Aftershock, Part II

03.16.25 Somewhere in Tokyo

“And that was the end of it,” states Alexei Ruslan, his look of confusion turning into frustration as he looks at the Masters of the Multiverse. “That council of Kennys turned tail and went the other direction, leaving the base an absolute mess as a result. So again, I ask you…what is the deal with these Kennys, and what are we supposed to do about your new friends disappearing?” Kenny looks at Randall, who gives him a shrug of the shoulders in response. “Well,” Kenny finally chimes in. “They’re out of our hair now, right?” Alexei stares him down as the Red Army agent ponders this…eventually, and reluctantly, nodding in agreement. “I’ll tell ya what, Alexei. Randall and I will handle cleanup at the base for the next few weeks, make sure everything is cleared up from the mess left behind.” “That is an offer I can accept, Kenny,” Ruslan replies with a smile. “I’ll leave you two to decide who handles what, and we’ll be off on the next leg of our journey soon.” Alexei walks off as Randall gives a bit of side-eye to his friend. “Cleanup duty?” asks The Entertainer, only to be shushed by Freeman. “I know,” Kenny states. “But hear me out, man. I have no idea what went down at the base, and as much as I wanna focus on PRIME right now, my curiosity is getting the better of me. How else am I gonna find out what’s going on?” Randall thinks about this for a moment before nodding in agreement. “Besides, this gives us something of a break for a bit,” adds the former junior member of the Red Army. “Gotta get ready for UltraViolence, and maybe this gives me a chance to start plotting and scheming.” With that, Kenny walks away..leaving us with a visibly confused Randall Schwartz. “Plotting and scheming for what?”

Elsewhere in the Multiverse Far and away from the Red Army Base, we find the trio of Kenneth Freeman, Kitty Freeman, and Wildman Schwartz standing beside the Red-Eyed Kenny. We eventually get a better view of where this group is, and it looks an awful lot like Cleveland, Ohio. “My word, where are we?” inquires the Esquire, drawing a shrug from the wild Randall and the feline Freeman before the Freemanator turns his attention to the trio. “This is Earth-96,” the cybernetic Kenny states flatly, his vaguely European accent slipping in and out pretty quickly. “There has been a giant tear in the Multiverse, and this is one of the few auxiliary worlds that hasn’t fallen victim to an incursion.” He takes a pause to scan each of them, the gentle whirring of machinery indicating information being processed before he continues. “You have been identified as emanating from worlds destroyed by incursions, yet it is unclear how--or why--you ended up on Earth-22. However…” The cyborg is interrupted by music coming from a loudspeaker, drawing the quartet’s attention to a television studio. Plastered all over the front of the building are posters for a wrestling promotion, and the music is replaced by a booming male voice speaking. “Come one, come all,” the voice declares. “This weekend is a great time to watch the graps at Classic Wrestling! Come watch the stars of professional wrestling duke it out, including the REAL World’s Champion as he defends his belt against the remarkable underdog Kenny Freeman, with Randall Schwartz taking on…” The mention of the familiar names causes the trio to look at each other in confusion. Wildman Schwartz points at himself with a grunt. “Yes ol’ chap, they said your name,” Kenneth replies, motioning to the remainder of the group. “They also mentioned, well, our name, so this is just getting more and more confusing by the second.” Suddenly, the front door to the studio opens…and out walks an odd-looking businessman sporting the finest suit. He gives the group a good look-over before noticing the state of Randall’s attire in particular. “Randall, buddy,” the man says, walking over with his hand out. “So good to see ya back, I hope you finally found your wrestler’s license ‘cause we can really use your talents tonight!”

04.08.25 Red Army Base Moscow, Russia “What the hell?” The question comes from a somewhat perplexed Randall back on Earth-PRIME, going through the rubble still left over as he and Kenny continue cleaning up the mess left behind. Not everything can be swept under a rug, and such is the case with what The Entertainer is holding in his hand…a laminated wrestler’s license. Randall calls over for Kenny to have a look, and the sight of it equally confuses his friend. “How long have you had that thing hiding?” Kenny asks, garnering a shrug from Schwartz. “I was starting to think I’d never get back in the ring again,” Randall replies. “And look! It’s still good.” Kenny gives the card a closer look and, sure enough, the license is marked “NO EXPIRATION DATE.” That curious detail forces him to have another look at the rest of the document, when he notices a very strange inscription in the upper left corner. “Multiversal Multi-Pass,” he mutters out loud, just enough for Randall to notice. “Wait, is this even mine?” he asks. Before Kenny can answer, one of the Red Army guards appears behind them. “Gentlemen,” the guard says. “Agent Ruslan directed me to inform you that you have a new assignment for PRIME, and you will be transported to Winnipeg within the week.” “Oh, sweet,” Kenny says with a level of excitement. “Who am I facing?” “That information was not given to me,” the guard replies. “But it seems you and Comrade Randall are both expected to compete.” “Oh, joy,” Randall replies with a level of sarcasm. “I haven’t even trained in months. What makes Agent Ruslan think I can--” “You can train in our facilities in the meantime,” the guard states, giving a rather stern nod before walking away. Randall gives Kenny a glare, drawing a shrug from his friend. “Hey man, at least you can get back in ring shape!” The pair take this as their cue to pause the cleanup duties, taking a leave from the area as we fade to black.