Post by red on Jul 29, 2023 2:07:37 GMT
Familiar Omens
Part 1- Old Habits Die Hard
Sunday, June 25th, 2023
15 hours after Extreme Extravaganza
Nikki Song looked up at the Battlegrounds Academy sign in front of her, and took in a deep breath. It was humid, of course it was, every Summer- Nikki hated it quietly.
Glancing back down at her trunk, she made sure she had her things. Gear- in case she ended up instructing. She always told Jak and Spades she'd just be stopping by, but she knew she enjoyed it. She had even discussed a school with Jamie, though that never went anywhere.
She slammed it shut and headed inside, pulling the door open quickly, a half-jog clearing the threshold in to the exquisite, air-conditioned interior. Nikki made a small groan of delight, though quickly checked to make sure she had gone unseen.
No one else was in sight, and she stepped further inside. Shane had moved the Academy building five years ago. Still, it maintained much of the personality of the old building. Shane had been adamant about keeping Walter's spirit within Battlegrounds.
Plain colors, grays mostly covered the walls. Walter- and now Shane insisted bright colors were distracting.
Only two touches of color could be found, the Battleground logo, plastered on the far back wall- a splash of crimson on a dark gray. The other delighted Nikki. A multicolor collision of graffiti tags and tie die, backdropping a small, but rather impressive wall of titles. 'THE JOKERS WILD' printed across the top.
Nikki smiled at the blatant display of insubordination, and right in cue, "Eh! Queen Bee, in the house!"
BlakJak came strolling from the back office, dressed in workout clothes, his bright orange shorts another silent disregard for Shane's rules. He cleared the distance relatively quick, and ducked down- because God forbid the Jokers could skip reminding Nikko of her stature- and caught a hug.
Nikki tapped his shoulder a bit as she pulled back, and Jak winced a bit, "How's the shoulder?" She asked, concern eyes taking in Eric.
He shrugged, rolled his shoulder, and cracked a smooth smile- a little gapped, given a few missing teeth, but smooth, "Ain't no thing, Miss Nikki. Gonna take more than this to slow me down."
"Jak, it's barely been two months. You should be resting." She tried to be stern. Even she didn't buy it.
"Cerberus has been managing to keep our duty light in GEW. And Spades and I are cooling a bit in WARRIOR- I am resting. Mostly." He reasoned, walking away as he spoke to retrieve water from the fridge below the front desk.
She furrowed her brow at the Jokers back, "Three on one, Jak. You were lucky Matt was at the show to pull you out."
He didn't respond. Simply sipped his water, "Have you even been to the hospital yet?"
Again, no response. He drained the bottle slowly, a deer in the headlights, "Umm, what's that?" Weak, given Joker standards.
She stepped forward, ready to continue a lecture, when another voice interrupted, "Relax my lady!" Spades joined BlakJak, and clapped his tag team partner on the back- another wince, "Jak'll be back to full glory in no time. Then, we rock the Massacre to their core and call it a day."
Nikki sighed, rolled her eyes, and gave up. She knew better than to push with then. Too much will. Perhaps their best trait, but probably their most annoying one.
She then took in a breath. She hadn't come to Ottawa for fun. If anything she avoided the city. It was a second home, in a lot of ways. But she held firm that it was Shane and Battlegrounds that gave it that feeling.
"Anything yet?" Dark eyes flicked between Spades and BlakJak, hoping for good news.
The two spared each other a glance, "Nothin'. And it seems like his phone's dead now too. Strsight to voicemail." Jak said, it was his turn to spare a concerned look.
"And we can't even leave those. Box is full" Spades added.
Nikki laughed, "Yeah. That was me. Woops." She placed her own phone on the counter, drumming on the surface with her fingertips.
Spades piped in, "We're still waiting to hear from Serena though. She had a big flight after the show. Maybe she heard something?"
When Nikki didn't react, Jak touched her shoulder lightly, "Hey, we're talkin' Shane here. He'll be alright, Nikki."
She smiled at him, and laughed a little again, "I forget you weren't around when this would happen before. When we'd still hide it."
The Jokers glanced between one another, and almost in unison, "Context?"
"The DID." She said, calmly, "When Envoy was around, this is exactly how it would play out. Every time."
"Things would seem normal, and then he'd just be gone." She brandished around, "I wouldn't hear from him or see him for weeks. And then he'd show up somewhere and- well, you guys watched UGWL and GEW. You know what he was like."
Spades looked taken by surprise, "Wait, you think Envoy is back?"
"Shane solved that little problem, didn't he? Like, Envoy is locked away, so to speak. No chance of parole. Ya know?"
Nikki wished she had a straight answer, "Honestly, I don't know. Doctors couldn't even tell you that. We just know what we see."
"But, I'm worried that he is." Neither Joker looked like they knew how to feel about the situation.
Nikki could understand why, they had only ever truly been exposed to Noumenon. And he was charismatic, convincing. By all accounts, he seemed even keeled until pushed.
But Envoy was violent, unpredictable. Their was no volatility because he was in fight mode constantly. The Jokers, Serena, Matt, Laurel, Leanne. None of them had dealt with that. Nikki was thankful for that, but it made this uncharted water. And very concerning.
"Though," She hesitated for a second, "Something has been bothering me about last night."
They didn't respond, only waited for her to continue, "When Noumenon showed up in the match against Scott, his body was entirely uncovered."
Blank expressions, "Noumenon has a severe aversion to any of Shane's flesh showing when he is in control. He hates looking like Shane because he says it isn't his image."
Jak nodded along, "Yeah, but what if it was just a spur of the moment thing."
"Yeah, Shane's said they can slip suddenly. What if Noumenon was just shunted in mid-match. Wouldn't have had a choice- Unless he was chill with Scotty-Simms painting the crowd with his blood." Spades elaborated.
The reasoning sounded solid. Nikki herself had witnessed switches. Thankfully, only to one of Shane's non violent, non-wrestling alternates. A strange experience in its own right, but not threatening.
Noumenon and Envoy though, always felt very cagey. They had never swapped in when someone else was watching. Spare the times Shane's therapist had been able to coax the swaps. They only came out when they felt they were needed.
"I don't know. I just don't feel right." Nikki said after a moment of thought.
The Jokers nodded, again in unison, "Yeah, for sure." Jak's words dallied as he thought of how to respond, "Look, I know we haven't been with y'all since the get go. But we're here with ya now."
"Yeah, Shane's been good to us. We'll do whatever we can to see you through this and help him however we can."
"And if it turns out he's just being a fuck. We'll be extra annoying for like, a year. So you can get some of that payback." Jak smiled, and was quickly joined by his partner.
Nikki nodded. They didn't even need to say it. Since the first day the Jokers had in to Battlegrounds, they had become permanent fixtures. She wasn't even sure Shane could have gotten rid of them if he had wanted.
"Well, I'm gonna stick around. At least for the next few days." Nikki said, trying to sound calm, "I've got a pretty busy schedule the next couple months. I might just base here in case he turns up."
"Woo!" Spades hollered, his voice echoing in the otherwise empty gym, "Queen Bee in the house!"
Nikki scoffed, and smirked at the repeated moniker.
"We'll be glad to have you. Got a young lady who trains with us after school. Firecracker." Jak said slyly.
Spades nodded along, "And she shows up in a Songbird shirt most days. Girls gonna faint".
"Guys, I'm really not here to teach." She objected. She also knew the objection was full of shit.
Part 1- Old Habits Die Hard
Sunday, June 25th, 2023
15 hours after Extreme Extravaganza
Nikki Song looked up at the Battlegrounds Academy sign in front of her, and took in a deep breath. It was humid, of course it was, every Summer- Nikki hated it quietly.
Glancing back down at her trunk, she made sure she had her things. Gear- in case she ended up instructing. She always told Jak and Spades she'd just be stopping by, but she knew she enjoyed it. She had even discussed a school with Jamie, though that never went anywhere.
She slammed it shut and headed inside, pulling the door open quickly, a half-jog clearing the threshold in to the exquisite, air-conditioned interior. Nikki made a small groan of delight, though quickly checked to make sure she had gone unseen.
No one else was in sight, and she stepped further inside. Shane had moved the Academy building five years ago. Still, it maintained much of the personality of the old building. Shane had been adamant about keeping Walter's spirit within Battlegrounds.
Plain colors, grays mostly covered the walls. Walter- and now Shane insisted bright colors were distracting.
Only two touches of color could be found, the Battleground logo, plastered on the far back wall- a splash of crimson on a dark gray. The other delighted Nikki. A multicolor collision of graffiti tags and tie die, backdropping a small, but rather impressive wall of titles. 'THE JOKERS WILD' printed across the top.
Nikki smiled at the blatant display of insubordination, and right in cue, "Eh! Queen Bee, in the house!"
BlakJak came strolling from the back office, dressed in workout clothes, his bright orange shorts another silent disregard for Shane's rules. He cleared the distance relatively quick, and ducked down- because God forbid the Jokers could skip reminding Nikko of her stature- and caught a hug.
Nikki tapped his shoulder a bit as she pulled back, and Jak winced a bit, "How's the shoulder?" She asked, concern eyes taking in Eric.
He shrugged, rolled his shoulder, and cracked a smooth smile- a little gapped, given a few missing teeth, but smooth, "Ain't no thing, Miss Nikki. Gonna take more than this to slow me down."
"Jak, it's barely been two months. You should be resting." She tried to be stern. Even she didn't buy it.
"Cerberus has been managing to keep our duty light in GEW. And Spades and I are cooling a bit in WARRIOR- I am resting. Mostly." He reasoned, walking away as he spoke to retrieve water from the fridge below the front desk.
She furrowed her brow at the Jokers back, "Three on one, Jak. You were lucky Matt was at the show to pull you out."
He didn't respond. Simply sipped his water, "Have you even been to the hospital yet?"
Again, no response. He drained the bottle slowly, a deer in the headlights, "Umm, what's that?" Weak, given Joker standards.
She stepped forward, ready to continue a lecture, when another voice interrupted, "Relax my lady!" Spades joined BlakJak, and clapped his tag team partner on the back- another wince, "Jak'll be back to full glory in no time. Then, we rock the Massacre to their core and call it a day."
Nikki sighed, rolled her eyes, and gave up. She knew better than to push with then. Too much will. Perhaps their best trait, but probably their most annoying one.
She then took in a breath. She hadn't come to Ottawa for fun. If anything she avoided the city. It was a second home, in a lot of ways. But she held firm that it was Shane and Battlegrounds that gave it that feeling.
"Anything yet?" Dark eyes flicked between Spades and BlakJak, hoping for good news.
The two spared each other a glance, "Nothin'. And it seems like his phone's dead now too. Strsight to voicemail." Jak said, it was his turn to spare a concerned look.
"And we can't even leave those. Box is full" Spades added.
Nikki laughed, "Yeah. That was me. Woops." She placed her own phone on the counter, drumming on the surface with her fingertips.
Spades piped in, "We're still waiting to hear from Serena though. She had a big flight after the show. Maybe she heard something?"
When Nikki didn't react, Jak touched her shoulder lightly, "Hey, we're talkin' Shane here. He'll be alright, Nikki."
She smiled at him, and laughed a little again, "I forget you weren't around when this would happen before. When we'd still hide it."
The Jokers glanced between one another, and almost in unison, "Context?"
"The DID." She said, calmly, "When Envoy was around, this is exactly how it would play out. Every time."
"Things would seem normal, and then he'd just be gone." She brandished around, "I wouldn't hear from him or see him for weeks. And then he'd show up somewhere and- well, you guys watched UGWL and GEW. You know what he was like."
Spades looked taken by surprise, "Wait, you think Envoy is back?"
"Shane solved that little problem, didn't he? Like, Envoy is locked away, so to speak. No chance of parole. Ya know?"
Nikki wished she had a straight answer, "Honestly, I don't know. Doctors couldn't even tell you that. We just know what we see."
"But, I'm worried that he is." Neither Joker looked like they knew how to feel about the situation.
Nikki could understand why, they had only ever truly been exposed to Noumenon. And he was charismatic, convincing. By all accounts, he seemed even keeled until pushed.
But Envoy was violent, unpredictable. Their was no volatility because he was in fight mode constantly. The Jokers, Serena, Matt, Laurel, Leanne. None of them had dealt with that. Nikki was thankful for that, but it made this uncharted water. And very concerning.
"Though," She hesitated for a second, "Something has been bothering me about last night."
They didn't respond, only waited for her to continue, "When Noumenon showed up in the match against Scott, his body was entirely uncovered."
Blank expressions, "Noumenon has a severe aversion to any of Shane's flesh showing when he is in control. He hates looking like Shane because he says it isn't his image."
Jak nodded along, "Yeah, but what if it was just a spur of the moment thing."
"Yeah, Shane's said they can slip suddenly. What if Noumenon was just shunted in mid-match. Wouldn't have had a choice- Unless he was chill with Scotty-Simms painting the crowd with his blood." Spades elaborated.
The reasoning sounded solid. Nikki herself had witnessed switches. Thankfully, only to one of Shane's non violent, non-wrestling alternates. A strange experience in its own right, but not threatening.
Noumenon and Envoy though, always felt very cagey. They had never swapped in when someone else was watching. Spare the times Shane's therapist had been able to coax the swaps. They only came out when they felt they were needed.
"I don't know. I just don't feel right." Nikki said after a moment of thought.
The Jokers nodded, again in unison, "Yeah, for sure." Jak's words dallied as he thought of how to respond, "Look, I know we haven't been with y'all since the get go. But we're here with ya now."
"Yeah, Shane's been good to us. We'll do whatever we can to see you through this and help him however we can."
"And if it turns out he's just being a fuck. We'll be extra annoying for like, a year. So you can get some of that payback." Jak smiled, and was quickly joined by his partner.
Nikki nodded. They didn't even need to say it. Since the first day the Jokers had in to Battlegrounds, they had become permanent fixtures. She wasn't even sure Shane could have gotten rid of them if he had wanted.
"Well, I'm gonna stick around. At least for the next few days." Nikki said, trying to sound calm, "I've got a pretty busy schedule the next couple months. I might just base here in case he turns up."
"Woo!" Spades hollered, his voice echoing in the otherwise empty gym, "Queen Bee in the house!"
Nikki scoffed, and smirked at the repeated moniker.
"We'll be glad to have you. Got a young lady who trains with us after school. Firecracker." Jak said slyly.
Spades nodded along, "And she shows up in a Songbird shirt most days. Girls gonna faint".
"Guys, I'm really not here to teach." She objected. She also knew the objection was full of shit.