[Jet City]

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Solo
Long Beach, CALIFORNIA  - Court’s House
25th JANUARY 2024
OFF-Camera

The last few weeks have been quiet. Oz hadn’t heard from Eiley since she decided to head to Barcelona to hide away from the world for a few weeks. As far as he was concerned, she had earned the break. They had a successful run as Mixed Tag Team Champions, and if they were going to gear up to make another run at it, he was going to need her to be at her best. Maybe a few weeks of decompressing was a small price to pay for what they would be able to do when she returned. However, just a couple of days after she got there, she went radio silent. Oz hadn’t heard anything from her, and when he had the doorman check on his apartment, he said it was like nobody had been there in months.

Oz didn’t have the time to go chasing her across the world, so he went to his next best guess. Even in the times that he hadn’t been in contact with Eiley, Jaycee had been. They had the sort of relationship where they checked up on one another regularly, even though they would have never hung out with one another without someone else as a buffer. Oz got the feeling that Jaycee thought of her as a younger sister. Honestly, Jaycee pushing him was one of the only reasons that Oz had been confident enough to approach the subject of the two of them getting together. It seemed like if it was something Jaycee was hyping him up for, he already knew where Eiley stood on the matter. If anyone was going to know where she was, it was Jaycee. The problem was, Oz couldn’t seem to find him either. He beat down his door on several occasions, but never got an answer. It wasn’t like the guy had a phone or social media presence either. He was basically a ghost when he was outside of his house and Jet City.

Unfortunately, the fact that both of them were gone drastically limited Oz’s options of who to turn to for help. His only remaining option was a longshot at best, and he knew that she wasn’t going to be happy about him dropping by unannounced. Luckily, as he was rounding the corner from the backyard to head back to his car, she came through the backdoor heading for the garage.

OZ: What have you done with my friends?

The Bombshell Internet Champion froze in place for a moment. When her eyes finally caught Oz she let out a sigh of relief, and then seemed irritated for having had that reaction in the first place. She doesn’t stop to talk to him either, rolling her eyes before continuing on her path.

COURT: I guess that’s one way to try and start a conversation…

Oz ran a few steps to catch up with her, and then followed her into the garage through the side door before explaining his accusation.

OZ: Eiley has fallen off the face of the world. Jaycee has been missing for like a week. The way I see it, since I don’t know where they are, it must have something to do with you.

Court shook her head, still not turning towards him to give him her full attention. She started going through some of the cabinets and drawers like she was looking for something, but Oz didn’t get close enough to solve that particular puzzle. He knew that somewhere in here was something sharp that she wouldn’t hesitate to throw or stick into him if he bothered her.

COURT: You’d be wrong. I haven’t seen Eiley since she said she was going on vacation.

The way that she absent-mindedly dashed his hopes almost made him turn and walk away. However, something about her answer told him that she wasn’t telling the whole truth.

OZ: I can’t help but notice you casually left out one of the two of them.

She shrugged before moving on to a different set of drawers, opening them and sorting through items that he couldn’t see before frustratedly slamming them closed.

COURT: Technically I haven’t seen him either.

He knew that wasn’t an actual answer either, and unlike the first time she had tried to get him to give up and walk away, he immediately asked a follow-up question.

OZ: ...so does that mean that you “technically” know where he is? Why do you people always have to turn simple questions into riddles?

This time she physically waved him away from her before even opening her mouth.

COURT: He’s helping out at the gym…

That wasn’t an answer that Oz was going to buy either though. Before driving all the way up to see him at home, Oz had stopped by Jet City and he hadn’t been there. In fact, nobody had seen him in a couple of weeks, so there was no way that he could have just missed him.

OZ: No, he’s not. I just drove all the way here from San Die--.

She cut him off, losing patience to even deal with him absent-mindedly.

COURT: Seattle.

However, instead of making things clearer for Oz, she had only worked to confuse him even more.

OZ: Seattle? In January? What gym up there is even worth helping out?

She sighed, now letting some of the frustration from her body language seep into her voice as well.

COURT: Jet City needed help finding someone to put into the Blast from the Past tournament. He has experience.

Oz’s face scrunched up, and he considered whether or not Court had simply hit her head too hard in her last match. Nothing that she was saying was making any sense to him.

OZ: Jet City is in San Diego.

Her annoyance had finally risen to a level where she had to turn around to face him. He knew as soon as they locked eyes that he had made the mistake of asking too many questions. He found himself thankful for the ten feet of space between them, as he knew what she was capable of when irritated.

COURT: Jet City South is in San Diego.

He was thankful that she maintained composure to correct him without violence, but pressed his luck with another stupid question.

OZ: There’s more than one?!

She rolled her eyes and went back to her search without wasting any more energy on him.

COURT: South isn’t even the real deal. It all started in Seattle. Don’t you know anything about the place that you never shut up about?

She looks around before turning her attention to the loft above the two of them. She pulls down a wooden ladder that unfolds in three sections and starts to climb up to the second level, leaving Oz behind.

OZ: Apparently not. Why would Kris send an unsupervised drug addict, fresh out of rehab, all the way up the coast?

She answers on her way up the ladder, but Oz doesn’t dare follow her. She was already yelling down to him like she expected him to keep his feet firmly on the floor so there was really no need to even try his luck.

COURT: It wasn’t him. It was his brother.

He knew that his next question would have gotten him stabbed, or at least punched, had she still been on the ground, but the extra distance between them helped him be a little more bold.

OZ: He has a brother?

There was a long pause before she poked her head out from the second story and looked down at him with the most sincere look that she could summon to her face.

COURT: Look, going through the history of the gym sounds fun and all, but I have more important things to do today.

He holds up his hands innocently, and takes a step back from the ladder defeated.

OZ: I get it. Sorry to bother you. Thought you were going to be more helpful, or maybe Jaycee would have heard from Eiley by now.

She doesn’t have anymore time to humor him though and ratchets up the tough love.

COURT: Tough shit. Focus on the things that actually matter. Jaycee can take care of himself. Eiley is clearly in search of some peace and quiet. Distractions like those are probably what cost you the match with Austin. Don’t make that same mistake against Miles.

Oz confidently blew off her warning without giving it much thought.

OZ: I’ve beaten him once already.

She was ready for that though, and cuts down his argument while going back to her search.

COURT: You’ve beaten him with a partner there to back you up. Standing on your own two feet is never as simple. I think you already know that though. He already got that loss back from you.

Oz stood quietly for a second, but thought better of arguing any further. He knew it was only a matter of time before objects started flying down at him from above. Instead of yelling back up to her, he mutters his response under his breath before making his exit.

OZ: ...that’s not what I signed up for….



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Finding Motivation
San Diego, CALIFORNIA  - Jet City South
26th JANUARY 2024
OFF-Camera


The talk with Court hadn’t gone the way that he wanted it to. He was still no closer to talking to either of the two people that he most commonly went to for advice, and Kris was busy with his 9000 children. If he was going to find a way to win this match against Miles, he was going to have to do it on his own. In order to do that he was going to have to get to work and keep his mind off of the other two as much as possible. He needed to regain the focus that he and Eiley had when they walked into Summer XXXtreme as nobodies and walked out as the Mixed Tag Team Champions. The only place that he could do that was Jet City. He had a few days left until his match, and he was determined to sharpen all of his skills in the time that he had left. It wasn’t like this was some kind of unknown opponent. It wasn’t like he was going to be giving up a ton of size or reach. He and Miles were perfectly matched for one another, and they had shared the ring twice before. Each of them had a win under their belts, but this was the one with the most on the line thus far. If Oz won this one, he would guarantee himself a shot at the Internet Championship that Miles was lucky to be carrying around. More importantly, if he won on Climax Control, he would have won the rubber match, and would go into any potential supercard match with the momentum. Regardless of what happened down the line though,if he was going to survive on his own while his friends were gone, he needed to come out and put on a show in this match.

ROUX: Oh look, the sad and quiet boy lost all of this friends…

He didn’t even have to turn to see the person that the words came from. As soon as her voice hit his ears he could feel his blood pressure rise. Roux was the whole reason that he and Eiley had a rocky couple of months. Then again, they also got back on the same page by uniting against her, but she had almost torn them apart in the meantime. He didn’t want to be involved in whatever it was she had going on with Court, which was why he hadn’t brought it up when he saw her. He knew better than to get involved, no matter how much this girl had tried to drag him in.

OZ: Has anyone ever been happy to see you?

The words were meant to drive her off, but she seemed to enjoy them instead. She cheerfully skipped across the room, and then leaned against the mirrored wall in front of him so that he couldn’t help but see her out of the corner of his eye as he started his next set.

ROUX: Not really. I guess it’s as much of a gift as it is a curse. I couldn’t help but notice as I was walking around this dump that I didn’t see your girlfriend anywhere around. You already push her to find a new gym to get away from you?

Oz shook his head, using the frustration as fuel to help him power through this set.

OZ: It’s not like that. What are you even doing here anyways? You’re not part of Jet City.

It’s not like that would have barred her from the grounds. Jet City had plenty of walk-ins that just wanted to feel the place out before officially starting their training. Roux was smart enough to catch someone at the desk that wouldn’t know who she was, and wouldn’t ask her too many questions. Her ability to get in wasn’t really what he was questioning though. It wasn’t so much that it would be difficult, as much as it was that he couldn’t figure out what she gained by dropping in. Court wasn’t there, and wasn’t even scheduled to be. What was her objective?

ROUX: I could be, if the people around here were smarter and I were more interested in mediocrity. I mean, I am the biggest future star set to appear in Blast from the Past. They should be begging me to let them slap their label on me.

Oz finished his workout and sat up to give her his full attention for the first time. The playful look on his face convinced him that he was actually the reason that she was there. Maybe she was going to make another run at trying to be his partner now that Eiley really was out of the picture. He wasn’t about to fall into that trap though.

OZ: You might be hot shit wherever you’re training, but you ain’t the biggest future anything until after you step into a ring and do it for real.

She countered almost like she had anticipated what he was going to say, and didn’t hesitate to turn it around him on.

ROUX: You mean like you?

Oz shook his head immediately.

OZ: No. Not like me.

He knew that there was no point trying to talk up his own record in Sin City. There was a reason that he hadn’t been chosen to be the future star last year. As far as everyone was concerned, he had already risen up further than he ever deserved. Nobody was expecting anything more of him, aside from maybe J2H.

ROUX: Apparently the greatest of all time thought you were good enough to give a chance to… how did that work out for you?

Again, he didn’t even try and downplay the truth of the matter. He owned his losses, because they were the only things that made the wins worthwhile.

OZ: Yeah well, the big title isn’t for me. Every time I step into the ring alone, I get my ass handed to me. My whole vision for stepping into the ring was to do so as part of a team. J2H throwing his championship away wasn’t part of the plan. This new “Golden Opportunity” wasn’t either.

She feigned surprise, and even brought one hand up to cover a fake gasp that he really wished hadn’t worked to make him more annoyed.

ROUX: Oh, right. I remember! You’re terrible when you’re on your own. Isn’t that the whole reason that you and Eiley started your little team. What is it called? Limited?

He wasn’t going to play the game with her. The whole reason she approached him months ago was to replace Eiley on the team. She was incredibly familiar with them, and just wanted to get under his skin.

OZ: Limitless, and I know that you know that. It doesn’t matter though.

She wipes the smile off of her face, and gets serious when she realizes that he wasn’t going to take the bait.

ROUX: On the contrary, I think that it does. Limitless started because you couldn’t get it done. After AJM wiped the floor with you a couple of weeks ago, you pretty much proved that hasn’t changed.

She wasn’t wrong, but the fact remained that she was still here wasting her time on him. She wanted something from him, so he couldn’t be totally useless like she was making him out to be.

OZ: ...and yet here we are…

His indifference finally puts a crack in her playful demeanor.

ROUX: That’s not a winning attitude. Do better!

He shrugs, sensing that truly not caring was going to be the only way to annoy her into finally leaving him alone. If she wanted to call him a lost cause, he was willing to play the role to get her to go away.

OZ: I don’t know if I can.

She looks up at the ceiling, and then takes a deep breath in an attempt to calm herself down. It didn’t have much of an impact because once her mouth opens, all of the contempt came right back with her voice.

ROUX: There’s only one way to find out, and being a bitch ain’t it.

He shrugged again, again shifting the focus back to her.

OZ: It seems like it works wonders for you…

Frustrated, she kicks off of the mirrored wall, and moves around him back towards the half-wall separating him from the larger floor of the gym. It looked like she briefly considered storming off, but stopped and tried a different approach.

ROUX: You’re not me. I want the big stage. That spotlight is mine, and once I get started there’s no way that I am going to want to share it with anyone. I don’t think that you have any of that mentality in you. You’re more of the sneak around in the shadows type. That’s fun and all, but when you don’t have Eiley around to be your distraction, what happens?

He answered honestly, when he could tell she was trying to provoke him into fighting back.

OZ: Something painful most of the time…

This time she was prepared for his apathy, and pushed through it.

ROUX: Don’t you think it’s time you changed that narrative? Maybe when she sees that you don’t need her, she’ll come running back. Then you won’t have to hunt her down at all.

Oz stood up and grabbed a towel off of a nearby cart while he considered her words. He dried his face and then hung the towel around his neck before having to concede to her.

OZ: That might not be a ba---

He turned as he spoke, but stopped when he realized that she hadn’t stuck around to hear his answer.



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>Prophecies

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”I must have missed something….”

”I was under the impression that there was a certain established hierarchy in Sin City. I thought that there was some kind of structure in place to organize the division. We all know that the World Heavyweight Championship is at the top; that’s a no brainer. I have always heard that the bottom tier was the Roulette Championship. I mean, it makes sense. It is the gimmicky belt with so much random violence attached to it that it doesn’t need a big name to carry it. Until Peter Vaughn got hold of it, it kind of bounced around several unremarkable talents for years. Bill Barnhart is the one that specifically comes to mind, but if you look at the history of the Roulette Championship, you’ll see a whole lot of names that nobody has ever given a shit about. Granted, you’ll see several names on the list that held that championship and then went onto greatness. That really only backs up my point though. The people that win it are nobodies in this company. They are at the bottom of the roster. Whatever did or did not happen to them after winning the championship is irrelevant.”

”...and I only mention the other two championships as representing the very top and very bottom of this company because I think it makes it obvious that the Internet Championship is meant to slide right in between them. As Court has been telling the Bombshell Division, the Internet Championship makes you mid-card royalty. It means that you fall short of being qualified to be the face of the company, but at least you don’t have to get beaten senseless in whatever way a roulette wheel decides. It is a comfortable place on the roster, because you have worked far enough up the ranks that you don’t have to fear for your job. It’s also a painful reminder that there is still a glass ceiling lingering over your head. Sometimes it means that you aren’t ready for a shot at being the top guy. In Miles’ case, it means you have had too many shots at the top, and come up short every time.”

”...coming up short like letting the bottom tier champion eject you from the World Heavyweight Championship tournament….”

”...not only did Miles prove that he belongs exactly where he is on this roster, he managed to make everyone question the established hierarchy. I don’t care how hot Peter Vaughn has been over the last year, there was no way that Miles should have let some gimmick champion beat him. The Internet Championship is supposed to represent a step up from the Roulette division. Miles is supposed to have grown up and become the Big Dog instead of the Underdog. He was allegedly the man to beat in the whole damn tournament…”

”...and he ended up just another dude that GOT beat in the tournament….”

”I guess I shouldn’t really talk. I was one of the names picked for that tournament. I didn’t make it out of the first round. Then again, nobody really ever expects me to do much when I come through the curtain all by myself. Since the moment that I debuted in this company I have been an unapologetic mixed tag team talent. I haven’t ever had any interest in going it alone, and it shouldn’t be hard to see why. Usually when I walk out to the ring by myself, Austin James Mercer is down there ready to flatten me. Anytime I walk through the backstage area solo, I get laid out by someone who has taken exception to something that I have said or done. I wasn’t the Man of the Year last year, I was one-half of the Mixed Tag Team of the Year, because that is where I have always felt that I belonged.”

”Lately that hasn’t been the case. I came to this company as part of a group of three. Those three became two, and then those two became just one. Me. Alone, but that was never part of the plan. That was why when I was presented with the opportunity to become the World Heavyweight Champion, I wasn’t really motivated. I didn’t see the point, because that was never where I saw myself in this company. I didn’t think that I needed, and I definitely am not ready, to be the face of a company. I don’t want to be the guy at the top that everyone is trying to pick apart. I don’t need the already sizable target on my back getting any bigger than it already is, so losing to Austin and dropping out of the tournament never bothered me. It was the easiest loss that I’ve ever taken, and afterwards I packed up all of my shit, went home, and didn’t lose a second of sleep over it.”

”...I bet Miles can’t say that he shares that same experience…”

”I’m willing to bet that the loss has been eating him up inside. I see him carrying on with the same stupid social media shit with Carter like being a failure isn’t eating himself up inside. I see the attempt to make everything look like business as usual, but something tells me that when he comes down the aisle that won’t be what I see. I bet I’m going to see a man that’s adrift in company. I think I am going to look into his eyes and see fear. If Miles didn’t feel like he had Imposter Syndrome right now, I’d be surprised, because after losing another shot at the big belt he has to feel like maybe he doesn’t belong. Losing that shot to a champion that is supposed to be beneath you has to be salt in a gaping wound.”

”...so while he was coming into 2024 as a champion with all the confidence in the world, he was already shaken to his core in the first thirty days. He started off his year, and his time as champion, with an embarrassing loss when everyone expected better of him. I thought that maybe the bosses would throw him an easy match-up so that he could get his groove back, but instead they put my name across the card from his and attached a warning to it. Sure, this match is a Golden Opportunity for me, but for Miles, it is a threat. It is Mark and Christian shaking a finger of disappointment at him and saying ‘lose again, and that title around your waist will evaporate before you know it’.”

”They could have made this a contender’s match. They could have put me against any other non-champion in the company and said whoever won got a shot at Miles. They could have given him time to prepare for the inevitable confrontation with his championship on the line. Hell, they could have brought him out to ringside for a contendership match, and he would have gotten an up-close-and-personal look at his next challenger before he had to share the ring with him. The Internet Champion was given no such advantage, and that tells me just how ready the bosses are to see this little failed experiment come to a quick end.”

”I might not have felt qualified for the top job in this company, but I don’t think it’ll surprise anyone to hear me say that I see the Roulette division as being beneath me. I have no interest in leaving my career up to the chance of a spinning wheel. I like to have control of my destiny, and being the Internet Champion feels like it makes the most sense. I don’t think there is any better way for me to transition out of the Mixed Tag Team division and show people what I can do on my own. I think I can easily slot myself in, and fill the void that Miles has created as a subpar champion, and all I have to do to ensure my shot at his championship is go out and beat him in the center of the ring.”

”Sounds easy enough, doesn’t it?”

”The bosses are determined so see what I have to offer as a singles talent, so I am going to seize this opportunity before they try to toss me to Vaughn next. I see the writing on the wall. I can tell what is expected of me, and if they are going to force me to pick a championship to chase, then I am calling my shot against Miles right now. Going down to the ring and pinning him will just be a formality. We have already shared the ring a couple of times before and I have never been impressed.”

”Sure, he may have taken me down once before in a singles match, but there wasn’t anything in that one for me. I had a singular focus, and he was in it to avenge his loss the first time around. And why was I victorious the first time around? Motivation. He was the one standing in the way of me  holding the Mixed Tag Team Championships, so I spiked him in the center of the ring and pinned his shoulders to the mat to pick up the win. I was given every reason to go out to the ring and take him apart, and that was exactly what I did. I certainly left an impression because he came out of the bells swinging in that second match, but it didn’t matter. I needed to save myself for the Mixed Tag Team Championships that I went on to win. I had a goal, and I stopped at nothing to make it happen. He has experienced what it’s like to be in the ring with me when I don’t want to lose.”

”He knows what it is like to stand between me and a championship that I have my eyes on.”

”He got dropped, and history is about to repeat itself...”

”Call it a prophecy if you want to.”