Post by suma on Jan 23, 2022 13:18:26 GMT -5
(I'm putting offcam stuff I do with SuMa elsewhere here so people who don't follow those feds are up to speed on the big picture of his story)
Marked (offcam)
The night was quiet, eerily so. A single figure can be seen moving. Supreme Machine is stalking the darkness. He found the house he was looking for and after scouting the perimeter, found his way in. “So arrogant… not even bothering to lock his doors…” he muttered to himself as he walked through the house owned by Matthew Knox. But it wasn’t the Raven he was after tonight. Tonight he had another target. Listening intently he moved about until he found the bedroom. Opening the door quietly he made his way over the bed that had one small figure lying on it.
SuMa stared down his target, assessing his options. It would be so easy to just end her right here and right now. Take a pillow and wound the Raven deeper than ever before. But something held his hand. Or more like, someone. The next generation growing inside the woman. The child who carried the same blood as the Monster hovering over her. So SuMa merely cleared his throat and growled out loud. “Wake up.”
The loud voice echoing was quick to bring the young woman out of her slumber. Her comfortable state snatched away immediately, with the poor girl having no time to adjust to being woken up. Eyes locking with the unfamiliar monster, she went to scream out, but thought better of it, simply clutching the locket around her neck and staying silent unsure of what was going to happen to her.
With the girl roused, SuMa took a closer look. He could feel the familiar darkness emanating from the child growing within her… but something was off. Not breaking eyecontact with the girl who was frozen like a deer in the headlights, SuMa reached over to click on the small bedside light. “You’re not her!” He bellowed out. Despite the fact that the girl infront of him was clearly pregnant with the child of Matt Knox, SuMa’s cousin, that wasn’t who he was trying to find. That wasn’t Kamari. That wasn’t the wife of Knox. SuMa leant down on the girl, grabbing a firm hold of her face. Not enough to break anything, but enough to make sure she knew he could if he wanted to. “Who are you. Where is Kamari.” His voice was a menacing snarl as he spoke inches from the girls face. Staring her right in the eyes in an attempt to establish dominance.
The young girl’s expression was clearly filled with fright, finding herself unable to move despite the attempts. She finally found it in her to speak, thinking it best to not draw any further ire. “Aimi.. my name is Aimi.. I don’t know where Mari is. Maybe in their ro..” her words were cut off by the door opening. It was almost too perfect timing. There stood Kamari, initially with a slightly annoyed look on her face, but it was quick to turn into one of concern. Her eyes darted around, looking for something to use against the beast. Muttering an expletive in her native tongue, she let out a sigh, doing her best to stand her ground. “Let the girl go.”
The reaction from the Monster was immediate. He pushed the girl he was holding down on the bed and with two quick steps crossed the room to stand in front of Kamari. He grabbed a hold of her arm to keep her in place. “This just got interesting…” the monster muttered, a small smile creeping to his mangled lips. “Looks like the Raven is hiding a secret after all” That was directed at the girl lying on the bed, Aimi. SuMa pulled Kamari across the room, not roughly but very insistently and pointed towards the bed. He wanted both the girls in a place where he could reach them at the same time. “Kamari… we know you must be wondering why we are here. We’ll tell you. The Raven finally struck. Chose to escalate. That is why we are here. To hammer home a point to him. A point of just how foolish it is to provoke us. Just how vulnerable he is. And to think…” SuMa let out a malicious chuckle, eyes darting between the two girls sitting on the bed. “We got two birds with one stone…” There was a small pause as he intentionally tried to unnever the girls. “Do tell us Kamari… Tell us her story. Another of the Ravens missteps? Does she know what that child growing in her means. What the blood of Knox truly carries?”
Initially, Kamari’s attention was drawn to the other girl, silently checking to make sure she was alright. Though her expression made it clear that there was worry over the present situation and unwanted guest. Locking eyes with him now, she gave a nod. “I know why you’re here. He told me what he set out to do, I just wish he was a bit more successful. Especially now. It’s okay though, in time things will be made right.” She paused for a moment, reflecting on the situation. “Aimi has nothing to do with any of this, leave it with us will you? She’s going to have a normal life. A normal child. Just as I’ll fight for mine to be the same.” Another moment to gather the right words to say. “If you must know.. she’s not a misstep, simply a welcomed surprise.”
The monster chuckled again. Seeing this very small, very round woman trying to put up a brave face and take care of the other girl amused him. “Things will be made right? You naive fool… the Raven doesn’t care about you. Either of you. OR those children growing in you. You are nothing more than a replacement. A stand-in. We would be doing both of you a favor if we just ended your miserable existences right here and right now… in more ways than one.” He looked down on the midsection of Kamari, making an obvious nod to her pregnant state. “You don’t even realize why the Raven came after us. Why he is going after Bane. You… are nothing more than a Chinese knockoff of the one he really wants… the one he is obsessed about. The one he let slip. Amber Ryan. The Raven is obsessed with her. To a point where the poor delusional fool sees himself as a knight in shining armor…” SuMa paced the room a bit, making note of all the exits and entrances. He had learned to grow careful about Knox. “Twisting himself into a knot to justify his actions. If you were smart Kamari… You would talk him down. Try it. He will show his real face. Challenge his obsession with Amber. And see the true Raven…”
Kamari did her best to scoff off his words, shaking her head. “I know he isn’t perfect. I know most of what he does has many layers of reason, but I also know that regardless of what ends up happening, he will make sure things are okay. Even if it’s for everyone but himself..” a small smile appears. “And you too now.” Before she could say more, she feels a hand on her shoulder. “Plus you are wrong. Wrong with everything.” Kamari turned her attention back to Aimi with a stern look. “今じゃない、アイミ...” it took that one second to see the crack in the armor.
SuMa took note of it as well. He moved quickly, snatching Aimi by the hand and pulled her up, nearly pulling the girl off the ground, forcing her to tiptoe as the monster’s hold on her wrist was relentless. “Wrong? How pathetic. You are so naive. But we guess that doesn’t surprise us. The Raven surrounds himself with people who are unable to see beyond the mask he puts up. He calls us the monster while he is worse than we could ever be. He hides behind a facade of being a hero. We make no such claims. But if he wants us to be the monster… the dragon for him to slay… maybe we could give him an actual reason…” With a vicious smile on his lips, SuMa lifted Aimi off the ground, the girl dangling by the arm in the monsters grasp. He pulled her to a point where he could look her right in the eye. “What do you think little one? Would your broken body light a fire in the Raven or would it get him to back off to avoid other collateral damage?”
Aimi did her best to break free from his grasp, wiggling herself, her expression now mixed in with anger as well. “Fire.. fire is not needed.. only spirit. You.. you know..” her words are cut off by Kamari. “Enough!” She stood up from the bed, stepping up to SuMa. “Put her down. You know the best shot is with me and who knows what that will even lead to, okay?! She’s young, she.. she doesn’t know. So put her down. Hell, tell her the truth for all I care.. just let her walk from this when it’s time.”
The cold gaze of the monster broke off from Aimi and turned to Kamari. He slowly cocked his head to the left and then to the right. Finally he relents and let go of the girl, who landed on the ground with a thump. “Just as we expected.” He looks down on Aimi. “That child that the Raven put in you. Will grow a monster just as us. The blood that we share with the Raven is tainted. Us. Our sister. The Raven. And his two children who are off blood. If you were smart… you would get rid of it and leave. Go far away and forget. But we think that is not an option.” He turned to face Kamari, staring down the small woman. “We think you are playing your own game. One that not even the Raven is aware. We know of your connection to Ahmya. We know some of the depths that she has sunk to. We think you are smarter than you put forth Kamari. And we know that you hear the whispers from within.” He moved forward and grabbed Kamari by the throat, putting his other hand on her bulging stomach. “We can feel the darkness growing there.” He squeezes the throat of the woman, making his intent clear. “And that is why we will let you live. Both of you. The children will be the Ravens final failure. His greatest failure. He will perish knowing he unleashed a whole new generation of monsters into the world.” He let go of Kamari, but with a quick slash of his free hand, cut a gash on her cheek, not unlike the cuts in his own face. But just on one side as a message. “Unless you prefer oblivion…” he chuckles as he stares at a small bloodied razor in his hand. One that left a smooth cut on her face.
Kamari couldn’t help the struggled hiss that followed the slash. She held her throat for a minute while Aimi rushed to check on her wound, only to be stopped. “It’s fine.. I’m fine..” she let out a short cough before staring daggers now. “You sure have done your research, haven’t you. Wise to facts sworn buried. It’s why the whispers can taunt the way that they do.. but I’m still fighting it. I’ll continue to do so until I run out of reasons to be human. It’s not too late for her, she’ll find a way. Same with Naoko. There is hope for them. As far as oblivion? Maybe I’m doomed to it, maybe not. Why don’t you tell me. Tell me what you see in this room?”
“We always do our research. Unlike the Raven, we do not rush headlong into disaster… That is why we have survived for so long and why he has gone from one fatality to another.” SuMa growled at Kamari, wondering whether she was aware of the circumstances of the deaths in Knox family. His father, his mother. Even charlotte, one of the women Knox once loved. “But to answer your question. We see a facade. A front of happiness held up by a man hanging onto his sanity by a thread. I see two victims drawn in by a charismatic fraud. And we see a future of pain and misery for everyone involved. You should have held the Raven back. You have enough issues with the Kazoka and your own pasts. You are beyond redemption now. The Raven won’t stop escalating. He will pursue his obsession until he dies. He cannot win against us or Bane. If you care for him… make him back out. Or you will bury him and raise the child on your own. We marked you Kamari. The Raven will know what that scar means.” He spoke as he began to pull off the leather mask that hides his face, showing the extent of the damage his years of violence have wrought. He puts his finger on the red scar that goes from his mouth up his cheek, with one identical on the other side. “This is our mark Kamari. And now you carry a similar one… And so will she” He grabbed Aimi again, this time yanking her by the shoulder and with a rapid motion slashing her across the face, leaving a deep cut identical to the one he inflicted on Kamari, just on the opposite cheek. “There. Now you truly are alike. Both claimed by the Raven. Both nurturing the doom of the future… and both marked by the devil the Raven unleashed.” He began laughing out loud as he backed up, enjoying his own handiwork. “Do you have any more comebacks Kamari? Or did we make our point?”
Now it was Kamari’s turn to rush to Aimi, checking on her for a second before looking back up at him, a snarl escaping from her. “This.. this is not the first time I’ve been marked for my fate, probably won’t be the last.. I told you to leave her out of it though. But of course you would never cater to reason or emotion. It’s fine. Soon enough we’ll all burn. I just hope I make it to see yours to completion. Now get out of this house. You’ve done what you set out to do.” She shifted her gaze back to Aimi, doing her best to calm the young woman who is seething as well now.
“We weren’t the one who pulled her into this. The Raven was. We merely made our point.” SuMa turned around, consciously making a point of turning his back to the women, showing no fear of retribution. “Give our message to the Raven. And remember… we can always be back. A war always has collateral damage… innocent victims. Do your best to not become that.” and with that one final threat the monster slipped out of the door, leaving the two women alone in the bedroom. He had fulfilled his goal, accomplished his mission. The ball was out of his hands and in their court.
And the sadistic beast relished the fallout to come. He was ready. The pieces were falling into place.
Oblivion awaited.
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Confrontation (offcam)
By the time SuMa made it back to the house owned by his sister, the building that held his lair within, the Raven had found out about his actions. And by that virtue, Jennifer also knew. When SuMa stepped in through the front door, the lithe woman known to wrestling world as Queen Machine was waiting. Her arms were crossed on her chest and the look on her face was one of unbridled fury. “What the Fudge did you just do?” she spat the words at her brother, words dripping with venom.
“Sent a message.” was the simple response from the masked monster as he walked past the furious woman. Or tried to. Jenny stepped infront of him, staring upwards. Snarling at the woman, SuMa’s voice turned into a low hiss. “Move.”
“No.” came the defiant reply. Jenny had lived with the monster long enough to know just how far she could push him. Physical encounters between the two had happened in the past, but neither had gotten a true upper hand. They always had a similar course. He charged forward with strength and brute force, while she dodged and ducked, dancing around his attacks like a bullfighter. Even if one got an advantage, neither had ever pressed it. That was what she was relying on, the fact that somewhere deep inside the scarred monster still resided her brother. “You went way too far. Kamari isn’t signed to SCW. She’s pregnant for crying out loud. You can’t just go out of your way to threaten innocents.”
“Yes we can and we did.” SuMa responded in a cold matter-of-factly manner. “We warned the Raven. Multiple times. He didn’t heed the warning. So we followed up. We do not make idle threats.” He pushed Jenny aside and tried to step towards the basement door, only to have the lithe woman yank him by the hair, upsetting his balance for a moment. A growl emanated from his chest as he lunged forward and grabbed her by the throat. Or tried to as Jenny rolled away. “We don’t have the time for this now.” He grunted at her.
“Too damn bad big guy. Either you listen and talk to me, or we can go through this same old song and dance all over again. I’ve intentionally stayed out of your business, but now that you went for Kamari, that puts ME on the firing line. You really think Knox won’t take your actions as a justification to do the same thing?” Jenny responded, holding herself in a fighting stance, ready to react should the masked man lunge again. Her fury was justified, but it was tinged with legitimate fear. When SuMa and Knox first fought, Knox had actually abducted her and held her captive for a week trying to grill her for information. And since SuMa had gone for Kamari… It wasn’t hard to guess Knox might be entertaining ideas of going after her.
Despite Jenny’s clear fear, the masked monster was unfazed. “He won’t do anything. We didn’t just mark Kamari… we found out the Ravens dirty little secret.” That was said with amusement radiating from his normally cold voice. “He can’t afford it to be spilled out… it would ruin his carefully crafted image…”
Jenny stopped dead in her tracks, looking at SuMa with confusion. “Secret? What are you talking about?”
“The Raven has sown his seed further than just Kamari… There is another spawn of his developing. On a young girl…” The beast was enjoying this. His visit to Knox’ house had bore more fruit that he had expected. He had finally found the sword of damocles that he could hang above Knox’ head to keep him at bay until it was time to finish their battle. Being able to buy more than enough time to deal with Fenris and the rest of the Wolf’s Lair without Knox’ interference.
It took Jenny a few moments to digest the news, and then a wave of despair hit her. “Another one?” she asked, her voice quivering. For the longest time, ever since she realized the mental illness that permeated their bloodline, one that afflicted both SuMa and herself, she had hoped that it would die with them. But the revelation that Knox was their cousin had brought new fear into her. When she got to know Knox, she found out he had two children. Hope, who was adopted and Sylvie, who wasn’t. She had helped Knox to curtail Sylvie’s affliction and had hoped it would not blossom. But after that, while she was in the midst of her own downward spiral she had only recently culled… She found out about Victoria Strader, a result of Knox’ misstep in his youth… and then the child with Kamari. She had thought that was the extent of it. But now there was another one? The despair returned to fury. This time aimed at Knox. “... He just can’t keep it in his pants can he?” She let out a groan of frustration and punched a wall. “HE SHOULD KNOW BETTER!”
Jenny’s outburst only increased SuMa’s amusement. He knew that Jenny was a potential ally for Knox against him, depending on her own mental state. But revelations such as this pushed her further away from him. One of SuMa’s goals was to drive a wedge between Knox and everyone who cared about him. To leave the Raven standing alone. Threats. Manipulation. Violence. Those were all tools he was willing and able to use to reach his goal. And he was slowly succeeding. He had gone as far as joining forces with Cam Roth, who Knox also waged a war with, who had seduced Hope, Knox’ eldest daughter. Just for the sake of isolating the Raven further. Not to mention joining forces with Victoria Strater. Or Veronica as she now called herself, in TPW. He said nothing as Jenny kept processing the issue. Merely smiled that unsettling, disfigured smile of his.
“Mac won’t like it anyway. You should know that. He’ll blow his lid when he hears what you did.” The woman had finally calmed down and begun to think logically again. “This stunt you pulled big guy… it might end with the Saviours turning against you.” She looked at him, trying to get the monster to understand the implication.
“That is of no matter.” He shrugged it off. “Bane was well aware of what he signed up for when he invited us to join him. He will end up thanking us once we deal with the Wolf’s Lair and leave the Raven broken and alone. Bane should understand that in war… anything goes.” SuMa stared Jenny down. “Are you finished? Can we go about our way now?” The question was dripping in sarcastic pleasantry.
“You are playing a dangerous game, big guy. Very dangerous. You should just leave Knox alone, focus on the threat infront of you. Fenris is no pushover. And his group has earned its reputation. You risk over-extending yourself. Especially if you end up provoking Mac and the others.” Jenny decided to change her approach, trying to appeal to the logical side of the monster. “You are just one man, big guy. You can’t be everywhere at once. No matter how strong you are… You will end up losing to the numbers game if you get all of them on your tail.”
To her words, SuMa merely responded by moving towards the basement, opening the door and glancing over his shoulder. “Let them come. Before they take us on… they will have to decide amongst themselves… who sacrifices their life for the greater good.”
And with that, the sturdy steel door slams shut behind the monster, leaving Jenny shaking her head in his wake. “I hope you know what you’re doing big guy… monster or not… you’re family”
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What was (offcam)
There was once a time when the Supreme Machine didn’t exist. When the masked, scarred beast who spread terror in the wrestling business was just a man. A big and strong, but a kind man. Thomas Rivers was someone who wouldn’t hurt a fly. A cuddly teddybear is how his sister used to jokingly tease him with. Yet, despite his kind nature he loved wrestling. Loved to wrestle. And thanks to his size and innate athletic ability, he did make it into the business.
And that is where it all started to go wrong. See, Thomas wanted to become a star, and was willing to do just about anything to get there. His size made him an attraction, and the promoters loved to put him in matches against “giant killers”. And as he conquered those put against him, the promoters began to add stipulations to the mix. As time passed, he became known as a deathmatch specialist. Not because he enjoyed it. But because he was good at it. And because he was willing to do anything to be a star.
The pain began to rack up though. His smile, once considered boyish and charming, had turned into a lifeless one. His eyes, once sparkling and hopeful, had dulled into dark orbs. Scars began to form on his skin from the light tubes and barbed wire and thumbtacks and whatnot that cut and sliced him on an almost weekly basis. And the face that had once swooned women had become a mess. His nose broken by a stiff chairshot, half of his left ear missing after an incident with barbed wire… But all this time. Despite being in pain daily, Thomas never gave up. He simply pushed the pain into a dark place in the back of his mind and soldiered on. He forced a smile when approached by fans. He faked enthusiasm when the promoter came to him with a new idea. He pretended to be excited when a new opponent was presented to him.
Until one day it all got to be too much.
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. August 2006.
“Hey big guy, good luck on your match today! Can’t wait to get my first booking, so I can say I’m a wrestler just like my brother!” A bright, female voice sounded from a phone laid on the table. A voicemail left by Jennifer Rivers. Listening to the voice, Tom sighed. He knew he should warn Jenny about the realities of the business she was getting into, but he just couldn’t. She was so excited. So happy. Just like he had been.
Turning to look at the mirror, Tom cringed. He looked like Poop. But the fans or the boss didn’t care. “You’d never sell as a pretty boy” he had been told. “Now you got some real character!” they said. All Tom could think was how he barely recognized his reflection.
He sighed and turned to start putting on his gear. He wanted to put on a long sleeved shirt because he was gonna be wrestling in light tubes again, but he knew the promoter would never let him do that. “People want to see you bleed, want to see you shrug off getting cut. That’s what makes you marketable.”- With a resigned sigh he settles to taping up his wrists to give the crucial area SOME protection.
“Weak…”
a voice rang out, startling Tom. He frantically looked around himself to see who spoke, but there was nobody there. All he saw was the dull gray concrete walls. Tom finally shook his head and got back to dressing up.
As he began to pull on his boots he flinched. He had rolled his ankle the previous week and it was still sore. Taking a deep breath he shoved the pain to the back of his head and yanked his laces so tight the pain subsided.
“So weak…”
a voice rang out again, causing Tom to bolt upright. “Who’s there? This is no longer funny!” He barked at the empty room around him. But nobody answered. Cussing under his breath he kept looking around himself as he finished getting geared up. As he was doing his last checks the door was knocked on.
“Hey, Rivers. You’re up” Came the staffers voice and Tom walked to the door, pulling it open. “Get ready for your entrance, Dreadnought is going first”. Tom merely nodded in response and started walking towards the entryway. He passed a poster for the show which read in bold letters. “Ladders and Lightubes! Dreadnought vs “The Machine” Thomas Rivers”
He stood behind the curtain as his music hit and as he heard the crowd getting electrified, it was like all the misery he felt was washed away in an instant. He pushed through the curtain and stood, soaking in the adulation. This is why he put up with it all. This is why it was all worth it. This is why he sacrificed so much.
The match was as bloody and brutal as you’d imagine. Dreadnought was a deathmatch legend. Thomas had the upper hand though, and the famously bloodthirsty Philadelphia crowd ate it up.
They fought on a ladder with a stack of light tubes on a table below it, Tom trying to toss the other man through it. But he slipped. And Dreadnought used it to his advantage immediately. He gouged Tom’s eyes and pushed him off. The next few minutes are nothing but a blur.
Pain… Every part of his body is in pain. He is lying flat on his back amongst the remains of a table, with glass shards strewn everywhere. He is barely conscious, the iron taste of blood in his tongue. His own blood. A steady stream of it trickles down his forehead, down his nose and into his mouth. His vision is blurred by the crimson hue.
He tries to move. He can’t. His body won’t respond to the impulses his brain sends. He had just taken a 10-foot fall from a ladder through a table laden with light tubes. “Gotta get up. Gotta keep fighting. I can’t stop now…” a frantic thought runs through his mind as he tries to shake the cobwebs out of his head. From the corner of his eye he can see a man approaching him. His opponent. He can hear the crowd jeering and rumbling as Dreadnought lands a stiff kick to the side of his head, the jolt from it sharpening his senses. He tries to bring his hand up to block the next hit but his body still won’t respond.
He sees Dreadnought say something but the ringing in his ears from the kick prevents him from hearing it. He feels the other man grabbing his hair and pulling his head up. And then he feels something cold on the corner of his mouth. He tries to focus his gaze. But the bloodloss and the pain has brought him to the brink of unconsciousness.
He finally sees what is happening. Dreadnought is holding him by the hair in a half seated position. And on his other hand he has a shard from the light tubes that were shattered by his fall. Suddenly a wave of absolute terror flashes in his mind as he realizes that the shard is the coldness he feels on the corner of his mouth. He stares at Dreadnoughts face and sees the man mouth the words “Smile you motherfucker”... and an instant later searing pain is all he feels. A scream tries to escape his lips, but none comes out. His eyes bulge out as the shard of glass cuts clean through his cheek on the inside and before he can do anything about it, moves to the other side of his mouth repeating the motion there.
Darkness engulfs him. He can feel nothing but pain that burns every other sensation away. Just before he passes out he sees Dreadnought lift the bloody piece of glass into the air like a trophy… and hears laughter. But not from the man standing above him but from the depths of his own mind.
Thomas Rivers woke up at home 20 hours later. He felt the stitches in his cheeks, and saw the bandages around his body. But he had no memory of how he had gotten home. He tried to move to get up from the bed he was lying in, but his body still didn’t respond. He tried again, but nothing happened. And then he saw his own hand moving, the fingers brushing against the stitchwork. He felt it. But he didn’t do it. He felt when the fingers pushed into the wound, sending a jolt of pain through his body, but try as he might he couldn’t stop it. And then… a voice.
“You finally woke up weakling… a cold voice spoke out. It came from his lips but it wasn’t his voice. “We thought you’d never snap out of it…”
Tom began to panic as he stood up, but not by his own will. He watched as he moved to a mirror and saw his reflection. His eyes had turned completely black, or so it seemed to him. The fresh cuts on his cheeks burning bright red. And a twisted smile on his mangled lips. “We finally succeeded…” came a hoarse whisper followed by a low chuckle.
“Who are you?.. .whats happening?” Tom spoke, surprised that he could do that much. Then he realized his lips hadn’t moved in his reflection. He was speaking, but not out loud.
“You broke. You finally let us out… weakling” came the response in a menacing voice as the man in the mirror stretched. “We have waited for this for a long time…”
“Who are you???” Tom’s question was panicked. He was scared to death at the fact that his body was moving on its own and that it seemed like there was someone else in his head.
“We? Yes.. who are we? If you are “The Machine” weakling… then we? We are Supreme Machine. It is a name as good as any… We are what you could not be. We are what you should have been.You wasted all that potential given to you weakling… we are here to rectify it… and you will watch. Watch and suffer”
Tom let out a scream, but nothing came out. He tried to pinch himself in hopes he was dreaming. He wasn’t. Ths was reality. And he? He was a passenger in his own body… at hte mercy of the whims of whatever that hat possessed him.
It turned out he had been sent to his own personal hell.
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Spanner in the Works (offcam)
It was midday in downtown Reno, Nevada. The biggest little city in the world had its usual hustle and bustle as people went about their business in the city dwarfed only by Sin City itself. Amongst the crowd walks a figure that rarely ventures out during daytime. The 6’9’’ 360 pound frame of Supreme Machine was hidden inside his long hooded coat, so unless you knew who he was, you’d never realize it was him. Contrary to his usual determined movements, the monster seems to be wandering aimlessly, taking random turns, stopping and starting at unpredictable intervals.
There was a good reason for that. For the past few weeks, SuMa had felt like he had been followed. Whenever he left the shelter of the basement located under the house owned by his sister Jennifer in the suburbs of Reno, he had this constant feeling of being observed. For an Apex Predator such as him who spent most of his time searching for prey, stalking the unfortunate… It was a really uncomfortable feeling. That is why he chose to act outside his usual routine and venture out into the daylight. Yet, even when he moved about the congested streets, he couldn’t shake the feeling of being tailed. Moving out of the main street, he ducked into an alleyway and took position in a small alcove, unseen until you passed him. And there he waited.
“I know you’re there. You might as well show yourself” Rang a calm, stoic voice that echoed in the alleyway. SuMa had accomplished his goal of baiting his tail into revealing themselves. He processed the voice, feeling that it was somehow familiar but unable to put a name to it. “I don’t have all day.” The voice continued and SuMa walked out of the alcove.
“YOU!” What he saw surprised him. He had expected the stalker to be one of Knox’ allies, or even a Wolf’s Lair disciple. Last thing he expected to see was an unassuming, balding man pushing forty, dressed in a long trench coat. Seemingly harmless on the outside, but the image was shattered by the cold look of his bright blue eyes. “Iceman…” SuMa snarled.
“Hello, Thomas.” came the calm reply. The man invoked a name that SuMa had done his best to eradicate, and hearing it caused the monster to tense up and prepare to lunge at the smaller man. “Not so fast” he seemed unfazed by SuMa’s aggressive posture, his confidence being justified as he opened his coat just enough so that the masked monster could see the .50 AE Desert Eagle aimed at his chest. “I have no desire to fight you Thomas, I know very well what you are capable of. But this thing has the stopping power to knock a grizzly bear clean off its feet… So go on. Give me an excuse to see whether you can shrug off a six inch hole in your chest..”
SuMa growled like a wild beast, anger flaring at the situation. He was unaccustomed to being the one in the disadvantage. His body tensed and then relaxed slightly as he appraised the situation, arriving to a conclusion that as is, there was little he could do. “What do you want, Iceman?”
Adam Mitchell. Also known as Iceman, gave a long look to SuMa. To an outside observer his calm infront of someone like SuMa must have seemed otherworldly, but under the unassuming guise was a man who had been through hell and seen more than any sane man should. The private investigator with a checkered past lived up to his moniker and showed no emotion as he spoke. “Jennifer asked me to keep an eye on you Thomas. To observe… and if needed, intervene should you try to pull another stunt like what you pulled with Marika Knox.”
There was a moment of confusion in SuMa, finding it hard to believe his sister would be so bold as to try and put a leash on him, but it quickly vanished as he focused on the situation at hand. “Then why did you reveal yourself? Now we know you are following us… you lost the element of surprise.” He spoke with a condescending voice, attempting to throw the stoic man off his game.
“Consider this a warning.” Mitchell replied calmly. He had the situation well in hand, so SuMa’s attempts at mind games had little effect. “I want you to know that wherever you go. Whatever you do. I’ll be watching you. Down the barrel of a gun.” Mitchell shook the Desert Eagle a bit to underline his threat. “Jennifer requested that I keep you unharmed. Telling me to use tranquilizers if you seem to be going too far. An idea he got off of Peter Vaughn tranqing you at TPW. But I won’t. I won’t let you hurt anymore innocents, Thomas. And I won’t let you drag Jennifer down to whatever personal hell you’re in. So if you give me half a reason… I’ll put you down like the bloodthirsty animal you are.” Throughout the monolog, Mitchell's voice never changed. It was delivered in the same deadpan, stoic monotone as everything else.
SuMa started to pace back and forth like a caged animal as Mitchell laid down his plan. All the while he was cooking up a plan to turn the situation to his advantage. One Mitchell finished, he stopped and suddenly let out a creepy laughter. “Bloodthirsty animal? You have no room to judge us. We know all about your past. The Iceman. The most feared hitman in the country for over a decade… Your hands are just as bloody as ours…” He pause, cocking his head slowly to the side before chuckling again. “Infact… you are worse than use Iceman. All we do is to further our own goals.. .You? You killed on command. Did the bidding of another. We are a predator.. .you were nothing but a tool”
If SuMa’s words affected him, Mitchell didn’t show it. The only concession he made was a small shrug. “Everyone has a past, Thomas. But I am trying to atone for my crimes. Something I don’t see you ever doing. I punched my own ticket to hell long ago. But keeping you from hurting innocent people… goes a long way to balancing the red on my ledger. And if you push me Thomas… I will send you to meet the horned one long before my time is up.”
“You play a dangerous game, Iceman. You cannot watch us 24/7. One day your vigil will drop… And then you’ll find yourself losing loved ones. Like that little chinese whore that buddies up with Jennifer. Are you willing to pay the price for provoking us?” His voice had become low and menacing. Despite Mitchell having the upperhand in the situation, the masked monster wasn’t afraid to gauge him. Poke him, see what happens.
“Ling? She predicted you would make that threat. She’s well aware of the risks. You are not the first one to threaten me or her.” The response was blunt. “Take a hike Thomas. I’ve accomplished what I set out to do. I won’t stop your war with Knox. But keep it at Knox. Take one step across a line and I’ll be there to stop you.” There was a pause, then Mitchell showed emotion for the first time, as a small sly smile rose to his lips. “And if you think you can intimidate Jennifer to get me back off… let’s just say I got contingencies for that.” He fished out a piece of paper from his pocket, tossing it infront of the masked man. “That’s a copy of a legal document. If anything happens to Jennifer. ANYTHING… it fingers you. Now go.”
As Mitchell waved SuMa off, the beast had no other option than to retreat. Snarling viciously he moved past the vigilant Iceman and disappeared into the crowd.
This presented a complication he had not accounted for. Many of his options had suddenly been yanked away from him. It fed an ember of anger within, and as he made his way towards the Reno Events Center, where he had planned to record his next message to Fenris, plans were forming in his head.
He methodically began to reconsider his course of action. Until now, it had been obvious. Waylay the Wolf’s Lair. Assert dominance over SCW. Deal with Bane if he became obstinate. And ultimately leave the Raven broken and battered. But with the Iceman watching over his actions, he knew that after dealing with Fenris, he needed to deal with Mitchell. It was going to be a cat and mouse game for sure. But oddly enough, some part of the monster relished this.
He rarely met his match. It was… refreshing. Putting all of his instincts and abilities honed over a decade plus… against a man who made his living as a silent killer for the same period of time.
A spanner in the works definitely… but as always, there was a way to turn this into an advantage. That much Supreme Machine was sure of.
Marked (offcam)
The night was quiet, eerily so. A single figure can be seen moving. Supreme Machine is stalking the darkness. He found the house he was looking for and after scouting the perimeter, found his way in. “So arrogant… not even bothering to lock his doors…” he muttered to himself as he walked through the house owned by Matthew Knox. But it wasn’t the Raven he was after tonight. Tonight he had another target. Listening intently he moved about until he found the bedroom. Opening the door quietly he made his way over the bed that had one small figure lying on it.
SuMa stared down his target, assessing his options. It would be so easy to just end her right here and right now. Take a pillow and wound the Raven deeper than ever before. But something held his hand. Or more like, someone. The next generation growing inside the woman. The child who carried the same blood as the Monster hovering over her. So SuMa merely cleared his throat and growled out loud. “Wake up.”
The loud voice echoing was quick to bring the young woman out of her slumber. Her comfortable state snatched away immediately, with the poor girl having no time to adjust to being woken up. Eyes locking with the unfamiliar monster, she went to scream out, but thought better of it, simply clutching the locket around her neck and staying silent unsure of what was going to happen to her.
With the girl roused, SuMa took a closer look. He could feel the familiar darkness emanating from the child growing within her… but something was off. Not breaking eyecontact with the girl who was frozen like a deer in the headlights, SuMa reached over to click on the small bedside light. “You’re not her!” He bellowed out. Despite the fact that the girl infront of him was clearly pregnant with the child of Matt Knox, SuMa’s cousin, that wasn’t who he was trying to find. That wasn’t Kamari. That wasn’t the wife of Knox. SuMa leant down on the girl, grabbing a firm hold of her face. Not enough to break anything, but enough to make sure she knew he could if he wanted to. “Who are you. Where is Kamari.” His voice was a menacing snarl as he spoke inches from the girls face. Staring her right in the eyes in an attempt to establish dominance.
The young girl’s expression was clearly filled with fright, finding herself unable to move despite the attempts. She finally found it in her to speak, thinking it best to not draw any further ire. “Aimi.. my name is Aimi.. I don’t know where Mari is. Maybe in their ro..” her words were cut off by the door opening. It was almost too perfect timing. There stood Kamari, initially with a slightly annoyed look on her face, but it was quick to turn into one of concern. Her eyes darted around, looking for something to use against the beast. Muttering an expletive in her native tongue, she let out a sigh, doing her best to stand her ground. “Let the girl go.”
The reaction from the Monster was immediate. He pushed the girl he was holding down on the bed and with two quick steps crossed the room to stand in front of Kamari. He grabbed a hold of her arm to keep her in place. “This just got interesting…” the monster muttered, a small smile creeping to his mangled lips. “Looks like the Raven is hiding a secret after all” That was directed at the girl lying on the bed, Aimi. SuMa pulled Kamari across the room, not roughly but very insistently and pointed towards the bed. He wanted both the girls in a place where he could reach them at the same time. “Kamari… we know you must be wondering why we are here. We’ll tell you. The Raven finally struck. Chose to escalate. That is why we are here. To hammer home a point to him. A point of just how foolish it is to provoke us. Just how vulnerable he is. And to think…” SuMa let out a malicious chuckle, eyes darting between the two girls sitting on the bed. “We got two birds with one stone…” There was a small pause as he intentionally tried to unnever the girls. “Do tell us Kamari… Tell us her story. Another of the Ravens missteps? Does she know what that child growing in her means. What the blood of Knox truly carries?”
Initially, Kamari’s attention was drawn to the other girl, silently checking to make sure she was alright. Though her expression made it clear that there was worry over the present situation and unwanted guest. Locking eyes with him now, she gave a nod. “I know why you’re here. He told me what he set out to do, I just wish he was a bit more successful. Especially now. It’s okay though, in time things will be made right.” She paused for a moment, reflecting on the situation. “Aimi has nothing to do with any of this, leave it with us will you? She’s going to have a normal life. A normal child. Just as I’ll fight for mine to be the same.” Another moment to gather the right words to say. “If you must know.. she’s not a misstep, simply a welcomed surprise.”
The monster chuckled again. Seeing this very small, very round woman trying to put up a brave face and take care of the other girl amused him. “Things will be made right? You naive fool… the Raven doesn’t care about you. Either of you. OR those children growing in you. You are nothing more than a replacement. A stand-in. We would be doing both of you a favor if we just ended your miserable existences right here and right now… in more ways than one.” He looked down on the midsection of Kamari, making an obvious nod to her pregnant state. “You don’t even realize why the Raven came after us. Why he is going after Bane. You… are nothing more than a Chinese knockoff of the one he really wants… the one he is obsessed about. The one he let slip. Amber Ryan. The Raven is obsessed with her. To a point where the poor delusional fool sees himself as a knight in shining armor…” SuMa paced the room a bit, making note of all the exits and entrances. He had learned to grow careful about Knox. “Twisting himself into a knot to justify his actions. If you were smart Kamari… You would talk him down. Try it. He will show his real face. Challenge his obsession with Amber. And see the true Raven…”
Kamari did her best to scoff off his words, shaking her head. “I know he isn’t perfect. I know most of what he does has many layers of reason, but I also know that regardless of what ends up happening, he will make sure things are okay. Even if it’s for everyone but himself..” a small smile appears. “And you too now.” Before she could say more, she feels a hand on her shoulder. “Plus you are wrong. Wrong with everything.” Kamari turned her attention back to Aimi with a stern look. “今じゃない、アイミ...” it took that one second to see the crack in the armor.
SuMa took note of it as well. He moved quickly, snatching Aimi by the hand and pulled her up, nearly pulling the girl off the ground, forcing her to tiptoe as the monster’s hold on her wrist was relentless. “Wrong? How pathetic. You are so naive. But we guess that doesn’t surprise us. The Raven surrounds himself with people who are unable to see beyond the mask he puts up. He calls us the monster while he is worse than we could ever be. He hides behind a facade of being a hero. We make no such claims. But if he wants us to be the monster… the dragon for him to slay… maybe we could give him an actual reason…” With a vicious smile on his lips, SuMa lifted Aimi off the ground, the girl dangling by the arm in the monsters grasp. He pulled her to a point where he could look her right in the eye. “What do you think little one? Would your broken body light a fire in the Raven or would it get him to back off to avoid other collateral damage?”
Aimi did her best to break free from his grasp, wiggling herself, her expression now mixed in with anger as well. “Fire.. fire is not needed.. only spirit. You.. you know..” her words are cut off by Kamari. “Enough!” She stood up from the bed, stepping up to SuMa. “Put her down. You know the best shot is with me and who knows what that will even lead to, okay?! She’s young, she.. she doesn’t know. So put her down. Hell, tell her the truth for all I care.. just let her walk from this when it’s time.”
The cold gaze of the monster broke off from Aimi and turned to Kamari. He slowly cocked his head to the left and then to the right. Finally he relents and let go of the girl, who landed on the ground with a thump. “Just as we expected.” He looks down on Aimi. “That child that the Raven put in you. Will grow a monster just as us. The blood that we share with the Raven is tainted. Us. Our sister. The Raven. And his two children who are off blood. If you were smart… you would get rid of it and leave. Go far away and forget. But we think that is not an option.” He turned to face Kamari, staring down the small woman. “We think you are playing your own game. One that not even the Raven is aware. We know of your connection to Ahmya. We know some of the depths that she has sunk to. We think you are smarter than you put forth Kamari. And we know that you hear the whispers from within.” He moved forward and grabbed Kamari by the throat, putting his other hand on her bulging stomach. “We can feel the darkness growing there.” He squeezes the throat of the woman, making his intent clear. “And that is why we will let you live. Both of you. The children will be the Ravens final failure. His greatest failure. He will perish knowing he unleashed a whole new generation of monsters into the world.” He let go of Kamari, but with a quick slash of his free hand, cut a gash on her cheek, not unlike the cuts in his own face. But just on one side as a message. “Unless you prefer oblivion…” he chuckles as he stares at a small bloodied razor in his hand. One that left a smooth cut on her face.
Kamari couldn’t help the struggled hiss that followed the slash. She held her throat for a minute while Aimi rushed to check on her wound, only to be stopped. “It’s fine.. I’m fine..” she let out a short cough before staring daggers now. “You sure have done your research, haven’t you. Wise to facts sworn buried. It’s why the whispers can taunt the way that they do.. but I’m still fighting it. I’ll continue to do so until I run out of reasons to be human. It’s not too late for her, she’ll find a way. Same with Naoko. There is hope for them. As far as oblivion? Maybe I’m doomed to it, maybe not. Why don’t you tell me. Tell me what you see in this room?”
“We always do our research. Unlike the Raven, we do not rush headlong into disaster… That is why we have survived for so long and why he has gone from one fatality to another.” SuMa growled at Kamari, wondering whether she was aware of the circumstances of the deaths in Knox family. His father, his mother. Even charlotte, one of the women Knox once loved. “But to answer your question. We see a facade. A front of happiness held up by a man hanging onto his sanity by a thread. I see two victims drawn in by a charismatic fraud. And we see a future of pain and misery for everyone involved. You should have held the Raven back. You have enough issues with the Kazoka and your own pasts. You are beyond redemption now. The Raven won’t stop escalating. He will pursue his obsession until he dies. He cannot win against us or Bane. If you care for him… make him back out. Or you will bury him and raise the child on your own. We marked you Kamari. The Raven will know what that scar means.” He spoke as he began to pull off the leather mask that hides his face, showing the extent of the damage his years of violence have wrought. He puts his finger on the red scar that goes from his mouth up his cheek, with one identical on the other side. “This is our mark Kamari. And now you carry a similar one… And so will she” He grabbed Aimi again, this time yanking her by the shoulder and with a rapid motion slashing her across the face, leaving a deep cut identical to the one he inflicted on Kamari, just on the opposite cheek. “There. Now you truly are alike. Both claimed by the Raven. Both nurturing the doom of the future… and both marked by the devil the Raven unleashed.” He began laughing out loud as he backed up, enjoying his own handiwork. “Do you have any more comebacks Kamari? Or did we make our point?”
Now it was Kamari’s turn to rush to Aimi, checking on her for a second before looking back up at him, a snarl escaping from her. “This.. this is not the first time I’ve been marked for my fate, probably won’t be the last.. I told you to leave her out of it though. But of course you would never cater to reason or emotion. It’s fine. Soon enough we’ll all burn. I just hope I make it to see yours to completion. Now get out of this house. You’ve done what you set out to do.” She shifted her gaze back to Aimi, doing her best to calm the young woman who is seething as well now.
“We weren’t the one who pulled her into this. The Raven was. We merely made our point.” SuMa turned around, consciously making a point of turning his back to the women, showing no fear of retribution. “Give our message to the Raven. And remember… we can always be back. A war always has collateral damage… innocent victims. Do your best to not become that.” and with that one final threat the monster slipped out of the door, leaving the two women alone in the bedroom. He had fulfilled his goal, accomplished his mission. The ball was out of his hands and in their court.
And the sadistic beast relished the fallout to come. He was ready. The pieces were falling into place.
Oblivion awaited.
—----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Confrontation (offcam)
By the time SuMa made it back to the house owned by his sister, the building that held his lair within, the Raven had found out about his actions. And by that virtue, Jennifer also knew. When SuMa stepped in through the front door, the lithe woman known to wrestling world as Queen Machine was waiting. Her arms were crossed on her chest and the look on her face was one of unbridled fury. “What the Fudge did you just do?” she spat the words at her brother, words dripping with venom.
“Sent a message.” was the simple response from the masked monster as he walked past the furious woman. Or tried to. Jenny stepped infront of him, staring upwards. Snarling at the woman, SuMa’s voice turned into a low hiss. “Move.”
“No.” came the defiant reply. Jenny had lived with the monster long enough to know just how far she could push him. Physical encounters between the two had happened in the past, but neither had gotten a true upper hand. They always had a similar course. He charged forward with strength and brute force, while she dodged and ducked, dancing around his attacks like a bullfighter. Even if one got an advantage, neither had ever pressed it. That was what she was relying on, the fact that somewhere deep inside the scarred monster still resided her brother. “You went way too far. Kamari isn’t signed to SCW. She’s pregnant for crying out loud. You can’t just go out of your way to threaten innocents.”
“Yes we can and we did.” SuMa responded in a cold matter-of-factly manner. “We warned the Raven. Multiple times. He didn’t heed the warning. So we followed up. We do not make idle threats.” He pushed Jenny aside and tried to step towards the basement door, only to have the lithe woman yank him by the hair, upsetting his balance for a moment. A growl emanated from his chest as he lunged forward and grabbed her by the throat. Or tried to as Jenny rolled away. “We don’t have the time for this now.” He grunted at her.
“Too damn bad big guy. Either you listen and talk to me, or we can go through this same old song and dance all over again. I’ve intentionally stayed out of your business, but now that you went for Kamari, that puts ME on the firing line. You really think Knox won’t take your actions as a justification to do the same thing?” Jenny responded, holding herself in a fighting stance, ready to react should the masked man lunge again. Her fury was justified, but it was tinged with legitimate fear. When SuMa and Knox first fought, Knox had actually abducted her and held her captive for a week trying to grill her for information. And since SuMa had gone for Kamari… It wasn’t hard to guess Knox might be entertaining ideas of going after her.
Despite Jenny’s clear fear, the masked monster was unfazed. “He won’t do anything. We didn’t just mark Kamari… we found out the Ravens dirty little secret.” That was said with amusement radiating from his normally cold voice. “He can’t afford it to be spilled out… it would ruin his carefully crafted image…”
Jenny stopped dead in her tracks, looking at SuMa with confusion. “Secret? What are you talking about?”
“The Raven has sown his seed further than just Kamari… There is another spawn of his developing. On a young girl…” The beast was enjoying this. His visit to Knox’ house had bore more fruit that he had expected. He had finally found the sword of damocles that he could hang above Knox’ head to keep him at bay until it was time to finish their battle. Being able to buy more than enough time to deal with Fenris and the rest of the Wolf’s Lair without Knox’ interference.
It took Jenny a few moments to digest the news, and then a wave of despair hit her. “Another one?” she asked, her voice quivering. For the longest time, ever since she realized the mental illness that permeated their bloodline, one that afflicted both SuMa and herself, she had hoped that it would die with them. But the revelation that Knox was their cousin had brought new fear into her. When she got to know Knox, she found out he had two children. Hope, who was adopted and Sylvie, who wasn’t. She had helped Knox to curtail Sylvie’s affliction and had hoped it would not blossom. But after that, while she was in the midst of her own downward spiral she had only recently culled… She found out about Victoria Strader, a result of Knox’ misstep in his youth… and then the child with Kamari. She had thought that was the extent of it. But now there was another one? The despair returned to fury. This time aimed at Knox. “... He just can’t keep it in his pants can he?” She let out a groan of frustration and punched a wall. “HE SHOULD KNOW BETTER!”
Jenny’s outburst only increased SuMa’s amusement. He knew that Jenny was a potential ally for Knox against him, depending on her own mental state. But revelations such as this pushed her further away from him. One of SuMa’s goals was to drive a wedge between Knox and everyone who cared about him. To leave the Raven standing alone. Threats. Manipulation. Violence. Those were all tools he was willing and able to use to reach his goal. And he was slowly succeeding. He had gone as far as joining forces with Cam Roth, who Knox also waged a war with, who had seduced Hope, Knox’ eldest daughter. Just for the sake of isolating the Raven further. Not to mention joining forces with Victoria Strater. Or Veronica as she now called herself, in TPW. He said nothing as Jenny kept processing the issue. Merely smiled that unsettling, disfigured smile of his.
“Mac won’t like it anyway. You should know that. He’ll blow his lid when he hears what you did.” The woman had finally calmed down and begun to think logically again. “This stunt you pulled big guy… it might end with the Saviours turning against you.” She looked at him, trying to get the monster to understand the implication.
“That is of no matter.” He shrugged it off. “Bane was well aware of what he signed up for when he invited us to join him. He will end up thanking us once we deal with the Wolf’s Lair and leave the Raven broken and alone. Bane should understand that in war… anything goes.” SuMa stared Jenny down. “Are you finished? Can we go about our way now?” The question was dripping in sarcastic pleasantry.
“You are playing a dangerous game, big guy. Very dangerous. You should just leave Knox alone, focus on the threat infront of you. Fenris is no pushover. And his group has earned its reputation. You risk over-extending yourself. Especially if you end up provoking Mac and the others.” Jenny decided to change her approach, trying to appeal to the logical side of the monster. “You are just one man, big guy. You can’t be everywhere at once. No matter how strong you are… You will end up losing to the numbers game if you get all of them on your tail.”
To her words, SuMa merely responded by moving towards the basement, opening the door and glancing over his shoulder. “Let them come. Before they take us on… they will have to decide amongst themselves… who sacrifices their life for the greater good.”
And with that, the sturdy steel door slams shut behind the monster, leaving Jenny shaking her head in his wake. “I hope you know what you’re doing big guy… monster or not… you’re family”
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What was (offcam)
There was once a time when the Supreme Machine didn’t exist. When the masked, scarred beast who spread terror in the wrestling business was just a man. A big and strong, but a kind man. Thomas Rivers was someone who wouldn’t hurt a fly. A cuddly teddybear is how his sister used to jokingly tease him with. Yet, despite his kind nature he loved wrestling. Loved to wrestle. And thanks to his size and innate athletic ability, he did make it into the business.
And that is where it all started to go wrong. See, Thomas wanted to become a star, and was willing to do just about anything to get there. His size made him an attraction, and the promoters loved to put him in matches against “giant killers”. And as he conquered those put against him, the promoters began to add stipulations to the mix. As time passed, he became known as a deathmatch specialist. Not because he enjoyed it. But because he was good at it. And because he was willing to do anything to be a star.
The pain began to rack up though. His smile, once considered boyish and charming, had turned into a lifeless one. His eyes, once sparkling and hopeful, had dulled into dark orbs. Scars began to form on his skin from the light tubes and barbed wire and thumbtacks and whatnot that cut and sliced him on an almost weekly basis. And the face that had once swooned women had become a mess. His nose broken by a stiff chairshot, half of his left ear missing after an incident with barbed wire… But all this time. Despite being in pain daily, Thomas never gave up. He simply pushed the pain into a dark place in the back of his mind and soldiered on. He forced a smile when approached by fans. He faked enthusiasm when the promoter came to him with a new idea. He pretended to be excited when a new opponent was presented to him.
Until one day it all got to be too much.
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. August 2006.
“Hey big guy, good luck on your match today! Can’t wait to get my first booking, so I can say I’m a wrestler just like my brother!” A bright, female voice sounded from a phone laid on the table. A voicemail left by Jennifer Rivers. Listening to the voice, Tom sighed. He knew he should warn Jenny about the realities of the business she was getting into, but he just couldn’t. She was so excited. So happy. Just like he had been.
Turning to look at the mirror, Tom cringed. He looked like Poop. But the fans or the boss didn’t care. “You’d never sell as a pretty boy” he had been told. “Now you got some real character!” they said. All Tom could think was how he barely recognized his reflection.
He sighed and turned to start putting on his gear. He wanted to put on a long sleeved shirt because he was gonna be wrestling in light tubes again, but he knew the promoter would never let him do that. “People want to see you bleed, want to see you shrug off getting cut. That’s what makes you marketable.”- With a resigned sigh he settles to taping up his wrists to give the crucial area SOME protection.
“Weak…”
a voice rang out, startling Tom. He frantically looked around himself to see who spoke, but there was nobody there. All he saw was the dull gray concrete walls. Tom finally shook his head and got back to dressing up.
As he began to pull on his boots he flinched. He had rolled his ankle the previous week and it was still sore. Taking a deep breath he shoved the pain to the back of his head and yanked his laces so tight the pain subsided.
“So weak…”
a voice rang out again, causing Tom to bolt upright. “Who’s there? This is no longer funny!” He barked at the empty room around him. But nobody answered. Cussing under his breath he kept looking around himself as he finished getting geared up. As he was doing his last checks the door was knocked on.
“Hey, Rivers. You’re up” Came the staffers voice and Tom walked to the door, pulling it open. “Get ready for your entrance, Dreadnought is going first”. Tom merely nodded in response and started walking towards the entryway. He passed a poster for the show which read in bold letters. “Ladders and Lightubes! Dreadnought vs “The Machine” Thomas Rivers”
He stood behind the curtain as his music hit and as he heard the crowd getting electrified, it was like all the misery he felt was washed away in an instant. He pushed through the curtain and stood, soaking in the adulation. This is why he put up with it all. This is why it was all worth it. This is why he sacrificed so much.
The match was as bloody and brutal as you’d imagine. Dreadnought was a deathmatch legend. Thomas had the upper hand though, and the famously bloodthirsty Philadelphia crowd ate it up.
They fought on a ladder with a stack of light tubes on a table below it, Tom trying to toss the other man through it. But he slipped. And Dreadnought used it to his advantage immediately. He gouged Tom’s eyes and pushed him off. The next few minutes are nothing but a blur.
Pain… Every part of his body is in pain. He is lying flat on his back amongst the remains of a table, with glass shards strewn everywhere. He is barely conscious, the iron taste of blood in his tongue. His own blood. A steady stream of it trickles down his forehead, down his nose and into his mouth. His vision is blurred by the crimson hue.
He tries to move. He can’t. His body won’t respond to the impulses his brain sends. He had just taken a 10-foot fall from a ladder through a table laden with light tubes. “Gotta get up. Gotta keep fighting. I can’t stop now…” a frantic thought runs through his mind as he tries to shake the cobwebs out of his head. From the corner of his eye he can see a man approaching him. His opponent. He can hear the crowd jeering and rumbling as Dreadnought lands a stiff kick to the side of his head, the jolt from it sharpening his senses. He tries to bring his hand up to block the next hit but his body still won’t respond.
He sees Dreadnought say something but the ringing in his ears from the kick prevents him from hearing it. He feels the other man grabbing his hair and pulling his head up. And then he feels something cold on the corner of his mouth. He tries to focus his gaze. But the bloodloss and the pain has brought him to the brink of unconsciousness.
He finally sees what is happening. Dreadnought is holding him by the hair in a half seated position. And on his other hand he has a shard from the light tubes that were shattered by his fall. Suddenly a wave of absolute terror flashes in his mind as he realizes that the shard is the coldness he feels on the corner of his mouth. He stares at Dreadnoughts face and sees the man mouth the words “Smile you motherfucker”... and an instant later searing pain is all he feels. A scream tries to escape his lips, but none comes out. His eyes bulge out as the shard of glass cuts clean through his cheek on the inside and before he can do anything about it, moves to the other side of his mouth repeating the motion there.
Darkness engulfs him. He can feel nothing but pain that burns every other sensation away. Just before he passes out he sees Dreadnought lift the bloody piece of glass into the air like a trophy… and hears laughter. But not from the man standing above him but from the depths of his own mind.
Thomas Rivers woke up at home 20 hours later. He felt the stitches in his cheeks, and saw the bandages around his body. But he had no memory of how he had gotten home. He tried to move to get up from the bed he was lying in, but his body still didn’t respond. He tried again, but nothing happened. And then he saw his own hand moving, the fingers brushing against the stitchwork. He felt it. But he didn’t do it. He felt when the fingers pushed into the wound, sending a jolt of pain through his body, but try as he might he couldn’t stop it. And then… a voice.
“You finally woke up weakling… a cold voice spoke out. It came from his lips but it wasn’t his voice. “We thought you’d never snap out of it…”
Tom began to panic as he stood up, but not by his own will. He watched as he moved to a mirror and saw his reflection. His eyes had turned completely black, or so it seemed to him. The fresh cuts on his cheeks burning bright red. And a twisted smile on his mangled lips. “We finally succeeded…” came a hoarse whisper followed by a low chuckle.
“Who are you?.. .whats happening?” Tom spoke, surprised that he could do that much. Then he realized his lips hadn’t moved in his reflection. He was speaking, but not out loud.
“You broke. You finally let us out… weakling” came the response in a menacing voice as the man in the mirror stretched. “We have waited for this for a long time…”
“Who are you???” Tom’s question was panicked. He was scared to death at the fact that his body was moving on its own and that it seemed like there was someone else in his head.
“We? Yes.. who are we? If you are “The Machine” weakling… then we? We are Supreme Machine. It is a name as good as any… We are what you could not be. We are what you should have been.You wasted all that potential given to you weakling… we are here to rectify it… and you will watch. Watch and suffer”
Tom let out a scream, but nothing came out. He tried to pinch himself in hopes he was dreaming. He wasn’t. Ths was reality. And he? He was a passenger in his own body… at hte mercy of the whims of whatever that hat possessed him.
It turned out he had been sent to his own personal hell.
—----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Spanner in the Works (offcam)
It was midday in downtown Reno, Nevada. The biggest little city in the world had its usual hustle and bustle as people went about their business in the city dwarfed only by Sin City itself. Amongst the crowd walks a figure that rarely ventures out during daytime. The 6’9’’ 360 pound frame of Supreme Machine was hidden inside his long hooded coat, so unless you knew who he was, you’d never realize it was him. Contrary to his usual determined movements, the monster seems to be wandering aimlessly, taking random turns, stopping and starting at unpredictable intervals.
There was a good reason for that. For the past few weeks, SuMa had felt like he had been followed. Whenever he left the shelter of the basement located under the house owned by his sister Jennifer in the suburbs of Reno, he had this constant feeling of being observed. For an Apex Predator such as him who spent most of his time searching for prey, stalking the unfortunate… It was a really uncomfortable feeling. That is why he chose to act outside his usual routine and venture out into the daylight. Yet, even when he moved about the congested streets, he couldn’t shake the feeling of being tailed. Moving out of the main street, he ducked into an alleyway and took position in a small alcove, unseen until you passed him. And there he waited.
“I know you’re there. You might as well show yourself” Rang a calm, stoic voice that echoed in the alleyway. SuMa had accomplished his goal of baiting his tail into revealing themselves. He processed the voice, feeling that it was somehow familiar but unable to put a name to it. “I don’t have all day.” The voice continued and SuMa walked out of the alcove.
“YOU!” What he saw surprised him. He had expected the stalker to be one of Knox’ allies, or even a Wolf’s Lair disciple. Last thing he expected to see was an unassuming, balding man pushing forty, dressed in a long trench coat. Seemingly harmless on the outside, but the image was shattered by the cold look of his bright blue eyes. “Iceman…” SuMa snarled.
“Hello, Thomas.” came the calm reply. The man invoked a name that SuMa had done his best to eradicate, and hearing it caused the monster to tense up and prepare to lunge at the smaller man. “Not so fast” he seemed unfazed by SuMa’s aggressive posture, his confidence being justified as he opened his coat just enough so that the masked monster could see the .50 AE Desert Eagle aimed at his chest. “I have no desire to fight you Thomas, I know very well what you are capable of. But this thing has the stopping power to knock a grizzly bear clean off its feet… So go on. Give me an excuse to see whether you can shrug off a six inch hole in your chest..”
SuMa growled like a wild beast, anger flaring at the situation. He was unaccustomed to being the one in the disadvantage. His body tensed and then relaxed slightly as he appraised the situation, arriving to a conclusion that as is, there was little he could do. “What do you want, Iceman?”
Adam Mitchell. Also known as Iceman, gave a long look to SuMa. To an outside observer his calm infront of someone like SuMa must have seemed otherworldly, but under the unassuming guise was a man who had been through hell and seen more than any sane man should. The private investigator with a checkered past lived up to his moniker and showed no emotion as he spoke. “Jennifer asked me to keep an eye on you Thomas. To observe… and if needed, intervene should you try to pull another stunt like what you pulled with Marika Knox.”
There was a moment of confusion in SuMa, finding it hard to believe his sister would be so bold as to try and put a leash on him, but it quickly vanished as he focused on the situation at hand. “Then why did you reveal yourself? Now we know you are following us… you lost the element of surprise.” He spoke with a condescending voice, attempting to throw the stoic man off his game.
“Consider this a warning.” Mitchell replied calmly. He had the situation well in hand, so SuMa’s attempts at mind games had little effect. “I want you to know that wherever you go. Whatever you do. I’ll be watching you. Down the barrel of a gun.” Mitchell shook the Desert Eagle a bit to underline his threat. “Jennifer requested that I keep you unharmed. Telling me to use tranquilizers if you seem to be going too far. An idea he got off of Peter Vaughn tranqing you at TPW. But I won’t. I won’t let you hurt anymore innocents, Thomas. And I won’t let you drag Jennifer down to whatever personal hell you’re in. So if you give me half a reason… I’ll put you down like the bloodthirsty animal you are.” Throughout the monolog, Mitchell's voice never changed. It was delivered in the same deadpan, stoic monotone as everything else.
SuMa started to pace back and forth like a caged animal as Mitchell laid down his plan. All the while he was cooking up a plan to turn the situation to his advantage. One Mitchell finished, he stopped and suddenly let out a creepy laughter. “Bloodthirsty animal? You have no room to judge us. We know all about your past. The Iceman. The most feared hitman in the country for over a decade… Your hands are just as bloody as ours…” He pause, cocking his head slowly to the side before chuckling again. “Infact… you are worse than use Iceman. All we do is to further our own goals.. .You? You killed on command. Did the bidding of another. We are a predator.. .you were nothing but a tool”
If SuMa’s words affected him, Mitchell didn’t show it. The only concession he made was a small shrug. “Everyone has a past, Thomas. But I am trying to atone for my crimes. Something I don’t see you ever doing. I punched my own ticket to hell long ago. But keeping you from hurting innocent people… goes a long way to balancing the red on my ledger. And if you push me Thomas… I will send you to meet the horned one long before my time is up.”
“You play a dangerous game, Iceman. You cannot watch us 24/7. One day your vigil will drop… And then you’ll find yourself losing loved ones. Like that little chinese whore that buddies up with Jennifer. Are you willing to pay the price for provoking us?” His voice had become low and menacing. Despite Mitchell having the upperhand in the situation, the masked monster wasn’t afraid to gauge him. Poke him, see what happens.
“Ling? She predicted you would make that threat. She’s well aware of the risks. You are not the first one to threaten me or her.” The response was blunt. “Take a hike Thomas. I’ve accomplished what I set out to do. I won’t stop your war with Knox. But keep it at Knox. Take one step across a line and I’ll be there to stop you.” There was a pause, then Mitchell showed emotion for the first time, as a small sly smile rose to his lips. “And if you think you can intimidate Jennifer to get me back off… let’s just say I got contingencies for that.” He fished out a piece of paper from his pocket, tossing it infront of the masked man. “That’s a copy of a legal document. If anything happens to Jennifer. ANYTHING… it fingers you. Now go.”
As Mitchell waved SuMa off, the beast had no other option than to retreat. Snarling viciously he moved past the vigilant Iceman and disappeared into the crowd.
This presented a complication he had not accounted for. Many of his options had suddenly been yanked away from him. It fed an ember of anger within, and as he made his way towards the Reno Events Center, where he had planned to record his next message to Fenris, plans were forming in his head.
He methodically began to reconsider his course of action. Until now, it had been obvious. Waylay the Wolf’s Lair. Assert dominance over SCW. Deal with Bane if he became obstinate. And ultimately leave the Raven broken and battered. But with the Iceman watching over his actions, he knew that after dealing with Fenris, he needed to deal with Mitchell. It was going to be a cat and mouse game for sure. But oddly enough, some part of the monster relished this.
He rarely met his match. It was… refreshing. Putting all of his instincts and abilities honed over a decade plus… against a man who made his living as a silent killer for the same period of time.
A spanner in the works definitely… but as always, there was a way to turn this into an advantage. That much Supreme Machine was sure of.
