- Adeel Alam
Things were tough all over.
From a macro standpoint, obviously, all you had to do was turn on the TV to see how bad things were getting. From a micro standpoint, in JC's own personal little world, things weren't great either. Not so much for him, as he was doing pretty well with his two jobs and recent engagement. But Lucy wasn't doing well thanks to a bad situation in Carnage.
And as anyone in a long time relationship can tell you, when your significant other is feeling bad, you're feeling bad.
With the world in the state as it was, they were currently sitting in a hotel room in Chicago, eating a very nice room service meal that Joe ordered to at least make date night someone palatable. Eating was the wrong word in her case, as she was simply pushing the food around on her plate, maybe taking bites every so often when the mood struck her.
JC was painfully aware that this wasn't going so well, but he also knew it was through no fault of his own.
It wasn't even the world as a whole, although that certainly didn't help.
Lucy had her issues in Carnage, and he was going to support her the best he could, even if she had already told him in no uncertain terms to stay out of it.
"Not hungry?"
She twirled some noodles with her fork absentmindedly, before looking up confused.
"Huh?"
"You're not touching the food. Just wondering if I picked a bad time."
"Oh no. Just not feeling it. I really do appreciate it, Joe. It's just..."
"CJ?"
"Among other things."
CJ Wylde, her ex-husband, and Maggie Lockheart, her ex-girlfriend, had teamed up for some reason or another. She had that to deal with and he had to deal with it alongside her. Perhaps in the scope of UGWC, it didn't matter, but when you were a dual-company wrestler as he was, these things tended to bleed together.
As someone who had been with her for a long time, CJ was always the person he was comparing himself to mentally. Mainly as a case of what not to do. Was he lying to her as he did? Was he ignoring her as he did? Was he holding her back professionally as he did?
He liked to think no, because unlike CJ, he felt he actually cared about her and only wanted the best for her.
Outside of the times his mental illness prevented him from doing so, he always put Lucy first. And he always would.
"I'd say you have to let it go, but I know that's not exactly easy."
"I'm sorry, Joe. You did all this and I'm just..."
He reached over and put her hand in his. She dropped the fork and looked at him, her eyes wet.
"It's fine, Luce. I only did this to cheer you up. And it's not exactly that grand of a gesture."
She nodded, and he moved over to where she sat and put his arms around her, kissing the top of her head.
"Shit's messed up right now for you. I get it. But we've been through worse than this. You've been through worse than this. Compared to some of the things you've come back from, this is nothing."
She leaned her head forward and pressed into his hand with her chin, giving him a sort of makeshift hug but the affection was nonetheless appreciated.
"It's just...we finally get to a decent place. You asked me to marry you. And fucking CJ...and Maggie..."
"My guess is they're just trying to ride your coattails. Look at all you've done since you left him. He probably can't stand it that you did more with that last name than he ever did. And as for Maggie, well, she flamed out in two organizations now. She should worry more about her own legacy than yours."
He returned to his end of the table, and saw her taking another gulp of the wine. That was fine too. She needed it.
"It just doesn't make sense. The timing of it. The fact he can't mind his own fucking business."
"He always did think he was more important than he was."
She nodded again, but kept quiet. She was back to being lost in thought. It had been this way since Monday, and while he was understanding, it was also frustrating. Not her fault though. She was right. It was none of their business. None of it.
He planned to stay out of it, like she wanted, for now.
But he knew there would eventually come a time when he wouldn't be able to. Because while Lucy was tough and could handle herself, he wanted the best for her. And he would do anything to make sure she had it.
The problem was his mind.
His anger.
His penchant for violence.
He just spent four months of his life getting his mind right, trying to fight his innermost desires to inflict pain. But when there were two people right there, practically gift-wrapped with a target that kept growing larger and larger, how could he resist?
He didn't think he could. And what's worse, he didn't think he could restrain himself if he got his hands on her ex-husband.
And part of him wondered if he even wanted to.
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The next day, of course, was time for training. He needed to stay in shape, after all. And Lucy just needed to work out some anger. So it was sparring time. A match between the two to work out some aggression.
She was currently a little too eager.
They had been going at it for about five minutes and her forearms became a little too stiff, and she was wearing down his defenses. As this wasn't an actual competitive match, he had assumed they'd just be trying out some moves, work up strategies for upcoming matches. He didn't expect to become a punching bag.
She lobbed another elbow in his direction and he got his hands up, and felt the impact even through his glove. The vibrations echoed through the bones in his hand, reverberating down to his wrist. He took a step back but hardly had time to shake it off before she was throwing another one. He caught it and this time held on, although it was somehow even harder than the last one.
Where was she getting the power from?
He twisted the arm into a hammerlock, then stood behind her back and held on. It was just enough pressure to keep her in place, but not enough to hurt.
"Easy, Luce. It's just sparring."
He knew she wasn't seeing him. He was seeing her exes. Both of them. And maybe everyone else who ever wronged her as well.
"Come on, this isn't even the hardest I can go."
"You could have fooled me."
She threw her free elbow backward, catching him in the shoulder. He wondered if she was perhaps aiming for his head. That wasn't possible, was it?
Was it?
He shook out the pain in his arm and as he did so, she dropped down quickly and slid backwards underneath his legs, coming up behind him. He spun around as quickly as he could, and took a few steps back to create some safe distance. He may have been just sparring, but she wasn't.
"Have you fought me? Oh...wait..."
She gave him a devilish smirk, which might have actually excited him in any other circumstance. He usually found mean, aggressive Lucy to be, kinda hot. But she was also usually turning that onto other people.
And this was supposed to be sparring.
But he figured he'd play along until she worked it all out. He was tough, he could handle it. And besides, she just had to remind him of the fact she beat him a year ago.
"Low blow, Luce. But I'll forgive you this time."
She ducked her head and charged forward, and he could have sworn a spear was on her mind. He planted his feet and decided to take it, as it was just sparring. She couldn't knock him down at half speed.
Except she wasn't going half-speed.
He realized this a moment too late, as he had already made the decision to absorb the impact. His feet were planted and by the time he realized he needed to get out of the way, she was already an inch from impact.
Her shoulder caught him flush in the abdomen, driving the wind out of him almost immediately. He lost his footing simply from the surprise of the force, and everything was going in slow motion. He fell backward and his head then bounced off the mat, causing a whiplash in his neck as it rocked up and down. He didn't exactly flip over, she simply didn't have the power for that. But he landed pretty hard.
And he felt an odd sensation suddenly shoot down his back, then his hip, and all the way down his leg to his toes. It was if his nerves lit up...and then worse than they, they suddenly shut off. This all happened within ten seconds.
His legs went numb. It was what people in the business called a 'stinger', or at least that's what he would tell himself later. At the moment, the first thought in his head was panic, as he didn't think he could get up.
He laid there, praying to whoever that he could get the sensation in his lower half again.
Lucy laid on top of him, then patted his chest.
"I think I let that get away from me."
She kissed him and hopped to her feet, but the kiss didn't even register. His mind was elsewhere. He didn't get up yet. He couldn't.
"Come on old man, I didn't hit you that hard."
Then, as quickly as he lost the feeling, it was back. There was some tingling, but he could feel and move his legs again. He moved to a sitting position and forced a dry, raspy laugh out. To him it sounded unsteady but he hoped it wouldn't to her.
After all, it was just a stinger. He was fine. Right?
"You...knocked the wind out of me, that's all."
She observed him for a moment, then frowned.
"Sorry, babe. I guess I got carried away."
He slowly got to his feet and shakily took a couple of steps forward. It was like he had been sitting on his legs. But things were back to normal now, for the most part. Even the tingling was going away.
"I'm fine. It'll take a lot more than that to hurt me."
At least, that's what he hoped.
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There's the feeling of change in the air.
A seismic shift, if you will.
It seems things are progressing towards something, and perhaps there are some who can't say exactly what.
But I know. And I've known from the moment I stepped in a UGWC ring again.
3-0.
Now sure, that's just against Crystal Zdunich and Prixius Deimos, but it's a start. It's showing everyone that I meant what I said when I came here. I want that World title and I'm going to mow over everyone to get it. I have no friends in UGWC. I have no enemies. There are just obstacles. Obstacles that I'm going to knock down and grab the brass ring that has been denied to me. That I have denied myself.
This is my story of redemption, and I will not rest until my name is in your history books.
Now 3-0 may seem like nothing to you, but it's convinced the brass to put me in a match with four other people, one of whom is the world champion.
Fourth match back and I'm getting to test myself against the champion. I'm not going to lie, it's exciting. Angelica Vaughn, you don't really know me, so let me introduce yourself. My name is JC. I'm a big, strong motherfucker with a mean streak that wants the ten pounds of gold you carry to every UGWC show. And this Monday at Synergy, I'm going to show you exactly how I'm going to take it.
You may think that's presumptuous of me. I've certainly got a lot of brass to show up and tell you, the woman who slayed that bargain bin Mean Girls sequel, how I'm taking what's yours.
But trust me when I say that I need that belt a lot more than you may want to keep it. And I will do a lot more than I think you're willing to in order to get it.
As I said, you'll find out Monday exactly what I'm capable of. Even if by some miracle I lose this match, I will leave an impact. And once I win the Melee, you'll know exactly what's coming at Wrestlestock.
But don't worry, I'm not forgetting the other people in the match. I would never overlook my other opponents. Well, maybe Konrad Raab.
Hey Konrad, I met your um, brother? Uncle? Okay, I don't know exactly the relation but we've got a guy in Carnage with your name that thinks he's some sort of monster. I never actually had the chance to face him, but I did beat his flunkies once. And besides, everyone else has beat him enough that I really didn't want to add insult to injury, you know?
Then I come here and find out you're just as pathetic as he is. Constantly talking a big game and never delivering. I mean I'll give you credit, you haven't done anything of note but somehow you're still here making a nuisance of yourself. Good for you. Hope you enjoy the rest of the match after you're no doubt the first one eliminated.
Next up, Dave Rydell. I know this guy only because I had to team with him. We worked well together. Wouldn't mind teaming again. Sad to say that that's where my goodwill ends. Everyone's looking to prove themselves Dave and none more so than me. When it comes to this match, you may as well be someone I hate. Because you're in my way.
You should know better than anyone else in this match that you don't want to be in my way. It doesn't end well for you.
Finally, there's Tempest. A guy who apparently doesn't listen. I don't really watch the promos of other guys before I watch but since you had a unique look I decided to check you out. Your look is the only unique thing about you. Just another edgelord talking nonsense and trying to sound cool by being an enigma. Oh I'm sorry, is that taking you too lightly? Does that hurt your feelings?
You'll be pleased to know I take no one lightly. Not even Raab, as inconsequential as he'll be. I've seen what you can do, I've watched tape. But I know what I can do too, and I know that I'm better than you at it. I don't need my past accomplishments to back up that statement. I have my last three dominant performances here. By the way, good job on telling me that my accolades don't matter weeks after I said the same exact thing. I'm glad we agree and all, though. Doesn't change the fact I'm throwing you out.
If I had it my way, I'd throw all four of you out. I know the match may not shake down that way, but I'm here to prove a point. I'm here to prove that I'm two matches away from being UGWC World champion. I've spent my life overcoming injuries, personal setbacks and mental illness to get to this exact point.
The precipice of change. The tremors signaling the earthquake to come.
It's time to shake things up around here and that's exactly what I plan to do.
