The Un-Finity Gauntlet

VOID.

Swallowed by darkness, her heart beat like a hammer and she gripped the cold metal bar to her left. A rumble reminded her what was at stake. The culmination of nearly a decade of ups and downs, more good than bad, but a bed of her own making nonetheless. What would happen if she were to fail? Would she be missed?

Typical. Her last second thoughts before the biggest moment of her life wasn’t about how to win or an infallible strategy that would guarantee success. Instead it was about how much attention she’d have if she lost. What more could she do to make herself immortal? Irreplaceable. Loved.

SHHHHHHKKKKKT!

Scraping metal heralded the opening of the door overhead, suddenly flooding her with light. Squinting through the radiance, Elise looked down at the hot pink and blue Vae Victis Perpetuity Gauntlet resting on her right hand. Flexing her fingers, a smirk crossed her face. Win or lose… this was going to be one hell of a show.

“Even as a little girl I didn’t like books, comics, or toys…”

A wide shot of the Toyota Center in Houston, Texas as a single spotlight shined down on Elise Ares, rising through the stage on a platinum throne. Flanked by The D and Klein, she held a sparkling blue stone with the letters “HK” engraved in it and set it into the back of the Perpetuity Gauntlet to a thunderous ovation. She raised her gauntleted fist into the air and snapped her fingers.

“I didn’t like sharing the attention. Why should I tell a fantastical story about Barbie?”

Inside the ring, Keyes and Ares barely grasp onto their humanity. They looked beaten. Broken. Shells of the gladiator-like entrances they provided minutes before. Elise’s eyes grew wide before she was struck with a Bell Clap. She stumbled, flipping double birds to the FIST of DEFIANCE through streams of blood before she’s struck with another. Her wrists bound by Hank’s massive hands, he pulled her forward and bashed his knee into her face with a COIN~!

The D clutched the Perpetuity Gauntlet against his chest as he watched Elise’s face tank the untankable. Her eyes rolled back into her head but she blinked before further reaction. This left her eyes unable to focus, so she spat an outrageous amount of blood into the face of Henry Keyes. A final act of DEFIANCE before Keyes bashed her with another knee into her skull.

“When I can act out the fantastical story myself? I’m an actress. A 10. Born the center of attention…”

Mark Shields dropped to the mat to count in what felt and would always feel like slow motion.

One.

Two.

Elise’s boot rose and hooked the rope at the last moment. The D dropped the Perpetuity Gauntlet in shock pointing as Mark Shields paid no mind.

Three.

The bell rang. The world stopped. Everything from there on became a chaotic blur. The D and Klein slid into the ring. Mark Shields tried to get past them to grab Big Blue but the human barrier PCP prevented him. Lindsay Troy grabbed the belt herself. Elise remained motionless on the mat with her foot up on the rope. Shields raised the arm of Henry Keyes in victory as Lindsay Troy wrapped the belt around his waist.

The Faithful yelled bullshit. PCP threw their arms up in furious disbelief. Elise stared up at the lights with her foot still on the rope. The Perpetuity Gauntlet lay outside the ring. Forsaken.

“I don’t need any toys to live out my dreams. I am the dream.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~<@>~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The year was 199X.

The serene quiet of the uninhabited young adolescent male’s bedroom betrayed the chaos of action figures and video games lying on the floor, which created a single weaving line of a makeshift path. Large unframed movie and comic posters adorned the walls. A 9” black and white CRT television seemed to be paused mid-Mega Man 3. On the back of the sheet-wood brown door, a colorful 90s “Rollin’ with my homies” poster with a skateboard and rollerblades reminded us of the era. It’s not long before this door was thrust open and slammed against the far wall with a large amount of force.

A prepubescent boy, about ten years old, with a mop for hair and glasses rushed into the room. He delicately weaved through his own particular path of possible foot pain before he took flight and crashed down on his bed. With enthusiasm, he produced a brown paper bag and reached inside, as excited as a one year old watching bubbles pop for the first time would be.

It was issue 1 of Marvel’s Infinity Gauntlet comic book.

Derek Edwards kicked his legs up like a teenage girl gossiping about boys on the phone, eagerly shifting through the colorful pages. Enthralled by the action and drama, he lost himself in the comic.

Hours passed in minutes. Darkness fell and made the comic unreadable until a small soccer lamp was clicked on, and Derek continued. As per usual, he realized far too late that his parents never checked in. The thought of dinner never even crossed his mind. It was on his tenth reading that his eyelids grew heavy. If he had a clock in the room, he’d have realized it was already way past his “bed time,” but he continued to flip the pages.  His head slowly lowered deeper into his pillow. A trickle of drool eventually found purchase on the open pages.   Derek’s eyes lowered and finally drifted into slumber.

His stomach growled but his mind was satiated.

Later, he would wake up with his light still on, and his comic somewhat ruined… but the evening would be one he would never forget. It’s the simple joys in life.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~<@>~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

KNOCK! KNOCK! KNOCK!

“I got it.” Is what it sounds like Camilla said, garbled through a mouth full of ice cream. A moment passed before a door opened and a pair of footsteps echoed. Elise stared at the purple face of Thanos before flipping through the stations as muted pleasantries slowly grew closer. Camilla led the guests toward the living room.

“Good luck. She’s extra whiny today.”

The D and Klein entered, with Klein holding a box. It’s a box Elise recognizes immediately. It was delivered to her door two days before and addressed to her from DEFIANCE. Turns out picking it up from the gate and just dropping it next to the doorway does not, in fact, make it go away forever.

“Special delivery?” The D questioned, patting the box in Klein’s hands, “What did you leave at DEFIANCE before we left?”

“Hell if I know.” Elise answered, “Couldn’t have been important or else I’d have taken it with me.”

“The only way to find out is to open it.” Klein sat the box down on the coffee table in front of her. She looked back at the duo with a pouty face but The D handed her a pocket knife. She tore the box open, her face twisted in protest the entire time. As she shred through the last strip of packing tape, she found the Perpetuity Gauntlet, covered in styrofoam packing peanuts.

“I liked you better when you didn’t talk so much.” Ares squinted at Klein, unsure what to make of the object in front of her, “Camilla is going to have a field day cleaning this mess up.”

“Wow, we left that thing behind? What were we thinking?!” The D pulled the gauntlet out, looking it over for scratches and scuffs. “This thing is so badass.”

“Oh yeah! I forgot about it.” Elise pushed herself up off the couch. Ares walked over to The D and snatched the gauntlet out of his hand. Klein looked on with a childish grin on his face as Elise slipped her hand back inside. Wiggling her fingers around, she found the oversized glove fit as well as it did at Acts of DEFIANCE a few months earlier. “You know what? I have just the place for this.”

The D and Klein followed as Elise marched down the hallway. At the very end was a door, which the Queen of Sports Entertainment Style opened very carefully before flipping on the light. She slipped the gauntlet off, dropped it directly into a garage trash can, then turned the light back off and closed the door.

“Found it!” Elise faked excitement, not giving a damn about the disappointment on the faces of her partners. “Fuck them. Fuck DEFIANCE… and most importantly of all, fuck Vae Victis in-particular.”

“Oh, come on, that thing is cool!” The D tried to convince her to change her mind.

“Listen, boys, I know your toys are fun but I totes can’t be more clear about this.” Elise took a moment to choose her words carefully, “If you want to keep it… keep it. But I never, ever want to see that thing again. Comprende?”

An awkward silence filled the hall as a rush of memories filled the head of the Leading Lady. To her, the Perpetuity Gauntlet wasn’t a cool toy… it was a memorial built to commemorate her failure. A constant reminder of broken promises and unfulfilled dreams. It might as well have been a signed 8x10 of Henry Keyes holding the FIST of DEFIANCE over her bloodied and broken body.

The D and Elise wandered off, discussing food options. Klein lingered, grabbed the Perpetuity Gauntlet and tucked it behind his back.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~<@>~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

In the distance, a bike ripped down the sidewalk. Approaching his destination, a ten year old D removed his feet from the pedals. He hopped off his bike letting it ride without him before clattering on a mowed lawn. Slightly winded, he stumbled up the front porch stairs. With a push, the doorbell rang. A second and third push turned into an impatient symphony before the door finally swung open.

Over-excited, he smiled as he was greeted. “Hi Mrs. Klein!” Derek raised up his now wrinkly and slightly disheveled copy of the Infinity Gauntlet to her. “I need to show Josh this comic!”

The sweet gentle blonde woman smiled back. “That’s great, he’s right upstairs.”

Derek hurried by, scrambling up the staircase in bear mode.

In his immaculately cleaned bedroom, a desk displayed a 13” color CRT television. The sounds and throngs of professional wrestling rang out in the background as a young Klein physically mimicked the action at the expense of a large sized Teddy Bear, and reacted alongside each slam and punch. He wore an Ultimate Warrior t-shirt and tried to rip it off… unsuccessfully.

The door swung open and bashed the wall. Klein stood disturbed from the intrusion. “Yo Special K, I got the newest issue! Wanna read it?” Derek entered and shoved the comic book into Klein’s hands. “It’s really good. There’s a literal Death now…” Derek noticed the TV and blinked. “What is this?”

“Oh?” Klein looked up, excited. “It’s pro wrestling. It’s like a circus every week. These guys come out and they fight each other and it’s soooo cool. There’s this guy who shouts and shakes the ropes… there’s these bad guys who have a lot of money or are from foreign countries. They’re all different! It’s super fun!” Klein said. “I watch it every week, I even tape what I can with my new VCR.”

“So…” Derek narrowed his eyes further. “These guys just… fight on tv? And they don’t get in  trouble?”

“Yeah.” Klein continued reading. “Honestly, it’s kinda like this...” Klein shook the comic book. “You got these good guys and bad guys in these personal fights but… it’s less space and more grounded… but I think in these the good guys usually win?”

“That’s why you have to read this! It’s the Empire Strikes Back of comics. The villain wins before the heroes even know what’s going on!” Derek noticed something on the TV. “Whoa! What the hell was that?”

“That,” Klein explained. “Was a powerbomb! And that’s a three count!”

“Wow…”

Klein smiled. “One day, that’s going to be me, Ed. I’m gonna have everyone cheering me on.” Klein paused for effect, and cupped his hands over his mouth to distort the sound. “Josh. Josh. Josh!”

Klein threw his arms in the air, pretending he’s in a wrestling ring over his defeated Teddy Bear. Derek stared at the screen, transfixed by a smaller man cutting a fiery promo. He thought to himself… “That’d be super cool.”

As Klein showed Derek various taped matches and promos from all over the world, time slowed down. Derek seemed further hooked with every clip, as the two reacted viscerally to the on-screen physicality. Klein’s mother entered for snacks which were instantly devoured.

As the evening came to a close, Klein took a VHS tape from his collection and handed it to Derek. “Remember this is a loan. I need it back.”

Derek grinned. “Awesome! Thanks Special K! I’ll see you tomorrow!”

The newest wrestling fan grabbed his bike and rode off into the sunset, waving goodbye as the street lights shone. When Klein returned back to his room, the comic book had been left behind. He’d intended to give it back but days, months, even years passed until it was forgotten under a stack of old toys in the closet. Tossed aside with all the other once-flavors-of-the-month.

Derek finished the Infinity Gauntlet arc but couldn’t complete the set. If only he remembered what he did with that first issue…

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~<@>~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Ten years had passed since Derek’s introduction to pro wrestling and he found himself in a small town in Pennsylvania. Adrenaline was at an all-time high as the future D laced up his boots in a high school locker room. It was his first professional wrestling match. He couldn’t help but be giddy surrounded by other wrestlers preparing for their matches. That’s when Klein burst into the locker room, carrying a box. Derek stood and smiled. “You look good with a box…” Derek trailed off.

“I got you something for our first match.” Klein said. “Take it.”

Derek immediately tore off the gift paper and revealed… a comic book?

Not just any comic book. His comic book.

And behind it, he pulled out a large paper-mâché Gauntlet.

“Wow!” The future D beamed and held it like a first child. He rushed over and hugged Klein, wrapping his arms around the tree-trunk waist. “Thanks Klein. Where the hell did you find this? Did you make it?”

“Shh.” Klein said. “A magician never reveals his secrets. Now… let’s go kick some ass!”

“Hell yeah!” Derek shouted as he and Klein walked off to begin their careers.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~<@>~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A sweltering sun sets over Manhattan, reflecting off the glass of the InterContinental New York Barclay with brilliant pinks and oranges. On the other side of the glass, is Elise Ares, staring deep in thought down at the masses on E 48th. She twirls the PRIME Silver Ticket around in her fingers as she contemplates her next move. A click snaps her back out of her trance as The D leads Klein into the room from an adjoining door. The boys always make sure to give her space when staying for an event.

“I hope we’re not interrupting?” The D states as he has his hands up, palms out in surrender, “Klein and I were talking and I think it’s time we nail down this Silver Ticket issue. First. You’re the star Elise, you can do whatever you want and we’ll support you… but we need to know what you’re thinking. Supppp girl?”

The Leading Lady of PRIME looks down at the Silver Ticket in her hand, it’s exactly the same thing she’s thinking about. After all these years, the Pop Culture Phenoms have become simpatico.

“So I think I’ve narrowed it down.” Elise confidently says, “For my PRIME Hall of Fame resume, it looks best if I go after the Alias or Intense Championships because I haven’t won them yet… but I’m never stepping foot on a dirty-ass pig farm for a fist fight.”

“So Ivan?” The D asks, “I mean you grew up in Cuba, so you understand communism… I’m sure that’s advantageous! Red Army versus Klein!”

Klein sheepishly smiles from behind The D as Elise backtracks.

“I don’t know D…” She spurts out in a whine, “This is all so haaaard. What title do I want?”

The D and Klein make eye contact with each other, both worried to address the elephant in the room. Klein decides to bite the bullet.

“Elise, what about the tag team championships?”

The question hangs in the air like smoke from a fire. Ares sits and then collapses onto her bed. She kicks her legs like a child throwing a temper tantrum before grunting and sitting back up again.

“Because fuck those guys, that’s why!” Elise defends a stance she never took, “You know I’m just tired of having to deal with those self-important assholes everywhere we go. PRIME. DEFIANCE. It doesn’t matter, either way you’ll find a handful of Vae Victis douchebags walking around like they own the goddamn place and news flash, Klein. In PRIME… they actually do! The Favoured Saints are incompetent but PRIME is just outright owned by the mob!”

“Then why are you even here?” Klein answers, curious.

“They pay well. They support my lifestyle. I have the ability to ignore their existence. I go about my business without the pressure of having to accomplish something. Do you need another dozen answers?”

“If you don’t care to accomplish anything, why did you win the Silver Ticket in the first place? You could’ve just faked an injury and let someone else take it.” Klein rebutted.

“Klein, uggggggh.” Elise groans, “I like you better when you don’t talk.”

“You’re avoiding Vae Victis.” Klein calls her out.

“Whaaaaaa?” The D chimes in, “You’re not afraid of those dickbags, are you?”

“Whoa, whoa, whoa, WHOA.” Elise stands up, “I’m not afraid of shit. I’m the biggest star of all-time. People are afraid of me! Not the other way around.”

“Then do it.” D challenges the Silver Ticket Holder, “Make it official.”

A snarl crosses the lips of the Queen of Sports Entertainment Style as she stares into the eyes of her tag team partner. “Maybe I will! If you wanted to call the shots for this thing, maybe you should’ve won it yourself.”

“I can’t call anything here.” D argues back, “You’re the star. You’re the talent. I’m just the director. It’s my job to direct. Find purpose. Motivation. It’s not my job to do everything for you. I’m here because I do believe when you say that you’re the best in the world. I want you to accomplish everything you’ve ever set out to do. If that’s beating Ivan so be it, but if you have a hang up about Vae Victis…”

He didn’t even need to finish the sentence before Elise was looking past him. During their little spat, neither of them noticed that Klein had left the room… until he comes back. In his hands is a box. He walks past The D, right next to Elise and sits it down on the bed.

“What the fuck is this?” Elise responds feeling both confused and attacked. Klein nods down towards the box and with a sigh, Ares begins opening the flaps and looks down inside to see the very same Vae Victis Perpetuity Gauntlet she’d thrown in the trash before they signed with PRIME. “You kept this thing?”

“You need to finish the story.” Klein answered, “We all started this together...”

Ares pulls the pink and blue Perpetuity Gauntlet out of the box. The hot pink gem engraved “LT” for Lindsay Troy still locked into the second knuckle and the emerald green gem engraved “KK” into the third. At the bottom of the box was a black satin bag. She pulls it out as well.

“...we end this together.” Klein finished as Elise opened the bag and spilled the contents onto the bed. A brownish-orange gem with “CB” engraved landed next to a yellow gem with “SH.” Off to the side was the blue “HK” gem. The same one she placed into the gauntlet on her way to the ring at Acts of DEFIANCE. It isn’t fastened in anymore. It wasn’t earned.

Unexpectedly, a single tear began to roll down Elise’s face as she looked at it all. Quickly wiping it away with the back of her wrist, she looked inside the gauntlet where there was a little signature she’d never seen before.

“Made By Klein.”

“Maybe there’s a place for toys in this world after all…”

“It’s been too long since you’ve been a champion, Elise.” The D spoke, “Since we’ve been champions.”

“What’s a championship if not the best toy ever made?”

“It’s time, Elise.” Klein spoke up.

He was right.

Time was up.

We.

Are.

PCP.