Mac Bane & Jack Michaels Vs. Mitch Heart & Kyra Johnson

“Space. The final frontier. These are the missions of the Starship Enterprise. Under it’s fearless and oh so handsome Captain Jack Michaels, it will explore brave new worlds, seek out new life and new civilizations and boldly go to TICKLE THEIR UNSUSPECTING DAUGHTERS!”



Michaels’ Home
Henderson, NV
9:22 PM
September 2nd, 2005


The smiling Jack suddenly reached down and grabbed his five year old daughter Amber. He tickled her as she giggled and tried to squirm away. Jack laughed along with her before giving her a kiss on the forehead.

“Okay baby girl, it’s time for you to go to bed."

The small Amber pouted as she sat up and crossed her arms.

“No fair, you said you would tell me a story the next time you came home before I went to bed.”

Jack stroked his mustache as he took a seat on the edge of the bed and raised an eyebrow.

“Oh I did, did I? Hmmm… Okay, what kind of story do you want to hear?”

“I want to hear about the king and fighting for the princess and and and dragons and fairies and princes and and and and uh… TROLLS! YEAH!”

Jack started to chuckle as he pulled the blanket up to his daughter’s chin and kissed her forehead.

“Okay… How about this… Once upon a time there was an evil troll named um…”

“STEVE!”

Jack raised an eyebrow.

“Why ‘Steve?’”

“Cuz he goes to my school and he’s yucky.”

Jack was forced to laugh again as he nodded.

“Okay… So there was an evil troll named Steve who terrorized the town of Honeywood where a beautiful princess named Amber and the brave king named Jack ruled over with peace and kindness. One day Steve the Troll came flying into the castle on his dragon and scooped up the beautiful princess while she was brushing her hair! She screamed but he put his big slimy troll hand over her face like this!”

Jack put his huge hand over his daughter’s face who giggled and pushed it away.

“Ewww…”

Jack smiled as suddenly a figure appeared in the doorway behind Jack and Amber. Valerie Michaels took large sips off of a glass of red wine as she leaned against the door frame and listened in to Jack’s story. Jack caught her out of the corner of his eye but kept talking.

“So King Jack called upon his most trusted fairy, Valerie the lovely, to guide him to the evil troll Steve’s lair so he could do battle and save the princess from his evil clutches. Gathering up his sword and steed, Valerie swept the two up and put them in front of the cave where Steve the troll lived.”

“This is so stupid, Jack. Why do you fill her head with this crap anyways?”

Jack turned and gave his wife an incredulous look before shaking his head and turning back to Amber. Her eyes were starting to close as Jack went on.

“So the noble Jack rushed into the cave, slayed the troll and he and Princess Amber lived happily ever after…”

Amber’s eyes were completely closed as Valerie scoffed behind Jack and stumbled back down the stairs. Jack gave his daughter a kiss on the forehead before gently closing the door and followed his wife down the stairs towards the kitchen. He walked over to where his wife was pouring herself another glass of wine and shaking her head. Jack bit his lip for a second but broke the silence.

“I mean wow, Val. I don’t get to see our daughter for two weeks so I tuck her in and tell her a bedtime story and you crap all over it? Why?”

Valerie mumbled under her breath in a mocking tone.

“You are something else, Jack. I sit here and cook and clean and watch the kid and then you come home three times a month and you’re the fucking hero in her eyes. Maybe I don’t want to have to hear that junk or let our daughter hear that junk when there are more important things we should be doing.”

Jack let out a sigh as he was sure the booze was talking at this point. He took a seat at the kitchen table and looked over at his wife.

“I don’t get it. When we got married, you knew what I did for a living and you knew what life was going to be like. I mean what else can I do? I’m building that mansion in the foothills for us to live in, I make sure our daughter has the best care and schooling I can, I sure as hell pay for the maid to help out here so I don’t know what kind of cooking and cleaning you do…”

Valerie rolled her eyes before she downed her glass of wine and started pouring herself another. Jack got up from the chair just as the first drops hit the glass.

“Can you ease up on the wine and talk to m…”

Jack grabbed her by the hand to stop the pour before she ripped her arm away.

“Don’t you FUCKING touch me, Jack. You don’t know how hard it is here, by myself.”

There was a fire in Val’s eyes that caused Jack to let her go quickly. This wasn’t the first time this argument had happened and Jack bowed his head.

“I do everything I can for you guys but the schedule is tough… I don’t know what else I can do.”

Valerie took another giant gulp of her wine and started to laugh.

“You don’t know what to do, Jack? Are you fucking serious right now?”

Valerie suddenly stopped laughing and slammed her empty glass down on the table.

“Quit and spend time with your family you dumb bastard. Stop thinking about yourself and do something for me for a change. You have enough money, you have enough fame. Just walk away and do something right instead of being… You.”

The last words were almost regurgitated out of Val’s mouth as Jack looked back up at his wife almost in shock.

“Quit? I… I mean you’re right but wrestling has been so good to me. To US. I can’t just walk away…”

Valerie rolled her eyes again as she forgot about the glass and just grabbed the rest of the bottle. She took a long pull before sighing herself.

“You really are a bastard, Jack. I’m going to bed now. Good night.”

Jack took a step to the side as his wife stumbled past him. Jack watched her leave before noticing his daughter rubbing her eyes in the doorway with tears in her eyes. Jack went over to her quickly and scooped her up in his arms.

“What’s wrong, baby girl? Did Mommy yelling wake you up?”

Lil Amber nodded as Jack cradled her and started to walk her back upstairs.

“I don’t like it when she drinks her grown up juice, Daddy. She gets mean.”

Jack bit his lip as he walked his daughter back to her room.

“I know sweetheart, I know.”

Jack laid her down on the bed and wiped away her tears with his thumb. He smiled warmly at her and pulled up her blanket.

“Try to go back to sleep baby girl. I’ll see you in the morning.”

Jack turned to leave the room as Amber cuddled with a small pink elephant and sniffled a bit more before looking up at her Dad.

“I wish you were here more so maybe Mommy wouldn’t be so mean all the time.”

Jack stopped dead in his tracks as a tear came down his own cheek.

“I think… I think I will be.”

-----



“... so I mean… I get it but come on Kyra, I want to see her. I… I love her too even if she’s not my little girl okay? Just… Just give her a kiss for me okay? Give me a call when you get this or the other 4 messages I left. Bye.”


Michaels’ Estate Basement Gym
Las Vegas, NV
9:40 AM
October 15th, 2020

With visible frustration on his face, Jack hit the end call button. He’d just gotten home the night before as he, Mac and the Ambers had taken a red eye flight back to Vegas. He’d taken a break from his work out to try and get in touch with his… Well, step daughter was as close as it came since he and Kyra had broken up but his relation with the little girl never changed. Sadly, Kyra still seemed adamant on the distance which left Jack in the cold. As such, Jack pocketed his cell phone and proceeded to check the dressing on his stitched left shoulder which could be seen in his white tank top. As he did, the door behind him opened to reveal Mac Bane himself with his gym bag.

“Oh sorry Jack, didn’t know you were down here. I didn’t know you were cleared to start working out again?”

Jack smirked lightly as he smoothed down the patch on his shoulder and shrugged.

“I’m back on the Carnage roster so I figure no rest for these old bones. Doc said light workout was fine as long as I don’t tear open the stitches on the shoulder. Plus, I think if I stop working out for more than a couple days, I’m going to turn to stone. At least…”

Jack cracked his neck from a bit of stiffness and sighed.

“It sure feels that way.”

Mac was forced to laugh as he put his gym bag down and walked over to Jack.

“I’m not that far behind you, Jack. I guess it ain’t gonna get any easier the older I get, huh?”

Jack left the question hanging in the air as he started to gather up his things. Maybe it was Mac’s instinct as a former soldier or just what he knew of Jack, but something seemed off with the older man. Mac cleared his throat.

“I’m not one to pry into another man’s business but y’all got something on your mind besides just feeling sore?”

Jack stopped packing up his stuff and pulled out his phone. He showed it to Mac as a bit of disgust came over his voice.

"I have tried my best to be civil with that woman and offered everything I can to stay in that little girl’s life but she just shuts me down every step of the way. Like I know we’re facing her and Mitch and I’m sure that has her blood boiling but for God’s sake…”

Mac raised an eyebrow and then understood.

“Ah. You mean Adina and Kyra.”

Jack nodded as he put the phone away again and took a seat on the edge of the ring in his basement gym.

“I just… I made a lot of mistakes with Amber growing up. I mean… My Amber, not your Amber. I swear I need to come up with some nicknames for them.”

Mac chuckled a bit.

“I get what you mean. Go on.”

Jack ran a hand through his hair as he stared off a bit.

“I don’t know what else to say. I sometimes wish I could go back and make things different but I can’t. My wife… Meh. I swear she forced Amber to raise her more than the other way around and it wasn’t fair on that girl. I mean I couldn’t do anything because of how custody worked but I feel like I could have done something…. ANYTHING... To be in her life more. She wasted a childhood caring for her alcoholic Mom and I mean… When Val committed suicide and Amber finally came to live with me full time… I felt like that was the best thing that could have happened to my daughter. It’s twisted and I… I don’t... Does that make me sick?”

Mac took a seat next to Jack and put a hand on his shoulder.

“Nah, it means you care about Amber a whole hell of a lot. Nothing to be ashamed of.”

Jack nodded as he bowed his head.

“I guess I just don’t want to let down Adina like I let down Amber.”

Mac furrowed his brow as he took his hand from Jack’s shoulder.

“Now that’s bullshit and you know it. I mean I don’t know your daughter all that well but trust me... From what I know? She loves you more than anything else in this world.”

Jack looked up at Mac and swallowed back some emotion.

“You think so?”

“I KNOW so. And you know what else? So does Red. So do a lot of people from what I gather. If Kyra won’t let you be part of Adina’s life then that’s on her just like it was on your wife. To hell with em. Be the man you know you are and don’t worry about the rest.”

Jack smiled at Mac and clapped him on the shoulder.

“Thanks Mac, I needed to hear that.”

Jack finished gathering his things and started heading towards the door. He stopped and turned back to look at Mac.

“I’m looking forward to teaming with you at Chaos. Who knows… Maybe this could lead to something fun for both of us.”

Mac pulled on a compression sleeve and smiled broadly.

“It could. Hell, on top of that, I get to be put in a unique spot. Not often I can be seen as the youngest of the team.”

Jack laughed before turning back towards the door.

“Just try to keep up, boyo. I’ll talk to you later.”

-----




The more time passes is the more I find myself lost in my own memory. I know that may not make sense to a lot of people and I suppose until you made it as far as I have, I can’t really find a way to compare it for you. All I can say is there comes a point where you start to realize the hourglass has more sand in the bottom than the top and you start to reflect on how the whole damn thing hasn’t shattered yet.

...

I know, I know… The old man is waxing nostalgic again. God help us all. Let me at least try to explain it.

...

It’s just hard at times. It’s hard not to let myself dwell in the past. Over the last few years, I’ve hurt more people I cared about because of some belief I had in doing what was right by one but not another. It’s hard not to dwell on what you may have caused because of a group, or a quest or just the urge to do something more than what others thought you should. I just feel like there is so much I could have done better if I just opened my eyes and saw through to what was really happening to me, to them and to Carnage Wrestling.

...

And that… is what I mean by being lost in my own memory.

...

See, I know this is the point where I turn to the camera and start to bash on my opponents for Chaos 101. Where I talk about Mitch Heart being a borderline stereotype of the violent overachiever reaching for his place amongst the great. Where I talk about my past with Kyra and how she changed and became a shadow of who she once was. Where I talk about how great Mac and I are and how we, as a team, can’t be beat. Threat after threat and promise after promise. It all boils down to we’re better than you and that’s why we’ll win.

I know this… I know how to play the game. I’ve played it a long, long time.

But let me tell you something and please understand... The older we get, the more regrets we have to leave behind. Be it relationships or family, friends or opportunities.... There comes a time when we need to accept that we can’t hold onto the past anymore. We can learn from it, we can grow from it, we can use it as a tool but the fact is that we can’t hope to change it ever again. Believe me when I say I wish I could go back and turn left when I went right. I wish I could have been a better father and a better son. I wish I could have known what actions would have made my life as good as it is now without losing so many friends, so many chances, so many god damn years in-between but.... I can’t.

Instead... For every night I lay in bed and pray to God that I could just fix what I did wrong... I have realized that I can’t change the path once traveled. However, part of becoming the person you need to be is accepting to not be bitter and not to be remorseful. Our mistakes are just a fact of life. That’s why in the here and now I come to realize it’s not about hoping and wishing, it’s about proving and knowing. I know my heart. I know my soul. I know that there are still those who can accept me for who I was and love me for who I am.

So instead of bashing both Kyra and Mitch… I’m going to tell you something you may not know.

I envy you.

For example, I envy seeing a man who has scraped and clawed to get where he is. Who has no regrets about who he is. Who has no remorse about who he has to put down along the way. I envy the fact that you are at a point where you want to tear the world apart for the sake of standing up and saying “HERE I AM.” I envy it because it was something I was two generations ago and it reminds me that hunger can drive a man to be his best.

Even if you may not see it, I can see a younger me in your eyes. When push comes to shove, you will do whatever it takes to get what you want, won’t you? I don’t think you’d hesitate for a second to wrap a chair around my skull if you thought it would get you what you wanted. You see Mitch, wrestlers like how you are and how I was? We do whatever we have to do in order to be the best. PERIOD. You want to fight? We are there. There is an open invite? We go for it. There is a chance to EARN what we want? We give it everything we have. Guys like you and I never sat around blaming him and her and this and that... No... We did everything in our power to get what we wanted by ANY MEANS NECESSARY.

...

God… My blood is pumping just thinking about facing down a man like that. You are the exact reason why I want to keep going in pro wrestling because I want to know if the man I am… Can beat the man I was.

And your partner is no different at all.

Kyra… I envy you too.

There is so much I can say about you but I feel the words will be inadequate. Regardless of how you feel about me now… Regardless of how my personal feelings for you are now… There is no denying who you are in wrestling. I’ve watched you at the bottom of the barrel crying to find a reason to belong. Struggling for that light in the dark that would push you down the path you felt you never deserved in this life. How many nights did we talk about fate, Kyra? How many nights did we talk about the future and what it would take to get there? How many times did we break down in each other’s arms trying to figure out what we should do next? More than I could count… But yet somehow you were able to push through it all.

I envy that about you.

I envy the fact that you’re an amazing young woman who has proven she is more than a fluke and far stronger than what people made her out to be in the past. Honestly, you are as dominant of a force as I’ve seen and it should be admired and emulated. I wish I could have treated you better but in the end, I still will only wish you the best.

But… This is where envy and reality are to meet.

Don’t get me wrong… You certainly may pin me. You may pin Mac. You may have a thousand victories over a thousand different people but in the end… There is something I think you envy about guys like Mac and I too. I think you envy the one thing that neither of you seem to understand about the tail end of a career.

You envy how we can fight when there is nothing left to fight for.

…

It’s bizarre isn’t it? I know it’s a question I never would have understood 20 years ago and you... You can’t understand why either, can you?

It always had to be for something. It always had to be for a concept that one could grasp. It’s the one thing both of you have and I get it fully. Yet when the two of you look at us, there is no answer is there? I mean really, we’ve done what we wanted in wrestling haven’t we? Mac as the longest reigning Baltimore City Champion, I as the longest reigning World Champion. We both have numerous wins… Fans… Achievements both in and out of the ring. So why?

Why...

Is it something more than you can see or touch? No… Is it something more obscure? Not really, no. It’s not for peace, or honor or pride... It’s not for freedom or joy or even hope. So why... Why do we do it? Why do we continue to get up? Why keep fighting if not for something tangible or real? We don’t need the belts… We don’t need the money… In the end we both surely must realize that we can’t beat time right? We can’t beat destiny so why, why do we keep going?

…

….

……...

Oh, you wanted an answer to that, huh?

Well, sorry to disappoint but honestly, I don’t know.

Maybe Mac has a better answer but me? Nah. Sure we may fight for one of those intangibles one week to the next but the most down to earth reason we keep going is quite possibly because “we still can.” There is just something about knowing you have a place where you belong and can make a difference that seems to outweigh the negatives associated with it.

Sure, the next match could be our last.

Sure, we got nothing to prove.

Sure, we are old and out of touch or so some may say.

But at the end of it all, it’s just knowing that there is something left in you that can keep pushing that makes it all worthwhile. Hearing that Legion chant your name not because they think you are the best anymore but because you gave them something to aspire to or believe in or maybe just be in awe of. I think that, in the end, this may be why the two of you do envy us and why even if you beat us on Chaos 101… We can never truly lose.

Not because we have something to give.

Not because we have something to take.

But because it doesn’t really matter to us one way or another and that… That is the most envious thing of all. Two wrestlers with nothing to lose, nothing to gain but a world that they love right in front of them.

Kyra…

Mitch…

See you on Monday.