All Alone

[Gemini Battle]

All by Myself

As Gemini Battle is treated by his head cranial physician Dr. Patel, patching up his cuts and running proper concussion protocol, he can’t help but think about what it was like back in the days of the DRG. He felt hurt and betrayed after they disbanded and bailed out, but at the time it was nice having a slew of people who had his back. Then he had Rebellution and the same thing happened when Seth had the power trip in Mexico tearing up contracts.

He had stayed though. When so many left Gemini Battle stayed and fought. He fought and he won. He was more successful in the past few months than he had been in his entire career and he hated to potentially admit it but he truly felt that it was from lack of competition now.

He was a broken man. Alone in a world full of comradery and exuberant friendships. Pantheon and BeachKrew returned and began their reign of terror, coming back right where they left off. Like a parasite sucking the life out of a wrestling company and leaving it a shell of what they came into. They joined the WCF just over a year ago and sucked the life out of it before the Mexico incident leaving it just a shell of what it was.

And they would have left it alone too if they didn’t go off somewhere else and suck the life out of that place as well. And now they’re back and you know why? It’s because the WCF has a life force again. And it’s not because of Thomas Bates and his vision of the WCF and it’s not because the Brotherhood or Zero Tolerance have slowly began their rise. Though all of these things have a common thread.

Zero Tolerance may be the stable of the year. They have dominated while competing with each other, coming just inches away from winning the tag titles and successfully winning the Trio’s Titles as well as the hardcore titles in their first shots at it. They came from where Gemini came from, a breeding ground for pure fighters… a home for skilled and tactful wrestlers.

They came and saw Gemini Battle wrecking shop and knew that they could come in and try to do the same thing. Gemini Battle was never the traditional face of a company, but then again neither was Zero tolerance. And if a company is willing to allow an alien that looks like a clown run roughshod over the company then they certainly would allow a bunch of egocentric billionaires who dress like Juggalos to try and do the same thing.

And the Brotherhood began its rise to the top by defeating Zero Tolerance, and they wouldn’t have been able to do so without the aid of the then World Champion Gemini Battle. Gemini showed them how to compete with each other and dragged Lester Parish out of the pits of obscurity and into the limelight by showing them that all it takes is being on the same page to defeat a common enemy.

He alone has dragged the WCF out of irrelevance and back into the main spotlight. He was the reason that people started fighting harder than they ever had. He stayed in the background, he told his story, but once he came back he refused to leave, and the world saw this, and they rejoiced. The fan base came back, and they were once again able to sell out Madison Square Garden.

The roster in the back became rejuvenated with a beacon of light to follow into the holy land. Though what’s good for the snake is not always what’s good for the rabbits. Because as the lifeblood of the WCF began beating through its veins once more a parasite returned in Joey Flash with one goal… TAKE DOWN GEMINI BATTLE!

He fucking said it. He saw Gemini Battle as the World Champion and knew that he could take him down a notch that he could headline One with him and has that one last match that proved that the only reason that Gemini Battle ever succeeded was because there was no Joey Flash to hold him back. And maybe… just maybe he was right. Because his untarnished reign of success has been stained with the ejaculate of BeachKrew blowing their load all over the WCF.

He was distracted. He hated these men so much, and the fact that they joined Pantheon, the very stable meant to defend the WCF from invaders like this. Pantheon has been the face of the company for as long as Gemini has been with it, and long before that. They were created to stop the likes of Vapor Kings from destroying the company, and they even reformed when BeachKrew started their wave of terror.

And now, these two unlikely teams have joined… Jayson Price and Corey Black broke what wasn’t even theirs to begin with and created a stable the likes that no one has ever seen. Just like when the Vapor Kings and the Poondock Saints joined forces and Imperium was born, this new iteration of Pantheon was the most dominant force of wrestlers the world has ever seen. But unlike Imperium there is no team like the DRG to put them in their place and destroy them before they even begin taking off.

Zero Tolerance can’t do it. They’re just not ready for a fight like this. And the Brotherhood is full of strong and willing men, but they too cannot take the force that Pantheon will exert. And Gemini Battle, the only man, aside from Thomas Bates, that fully understand what can happen without this being nipped in the ass immediately is left alone.

Jared Holmes was able to attack him from behind with a baseball bat, and not take shots at the midsection, but directly to the skull of Gemini Battle. Shots so hard, swung like from a failed baseball player, but with the precision of a proficient boxer taking him out and, as he predicted, costing him the Television Title.

So as he had the blood wiped from his head, and the staples shot in with what can only be described as a medieval torture device he realized that he was not only without a title… but he was alone. There was no one in the WCF who had his back. His performance at War has left him little friends, and his actions over the past few months have made him a lone wolf… a man without a home. The only thing keeping him safe was the fact that men feared him.

But with this BeachKrew/Pantheon experiment exposing his vulnerabilities and bringing out the worst characteristics of himself he realized that it was going to take something more to get him out of this hole he seemed to have dug for himself. He couldn’t go at it alone any longer. He was going to have to recruit the assistance of someone, and he knew just the person.

Dr. Patel: I’m afraid that you won’t be able to compete next week at Slam.

The Indian Doctor exclaimed, then further discussing ways that Gemini failed the concussion protocol.

Gemini: I suggest you find me a second opinion.

He said, not really suggesting anything at all. But the problem with these clones is that they often times have a hard time catching subtle nuance in human speech patterns.

Dr. Patel: I highly advise you take the week off, sir.

If you knew that you were going to say your last words what would you say?

Nostradamus predicted his demise by saying “Tomorrow, at sunrise, I shall no longer be here.”

Sir Winston Churchill’s last words were, “I’m bored with it all.”

Emily Dickinson’s last words were, “I must go in, for the fog is rising.”

Et tu, Brute.

But no such luck for the not-so eloquent Doctor Patel and Gemini thought, even for the briefest of moments, allowing him to rethink his phrase, but he knew it would be of no use, and as the man toppled to the floor, breathing his last breath, and uttering his last word Gemini called for the cleanup crew but not before summoning another clone of Doctor Patel to reassess the situation.

Though subtle nuances in pitches of vocal tonalities were often missed by these monstrosities of human evolution they almost always understood what it meant to see themselves lying dead on the floor.

The doctor immediately passed Gemini with flying colors and allowed him to go forth on his day.

---

Reanimation
Gentlemen, we can rebuild him. We have the technology. We have the capability to make the world's first bionic man. Teddy Pierce will be that man. Better than he was before. Better... stronger... faster.

Gemini: Grayson… I need to talk to you.

Grayson: Sure…

He was oddly receptive to the audience. The past 2 weeks has seen Gemini Battle making amends with his former counterpart. He has moved him into a room, rather than a cell, and has given him the freedom to roam free, and even leave if he wanted to. But as Gemini assumed, Grayson was broken. His father, his Uncle, his wife and his son were all gone. Gemini had made sure that he had nothing left in order to ensure that Grayson would accept him as the vessel.

But now he has no need for him. And trying to fix him was turning out to be a fruitless endeavor. He was growing happy here so Gemini di the only thing he knew how to do. Manipulate and take advantage of. But this time he truly felt it was for the better good.

Gemini: I’m sure you know our lead parapsychological analyst… Dr. Patel.

Dr. Patel: It’s a pleasure to see you again.

Grayson: How many of these guys do you have?

Dr. Patel: I assure you that there is only one of me.

Gemini: Why don’t you tell him the great news, Doc?

Dr. Patel: You see the brain is the battery of the body… but the soul is what and who you are. Mr. Pierce, we are pleased to say that we have found the soul of Teddy Pierce and we would like to reanimate him.

Grayson lifted his hands out of his face and looked up in shock at the Indian doctor with a huge proud smile on his face. He had learned to accept the things he was being told. None of it made sense, but it all seemed to be real. Acceptance was the first step towards his health, Gemini told him over and over again. And he accepted that. But still… he couldn’t contain himself.

Grayson: Are you shitting me?

Dr. Patel: I fear that my bowels are acting quite normally sir.

Gemini: Listen, Gray. We have it. We have Teddy’s soul captured in the Soul Chamber… it’s a working name, I’ll think of something more artistic, but we couldn’t pass up the opportunity to retrieve it.

Grayson: Can I see it?

Gemini hadn’t expected this question. There really was nothing to see. It was merely a bright orb of light in what can be described as a mason jar.

Gemini: I don’t see why…

Grayson: Listen, Gem. You have to understand. Or maybe you can’t because you’re not human. But that kid… that soul has part of my soul. I have to see it.

It still didn’t make sense to him, the importance that this had towards Grayson, but he decided to allow the nonsequitor and he led the way towards the Soul Chamber.

Gemini: It’s really not much.

Grayson: To me it’s everything.

Gemini opened the door to the outside and they got in the giant vehicle that brought them to their destination.

Grayson: This Segway seems a bit out of place.

Gemini: I was thinking about having it be a gift to David Sanchez. We’ve got a match this week, but I see a profitable relationship budding in our future. But that’s then… and this is now. And this week at Slam he’s one of 4 people I have to fight against in order to have the momentum needed going into Helloween.

Grayson: Sanchez is overhyped, bro. He’s…

Gemini: This isn’t the same David Sanchez that walked out on you during your US title match. Not the same man who decided that having a snack was more important than fighting for his title. You know, I’m sick and tired of people calling me out for losing the World Title so fast, you know man. I mean, you could never even do it, you know what I mean? And because I lost it on my first defense people are calling me shit for it.

And I get it. I deserve the hassle, but when people say that I don’t have the passion or the drive to be champion, that’s when I take offense. And Sanchez’s partner, Johnny Rabid has had the audacity to say those things and more when it comes to me.

Both men representing Pantheon chose their own private endeavors over the WCF and now they’re stepping back into the ring with me and Thomas Bates and expect us to take them seriously. I’ve wanted to get my hands on the members of Pantheon since I saw that stable reform at War.

I was as shocked as anyone, and as member after member stepped out of that entrance ramp and towards the ring at War I watched as the essence of WCF began to fade away. Fair and meaningful banter on the internet was going to become a barrage of shortsighted and baseless insults were going to be thrown holding no true meaning. I knew the idea of a fair match was going to go out the window and that is becoming more and clearer as they are able to hire their own personal referee to the staff.

I knew that my dominance was going to take a backseat. I understood what Pantheon meant to the WCF, and knew that even though I was the true number one contender to the World Title that I was going to have to step back and let these fools hog the limelight for their time.

And Pantheon deserves it. Pantheon has been a stable in the WCF for as long as I can remember. When they were formed they were formed on the basis of standing up for what’s right in the WCF, it was always meant to be the best wrestlers the WCF had to offer. Not only the best in the ring but the best out of the ring.

Pantheon was supposed to stand for the WCF. The TRUE team WCF. They fought together as a unit, but allowed one another to fight their own battles. They stood up for the ones that had no one to stand up for them… they even reformed with the intention of helping save the WCF form BeachKrew.

But they failed, and oh, how the mighty have fallen. Pantheon lived by the “if you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em” mentality which is the true mentality of cowards. Corey is to blame for allowing BeachKrew back into Pantheon. But David Sanchez isn’t BeachKrew nor is he Pantheon.

What we have here is a group of men who decided to come back because they thought they saw a weakness in the WCF. I’m fucking tired of fucking working my ass off only to have it fucking belittled and made to mean nothing by the words of a few. I can say as much as I want about not taking it to heart and not taking it seriously, but Pantheon is fucking obsessed with me, bor. They can’t fucking let it go.

It’s a sign of fear. Johnny Rabid creates lies and rumors about me. But I ignore them… because like him, their meaningless. He’s a failed wrestling promotor being forced to make a living in the ring because he can’t make a living doing what he was brought up to do. Imagine how embarrassing that must be to be brought up in a house of wrestling. To be surrounded by it 24/7. To live and breathe it, and to be such a massive failure at it.

It’s sad really, and all of his baseless accusations and tedious and menial insults really show how insecure the man really is about himself. When he reemerged a few months ago he wanted to fight. He was ready willing and able and then he hardly showed up. He saw the waves he was causing and pussied out and walked away. I remember because I was supposed to fight him. He and I were supposed to battle. He claims that it was because I wasn’t the World Champion any longer that he didn’t want to fight, but I know it was because he saw the numbers stacked up against him… you know, me vs him. The odds were WAY too far in my favor so he stepped away and called his friends on his little starfish phone.

“Excuse me, Mr. Holmes… I’m ready for you to shove it in my ass over and over again.” 

Of course Jared Holmes jumped at the opportunity to be able to insert his member into Rabid’s ass once more. But even Jared knew that he alone wasn’t going to be able to do it. So he enlisted Wade Moor and ZMac, but still, Rabid wasn’t stupid. He knew that ZMac, and Holmes and Rabid and Moor wouldn’t be enough to TAKE ME DOWN.

So they all got on their knees and sucked the collective dicks and assholes of Corey Black and Jayson Price who never stopped dating even though the chaos. And after they cleaned themselves up they counted. 1,2,3,4,5,6…

It’s still not enough. 6 men still wouldn’t be able to make an impact. So they enlisted the help of the one man that I was unable to defeat in Joey Flash and then they felt complete. THEN they felt like they were going to MEAN something.

And then David Sanchez came along… and they felt fear again. David Sanchez, despite the fact that he’s a coward that would rather run from his US title than to defend it against me, is a fucking fighter, man. He’s a tough piece of shit, and I mean that in the most complimentary way possible. He’s the one that was able to defeat Thomas Bates when no one else in that Stable up to that time was able to do so, not even the precious Joey Flash.

And when Sanchez returned and started tossing shade towards Flash no one thought that Sanchez was going to cower and join the ranks of a team he felt threatened against. He too fell victim to the hubris’s of Pantheon and think that the name makes them great.

But it doesn’t. Just because you join Pantheon doesn’t make you worthy of Pantheon. They have fallen off the mark a few times in whom they’ve let in, but this time they couldn’t have fallen further away from the core of what Pantheon means, not only to the WCF, but to the WCF Galaxy.

People looked up to the members of Pantheon, but now they have nothing to look up to. And it’s a dammed shame that it turned out like this, and it’s even worse that Seth allowed this to happen after what they did to his company and what they tried to do to him. Seth is perseverant, and the assholes that left this place to drown while they went off, dropping their titles and leaving everything that made them relevant are fucking lucky that Seth has so much fucking arrogance that he allowed them to come and be a cancer on us all once again.

But it’s because he knows that there’s a cure… not an antidote… he’s gone. But this time, there’s a cure to the plague that they will try to bring upon us. And his name is Gemini Motherfucking Battle.

The giant misplaced Segway pulled up to a secret shed in the deepest part of the slums of Brooklyn New York… the Red Hook district where a man dressed like a rip-off Crimson Batman terrorizing the local gangs.

He got out first and then let Grayson follow him in. Then followed by their chauffeur, Dr. Patel. He opens the door and points towards the containment unit.

Gemini: There it is.

The tears couldn’t stop welling in Grayson’s eyes as he fell to his knees and whimpered.

Grayson: Teddy… I never thought I’d see you again.

Gemini: (in a baby’s voice) I met a boy named Christian in heaven… he said that Joey Flash was a better daddy than you. (in his regular voice) I’m just pulling your dick. That was just me.

Grayson didn’t get the humor of the joke. Truthfully Gemini didn’t either, but he thought that if so many people found it funny to make fun of a dead baby that it must be a human trait that he doesn’t understand. Apparently it’s a douchebag trait that he’ll never understand.

Grayson got to his feet and looked at Dr. Patel.

Grayson: So what now?

Dr. Patel: Don’t look at me, I’m just the driver.

Gemini: That’s our lead Chauffer Dr. Patel. Parapsychologist Dr. Patel is back at the Gemco.

Grayson turns to Gemini.

Grayson: What now?

Gemini: I want to bring him back.

Grayson: You can do that?

Gemini: Yes… but…

He paused… more for effect rather than a loss of words.

Gemini: We need a DNA sample… and we can’t find anything. Your old house was too contaminated. The only way… well…

Grayson: What… anything?

Gemini: The only way is for you to allow him to encompass you. You have to be his vessel?

Grayson: Is he an alien like you?

Gemini: No… but the brain is the battery for the body, and he needs your body to live. If you want to bring Teddy back you have to sacrifice yourself.

He didn’t even have to think as he opened his arms and looked to the sky looking an awful like Jesus Christ, except this time the father was dying for the son.

Grayson: I always said that I would die for him once I met him. This is my time to finally do something right.

Gemini: Put your hands down. We need to bring this back to Gemco and do it there, where we have the resources.

So they go and get back into the Segway.

Gemini: But I’m not only facing Pantheon, I gotta face the Brotherhood too, man. I mean, Corey Black gets a fucking week off to prep for Helloween, and me and Bates gotta fight the two top stables in the Fed. But I singlehandedly gave Zero Tolerance their first loss, so I’m kind of an expert at this whole thing.

Kevin Bishop and Psychopomp are representing the Brotherhood. Me and Bishop have something in common. We both have devastating beards… we both have a cult following, and we both lasted to the top 5 of War this year…

And we both lost to FPV in the past 2 weeks. For Bishop it was his first singles defeat not in a giant cluster fuck match, IE Ultimate Showdown and War. That type of thing changes a man. I remember when another top superstar lost his first match. It really made him start questioning his own mortality.

Kevin Bishop is without a doubt one of the greatest to step foot into a WCF ring. In his short time here he has dominated, won title after title and been a top star in two of the WCF’s most influential matches. He has developed a fan base and the respect of the roster.

I literally have nothing bad to say about the guy…

EXCEPT…

His choice of a stable seems to be lacking. I’ll be the first to admit that there’s a huge drop form the top echelon to the middle echelon of talent. I think you remember that when you were here, Grayson. Are you paying attention?

Grayson Pierce stares blankly into the jar of light and Gemini just pushes on.

Gemini: Damian Kaine, Dion Necurat and Psychopomp. Not exactly a motley crew but not necessarily a strong one. When you see stables in the past like the DRG that had me and Bates and Gonzo… and our lower card being Mikey Extreme and Danny Anderson who passed the US title to one another. Vapor Kings was Ice Beckman Steve Orbit and ZMac… and the list goes on.

Those were stables built on having the best, but you gotta give Bishop some credit here. He’s taking the shit that the WCF has to offer and he’s trying to make something meaningful out of it. He’s a lot like Thomas Bates in that way. He sees people with potential, and they just need to be tapped into. But unfortunately, I believe that we’ve seen the best that the brotherhood has to offer.

After Lester Parish left the Brotherhood was really nothing anymore. He scrambled to find people to join him, but he scraped at the bottom of the barrel. These people joined, and now they’re staying because they’re afraid of what lays outside of the Brotherhood. Where vipers like Gemini Battle lay in wait… and vultures like Pantheon look to clean up the mess.

But what I also appreciate about Kevin Bishop is his vocal outbursts against Team WCF. He ‘allows’ Kaine to do what he wants but he in no way stands for it. And that’s the right thing to do, because Team WCF doesn’t exist. There is no unity; it is merely a group of people fighting against each other. Pantheon is a group of people fighting for each other. Say what you want about them, they know how to team up with one another.

The team that can be assembled by Adrian Archer and Damian Kaine will be the worst team that WCF can muster up. A team of people whose popularity is built on almost wins and near misses. Kevin Bishop sees this, and he is allowing them to crumble. And in turn he is allowing Pantheon to have free reign over whatever title they want at One.

For THAT Kevin Bishop… you are no better than Pantheon themselves. You’ve decided to sit back and watch as the WCF crumbles before you. Well, man. I’ve seen it. I’ve been there when the walls crashed down before us and when I came back the next day there was fucking nothing, dude. There was barely a letter left over explaining what happened.

It was ALL FUCKING GONE! And YOU’RE going to let it happen again. People like YOU and FPV have decided that glory is more important than the sanctity of the WCF when the only people that would stand a chance are people like YOU and FPV!

I’m doing my part. I’m going to strip Corey Black of the title and let him reinsert himself into the Title match at One. But I’m doing my part in letting the WCF be the most dominant fed in the world again. When I came in and there was nothing left I helped build it back up to what it is now. 6 months ago we NEVER thought we would be able to leave the north east and now we’re in fucking Hawaii. Because the people come and see us for the heart that we put in.

And no one has more heart than me, Kevin Bishop. No one is able to build up a broken company from the ashes like I am able to do. You have your broken wrestles and you sit there watching them struggle, watching them fail and you do NOTHING to help them. You are no leader, you are a glorified follower. You need to be led but you’re too fucking stubborn to even do that.

So sit back and watch as Team WCF fails, because I’ve built this place back up once before, and if I have to I’ll fucking do it again.

They pull back up to Gemco Towers and walk through the facility to the reanimation room.

Gemini: Quick… put that there.

Grayson put the jar in a chamber and then the chamber closed as the jar opened and filled up the confined space.

Gemini: Are you sure you want to do this?

He asked Grayson one last time.

Grayson: I’ve never been more sure about anything in my entire life.

Gemini: Alright. I don’t know if this will hurt or not but I assume it’s gonna hurt like hell. Just stay right here.

Gemini leaves the room through the anti-chamber and steps through to watch on a close circuit stream. His son Teddy walks up behind him startling him for a moment.

Teddy: What’s happening?

Gemini: History, son. History.

The light in the chamber began to shine so brightly that the whole room was engulfed in the brilliance of the light. And just as suddenly it faded to black before a small jet of light shot through the room and shot Grayson right in the heart dropping him to the floor.

Then the oddest thing started to happen. Grayson Pierce melted into the floor. He became a puddle.

Gemini: What’s happening?

Dr. Patel: I don’t know?

He wanted to kill this fucking clone right here and now. What the fuck did he do? He ASSURED him that everything was going to go perfectly. He wouldn’t have killed Grayson unless he knew that it was going to bring back his son. Gemini was that cold blooded he wasn’t…

Then another odd thing happened. The viscous liquid coating the floor began to come back. But not as the same man it was before. He got up and his face was mangled… hit teeth made of solid gold, and he had the same pale façade that Gemini had.

Gemini: Teddy… is that you?

Man: Call me Grady!

He answered in a raspy and muffled voice.  

Gemini shuts off the mic…

Gemini: Something’s gone wrong… somethings gone terribly wrong!

---

What The F….

A voice comes into Gemini’s ear where his Stapedius implant that kept him and the rest of the Battle Station in constant connection.

Voice: Thomas Bates is here to see you, sir.

Gemini: No.

He quickly said back. Then the familiar husky voice of the mountain came in through his ear.

Thomas Bates: Ready or not, here I come…

Gemini wanted to rip the appendage off his fucking head after hearing him so closely. But he knew he had no choice. The man was not only here, but they were being forced to compete with each other at Slam. Enemies at Helloween, allies at Slam while the precious World Champ sits on Taylor Swifts massive cock and grinds it deep into his swollen balloon knot, laughing the entire time as his challengers are forced to take on teams from The Brotherhood and from Pantheon.

As he looked at the monstrosity he created and the child he bore he knew that he was going to need a little something more than this ragtag team of misfits that he’s gathered. Teddy… or rather Grady as he preferred to be called… seemed to poke and prod at himself, becoming accustomed to his new body as Teddy Battle stared marvelously at the creature before them.

Gemini: Listen guys… we’re going to have a guest…

He spoke to them as if they were children. The fact was that they were children, even though they both were in the bodies of tremendous and/or terrifying men. They looked at the world with a new set of eyes. Gemini always wondered what it would be like to have that juvenile wonder that comes alone with learning new things every minute, but has the physical ability to take control of your own life.

He was never a human child, but he imagined that growing up was somewhat of a universal experience. What you’re learning is different throughout cultures but the way it’s taught to you is likely similar. The adults always look down on the children, diminishing their opinions and dismissing their requests. When an adolescent questions the authority of the adults they are spit on, metaphorically on Earth, but quite literally with acid saliva on the Planet Capua.

So as he looked at the two men with the mind of children, unencumbered by bad habits and past incongruities he thought that this experiment was either going to be a frightening failure or a stimulating success.

The automatic door opened to the luxurious chamber they were standing and, wearing his Sunday best, in walked Thomas Urinal Cakes.

Gemini: To what do I owe the horrible and agonizing displeasure?

Thomas Bates: Good to see you too, friend.

Comments like this infuriated Gemini. He couldn’t tell if Bates sincerely didn’t see the extreme hatred and disdain he had for the man, or he was simply no selling it. Either way it pissed him the fuck off.

Gemini: How rude of me… allow me to introduce you to my two sons. This is Teddy Battle.

He motioned towards the larger of the two men, who towered even over Thomas Bates. Teddy walked over to Bates and extended a friendly hand which Bates proudly accepted.

Thomas Bates: 2 sons? I thought Teddy here was the only one.

There was something in Bates’ voice… a certain type of pandering or disbelief. He couldn’t put his finger on it but to Gemini it sounded disapproving.

Gemini: Oh, I believe you’ve already met this one… at least in your nightmares. This is Teddy Pierce…

Grady: I prefer to go by Grady now.

Bates looked stunned. He looked at the broken and scarred face of Grady not believing that it was the infant child that he had turned his back on when he was needed most.

Grady: You must be Uncle Tommy.

The words seemed to swell the tiny black heart of Thomas Bates and Gemini could swear that in the reflection of Bates’ eyes he was not looking into the eyes of someone who looked like a deranged murderer, but rather into the sinless eyes of an infant child that he had never been able to do.

Thomas Bates: Pleased to meet you.

Grady: Pleasure’s all yours, boss.

He released the massive grip of Urinal Cakes and stepped back behind Gemini and resumed his cross armed and most intimidating stance that he somehow organically acquired. Bates motioned for Gemini to come closer, and whispered towards him.

Thomas Bates: Hey man… you alright? I mean… that’s not really your son, right.

Gemini: No… of course not.

The two men shared a laugh.

Gemini: It’s Grayson’s son. You see we found Teddy Pierce’s soul in the ether. It was taken too early. It never made it to its next destination. So when we captured it we needed a vessel to put it in. My most powerful vessel was Grayson Pierce, but somehow, some way we’ve separated… that’s a long story… I’m sure you’ve been keeping on top of my past work… but Grayson was more than willing to be the vessel to his deceased child. So when we reanimated Teddy there we thought he was going to simply look like Grayson did… but, just like when I encompassed him and I ended up looking like this something went a bit wrong. Leading theory is that Grayson had a bit of Capuan left in him before being consumed.

Gemini smiled… it felt good to share. Thomas Bates stood there not totally sure whether or not to believe the statement, but after looking over at the specimens standing behind Gemini seemed to air on the side of caution and welcome the newest members of the Battle Station to his presence.

Thomas Bates: Well welcome back, Teddy…er… Grady.

Grady: It’s a mix of Grayson and Teddy…

Gemini: Obviously.

He said not realizing it until the words were spoken.

Thomas Bates: I wanted to talk to you about this weekend. I don’t know why you insist on coming to New York between shows when we’re in Hawaii, but I’ll mallow it. You’re a bit eccentric and I like that about you. But we have huge fish to fry before we fight each other at Helloween. David Sanchez… you beat him… he beat me… what did I do wrong.

Bates was the weirdest fucking dude Gemini knew. He was so open about his defeats… almost as though he wanted to learn from them. He said this last sentence with such confidence that he was surprised and impressed.

Gemini: David Sanchez only looks out for himself. He’s joined Pantheon but he’s not a team player, bro. He’s a single man wrecking crew. So he will either not team well with Johnny, or fucking bail out on him when things get tough. It’s been his Motus Operandi since he joined. He hates everyone equally.

Honestly, I don’t know why he joined Pantheon. He could have beaten all of them individually, but ever since this whole Mayor of Chicago thing he’s been a different dude. He’s become a power hungry megalomaniac. This match means nothing to him. He will show up just as much as he’s showed up for the past recent matches.

But don’t take him lightly, because you can’t understand what’s going on inside that dude’s head. He’s fucked up in the head, and Pantheon has kind of a hard on for me, so be on the lookout for some fire coming from them this weekend.

Thomas Bates: And his partner, Johnny Rabid. He came in right around the time I left last year. He’s pretty well decorated… anything to worry about.

Gemini: You ALWAYS have to worry about the guys from BeachKrew. They are vicious and they will stop at nothing to win. Despite the fact that they speak like a bunch of idiots on the internet, they really do know what the fuck they’re doing. And they don’t take no for an answer.

Hence all the rape charges.

But Rabid is one of the most devious and underhanded wrestlers in the game today. He’s got a lifetime of experience and a truck load of money to back him up. DO NOT take this man lightly.

Thomas Bates: Well I know I’m not going to take Kevin Bishop lightly.

Gemini: WELL… the brotherhood is a different story now aren’t they? Bishop, yes, takes him seriously. He’s a charismatic man with the ability to make people believe that he is the best. But the scariest part is that he can back it up in the ring. However, he… like you… doesn’t have the best taste in character.

Thomas Bates: How so?

Gemini: Well remember how you didn’t believe that Mikey Extreme was a homicidal maniac and a killer? Remember how you did believe that Jay Omega was a space crusader? Well, Bishop too sees things that aren’t true about his team even though it’s right there in front of him. Psychopomp is a cookie eating loser.

But who’s really to blame. Because I saw the same promise in Psychopomp when I started as well as Damian Kaine. But neither of them has truly shown up. Their performance at War was dismal and their success, or rather lack of success, and has been surprising.

But we all tend to surprise now don’t us. We all have secrets that we want kept, but at the end of the day everything comes out. Soon enough Bishop will see the error in his ways. Soon enough Pantheon will crumble. And this week we will leave victorious only to become enemies again at Helloween.

Now, if you don’t mind, I gotta go. I hear that Brian Paine and Adrian Archer are fighting tonight.