Post by bigfan on Apr 3, 2018 18:41:18 GMT
The legions on this March to War raised their volume a few notches as the arena lights dimmed, signaling the next match. In fact they faded to an almost twilight, only a few pinpricks of light around the auditorium. To the educated crowd this could mean only one thing: that the spring weather was about to experience an arctic chill. As if to confirm this a sudden, roaring, deep bass heartbeat pounded out of the speakers. Followed by another. And another. And another.
BRENNISTEINN
www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oc6zXSdYXm8
Now the roar was continuous, deep and guttural like some ancient ice dragon brought back to life. After a few moments it was joined by surprisingly high and delicate vocals, singing in a language which none in the arena and few on the continent spoke. But by this point all eyes had turned to the top of the stage to see the woman this anthem heralded.
Sure enough there was a figure, looking impossibly tall and slender in the low light. Her face was shaded with a hooded jacket, covering most of her torso but left open to the waist to reveal a modest swell of chest encased in sheer white meshing. The top was cut to expose most of her stomach, then some midnight blue briefs. And then those legs, the longest in FAWN, alabaster skinned and flawlessly toned.
ASTRID WHITE:
The announcer’s voice was just audible over the bassy din. “Ladies and gentlemen, the following contest is scheduled for one fall with a twenty minute time limit. Introducing first, standing at six feet and two inches and weighing in tonight at one hundred and thirty eight pounds…she hails from Reykjavik, Iceland…please welcome the Stranger…ASTRID WHITE!”
White’s progress to the ring was steady enough to be almost glacial, an appropriate metaphor for someone born inside the Arctic circle. She extended her walk even more by turning left when she reached ringside and looping around to the back of the ring and lifting one leg to take a single rope-assisted stride up to the apron. A slow dip was enough to get her though the ropes and over to one corner, ascending the second buckle and standing stock still as her music’s crescendo faded to…
THUMPthump
THUMPthump
THUMPthump
THUMPthump
In perfect synchronicity, the music and lights both roared back at the exact instant the Stranger’s head rocked back to drop the hood of her jacket. This finally revealed her face, framed artfully with a blonde bob and with those grey-green eyes staring balefully into the crowd. White lifted one hand, fingers splayed around her right pupil, then leaned her head to form a sort of tilted ‘A’ sigil. Then she dropped lightly down to the canvas, turning to stand erect in the corner as the referee came over to begin his checks.
With the imposing tones of White’s anthem faded into the background, silence reigned for a several seconds before ‘HEROES’ hit the speakers and the capacity crowd let loose with a bunker-busting round of vocal ordinance.
HEROES:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=i1y5nqWSrZE
The ever mindful Announcer waited for the first round to fade the tiniest bit, then resumed his duties. “And introducing her opponent! Representing the Black Court, she hails from Denver, Colorado and stands at five feet eight inches tall and weighs in tonight at one hundred and thirty-five pounds. They call her the Peacekeeper, she is BECKY CLAYTON!
BECKY CLAYTON:
Bex stomped through the curtains and set up shop center stage to offer the FAWNatics a grin and a jaunty double bicep flex. For this early spring encounter with a most chilling challenger, the latest recruit to Emily West’s ranks sported a black & green camouflage two-piece with tie-sided bottoms and an impossible to ignore ladder / double helix of lycra that ran from the top of her waistband all the way to the southern border of her low-cut sports bra. The gear was completed with flat black pads and boots and few wraps of dark green wrist-tape.
Grin disappearing as she turned her attention to the six-footer already in the ring, Clayton thought back to the text she’d received from Emily in regards to Astrid White:
Reconnaissance to this point is inconclusive. A firsthand account of how the Stranger moves around our board would be most appreciated.
More than happy to play War Games with the Arctic Assassin, Clayton broke her reverie and headed down the aisle at a brisk pace. Fans on either side still extended their hands despite Becky’s Black Court affiliation and unlike the Ace or the Raven, the Peacekeeper answered in kind, though the careful observer noted she never let her eyes leave the woman waiting on her in the squared circle.
Breaking into a run at the bottom of the ramp, Clayton bounded up the steel steps and leapt over the top rope in one effortless burst of kinetic energy. Coming to a stop in the center of the ring, Becky spun toward the hard camera and snapped off a crisp salute. Bolstered by a final wave of applause, the Camouflage Crusher tipped a much more relaxed salute to her adversary en route to the corner where Craig made his final inspection.
The crowd offered up a final anticipatory roar when the bell sounded and the pair of differing destroyers were free to do their worst. Quick out of the corner as was her custom, Clayton went straight for the Stranger and would’ve engaged her flush against the opposite buckles if Astrid hadn’t drifted out along the ropes like an Arctic breeze. Becky adjusted her speed to close distance but White did the same, subtly changing her pace to keep the powerhouse blonde juuuust out of--
Astrid lashed out with a quick kick aimed at Clayton’s left thigh and seemed mildly intrigued when her opponent raised her leg to block it with her shin.
Becky smirked, beckoned the taller woman forward with one finger but White was already on the move, forcing her opponent to give chase.
The second kick came from the other side and Clayton deflected it with her shin, as she had the first. The third came from the same side but was directed at Becky’s ribs, just below the point of her right hip. Becky made no attempt to block, rather she took the blow flush and immediately cinched her right arm around the other blonde’s lower leg. White seemed nonplussed, at least until the Camouflage Crusher crooked her free arm into a ‘V’ and jabbed the point of her elbow into exposed Icelandic thigh.
Astrid remained as stoic as ever, but a flash in those gray green eyes told Becky she’d made an impression. Her thoughts on the subject were confirmed when White hooked a hand around the back of the American’s head and drew her close enough to deliver three crisp Forearm Smashes straight to Clayton’s mouth. Becky snarled and pulled Astrid’s captured leg a little closer which allowed her to well and truly clout her adversary’s modest rack with a Forearm Smash of her own. White shuddered from the impact, though the Courtier’s hold on her leg actually helped her keep her balance. As thanks, she cupped Becky’s head in her hands and drilled her with a quick Headbutt between the eyes! She’d expected it to end their stalemate, so imagine Astrid’s surprise when Clayton shook it off with a short, sharp punch to the taller woman’s jaw! White’s head snapped to the side but found its way back immediately thereafter because the Army of One Hot Chick wrapped a hand around her throat and started to squeeze. Astrid went back to the Neck Clasp at once, not that it did her much good when Clayton bent her knees and muscled her skyward for a very early Choke Sla-NO! Halving her control on the other blonde’s head, White pounded away at Becky’s pate until her attacker lost her footing and went stumbling sideways into the ropes.
Interested to see how her quarry would respond to such developments, Astrid stopped throwing hands so she could wrap one around the top rope. “Break your grip, Ms. Clayton.” she said with all the nonchalance of someone requesting paper instead of plastic.
Becky offered White a smile that didn’t quite reach her eyes. “Get your hand out of my hair and I will.”
Astrid actually pulled a little harder, so Clayton bore down on the Goozle and thus their negotiations fell apart amid tense silence.
Sensing the escalating tension between his charges, Craig Long stepped in and tapped each blonde on the wrist. “All right ladies, you’re both in the ropes, so let’s untangle and have a clean break, shall we?”
Their chilly non-response suggested neither blonde was much interested in civilities, but they eventually did as asked and backed away with both hands raised.
“The first time I fought one of your number,” White observed after she’d checked on the ache in her thigh and throat, “I exposed her as ordinary woman engaged in some long running Olympian delusion. I wonder what our battle will reveal about you, Rebecca Clayton.”
Becky had no great love for Adrianna Papadopoulos despite their Black Court affiliation, yet revisionist history always rubbed her wrong and she found herself speaking on behalf of the Goddess Made Flesh. “Exposed? That’s a rather strong word, wouldn’t you say, Ms. White? As I recall Addy took you to the limit for more than twenty minutes. In fact, you could barely stand when the match was over. If anything SHE proved YOU aren’t nearly so unflappable as--”
Astrid unleashed a Roundhouse that could’ve dented Clayton’s skull if she hadn’t dipped beneath it at the last second. Swinging around to take the Icelander’s back, Becky palmed White’s hips in both hands and dropped to one knee for a Headbutt that THWHUMPED against the small of her back. The Stranger grunted, stumbled, found herself straightened all the way up when Becky pinioned her arms overhead with a simple Full Nelson. Hands laced over the nape of White’s neck, Clayton pushed Astrid’s chin against her chest and jostled the hold from side to side.
“Tell me, Astrid.” Becky pumped a few quick Kneelifts into the other blonde’s taut backside in the hopes of weakening those deadly kicks later in the contest. “What have you learned so far?”
White waggled a finger at the referee to answer his question of submission before it ever left his lips. To Becky she said, “Preliminary findings show Rebecca Clayton to be quite strong both physically and mentally, presumably due to her earlier career in the military. She is still motivated by a strong sense of honor and duty, quite interesting considering she is, to state bluntly, a serial failure.”
Becky doubled down on the Nelson at the sound of the ‘F’ word. “What did you say, bytNNGGHH!”
Astrid stamped on her attacker’s toes once, twice, then snapped her head back to take Clayton across the bridge of the nose when the Nelson loosened. Twisting free of the Courtier’s grip when she felt those strong fingers part, Astrid whirled around and hammered Becky’s cheek with two more Forearm Smashes and finished with a Push Kick that struck Clayton’s tummy with the sound of a someone beating a rug. Becky staggered backward and Astrid followed, the Destroyer sized Bendyback catching the American in another Neck Clasp for what would surely “NNNNNNGGGHHHH!”
Becky caught her around the waist coming in and muscled the Stranger into the sky like she was nothing more than a bag of leaves. White had a split-second to raise a counter-elbow, but then Clayton dropped forward and down to THWHUMP her opponent to the mat with an emphatic Spinebuster. The Camouflage Crusher wasn’t much one for flash pins, yet she didn’t waste opportunities either, so she floated over into a Lateral Press and hooked the far leg for…
SPINEBUSTER:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=e4AFiIe_v9o
ONE…
TWO…
White kicked out just after ‘TWO’ with the sort of strength Becky understood would need to be worn down over time. Happy to do just that, she moved in behind Astrid and cinched her left arm around the other blonde’s throat. Locking her hands in a snug S-grip, Bex leaned forward on the hold for a second or two, then twisted to one side and stretched out on her back. With the back of White’s noggin resting comfortably against the swell of her left breast, Clayton planted her feet and arched her back to put a great deal of pressure on her opponent’s neck.
INVERTED BULLY CHOKE:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=BF2tQ2a0A-o
“Sounds like you’re a fast learner, sweetheart.” she muttered in the midst of grinding Astrid’s chin in the crook of her elbow. “Any other insights you’d like to share with the class? Maybe something about that ugly red flush creeping into your face?”
Nobody could claim that the Stranger was much of a talker, but even if she had wanted to respond any words were choked off the powerful vice of Clayton’s bicep. White reached up quickly to tug at that invasive arm and realized just as rapidly that she had neither the strength nor leverage necessary to dislodge her fellow blonde.
What she did possess however was the longest pair of legs in the company. And these were quickly brought to bear on the matt, Astrid pressing herself upwards and sideways to angle her tormentor’s shoulders over gently to the canvas. She was still stuck with a compressed windpipe, but Craig Long was quick to recognize the shift and went to one knee to count…
ONE…
TWO…
At the last instant Clayton released her choke and rolled a shoulder up to stop the count. She was careful though to give one last stiff jostle before doing so, and to scrape her forearm up over the Icelander’s face so that those statuesque features were given a thorough scrubbing. The only response from Astrid was a growl of annoyance as she reached up to check her nose, earning a snicker from the American.
“Word to the not-so-wise, princess,” she snarked at the grounded Stranger. “If you’re gonna try to rile the big girls you’re going to get a whole lot worse than a bent nose. I thought that trip under Pappy’s ass would have taught you thWHOAH!”
Turtling around on her back until her legs were facing Becky, White flicked one foot out and jammed it hard into a spot just underneath the Courtier’s kneecap. The exceptional leg strength of Clayton was enough to keep her on her feet but she let out an involuntary yelp as her knee was jammed the wrong way and staggered backwards, Astrid using that space to scramble up and storm after her.
Despite having been taken by surprise Rebecca had done her homework on the awkward Icelander and had her shin up again to defend when White flicked out yet another low kick. This time though the Stranger was a step ahead, switching targets at the last moment so that her boot toe SMECKed into taut stomach instead of shin. Bex absorbed the blow like a champ but now Astrid was onto her, trying for a third time to snatch that Muay Thai neck clinch.
This time the Army of One Hot Chick was just a little too discombobulated to prevent the taller woman from hooking on. She quickly realized her mistake when one Scandinavian knee pistoled up sideways and buried into her lowest rib. Clayton dropped her hands to defend and ate a second knee, this one looping around the opposite side of her guard and causing an audible ‘ooof’ to escape the American’s lips.
Sensing the danger of staying in this position for long, Clayton ducked her head down to create some room and then exploded herself upwards. There was no way the Stranger could contain all that power, but she instead demonstrated her preternatural sense of timing, abandoning her Necklock and hopping off one foot to jam a big Jumping Knee into the sternum of the newly upright Camouflage Crusher! Becky reeled back from the impact, giving White time to slip around to her six, hook a quick Waistlock, and bend that willowy body into a beautiful backwards bridge.
BRIDGING GERMAN SUPLEX
www.youtube.com/watch?v=lTfT9sd1jrE
Up on her toes to hold that bridge in place, the Stranger waited as Craig Long dropped to count
ONE…
TW…
Shaken as she might’ve been by the fluid sequence of strikes and Suplex, Becky Clayton was far too good to be taken down so early and proved it by tucking her legs over and continuing the roll, breaking herself free of the Arctic Assassin’s grip in the process. She rolled to her haunches at almost the same time as the other blonde, both rising to their feet warily with eyes locked on each other.
After a few minutes of frantic action the brief stillness allowed the audience to catch their collective breath, and they used those newly-filled lungs to roar even louder. It was momentarily impossible to hear anything but this racket, but after a few seconds of dying down Astrid’s clipped, quiet voice carried over the din.
“I described you as a failure, Ms Clayton. Perhaps the better word is ‘disappointment’. To see a wrestler of your reputed gifts achieve only a moment of championship glory and a career of near misses is certainly a shame. But now you choose to be a footsoldier in an army which has nothing left to fight.”
Becky’s brow furrowed a little. “Big talk from a woman who’s main claim to fame is taking a ride under Harley-Jo’s ass. I put her in her place back when she was in her prime, and I’ve put down plenty of snot nosed punks like you too. If you’re so ‘disappointed’, step up and let me change your mind.” She beckoned with one hand, the other cocking into a waiting fist.
The response from White was immediate, the Stranger once again making use of her reach advantage, this time with a spinning backfist. But Becky had spent enough time dancing at the edge of the Icelander’s striking range and spring into action, ducking and whirling beneath the attempted strike and hooking the outstretched arm to reel the taller woman in. White’s whiffed spin came to a juddering halt with the Army Brat hooking in a smooth Full Nelson and snugging in tight on her six.
Immediately the Icelanders arms flexed, trying to power her way out, but Clayton had her locked in tight and let her know with a quiet little tutting noise. “You’re disappointed in me girl? Well maybe I was hoping the ‘rookie of the year’ might be bringing more to the party than a few kicks and a loud mouth.”
With her upper body trapped, White shifted her attack down wards, flicking the heel of her boot into the Colorado girl’s shin and then dragging it down that sensitive bone. Becky let out a little hiss but only clamped down tighter on that debilitating Nelson.
“Going to have to do a lot better than that,” she growled. Astrid didn’t seem to be persuaded though, raising her other boot up to repeat the trick and then suddenly feeling herself lifted away entirely. Clayton gave a big heave to muscle the other blonde straight upwards into the air, shifting her grip at the apex of the lift and placing one strong hand on her chest to smash back down into the canvas-covered plywood!
FULL NELSON SLAM
www.youtube.com/watch?v=8i8w1lKYpTg
Smeared into the matt, White looked ripe for a pin attempt, but the BFG’s well-honed instincts told her that there was a better use of her time. Orbiting around to the Stranger’s splayed feet, Bex hooked them both up under her armpits, spun through 180 and sat back into a simple but perfectly applied Boston Crab.
Unable to bite down the yelp of pain and frustration caused by the hold, Astrid pressed both hands into the canvas and pushed, trying to lift her body to get some leverage. This task was made all the more difficult as the Camouflage Crusher shifted backwards slightly and leaned in, pouring all of her weight and pressure onto the small of the willowy Icelander’s back.
“I think you might have to get ready for a little more disappointment, girl” Clayton told the struggling Stranger. “Usually I’d go easy on a new girl who’s clearly out of her depth, but you had to run your mouth. So you’d better swallow down that disappointment and tap that matt, cos it’s the only way you’re getting out of here with your spine stil intAH CRAP!”
Already this bout had made it abundantly clear that Astrid couldn’t compete with her tormentor on the power front. But being a bendyback had it’s advantages, and the Stranger had long ago accepted that she had to sacrifice strength for flexibility. She demonstrated this by pressing up once more and then rapidly tucking her head and torso down into a sort of awkward forward roll. This in turn brought the leverage of those long legs into play, pushing a surprised Clayton backwards and toppling the older woman off her centre of gravity.
The Stranger popped free while the American was forced into a clumsy fall to her butt. This was swiftly the lest of her problems though, White wrapping those long stems around Bex’s sturdy leg and grabbing a tight hold of the foot. The Army brat barely had time to sit up and reach out before a wash of pain flooded up her calf.
ACHILLES LOCK
www.youtube.com/watch?v=afCV2YuGLKY
“Those are some rather desperate sounds you’re making, Ms. Clayton.” Astrid noted of Becky’s groaning and thrashing as she tried to alleviate the pressure of the limb-shredding hold. “You’re not going to cede the contest so quickly, are you? Of course, such a surrender wouldn’t be surprising given your history, but it would be disappointing nonethelessSNGH!”
Clayton planted her hands against the mat, raised her right leg as high as it would go and brought her heel down on White’s right bicep with a meaty thump. The Stranger grimaced, sent another pulse through the Scissors and wrenched back on her foe’s captured ankle. “I won’t hobble you.” Astrid spoke as if addressing a precocious child. “But I can and will ensure that you’ll be of even less use to Ms. West if you continue to NNNGGGHH!”
Becky slammed her heel into the blonde’s bicep again, then pumped that foot forward to scraaaaaaape it along Astrid’s cheek. “Cram it, freak show.” the Camouflage Crusher grunted as she began dragging their combined weight toward the strands. “You’re not the first head case to threaten AAAAAWWWWW FAAAAAAHHHHHK!” Clayton buried her hands in her hair and collapsed to her back as Astrid bore down on the Achilles Lock with a vengeance.
“I believe Ms. Clayton’s shoulders are down.” Astrid told Craig Long with all the urgency of someone commenting on the weather. “Would you please bring the lapse to her attention?” Long didn’t need a reminder, he’d already swooped into place to count…
ONE…
TWO…
Becky shot a hand up simultaneous with ‘TWO!’ After that she sat up and resumed the arduous trek toward sanctuary.
“Interesting.” White noted. “That amount of pressure is sufficient enough to force a submission from most opponents. Perhaps there’s more to your presence in the Black Court than mere char--”
Becky reached back and hooked an arm around the bottom. “Let go of my leg, girl.” she demanded without so much as a tremor in her voice. “Or you’re going to learn a lot more about me than you’d ever intended.”
Astrid flexed her legs ever so slightly. “You do realize I could break your leg, if I was of the mind, Ms. Clayton.”
“Then do it.” the American replied. “Put me on the shelf and see what happens when I--”
Astrid leaned forward and casually swiped a slap across Becky’s mouth. Then she relinquished the hold and slid away, leaving Clayton to regard her with wide, furious eyes. “Spare me your hyperbole and threats, Ms. Clayton.” the Stranger sniffed. “I have no interest in making an enemy of the Black Court, I’m simply curious about this apparent lapse in their standards. Now get up. I’m done coddling you.”
Becky’s eyes were black slots as she clambered back to boot leather. “Whenever you’re ready, bytOOOFFFFHHHHH!”
White breezed in showing Leg Kick only to go to one knee for a straight right hand that PWAAAAKED against her foe’s navel. The Army of One Hot Chick doubled over with the impact, leaving her defenseless against the Icelander’s Front Facelock. Astrid grabbed a handful of waistband, pulled her subject away from the strands, then whipped her around in a full circle, one strong enough to leave Becky bent over the middle rope, her feet balanced precariously on the apron. Satisfied with these adjustments, White pumped a few Kneelifts into the other blonde’s belly to ensure Clayton was too disoriented to simply step over the ropes when Astrid backed up.
The tactic proved successful, as Becky ended up suspended from the Facelock at one end and her ankles at the other. Holding Clayton’s head snug against her hip, Astrid murmured, “Disappointing.” right before she laid out on her back to THWHONK the crown of her prey’s skull into the mat with a Draping DDT. With Becky stretched out flat on her face, Astrid shot the Half Nelson, rolled her onto her back and slid into a snug Lateral Press good for the…
DRAPING DDT:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hb1H1ZZs4ho
ONE…
TWO…
THRNOOOO!
Clayton shot an arm straight up, ending the count with half a second to spare. “Even your defiance is predictable.” Astrid sighed. “Just enough to keep the crowd from leaving their seats, not nearly enough to inspire confidence in your chances.”
Shaken, but not about to take sass from a woman that spoke like a test case from Celia Blassenville’s logbook, Becky rolled to one knee and muttered, “Strong words from a chick who hasn’t got the job done yetNGH!”
White sprang up, dropped a quick elbow on the crown of the Courtier’s skull, then cupped both ears to haul Clayton to verticality. Becky’d barely set her feet when the Stranger lunged in to drive her right knee into the American blonde’s stomach. This was immediately followed by a snappy chest kick and even snappier Spinning Back Elbow, Astrid striking with her arm almost fully extended so the blow looked more like a Backfist. Clayton reeled on the spot, instinctively protected high and cried out in pain and anger when Astrid clipped the pit of her left knee with a Leg Kick that dropped Bex to an involuntary pen--THWHACK! Astrid backed up a half step, then lunged in and hopped off her left foot drive the point of her right knee into the side of her opponent’s skull.
STRANGE FLURRY:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=Px7wU_7uX-8
Becky collapsed to her back in a glassy-eyed sprawl, a position she might’ve enjoyed for quite a while if White hadn’t climbed aboard and stretched the former champ out flat with a domineering Double Leg Grapevine. Pinning Clayton’s wrists high above her head, Astrid stretched those captive legs a little wider and murmured, “Show me what Emily sees in you, soldier.” The answer came not from Becky, but Craig, who swooped in to count…
ONE…
TWO…
THRENOOOOOOOO!
Clayton drove a Headbutt into White’s encroaching chest, forcing her to break the cover at the last possible moment. Lips set in a pale, thin line as she shrugged the ache in her sternum, Astrid made a point to stuff one hand in Becky’s face when she got to her feet. The Camouflage Crusher joined her a moment later, Clayton peeled off the deck via a Wristlock that quickly gave way to an Irish Whip into the opposite corner. White hung back long enough to confirm the satisfying BWUUUNG of blonde against buckles, then she was off and running, the long limbed battler roaring in for a truly chilling Avalanche Spla-- Becky grabbed the top rope with her left hand, using it like an anchor as she hooked her right arm across Astrid’s chest. Kicking her right leg out straight, she pushed up on her plant foot and dropped to her knees THAWHAM White flat on her back with a ring-shivering STO!
CORNER STO:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=kHJJXcxpGnM
Bounced to her feet by the forceful counter, Clayton let loose a rallying cry thrown back a thousand-fold as she hauled White to her feet. Treating herself to the same Wristlock Astrid enjoyed so recently, Bex stepped back and dropped a hip, sending the Stranger on her way… or not. Still tethered by the Wristlock, Clayton dug in her heels and reeled White back the way she’d came. In the same breath she hooked her right arm under the other blonde’s left bicep and took her off her feet with what would’ve been a Hip Toss if Becky hadn’t hooked her left arm around the back of Astrid’s neck and then laid out flat, thus returning her rival to the canvas with a huge Neckbreaker!
HIP TOSS NECKBREAKER:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=utAzVBzZKwM
White sat up on impact, one hand to the small of her back, the other cradling the base of her “EEEERRRRRRGGGGGHH!” Clayton ‘smecked’ her hands down on either side of Astrid’s neck and squeezed until her knuckles showed white. Pushed up on tiptoe and leaning forward to put every bit of her weight behind the E-Tool, Becky taunted, “Starting to understand, Astrid? Or do I have to squeeze until your arms go numb?”
No verbal response from the Stranger, but her hands flew up to pry at the talons encroaching into her shoulders however all this elicited was a groan-inducing pulse of power in return from the Army Brat. “Not even close to good enough,” Bex advised happily, crunching down again and giving a satisfied nod as White swiftly abandoned her tactic. In fact it didn’t seem like the blonde was ready to give up her approach entirely, shifting her hands further up and digging her thumbnails in. The retaliatory squeeze on the E-Tool sent a horrible shudder of pain through her shoulders, but that was an acceptable price to pay because now she could shift her legs underneath and burst upwards.
Or at least that was the plan. Unfortunately for the Stranger, Becky Clayton had been applying the E-Tool for long enough to know all the counter moves her squirming victims could try. As soon as she felt Astrid’s weight shift up she poured her own weight forwards, the squirming Icelander unable to break away and simply ending up right back where she’d started except with her legs now pinned beneath her.
Until this point Craig Long had been quite discrete about checking on White; a double shoulder claw was an excruciating hold but it was rare for it to earn a submission in FAWN. But with the Stranger’s legs trapped he stepped up and asked “Tell me something Astrid, need me to stop this?”
White’s only response was a furious hiss and a waggling finger in his face, but Becky seemed delighted. “Are you sure babe?” she chortled, “all that struggling and you’re even more stuck than when you started. Might be time to admit you’re not as good as you thOWW BYTCH!”
Without the use of her legs and with her shoulders feeling disturbingly numb from those invading talons, White was willing to take pretty much any way out she could think of and that presented itself as Clayton leaned closer. She flashed one hand up into the brunette’s face, raking across both eyes and giving a gasp of relief when her dirty tactic managed to secure her release. “Stay off the eyes White, I won’t warn you again!” Long yelled, but the Stranger paid no attention, scrambling to her feet and trying to massage some feeling back into those brutalized neck muscles.
Unfortunately for her this left an extremely annoyed Army Brat unattended on her six. Knuckling to clear her eyes, Clayton saw the woman who’d scratched her and reacted on instinct, giving her a big shove between the shoulderblades and then sprinting off to the perpendicular ropes. Astrid stumbled forward into the strands herself and bounced back, unable to stop herself before the angry Courtier bounced delivered a Shoulderblock so brutal it nearly knocked the Icelander out of her togs.
RUNNING SHOULDERBLOCK @ 00:07
www.youtube.com/watch?v=WgaHWro0qGg&t=7s
She popped to her feet and let out a huge roar, echoed a millionfold by the FAWNatics after the show of brutal athleticism from their favourite. Astrid could do little more than cough and flop like a fish out of water on the matt, her breath and her senses damn near exploded by Clayton’s heavy ordinance. But Bex didn’t seem interested in letting her stay there, the Army of One Hot Chick now in full attack.
Bending down to grab a handful of damp blonde bob, Becky tugged upwards to pull the shellshocked Stranger back to unsteady feet. “All that talk about proving things and it turns out you’re pulling that cheap shyt just like anybody else? ‘Disappointed’ doesn’t even begin to cover it.” Astrid still looked a little too glazed to respond but it didn’t seem like Clayton was interested in an answer anyway. Instead she slammed a knee up into the Icelander’s pale breadbox and hooked her into the classic Pumphandle position before yanking upwards. White had a second to wriggle and squirm on that brawny shoulder before she was driven down again, her white-blonde crown clunking into the canvas-covered plywood.
PUMPHANDLE BOMB
www.youtube.com/watch?v=saupF9-3-xg
It was the work of a second for Clayton to scoot forwards and plant her derriere on White’s exploded chest, gathering up both legs as Long slid in to count
ONE
TWO
THNoooo
Crunching through her core, Astrid powered up and broke the cradle at the last possible instant to keep her night alive. She didn’t look that alive though, flopping to one side and breathing shallowly. Becky ran a hand through her hair, trying to bury the frustration before another inspiration hit her. It was the work of a second to clamber back to vertical and drag the Stranger with her, bending down and lifting the bedraggled blonde up.
“When I watched your match with Adrianna I saw the Fear thing you used to finish her. I thought a scholar like you should’ve known that move’s been in FAWN for a lot longer than you have. Clayton tugged the discombobulated woman into a Fireman’s Carry before continuing. “It’s called the Army of One. Let me show you.”
Reaching out to corral those long and oh-so-dangerous legs, the Army or One Hot Chick went up on her tiptoes in preparation for delivering a little justice for gimmick infringement. Or at least that was the plan up until one Icelandic knee slammed into her shoulder blade. Despite the poor angle for the strikes it was enough to shake Becky out of her signature move, and a few more solid hits allowed Astrid to wriggle down form her perch and land with a wet thump on the matt. Clayton turned with anger in her eyes and THWAMM!
ICEBREAKER @ 00:18
www.youtube.com/watch?v=oI51y6g1qd0&feature=youtu.be&t=18s
The Roundhouse Kick came from waaaay out of leftfield, the Stranger’s usual grace abandoning her as she flopped onto her back after the strike. It seemed that this technical lapse hadn’t made it any less effective though, her boot whirling into Bex’s unsuspecting cheek and dropping the powerhouse blonde on her ass next to the ropes. Most women would’ve been clean out after such a well-placed roundhouse but the Army Brat was not only awake but seemed to be slowly getting back to her feet.
Unfortunately that verticality only lasted a few moments, the Arctic Assassin storming over and stabbing out a short kick which stomped into Clayton’s unsteady legs. Bex went down in the ropes while White’s second wind kicked in, the lanky blonde charging off to the ropes and returning at full steam. Shouts of warning form the crowd told Becky she was in trouble but the fog in her head didn’t clear in time to avoid the THUMPING running knee form the Stranger.
RUNNING KNEE
www.youtube.com/watch?v=OyU8e6nA5jI
Two devastating headshots in less than a minute would be far too much for most of the roster to handle. Becky’s body looked like it was struggling too, folded up against the ropes, but somehow her eyes stayed open and one hand reached out to grab one strand and prevent herself from slumping to her back. The follow-through from the kneestrike had actually caused Astrid to stumble a few feet away, but now she staggered back in and grabbed hold of the Army Brat’s ruffled bottoms, dragging her upwards and spoke quietly into her ear.
“Your night is at an end, Ms Clayton. Please tell Emily West that I admire her intellect but her judgment in co-workers is poor.” White tugged one hand down between Bex’s jellied legs, reached around with the other hand and muscled her upwards. At the same time the Stranger bridged herself backwards, her back arching and then falling so that Becky was dropped onto the back of her head and neck by the beautifully effective Exploder Suplex.
FEAR OF HEIGHTS
www.youtube.com/watch?v=H-XEfDpeTY4
Clayton landed with an unpleasant THUD, those FAWNatics in the front row cringing with sympathetic anguish as the Camouflage Crusher bounced through the initial landing into a sloppy sort of penance with one hand and one knee braced against the thinly-sheathed plywood. Astrid’s end position was much the same, albeit far more controlled and sharp-eyed viewers noted the Artic Assassin started to move into place for a cover before she realized that Clayton wasn’t quite as horizontal as she wanted. Happy to correct this issue, Astrid got to her feet and raised her hands high overhead as she stalked forward and-- THWHACK!
BUZZSAW KICK:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=SbPdtfjI5sw
White’s leg didn’t actually make a buzzsaw whine as it split the air, yet the resounding impact of foot on temple was enough to make the crowd squirm in discomfort as Becky crumpled to the deck and…. rolled to one knee? Astrid halted her approach for the second time in less than a minute as the American stubbornly refused to keep her shoulders on the mat. Which was not to say that Clayton was anyone’s idea of safe, indeed Astrid was upon her at once, the willowy blonde Destroyer planting a foot on either side of her opponent’s hips so she could bend down to secure a tight Waistlock. The bridge that followed was administered in slow motion until Clayton crested the apex, then it was fast forward all the way to the mat, the back of Becky’s head and shoulders coming down with an ungodly THWHUMP. White kept the Waistlock cinched on tight and bridged up on her tiptoes, forcing the other woman to stay down for…
DEADLIFT GERMAN SUPLEX:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=agzNMHrmbgo
ONE…
TWO…
THRNOOOO!
Clayton twisted loose of Astrid’s grip, landed on her tummy and slowly started to rise. Behind her, White watched the former World Champion collect herself with an expression of puzzlement tinged with the tiniest bit of concern. “It appears you may be a bit more durable then existing data indicates.” Astrid told the struggling batter. “Nevertheless, this show of strength is, how would you say it? Ah yes, too little, too late.” Clayton couldn’t or wouldn’t respond, so the Stranger peeled her off the deck with a double handful of hair that she converted to a Wristlock the instant Long called her on the infraction. Driving a shoulder into Becky’s sternum to force her back a few steps, White sank deep and slung the woozy veteran into the ropes with an Irish Whip.
Muscle memory kept Clayton’s stride steady for the departure and the return trip, not that it did her a whole lot of good with Astrid waiting for her with bad intentions. Pivoting to one side as Bex closed in, White threaded her left arm under the brunette’s right armpit and muscled her off the canvas for a simple Hip Toss. Only instead of dumping her burden on the mat, Astrid twisted into Becky and brought her right knee up to THWHUNK the Courtier between the eyes! Clayton went down like a felled tree and White was right there to--NO!
REYKJAVIKTAMIZER:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=hRQQv0Xb24Y
The Army of One Hot Chick rolled to her stomach, pressed both hands to the deck and started to crawl toward the ropes! “You’ve picked a maddening time to display anything resembling intestinal fortitude, Ms. Clayton.” Astrid murmured to her opponent’s back. “Perhaps you’ve finally overcome your fear of rising to your full potential? Stand up and we’ll find out.”
Becky heard the Icelander only vaguely, as most of her attention was directed at the rubber-coated steel she’d conscripted to help her return to verticality. Directly on her six, Astrid waited until Clayton was *almost* before she surged in and laced both hands across her foe’s chin. Leaving her feet in the same breath, White stuffed her knees between Becky’s shoulders and pulled back to “UUUUUNNNNNGGGGHHHHH!” Clayton gripped the top rope with white-knuckled determination, the kind more than strong enough to break Astrid’s Chinlock and send her crashing to the deck all alone.
Jaw clenched tight in the wake of the desperation counter, Astrid somersaulted away from ropes to create some distance and thus rise in peace, so you can understand her surprise when she came to rest on all fours and was promptly clubbed across the shoulders! Helping herself to a sturdy double handful of White’s battle-damp hair, Becky Clayton wedged the other woman’s head between her thighs, then bent down and wrapped both arms around the lithesome waist. Seemingly unaware of the increased noise of the FAWNatics, the Camouflage Crusher bent her knees and spun Astrid onto her shoulders only to immediately drive her forward and down, the Snap Powerbomb just PLANTING the Stranger high and tight on the back of her head.
SNAP POWERBOMB:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=y0y17bssOcQ
Astrid landed in a Matchbook that would’ve made for a perfect pinning predicament if the Courtier was of the mind. Turned out she was not, indeed Clayton placed her hands against the back of White’s upturned haunches and gave her a shove that returned the stranger to much the same position she’d occupied before the Powerbomb. Bex only helped herself to a single handful of hair this time, which she used to reel the stunned blonde into a Front Facelock. From there she slung Astrid’s near arm across her shoulders and grabbed hold of the Icelander’s white waistband. Understanding that she in a rather dangerous position, Astrid balled her free hand into a fist and jabbed Clayton’s flank repeatedly, but she was still foggy from the Powerbomb and the blows didn’t have any of their usual sting. Elsewhere, Becky tightened her hooks, dipped her knees and hoisted the other Destroyer all the way to high noon whereupon she kicked both feet forward and laid out to THWONK Astrid down on the back of her head!
BRAINBUSTER:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=X6ys3SPWS5U
The Brainbuster sent a vile jolt through the whole of White’s lanky frame and she would’ve slopped onto one side if the Army Brat hadn’t kept hold of the Facelock and used it to bring both ladies back to their feet. Desperate for any escape hatch out of the American’s clutches, Astrid wrapped loose arms around Becky’s waist and gouged Kneelifts into her thighs. Clayton only shook her head and leveled a heavy overhand Forearm Smash against the Arctic Assassin’s shoulders. “Sorry Astrid.” she grunted. “That’s too little, too late.”
With that she released the Facelock, hauled White upright and leaned to one side to cinch both arms around opposing waist. Applause from those assembled as Becky used the Gutwrench to flip her rival upside down, followed by thunderous cheers when Clayton went up on tiptoe and snapped to her knees to SPIKE Astrid’s skull into the mat via a Tombstone Piledriver. Becky let loose and Astrid collapsed onto her back in a splayed starfish that had the fans screaming at Clayton to make the cover.
TOMBSTONE:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=xwPbRLW-q9I
But Becky did not. Instead she peeled Astrid off the deck, slipped an arm between her legs and ‘hupped’ her up onto the point of her right shoulder. “I’ll pass along your comments to Emily.” the Camouflage Crusher grunted once she’d grabbed White’s biceps and forced her arms out to her sides in a sort of forward facing Crucifix-lift. “But something tells me she won’t share your opinion.” With that she tossed White up, caught her in a Three Quarters Facelock and dropped to her tush to THAWHUNK Astrid’s jaw against her shoulder with sickening force! Blown off her feet by the power of Clayton’s devastating SNAFU, White landed on her back in a glassy eyed sprawl that offered no resistance when Becky grabbed her ankles and folded them up over her head. Dropping into a heavy seat on those upturned haunches, Becky leaned forward and planted both hands on the mat to make sure Astrid stayed down for the…
SNAFU:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=MT5w9gajHTA
ONE…
TWO…
THREE!
The bell sounded so Clayton raised her hands but didn’t relinquish the pin, choosing instead to offer the FAWN and Gladiatrix Photogs a brawny double bicep flex as the Announcer confirmed, “Ladies and gentlemen, your winner via pin-fall… BECKY CLAYTON!”
Bex nodded, got to her feet and offered Craig Long her hand, which he raised to a raucous reaction. As relieved as she was pleased to silence a doubter like the Arctic Assassin, Becky tromped to the nearest corner, mounted the second rope and offered the fans another view of the gun show. Clayton repeated this celebration at the next two corners and was on her way to the fourth when she was confronted by the ramshackle, yet annoyingly vertical form of Astrid White.
Slowing her roll several steps shy of the big blonde, Becky said, “Got anything to say now, honey? Maybe an apology?”
White snorted derisively, shook her head ‘no.’ “My analysis is still sound, Rebecca, although it will require an addendum following tonight’s encounter. While there is no doubt of your prowess in the ring, the facts show that you’re only at your best when the stakes are low and no one will really care whether you win or lose. But when the pressure is on and the lights are at their brightest? You crumble. Under the weight of your own expectations or perhaps your past failures, of that I am not yet certain. But I do know one thing. If you deign to meet me again, you will lose.” She held Becky’s gaze a moment longer, then turned to leave only to have the Army Brat spin her around with a with a rough grip on one shoulder.
“Sorry babe, I’m calling bullshyt.” Clayton said over the ‘ooooohhh’ of the crowd. “I’m sure the crap coming out of your mouth makes sense to you, but to me it sounds like the weak self-justification of a woman who bit off more than she could chew. The fact of the matter is EVERY match matters and I have no doubt that if you had managed to beat me you’d have wasted no time crowing about how I’d just proved your point.”
Becky was almost nose to nose with the Stranger and Astrid didn’t much care for it. “Step away, Rebecca. Unless you’re seeking a renewal of hostilities.”
The Courtier didn’t so much as twitch. “You lost. YOU step back.” White did not, so Bex added, “I beat you tonight, Astrid. I slogged my way through your best shots to hit you with a few of my own and when the time came for you to prove your resilience, what happened? Your shoulders stayed on the mat.”
“Application of simple leverage proves nothing, Rebecca.”
“Keep telling yourself, Astrid. Repeat it often enough and you might even believe it. Now get out of my ring. I’ve got a lap to finish.”
Astrid stepped back, not aside. “Strong words or not, you know I’m right, Rebecca. You haven’t won when it counts in a very long time.”
“Pointing your arrogant ass to the rafters felt like it meant a lot, Astrid.” Clayton said softly. “And if it didn’t, what does that make you?”
The Stranger offered no response, so Becky stepped around her and headed to the last corner to finish her salute to the crowd that’d helped her power past a very dangerous adversary.
BRENNISTEINN
www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oc6zXSdYXm8
Now the roar was continuous, deep and guttural like some ancient ice dragon brought back to life. After a few moments it was joined by surprisingly high and delicate vocals, singing in a language which none in the arena and few on the continent spoke. But by this point all eyes had turned to the top of the stage to see the woman this anthem heralded.
Sure enough there was a figure, looking impossibly tall and slender in the low light. Her face was shaded with a hooded jacket, covering most of her torso but left open to the waist to reveal a modest swell of chest encased in sheer white meshing. The top was cut to expose most of her stomach, then some midnight blue briefs. And then those legs, the longest in FAWN, alabaster skinned and flawlessly toned.
ASTRID WHITE:
The announcer’s voice was just audible over the bassy din. “Ladies and gentlemen, the following contest is scheduled for one fall with a twenty minute time limit. Introducing first, standing at six feet and two inches and weighing in tonight at one hundred and thirty eight pounds…she hails from Reykjavik, Iceland…please welcome the Stranger…ASTRID WHITE!”
White’s progress to the ring was steady enough to be almost glacial, an appropriate metaphor for someone born inside the Arctic circle. She extended her walk even more by turning left when she reached ringside and looping around to the back of the ring and lifting one leg to take a single rope-assisted stride up to the apron. A slow dip was enough to get her though the ropes and over to one corner, ascending the second buckle and standing stock still as her music’s crescendo faded to…
THUMPthump
THUMPthump
THUMPthump
THUMPthump
In perfect synchronicity, the music and lights both roared back at the exact instant the Stranger’s head rocked back to drop the hood of her jacket. This finally revealed her face, framed artfully with a blonde bob and with those grey-green eyes staring balefully into the crowd. White lifted one hand, fingers splayed around her right pupil, then leaned her head to form a sort of tilted ‘A’ sigil. Then she dropped lightly down to the canvas, turning to stand erect in the corner as the referee came over to begin his checks.
With the imposing tones of White’s anthem faded into the background, silence reigned for a several seconds before ‘HEROES’ hit the speakers and the capacity crowd let loose with a bunker-busting round of vocal ordinance.
HEROES:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=i1y5nqWSrZE
The ever mindful Announcer waited for the first round to fade the tiniest bit, then resumed his duties. “And introducing her opponent! Representing the Black Court, she hails from Denver, Colorado and stands at five feet eight inches tall and weighs in tonight at one hundred and thirty-five pounds. They call her the Peacekeeper, she is BECKY CLAYTON!
BECKY CLAYTON:
Bex stomped through the curtains and set up shop center stage to offer the FAWNatics a grin and a jaunty double bicep flex. For this early spring encounter with a most chilling challenger, the latest recruit to Emily West’s ranks sported a black & green camouflage two-piece with tie-sided bottoms and an impossible to ignore ladder / double helix of lycra that ran from the top of her waistband all the way to the southern border of her low-cut sports bra. The gear was completed with flat black pads and boots and few wraps of dark green wrist-tape.
Grin disappearing as she turned her attention to the six-footer already in the ring, Clayton thought back to the text she’d received from Emily in regards to Astrid White:
Reconnaissance to this point is inconclusive. A firsthand account of how the Stranger moves around our board would be most appreciated.
More than happy to play War Games with the Arctic Assassin, Clayton broke her reverie and headed down the aisle at a brisk pace. Fans on either side still extended their hands despite Becky’s Black Court affiliation and unlike the Ace or the Raven, the Peacekeeper answered in kind, though the careful observer noted she never let her eyes leave the woman waiting on her in the squared circle.
Breaking into a run at the bottom of the ramp, Clayton bounded up the steel steps and leapt over the top rope in one effortless burst of kinetic energy. Coming to a stop in the center of the ring, Becky spun toward the hard camera and snapped off a crisp salute. Bolstered by a final wave of applause, the Camouflage Crusher tipped a much more relaxed salute to her adversary en route to the corner where Craig made his final inspection.
The crowd offered up a final anticipatory roar when the bell sounded and the pair of differing destroyers were free to do their worst. Quick out of the corner as was her custom, Clayton went straight for the Stranger and would’ve engaged her flush against the opposite buckles if Astrid hadn’t drifted out along the ropes like an Arctic breeze. Becky adjusted her speed to close distance but White did the same, subtly changing her pace to keep the powerhouse blonde juuuust out of--
Astrid lashed out with a quick kick aimed at Clayton’s left thigh and seemed mildly intrigued when her opponent raised her leg to block it with her shin.
Becky smirked, beckoned the taller woman forward with one finger but White was already on the move, forcing her opponent to give chase.
The second kick came from the other side and Clayton deflected it with her shin, as she had the first. The third came from the same side but was directed at Becky’s ribs, just below the point of her right hip. Becky made no attempt to block, rather she took the blow flush and immediately cinched her right arm around the other blonde’s lower leg. White seemed nonplussed, at least until the Camouflage Crusher crooked her free arm into a ‘V’ and jabbed the point of her elbow into exposed Icelandic thigh.
Astrid remained as stoic as ever, but a flash in those gray green eyes told Becky she’d made an impression. Her thoughts on the subject were confirmed when White hooked a hand around the back of the American’s head and drew her close enough to deliver three crisp Forearm Smashes straight to Clayton’s mouth. Becky snarled and pulled Astrid’s captured leg a little closer which allowed her to well and truly clout her adversary’s modest rack with a Forearm Smash of her own. White shuddered from the impact, though the Courtier’s hold on her leg actually helped her keep her balance. As thanks, she cupped Becky’s head in her hands and drilled her with a quick Headbutt between the eyes! She’d expected it to end their stalemate, so imagine Astrid’s surprise when Clayton shook it off with a short, sharp punch to the taller woman’s jaw! White’s head snapped to the side but found its way back immediately thereafter because the Army of One Hot Chick wrapped a hand around her throat and started to squeeze. Astrid went back to the Neck Clasp at once, not that it did her much good when Clayton bent her knees and muscled her skyward for a very early Choke Sla-NO! Halving her control on the other blonde’s head, White pounded away at Becky’s pate until her attacker lost her footing and went stumbling sideways into the ropes.
Interested to see how her quarry would respond to such developments, Astrid stopped throwing hands so she could wrap one around the top rope. “Break your grip, Ms. Clayton.” she said with all the nonchalance of someone requesting paper instead of plastic.
Becky offered White a smile that didn’t quite reach her eyes. “Get your hand out of my hair and I will.”
Astrid actually pulled a little harder, so Clayton bore down on the Goozle and thus their negotiations fell apart amid tense silence.
Sensing the escalating tension between his charges, Craig Long stepped in and tapped each blonde on the wrist. “All right ladies, you’re both in the ropes, so let’s untangle and have a clean break, shall we?”
Their chilly non-response suggested neither blonde was much interested in civilities, but they eventually did as asked and backed away with both hands raised.
“The first time I fought one of your number,” White observed after she’d checked on the ache in her thigh and throat, “I exposed her as ordinary woman engaged in some long running Olympian delusion. I wonder what our battle will reveal about you, Rebecca Clayton.”
Becky had no great love for Adrianna Papadopoulos despite their Black Court affiliation, yet revisionist history always rubbed her wrong and she found herself speaking on behalf of the Goddess Made Flesh. “Exposed? That’s a rather strong word, wouldn’t you say, Ms. White? As I recall Addy took you to the limit for more than twenty minutes. In fact, you could barely stand when the match was over. If anything SHE proved YOU aren’t nearly so unflappable as--”
Astrid unleashed a Roundhouse that could’ve dented Clayton’s skull if she hadn’t dipped beneath it at the last second. Swinging around to take the Icelander’s back, Becky palmed White’s hips in both hands and dropped to one knee for a Headbutt that THWHUMPED against the small of her back. The Stranger grunted, stumbled, found herself straightened all the way up when Becky pinioned her arms overhead with a simple Full Nelson. Hands laced over the nape of White’s neck, Clayton pushed Astrid’s chin against her chest and jostled the hold from side to side.
“Tell me, Astrid.” Becky pumped a few quick Kneelifts into the other blonde’s taut backside in the hopes of weakening those deadly kicks later in the contest. “What have you learned so far?”
White waggled a finger at the referee to answer his question of submission before it ever left his lips. To Becky she said, “Preliminary findings show Rebecca Clayton to be quite strong both physically and mentally, presumably due to her earlier career in the military. She is still motivated by a strong sense of honor and duty, quite interesting considering she is, to state bluntly, a serial failure.”
Becky doubled down on the Nelson at the sound of the ‘F’ word. “What did you say, bytNNGGHH!”
Astrid stamped on her attacker’s toes once, twice, then snapped her head back to take Clayton across the bridge of the nose when the Nelson loosened. Twisting free of the Courtier’s grip when she felt those strong fingers part, Astrid whirled around and hammered Becky’s cheek with two more Forearm Smashes and finished with a Push Kick that struck Clayton’s tummy with the sound of a someone beating a rug. Becky staggered backward and Astrid followed, the Destroyer sized Bendyback catching the American in another Neck Clasp for what would surely “NNNNNNGGGHHHH!”
Becky caught her around the waist coming in and muscled the Stranger into the sky like she was nothing more than a bag of leaves. White had a split-second to raise a counter-elbow, but then Clayton dropped forward and down to THWHUMP her opponent to the mat with an emphatic Spinebuster. The Camouflage Crusher wasn’t much one for flash pins, yet she didn’t waste opportunities either, so she floated over into a Lateral Press and hooked the far leg for…
SPINEBUSTER:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=e4AFiIe_v9o
ONE…
TWO…
White kicked out just after ‘TWO’ with the sort of strength Becky understood would need to be worn down over time. Happy to do just that, she moved in behind Astrid and cinched her left arm around the other blonde’s throat. Locking her hands in a snug S-grip, Bex leaned forward on the hold for a second or two, then twisted to one side and stretched out on her back. With the back of White’s noggin resting comfortably against the swell of her left breast, Clayton planted her feet and arched her back to put a great deal of pressure on her opponent’s neck.
INVERTED BULLY CHOKE:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=BF2tQ2a0A-o
“Sounds like you’re a fast learner, sweetheart.” she muttered in the midst of grinding Astrid’s chin in the crook of her elbow. “Any other insights you’d like to share with the class? Maybe something about that ugly red flush creeping into your face?”
Nobody could claim that the Stranger was much of a talker, but even if she had wanted to respond any words were choked off the powerful vice of Clayton’s bicep. White reached up quickly to tug at that invasive arm and realized just as rapidly that she had neither the strength nor leverage necessary to dislodge her fellow blonde.
What she did possess however was the longest pair of legs in the company. And these were quickly brought to bear on the matt, Astrid pressing herself upwards and sideways to angle her tormentor’s shoulders over gently to the canvas. She was still stuck with a compressed windpipe, but Craig Long was quick to recognize the shift and went to one knee to count…
ONE…
TWO…
At the last instant Clayton released her choke and rolled a shoulder up to stop the count. She was careful though to give one last stiff jostle before doing so, and to scrape her forearm up over the Icelander’s face so that those statuesque features were given a thorough scrubbing. The only response from Astrid was a growl of annoyance as she reached up to check her nose, earning a snicker from the American.
“Word to the not-so-wise, princess,” she snarked at the grounded Stranger. “If you’re gonna try to rile the big girls you’re going to get a whole lot worse than a bent nose. I thought that trip under Pappy’s ass would have taught you thWHOAH!”
Turtling around on her back until her legs were facing Becky, White flicked one foot out and jammed it hard into a spot just underneath the Courtier’s kneecap. The exceptional leg strength of Clayton was enough to keep her on her feet but she let out an involuntary yelp as her knee was jammed the wrong way and staggered backwards, Astrid using that space to scramble up and storm after her.
Despite having been taken by surprise Rebecca had done her homework on the awkward Icelander and had her shin up again to defend when White flicked out yet another low kick. This time though the Stranger was a step ahead, switching targets at the last moment so that her boot toe SMECKed into taut stomach instead of shin. Bex absorbed the blow like a champ but now Astrid was onto her, trying for a third time to snatch that Muay Thai neck clinch.
This time the Army of One Hot Chick was just a little too discombobulated to prevent the taller woman from hooking on. She quickly realized her mistake when one Scandinavian knee pistoled up sideways and buried into her lowest rib. Clayton dropped her hands to defend and ate a second knee, this one looping around the opposite side of her guard and causing an audible ‘ooof’ to escape the American’s lips.
Sensing the danger of staying in this position for long, Clayton ducked her head down to create some room and then exploded herself upwards. There was no way the Stranger could contain all that power, but she instead demonstrated her preternatural sense of timing, abandoning her Necklock and hopping off one foot to jam a big Jumping Knee into the sternum of the newly upright Camouflage Crusher! Becky reeled back from the impact, giving White time to slip around to her six, hook a quick Waistlock, and bend that willowy body into a beautiful backwards bridge.
BRIDGING GERMAN SUPLEX
www.youtube.com/watch?v=lTfT9sd1jrE
Up on her toes to hold that bridge in place, the Stranger waited as Craig Long dropped to count
ONE…
TW…
Shaken as she might’ve been by the fluid sequence of strikes and Suplex, Becky Clayton was far too good to be taken down so early and proved it by tucking her legs over and continuing the roll, breaking herself free of the Arctic Assassin’s grip in the process. She rolled to her haunches at almost the same time as the other blonde, both rising to their feet warily with eyes locked on each other.
After a few minutes of frantic action the brief stillness allowed the audience to catch their collective breath, and they used those newly-filled lungs to roar even louder. It was momentarily impossible to hear anything but this racket, but after a few seconds of dying down Astrid’s clipped, quiet voice carried over the din.
“I described you as a failure, Ms Clayton. Perhaps the better word is ‘disappointment’. To see a wrestler of your reputed gifts achieve only a moment of championship glory and a career of near misses is certainly a shame. But now you choose to be a footsoldier in an army which has nothing left to fight.”
Becky’s brow furrowed a little. “Big talk from a woman who’s main claim to fame is taking a ride under Harley-Jo’s ass. I put her in her place back when she was in her prime, and I’ve put down plenty of snot nosed punks like you too. If you’re so ‘disappointed’, step up and let me change your mind.” She beckoned with one hand, the other cocking into a waiting fist.
The response from White was immediate, the Stranger once again making use of her reach advantage, this time with a spinning backfist. But Becky had spent enough time dancing at the edge of the Icelander’s striking range and spring into action, ducking and whirling beneath the attempted strike and hooking the outstretched arm to reel the taller woman in. White’s whiffed spin came to a juddering halt with the Army Brat hooking in a smooth Full Nelson and snugging in tight on her six.
Immediately the Icelanders arms flexed, trying to power her way out, but Clayton had her locked in tight and let her know with a quiet little tutting noise. “You’re disappointed in me girl? Well maybe I was hoping the ‘rookie of the year’ might be bringing more to the party than a few kicks and a loud mouth.”
With her upper body trapped, White shifted her attack down wards, flicking the heel of her boot into the Colorado girl’s shin and then dragging it down that sensitive bone. Becky let out a little hiss but only clamped down tighter on that debilitating Nelson.
“Going to have to do a lot better than that,” she growled. Astrid didn’t seem to be persuaded though, raising her other boot up to repeat the trick and then suddenly feeling herself lifted away entirely. Clayton gave a big heave to muscle the other blonde straight upwards into the air, shifting her grip at the apex of the lift and placing one strong hand on her chest to smash back down into the canvas-covered plywood!
FULL NELSON SLAM
www.youtube.com/watch?v=8i8w1lKYpTg
Smeared into the matt, White looked ripe for a pin attempt, but the BFG’s well-honed instincts told her that there was a better use of her time. Orbiting around to the Stranger’s splayed feet, Bex hooked them both up under her armpits, spun through 180 and sat back into a simple but perfectly applied Boston Crab.
Unable to bite down the yelp of pain and frustration caused by the hold, Astrid pressed both hands into the canvas and pushed, trying to lift her body to get some leverage. This task was made all the more difficult as the Camouflage Crusher shifted backwards slightly and leaned in, pouring all of her weight and pressure onto the small of the willowy Icelander’s back.
“I think you might have to get ready for a little more disappointment, girl” Clayton told the struggling Stranger. “Usually I’d go easy on a new girl who’s clearly out of her depth, but you had to run your mouth. So you’d better swallow down that disappointment and tap that matt, cos it’s the only way you’re getting out of here with your spine stil intAH CRAP!”
Already this bout had made it abundantly clear that Astrid couldn’t compete with her tormentor on the power front. But being a bendyback had it’s advantages, and the Stranger had long ago accepted that she had to sacrifice strength for flexibility. She demonstrated this by pressing up once more and then rapidly tucking her head and torso down into a sort of awkward forward roll. This in turn brought the leverage of those long legs into play, pushing a surprised Clayton backwards and toppling the older woman off her centre of gravity.
The Stranger popped free while the American was forced into a clumsy fall to her butt. This was swiftly the lest of her problems though, White wrapping those long stems around Bex’s sturdy leg and grabbing a tight hold of the foot. The Army brat barely had time to sit up and reach out before a wash of pain flooded up her calf.
ACHILLES LOCK
www.youtube.com/watch?v=afCV2YuGLKY
“Those are some rather desperate sounds you’re making, Ms. Clayton.” Astrid noted of Becky’s groaning and thrashing as she tried to alleviate the pressure of the limb-shredding hold. “You’re not going to cede the contest so quickly, are you? Of course, such a surrender wouldn’t be surprising given your history, but it would be disappointing nonethelessSNGH!”
Clayton planted her hands against the mat, raised her right leg as high as it would go and brought her heel down on White’s right bicep with a meaty thump. The Stranger grimaced, sent another pulse through the Scissors and wrenched back on her foe’s captured ankle. “I won’t hobble you.” Astrid spoke as if addressing a precocious child. “But I can and will ensure that you’ll be of even less use to Ms. West if you continue to NNNGGGHH!”
Becky slammed her heel into the blonde’s bicep again, then pumped that foot forward to scraaaaaaape it along Astrid’s cheek. “Cram it, freak show.” the Camouflage Crusher grunted as she began dragging their combined weight toward the strands. “You’re not the first head case to threaten AAAAAWWWWW FAAAAAAHHHHHK!” Clayton buried her hands in her hair and collapsed to her back as Astrid bore down on the Achilles Lock with a vengeance.
“I believe Ms. Clayton’s shoulders are down.” Astrid told Craig Long with all the urgency of someone commenting on the weather. “Would you please bring the lapse to her attention?” Long didn’t need a reminder, he’d already swooped into place to count…
ONE…
TWO…
Becky shot a hand up simultaneous with ‘TWO!’ After that she sat up and resumed the arduous trek toward sanctuary.
“Interesting.” White noted. “That amount of pressure is sufficient enough to force a submission from most opponents. Perhaps there’s more to your presence in the Black Court than mere char--”
Becky reached back and hooked an arm around the bottom. “Let go of my leg, girl.” she demanded without so much as a tremor in her voice. “Or you’re going to learn a lot more about me than you’d ever intended.”
Astrid flexed her legs ever so slightly. “You do realize I could break your leg, if I was of the mind, Ms. Clayton.”
“Then do it.” the American replied. “Put me on the shelf and see what happens when I--”
Astrid leaned forward and casually swiped a slap across Becky’s mouth. Then she relinquished the hold and slid away, leaving Clayton to regard her with wide, furious eyes. “Spare me your hyperbole and threats, Ms. Clayton.” the Stranger sniffed. “I have no interest in making an enemy of the Black Court, I’m simply curious about this apparent lapse in their standards. Now get up. I’m done coddling you.”
Becky’s eyes were black slots as she clambered back to boot leather. “Whenever you’re ready, bytOOOFFFFHHHHH!”
White breezed in showing Leg Kick only to go to one knee for a straight right hand that PWAAAAKED against her foe’s navel. The Army of One Hot Chick doubled over with the impact, leaving her defenseless against the Icelander’s Front Facelock. Astrid grabbed a handful of waistband, pulled her subject away from the strands, then whipped her around in a full circle, one strong enough to leave Becky bent over the middle rope, her feet balanced precariously on the apron. Satisfied with these adjustments, White pumped a few Kneelifts into the other blonde’s belly to ensure Clayton was too disoriented to simply step over the ropes when Astrid backed up.
The tactic proved successful, as Becky ended up suspended from the Facelock at one end and her ankles at the other. Holding Clayton’s head snug against her hip, Astrid murmured, “Disappointing.” right before she laid out on her back to THWHONK the crown of her prey’s skull into the mat with a Draping DDT. With Becky stretched out flat on her face, Astrid shot the Half Nelson, rolled her onto her back and slid into a snug Lateral Press good for the…
DRAPING DDT:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hb1H1ZZs4ho
ONE…
TWO…
THRNOOOO!
Clayton shot an arm straight up, ending the count with half a second to spare. “Even your defiance is predictable.” Astrid sighed. “Just enough to keep the crowd from leaving their seats, not nearly enough to inspire confidence in your chances.”
Shaken, but not about to take sass from a woman that spoke like a test case from Celia Blassenville’s logbook, Becky rolled to one knee and muttered, “Strong words from a chick who hasn’t got the job done yetNGH!”
White sprang up, dropped a quick elbow on the crown of the Courtier’s skull, then cupped both ears to haul Clayton to verticality. Becky’d barely set her feet when the Stranger lunged in to drive her right knee into the American blonde’s stomach. This was immediately followed by a snappy chest kick and even snappier Spinning Back Elbow, Astrid striking with her arm almost fully extended so the blow looked more like a Backfist. Clayton reeled on the spot, instinctively protected high and cried out in pain and anger when Astrid clipped the pit of her left knee with a Leg Kick that dropped Bex to an involuntary pen--THWHACK! Astrid backed up a half step, then lunged in and hopped off her left foot drive the point of her right knee into the side of her opponent’s skull.
STRANGE FLURRY:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=Px7wU_7uX-8
Becky collapsed to her back in a glassy-eyed sprawl, a position she might’ve enjoyed for quite a while if White hadn’t climbed aboard and stretched the former champ out flat with a domineering Double Leg Grapevine. Pinning Clayton’s wrists high above her head, Astrid stretched those captive legs a little wider and murmured, “Show me what Emily sees in you, soldier.” The answer came not from Becky, but Craig, who swooped in to count…
ONE…
TWO…
THRENOOOOOOOO!
Clayton drove a Headbutt into White’s encroaching chest, forcing her to break the cover at the last possible moment. Lips set in a pale, thin line as she shrugged the ache in her sternum, Astrid made a point to stuff one hand in Becky’s face when she got to her feet. The Camouflage Crusher joined her a moment later, Clayton peeled off the deck via a Wristlock that quickly gave way to an Irish Whip into the opposite corner. White hung back long enough to confirm the satisfying BWUUUNG of blonde against buckles, then she was off and running, the long limbed battler roaring in for a truly chilling Avalanche Spla-- Becky grabbed the top rope with her left hand, using it like an anchor as she hooked her right arm across Astrid’s chest. Kicking her right leg out straight, she pushed up on her plant foot and dropped to her knees THAWHAM White flat on her back with a ring-shivering STO!
CORNER STO:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=kHJJXcxpGnM
Bounced to her feet by the forceful counter, Clayton let loose a rallying cry thrown back a thousand-fold as she hauled White to her feet. Treating herself to the same Wristlock Astrid enjoyed so recently, Bex stepped back and dropped a hip, sending the Stranger on her way… or not. Still tethered by the Wristlock, Clayton dug in her heels and reeled White back the way she’d came. In the same breath she hooked her right arm under the other blonde’s left bicep and took her off her feet with what would’ve been a Hip Toss if Becky hadn’t hooked her left arm around the back of Astrid’s neck and then laid out flat, thus returning her rival to the canvas with a huge Neckbreaker!
HIP TOSS NECKBREAKER:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=utAzVBzZKwM
White sat up on impact, one hand to the small of her back, the other cradling the base of her “EEEERRRRRRGGGGGHH!” Clayton ‘smecked’ her hands down on either side of Astrid’s neck and squeezed until her knuckles showed white. Pushed up on tiptoe and leaning forward to put every bit of her weight behind the E-Tool, Becky taunted, “Starting to understand, Astrid? Or do I have to squeeze until your arms go numb?”
No verbal response from the Stranger, but her hands flew up to pry at the talons encroaching into her shoulders however all this elicited was a groan-inducing pulse of power in return from the Army Brat. “Not even close to good enough,” Bex advised happily, crunching down again and giving a satisfied nod as White swiftly abandoned her tactic. In fact it didn’t seem like the blonde was ready to give up her approach entirely, shifting her hands further up and digging her thumbnails in. The retaliatory squeeze on the E-Tool sent a horrible shudder of pain through her shoulders, but that was an acceptable price to pay because now she could shift her legs underneath and burst upwards.
Or at least that was the plan. Unfortunately for the Stranger, Becky Clayton had been applying the E-Tool for long enough to know all the counter moves her squirming victims could try. As soon as she felt Astrid’s weight shift up she poured her own weight forwards, the squirming Icelander unable to break away and simply ending up right back where she’d started except with her legs now pinned beneath her.
Until this point Craig Long had been quite discrete about checking on White; a double shoulder claw was an excruciating hold but it was rare for it to earn a submission in FAWN. But with the Stranger’s legs trapped he stepped up and asked “Tell me something Astrid, need me to stop this?”
White’s only response was a furious hiss and a waggling finger in his face, but Becky seemed delighted. “Are you sure babe?” she chortled, “all that struggling and you’re even more stuck than when you started. Might be time to admit you’re not as good as you thOWW BYTCH!”
Without the use of her legs and with her shoulders feeling disturbingly numb from those invading talons, White was willing to take pretty much any way out she could think of and that presented itself as Clayton leaned closer. She flashed one hand up into the brunette’s face, raking across both eyes and giving a gasp of relief when her dirty tactic managed to secure her release. “Stay off the eyes White, I won’t warn you again!” Long yelled, but the Stranger paid no attention, scrambling to her feet and trying to massage some feeling back into those brutalized neck muscles.
Unfortunately for her this left an extremely annoyed Army Brat unattended on her six. Knuckling to clear her eyes, Clayton saw the woman who’d scratched her and reacted on instinct, giving her a big shove between the shoulderblades and then sprinting off to the perpendicular ropes. Astrid stumbled forward into the strands herself and bounced back, unable to stop herself before the angry Courtier bounced delivered a Shoulderblock so brutal it nearly knocked the Icelander out of her togs.
RUNNING SHOULDERBLOCK @ 00:07
www.youtube.com/watch?v=WgaHWro0qGg&t=7s
She popped to her feet and let out a huge roar, echoed a millionfold by the FAWNatics after the show of brutal athleticism from their favourite. Astrid could do little more than cough and flop like a fish out of water on the matt, her breath and her senses damn near exploded by Clayton’s heavy ordinance. But Bex didn’t seem interested in letting her stay there, the Army of One Hot Chick now in full attack.
Bending down to grab a handful of damp blonde bob, Becky tugged upwards to pull the shellshocked Stranger back to unsteady feet. “All that talk about proving things and it turns out you’re pulling that cheap shyt just like anybody else? ‘Disappointed’ doesn’t even begin to cover it.” Astrid still looked a little too glazed to respond but it didn’t seem like Clayton was interested in an answer anyway. Instead she slammed a knee up into the Icelander’s pale breadbox and hooked her into the classic Pumphandle position before yanking upwards. White had a second to wriggle and squirm on that brawny shoulder before she was driven down again, her white-blonde crown clunking into the canvas-covered plywood.
PUMPHANDLE BOMB
www.youtube.com/watch?v=saupF9-3-xg
It was the work of a second for Clayton to scoot forwards and plant her derriere on White’s exploded chest, gathering up both legs as Long slid in to count
ONE
TWO
THNoooo
Crunching through her core, Astrid powered up and broke the cradle at the last possible instant to keep her night alive. She didn’t look that alive though, flopping to one side and breathing shallowly. Becky ran a hand through her hair, trying to bury the frustration before another inspiration hit her. It was the work of a second to clamber back to vertical and drag the Stranger with her, bending down and lifting the bedraggled blonde up.
“When I watched your match with Adrianna I saw the Fear thing you used to finish her. I thought a scholar like you should’ve known that move’s been in FAWN for a lot longer than you have. Clayton tugged the discombobulated woman into a Fireman’s Carry before continuing. “It’s called the Army of One. Let me show you.”
Reaching out to corral those long and oh-so-dangerous legs, the Army or One Hot Chick went up on her tiptoes in preparation for delivering a little justice for gimmick infringement. Or at least that was the plan up until one Icelandic knee slammed into her shoulder blade. Despite the poor angle for the strikes it was enough to shake Becky out of her signature move, and a few more solid hits allowed Astrid to wriggle down form her perch and land with a wet thump on the matt. Clayton turned with anger in her eyes and THWAMM!
ICEBREAKER @ 00:18
www.youtube.com/watch?v=oI51y6g1qd0&feature=youtu.be&t=18s
The Roundhouse Kick came from waaaay out of leftfield, the Stranger’s usual grace abandoning her as she flopped onto her back after the strike. It seemed that this technical lapse hadn’t made it any less effective though, her boot whirling into Bex’s unsuspecting cheek and dropping the powerhouse blonde on her ass next to the ropes. Most women would’ve been clean out after such a well-placed roundhouse but the Army Brat was not only awake but seemed to be slowly getting back to her feet.
Unfortunately that verticality only lasted a few moments, the Arctic Assassin storming over and stabbing out a short kick which stomped into Clayton’s unsteady legs. Bex went down in the ropes while White’s second wind kicked in, the lanky blonde charging off to the ropes and returning at full steam. Shouts of warning form the crowd told Becky she was in trouble but the fog in her head didn’t clear in time to avoid the THUMPING running knee form the Stranger.
RUNNING KNEE
www.youtube.com/watch?v=OyU8e6nA5jI
Two devastating headshots in less than a minute would be far too much for most of the roster to handle. Becky’s body looked like it was struggling too, folded up against the ropes, but somehow her eyes stayed open and one hand reached out to grab one strand and prevent herself from slumping to her back. The follow-through from the kneestrike had actually caused Astrid to stumble a few feet away, but now she staggered back in and grabbed hold of the Army Brat’s ruffled bottoms, dragging her upwards and spoke quietly into her ear.
“Your night is at an end, Ms Clayton. Please tell Emily West that I admire her intellect but her judgment in co-workers is poor.” White tugged one hand down between Bex’s jellied legs, reached around with the other hand and muscled her upwards. At the same time the Stranger bridged herself backwards, her back arching and then falling so that Becky was dropped onto the back of her head and neck by the beautifully effective Exploder Suplex.
FEAR OF HEIGHTS
www.youtube.com/watch?v=H-XEfDpeTY4
Clayton landed with an unpleasant THUD, those FAWNatics in the front row cringing with sympathetic anguish as the Camouflage Crusher bounced through the initial landing into a sloppy sort of penance with one hand and one knee braced against the thinly-sheathed plywood. Astrid’s end position was much the same, albeit far more controlled and sharp-eyed viewers noted the Artic Assassin started to move into place for a cover before she realized that Clayton wasn’t quite as horizontal as she wanted. Happy to correct this issue, Astrid got to her feet and raised her hands high overhead as she stalked forward and-- THWHACK!
BUZZSAW KICK:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=SbPdtfjI5sw
White’s leg didn’t actually make a buzzsaw whine as it split the air, yet the resounding impact of foot on temple was enough to make the crowd squirm in discomfort as Becky crumpled to the deck and…. rolled to one knee? Astrid halted her approach for the second time in less than a minute as the American stubbornly refused to keep her shoulders on the mat. Which was not to say that Clayton was anyone’s idea of safe, indeed Astrid was upon her at once, the willowy blonde Destroyer planting a foot on either side of her opponent’s hips so she could bend down to secure a tight Waistlock. The bridge that followed was administered in slow motion until Clayton crested the apex, then it was fast forward all the way to the mat, the back of Becky’s head and shoulders coming down with an ungodly THWHUMP. White kept the Waistlock cinched on tight and bridged up on her tiptoes, forcing the other woman to stay down for…
DEADLIFT GERMAN SUPLEX:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=agzNMHrmbgo
ONE…
TWO…
THRNOOOO!
Clayton twisted loose of Astrid’s grip, landed on her tummy and slowly started to rise. Behind her, White watched the former World Champion collect herself with an expression of puzzlement tinged with the tiniest bit of concern. “It appears you may be a bit more durable then existing data indicates.” Astrid told the struggling batter. “Nevertheless, this show of strength is, how would you say it? Ah yes, too little, too late.” Clayton couldn’t or wouldn’t respond, so the Stranger peeled her off the deck with a double handful of hair that she converted to a Wristlock the instant Long called her on the infraction. Driving a shoulder into Becky’s sternum to force her back a few steps, White sank deep and slung the woozy veteran into the ropes with an Irish Whip.
Muscle memory kept Clayton’s stride steady for the departure and the return trip, not that it did her a whole lot of good with Astrid waiting for her with bad intentions. Pivoting to one side as Bex closed in, White threaded her left arm under the brunette’s right armpit and muscled her off the canvas for a simple Hip Toss. Only instead of dumping her burden on the mat, Astrid twisted into Becky and brought her right knee up to THWHUNK the Courtier between the eyes! Clayton went down like a felled tree and White was right there to--NO!
REYKJAVIKTAMIZER:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=hRQQv0Xb24Y
The Army of One Hot Chick rolled to her stomach, pressed both hands to the deck and started to crawl toward the ropes! “You’ve picked a maddening time to display anything resembling intestinal fortitude, Ms. Clayton.” Astrid murmured to her opponent’s back. “Perhaps you’ve finally overcome your fear of rising to your full potential? Stand up and we’ll find out.”
Becky heard the Icelander only vaguely, as most of her attention was directed at the rubber-coated steel she’d conscripted to help her return to verticality. Directly on her six, Astrid waited until Clayton was *almost* before she surged in and laced both hands across her foe’s chin. Leaving her feet in the same breath, White stuffed her knees between Becky’s shoulders and pulled back to “UUUUUNNNNNGGGGHHHHH!” Clayton gripped the top rope with white-knuckled determination, the kind more than strong enough to break Astrid’s Chinlock and send her crashing to the deck all alone.
Jaw clenched tight in the wake of the desperation counter, Astrid somersaulted away from ropes to create some distance and thus rise in peace, so you can understand her surprise when she came to rest on all fours and was promptly clubbed across the shoulders! Helping herself to a sturdy double handful of White’s battle-damp hair, Becky Clayton wedged the other woman’s head between her thighs, then bent down and wrapped both arms around the lithesome waist. Seemingly unaware of the increased noise of the FAWNatics, the Camouflage Crusher bent her knees and spun Astrid onto her shoulders only to immediately drive her forward and down, the Snap Powerbomb just PLANTING the Stranger high and tight on the back of her head.
SNAP POWERBOMB:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=y0y17bssOcQ
Astrid landed in a Matchbook that would’ve made for a perfect pinning predicament if the Courtier was of the mind. Turned out she was not, indeed Clayton placed her hands against the back of White’s upturned haunches and gave her a shove that returned the stranger to much the same position she’d occupied before the Powerbomb. Bex only helped herself to a single handful of hair this time, which she used to reel the stunned blonde into a Front Facelock. From there she slung Astrid’s near arm across her shoulders and grabbed hold of the Icelander’s white waistband. Understanding that she in a rather dangerous position, Astrid balled her free hand into a fist and jabbed Clayton’s flank repeatedly, but she was still foggy from the Powerbomb and the blows didn’t have any of their usual sting. Elsewhere, Becky tightened her hooks, dipped her knees and hoisted the other Destroyer all the way to high noon whereupon she kicked both feet forward and laid out to THWONK Astrid down on the back of her head!
BRAINBUSTER:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=X6ys3SPWS5U
The Brainbuster sent a vile jolt through the whole of White’s lanky frame and she would’ve slopped onto one side if the Army Brat hadn’t kept hold of the Facelock and used it to bring both ladies back to their feet. Desperate for any escape hatch out of the American’s clutches, Astrid wrapped loose arms around Becky’s waist and gouged Kneelifts into her thighs. Clayton only shook her head and leveled a heavy overhand Forearm Smash against the Arctic Assassin’s shoulders. “Sorry Astrid.” she grunted. “That’s too little, too late.”
With that she released the Facelock, hauled White upright and leaned to one side to cinch both arms around opposing waist. Applause from those assembled as Becky used the Gutwrench to flip her rival upside down, followed by thunderous cheers when Clayton went up on tiptoe and snapped to her knees to SPIKE Astrid’s skull into the mat via a Tombstone Piledriver. Becky let loose and Astrid collapsed onto her back in a splayed starfish that had the fans screaming at Clayton to make the cover.
TOMBSTONE:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=xwPbRLW-q9I
But Becky did not. Instead she peeled Astrid off the deck, slipped an arm between her legs and ‘hupped’ her up onto the point of her right shoulder. “I’ll pass along your comments to Emily.” the Camouflage Crusher grunted once she’d grabbed White’s biceps and forced her arms out to her sides in a sort of forward facing Crucifix-lift. “But something tells me she won’t share your opinion.” With that she tossed White up, caught her in a Three Quarters Facelock and dropped to her tush to THAWHUNK Astrid’s jaw against her shoulder with sickening force! Blown off her feet by the power of Clayton’s devastating SNAFU, White landed on her back in a glassy eyed sprawl that offered no resistance when Becky grabbed her ankles and folded them up over her head. Dropping into a heavy seat on those upturned haunches, Becky leaned forward and planted both hands on the mat to make sure Astrid stayed down for the…
SNAFU:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=MT5w9gajHTA
ONE…
TWO…
THREE!
The bell sounded so Clayton raised her hands but didn’t relinquish the pin, choosing instead to offer the FAWN and Gladiatrix Photogs a brawny double bicep flex as the Announcer confirmed, “Ladies and gentlemen, your winner via pin-fall… BECKY CLAYTON!”
Bex nodded, got to her feet and offered Craig Long her hand, which he raised to a raucous reaction. As relieved as she was pleased to silence a doubter like the Arctic Assassin, Becky tromped to the nearest corner, mounted the second rope and offered the fans another view of the gun show. Clayton repeated this celebration at the next two corners and was on her way to the fourth when she was confronted by the ramshackle, yet annoyingly vertical form of Astrid White.
Slowing her roll several steps shy of the big blonde, Becky said, “Got anything to say now, honey? Maybe an apology?”
White snorted derisively, shook her head ‘no.’ “My analysis is still sound, Rebecca, although it will require an addendum following tonight’s encounter. While there is no doubt of your prowess in the ring, the facts show that you’re only at your best when the stakes are low and no one will really care whether you win or lose. But when the pressure is on and the lights are at their brightest? You crumble. Under the weight of your own expectations or perhaps your past failures, of that I am not yet certain. But I do know one thing. If you deign to meet me again, you will lose.” She held Becky’s gaze a moment longer, then turned to leave only to have the Army Brat spin her around with a with a rough grip on one shoulder.
“Sorry babe, I’m calling bullshyt.” Clayton said over the ‘ooooohhh’ of the crowd. “I’m sure the crap coming out of your mouth makes sense to you, but to me it sounds like the weak self-justification of a woman who bit off more than she could chew. The fact of the matter is EVERY match matters and I have no doubt that if you had managed to beat me you’d have wasted no time crowing about how I’d just proved your point.”
Becky was almost nose to nose with the Stranger and Astrid didn’t much care for it. “Step away, Rebecca. Unless you’re seeking a renewal of hostilities.”
The Courtier didn’t so much as twitch. “You lost. YOU step back.” White did not, so Bex added, “I beat you tonight, Astrid. I slogged my way through your best shots to hit you with a few of my own and when the time came for you to prove your resilience, what happened? Your shoulders stayed on the mat.”
“Application of simple leverage proves nothing, Rebecca.”
“Keep telling yourself, Astrid. Repeat it often enough and you might even believe it. Now get out of my ring. I’ve got a lap to finish.”
Astrid stepped back, not aside. “Strong words or not, you know I’m right, Rebecca. You haven’t won when it counts in a very long time.”
“Pointing your arrogant ass to the rafters felt like it meant a lot, Astrid.” Clayton said softly. “And if it didn’t, what does that make you?”
The Stranger offered no response, so Becky stepped around her and headed to the last corner to finish her salute to the crowd that’d helped her power past a very dangerous adversary.