I do not own any of the characters or locations of the SSX series. EA games BIG owns all characters and places mentioned in this story.
Chapter 1: Bored or afraid?
Psymon sat back in his laz-e boy recliner, looking up at the clouds. He heard a light whirring of a cherry picker's motor next to the chalet. He opened his eyes to see his approaching company. A young man with a microphone was followed by another young man with a video camera. Psymon closed his eyes again and relaxed. He was hesitant to do this interview, but the SSX chair committee demanded him to do it, as the fans had begun to grow fascinated by this enigmatic man. He heard the pair trudge through the knee deep snow and stop next to him.
"Psymon Stark." the one with the microphone said. Psymon didn't open his eyes.
"Shall we get this over with?" he said calmly, but his voice held a violent edge to it. The cameraman positioned himself to capture both Psymon and his interviewer in the shot. Psymon finally sat up and leaned forward, facing the analyst.
"Well, Mr. Stark, first question. How in the hell did you get a recliner on the roof of the chalet?" Psymon looked to his left and right, then shrugged. "Okay then, why do you come up here?" Psymon's left eye twitched rather violently as always.
"I guess I just like to get away now and then." The first man pushed the microphone further into Psymon's face.
"Is that why you go out on the peaks by yourself so often, and at times when you and your colleagues are warned against it, due to avalanches?" Psymon smirked slightly.
"Heh, yeah that's good fun." The interviewer was getting irritated that Psymon wasn't answering the questions properly.
"But why, Psymon?" Psymon paused and looked deep in thought. He shrugged again.
"I dunno, I guess I just get bored., ya know?" He leaned back in his recliner and put his hands behind his head.
"Bored?" the interviewer repeated. Psymon nodded.
"Yeah, I dunno, there's nothing new to do anymore, everything's been done." The interviewer nodded.
"But you have done several stunts that have dazzled audiences time and time again. Psymon in the last season your stunts have changed you from a hated competitor to a fan favorite, your fan-base has more than quadrupled in the last seven months alone. How can you say there's nothing to do when you continue to come up with these insane stunts?" Psymon sighed.
"Like I said, all I can do, I have done. Yeah the extra popularity has sold some extra shirts and DVDs, but if that's all that can keep me noticed, then in one year from now you'll be interviewing someone else."
"Is that a statement that you are considering retirement, or that you will have done it all by then?"
"It's a statement that the fans will be bored of me by then. I love to push the envelope, but honestly, what else is there for me to do?" Psymon re-opened his eyes and faced the interviewer. The man with the mic pulled out a folded piece of paper.
"Well, if you do not mind me bringing this up, I would like to read a recent M-comm message you received regarding a stunt." Psymon went slightly pale, not looking quite so confident as he had moments earlier. "It reads, 'Dear Psymon. I'm a huge fan and always try to be at your stunts, or at least catch them on television. I was wondering if you will ever try to attempt the powerline jump that you failed to complete several years ago?' What did you reply to that fan, Psymon?" Psymon's eye twitched heavily with anxiety.
"I didn't reply to that fan, actually." His voice was shaky. The interviewer looked carefully at Psymon.
"Mr. Stark, are you implying you're afraid to attempt this stunt again? I thought you were fearless." Psymon shuddered for a moment, possibly from nerves, or possibly from the fact that he was sitting in snow wearing only jeans and a black tanktop.
"I'm not afraid of anything." He sounded angry, his voice held it's normal fierce edge. The interviewer backed away a bit.
"No offense was meant, sir. Though that was a BMX stunt, would you ever consider trying it with a snowboard?" Psymon glared at the young man.
"If I do will you leave me the hell alone?" The interview team both nodded with fright. "Fine." Psymon said calmly, sounding sinister. He looked into the camera. "I will attempt to jump the peak 2 powerlines with a snowboard, a stunt no one has had the balls to try." The voice of the interviewer squeaked from off camera.
"When will you try it? Next week? The week after?" Psymon glared off camera, his eye twitched faster now.
"Tonight, I'll get it over with. Tonight at 8 o'clock at the peak 2 bottom lodge." Moby clicked his remote control, turning off the television. He looked at Zoe who sat next to him on the couch, then they both looked at Psymon who sat alone in a lounge chair, his elbows on his knees and his face buried in his hands.
"The 'ell is wrong with you, mate?" Moby said with his standard critical tone. "You know what 'appened last time you tried that, and that was on a bike man. If you couldn't get enough speed then, how could you do it on a board?" Zoe said nothing, she just sat up straighter to look at Psymon, genuine concern was on her face.
"I know." Psymon snarled from his hands. He brought them up to his scalp and clawed them into his thick spiked hair.
"Psymon just back out." Zoe finally spoke up. "So what if your popularity will go down a bit, we're the misfits, we're not supposed to be liked, remember?" Psymon sighed and shook his head, still clutching his scalp. Mody chuckled to himself.
"Well I'll be. Looks like the 'ead badass 'as gone soft for 'is fans." His words were sharp and insulting. Psymon sighed again.
"Go to hell Moby." Mody chuckled to himself and walked out of the room.
"It's nearly 7, you better get ready to meet your fans, superstar." Mody laughed to himself as he exited the threshold of the door. Zoe got up and crouched next to Psymon.
"Psymon you know what happened last time, I can tell you don't want to do this." Zoe was right, the thought of any stunt, regardless of how stupid it was, never phased the man that had been dubbed the lunatic of SSX. Zoe put her hands on his forearm, she didn't know how to act, she had never seen Psymon like this.
"Just leave me alone." he hissed. She backed away quickly, though she detected more of a tone of fear than anger in his voice.
"Psymon..."
"Get lost!" he barked, finally looking up. His eye twitched quickly and his entire body shook. Zoe nodded and walked away, looking over her shoulder at him as she left. He put his face back into his hands and felt himself shake.
"Just relax Stark." he told himself. "You've done wilder stunts than this, this will be no problem. You know what you did wrong last time, that won't happen this time." He sat in silence for several minutes, his only company was the roaring fire in the fireplace. He sighed out loudly and stood, it was time to face the music.
Chapter 1: Bored or afraid?
Psymon sat back in his laz-e boy recliner, looking up at the clouds. He heard a light whirring of a cherry picker's motor next to the chalet. He opened his eyes to see his approaching company. A young man with a microphone was followed by another young man with a video camera. Psymon closed his eyes again and relaxed. He was hesitant to do this interview, but the SSX chair committee demanded him to do it, as the fans had begun to grow fascinated by this enigmatic man. He heard the pair trudge through the knee deep snow and stop next to him.
"Psymon Stark." the one with the microphone said. Psymon didn't open his eyes.
"Shall we get this over with?" he said calmly, but his voice held a violent edge to it. The cameraman positioned himself to capture both Psymon and his interviewer in the shot. Psymon finally sat up and leaned forward, facing the analyst.
"Well, Mr. Stark, first question. How in the hell did you get a recliner on the roof of the chalet?" Psymon looked to his left and right, then shrugged. "Okay then, why do you come up here?" Psymon's left eye twitched rather violently as always.
"I guess I just like to get away now and then." The first man pushed the microphone further into Psymon's face.
"Is that why you go out on the peaks by yourself so often, and at times when you and your colleagues are warned against it, due to avalanches?" Psymon smirked slightly.
"Heh, yeah that's good fun." The interviewer was getting irritated that Psymon wasn't answering the questions properly.
"But why, Psymon?" Psymon paused and looked deep in thought. He shrugged again.
"I dunno, I guess I just get bored., ya know?" He leaned back in his recliner and put his hands behind his head.
"Bored?" the interviewer repeated. Psymon nodded.
"Yeah, I dunno, there's nothing new to do anymore, everything's been done." The interviewer nodded.
"But you have done several stunts that have dazzled audiences time and time again. Psymon in the last season your stunts have changed you from a hated competitor to a fan favorite, your fan-base has more than quadrupled in the last seven months alone. How can you say there's nothing to do when you continue to come up with these insane stunts?" Psymon sighed.
"Like I said, all I can do, I have done. Yeah the extra popularity has sold some extra shirts and DVDs, but if that's all that can keep me noticed, then in one year from now you'll be interviewing someone else."
"Is that a statement that you are considering retirement, or that you will have done it all by then?"
"It's a statement that the fans will be bored of me by then. I love to push the envelope, but honestly, what else is there for me to do?" Psymon re-opened his eyes and faced the interviewer. The man with the mic pulled out a folded piece of paper.
"Well, if you do not mind me bringing this up, I would like to read a recent M-comm message you received regarding a stunt." Psymon went slightly pale, not looking quite so confident as he had moments earlier. "It reads, 'Dear Psymon. I'm a huge fan and always try to be at your stunts, or at least catch them on television. I was wondering if you will ever try to attempt the powerline jump that you failed to complete several years ago?' What did you reply to that fan, Psymon?" Psymon's eye twitched heavily with anxiety.
"I didn't reply to that fan, actually." His voice was shaky. The interviewer looked carefully at Psymon.
"Mr. Stark, are you implying you're afraid to attempt this stunt again? I thought you were fearless." Psymon shuddered for a moment, possibly from nerves, or possibly from the fact that he was sitting in snow wearing only jeans and a black tanktop.
"I'm not afraid of anything." He sounded angry, his voice held it's normal fierce edge. The interviewer backed away a bit.
"No offense was meant, sir. Though that was a BMX stunt, would you ever consider trying it with a snowboard?" Psymon glared at the young man.
"If I do will you leave me the hell alone?" The interview team both nodded with fright. "Fine." Psymon said calmly, sounding sinister. He looked into the camera. "I will attempt to jump the peak 2 powerlines with a snowboard, a stunt no one has had the balls to try." The voice of the interviewer squeaked from off camera.
"When will you try it? Next week? The week after?" Psymon glared off camera, his eye twitched faster now.
"Tonight, I'll get it over with. Tonight at 8 o'clock at the peak 2 bottom lodge." Moby clicked his remote control, turning off the television. He looked at Zoe who sat next to him on the couch, then they both looked at Psymon who sat alone in a lounge chair, his elbows on his knees and his face buried in his hands.
"The 'ell is wrong with you, mate?" Moby said with his standard critical tone. "You know what 'appened last time you tried that, and that was on a bike man. If you couldn't get enough speed then, how could you do it on a board?" Zoe said nothing, she just sat up straighter to look at Psymon, genuine concern was on her face.
"I know." Psymon snarled from his hands. He brought them up to his scalp and clawed them into his thick spiked hair.
"Psymon just back out." Zoe finally spoke up. "So what if your popularity will go down a bit, we're the misfits, we're not supposed to be liked, remember?" Psymon sighed and shook his head, still clutching his scalp. Mody chuckled to himself.
"Well I'll be. Looks like the 'ead badass 'as gone soft for 'is fans." His words were sharp and insulting. Psymon sighed again.
"Go to hell Moby." Mody chuckled to himself and walked out of the room.
"It's nearly 7, you better get ready to meet your fans, superstar." Mody laughed to himself as he exited the threshold of the door. Zoe got up and crouched next to Psymon.
"Psymon you know what happened last time, I can tell you don't want to do this." Zoe was right, the thought of any stunt, regardless of how stupid it was, never phased the man that had been dubbed the lunatic of SSX. Zoe put her hands on his forearm, she didn't know how to act, she had never seen Psymon like this.
"Just leave me alone." he hissed. She backed away quickly, though she detected more of a tone of fear than anger in his voice.
"Psymon..."
"Get lost!" he barked, finally looking up. His eye twitched quickly and his entire body shook. Zoe nodded and walked away, looking over her shoulder at him as she left. He put his face back into his hands and felt himself shake.
"Just relax Stark." he told himself. "You've done wilder stunts than this, this will be no problem. You know what you did wrong last time, that won't happen this time." He sat in silence for several minutes, his only company was the roaring fire in the fireplace. He sighed out loudly and stood, it was time to face the music.