The camera opens to a pair of eyes, dark blue eyes. Eyes that show a burning hellfire, desiring vengeance. Eyes that show despair, regret, and most of all, sorrow.
Eventually, while the camera is still trained on these eyes, a voice speaks. A voice that can send chills up spines, a voice that can make even the boldest shudder.
"My entire life has been one of suffering. One of pain. I'm not going to cry, however. While the past may be written, the future shall always be able to be changed. This week shall be the first chapter in my return here. While my quest for vengeance may have to remain thirsty for now, this doesn't mean I can't start climbing my way back to the top. Step 1 shall commence on Wednesday. Mastermind, you, my friend, have gotten yourself caught up in the anger of a man, an anger that will not be snuffed quite so easily. The Dawn of Reckoning has come. Prepare yourself."
All of a sudden, the camera fades to black.
Darkness. That's all that dare greets the audience, a darkness that not a single eye could penetrate and see what on Earth was going on. Suddenly, a voice can be heard cutting through the darkness.
"Mistake. That's what some call me."
"Or for others, perhaps liar would work better."
"Every single damned day, I devote myself. I am pushing myself harder than ever before, knowing that when I have my first match back, a storm sent from the depths of hell shall rain down, and shall continue raining until I get my revenge."
"Mastermind. You claim to master minds, though the only thing that needs mastering right now is your own mind. I think it's safe to say you've had a bit of bad luck as of late. Leading your team to failure at Bad Medicine against Peter Gilmour's team. Losing multiple championship matches. But hey, your imminent victory against Heartsford does mean things will be looking up for you. But your probable stroke of good luck after Heartsford will quickly taper and die when you get to me. With me, you face a being hell- bent on revenge. I know I seem like a broken record, what with my lamenting, and as such, I'm going to cease that. All you'll know when you face me on Wednesday is that you'll be on your back for the three- count, losing to some mysterious hooded man."
"And I must shake my head at that train wreck with what you tried doing. What, were you planning on doing something with mind games? Or just some random flashback, showing that yes, you once hid your identity with a hood, just like how I am now? It doesn't exactly take a rocket scientist to figure out it was you this entire time, under the hood, and just spearing everyone that gets in your way. Well, guess what? A simple spear won't put me down. I'll just keep getting up, again and again. Then, when you're done with that petty excuse you call a spear, I will crush you. You will probably die. Probably."
"Just know, that when you step into the ring this Wednesday, you step into the ring Fate's cruel hand. When Fate sends down her hand, I will come. I will beat you, Mastermind, within an inch of your life. There will be no mercy. There will be no remorse. There will only be..."
"Pain."
The camera is once again cut into darkness. This must be getting rather tiresome, isn't it? Nevertheless, finally, a light does come on soon enough. A street lamp.
Only one of these light up a dark, long street, on a cold, murky night. The hooded man from before is slowly sauntering down this path, seemingly talking to himself.
"Yes, I know I can beat Mastermind. Really, this isn't a problem about IF I can beat him, it's more WHEN. The quicker I finish him off, the quicker I send a message to the people in the back that this time, I mean business."
Silence. Silence fills the void of nothingness, as the hooded man stops immediately under the lamp post, before chuckling to himself.
"You dare doubt me? While some may be placing odds against me, that doesn't mean I can't defy them. Occasionally, you know I have."
Once more, silence continues, as the hooded man continues his slow saunter. A titter escapes the mouth of the hooded man.
"You know for I fact, as well as I know, that if I took my opponents more seriously, I definitely would have shined and prospered a lot more easier here in the XWF. Now, rarely ever will I underestimate an opponent, never without good reason."
Once again, he stops, before speaking again, almost as if he's having a debate inside his head, voices shouting at him.
"No, I am NOT underestimating Mastermind at all. I only said what I said because I merely wanted to get inside his head, prove to him that perhaps his mind could be the one being mastered here. But am I doubting my own abilities? Am I doubting my ability in taking down Mastermind? God, no. I know I can take down Mastermind, and I know I can send him to the Emergency Room while I'm taking him down. Anyway-"
"Oi."
The new voice cut through the darkness like light piercing murky depths of the sea. The hooded man slowly turned his head towards the new voice.
Two people, dressed like muggers. Seeing as how this is the middle of the night, with only one dim lamp post lit, these probably are muggers.
"Leave any belongins' of yer's on this here road. Any money, or anythin' else."
The hooded man paused, before realizing he is outnumbered, two to one. Sure, while he could probably take them, he didn't want to be injured before his match with Mastermind. Slowly, he reached under his hood and cowl, getting to the clothes underneath the cowl, before pulling out a few crinkled bills. He barely brought any money with him, and even then, it was just in case anything necessary, like provisions, needed to be bought. However, considering the circumstances, he could spare the few dollars he brought with him.
The mugger who spoke before smiled, jagged teeth coming into view, the ugly yellow teeth glistening in the dim lighting from the street lamp.
"That hood and cowl too. I'm in need of some new clothes, haha."
The other mugger joined the lead mugger in nervous laughter, almost as if that mugger could sense that messing with this hooded man could be trouble.
"You touch my hood, you will cease to see the light of day ever again."
The lead mugger ceased his laughing, then proceeded to raise an eyebrow. He turned his head over to the other mugger, who simply shrugged, the aura of nervousness still painted onto him. The lead mugger turned back to the hooded man, and went back to laughing, a quick, sadistic chuckle escaping his mouth.
"See here, Sunshine, I didn't ask. I want the cowl. Now. Otherwise we'll gut you like a fish. Right?" the lead mugger asked, turning his head to the other mugger, who backed away almost immediately, knowing the hooded man was not a man to trifle with.
"Hmph. Whatever." the lead mugger turned his attention back to the hooded man, and outstretched his arm, awaiting the cowl.
If one could see the full face of the hooded man, they'd know that a deep scowl was etched onto his face. He slowly stepped forward, towards the lead mugger. He grabbed his cowl, making it seem like he was about to take it off. Then-
SMACK!
The handprint from the hooded man's smack was left imprinted onto the lead mugger's face, who had to drop back a few steps in surprise.
"Really, mate?" he asked,
"That's how you wanna play? Then I might as well give ya a fuckin' spankin'."
On instinct, the hooded man backed himself into a defensive stance, waiting for the lead mugger to strike. And so, he did, the mugger charging forward, a fist ready to slam the hooded man's face- only it was reversed. The hooded man easily sidestepped the blow, and judo throwed the poor mugger. Before he could stomp his face into the concrete of the sidewalk, the mugger immediately got back up to his feet, wincing and clutching at his back.
"Alright, Sunshine, I'll admit it. You got me pretty good there. But I ain't done- YET!"
The mugger lunged again, this time with a low kick, trying to take the hooded man off his feet. The hooded man jumped ever so slightly, timing his jump so that he'd land on the poor mugger's ankle.
"AAUUGH! GET 'IM OFF! GET 'IM OFF OF ME!"
The other mugger stepped back, a look of scaredness painted onto his face, contemplating between running away and helping his comrade out. After one more painful scream as the hooded man slammed himself onto the mugger's ankle again, the other mugger promptly ran.
"COWARD! GET BACK HERE!"
All of a sudden, the hooded man leaped.
Crack.
The hooded man's foot slammed into the mugger's face, which meant an automatic lights out for the mugger. The hooded man chuckled, before picking up the crinkled bills that he left for the muggers, before walking off again.
"Believe me. If I perform in the match against Mastermind tomorrow like how I just dispatched those muggers just now, Mastermind won't even get the chance of a snowball's chance in hell against me."
The camera fades to black.