"You've Already Lost"

by **krzy** Tue Mar 03, 2020 4:43 pm

Bob Luger could have gone home, put his feet up on his solid oak ottoman and sipped on a piping hot cup of pomegranate tea. He could have been content with both physically and verbally getting one over on his bitter foe and sending Xander Slate sulking out of the arena with his tail tucked between his legs. But that’s not the kind of competitor Luger is. And, deep down, he knows that’s not the man Slate is either.

No, Slate didn’t walk away because he was intimidated or scared. Slate’s plotting, looking for a way to put down Luger once and for all and by any means necessary. Frankly, Luger is tired of playing reactionary. And after what Slate’s goons tried to pull with Quantum--the one man with the moral fortitude to stand by Luger in the face of seemingly insurmountable odds--Luger is done playing defense.

He kicks open Slate’s office door ready to continue the one-sided conversation they were having earlier. Luger wants an answer, and he will hound Slate until he gets it.

Luger’s eyes fly open wide as he takes in the sight before him.

Instead of one television mounted on the wall, Tailcoat Val has made herself at home by installing eleven more monitors. Half of them are displaying loops of Shay Hoxton in various stages of kneeling, standing or squatting, zoomed in on his reconstructed knee in particular. The other monitors show the likes of Luger, Proudfoot, Briggs, Quantum, Rayne and Spade going about their lives, unaware of the surveillance.

If Val heard Luger enter the room, she doesn’t acknowledge his presence. Instead it falls on Luger to greet her.

Bob Luger
Wow….

He takes a look at the room, taking in what kind of person Val really is. Up until recently, he never really looked into her. But, considering the fact that she drove a chair into his throat, he made the effort in his time off to realize she’s a crazed lunatic who’s obsessed with figuring anybody and everybody out.

Bob Luger
Can’t say I’m too surprised that Slate dipped. He didn’t want to face me….

He looks off into the distance as if he’s left the room for a second.

Bob Luger
That coward…..

At this point, Val turns around and acknowledges the Titan standing in her presence. She removes her mask revealing a slight smirk.

Tailcoat Val
A pleasure to make your acquaintance under...less hostile circumstances.

Bob Luger
I was looking for the coward, but I got the looney instead. But you know what, that’s fine. I’ve been meaning to speak with you too.

He pulls up a chair in front of the desk and plops down on the soft cushion before leaning forward, with his hands on the desktop.

Bob Luger
I can see you’ve been busy spying. In fact, I gotta give you props. You take your imaginary job very seriously. But let me ask you a very serious question. Your end game. What is it? You out for Slate’s job? You trying to get your job back in the women’s division? Why the hell are you so obsessed with putting hard working wrestlers through troubling trials? Why did you drill a chair into my throat and try to put me out on the goddamn shelf? And the most important question out of all of them that I need you to answer. Who the hell do you think you are? Messing with me is like writing a suicide note and sending it to death himself. Because I won’t give up until I’ve beaten you in whatever game this is that you’ve started.

Val glances over her shoulder at the television monitors. She presses a button on a remote, and now all twelve screens are showing various clashes between Luger and Slate throughout the years.

Tailcoat Val
My end game? Beyond your comprehension.

She motions toward the monitors.

Tailcoat Val
In the interim... I’ve taken great interest in this clash of egos. Men--pride is often your downfall, still you march into the abyss thinking any weapon or gameplan can prepare you for what awaits on the other side. I’m fascinated at how you two feed off each other--love and hate, friendship and animosity intricately intertwined until neither of you can make sense of the emotions.

In a few strides she’s standing next to Luger. She slowly reaches for his neck and slides her fingers along the length of the fading scar.

Tailcoat Val
As for this--a miscalculation I’ve come to regret now that I’ve properly studied the tangled web that is your relationship. In the beginning, you were an inconvenience. A distraction. You still are, but I’ve learned to use it to my benefit. A whole roster at Slate’s disposal to shape and mold as he sees fit, yet he only has eyes for you. Adorable.Those blindspots are where I’ve set my sights.

Luger stands up, towering over Val. His gaze fixed on hers, pure rage hiding beneath his bright blue eyes.

Bob Luger
Slate’s gonna get it. This shoulda ended after Ascendance but he just couldn’t leave well enough alone. As for you. A miscalculation? You injured my larynx. Hell you tried to break my neck. You don’t get to just brush that off. Not against me. Normally, I would…..NEVER hit a woman…….but you…….you’re no woman. You’re a damn monster. And my entire career I’ve had to slay monsters. None like you, but I constantly adapt. I’ll make it work.

He releases his gaze before pushing in his chair. He looks back up at the monitors, reminiscing on his story with Slate for a second before crashing back into reality. His eyes, sizing her up, with a look of disgust.

Bob Luger
I’ll tell you what, Val. This is what I'll do. You and I, we are faaar from done. But for now, I gotta put my focus on the fight ahead. But, in the meantime, you just take a seat in your little chair there and you watch. Watch what I do to everybody in my path. Write it down. Do your research. Because the next time we meet, it won’t be good for you.

And with that, he makes his exit, leaving Val standing there to absorb his words. She sighs and shakes her head.

Tailcoat Val
Fool. We are done. That fight ahead is the march toward the abyss. When you two collide, that will be the end. A tandem spiral toward mutual assured destruction. There won’t be a next time.

The camera zooms in on the televisions that are showing just how ugly it’s gotten between Luger and Slate from brawls in the streets to rivers of blood shed in the ring. And somehow, they’ve yet to reach the true depths of their depravity.