A Brief Interlude Across The Multiverse

12.16.23 Caesars Superdome New Orleans, Louisiana

Across the Multiverse spans countless worlds, countless realities. Every time the question “what if” is asked, an answer spawns out a whole new branch of an ever-growing tree…and sometimes, that tree needs trimming. That’s where the Masters of the Multiverse come in…or at least, they would if they weren’t more focused on helping Ivan Stanislav retain the PRIME Universal Championship. Last we knew, those boys were helping with that at Colossus Night Two, let’s go see how that’s panning o--oh, never mind. We see the Masters rushing out of the Superdome, bypassing any sense of a post-event meeting with the Russian Bear after their failure to aid him to victory. Instead, they step through one of the exits to take a breather on the outside, trying to recover from a long and rough night. Losing to the Glue Man Group and watching their leader lose the top prize in the business will do that, after all. Soon, the realization sets in…this was essentially their last match in PRIME. Kenny and Randall look at each other in silence, which finally gets broken by The Entertainer. “What now?” Kenny takes a moment to think about it…but all he can do is shrug in response. “No clue,” he states flatly, still uncertain what to make of everything that has occurred tonight. “But I sure as hell don’t wanna stick around here to get yelled at by Ivan.” The two continue to discuss the situation, but it becomes harder to hear what they’re saying as a loud whirring overpowers our attention…drawing us to what appears to be a grandfather clock off in the distance, crashing into the Superdome parking lot! The crash finally stops the Masters, who look to see what happened…and notice an old friend standing there. “Aeon!” The pair yell in unison, instantly recognizing him…but he appears embarrassed to have been spotted in this situation. Soon, he is joined by his female counterpart, someone the Masters have met before…and this brings a smile to their faces as they rush over to the crashed clock. The one-time mentor of the Masters finally warms up to this little reunion, as he sees his counterpart smiling at the sight of their arrival. “Aeon, I’m so glad you brought your friend along,” Randall says, grinning from ear to ear as he clearly has a story to tell. “Kenny and I had the weirdest thing happen tonight, while we were getting ready for our match at Colossus. We…” Kenny cuts him off, shaking his head as if not to bring up the weird trip across the multiverse they had today. What trip would that be, you might ask? Alas…we may never know. The male Aeon chimes in with a stern look on his face. “This is nice and all, but I’m afraid we have some business to attend to. Gents, it’s been a pleasure seeing you again, but…” “Aw, come on,” replies the female Aeon, still smiling. “After what we just went through, I think it’s nice to talk to someone again.” She turns her attention to the Masters, clearly ready for a story of her own. “You see fellas, Aeon and I just took a trip to the Phantom Zone…and we managed to break out! Isn’t that something?” This perks up the ears of Kenny and Randall…but so too does the sound of someone calling to them from a distance. Alexei.

"Hey you two! Starshy Praporshchik Stanislav wishes to have some words with you two about…"

"Any chance we can ride with you two for a lil bit?" asks Kenny. The male Aeon doesn't respond, but the female is all for it.

"Come on in!" she states, and the pair quickly rush into the grandfather clock. The two Aeons follow close behind, and the clock finally manages to fade out of view...much to the surprise of the man that was calling to Kenny and Randall.

"Starshy Praporshchik is not going to believe this…"

Inside the ship, the two men quickly make themselves comfortable sitting on nearby chairs.

"So what exactly have you two gotten yourselves into?" asks the gruff Aeon, who takes a seat beside them. "I'm guessing your little alliance with the big bad Bear didn't pan out as well as you'd hoped?"

"That's enough," states his more compassionate counterpart, who also takes a seat. "We're not going to interrogate your friends about that right now. There is bigger fish to fry right now."

"You can fry fish in space?" asks Randall, much to the chagrin of Kenny who just shakes his head.

"That's not…never mind," responds Aeon, a chuckle from her mouth at the outlandish inquiry. "I need to get back to my corner of the Multiverse, and fast. Something's gone all wonky, and I have to set things straight."

"Right, so we're going to drop you boys off somewhere and then move on," adds Aeon with a nod, the man looking eager to get rid of these stowaways. "Anywhere in particular you'd like to go?"

Kenny and Randall just look at each other, which is not an acceptable response by the look on Aeon's face.

"Right, out you go then," he says, opening the door before sending the pair on their way. Confirming they are still on this world first, he nods as if to bid them adieu…and closes the door to keep them coming back in.

01.10.24 Somewhere In… Buffalo, New York Sometimes, traversing the Multiverse DOES let you time travel…as is evident by the Masters’ sudden arrival near the site of ReVival 41, just days away from the first show of 2024. The first chance for a new beginning for Kenny and Randall…though that clearly becomes a pipe dream, as Kenny’s phone quickly starts blowing up with text after text after voicemail, all pointing to one source in Alexei and all essentially making the same statement… “Kenneth. Randall. I need to speak to both of you at your earliest convenience. In other words: immediately.” The pair stare at each other, both taking a gulp of air as they realize they’ll have to face the music…and soon. Suddenly, one more notification comes in…and it’s in regards to Kenny’s first match back from break. “Kenny. We know about the contract thing. Need to sort it out, but we have you down for at least one more match…good luck against Anna Daniels.” It may be unclear how Kenny should feel about this…but it’s definitely clear how he does, as he can’t help but smile at the news. The perennial underdog seems to be excited for the opportunity, but doesn’t say a word about it as he puts his phone back in his pocket. The pair make their way toward the nearest hotel, eager for a place to stay as we fade to black.