Scene One: A name only gets you so far…
Off Camera
New York City
6 Years Ago.
“Great work guys. See you tomorrow.” His body ached as he rolled his shoulder. Austin was wracked with pain as he turned and moved across the floor of the gym, his long brown hair wet with sweat. The other students all crowded together laughing and carrying on as friends. As buddies. A brotherhood. Austin shook his head never being a part of it. He heard them all, he heard the words. He knew they despised him, hated him.
Like I give a fuck.
The words moved through his mind and for a split second he turned like he was going to say something. They all stopped. They all stood and waited with baited breath. Then it hit him, a realisation. They were intimidated. Austin had used his last name. His father's last name. In New York and the east coast the name Mercer was god. He was the next generation of a family that had gone missing from the business they helped build 20 years ago. He rolled his eyes stepping away, this isn’t what he wanted. He didn’t need it. The dreams he had where his own not his families. Sure it was based in the love he had for the business and the lineage. But Austin was his own man.
He left them alone. His chest puffed out. He was the biggest, strongest. Most naturally gifted. But he also worked the hardest. He walked into the locker room throwing his shirt across the room into his bag before he grabbed a fresh one throwing it over his 6’6 frame. He stopped and looked around checking the area. Usually it was quiet, he heard the laughter, the coaches now joining in. Austin's hands shook, he could feel it, the headache. It was starting to come on like it did every day. He needed to stop it, to silence it.
He reaches into the bag sitting just inside the blue painted steel locker. He pulled out a small silver flask. A golden embossed M on the front. He breathed in sharply and unscrewed the top before bringing it to his lips. The sting and warmth of the alcohol hit his tongue as he took it down. He swallowed as much as he could as fast as he could resting his head against the shelf inside the locker.
Useless boy.
Your Father ran away.
You’ll be nothing.
They faded away. His body calmed. His hands stopped shaking. The lid screwed back on as a warmth came over his body and he shut the locker tight. He turned to find one of the other students looking at him. A smaller man, only a little younger. Austin looked at the locker then back at him before looking down. As he picked up his bag and walked by he heard him whisper.
“It’ll be ok….” Austin stopped mid step and turned his head with a small sigh and a nod of appreciation. He moved back out through the gym as the group still chatted happily about.
See, the ones that won’t engage me
Are the same trying to cage me
But I can’t sit still and I won’t be tame
When the lights go out
Better know your enemy
Because I’ve spent a lifetime shadowboxing with death
And we’ll dance with the devil ‘til there’s no songs left
Scene Two: Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas
Off Camera
Las Vegas, Nevada
3 Years Ago
Daisie Dae stood in the hallway of the penthouse apartment, she sighed slightly, shaking her head she went to turn away, her long legs clad in black leather look leggings, a plaid shirt thrown over a vest top. She steels herself, turning back to the door and rings the bell. Immediately, she starts adjusting her outfit, pulling at her shirt and primping her hair, nervous for the first time in her short life as she waits… It only takes a moment for him to reach the door and swing it open, she smiles, a genuinely relieved smile when he doesn’t immediately slam the door in her face..
“Hey” Austin looked confused at Daisie, his eyes darting from side to side as he clears his throat nervously. “I wasn’t...I wasn’t expecting you.” He stepped back and held the door open for her trying to calm himself not sure as to what he was supposed to be feeling or thinking.
Daisie smiled slightly and shrugged, stepping into the room she turned to face him “Ay, well you weren’t answering’ my calls or nothin’ Merc...” she turns away from him and wanders into the apartment, wrapping her hands over her arms, almost hugging herself… “An’ since there seemed to be a lil somethin’ on yah mind… I figured I’d come by an’ see if we can’t get it all taken care of..?”
Austin scoffs and shakes his head breezing past her as the door shuts behind him. Austin thinks for a moment trying to put the words together. “Taken care of?...you mean talk or...something else?..cause I got to tell you Daze...I can’t scratch your itch right now…” Austin growls the last few words and folds his arms. “Maybe Gray Malone or one of the other guys can….”
Daisie shakes her head, turning to face him now “Really bothers ya tha I went to Cancun for a weekend with him don’t it?” she shakes her head again, obviously confused as she throws her arms up in her air “Why…. Why do ya care?!” she laughs slightly now “Ain’t like i’m eva gonna be more than a…. Friend.”
He laughed it off and ran a hand through his long brown hair. “That ain’t what bothered me Daze. I was slightly miffed that I offered a job and I wanted to spend time with you only to find out someone else already did…” He sighs deeply and throws his hands out. “I don’t want to be second best, and I guess friends is all we can be...it’s all you want but...I can’t…”
He pauses for a moment and grits his teeth. “We can’t….scratch each others itches and be friends...so we can be friends but you’ll have to find others cause I will always want...more…” she nods slowly, looking everywhere but him now…“Ay, but did it occur to yah to even ask what I wanted?” she folds her arms over her chest tightly “Ya offered the job and then took it back… All ah said was that i’d been offered another job...not that I took it… Or even wanted it.” she shakes her head and takes a couple of steps back, turning away…
“Look, Sugah… ah ain’t here to fight, it ain’t my style…” she wanders over to the window and looks out onto the streets below as she pauses to collect her thoughts “And I ain’t here to fuck neither… “ Austin cleared his throat and stepped towards her a little “Then why are you here? You made it clear what you didn’t want, and I tried Daze….I don’t want to be that guy...I don’t want you tied down cause I know you don’t want it…”
He looks away and swallows hard, his hands clasping together. “You want to be able to do what you want when you want and some guys will always be ok with that...I’m...sorry I’m not...so I understand if this is where we part...just know that I care about you….I care alot…” She nods slightly and turns to face him, shaking her hair back with a small sigh… “I’m here because I wanna try…” she swallows hard, looking down at her feet… “I ain’t sayin I can hold your hand or cook you dinner or nothin…” she shrugs slightly, uncertain in her words… “But.. I wanna work witchu an.. I think if there is anyone who can be just… One….” she glances up at him, the words barely coming out “Then it’s you.”
Austin smiles and looks down with a blush, he looks up at her and then his eyes dart away. “Man Daze…” He steps forward towards her very tentative and almost shy with a grin. “I want to work with you to, and If you want to try and make...you and me..work...then I can definitely get behind that….”
He gets closer, not yet touching her with an awkward grin. “I don’t want to force you into anything, but if you want to try...and if you need time I understand…” He grins and reaches out stroking her cheek before lightly kissing her lips. “Sorry..was that too….coupley?” She turns her face to his hand for a moment, closing her eyes a little before she laughs and turns back to face him once more… “I ain’t calling’ you my beau or nothing’” she leans in a little and hooks a finger into the belt loop on his jeans, leaning up on her tiptoes she kisses him softly, sighing to herself as she drops back to her feet….
“But I ain’t eva gonna do that to nobody else neither…” Austin just smiles and slides his hands around her waist before kissing her back, with a little extra passion than he ever kissed anyone else before. “I can live with that….but...what do we do now?...we can...go to the bedroom...or…” Austin looks over at the TV with a laugh. “We can totally not be a couple and not sit there and watch TV in each others arms..cause...we’re not those kinds of people right?” Daisie laughs slightly, wriggling free of his arms she wanders over to the couch…
“No Cuddling’” she smirks slightly as she leans on the back of the couch, before rounding it and sitting down, patting the seat next to her with an arch of her brow… “Well, ya sittin’ or what sugah?” Austin slides around the couch and next to Daisie with a yawn and his arm “accidently” resting around her. “No cuddling...just….my arm was tired….” He smiles warmly at Daisie and sits back turning on the TV with a contented sigh.
Scene Three: Taking Over
On Camera
New York New York
Present Day.
Austin let out a loud, harsh grunt as he pushed the weight bar up off his chest, the sweat poured from his body pooling on the floor under the weight bench, he snarled and hoisted the weight up one more time before placing the bar back on the bench frame. He sat up and took a deep breath with a growl and a smirk.
”Wolfslair gave you all fair warning. We said time and time again that we were going to take over. The plan started with Alicia Lukas capturing the SCW women's title. A championship she is more than ready to defend at Climax Control 230, a championship she will then go on to defend and retain at Blaze of glory. But what of myself and Alex?. Well, I am man enough to admit that I lost to Fenris. I’m man enough to look him in the eye and say, on that night, he was the better man. And that we succeeded in giving the fans of SCW the match they should have had at inception. But now here we are ready to go to the the next chapter in the story. And this chapter seems much more fun than the last…”
He pushed to his feet grabbing a towel wiping down his upper body, his huge arms and chest looking even bigger than when we last saw him. Apparently he’d been using his downtime well. Austin slid his hands up over his head tying his long sweat drenched hair back.
”A fourway at Blaze of Glory. Four of the best compete for the SCW title. The champion Fenris will be there of course. Alex Jones, my friend and mentor will be there and..Jake Raab. I did say four of the best, I suppose I can’t go back on that now. But then there’s the fourth spot. Amd three men all willing to do whatever it takes to get in there. I’m not sure why Jake gets handed another shot on a silver platter, I don’t understand Mark, Christian and Brooke’s fascination with him, I watched him go into a match with Fenris, throw everything at him and be left bewildered at the result. Fenris and I went to war and when the dust settled I knew where I had to improve and what I had to earn but Jake?....Jake didn’t learn anything...because his ignorance blinds him.”
“But, that match is at Blaze of glory…..we have one more stop before them and that stop is where I earn my place…”
“To get to that match though, to earn my place I have to face and beat Travis Levitt and Lachlan Kane…”
“And, it’s funny but when Travis first signed a contract with SCW I was somewhat excited. Here was a guy with some real talent, real drive. He wanted to improve his life and show the world what a sober Travis Levitt could do. But as time has gone on, despite his performances and his efforts, he’s fallen short. The last time we saw Travis in an SCW ring he was going one on one with Alex, and he failed. He fell to the mat and crumbled.”
Austin shakes his head with a huge weighty sigh.
”For whatever reason though Alex jokingly said you should join Wolflair, come to the training facility and work with us, become a member of the group. At Least I thought it was a joke. Alex sees potential in you, he said that you could be something great if you just overcame the mental block you have. Me?. I’m not so sure. I don’t see anything special in you anymore Travis. That fire you had in your eyes has faded and now you’re someone who seems content with just turning up for a paycheck. It only took a few months but you went from a guy with limitless talent to being just another name on the list. You had opportunity after opportunity and when you lost….you just..gave up….”
“In SCW, you have become just another name on the list, another guy backstage and have done nothing to raise yourself up to a higher level but even with all your losses you have been gifted this opportunity to go to the SCW title match. The only problem is you need to get past me to do it and brother….I just don’t see that happening…..”
“You’ll try, you’ll fight, you’ll fail, and the campfire that your once raging inferno has become will be dulled even further to smoking embers….”
“Although, you are only one third of this conversation and I don’t want Lachlan Kane to think I forgot about him…..
Austin’s eyes flash as he smiles at the camera.
“You know, like everyone else does when he’s not teaming with his little Canadian Hispanic firecracker…”
He laughs and shrugs before folding his massive arms over his chest.
”I’m sure some people will think that’s unfair of me and slightly cliched. Some will even believe it’s downright untrue but I’m not talking to those weird women who have close up picture of your abs Lachlan, I’m talking about real wrestling fans who meet your collective singles efforts in SCW with a huge sigh and a polite shrug. You’ve had a little success here and seem to be climbing that ladder but unless you’re in a tag team match you just seem….bland…”
“You get carried by your girlfriend who seems to have all the charisma, you walk out to that ring and seem to just exist and that isn’t what people want to see Lachlan.”
“I’m not saying you’re not talented, cause believe me, you are, but what I’m saying is, that you don’t deserve to be in talks for the SCW world title. You are a great tag champion, you could even be a great roulette champion, but when it comes to that big title. When it comes to the SCW world title. Lachlan, you’re just not good enough. Look at the others in the match. If you do happen to get passed me, you have to take on Jake Raab, a guy who is sneaky in multiperson matches involving titles, Alex Jones, a guy who is a bonafide legend and Fenris, the champion who quite frankly...would eat you alive…”
“Nah Lachlan, don’t try it, just stay in your happy little world in the mid card, with your tag titles where you get carried around by your little girlfriend, keep arguing with your brother on social media and talking about your…”eggplant”, leave the real wrestling and world titles up to people like me and Alex….cause we...are taking over…”
