United Ave.

A sharp, almost maniacal giggle shatters the silence of the pearly white, but baron subway station. A pair of bright, golden eyes open – blinded by the fluorescent light shining down upon her prone form.

“Why did you leave Carnage behind?”

Kyra sat up, her eyes falling on the painted face of a woman as she bent over in front of our protagonist, a clown-like smile framed by colorful ponytails as she awaited an answer to that very simple question.

Where was she?

Feeling disoriented, she didn’t answer right away – Instead opting to shake the cobwebs out and look around her, taking in the shining white subway tiles, and the marble floors. The words ‘United Ave.’ caught her eye and she stared for just a few moments longer until an impatient grunt came from the woman still standing beside her, her hands now on her hips.

“I said…Why did you leave Carnage behind?!”

She said, stomping her foot to drive her point home. Finally, Kyra shook her head as she let out an exasperated sigh.

“Because I had to.”

She said, climbing back to her feet as the jester before her took a singular step back, eyeing Kyra up with a pair of crazy eyes.

“Ragdoll, come back over here and leave that woman alone.”

Another deeper voice boomed out through the empty station as the woman with the painted face turned on her heel and skipped back to where a man sat upon a dark wooden bench at the far side of the station, a stern look on his face as he stared at Kyra.

“Soooorrrryyyyyyyyyyyy”

The one named Ragdoll said happily as she leaned into the face of the man, before booping his nose. The man swiped her hand away, shaking his head as Kyra moved closer, still trying to figure out where she was.

“All work and no play makes Liam a dulllllll boyyyyyyy.”

Ragdoll merrily said, while she kicked Liam in the leg – and when he swatted at her again, she giggled and skipped away towards the tracks. Kyra watched for a few moments, watching the clown tiptoe along the edge of the platform, every now and again losing her balance and nearly falling down onto the tracks themselves, her delighted laughter at every nearfall echoing throughout the otherwise vacant station.

“What are you doing here? Why are you here?”

Liam’s voice drew Kyra’s attention away from the dangerous game that Ragdoll was playing. Kyra didn’t know how to answer his question, however. She didn’t know where she was, let alone why she was there. Last thing she remembered was she and Ken fighting–

Where was Ken? Was he okay?

Her eyes narrowed on the man named Liam as he continued looking at her with expectant eyes.

“I don’t know.”

Kyra finally said, shaking her head.

“You shouldn’t be here.”

Liam replied with a head shake of his own.

“Neither should I, but here we are!”

Ragdoll replied with a flourish, as she jumped from tile to tile on the edge of the platform. When Kyra glanced from Ragdoll to Liam, it was almost as if the fog covering her mind was lifted and she shrugged her shoulders.

“And what makes you believe that you should be here?”

Kyra asks, her eyes narrowing at Liam as the man brought himself to his feet in front of her. Kyra didn’t back down as his shadow enveloped her, her golden hues meeting his dark gaze.

“He doesn’t know!”

As if she teleported there, Ragdoll somehow ended up standing between Kyra and Liam, that crazed smile on her face as she began laughing.

“He doesn’t know anything!”

“And you do?”

Kyra asked, turning her attention towards Ragdoll. Ragdoll simply took a step back with her hands behind her back and nodded.

“I know eeeverything! Like where we’re all gonna end up!”

It was at that moment that Kyra’s eyebrows raised in question.

“Wait a minute.. What are you two waiting for?”

Ragdoll simply giggled while Liam crossed his arms over his chest.

“We’re waiting for the 7:45 to Synergy. I am going to make a name for myself. That’s why I made my deal with the–”

“The creative director.”

Kyra said, surprising herself as the words exited her mouth.

“But why?”

Liam brought himself back down onto the bench, checking the watch on his wrist as he answered.

“Because I love it, of course. I–”

“How do you know you love something you’ve never had the balls to do?!”

Ragdoll exclaimed, doing a twirl between the two of them before ending up beside Liam on the bench – Her nose nearly pressed into the side of his face.

“You know what I LOVE?!”

“Being annoying?”

He quipped back as he rolled his eyes. But annoyance quickly turned to surprise as Ragdoll produced a handgun out of thin air and ran the barrel along her jawline.

“She knows what I love… don’t you, Kyra Banana?!”

Ragdoll said, her voice alarmingly calm as she pointed the gun in Kyra’s direction as she laid her head on Liam’s shoulder. But Kyra didn’t move. She’d dodged bullets before. There was nothing this clown could do to her that she’s not already been through.

The calmness, however, brought Ragdoll back to her feet as she inched closer to Kyra, the gun still pointed at Kyra’s chest, her head tilted to the side.

“Stop this ridiculousness. You’ll get your chance when the train gets here.”

Liam chimed in, making sure to stay far enough away from the craziness that Ragdoll had introduced to his life. But Ragdoll’s eyes were completely focused on Kyra’s gaze, the two women sharing a familiarity that neither of them had felt.

Kyra felt the barrel of the gun pressed into her chest and she looked down momentarily to watch Ragdolls finger squeeze the trigger ever so slightly.

“Didn’t you know, Liam? We are in the presence of ’The one’.”

Ragdoll glanced back over her shoulder, giving Liam a wink.

“The one that embodies True Chaos.”

“There is no such thing.”

Liam replied matter-of-factly.

“The Creative director told me as much.”

Like a flash of lightning, Ragdoll turned the gun on Liam, her eyes lit up with utter glee.

“Did he now?! Let’s just see about that! BANG!”

Ragdoll squealed as she turned once again and without warning, she fired a shot at Kyra. But before anyone saw anything, Kyra had ducked the shot and when Liam finally pulled his fingers out of his ears, he looked up to find Kyra with the gun in one hand and Ragdoll’s hair in the other, the hot barrel of the gun pressed to the side of Ragdolls head as the two of them looked at Liam with two very mischievous smiles on their lips.

“No…”

Liam whispered, his eyes wide as saucers.

“Yes!”

Ragdoll yelled, giggling as she pressed her temple into the barrel.

“She’s the ying to my yang, Officer Stickler! She’s perfect!”

Kyra chuckled as a wave of excitement washed over her body as her finger tickled the trigger, flirting with the possibility of doing the very same thing to Ragdoll. But instead, Kyra pressed her cheek to the side of Ragdolls head and whispered into her ear, just loud enough that Liam could hear as well.

“I could pull the trigger now…”

Ragdoll closed her eyes and let out an excited sigh as Kyra continued.

“Or… I could make you wait until we all get to where we’re headed… Let you wait for the finish we both know you want…”

Ragdoll shivered with anticipation.

“You want to end me…”

Kyra let Ragdoll go and when the clown turned around, she handed the pistol back to her with a grin on her face.

“I just want to know if you’re what you say you are.”

Ragdoll let out a laugh and pulled the gun to her chest, placing a soft kiss on the barrel as she turned to Liam.

“What about him?”

“I wanna know if he’ll even survive.”

Ragdoll giggled uncontrollably as a subway car rolled into the station behind them and came to a stop. The doors opened and a nicely groomed, very obviously well-to-do man stepped out with a pretty gold belt around his waist.

“Lookie who it is!”

Ragdoll exclaimed as they all turned their attention to the man standing beside the subway car. Kyra eyed him up as Liam took a step around the two women.

“The Conductor of Chaos. Sebastian.”

The man nodded his head.

“Shall we?”

Sebastian said as he motioned towards the open doors. Liam nodded eagerly and boarded the subway while Ragdoll approached the Conductor with a glint in her eye and the gun pointed directly at him.

“Watch out, Mister Conductor… Wouldn’t want something just horrid to happen to you!”

Ragdoll said with an exaggerated wink as she moved past him, the barrel of the gun following Sebastian as she boarded the subway and disappeared into the car.

“We shall see. Hmm… And what do we have here?”

Sebastian replied to no one in particular as he watched Kyra approach the car, content to just get on and go to Synergy to keep her promise. But before she steps on, Sebastian stops her and smirks.

“Kyra Johnson… The one in the flesh. I’ll be very interested to see what you do when we arrive at Synergy.”

“I’m sure you are, Conductor. I’m sure you are.”

…

 

“Kyra…”

…

…

“Kyra!”

Kyra’s eyes flew open as Ken said her name louder and she looked around the darkened bedroom. She could make out Ken’s form as he sat on the bed beside her, and immediately judging by his body language, Kyra knew something was wrong.

“Ken? What’s wrong?”

Ken sighed.

“I have to go….”

That statement, and the shakiness of Ken’s voice scared Kyra at first, and she sat up, leaning towards him – touching his back softly.

“What? Where?”

Ken rose from the bed and Kyra immediately saw that he was dressed.

“My dad.. He’s.. He doesn’t have much longer. I’m sorry, I have to get up there to see him before he–”

Kyra didn’t even have to think.

“Go.”

She said softly.

“I’m so sorry baby… What can I do?”

Ken shook his head.

“I don’t know.. I-I just have to go. I love you.”

And with that, he moved towards the bedroom door and he was gone. Kyra listened to his footfalls as he descended the steps and moments later she heard the front door of the house close.

If he wanted her to go, surely he would have said something.

Kyra thought to herself as she laid back down, uneasy.

She’d spend the next few hours laying awake in bed, watching the clock change minute by minute. She couldn’t say she understood what her soon to be husband was going through, her own father was dead and she couldn’t possibly care less. But she knew that the man Ken called his father was someone who took him in and called him his son when he didn’t have to.. And helped shape the man she loves into who he is today.

And it hurt her heart to know Ken was driving all the way up there on his own, in agony… and there wasn’t a damn thing she could do about it.

But there was…

She told herself as she sat up slowly and pulled the blanket off of her body.

She could pack herself and Adina up and she could follow him.

 

And that’s exactly what she did.

Adina was dozing in the back of her car as she drove, about two hours out of Baltimore, on her way to wherever Ken was. Not wanting him to be alone, not at a moment like this. Not ever. Kyra knew he’d have his family around him, but something inside her told her he needed her and Adina too.

She might not be able to identify with the gravity of Ken’s loss… but she could identify with him… And she couldn’t just sit at home while he was grieving seven hours away from them.

“Mommy?”

A small, groggy voice broke the silence as Kyra glanced up into the rear view mirror to see Adina wiping the sleep from her eyes.

“Hey baby girl.”

“Where we going?”

Kyra sighed.

“We’re taking a trip. And I need you to be a very, very good girl for me, okay?”

A moment of silence followed, and Kyra thought that Adina had fallen back asleep. But just when she started to focus on the road once more, Adina proved otherwise.

“Okay Mommy. Where’s Ken?”

Kyra bit her lip as she fiddled with what to say in her head as Adina sat and wondered.

“That’s where we’re going, baby girl. Ken’s… He’s visiting his family and we’re gonna go be with him because he needs us.”

She glanced up in the mirror again, seeing Adina watching her intently.

“Ken’s daddy is sick and he’s very sad… So we need to be there for him, okay?”

Kyra finally said, her own voice a little choked up as she tried to explain this in the best possible way for her daughter. She didn’t know if she was doing a good job or not, but judging by the look in her daughter’s eyes, she thought she did a good enough job to get the point across.

“Okay Mommy, I’m gonna give him a big hug when we get there.”

Kyra smiled softly.

“I think he’ll like that very much. You get some rest, baby… I’ll wake you up when we get there.”

Adina nodded her head and closed her eyes again, and for another thirty minutes or so, Kyra thought once more that Adina had fallen back to sleep.

“Mommy?”

Her little voice startled Kyra just as she was changing lanes.

“Yeah, honey?”

“Does this mean you and Ken aren’t gonna go to work?”

To be completely honest, Kyra had completely forgotten their respective matches coming up in just a few days and she didn’t really have an answer for Adina in that moment.

“I-I don’t know sweetie. Liam and Ragdoll might just have to wait til another week.”

“Who?”

Kyra softly chuckled.

“The two people I’m supposed to fight.”

“You’re gonna fight two people?!”

Kyra nodded her head.

“That was the plan.”

She glanced up in the mirror, watching the wheels turning in her daughter’s head as she thought about the logistics of what Kyra had just said. Finally she looked at the mirror and she and Kyra locked eyes.

“Are they gonna try to hurt you?”

Kyra nodded once more.

“They’ll try, I’m sure. But don’t you worry about it. Mommy’s got it handled. That silly clown and that cop turned wannabe wrestler won’t do shit to me, if I make it there.”

The instant she said it, she knew she’d just opened up a can of worms that she really didn’t want to open up. But it was too late now, the questions started rolling in as quickly as Adina could think of them.

“You’re fighting a clown?!”

“Uh huh.”

“Is he a mean clown?”

Kyra sighed.

“She’s more crazy than anything, sweetie.”

If that wasn’t the truth. Kyra had never really faced Ragdoll before, even when both of them were in Carnage, but there was no doubt in Kyra’s mind that that bitch was batshit crazy. And the fact that she’s now decidedly trading bodily fluids with Tempest…

The thought made Kyra shudder.

“She doesn’t sound very nice, mommy.”

“She’s not. But that’s okay. I think her bark is worse than her bite. Mommy’s faced people a lot worse than Ragdoll, and she made it out the other side just fine.”

Of course she said that, because if Kyra was anything, she was full of bravado. The part about facing a lot of people that could be worse than Ragdoll was true.. Making it out the other side was true too… but Kyra wasn’t sure if Ragdoll was lesser than, or if she was overlooking the clown just because she was certifiably insane.

“But.. What about the other one?”

Kyra shrugged her shoulders.

“I don’t know much about Liam, sweetie. All I know is he used to be a police officer and now he wants to be a fighter.”

“Why would he wanna fight people?  Police officers want to protect people!”

That’s a great question, Kyra thought to herself.

“I don’t know, baby girl. I think he just likes wrestling and he wanted to try it for himself. Mommy just doesn’t know if he’s gonna be able to hang or not. He might surprise me.. Who knows.”

The truth was, Liam was an unknown – Kind of like Ragdoll, just in a different way.

She could overlook him too, but what good will that do her?

Kyra didn’t wanna end up looking like an idiot for thinking she’d walk into that match on Monday and wipe the floor with these two very different people. Anyone can be a threat, and for Kyra? She just wanted to make a splash in the Chaos division. She was the Ultraviolent Champion in Carnage and while that might not matter to anyone in UGWC – That fact sure as hell matters to her and it matters to anyone who wants to compete in the ‘Dollar Store Ultraviolent’ division in the UGWC.

But her daughter didn’t know any of that, and she sure as hell wasn’t going to divulge that information.

“Is he gonna have a gun?!”

Adina asked, her eyes wide as Kyra glanced back at her.

“The clown is more likely to be carrying one of them… shit”

Another thing Kyra didn’t want to say.

She’s gotta stop talking about this with her four year old.

“WHAT?!”

“No, no… it’s fine. I didn’t mean it like that. Mommy was telling a joke.”

Kyra closed her eyes briefly and hoped that Adina would buy that excuse.

“Crazy clowns with guns doesn’t sound fun, Mommy.”

Kyra couldn’t help but laugh. The logic of a child is undeniable.

“That’s true.”

Silence once more settled between them as Kyra continued the next leg of their long journey to Boston.

Kyra had a lot on her mind, and at the forefront was Ken, and making sure he was okay.  But in the back of her mind, she wondered about the upcoming match.  Adina’s questions were really on point for a four year old, and they really got her thinking.   She wants to make a splash in the Chaos divison.   She wants everyone to know who she is, and why she was one of the most feared people in Carnage… Even if no one believes that to be true.

And if that means putting down another Carnage alum?

So be it.

As she continued thinking about it while focusing on where she was headed, she heard Adina sigh from the back seat.

“What’s wrong?”

“I’m just sad that Ken is sad.”

Kyra nodded.

“Me too, sweetie.”

“I just love him.”

Kyra smiled softly.

“I do too, that’s why we’re gonna go help him through this.”

The man she loves needs her.  She’s going to be there for him, come hell or high water.

This match will inevitably come too.

And if she can be there, she will be, if nothing else, to prove that she’s the one that everyone needs to be looking out for.   Ragdoll and Liam Davies won’t know what hit em.

 

 

OOC: Ragdoll, Liam and Sebastian are fictional representations that are not intended to represent their “real world” counterparts in anyway.  Good luck guys!