I’m afraid of heights! Please don’t.
Roxi – Gotta tell you, that’s not very effective snooping. You’re going to need to work harder.
{Roxi get’s a buzz on her wrist communicator.} Roxi – In the middle of something, what’s up?
Vision – Lt. Murphy is calling about you, requesting your presence at an address.
Roxi – Tell him I’m on the way.
Vision – Will do.
{Roxi ends the comm chat and turns back to Owen.} Roxi – I'm gonna need more. You want to be an effective snitch, you need to actually do something. I’m going to go to the beachfront. But if it turns out your lying to me, We’re going to go even higher, and I’ll wait until my arm is really tired. Understand?
Owen – Okay! Okay!
Roxi – Good. Now, the money.
Owen – What?
{Roxi sighs, lowering Owen with her arm.} Roxi – Don't think I didn’t see you pickpocketing that nice man. I have his wallet right here.
{Roxi holds up the wallet with her free hand.} Roxi – The money, goes back into the wallet, and you’re going to give that nice man his money and his wallet back.
Owen – I gotta make
{Roxi again begins lowering Owen,} Owen – OKAY!
Roxi – See, we’re learning.
{Roxi takes Owen and searches, looking for the man he pickpocketed. He is looking on the street for a place where he possibly could have dropped his wallet, before Roxi takes the money from Owen’s pocket and puts it back in the wallet. She shoves the wallet into Owen’s hands and points.} Roxi – Be a good Samaritan.
{Owen begrudgingly takes the wallet and approaches the man.} Owen – Hey uh... is this your wallet?
{Owen hands the man his wallet, who is incredibly thankful.} Man – Wow uh... I swore I lost it.
Owen – You uh...you dropped a couple blocks from here.
Man – Thank you.
{The man walks away and Owen is annoyed, but looks up and sees Roxi nod at him before she flies off.} Roxi – Okay, Vision, give me the address.
{Roxi finally arrives at the address, where there’s only a few police cars around the area. Most of the patrolmen are flashing flashlights in the neighborhood. Roxi is waved by the police standing guard and enters the house. Inside is an extremely large television set, which has most of the cops around it.} Roxi – I don’t think the Superbowl is today.
Lt. Murphy – Ah, good, you’re here.
Roxi – So, what ‘cha got?
Lt. Murphy – You're looking at it.
Roxi – The... TV?
Lt. Murphy – Thus far, it’s our only clue.
Roxi – Not gonna lie, I feel like stolen TV’s is more your territory.
Lt. Murphy – It's not all about the TV.
Roxi – Okay, well, I’m stumped.
Lt. Murphy – The owner is one Patrick Sharp. Reported missing by his girlfriend earlier this morning. Apparently they had an argument after he installed all this.
Roxi – Stands to reason.
Lt. Murphy – TV was bought off a website, installed and after the girlfriend left, he stopped responding to any texts or calls. She came over, found nothing but the cable box on, and no sign of Mr. Sharp.
Roxi – No missing clothes or bags packed? I mean, I saw the car out front, I assume that’s his.
Lt. Murphy – Correct. And I don’t think any man would just up and leave after they spent the time to install this whole thing.
Roxi – No, that doesn’t make a lot of sense. No sign of forced entry either I assume?
Lt. Murphy – Nothing. It’s like, he just vanished.
Roxi – That is strange. Has the girlfriend gone through the clothes?
Lt. Murphy – Yeah, it’s all there. No missing luggage or clothes.
Roxi – I still don’t think you need me for this.
Lt. Murphy – You deal with stuff like this all the time.
Roxi – So far this a domestic dispute that looks like a guy ran off. What about uh... any...you know, hole dug anywhere? Any traces of him in her car?
Lt. Murphy – I assume there will be but, it would take might effort for her to have killed him and dumped the body somewhere. All we have is the TV, and again, you look at the money this thing probably cost and I don’t think he’d just install it and then up and leave.
Roxi – Does it even work?
Lt. Murphy – Actually, no. He’s got a code setup for the TV and box to function.
Roxi – So, he did set it up.
{Roxi goes over and inspects the box itself with everything hooked up. It has a blue light, and appears to be working. Roxi takes a camera out of her utility belt and takes some photos, getting the serial number and the website name.} Roxi – I don’t suppose anybody found the instructions?
Lt. Murphy – Davis... you found those, right?
Officer Davis – Yes, right here.
{Davis hands them to Roxi who looks over them and then looks confused pointing to a page.} Roxi – So we can’t do anything with the box?
Lt. Murphy – According to the instructions, the person has to input the code simply to do a factory reset.
Roxi – That seems like a design flaw.
{Roxi takes more photos of the instructions themselves before handing them back over. She walks up to Murphy afterward.} Roxi – Well, I’ll look into this. I’ll admit the circumstances are a little strange. But, if this turns out to be a missing person, or a runaway boyfriend, I’m not going to be very happy.
Lt. Murphy – I wouldn’t call on you if it wasn’t out of the ordinary.
Roxi – Let's hope it’s not.
{Roxi turns to leave, but turns back.} Roxi – Oh, a little birdy told me about guns being bought at the beachfront near the Westin. May be something to do with the possibly gang war business. I’m looking into that, but I think you should also.
{Murphy nods.} Lt. Murphy – Thanks for the tip.
{Roxi then departs, and the scene fades.}
{The new scene is Roxi sitting at her laptop, having punched in the website for the cable box.} Roxi - “Re-live the way television used to be with our new cable box. Thousands of your favorite TV shows available on demand no matter what you’re looking for.”
{Keira hears the tail end, coming into the bedroom, chuckling to herself.} Keira – We already have Netflix. And those other free ones that are very underrated.
Roxi – I know.
Keira – Then what in -
{Keira pauses looking at the website and the exceptionally large TV and the price.} Keira – You are not putting that in my house.
Roxi – I wasn’t planning on it.
Keira – Good, then I don’t have to slap you in the back of the head. What are you looking at anyway?
Roxi – There was a missing person who has that kind of system installed in their house. And apparently that was the last thing he did before disappearing.
Keira – And... you think that the TV had something to do with it?
{Roxi gives Keira a knowing look.} Roxi – Honestly, you know it’s the not the most ridiculous theory given all we’ve been through.
Keira – True, Sin, Bio-Sin, Jean traveling through dimensions. I met a ton of other versions of me. I fought robots and monsters...
{Keira pauses.} Keira – Wow, now that I say that A TV eating someone doesn’t sound so far-fetched.
Roxi – Yeah...
Keira – Wow we’ve been through a lot.
Roxi – Yes, I know.
{Keira begins reading more on the website.} Keira - “All the gameshows, westerns, and old school television you grew up on. Cartoons, movies, all at your fingertips.” You know, I don’t know how they would do this considering what’s owned by what studios and stuff.
Roxi – Yeah, it’s weird. It just sounds like a scam.
Keira – I mean, it would be nice to have that stuff all the time.
Roxi – I love nostalgia as much as the next person but it’s just sounds too good to be true. You said it yourself.
Keira – Yeah, but still. I guess it’s just natural to want to think about the past, especially when it’s been a good time.
Roxi – Our past hasn’t always been great.
Keira – No, you’re right. Sometimes it’s been downright ugly. I can’t really count the number of times the two of us have been in life or death situations, been at odds, fought each other both physically and verbally. It hasn’t always been the best. But, it has made both of us stronger, forged our bond to where it is now: completely unbreakable.
Roxi: And to think that all started with you and the river.
Keira – Yeah, it was dark. But after all we’ve been through, it seems like a bad dream. You saved my life, and now we have an incredible life. I never would have accomplished what I accomplished without you. What you did for me, I don’t know if I can ever repay you.
Roxi – You are here in my life every day, so that’s thanks enough.
Keira – It's been a fun ride.
Roxi – You act like it’s all over now. We’ve still got a lot to do.
Keira – Yeah, I guess this is just... our own little nostaliga trip isn’t it?
Roxi – I guess so.
Keira – And, if you really want to go on that trip, just go visit the Peak Twins.
Roxi – No, we’re not going to do that. Those guys are stuck in the ‘80’s.
Keira – Even though... isn’t Twin Peaks a 90’s show?
Roxi – Yes.
Keira – So they’re... you know what, I’m not going to ask. But I will ask what you’re going to do with this TV thing.
Roxi – I don’t know. I mean, It’s pretty much the only lead we have here.
Keira – Well, again, you’re not putting a TV that big in this house.
Roxi – Well I can’t have it installed anywhere else. And I don’t know if buying it is even an option.
Keira – Don't they have a company address?
Roxi – Actually...no...
{Roxi scans the website for any sort of shipping or contact information, but only finds a phone number.} Keira – How can you buy it without that? Where does it come from?
Roxi – The only option is to buy, and even then it’s not giving me anything.
Keira – Is there a number?
Roxi – Yes, but that’s still weird. So how did this guy even find out about this?
Keira – Beats me.
Roxi – Well, I’ll call the number some other time. Right now, this really isn’t our problem. We still need to do something to prevent this gang war.
Keira – Didn’t you say Hamilton was involved?
Roxi – Yes.
Keira – So, if it’s Heather, I could still be a target. Maybe I ought to do my own snooping.
Roxi – If it comes to that. For now... let’s just... relax. I think we’ve earned it.
Keira – You have a big match coming up, so... I would suggest you get off your curvy butt and train.
{Roxi can’t help but chuckle.} Roxi – Never change, my love. Never change.
{The two kiss as the scene fades.}
"You're not doin' anyone any good by chewin' on the past, kid. What's done is done. Now let's just concentrate on setting things right"
- Wolverine (Iron Fist: Wolverine #3)
Hello SCW.
And so, here I stand. After a win, and a general feeling of pride, and a little bit of a burden off my shoulders. I told everybody there wasn’t a need for this big panic and everything, but apparently we were at defcon 5 for some reason. But now, that is over. Now, I don’t feel great having to give Krystal Wolfe a loss, but it was what it was. Two people had a match, and I was able to prevail. I don’t take this to mean much, because I’m not really one to dwell on the past. It happened, and now, we’re onto the next match.
I hold no ill-will toward Krystal. She gave me a heck of a match as she is one to do. But of course, people have to come out and ruin a good thing from time to time. So, I will say to Krystal, that any time she wants to run it back, I will be more than happy to do so. I just want the next time to be where she takes the things I’m saying to her to heart and really does evolve. I’m still waiting for her to take the next step, but in the meantime, I guess I will.
I will be honest and I will say I wasn’t really expecting to be in a number one contender’s match this week. Heck, I wasn’t even thinking I was going to have a match, but here we are. In is what is being build as a match of three former world champions, I have another tough match ahead of me, facing both Alicia Lukas and Mercedes Vargas. I was expecting to continue to have matches where I earned this match, but I will not look a gift horse in the mouth. I am once again in contention and I happen to be well aware that Amber Ryan is back, and is the Bombshell’s champion yet again. I did make a promise to Amber, and I always love to keep my promises. But it feels a bit...nostalgic at this point. Doesn't it?
I was in the pretty much this exact spot last year. Having earned a championship match around this point, and then I went onto with the Bombshell’s championship around the same time. Will history repeat itself? I’m not sure, but this feeling of déjà vu is all around right now. Getting to do this again and renew something was started a while back and add another chapter in the seemingly never-ending fight with Amber? Yeah, I guess I am feeling a bit nostalgic right now. And this really applies to my opponents this week as well.
I was feeling like I was going to do this again with Alicia Lukas and really have to make some harsh points and become what she has always seemingly seen me as: the bad guy who is really trying to ruin everyone else so I can hog all the glory. I was the smiling in their face while stabbing them in the back person. Though I never really understood how telling the truth made me that person, but I thought when I heard her name that it was all going to start again. Those feelings of having to defend myself and my family and we would be going back to 2019 and Alicia would be talking about how she’s going to bring it back and to tell you the truth, I was dreading that. Not because it’s some killer material, but because I’ve heard it before.
But, as I thought about it, and I watched Alicia speak in the limited amount of times she has been around, I have noticed a pattern, and it became a pleasant surprise to me. I began to notice that all the times Alicia would speak, she would speak quite highly and respectfully of me. That has been going on for a long time and at this point, it doesn’t make a lot of sense for me to go back to times before hearing her and believe she is the same person. Time changes people. Reflection may make people see things differently and that’s really what this is all about when you stop and think about it.
Maybe time has given Alicia perspective on this whole thing. Now, part of me thinks that if 2020, and 2021, and 2022 had been better for Alicia, she might still be in that 2019 mindset, but the fact is, they didn’t. And more and more things get put in their perspective as time goes by. 2019 is now a long distant memory, and Alicia just hasn’t been that wrestler since. I’m not trying to pile on, I’m just stating the facts. Heck, I can say the same thing about myself. 2022 isn’t here anymore and I lost right out of the gate and that shook up a lot of things. It just goes to show that you cannot rely on what you did before to continue year after year. It doesn’t work that way. And I think maybe now that time has passed, that Alicia understands that.
Goodness knows 2019 Alicia was borderline unbearable, but she was so good that she forced everyone, myself included to up their game. She did exactly what she said she was going to do, and where the division is now, is very much in large part thanks to her efforts. I think Alicia just learned that staying on top is a lot harder than just getting there.
And this would be the part where if Alicia was listening and following along, she’d say “there’s going to be some backhanded compliment here” because that’s who I was to her for all that time. But, that’s never been me. It’s not backhanded if it’s the truth. And the truth was when she was on top, it was hard to swallow.
My issues with Alicia have always been based on her attitude, not her in-ring skills. They say if you’ve got it, you should flaunt it, and there is no denying that Alicia is super talented. She would not have achieved all she has if she wasn’t talented. That has never been a hang-up for me. But now, in the recent times, the issues don’t appear to be there. There appears to be a little humbling having gone on, so there is no need for me to remark about Alicia’s attitude at this point. It has... been adjusted.
This, however does not change what’s the goal of this match is. The fact is Alicia beating me one on one way back then was a sore spot for a long time, and despite the recent success I have had, I am still looking to make up for that. I don’t get that opportunity this time, but any time I can beat an opponent the caliber of Alicia Lukas, I will be more than happy to take it. Because in the back of my mind, I actually like this version of Alicia Lukas much better than 2019. That’s not a trip down memory lane that I want to take any time soon. So, I have to be at the very top of my game to beat her, and that’s exactly what I’m going to do. I really don’t have time to re-live those days.
But then again, Mercedes Vargas has been living her best years for the past like five. It’s pretty much become a running joke. Mercedes spend more times tweeting about sports and SCW events than she does putting any effort into continuing her best years. It’s almost sad to see what she has turned herself into.
But maybe that’s because Mercedes has been defined by records and stats and all that, as opposed to actually turning into a respected figure like she should have. You would think that a person who has accomplished as much as Mercedes has in her career, that it would be respected more than it is. But I’ve already gone over this, but the facts are that Mercedes has ONE memorable and lengthy title run to her credit. The rest of those accumulated titles wins have been a blink-and-you-miss it. Doesn’t anybody even remember that Mercedes won the Bombshell’s title? Only when you’re reminded of it, right? Or if you listen to her talk about it, ad nauseum, because that is what happens when you are living on the past.
As much as Mercedes wants it, 2015 is not coming back anytime soon. Neither is 2014, or 2016, or 2017. Those days are long gone and as much as I enjoy “All About That Bass” and Adele’s “Hello” it’s not going to make some kind of comeback. But we continue to have to hear about them every time Mercedes makes at least the smallest of attempts to salvage her career. You would think that someone like her would be tired of hearing the jokes and actually do something to change it, but it’s seemingly as often as February 29th that Mercedes seems to find it in her body somewhere to actually become something different.
I said it a long, long time ago that I don’t really know anything about Mercedes Vargas, and now, I’m going on a decade of being in the same company as her. Other than her nationality. And her championships, and her retweeting of sports scores. I don’t actually know Mercedes at all. But I know enough to at this point, not even be angry or annoyed or even a general dislike of her. I think I’m just beyond that now.
At this point, I just feel... sorry for her.
It’s like watching the late Gallagher. Does it really matter what he’s talking about? People went to see him smash a melon with a sledgehammer. Did he make some fine points? Yes, as a matter of fact. But at the end of the day, the man smashed fruit with a sledgehammer. It’s an act, but most people just don’t find the enjoyment in it that people did in a different time.
That’s what Mercedes allowed herself to become. A joke, a running gag, an act. A tired, worn out act. And yet, here she is, ready to come on stage and smash the fruit and hope that you will see it and give her the applause she desperately seeks. And when you don’t, she lashes out like a bitter old act.
I mean, Mercedes told everyone I was a boring Bombshell’s champion. I know, I get it, jealously breeds this kind of behavior. And maybe I was a boring champion. I did everything I could to do things the right way and beat Mercedes along the way and fought for my life a couple of times last year, but maybe I was boring.
But at the end of the day, I got there and didn’t waste everyone’s time like Mercedes has been doing for the nearly 5 years.
5 years of just being here. Exisiting and being on the roster and being in matches and expecting a certain amount of respect. And by all right, Mercedes does deserve a shred of respect. The problem is, when you give it to her, it simply feeds her ego into thinking that she doesn’t have to do anything anymore. Just do the thing, say the line and that’s the job done.
I think it’s about time that we just make it an official thing and let Mercedes know, if she’s not going to bother giving her all, then there’s no need to give her the time to not use.
Sunday, I will deliver that message.
And since I know Amber is listening... I always endeavor keep my promises. I will see you soon.
And I will see you all there.
