“Hooooooly hell...”, Tom breathed. The DEFDoc, Ms. Iris Davine, was checking Tom out, head to toe. After a no contest war with Python(And the earlier car window shot from Heidi), teh Baws had insisted that Tom get checked out.

 

Again.

 

So, she had just stripped Tom’s boots off, and was testing his ankles for flexibility. As she slowly rotated Tom’s right foot in a circle, Tom was patting a damp towel to the back and side of his neck. He blew out a long, slow breath, bringing the rag up to his face. The cool felt amazing on his sweaty face. Even if he had just washed his face once he got backstage, it was still stiflingly hot, and the adrenaline crash of the post-match time period was starting to grate on him.

 

“Just tell me if you feel any pain, stiffness...”, Iris cheerfully said. Tom nodded. He knew the routine. But something was bugging him. He was still in the arena, and the match between Box and Ryan was still going on.

 

Why was there so much booing? 

 

Tom brought the towel down, looking to the ubiquitous monitor showing the live feed going out to ESEN. Dan Ryan was in the ring... And he looked like a vampire having just gone bugshit crazy on someone’s neck. Only the bloodflow was comin’ from that familiar spot to all wrestlers, the forehead.

 

“Wait. Unmute that monitor.”, Tom said, jabbing a finger at the thing. Iris sighed in a most exasperated manner, and let go of his foot, reaching over to unmute the offender. All of a sudden, the sound from out there was playing in here. The momentary delay made it echo-y, and weird.

 

Angus:

This is fucking awesome.

 

DDK:

Even with the numbers against him Dan Ryan is dominating here, Angus!

 

EGO BUSTER! CLAP CLAP CLAPCLAPCLAP

 

Virginia:

This just won’t do.

 

“Bullshit!”, Tom snarls, hopping down from the medical table. Iris immediately boils to her feet, all five foot two of her getting directly in Tom’s face. She jabbed a finger into Tom’s sternum, right where it’d hurt, and the kid recoiled a bit.

 

“HEY! Listen! If you think I’m gonna clear you to go out there, you’ve got another think comin’, mister!”, Iris said in her battlefield medic voice. She had been doing this business for a while, and she absolutely wasn’t gonna back down on this.

 

“Hey! Jerry!”, Tom yelled in response. The door cracked open, and the DEFSec man standing outside(Presumably keeping Tom safe from Heidi Christenson), leaned inside.

 

“Is anybody gonna DO anything about this? Dan Ryan is fighting three-on-one!”, Tom spat, hand splayed open as he gestured frantically to the monitor. Onscreen, Dan Ryan took a punch to the back of the head from Quell, and Tom immediately ducked, grabbing his boots.

 

“Kid, Dane said the FIST is no DQ. I can’t go out there. Besides, if I go out there, who stands between you and Heidi?”, Jerry replied in his best working-man voice. He was just doin’ as ordered, after all! Good little soldier.

 

“This is bullshit.”, Tom hissed, yanking his still sweatsoaked socks back on. “Someone’s got to do something about this. Dan Ryan isn’t my friend or anything, but-”

 

“If good men do nothing, evil will triumph?”, a voice offered. Tom glanced up, momentarily paused from shoving his foot back into his calf-high boot. Python stood in the doorway, already(Or still?) in his ringclothes. Tom gave a grin.

 

“Exactly.”, Tom agreed, going right back to lacing his boots back up. 

 

“Tom, I’m NOT DONE with the exam! You aren’t medically cleared!”, Iris snarled.

 

“I’ll be back after I kick Bronson Box’s face off.”, Tom promised. Python glanced down the hallway, then back to Tom, already moving to head down the hallway. “Hey, you grab Eugene, Python?”

 

Python shook his head. “He went to the hotel room you guys split after his match. He had a raid or something. He was my first stop. I’ll see you out there?”

 

Tom bobbled his head as he furiously rushed through relacing the boots. Good thing he had years and years of practice. Python went rushing down the hall with one hand thumpin’ the door goodbye. 

 

“Tom, really, you shouldn’t do this to yourself. If you suffered some damage to your ribs, you could very easily get them done worse by going out to fight against Bronson Box...”, Iris warned. Tom nodded, knowing fully well what she meant. But in another few moments, he had his boots done up.

 

“Look. Python had it exactly right. It’s us against the world, Iris. If the good guys don’t stand up for what’s right, nobody will. I might get beaten up-”, Tom went to say. Iris cut in.

 

“Again.”, she flatly stated.

 

“Yes, again, but if I let Dan Ryan get beaten up, then there’s one less guy to stand against evil bastards like Bronson Box. I can’t let that be on my head.”, Tom said. A few slaps to the cheeks, and Tom began to march. Iris threw up her hands in defeat, and just got out of the way.

 

He could hear The Receiving End of Sirens blaring their song through the speakers, and the roar of the crowd told him that Python was hitting the ring. The sound of those people gave Tom goosepimples running down his spine. But as he went down the hallway, he could hear the crackle of walkie-talkies ahead. One of the DEFSec guys was in touch with Jerry, who was shadowing him.

 

“Yeah. Cue up Tom Sawyer. Yeah, he’s coming! Hell yeah, good old fashioned donnybrook, right?”, Jerry joyfully relayed. The walkie-talkie wasn’t really made to pick up ambient sound, but the sounds of high-fives and “Hell yeah!”’s echoed through it. 

 

“Wish me luck, Jerry.”, Tom offered.

 

“You don’t need it, kid. Go kick Bronson Box in the face for me!”, the burly Alabaman responded, giving Tom a smack on the back. Tom took that smack, turned it into forward momentum, and broke into a flat run.

 

He blew past the Gorilla position just as the sound guy hit play.

 

BEYOOOOOOOOOOOOOOWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW

 

Tom kept running, out into the light. He knew where he had to be. He knew what he had to do. As the air around him heated up from the thousands of humanoid space heaters, and the sound cacophony from Rush’s ballad blared, mixing with the screams and cheers of a thousand thousand fans, Tom found himself right out where he wanted to always be. As the blinding light dazzled him for a few moments...

 

God, he loved this business.