The Origin Story of Plethora the Perilous, Part I of II

[Plethora the Perilous]

The screen does its traditional flash from darkness to a moment of static to a field where a picnic basket and blanket sit. Far in the distance a drum can be heard, beating, slowly, deeply - almost a heart beat. We get flashes of scenes from Bifford’s 2022 return to OCW as Plethora, him entering the pyramid, him defeating Outcast to become Champion. “You were great,” the voice of Buffy said somewhere, sounding almost cosmic. We then see Kenny’s arrest for Bifford’s crimes, Kenny’s Aunt Bella confessing to murdering her husband, Aunt Bella murdering Martin Ka’Berryon, the NYT reporter Javier Carlisle investigating Bifford, being paid off, and then turning on Bifford and going to the United Nations where he was murdered by Boris the Cannibal. We see Bifford on the island after he lost the OCW Championship, we see him finding Smith and taking him away, then the islanders beginning to worship Buffy the Vampire Slayer. We see them erect the statue in her honor. We see the Plethora robe go up in flames and hear her voice once again, “you could have been great again. But then this.. You’re going to be good? Not on my watch.”



The scene of the picnic goes up in flames and we see Kenny alone in his jail cell.



THE PRISON, COLUMBUS OHIO, NOVEMBER 18 2022



Kenny is seated on the floor next to his bed, furiously writing onto the toilet paper where he is recording a timeline of Bifford’s life. He hears footsteps coming down the hall and panics, thinking it must be a guard. He hides the toilet paper and crawls into bed, but the guard stops in front of the bars of his cell.



Larry: Hey there Kenny.. how’s the trial going?



Kenny: I don’t want to talk about it..



Larry: You don’t like hearing witnesses talk about you handling the corpses?



Kenny: Leave me alone.



Larry: You’re going to prison for a long time, Kenny.. you gonna be in jail until you’re old.. you and your boss.


Kenny looks at the ceiling with a concerned expression as the scene fades to darkness.



THE MIDWEST, 1989



We see flashbacks to young Theodore Bryan Benson (the future The Big Bifford) being bullied, the bullies being the first ones to call him Big Biff. We then see Buffy being summoned by young Bifford at a ouija board, and then Buffy whispering into the 12 year old’s ear to tell him to kill the bullies. A newspaper with the headline “Two Local Teenagers’ Murders Still Unsolved.” We see a local area newscast from 1989, complete with dated clothing.



Newscaster: Two 16 year old children were found in the woods by Alumni Creek on Tuesday. Both children were gruesomely stabbed dozens of times each. Their bodies were hidden under a large pile of leaves, but were located by a jogger and her dog early Tuesday. Let’s hear from the police..



The scene changes to a police officer at an old looking podium.



Officer: We have no suspects or motive yet, but will continue to search for clues. I give you my word, these murders will not go unsolved.



The scene fades to darkness.



COLUMBUS OHIO, NOVEMBER 18 2022



Bifford is walking down a historic looking street in the German Village portion of Columbus, Ohio. He steps over a few missing bricks in the beautiful historic brick road. He looks over at the camera.



Bifford: it’s freezing.. but I keep walking.. thinking..



He makes a turn and keeps walking. His face is not serene or calm. He feels the weight of the world on his shoulders. This obviously deals with the blackmail from last week.



Bifford: Do I pay them? Do I kill them? Do I let them implicate me and go to jail? I’m not a killer anymore.. if I pay them then they win..



Bifford turns another corner and finds the house that was rented for his team by Martin Ka’Berryon way back before Truth and Consequences. He hesitates for a moment, “going home is never a good idea in promotional material..” he mutters under his breath. However, he continues and walks up to the front door and opens it to find his world in utter chaos. Aunt Bella is duct taped to a chair and screaming about wanting to murder Earl. Just behind her stand the ghosts of Martin Ka’Berryon and Martin Ka’Berryon’s father, who seem to be enjoying watching the drama. Earl the Popcorn Salesman is being chased around the room by Cornelius Cook, the expensive lawyer Bifford hired for Kenny’s trial. Earl has stolen Cornelius’s glasses. Aunt Bella looks at Bifford and screams, “LET ME MURDER HIM!” Bifford looks at the chaos in utter non-belief and closes the door, not entering the home. He couldn’t handle that.



Bifford: Gotta clear my mind.., gotta stay out of crazy land..



Bifford turned and stepped down off the porch and found himself face to face with Buffy the Vampire Slayer.



Buffy: I heard there was trouble at the statue dedication..



Bifford: I don’t want to talk about it.



Buffy: You can’t do this on your own Bifford.. you can’t do this and still be good and stay safe and free. You'll go to jail. 


Bifford: I can find another way..



Buffy: You kill them. That’s the only way. You were great. You can be great again.


Bifford: I don’t need your advice..



Buffy: You need my everything.



Bifford: I’ve been doing just fine.. I stopped killing and I’ve pinned Steve Black, some other guy, and Nickleback..



Buffy: Bob Grenier..


Bifford: Who the fuck is Bob Grenier?



Buffy: You pinned him..



Bifford looks at her with some confusion, like he’s not sure if she’s right or not.



Buffy: I’ve still been with you, Bifford.. but I can’t be much longer if you continue this goody-two-shoes bullshit.. You’re a killer. You’re my killer. Stop this. The Rumble needs to be your priority, you can’t be stressed out about the stupid idiots and their blackmail.. Just kill them. You'll be great again! You know you can’t win the Rumble in the Bronx without me.


Bifford: Yes I can..



Buffy: I’m not even sure you can beat Nickleman without me. Maybe we will have to find out on Monday.. I was what got you through all of these matches, Bifford.. you won the title and relegitimized it because of my help. We are a team. Or we were..



Bifford walks past her and her eyes glow with flames of anger. She walks up and enters the house as Bifford walks down the short driveway back onto the brick street.



Bifford: Nickleman.. last week went exactly according to plan. I hit you with the piledriver and pinned you. You were Biff Ended. This week will be much of the same. I will pin you over and over and over again until you are like Duce Jones. You brought a lot of fight, but you’re not at my level. I kicked out of your best. The depth of my performance in that ring is unlike any other right now, Nickleback.



Pulling out a cigarette, Bifford sets it between his lips and lights it. He unabashedly smokes on television.



Bifford: Nickleman, you have a big match coming up at the Rumble in the Bronx.. you should have taken the smart path and not agreed to fight me again. What momentum do you have to win the Paradigm title if two weeks before the big match were both spent looking at the lights on top of the arena and hearing one, two, three.? You’re going down and I’m going to pin you again and then Sahara will pin you. Sahara, you’re welcome for the assist. Nickleman, be prepared to become a hardcore joke. You’re no savage, despite holding the belt with that name, Nickleman.. I’m savage and it will be savage when I pin you over and over again.. like Mario. Like Duce. Like Alice Knight...  you did this to yourself, bro. Get ready to be Biff Ended. 

Smirking at the camera as though his world wasn’t in chaos, Bifford smoked and walked as the scene faded to darkness.



In the darkness we hear the words of Buffy the Vampire Slayer: “The girl, Kate. She has to die.” It echos over and over in the darkness.



THE MIDWEST, 1994



The scene illuminates in the field from the beginning of this episode. The picnic basket is there on the blanket, but it isn’t alone. The dead body of young teenage Theodore Bryan Benson’s girlfriend lay there, having been strangled by Bifford a few minutes earlier while she read to him. The book is laying next to her dead body. Young Theodore walks back over to the blanket from off camera and begins trying to wrap the girl’s body in the blanket. He cries and sobs as he wraps her up. The words of Buffy echo again: “the girl, Kate. She has to die.”



The scene fades out and we find ourselves in a 1994 Midwest newsroom, seemingly the same one from earlier but a bit updated. The newscaster is a woman who looks at the camera with a grave look.



Newscaster: Disturbing new details in the murder of Kate Winslow, the 16 year old girl found earlier this week. Police say she was strangled and then her body dragged and left on railroad tracks. Thankfully, the body was found before a train came along. Let’s listen in from the police update earlier.



The same police officer, 5 years older, but looking a lot older than that, is at a nicer podium than earlier in the episode. His voice sounds tense as he speaks.



Officer: We have no leads yet in this matter, but our thoughts go out to the community. These murders, especially the number of unsolved ones we have, weigh heavily on me. I will not rest until we find Ms. Winslow’s killer.



TEAM BIFFORD HOUSE, NOVEMBER 19, 2022



Earl the Popcorn Salesman walked out of his bedroom, looking like he was well rested. He stretched and walked down the stairs and looked around.



Earl: Aunt Bella..? Buffy..? Bifford..? Where is everyone?



Earl looked around and realized he was alone. He saw Bifford’s briefcase sitting on the dining room table and opened it. Inside were a number of Post-It notes. One reads: “For third match with Nickleman: parody of Backstreets Back Alright with Nickleman Sucks, Amirite?” Another reads: “Maybe BEST OF 9 match idea we pitched for Crash Rodriguez could be used for Nickelback.” Earl sighed and closed the briefcase.



THE ISLAND, NOVEMBER 19, 2022



The islanders have lit a giant fire in front of the giant statue of Buffy the Vampire Slayer that we were shown them building last week. The islanders seem to have multiplied from last week - there are well over a hundred of them now. The huge group of islanders part in the center, creating an aisle through the sea of humans. Buffy the Vampire Slayer walks through the aisle, smiling and stopping to touch some of the islanders on the shoulders, congratulating them on what they’ve done. Buffy is not alone though. Walking behind her are Aunt Bella, who might actually be actress Margo Martindale, and Martha Stewart, Bifford’s exwife. The three women walk to the front of the crowd where the fire and the statue is. Buffy seems to produce a scythe out of nowhere and she raises it in the air.



Buffy: We must.. PREPARE FOR WAR.



The islanders cheer and the sound of the drum, beating rhythmically, echoing the beginning of this episode, is heard. Some of the islanders drop and begin bowing toward Buffy, Bella, and Martha. The three women seem pretty happy as the scene fades to darkness.



THE MIDWEST, 1994



Young Theodore Bryan Benson arrives home late after disposing of Kate's corpse. The house, a nice upper class home, was silent and dark. He walked up the steps and entered and saw a candle flickering in another room. Locking the door behind him, he walked into the room with the candle and saw Buffy the Vampire Slayer sitting there at a dining room table.



Theodore: I..



Buffy: I know. You did good.



Theodore: I hate this..



Buffy: You. Did. Good.



Theodore: I did evil..



Buffy: There’s a present for you at the top of the stairs.. you won’t understand it yet.. but one day you’ll need it. One day it’ll call to you and save you when you need it.



Standing from her chair, Buffy made a movement with her hand and the candle went out and she was gone. Young Theodore was alone in the dark. He walked to the bottom of the stairs and looked up. A light was on down the hall upstairs, but the stairs were mostly dark. He walked up them slowly and the drum beat from the beginning and middle of this episode began to be heard again. A low drum in the distance as Bifford reached the top of the stairs.

He walked to the closet door that was at the top of the stairwell and held the handle for a moment, unsure if he wanted to open it or not.



But he did.



And the 16 year old who would one day become The Big Bifford saw the Plethora robe hanging there. Waiting. Waiting for some day.