Raphael Blackwater can be seen, standing in what appears to be a wrestling ring. However, this is not an official XWF ring, no this ring looks like it's located inside of a gym. Most of the lights in this gym are off and the obvious lack of gym members working out, indicates that he must be here, well after hours. (But Planet Fitness is open 24 hours. Shut up. This isn't a fucking Planet Fitness. As if the wrestling ring didn't make that clear.) Positioned in the center of the ring is Raphael, poised in a fighting stance. Wearing just a pair of black, knee length gym shorts. He practices several styles of kicks in a rapid fire session. From roundhouse, to side, to a forward front kick. Finishing things off with a leg sweep.


Once he finishes the cycle, he begins a new one, this time splicing in several types of punches. Merging the two together, he repeats this process until it becomes a sort of fluid dance. Repeated; over and over, it starts to look almost flawless. From there, he adds in elbows and knee lifts and the dance becomes more complex. Yet still maintains that same seamless perfection. Unbeknownst to Raphael, while he is preoccupied with this activity, Donovan Blackwater is gradually strolling up to the ring. Stopping about two to three feet outside, he casts his gaze up to his brother and smirks.


"Shark!"


Going into a roundhouse kick, upon hearing this Raph, gets startled and not only fucks up the move entirely but he also topples over. Clearly annoyed, he pushes himself up off of the canvas and rises to his feet, eyes instantly drawn to Donovan. Raphael does not look amused.


"Oh come on!"


Donovan laughs.


"Why would that even work? You're in a wrestling ring, that's inside of a gym. There's no water in sight. Where would a shark come from?"


"You broke my concentration, that's all."


"Broke your concentration. You better hope that Dolly Waters doesn't use that tactic. Wait. On second thought. I kinda hope she does now. In fact, I'm texting her right now, for the sole purpose of telling her to do that very same thing, during the fatal four way match. Hang on a sec."


Retrieving his cell phone from his suit jacket pocket, Donovan proceeds to hit a few buttons on it, presumably texting Dolly Waters, whilst using his free hand to hold up his pointer finger. In the fashion one might do when they want someone to wait.


"She asked me what kind of grown man says the word adorbs. Wait till she gets a load of this. Annnd send."


Quickly returning his phone to his pocket, Donovan looks up to Raphael and flashes a grin.


"I really hope she yells shark now. If she doesn't do this, I think I'm going to lose all faith in the hopes of her turning out to be a normal, adult female. She'll wind up like Pennsatucky from Orange is the New Black. Addicted to heroin and in jail with Captain Janeway."


"You seriously sent a text to Dolly Waters?"


"Damn straight."


"Does your wife know that you have a fifteen year old girl's number stored in your phone?"


"Shut up. It's not like that."


"Then what is it like?"


Raphael walked up to the ropes, resting his arms onto the top rope, he tilted his head to the side with a smirk.


"Don't make this weird Raph."


"You already did that by saying that you texted Dolly, now I'm simply asking how and why you came to have her number? Come on Van, inquiring minds want to know."


"First off, don't call me, Van. Only Abigail can do that. Second, it's not a big deal, I made a point of putting numbers for the entire roster into my phone, for this precise reason. To send them random shit on a whim. Just last night I sent Lacklan 'Thanks for the wild ride, sweet cheeks' capping it off with a winky face."


"Why?"


A shrug and a laugh.


"I don't know. To have a bit of fun and see what sort of trouble I can cause. Why are you out here fighting the invisible man?"


"I'm not fighting the invisible man, I'm practicing."


"For a fight with Dolly Waters, El Principe and Drezdin?"


"Yeah, two of the three opponents I'm facing are more agile than I am, so I'm getting used to adding kicks and leg sweeps to my routine."


"Huh? I don't have a routine. I sorta just wing it and see what happens."


"That's exactly why you got your ass beat by Lacklan."


"I did not get my ass beat. It was a mutually grueling fight for the both of us. She just happens to have won."


"Don't lie. I seen your fight. She busted your face up real good."


"Yet, here I stand, immaculate as ever."


Pause.


"Yeah, okay I guess I underestimated Lacklan and if I had put more thought into actual strategy and preparation for the fight, perhaps the outcome would be different."


"Wait. What was that?"


In a mocking sense, Raph holds a hand to his ear and turns that ear towards Donovan.


"I couldn't quite make that out. Did you just say that I was... right?"


"Yes. You're right."


"No, wait. I still didn't catch that. You said what again?"


"You were right! Fuck! You don't have to be a dick about it."


With a snicker, Raphael shakes his head and directs his focus back to Donovan again.


"So what are you going to do about it?"


"I don't know. The match is over and done with already. Nothing can be done about it now."


"Ah. But you do have another match coming up. Your first TV Tile defense. You're not going to lose that belt in your first defense, are you?"


"That's not the plan."


"Good to hear. What are you going to do to stop that from happening?"


"Train more."


"Sounds like a solid plan. Why not go in the back and change then and start today? You got a locker here, that I know for a fact has an extra change of gym clothes in it. Come on man. We can help each other out. Isn't that why the three of us joined the XWF at the same time? To help each other and be there for one another."


"Yeah. Except I have..."


Before Donovan can utter another syllable, Raphael interrupts.


"No. Don't make excuses. I see that look in your eye. I know that look, brother. It says... I don't want to go through with all that effort, I just want to half ass it and hope for the best. Smoke a bowl and make jokes. Look Donovan. You're a talented fighter. I know, I seen it. If you put the same effort that you do in everything else, into training for your fights. You might actually be a great wrestler. Then maybe you won't have to use your powers to stop a small woman from punching you in the face."


"You know dad never did any of this."


"Yeah, well dad could teleport, among the trillion other things that he could do. Plus he didn't have to train. He was fighting for years, before he ever even joined a wrestling company. Heck, he was still battling otherworldly creatures and monsters, in-between wrestling matches. They call him a savior throughout the universe for a reason. Also, you're not dad, you're not Azrael Erebus, you're Donovan Blackwater."


"I know that! Geez! That was simply my last effort given towards avoiding going to the back to change, so that I can train."


"It was a very valiant one. So are we going to do this?"


"Fine. I'll be back."


"Atta boy! You do that! While you do, I'm going to holla at this camera troll that's been lurking about the shadows, I think it's been waiting for me to do this for awhile now."


"Well, that's great. I thought there was one sneaking about."


"You mean because there's some statements that you wish weren't caught on camera for everyone in the XWF to hear."


"Nah, it's nothing like that, I'm just really not feeling this suit. I mean, I thought I liked it when I bought it but now, I think I might hate it. It's too blue, I don't normally have a problem with blue but this isn't the right blue, y'know what I'm saying?"


An over exaggerated huff.


"Anyway it's too terrible for words. Makes me wanna die."


Unable to keep a straight face, Donovan bursts out laughing. This causes Raphael to shake his head and sigh.


"Go in the back and change."


"Easy. I'm only having some fun. I'm hoping that convinces someone in the XWF that I'm that fickle about my clothes."


"You are that fickle about your clothes. That's why that suit costs three times what I paid for the down payment on my apartment. Now. Go. Change. Fucking hell man. I aged twenty years already, waiting on your slow as molasses, procrastinating ass."


"I'm going... I'm going."


Doing an about face, Donovan walks off in the direction of where it is assumed the locker room is located. While he does this Raphael turns his attention towards one of the many XWF camera imps, hiding in the shadows.


"Alright, I kept the deranged critters wielding cameras; that are currently scurrying about the gym, waiting long enough. Might as well get this shit over with. Lord knows Donovan is going to take his sweet time getting back out here, so I got a minute to talk about my upcoming match. Hmmmm... where to begin, where to begin? Ah! I know! I'll give a few words on each of my opponents and then we'll call it a day on this shit, okay? Yeah. It doesn't matter if you're for this plan or against it cause that's what I'm going to do. The question is... who do I start with? Fuck it. I'll go with Drezdin. He already released three videos. If you can call them that. Might as well start with him."


"Yo Drezdin. I caught your trio of 2 minute long videos, they were exactly what I expected. They're the product of a dude who probably inhales paint thinner, gasoline and turpentine on a regular basis, on the pretenses of getting high. I really don't see the point in them. I mean, you can't honestly think that anyone will take your words seriously, can you? Wait. What am I saying? Of course you think that! You huff noxious chemicals to get high. The three brain cells that you have left, live in constant fear for their lives. You definitely believe that people take you seriously. Ha! Wow! Damn dude. You do know that denial is not just a river in Egypt? Probably not, huh?"


"You're a real fucking mess, man. Come Wednesday Night, much like at life in general, you're going to fail. Epic style. Fall flat on your face. Fail. Without question. That's your fate, plain and simple. Whether you accept it or not, doesn't matter. That is what's going to happen. This I promise you. Since the XWF buys industrial strength cleaners, I'm guessing the memory of your beating will be long gone by sunrise, so there will be no lesson learned from it or improvement. Which means the cycle will only continue. Why am I still wasting my breath on you again?"


"El Principe. Honestly, other than the fact that you recently got out of a coma, I don't know anything about you. All I can assume is that you must be hardcore if the first thing you want to do, right after waking up from a coma is wrestle but hey, I'm not judging. In this business, wrestling is equivalent to living and I get that. It makes sense. My brothers might not appreciate that aspect but I do. You put that much hard work, dedication, blood, sweat and even tears into something, it would be insane if it didn't take that kinda hold on ya. So I definitely understand where you might be coming from."


"Know this though. I won't be pulling any punches or holding back. You're getting into the ring with a guy, that can and will turn into solid steel. Not that I use that as a "go to" tactic but in a pinch, I will not hesitate to transition into steel for the sole purpose of getting the upper hand. No offense. A dude like you, recently outta recovery, there's a real chance you might be heading straight back to that hospital. You might want to see if your manager can reserve you a bed in advance. Make sure you don't get stuck in a shitty room. Maybe try to get one with a view, for your visitors to appreciate, while they wait for you to wake up from another coma."


"Lastly there's Dolly Waters. Look. I know that I'm not supposed to say this being that it's 2019 but you're a very small girl. I'm not going to be able to treat you the same as the rest of the opposition. I get that you've been in some brutal matches. That's cool. Personally though, I can't say that I'm going to fight you, the same way that I will battle the others in this match, I'm sorry I just can't. I understand that you've proven yourself, fought with some of the very best and taken falls off of three hundred feet tall scaffolding fixtures but when I'm in that ring and you get in my way, I am not going to strike to destroy."


"I will most assuredly aim to put you down but I'll find the quickest and easiest way of doing it. Something that will effectively put you out of commission, without doing too much damage in the process. You can say that you're going to do whatever you want to me and that won't change my mentality on the subject. Sincerely, I apologize if you find offence to this or if you think that means that I don't take you seriously but I can't aggressively beat down small girls. Not even badass, hardcore ones that have proven themselves."