LIVE OR DIE?
Early in the evening on night one of Colossus, the camera pans up to find Eddie Cross, backpack slung over his shoulder, walking down the service hallway near the loading dock of Madison Square Garden flanked by his trainer, Dave Gibson. Fresh off a decent, yet unsuccessful, run in the Belmont, Eddie saunters like a man who has yet to taste defeat.
Behind him a rapid set of footsteps approaches and Eddie spins to meet Mike McGee powerwalking toward him in his business attire singlet. Even though neither man is on the card tonight, they both made the trip to be part of the event.
Mike McGee: Just who I was hoping to find wandering the halls of this hallowed building aimlessly!
Eddie groans.
Eddie Cross: What do you want?
Mike McGee: We still have a score to settle!
Eddie shakes his head.
Eddie Cross: No we don’t. I beat you twice, and you got your licks in, so powerwalk away while I’m still in a good mood.
As Eddie turns to leave, Mike grabs his arm.
Mike McGee: I said we have a…
Eddie wheels around and elbow strikes McGee in the face, knocking him to the ground. Eddie pounces on the downed HR Superstar and gator rolls with him until he takes his back and locks in body hooks with his legs.
Eddie Cross: I said we are done.
Eddie releases his grip and rolls out of the entanglement. He brushes himself off and looks at Mike, who is panting and rubbing his jaw on the ground. Dave Gibson seems content to let his student handle the issue and leans up against a rolling crate full of lighting gear.
Eddie Cross: I just want to watch the show. Walk away.
Mike has a moment where a lot runs through his head. His instinct is to run, he trembles as he remembers the sullying of his prized Kia Sorento. His instinct changes from flight to fight and he stands up to charge at Eddie.
Mike McGee: RAAAAAAH!
Eddie sidesteps Mike and uses his momentum to throw him into a group of wheeled plastic dumpsters. Mike flails and the dumpsters wildly scatter with a deep booming noise. Eddie shakes his head and points at McGee who looks up from the ground at him.
Eddie Cross: I’m not in the mood for this, Mike, walk away!
Instead Mike grabs a rolling dumpster and wheels it at Eddie. Visions of his naked parents ravishing one another on the hood of his beautiful SUV cause his vision to go cherry red and he kips up, charging at Eddie once again, shooting for a single leg.
E.C. spreads his legs and hop balances while being driven backwards. He leans forward into Mike and begins to drop vicious elbows all while making his base as large as possible. Dave’s eyes flit back and forth, yet he does nothing. Mike grunts and slams Eddie into a railing. Eddie yelps as Mike then lowers his own center of gravity in an attempt to secure a takedown. A trickle of blood has started dripping into the floor from a cut opened over Mike’s right eyebrow.
Eddie Cross: Damnit, I said stop!
Eddie sees an opening and reaches down, hooking both of Mike’s arms in a double underhook, then pulls up, breaking Mike’s hold on his leg. He leaps up and off a safety rail, spinning and planting Mike with the Overkill Tornado Butterfly DDT. He follows up by rolling into a mounted position over a now bloody Mike who is panting on the ground. Eddie unslings his backpack and pulls out the laptop and holds it over Mike like a dagger over a defeated knight.
Eddie Cross: I’m going to give you one more chance at this. Keep fighting, or walk away?
Mike looks up and, with desperation to avenge his Kia in his eyes, squints at Eddie.
Mike McGee: (between strained efforts and raspy breaths) You… will never… be middle… management!
Eddie Cross: Wrong Answer.
E.C. brings the laptop down with a crunch and keys fly out all over the floor. Mike lays, knocked out, on the floor as Eddie stands up and tosses the laptop on the ground next to him. It lays broken in two pieces with the screen shattered like a spider’s web. Dave Gibson finally approaches his student and looks at arm, which is now dripping blood from being slammed into the railing. He rips a piece of his “Shut Up and Wrestle!” shirt and wraps it around the wound.
Dave Gibson: Come on, let’s go get you stitched up.
Eddie takes a moment, looking at Mike on the ground.
Eddie Cross: He could have walked away.
Dave nods.
Dave Gibson: Welcome to dealing with pissing people off, kid. Looks like you did a damn fine job. You wanna keep going down this road, you better get used to it. The real question is, do you want to keep going down this road?
Eddie looks down at his fallen enemy. Slowly a sneer spreads over his face and he pulls his glasses from his pocket. He looks up at his mentor and smiles, a familiar…almost Dastardly… smile.
Eddie Cross: Yeah, I could get used to this.
The pair walk away down the hallway as Mike starts to stir on the ground. Colossus rolls on as Dangerous Mix and Masters of The Multiverse B-Team are preparing for their match next!