Guided by the Speed of Light
Dec 2, 2023 5:18:07 GMT -5
Post by OrochiGeese on Dec 2, 2023 5:18:07 GMT -5
*It is 1pm on Tuesday, June 20th. We are outside Coach Jean Carter's outer office in the Peter Venkman Georges Lemaître Memorial Arena in Westchester, New York. A tall and fit blonde-haired woman wearing a form-fitting all-white business suit stands with a confident expression on her face. She opens the door and strolls into the office.*
"Hi! What can I do ya for?"
*The greeting comes from Jean Carter herself, who is sitting in front of a small desk covered with papers.*
"You don't recognize me?"
[Jean:] "Oh I'm sorry, I must have left my brain today in my other pair of pants."
*The woman shakes her head. It is not out of dismissiveness but rather an attempt to refocus herself.*
"Jean, you only have two pairs of pants?"
"Shucks! I suppose it sounded like that!"
*The woman slowly walks up to Jean's desk and inches her face closer so Jean can inspect her.*
[Jean:] "Ya sure look familiar, ya do!"
"And why do you think that is?"
*Jean places her fist under her chin and dons her best *thinking* expression. After a few seconds, you can practically see the light bulb appear over her head as her eyes light up.*
[Jean:] "Are you related to Rose Moreno? You look jus like her!"
*A huge sigh is heard from who we all clearly realize now is Ruby Moreno.*
[Ruby:] "And that...that is the only way you recognize me? We've never met before?"
[Jean:] "Ya sure make quite an impression. So I reckon we haven't met before if I don't recognize you."
[Ruby:] "You reckon? Did K*I*D amplify your folksiness by a factor of 100? You sound dumber than Kyle Walker did when he first rolled onto the scene into a burlap sack."
[Jean:] "All right then, sticks and stones and all that."
*Ruby is starting to get perturbed but takes a few seconds to do a deep breathing exercise.*
[Ruby:] "Fine, if you don't know who I am, do you at least know who you are?"
*Jean takes her wallet out of her desk and pulls out her building ID.*
[Jean:] "It says here I'm Jean Carter: secretary to the stars."
[Ruby:] "What?"
[Jean:] "Look to the skies."
[Ruby:] "That's all you are? A secretary who has been made to rave like a lunar lunatic? You aren't the Coach of OG-Joshi? The very beating heart of this entire organization? One of the few to have ever bested me?"
[Jean:] "Gadzooks! Now I can't tell if you're insulting or complimenting me! Pick a lane, hun!"
[Ruby:] "I'll do exactly that."
*Ruby marches up to the door to the inner office and is about to kick it down. But she takes a moment, looks at Jean, and seems to regain her emotional balance.*
[Ruby:] "Jean, I know you're in there. We haven't always seen eye to eye, but I'm doing this for you. Why? Because you wouldn't hesitate for one second to do the same for everyone here and in L.A.W.L."
*Jean shrugs and goes back to reading the papers on her desk. Ruby opens the door to the office and finds Cosmic K*I*D sitting behind the desk that should belong to Jean. He takes one look at her and throws his hands up in a sigh.*
[K*I*D:] "Not again!"
*This reaction evokes an innocent but deceitful smile from Ruby.*
[Ruby:] "Oh I have no idea what you mean. Has another outsider made a recent demand of you?"
K*I*D is silent and Ruby smiles more honestly and confidently.*
[Ruby:] "I respect myself too much to even feign ignorance. I know that you freed two of Serizawa's students recently. I know it was humiliating to you, just like my knowledge of it is."
[K*I*D:] "It's impossible to confirm that happened unless you talked to Daigo."
[Ruby:] "Regretfully, I've never had the pleasure of meeting his acquaintance."
[K*I*D:] "Then it's impossible. You don't have the ability anymore."
[Ruby:] "There is a significant difference between choosing not to tyrannically wield power and relinquishing that power altogether."
[K*I*D:] "I know for a fact that you don't have any spies in the building."
[Ruby:] "Agreed."
[K*I*D:] "Well if you don't have any back-up here, then it's past time that you left."
[Ruby:] "Oh?"
*Ruby sits down and drapes her legs across the desk.*
[Ruby:] "I was just getting comfortable. How about we set a better mood?"
*Ruby snaps her fingers and the lights to the entire arena, including the office, fade a little. K*I*D is furious and jumps out of his chair in protest. Ruby casually raises her left arm and gestures him to sit back down.*
[Ruby:] "Please - you think I'd make a play without having full control of the situation?"
[K*I*D:] "If you had full control, you wouldn't need to make a play."
[Ruby:] "For a devotee of a cosmic philosophy, you see the world so adorably one-dimensional."
[K*I*D:] "What ... do ... you ... want."
*Ruby smiles as she feels her presence established.*
[Ruby:] "Simple. Free Megan Williams and my sister Rose."
*KID begins to say "no" but Ruby cuts him off with a hand gesture.*
[Ruby:] "And restore the full personhood and autonomy of Jean Carter."
[K*I*D:] "Absolutely not. The OG-Joshi roster was too small as it was when I took over. We can't afford any losses. And there's no way I'm allowing the laughing stock of OG-FPD to be herself again. The 'coach' is benched."
[Ruby:] "Name your price."
[K*I*D:] "You want to wrestle Tetsu Gushiken?"
*Ruby actually laughs at this.*
[Ruby:] "Well played. I would actually do that if I could get what I want."
[K*I*D:] "No, it was a joke. Get to me know and you'll find I'm a real Cosmic K*I*D*D*E*R."
*Ruby sighs in disgust.*
[Ruby:] "So that's it. There are no terms that you would accept?"
[K*I*D:] "Not for you."
[Ruby:] "Hmmm, so this is personal, then? I'll bite. What exactly is your issue with me?"
[K*I*D:] "L.A.W.L. was originally a fun promotion. Space potatoes, microwaved bananas, abominablawl snow creatures, what's not to love? But wrestlers like you, Alicia, and the Reyes ruined it by making it too serious. Then Destiny came along and you became the turd in the once delicious pitcher of lucha sangria."
*Ruby feigns insult and outrage but laughs.*
[Ruby:] "Oh is that really it? Cause there's hundreds of complaints like that on the OG-Joshifan.net forums. I would have thought you had a more unique, if not, personal dispute with me."
[K*I*D:] "Don't flatter yourself."
[Ruby:] "Really? You don't look at me and wonder why I succeeded and you failed? You don't look at me and see a parallel universe where you accomplished all that I did?"
*K*I*D is silent and Ruby smells blood in the water.*
[Ruby:] "Yes, I know your true hatred of me runs deeper than some misguided preference for 'sports entertainment.' Despite your insistence, and expertise, in playing dumb, you suspect far more than you let on."
[K*I*D:] "Enlighten me, then."
[Ruby:] "Your choice of words immediately betray you. For instance, you've always guessed that the original creators and owners of UBL - the "Dawn of Man.Corp" - had Destiny connections. And you were right."
*K*I*D remains silent.*
[Ruby:] "You want to know the real reason why the original UBL was created? It wasn't to watch some thirty year old space cadet wear his polaris pajamas and hurracan-run the audience out of the seats in boredom. It was to scout talent, and not just in the ring. Talent in being a scholar, a leader: one may even say a guiding light."
*Ruby smirks.*
[Ruby:] "It's true that you were the first one to catch the eye of the same visionary that found and anointed me. Yes, you know exactly who I'm referring to. He was, quite fittingly, the head of recruitment. Originally, He saw potential in you. But all you did was pique His interest, not earn His confidence or win His trust.
Certainly you remembers some of the conversations you had with Him. Didn't He ask the most peculiar of questions? When you think back on then, don't they seem familiar now that Destiny beliefs became publicized? Do you remember how your responses led to His profound disappointment in you?
Eventually, the meetings became less frequent, didn't they?
Did you notice the timing of the sale of UBL after one particularly stressful meeting? Yes, K*I*D, it's almost as if you were personally disposed of by Him. And then, the UBL was sold right out from under your influence. You can blame Drake Yoshida, Thunder Strike, and Geese Walker for UBL's failures all you want. But the truth stings as sharply as it shines - it was your own narrow-minded shortcomings that ended the original promise of the UBL. Because of you, it never reached it's potential as the beautiful machine He would use to remake the world as it so desperately needed to be.
You can lash out at the world all you want, but your dismal view in the mirror is the truth. You were judged lacking. You were passed over for immortality because you would never achieve it. There were others like you, so don't feel like the singular disappointment in His great work. But then His gaze fell upon me and I rose to the call of destiny."
*K*I*D is silent for two entire minutes as Ruby gloats and smirks at him.*
[K*I*D:] "After this final warning, you will have to deal with me directly. Leave."
[Ruby:] "Your inability to play well with others has yet again rendered you obsolete. For a man obsessed with your legacy in this promotion, soon you will learn your place as a mere footnote in its history. And that I will be the one to end your final desperate stab at relevancy will honor His name once more."
*Ruby storms out and K*I*D follows her to forcefully slam the door. This startles Jean.*
[Jean:] "Gadzooks!"
[Ruby:] "Do not worry, Miss Carter. Hope will return."
*Ruby nods politely to her and leaves the office.*
"Hi! What can I do ya for?"
*The greeting comes from Jean Carter herself, who is sitting in front of a small desk covered with papers.*
"You don't recognize me?"
[Jean:] "Oh I'm sorry, I must have left my brain today in my other pair of pants."
*The woman shakes her head. It is not out of dismissiveness but rather an attempt to refocus herself.*
"Jean, you only have two pairs of pants?"
"Shucks! I suppose it sounded like that!"
*The woman slowly walks up to Jean's desk and inches her face closer so Jean can inspect her.*
[Jean:] "Ya sure look familiar, ya do!"
"And why do you think that is?"
*Jean places her fist under her chin and dons her best *thinking* expression. After a few seconds, you can practically see the light bulb appear over her head as her eyes light up.*
[Jean:] "Are you related to Rose Moreno? You look jus like her!"
*A huge sigh is heard from who we all clearly realize now is Ruby Moreno.*
[Ruby:] "And that...that is the only way you recognize me? We've never met before?"
[Jean:] "Ya sure make quite an impression. So I reckon we haven't met before if I don't recognize you."
[Ruby:] "You reckon? Did K*I*D amplify your folksiness by a factor of 100? You sound dumber than Kyle Walker did when he first rolled onto the scene into a burlap sack."
[Jean:] "All right then, sticks and stones and all that."
*Ruby is starting to get perturbed but takes a few seconds to do a deep breathing exercise.*
[Ruby:] "Fine, if you don't know who I am, do you at least know who you are?"
*Jean takes her wallet out of her desk and pulls out her building ID.*
[Jean:] "It says here I'm Jean Carter: secretary to the stars."
[Ruby:] "What?"
[Jean:] "Look to the skies."
[Ruby:] "That's all you are? A secretary who has been made to rave like a lunar lunatic? You aren't the Coach of OG-Joshi? The very beating heart of this entire organization? One of the few to have ever bested me?"
[Jean:] "Gadzooks! Now I can't tell if you're insulting or complimenting me! Pick a lane, hun!"
[Ruby:] "I'll do exactly that."
*Ruby marches up to the door to the inner office and is about to kick it down. But she takes a moment, looks at Jean, and seems to regain her emotional balance.*
[Ruby:] "Jean, I know you're in there. We haven't always seen eye to eye, but I'm doing this for you. Why? Because you wouldn't hesitate for one second to do the same for everyone here and in L.A.W.L."
*Jean shrugs and goes back to reading the papers on her desk. Ruby opens the door to the office and finds Cosmic K*I*D sitting behind the desk that should belong to Jean. He takes one look at her and throws his hands up in a sigh.*
[K*I*D:] "Not again!"
*This reaction evokes an innocent but deceitful smile from Ruby.*
[Ruby:] "Oh I have no idea what you mean. Has another outsider made a recent demand of you?"
K*I*D is silent and Ruby smiles more honestly and confidently.*
[Ruby:] "I respect myself too much to even feign ignorance. I know that you freed two of Serizawa's students recently. I know it was humiliating to you, just like my knowledge of it is."
[K*I*D:] "It's impossible to confirm that happened unless you talked to Daigo."
[Ruby:] "Regretfully, I've never had the pleasure of meeting his acquaintance."
[K*I*D:] "Then it's impossible. You don't have the ability anymore."
[Ruby:] "There is a significant difference between choosing not to tyrannically wield power and relinquishing that power altogether."
[K*I*D:] "I know for a fact that you don't have any spies in the building."
[Ruby:] "Agreed."
[K*I*D:] "Well if you don't have any back-up here, then it's past time that you left."
[Ruby:] "Oh?"
*Ruby sits down and drapes her legs across the desk.*
[Ruby:] "I was just getting comfortable. How about we set a better mood?"
*Ruby snaps her fingers and the lights to the entire arena, including the office, fade a little. K*I*D is furious and jumps out of his chair in protest. Ruby casually raises her left arm and gestures him to sit back down.*
[Ruby:] "Please - you think I'd make a play without having full control of the situation?"
[K*I*D:] "If you had full control, you wouldn't need to make a play."
[Ruby:] "For a devotee of a cosmic philosophy, you see the world so adorably one-dimensional."
[K*I*D:] "What ... do ... you ... want."
*Ruby smiles as she feels her presence established.*
[Ruby:] "Simple. Free Megan Williams and my sister Rose."
*KID begins to say "no" but Ruby cuts him off with a hand gesture.*
[Ruby:] "And restore the full personhood and autonomy of Jean Carter."
[K*I*D:] "Absolutely not. The OG-Joshi roster was too small as it was when I took over. We can't afford any losses. And there's no way I'm allowing the laughing stock of OG-FPD to be herself again. The 'coach' is benched."
[Ruby:] "Name your price."
[K*I*D:] "You want to wrestle Tetsu Gushiken?"
*Ruby actually laughs at this.*
[Ruby:] "Well played. I would actually do that if I could get what I want."
[K*I*D:] "No, it was a joke. Get to me know and you'll find I'm a real Cosmic K*I*D*D*E*R."
*Ruby sighs in disgust.*
[Ruby:] "So that's it. There are no terms that you would accept?"
[K*I*D:] "Not for you."
[Ruby:] "Hmmm, so this is personal, then? I'll bite. What exactly is your issue with me?"
[K*I*D:] "L.A.W.L. was originally a fun promotion. Space potatoes, microwaved bananas, abominablawl snow creatures, what's not to love? But wrestlers like you, Alicia, and the Reyes ruined it by making it too serious. Then Destiny came along and you became the turd in the once delicious pitcher of lucha sangria."
*Ruby feigns insult and outrage but laughs.*
[Ruby:] "Oh is that really it? Cause there's hundreds of complaints like that on the OG-Joshifan.net forums. I would have thought you had a more unique, if not, personal dispute with me."
[K*I*D:] "Don't flatter yourself."
[Ruby:] "Really? You don't look at me and wonder why I succeeded and you failed? You don't look at me and see a parallel universe where you accomplished all that I did?"
*K*I*D is silent and Ruby smells blood in the water.*
[Ruby:] "Yes, I know your true hatred of me runs deeper than some misguided preference for 'sports entertainment.' Despite your insistence, and expertise, in playing dumb, you suspect far more than you let on."
[K*I*D:] "Enlighten me, then."
[Ruby:] "Your choice of words immediately betray you. For instance, you've always guessed that the original creators and owners of UBL - the "Dawn of Man.Corp" - had Destiny connections. And you were right."
*K*I*D remains silent.*
[Ruby:] "You want to know the real reason why the original UBL was created? It wasn't to watch some thirty year old space cadet wear his polaris pajamas and hurracan-run the audience out of the seats in boredom. It was to scout talent, and not just in the ring. Talent in being a scholar, a leader: one may even say a guiding light."
*Ruby smirks.*
[Ruby:] "It's true that you were the first one to catch the eye of the same visionary that found and anointed me. Yes, you know exactly who I'm referring to. He was, quite fittingly, the head of recruitment. Originally, He saw potential in you. But all you did was pique His interest, not earn His confidence or win His trust.
Certainly you remembers some of the conversations you had with Him. Didn't He ask the most peculiar of questions? When you think back on then, don't they seem familiar now that Destiny beliefs became publicized? Do you remember how your responses led to His profound disappointment in you?
Eventually, the meetings became less frequent, didn't they?
Did you notice the timing of the sale of UBL after one particularly stressful meeting? Yes, K*I*D, it's almost as if you were personally disposed of by Him. And then, the UBL was sold right out from under your influence. You can blame Drake Yoshida, Thunder Strike, and Geese Walker for UBL's failures all you want. But the truth stings as sharply as it shines - it was your own narrow-minded shortcomings that ended the original promise of the UBL. Because of you, it never reached it's potential as the beautiful machine He would use to remake the world as it so desperately needed to be.
You can lash out at the world all you want, but your dismal view in the mirror is the truth. You were judged lacking. You were passed over for immortality because you would never achieve it. There were others like you, so don't feel like the singular disappointment in His great work. But then His gaze fell upon me and I rose to the call of destiny."
*K*I*D is silent for two entire minutes as Ruby gloats and smirks at him.*
[K*I*D:] "After this final warning, you will have to deal with me directly. Leave."
[Ruby:] "Your inability to play well with others has yet again rendered you obsolete. For a man obsessed with your legacy in this promotion, soon you will learn your place as a mere footnote in its history. And that I will be the one to end your final desperate stab at relevancy will honor His name once more."
*Ruby storms out and K*I*D follows her to forcefully slam the door. This startles Jean.*
[Jean:] "Gadzooks!"
[Ruby:] "Do not worry, Miss Carter. Hope will return."
*Ruby nods politely to her and leaves the office.*