Post by Everyday Heroes on Aug 28, 2016 22:36:07 GMT
JASON
Gary, Indiana
August 1, 2016 2.34PM Local Time
This is the first time ever I don't have trouble finding the graves.
Usually, every time I come here, I end up walking around in circles for a good few minutes, looking for that row of three graves, side by side, each marked with a simple wooden cross. No one in my family was ever the ostentatious type, but when you're trying to locate three plots of land among gravestones each bigger than the next, it almost makes you wish your relatives had been vain enough to get showy headstones.
This time, though, it's like my feet were programmed beforehand; through the gate, to the left, down a few rows towards the back, another left, and there they are. Side by side as always, the names and dates written across each cross in white paint the only way to distinguish them.
MARY O'RYAN 1968 – 1997
DAVID O'RYAN 1966 – 1997
ETHEL O'RYAN 1934 – 2015
I'm still on autopilot as I kneel and place a bunch of flowers at the foot of each cross. White carnations for Mom and Dad, and lillies for Nana – her favorite. It's only when I reach into my bag a second time and take out my third of the GOL Trios Championships that I feel my mind coming back into control – just in time to do what it has to do.
'Look, Nana,' I whisper, laying the belt at the foot of the rightmost grave. 'I'm a Champion again.'
I can feel tears stinging my eyes as I give her the news, my chest suddenly contracting with longing and mourning. I drop down onto all fours for a moment, a rush of emotion surging forward from somewhere deep in my loins and coming out the other end as a flood of tears.
I make no effort to control them, instead crying myself dry; I figure if there is a place no one will fault a grown man for crying, that place is a graveyard. So I let the tears flow freely, each taking with it a different memory of Nana, embedding into the soil she lies beneath, letting her know I still remember her, will always remember her, will always care. Letting her know everything I've done since I've decided to stop hiding under a mask and own up to my own shortcomings has been to make her proud. Letting her know no one in the world – not even the people lying immediately to her right and sharing the same soil – has ever meant as much to me.
It takes me a couple of minutes to cry myself out, but eventually, I find myself lying face down in the dirt, my eyes all but dry and my chest producing nothing more than dry heaves. I pick myself up, wipe the dirt off my face with the back of my hand, and pick my GOL title back up from where it sits next to Nana's lillies. I take one last look at the only three people I ever called family, lying side by side under the soil, for eternity, and find my lips breaking into a grin.
'I know I made you guys proud,' I say.
Then I turn on my heel and begin to make my way back to where Jenny is waiting by the gate.
And this time, I do get lost.
WALLY
Tijuana, Mexico
August 1, 2016 01:23AM Local Time
'Hello, Mom?!'
'Walter, are you okay? Why are you calling me?'
'Mom...'
'I though you were supposed to be at that fighting thing! Did something happen? Is anyone hurt?'
'Mom...'
'Oh my gosh! Walter, were you in a car crash?! Tell me where you are, I'll call the Poli--'
'MOM!'
I hate raising my voice at Mom, but if I didn't do it here, the flood of words would have gone on uninterrupted, until Mom had talked herself into believing I was in the hospital with multiple broken limbs.
'Mom,' I repeat, more softly. 'I'm fine. It's good news.'
'Good news?!' Mom sounds decidedly miffed, and I brace myself for one of her famous temper explosions. 'Good news!? Walter, you call me at all hours of the night, worry me half to death, I had to go take one of my tension pills....and now you tell me it's good news?!'
'Sorry, Mom. I didn't mean to scare you. It really is good news.'
'Well, you did.' Mom is still acting snippy, but I can tell most of it is out of her system now. 'What's the good news?'
'We won!'
'Won?!' I must have really thrown Mom off; she sounds genuinely lost. 'Won what, Walter?'
'The match. You know, in the, um...fighting thing I was at? We won!'
'The fi—' Suddenly, Mom's dime drops. 'Oh, you won?! Honey!! Congratulations!!'
I feel my chest swelling up with pride. 'Yeah. We did. We're Champions now. Me and Jason and Cherry.'
'Jason and who?!' Mom sounds confused again, but it only lasts a second. 'Oh, your friends, right?!'
'My team-mates, yeah.'
'Jason's that short kid who used to come over for dinner...and...did you say Cheryl?!'
'Cherry. She's new. We just met her a couple months ago. She---'
'Oh my gosh!!!' Mom suddenly sounds weirdly excited for some reason – and after a second, I understand just why. 'Oh my gosh, Walter! Is this Shelly your girlfriend?!'
I sigh. 'Mom...she's not my girlfriend. I already have a girlfriend.'
'On the computer doesn't count, Walter!'
...typical Mom.
'No, no on the computer. In real life. Her name's Lyndsey. You met her, Mom. Brunette, green eyes, real pretty?'
Mom is silent for a second. I can almost hear the gears in her brain as she tries to think of who I mean, then the lightbulb go off as she gets it.
'Oh, her?!? I thought you guys just worked together!'
'No...I mean, yeah...we do...but it's more than that, too!'
Another long silence from Mom. I fear the worst. And sure enough...
'I don't believe you.'
Of course.
'Mom, I swear...'
Mom cuts me off again; this time, though, she throws me off, because she's not yelling or complaining.
She's laughing.
'I'm only messin' with you, pie-brain. Boy, you can sure be a sucker sometimes...'
...of course.
'Very funny, Mom...'
'Sorry, honey. Couldn't resist.' Mom's tone softens again, into her normal one. 'So you guys won, huh?'
'Yup. We survived the Mexican Asy--' I halt myself, realising what I'm about to say, and the effect it's likely going to have on Mom. I close my eyes and pray I'm in the clear, but know I've said too much even before Mom speaks again.
'You survived the Mexican what, Walter?'
'Mom, it's just the match name! It doesn't mean anything!' I hate myself for stammering; how come Mom always makes me feel five? 'It was just a match, I swe--'
'—the Mexican what, Walter?'
She's using The Tone. Oh gosh. She's using The Tone.
You have one chance, Walter. Man up. Think of your friends. Think of your fans.
Time to be a man, buddy.
'The Mexican what, Walter?'
'The...Mexican...Asylum, Mom.' I feel my voice get really small on the last two words, and with good reason.
'MEXICAN ASYLUM, WALTER?! MEXICAN ASYLUM?! AS IN, FOR CRAZY PEOPLE?! WHAT WERE YOU THINKING, WALTER EZEKIEL STRAVINSKY?! THAT'S IT! I'M COMING TO GET YOU RIGHT NOW! NO MORE OF THIS FIGHTING NONSENSE! NO MORE!!!!'
As I stand there, powerless to move, stunned by the avalanche of ear-piercing reproaches that tumbles into my ears the minute I say 'Asylum', and unable to put a word in edgewise, only one thought crosses my mind:
'Well, Wally, you may be a Champion...but you still can't win against your Mom.'
CHERRY
Tijuana, Mexico
August 1, 2016 10.56AM Local Time
'Look, Dad, isn't it cool?!'
Dad grins as I pick up my GOL Trios Championship belt and hold it up so him and Mom can see it through the Skype call.
'It's very nice, honey,' he says. 'Congratulations!'
'I told you, Dad! I told you I'd win one someday!'
He nods. 'And now you did. And we're very proud of you.'
'Thanks!' I know I'm acting like I'm twelve, not twenty. I know I should act like a grown-up, and not that silly little girl who didn't know the difference between wrestling and wrestling. I know I'm a Champion and a hero and I should set the example.
Right now, though? I couldn't care less about any of that.
Right now, all I care about is what Mom and Dad think of my belt.
'Isn't it neat, huh?' I turn the belt round one way, then the other, so they can see like, all the really cool little details and stuff. 'Look, see here? There's my name, right there!' I push the belt closer to my computer and point at the plate. 'See? Cherry Oliver, Everyday Heroes. Isn't that like, the coolest?!'
'It's very nice, honey.'
'Dad!' I can't believe he's sitting there, all cool, when I'm showing him this amazing thing that's like, totally the defining moment of my life and stuff.
'Dad!', I repeat. 'My name is on a belt. My name. Is on. A belt. A Championship belt.'
'We heard you the first time, sweetie,' Dad cuts in. He's not angry, though; he's smiling.
'Yeah, and it's like, the coolest thing ever, right?!'
Dad grins wider.
'Yes,' he says. 'It's the coolest thing ever.'
'And you're the coolest Dad ever!' I wish I could give him a hug, instead of just blowing him a kiss, because it's totally true; he totally is the coolest Dad ever.
'You're coming home now, right?' This is Mom, who's been quiet until now, just sort of sitting next to Dad and smiling. 'Right, Cherry?'
'No, Mom.' I shake my head. 'I'm going to Japan for Lions' Road, and then I have another GOL show.'
'J-Japan?!' Mom suddenly looks really sad and tired, and I feel kind'a bad. There's nothing I can do, though.
'Yeah.' I smile, try to make Mom not be worried. 'But Jace and Wally are with me. And the girls. We're all going. I'm gonna be fine.'
'But...Japan?!'
'They're going to be fine, honey.' Dad to the rescue again! 'She's a grown-up girl and she's with her friends. And we trust them to act like grown-ups and not dumb kids.'
Dad gives me this look as he says this, but he didn't have to; I'm not planning to do anything stupid, in Japan or anywhere else. I'm a Champion now. I got little kids looking up to me. And other girls my age. I gotta set a good example. Besides, I don't want to disappoint Jason and Wally. I don't want to be the weakest link on the team and make us lose matches and stuff 'cause of being dumb.
'Yeah, Mom.' I tell her. 'Don't worry. I'll be good.'
Mom nods, but I can see she's trying not to cry. Fortunately, Dad's there to handle the situation.
'Cherry...honey...we're going now, okay?'
'Okay, Dad.' I give Dad this look to tell him I get why he's hanging up; I think he gets it, 'cause he gives me a little grin.
'Take care, honey. Love you.'
'Love you too.' I'm not sure they heard that, 'cause Dad cuts off the call just then. I hope they did, 'cause I meant it.
Either way, they're gone now. I can put my belt away and go do all the other stuff I gotta do.
...aw, but it looks so cool!
I guess I can hang around a little bit longer and just look at it. Try to get it through my own head.
I'm a Champion.
Holy crap.
I'm a Champion.
HEROES
Tokyo, Japan
August 18, 2016 23:12PM Local Time
'Jason, you okay?'
Jason Orion did not immediately reply to his team-mate's query, instead opting for smiling up at her from his prone position on the gurney.
'Great job getting that pin, girl! High-five!'
Cherry Oliver high-fived her partner, but only half-heartedly, the expression on her features glum. Seeing it, Jason propped himself up on one shoulder, the better to study the young girl's features.
'What's wrong, Cher?'
Cherry shrugged. 'It's nothin'...'
Jason clucked. 'C'mon now...since when do friends keep stuff from one another?!'
'But you're hurt,' Cherry objected. 'And this is just a stupid hang-up anyway...'
'Cherry...' Jason's tone, halfway between persuasive and stern, finally succeeded in cutting through Cherry's defences.
'...it's just that my pin wasn't enough to win us this thing,' the blonde confessed, referring to the Lions' Road Pride of Lions Championship.
'So?!' It was Jason's turn to shrug. 'It got us to the finals. And we would have had a shot too, if Tigre hadn't been more interested in injuring me than winning...'
The wrestler suddenly jolted, grimacing, as if talking about the injury he had been dealt during the match had caused it to flare up.
'...anyway,' he continued, once the pain had subsided. 'This was not your fault. Trust me.'
Cherry, however, was not convinced.
'I still kind'a feel like it was...I should'a been there for you in the finals...y'know?'
'Well, you're gonna have a chance to redeem yourself.'
The voice belonged to the third member of the Heroes, a man who had put in a brave performance that night but been unable to avoid his team's demise. Wally Stravinsky, known to wrestling circles as the Owl Man, still walked with a slight limp as he entered the medical room and held his phone up for his two partners to see. 'We have a match set for GOL Lucha next week. Our first defence.'
'Who is it?!' Cherry almost tore the phone from her team-mate's hand in her haste to discover who they would be facing; just as suddenly as it had lit up, however, her face dropped.
'It's just three random people...'
'Hey!' Jason half-rose from his sick bed yet again, sounding genuinely stern this time. 'Just because it's three random people, doesn't mean we underestimate them! That's the quickest way for them to get the drop on us!'
'Jason's right,' Wally said. 'We have to take them seriously, or it's just gonna be like tonight all over again. And I don't know about you guys, but I sure don't want that.'
'I don't want that either!' Cherry was flustering, clearly embarrassed by her earlier comments.
'None of us do.' Jason, ever the conciliator, touched the youngster on the shoulder. 'Which is why we'll take this match seriously. Right?'
Cherry nodded, a faint grin broaching her lips and bringing a bigger one from Jason.
'Atta girl,' he said, a moment before another jolt of pain pierced his lower back, making his features contort into a grimace. Cherry and Walt rushed forward, but he waved them off with a wave of a hand.
'You guys go back to the hotel. Get some rest. We got a big day tomorrow.'
'Jace, are you su---'
Cherry never finished her sentence. 'Yeah. I'll be fine. Just go. I don't want you guys dragging yourselves around tomorrow. We got a lot to do.'
'What's tomorrow?!' Cherry frowned, but Jason simply grinned in return.
'Tomorrow's when we make our video.'
Cherry's frown deepened. 'Our video for what?!'
Jason, his grin now as big as his face, looked his new team-mate in the eye as he pointed down at Wally's phone.
'For those guys.'
THE VIDEO
Tokyo, Japan
August 19, 2016 10.45AM Local Time
'You guys ready?'
Lyndsey Matthews took two steps back across the parking lot of the Tokyo arena, being careful to check for cars even as she made sure her friends were in frame.
'Ready when you are, Lyndz,' her boyfriend called out. Lyndsey nodded.
'Just gimme a minute...let me...' She squinted against the sun, adjusted the phone, nodded to herself as much as the others. 'Okay. Ready? Aaaaand...go!'
'Even Heroes aren't infallible.' Lyndsey was not surprised to see Jason kick things off, as he was wont to do. 'At Eterna Lucha, we proved we could make good on our word. We proved we could overcome. We proved that, with heart and determination and teamwork, even a group of dorks can walk through a Mexican Asylum and come out the other side carrying belts.'
The Midget held up his Championship belt to the camera, for emphasis.
'Like I said, though, even Heroes aren't infallible. And here, in Tokyo, we had a setback. We fell short of becoming Lions' Road Pride Champions. And while we had the grounds to make excuses...we won't. We let our little Sidekicks down, and that's all that matters.'
The short but sweet wrestler gave the camera a sad grin.
'At least Lions' Road will have worthy Champions either way. It just won't be us. But hey, who knows...maybe we'll be back someday.'
'For now, though, we have another challenge.'
Lyndsey was both surprised and impressed to see her usually introverted boyfriend cut across and take control from his partner so commandingly. Walter oozed a confidence she seldom saw in him as he continued:
'We have to prove July 31 wasn't a fluke. We have to prove we are worthy of these.'
Owl Man beat the belt on his shoulder with an open palm, and Lyndsey felt something stir inside her. If her boyfriend noticed, however, he gave no signs of it, merely going on with his speech:
'Julian Tijerinas. Mohammed Al Thani, Angel Kash. Three singles wrestlers who decided to work together to try and take the GOL Trios Championships away from us. What their motives are, we don't know...but that's not important. What's important is that they're our next challenge. A challenge that needs to be overcome.'
Lyndsey did her best to focus on her camerawoman duties and not jump Walter's bones as he stepped back, as confidently as he had stepped forward, and gave the floor back to Jason.
'And trust me, Julian, Mohamed, Angel...it's not a challenge we're taking lightly. Like Walt said, we don't know what your motives are, but we do know we have to beat you. And to do that, we can't take you lightly.'
Jason threw Cherry a meaningful look before turning back to the camera.
'Julian, Mo, Angel...anyone who looks at the match on the 26th will think we have the advantage. After all, we're a dedicated tag team. We work together, train together, travel together, spend free time together...we know one another in and out. And we have chemistry. It was that chemistry that helped us win the Mexican Asylum match, and it's that chemistry that's going to help us against you on Sunday the 26th.
But Julian, Mo, Angel...make no mistake. We know that chemistry may not be enough.'
'That's right.' Lyndsey's heart leapt in her chest as Walter took over yet again. 'Chemistry won't be any good if we take our eye off the ball. Off the prize. Off these.'
He thumped his belt with his palm again, bringing the same reaction as before from somewhere inside Lyndsey.
'Chemistry won't do us any good if we walk out of that arena on Sunday the 26th with our heads bowed low and having lost the right to call ourselves Champions. Because unlike yesterday night...' Walt jerked a thumb towards the arena wall behind him. '...we'll know it was all our fault.'
'Yeah.' Cherry stepped forward, speaking up for the first time. 'And it's gonna suck if that happens. Wanna know why?'
The blonde leant towards the camera, removing her own belt from her shoulder.
'Guys, this is my first belt. You guys remember your first belt? Probably not, you probably had a bunch by now. But this is special to me. It's Wally's first, too.' She jerked a thumb towards Owl Man by her side. 'We used to be treated like jokes, like we couldn't hang. And now, we get to call ourselves Champions. We get to be a big deal. We get to be Heroes. And we're not gonna let that be taken away from us!'
Cherry's tone rose, along with the fluster on her cheeks.
'Angel, Mohammed, Julian...this is my belt. And I intend to keep it. And so do these guys. And if that means having to fight extra hard, then that's what I'm gonna do. If it means having to fight against cheating...then that's what I'm gonna do. If it means taking you all the way...then that's what I'm gonna do. And that's what these guys are gonna do too.' She turned back to her partners. 'Right, guys?'
'YEAH!' Jason and Owlie cried out at the same time, before bringing their palms in to meet Cherry's in the middle. The blonde smiled.
'And why's that?!'
''Cause we're EVERYDAY HEROES!'
The three brought their palms up, completing the rallying cry, before Jason leant into the camera for a few final words:
'Mo...Angel...Julian...on August 26...we're going to be ready. Are you?'
Lyndsey barely waited until the wrestler had finished before scrambling to cut off the feed; a few moments later, she was jumping on her boyfriend's back, demanding a piggyback ride back to the hotel – a request Walter gleefully agreed to, leaving his two tag partners to look at one another in mildly confused amusement.
'Well,' Jason said, as he watched the couple speed across the parking lot towards the Wrestlemobile. 'Let's hope she doesn't decide to do that on Sunday...'
Their laughter pierced the morning air as they, too, began to make their way back to the car.