Kayfabe Power to the People

[Sam?!]

*The PA system roars with the sound of Jordan Bull's theme, and the crowd react with cheers. Jordan comes from behind the curtain looking healthy, a drastic change to last time he was seen. His trademark jacket and ring gear is on full display but he still has a heavily bandaged right arm. He walks to the ring with renewed vigor, looking like a changed man. Jordan pauses for a moment at the end of the ramp to take his reaction in. He then marches up the steps and onto the apron with a determined look in his piercing blue eyes. Scaling the turnbuckle seems more effortless than it has in a long time and he throws both arms in the air instead of just one, alluding to the fact that he is feeling more confident in his physical health. The veteran stands in the middle of the ring and stares down the hard cam with an intensity that anyone who has followed Jordan's career knows; is unmatched. He grabs a mic from his pocket and speaks in his usual diluted British accent with American diction and phraseology.*

Jordan: You all know it's been a long time since I've fought for something other than survival. Since I came back to Precision, Jack Rogue has made it his life ambition to put me down. Every time I step into the ring with him, he attacks my arm and tries to break me. Jack is an animal, and I've been focusing so hard on surviving against him that I lost track of what was really important. The fact is, it's not acceptable for me to "survive" this series anymore, oh no, no matter how broken my arm is; a valiant effort will not be enough because I need that title shot.

*Crowd cheer for this, although there is no secret that Rogue is seen as a favourite among the IWC simply because a title match for him has been a long time coming*

Jordan: Jack, I don't hate you for what you've done to me over the last few months. If anything, I have to thank you for bringing out the old Jordan Bull. However, although I'm grateful, I'm still fixing to kick your ass and finally win the title that I have deserved since the moment I arrived in Precision. An iron man match doesn't worry me, it just means I get to beat the shit out of you multiple times. I've not forgot the slimeball way you beat me in the steel cage, or the two times you made me tap out by preying on my injuries. You deserve a fucking beatdown and that is exactly what you'll get in our iron man match. Come on out here and face me like a man, or do you have to hide behind Ivy's skirt?​

 

[Geek773]

OOC: This is late. Imagine you don't know the result from Viewer's Choice. Cheers.

*Ten seconds go by of Jordan staring towards the back and waiting for the emergence of his rival, but eventually Jack's music rings through the arena to thunderous boos*



*The first person to walk onto the stage, however, is not Jack Rogue but the Empress of Fear, Ivy Hale, who took Rogue out of therapy for bipolar disorder and under her wing. She walks slowly but stably, her leg still in a brace from injuries acquired through competition in IWT, and grins maniacally at the heckling thousands in the crowd. Rogue follows, as usual clad in his inky black gear and his fanged half mask hiding his expression, the cold of his navy eyes left to tell the story of his emotional state. It is Jack that grips a microphone in his hand, and stands on the stage to respond to Jordan Bull's challenge*

Jack: Ladies and gentlemen, feast your eyes! Gaze into the ring and admire your hero, Jordan Bull! Cheer his wonderous heroism, adore his strength and resilience... because this is your last chance. If you think the torture I've put you through has given you a second wind, just know that it is your last. You will not walk out of the Iron Man match at Viewer's Choice, and you certainly will never wrestle again. You claim you've been fighting for survival up to now and you're right, but you forget that that's the only reason you're still here. If you go into match six of our series with any other intention in mind than making sure you escape it with a functioning body, then you won't. I'll break you, I'll kill you if I see fit. Just ask Alexander Diamond, who was lucky to survive the crushed windpipe I gave him. Just ask CRASH, who was a barely functioning human before he got to Precision, and who we've hardly seen since I crushed him.

Jack: Hell, you don't even need to, do you? Exactly how fucked is your arm, Jordan?! Because it's got to be solidly fractured by now, maybe even totally broken. I bet you don't even have the brains to have got it checked. You'll have covered it in paracetamol and a stiff upper lip. How many painkillers have you taken, man? Does the throbbing keep you up at night? Do you cry, Jordan, knowing that your right arm may never heal? That you may never cradle a child with both hands, after I put it totally out of commission at Viewer's Choice? Don't you all just love that show, everybody?! I know I do. Whatever I do to Jordan Bull in this Iron Man match you picked, the blood will be on your hands. And you will all be responsible when I walk into Bad Blood, against a man I've already beaten in Andersen Vega, and win the Precision Championship? I will be what I never thought I could be, what none of you believed I could be, and what people like you, Jordan, would never let me be. Finally, after all my struggles, I will be cham-

*Before he can finish his sentence, Ivy Hale snatches the microphone out of Rogue's hand. Her expression is irate, and Jack's face falls at the sight of it, before she begins to shout in his face*

 

[Rosie]

OOC: This is late. Imagine you don't know the result from Viewer's Choice. Cheers.

*Ten seconds go by of Jordan staring towards the back and waiting for the emergence of his rival, but eventually Jack's music rings through the arena to thunderous boos*



*The first person to walk onto the stage, however, is not Jack Rogue but the Empress of Fear, Ivy Hale, who took Rogue out of therapy for bipolar disorder and under her wing. She walks slowly but stably, her leg still in a brace from injuries acquired through competition in IWT, and grins maniacally at the heckling thousands in the crowd. Rogue follows, as usual clad in his inky black gear and his fanged half mask hiding his expression, the cold of his navy eyes left to tell the story of his emotional state. It is Jack that grips a microphone in his hand, and stands on the stage to respond to Jordan Bull's challenge*

Jack: Ladies and gentlemen, feast your eyes! Gaze into the ring and admire your hero, Jordan Bull! Cheer his wonderous heroism, adore his strength and resilience... because this is your last challenge. If you think the torture I've put you through has given you a second wind, just know that it is your last. You will not walk out of the Iron Man match at Viewer's Choice, and you certainly will never wrestle again. You claim you've been fighting for survival up to now and you're right, but you forget that that's the only reason you're still here. If you go into match six of our series with any other intention in mind than making sure you escape it with a functioning body, then you won't. I'll break you, I'll kill you if I see fit. Just ask Alexander Diamond, who was lucky to survive the crushed windpipe I gave him. Just ask CRASH, who was a barely functioning human before he got to Precision, and who we've hardly seen since I crushed him.

Jack: Hell, you don't even need to, do you? Exactly how fucked is your arm, Jordan?! Because it's got to be solidly fractured by now, maybe even totally broken. I bet you don't even have the brains to have got it checked. You'll have covered it in paracetamol and a stiff upper lip. How many painkillers have you taken, man? Does the throbbing keep you up at night? Do you cry, Jordan, knowing that your right arm may never heal? That you may never cradle a child with both hands, after I put it totally out of commission at Viewer's Choice? Don't you all just love that show, everybody?! I know I do. Whatever I do to Jordan Bull in this Iron Man match you picked, the blood will be on your hands. And you will all be responsible when I walk into Bad Blood, against a man I've already beaten in Andersen Vega, and win the Precision Championship? I will be what I never thought I could be, what none of you believed I could be, and what people like you, Jordan, would never let me be. Finally, after all my struggles, I will be cham-

*Before he can finish his sentence, Ivy Hale snatches the microphone out of Rogue's hand. Her expression is irate, and Jack's face falls at the sight of it, before she begins to shout in his face*

"Wait, Jack really? You'll be what? Ch-Cha-champion!? What has gotten into you, Jack? Have you been not paying attention to what I've been telling you as of late? Have you been falling into these kinds of traps again? Might I remind you that when you were Champion, you lost it soon after? The little path of destruction you're talking about? What did you to Alexander Diamond, that dummy, and others? When did that happen? After that wretched title was taken from you, only then that accessory didn't weigh you down. Have you not remembered that? I thought I taught you better, Jack. I mean, if that is how you're motivating yourself, what's going to happen tonight, huh?"

She stops and looks Jack directly in the eyes, trying to get her protege back in line. She then smirks and continues.

"I thought so... So, how about I re-educate you on the real problem at hand. Not Andersen Vega, not that stupid and meaningless Precision title..."

Ivy looks down towards the ring where the veteran, Jordan Bull stands.

"Instead it's the double-standards within this world, the complete hypocrisy, the fact that people like us are seen as rejected because we are different and while everyone lies and everyone buys into that rhetoric. Jordan..."

Ivy steps forward.

"Jordan, you are just as big a part of it as anyone. You came back to Precision and everyone was on their feet as if you were still in Sony Storm. They forgave you for all that you've done, but yet, does anyone forgive me for doing nothing wrong? No, they judge me for who I am. Then Jack, poor Jack...He was forced against his will to be enslaved to a vile, disgusting human being. Someone who still never cares about anyone but himself gives into primal urges, believes he does no wrong, obsessed with trinkets that this world has placed value on, a false king if you will. Then, rightfully so, Jack snapped. He gave into this new side of him, have been letting it guide him. He stood up to those who wronged him and what did they do? They turned on him. For doing what was right, for standing up...It becomes more laughable when the man who tortured him just waltzed over to the ring and asked for forgiveness and spouted lies and they felt like putty in his hands. They've done the same for you and while you want us to believe that the old, aggressive, anti-hero of a wrestler, Jordan Bull is back...It isn't the case. You're just a shell of a man you once were. The fact you've lasted so far in this series is impressive, I'll give you that, but time is ticking away on your life in Precision and before you part..."

Ivy smirks before giggling to herself.

"I'm going to teach you something. Maybe you'll listen? It's about a little code I've lived by..." Ivy closes her open hand into a fist. "The power of fear. It's always intrigued me and it's a double edged sword. It can be used as a wonderous tool for control, to bend others to your will. Knowing what others fear is perhaps the most effective way to get something done..." As Ivy is saying this, Jack seems to be looking at her a bit puzzling through his half-mask as she continues. "Some people fear getting left behind, others fear the monsters within them, they fear being proved wrong, so many can be picked at so easily. But, if one finds out how you work, they understand what makes you tick, what you're afraid of then you're vulnerable. I was once left weakened to my fears, but now, I mastered them, became the Empress of my own fears and I've learned to expose the fears of others. I'm helping Jack do the same, but he has a way to go. As for you, Jordan...You're an interesting one. You seem unphased even after all of what Jack put you through. Have you conquered your fear? Or is it perhaps nobody has found out what it is yet?" Ivy snickers. "I know I can find a way...it will only be a matter of time...And it will be exposed...tonight..."

Ivy twirls the microphone in her hand as she waits for Jordan Bull to respond.

Spoiler: OOC

@Sam?! You're up, dood. Also best I can do for now...