Some Shady Shenanigans.

[ZedArkham]

Unsure of what to do, Zed began to rethink his life. It didn't help that he had a head splitting migraine (he shan't be drinking again for a long while).

When his head was cleared, he sent an e-mail to his night school regarding his resignation. And he sent an e-mail to the modeling agency, making up a story about a sickness for 'Raven'. Zed leaves his apartment, taking a walk through the town. It sucks that those hobgoblins ruined Zed's only mode of transportation.

Eventually he stumbles upon a local gym. Inside he takes a breather before spotting a punching bag. Seeing as no one was nearby he began hitting it. Some light jabs at first, but they eventually escalated into heavy blows. He had completely lost his sense of what was around him, he could feel the tension melting away. He was completely in the zone, that is before one of the trainers tapped him on the shoulder.

Zed was startled; he had almost punched the guy in the face out of sheer surprise. The man was about a foot-and-a-half taller than Zed, and had a hulking appearance; definitely not a guy to be messed with. " 'Scuse me. I don't think I seen you 'round here before." He grunted in a thick Brooklyn accent. "These facilities are for members only." Cracking his knuckles menacingly. "Whoa there big guy," a voice interjected, "I think this one might have some potential." He looked into Zed's eyes and introduced himself. "The name's Rudy, Rudy DelRent. And you are?" "Oh, my name is Zed, Zed Arkham." Zed replied. A puzzled look came across Rudy's face, "Well that's unique. Well listen here," He wrapped an arm around Zed's shoulders. "Come back here 'round midnight okay, and i think I got just the thing for you. Meanwhile, you should probably scram, my buddy over here is getting antsy."

Zed took his advice and left. Zed returned to the gym at around 11:45. Rudy was waiting outside. "Welcome back!" He said as he held the door open. Inside there were many people. About ten or so. Most of them were silent, but a few were talking amongst themselves.A few minutes passed before they were led down a secret passageway. They came to a room with light padding in the middle of the floor. Along the walls there were a bunch of men standing and talking to each other. When Rudy walked in they went dead-silent. Zed noticed that most of the men had a lot of scars, and that some were bruised and even had black eyes.

Before he knew it, they had started picking names out of a top hat and people started fighting. Zed was sweating profusely. Rudy walked up to him and started taping Zed's hands. "Don't worry, you'll do fine." A couple more fights went by before Zed's name was drawn. "Zed Arkham, and Johnny Cage!" Shouted the announcer. It was too late to turn back. Zed stood in the middle of the floor pad with a blond haired stranger wearing a black sweat-suit. When the fight began it was a flurry of fists. Zed didn't know how long the fight lasted, all he knew was that at the end of his blind fury, he was the one left standing.

Zed had difficulty standing still, adrenaline was rushing through him. Eventually all of the fights were finished and the winners were congratulated. "Welcome to the Gentlemens' Club." Said Rudy as he handed out cards. They looked like business cards and they had Rudy's contact information on them. "Don't lose these, these are your membership cards. I'll be seeing you guys next month." Everyone was herded out the doors. Rudy tugged on Zed's shirt, "That was a nice job out there, you got potential kid. Can't wait to turn ya into a real fightin' machine."

When Zed got home, everything hit him at once. He slumped over and crawled under his blanket. He knew he was going to be sore in the morning.