Feels Like The First Time: Skullomania II vs Karolina 'Ray' Reinhardt

[BlackAkuma]

Match Type
Standard
Victory Conditions
Pinfall, Count-Out, Submission, or KO

”FOR! GREAT! JUSTICE!”

Skullomania stood on the top of the ramp, looking out over a sea of his fellow Japanese, watching them as they stared back his way. He stood there, decked into his attire, with a microphone held in hand, as they all watched and stared and didn’t react, as if they had no clue what to make of this strange masked man who had just came out before them, and it was at this moment that he realized how big of a mistake he had just made.

He had asked management for a special privilege. Namely, he wanted to start off his debut with a promo, come to the ring and address them, really show what he was about and why they should get behind him. It made sense. He was asking the audience to invest in him, support him, and they needed to know he was more than just a guy in a weird suit. He stood for something. He believed in something. He had this whole speech planned out, and was going to go into all these details, and he had his catchphrases ready to go. The whole thing.

Then he came out, stood there, said his first three words, and forgot all of the rest.

Crap. Crap. Crap.

Kenji suddenly found himself empathizing with a deer in the headlights. He stood there, looking left and right, as he struggled to recall even one word from his promo. Nothing came to him. Not a single word. He looked left and right, as if the words might magically appear on a sign in the distance, and when that happened, he went into panic mode.

The seconds were ticking away. The crowd was growing restless. He was losing them, boos were breaking out. Dosomethingdosomethingdosomething-

”I…my name is Skullomania! The, uh, the second! I’m the second Skullomania, Skullomania the second! And just like the one before, the first Skullomania, I have come-”

“You suck!”

Kenji paused for a moment, not wanting to acknowledge that comment from the audience. He took a quick breath, then pushed on. ”I am the legacy! What, I mean is, I am the legacy of heroes in this industry. The heroes that came before. They are all embodied in me, and I am in them, and I am here to stand for what they stood for and fight what they’re fighting for. Fought for. What they fought for.”

He scrambled his way up the steps and slipped into the ring, where a bewildered referee was waiting with a palm to her forehead.

”I will not falter, I will not fail!” He remembered that part of the speech, at least. It sounded so much cooler in his head. ”For I am the hero you need, even though you don’t need…I mean you don’t know that you need a hero yet, but I am him, the hero that you don’t know you need, in this time of need. I’m needed.” Was a baby crying somewhere? He could’ve sworn he heard a baby crying, even though those weren’t allowed in here. ”For I am the light in the darkness, the terror that flaps in the night. I am viligant, I am seeing, I am ready and willing to defend the weak, who need to be defended.”

And now came the big part. He raised his fist high in the air, breathed deep, and let fly with his best booming voice. ”I am Skullomania! And I am here FOR! GREAT! JUSTICE!”

The arena went quiet for a second that felt like an eternity. Another second passed. Then another. Then…

“...BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!”

Kenji was so glad he was wearing a mask right now.

[Monsy]

What was a lethal-incarnate doing at a place like this? Karolina and Adelaide always waited in solitude, where no one can find them and they didn’t need to see the nauseating sights of common folk bugging them. Adelaide always stood by the door with a phone that streamed the ongoings of the ring. She smiled, “Aw, this one is kind of cute. So simple, but trying so very hard. Are you sure you want to crush this one?”

Karolina, who was focused on tying her laces, slowly, then faster and slower again when the thoughts weighed her down. “I don’t care how simple he is, because he is just the same breed as any fool putting on a mask. If I need to stomp pretenders, then I will.” She stood, “Shall we go?” Asked Karolina, gesturing to the door. They both left, their footsteps and breath synchronised. Out there with the booing crowd, they were met with a dimming light. “How should we treat him?” Adelaide asked, “How he wants to be treated.” Karolina replied.

Spoiler

That malevolent music struck its opening chords. Red mist spewed onto the stage and swirled into a great cloud. The voices grew silent, just as they saw that wicked smile break through the mist, those hateful eyes, paired with Adelaide’s right beside her, golden spheres that went into the abyss the deeper you looked. Her smile was plain and proper, dressed in a trench coat, pants and dress shirt with a tie. The fog spilled down the ramp, and they descended. Karolina in front. Plumes of fire from the stage raged up and took a bite out the sky before disappearing to join the firmaments. They made it to ringside and the referee shuffled to the opposite side. Adelaide went for a microphone as Karolina undid her, hooked it on the ring post and walked the apron, grabbing the top rope with two hands. She leaned back and slingshotted, front-flipping and stomping the canvas with one fist on the ground and one knee. Her grin foretold a rage with the corner of her lips, twitching with utter disgust.

Spoiler

Adelaide tossed a mic from ringside and Karolina caught it, looking left and right then to her opponent. Should he even be called that.

“A hero who can’t even protect themselves should not be lying publicly. Whatever this great justice you proclaim, if it is anything beyond a token note you don’t understand because you are, well, a fool - they don’t believe in you. And neither do I.”

Come the last word, Karolina tossed the mic away and continued to stare, waiting without a blink for that bell to ring or a reply of some sort. Can this suited wrestler even mutter? Who knows.

[BlackAkuma]

Kenji was in trouble. Kenji knew he was in trouble. But he didn’t quite realize how much trouble he was in until the music started up and his opponent came out.

Karolina Reindhart. Great.

She would have no way of knowing it, but this wasn’t the first time he’d met this woman. Sort of. Referee’s tended to go unnoticed in the ring, by design, trying to stay impartial and affect the outcome of the match as little as possible. While he’d never had a direct conversation with the women, he’d been in the ring with her before and refereed her matches, so he knew well what she was about. Enough to know what she was capable of. Enough to know that he was pretty well and truly screwed, here. Totally out of his league. Shouldn’t have even been in the same ring, really.

…did he have a plan? He could’ve sworn he had a plan for all this, but it wasn’t coming to him at the moment. It was funny how sheer terror could make you forget things.

First things first, he had to respond to her taunt. Something cool, something confident. Short and witty. ”I believe-” Ugh, his voice was scratchy. He coughed, cleared his throat, then tried again. ”I believe in myself!”

Eh, it would have to do.

The bell rang and Kenji decided to try and take the initiative, hoping it might catch Karolina off guard. He bounded forward at full tilt, leaped towards his opponent and shot both his boots out at one, coming at her chest with a running dropkick.

[Monsy]

Some who might as well call her a human ascended, noted her stare as one that can make life flash before the eyes. A hellish stare that made souls shrink. She was neutral-faced, but didn’t blink, judging every small action as he mustered up the courage for his response. One side of her lips flinched into a lopsided smile, but that died again the moment and the bell rang. This young man for what it’s worth was a dart. And yes, despite the fumbles, came forward earnestly and with little hesitation. Perhaps there was something under that hood. But that wasn’t for her to find out.

She stepped to the side, turned and took a step, allowing him to crash while she looked to the sky, huffing out a small puff of red mist through O-shaped lips. This man was doomed from the beginning. Was she willing to honour at least a gracious defeat? She wasn’t quite certain. Her feet kicked around as she came to face him, stomping with ever-more force until she leaned over and tried to grab the material around his nape and hip, heave up all together like a dead lift then thrust back down with her knee aimed for his stomach.

[BlackAkuma]

It sounded like a good idea at the time, you know? Fortune favored the bold. No time like the present. Seize the day. It certainly wasn’t any worse of an idea than trying to lock up with her directly, he was sure of that. Maybe it would catch her off guard. He could do the move well enough, so he knew it would hurt her, if he landed.

Keyword: If. Which he didn’t. Not even close.

Karolina countered with the amazing, unheard of, unimaginable counter of stepping to the side, leaving him with nothing but empty air to kick. Kenji fell down on his side and scrambled to pick himself up, but it was already too late - she was on him, looming over and lifting him up the rest of the way. A knee shot into his stomach and folded him in half, leaving him to drop down to his knees.

So, all in all, a bad start.

He pushed his way back up a moment later, but he was gasping and wincing the whole way, not even attempting to hide the pain.

[Monsy]

There are no marks for optimism. No quarter for idealism. These knees are real, visceral, the sledgehammers of the body. It was no remorse off her skin to see another man crumple in half. After all, isn’t this the struggle that they wanted? Karolina’s gaze feasted on the soul, silencing voices in a glance. The crowd wasn’t sure to boo or cheer, but to observe a quick carnage. She stood, as though waiting for him to rise. Though with a height difference over a foot, he might as well have stood to meet God.

It was a smooth joust of her hand, aiming to put her dainty fingers around his throat, the elbow low, arm half bent towards the body. If no substantial effort for freedom was made, she would thrust to the air, taking him airborne where the hateful Matriarch's prowess could shun the world into silent praise and admiration, and her hellish eyes lifted towards the ceiling, a mouth fine-curled into pleasure-filled cackles. “I see no justice in you.”

Then she whipped the carcass down, canvas-bound, and let the world inside the ropes tremble once again.

[BlackAkuma]

Kenji needed a plan. A good plan. But as he laid there, aching and hurting from the trouncing she just gave him, he had to say - no good ideas were coming to him at the moment. Karolina was bigger, strong, and worst of all, big enough to make those other two facts a serious problem.

Needless to say, he didn't get any good ideas when she reached over and lifted him up with astonishing ease. Kenji struggled in her grasp, kicked and squirmed, but he might as well have been an unruly child in his parent’s arms - he wasn’t going anywhere that she didn’t want, and the only way she wanted him to go was down. Hard.

He crashed down on his back with an impact that shook the ring and left his back tingling. With his position faltering fast, he did the only thing he could think to do: retreat. He rolled under the ropes and flopped to the outside, coming down on his knees for a breather.

[Monsy]

Karolina created an earthquake. She knew and mastered every crevice of maximising her size, fitness and technique to deliver shattering punishments. And after her throw, she stomped on the ground, curling up her legs and exploding with a kip-up, landing on her feet and walking away with a smooth step. This little hero was already gone by then. Karolina looked where her shoulder pointed, sighted him and shook her head. She then peered to the lights, soaking in its grace, lifting her arms, hands with half-curled fingers and bellowed a laugh. “There isn’t a plan you can change or place to hide that will alter ANYTHING! HAHAHA, STALL ALL YOU LIKE.”

[BlackAkuma]

So, this was going poorly. Didn’t take a world class technician to see that.

The match had only just begun, and he already found himself on the floor, gasping for air as he tried to gather his bearings. It was a lucky thing for him that Karolina didn’t seem to have any interest in following him to the floor, but he knew that would only go so far. She would come after him, sooner or later, and even if she didn’t, the referee was already starting up a count. Less than ten seconds to go.

Kenji took his time standing back, using the precious few moments to take a deep breather and reassess the situation. He could still do this. Just had to be smart. Tactical. Karolina was only a human.

A much taller, bigger, more experienced, dangerous human…but human.

He steeled himself and slid back into the ring, popping to his feet as fast as he could. Cautious and careful, he started to circle his daunting foe, trying to see if he could bait her into making the next move.

[Monsy]

One thing she learned from being a socialite is how to read a face, words and body language. She asserted, no, commanded a room around herself countless times over. It always looked something like this. Someone entering a shark tank. Never too antsy to rush. Karolina took that respect and was up, tall and flawless, walking while facing the direction she paced, head to the side, her shoulder at him, glancing down like a giant noticing the ant on her shoe.

“Not so daring anymore, are we?”

Karolina stopped suddenly, hoping to catch him circling towards her. That’s when she turned her foot outward, looked to the opposite shoulder and spun counter-clockwise. Her arm, jutted, straightened to a knife’s edge and swung suddenly, clipping air into a whistle, aimed to bite him across the chest.