Post by hawkeye on Jun 7, 2021 23:34:56 GMT
From her place at the FAWN Commentary Desk, Joanna Coleman offered the audience a small nod and asked, “Ladies and gentlemen, at this time, please direct your attention to the stage.”
The Mayhem broadcast cut to a shot of the ‘tron atop the stage, which showed dark for a moment before fading up on an exterior of the Harrenhal Training Facility, a building known far and wide as simply, ‘The Madhouse. Locale established, the camera guided its audience up the drive and through the double doors to pause in the immaculate, albeit ominous main lobby. Then it was a quick zoom to the right for a dizzying trip down half a dozen featureless hallways until it slowed before another set of double doors, this one flanked by an usher on each side.
No verbal acknowledgement for the new arrival, though the silent ushers quickly took hold of a mellow brass handle and swung the doors wide. Inside was a grand old theatre emphasis on the ‘re’. The lights were down, but not so dim as to lose the outlines of a small audience (no more than a hundred strong, if that), not to mention the sort of sumptuous architectural details most often reserved for the palaces of cinema that hadn’t existed in almost a century. Proceeding only after a suitably reverential pause, the camera honed in on a figure standing in the spotlight at center stage and closed on it at a good clip. It was an Announcer, not the erstwhile Ring Announcer, but a silver haired, elegantly appointed gentleman of perhaps sixty-five.
“Ladies and gentlemen,” he called once the camera drew to a stop, “the following contest is scheduled for one fall and it is the first ever Spotlight Match! This contest allows for no pin-falls, no submissions, no knock-outs and no disqualifications. The only way for a participant to win is to force her opponent out of the spotlight for a count of ten from the referee. And as you will soon see, the spotlight will gradually shrink throughout the duration of the match, until there is only enough room for the winner. The referee for tonight’s contest is Craig Long.”
A smattering of polite applause from those in attendance when Craig stepped up and raised a hand.
With the official properly acknowledged, the Announcer went on. “Introducing first, hailing from London, England, she stands at five feet eight inches tall and weighs in tonight at one hundred and twenty two pounds. She is the Renaissance Woman, the Superlative Soprano, ladies and gentlemen I give to you… ELIZA BLISSSSSS!”
The theatergoers were still chewing over the rules when lights faded to almost nothing. This gloom was soon pierced by a second, smaller spotlight, one aimed to the rear of the venue. Standing tall amidst this illumination, her back to the crowd, was a tall willowy brunette draped in a diaphanous robe that did nothing to hide the lithesome strength of her frame.
ELIZA BLISS:
A sweet melodious set of notes from the back of the theater filled this part of the Madhouse with a sweetness it had never known. Eliza, her arms raised high, serenaded the guests with her own entrance accompaniment, no one else able to reach those perfect notes of sweetest rapture. After several seconds of, well, pure bliss, the Renaissance Woman grabbed the sash at her waist, yanked the robe open and let it fall at her feet.
For tonight’s third act against the Baddest Penny of them all, the svelte Englishwoman wore deep blue briefs and a matching sleeveless crop-top that left the whole of her midsection bare. Across the seat of her trunks was a single word done in bold white strokes designed to make them look like they’ve been illuminated by a spotlight. It reads simply: BLISS. Below and beside, elbow and knees were protected by glossy white pads, while the Briton’s wrestling boots matched the blue of her briefs.
Eliza tossed her long dark locks over a shoulder with a whiplash shrug, turned, and started down the aisle toward the stage. The narrowness of the passage meant there was no reason to crisscross to slap reaching hands, she simply extended her arms to catch each and every opera aficionado, all while continuing to belt out a flawless rendition of the concluding aria of Giulio Cesare.
Finishing her performance with a dainty trip up the steps, Bliss claimed the center of the stage as her own, then dipped into a deep curtsey as thanks for this latest round of thunderous applause. Once it died down, she made her way to Craig Long and presented her elbows, knees and boots, all of which were inspected without incident. Thus blessed by audience and official, the Superlative Soprano turned her attention to the back of the theater and the malicious presence that would soon be joining her on stage.
“And introducing her opponent, hailing from Hobbs End, New Hampshire she stands at five feet-eight inches tall and weighs in at one hundred and thirty-two pounds. She is the Orphan of Midnight, the Malign Miracle, this is… ‘BAD’ PENNY TREMBLAY!”
Braced for the darkness that always accompanied Tremblay at the FAWN Arena, those gathered for this peculiar contest were surprised to see the lights remain low but steady when ‘Walk on Water’ began to pour forth from the sound system.
WALK ON WATER:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=O8yo7l43Yoo
The resultant grumble suggested that the guests were eager to jeer for the Last True Believer, though they held the full force of their vitriol in check because there was no sign of the billowing fog or icy blue lights that always heralded her arr--
PENELOPE TREMBLAY:
The spotlight flicked from warm gold to a pitiless blue in time with the chorus and Penelope Tremblay was just there, the willowy, aristocratic blonde stepping out of the gloom only a few feet removed from her startled adversary. Offering Bliss the faintest of smiles, Tremblay strode to the center of the spotlight, spread her arms wide and dropped to her knees. Eyes closed, face upturned, Tremblay sang along with anthem, putting particular emphasis on three words. ”Times are changin’.”
Rising shortly thereafter, Penny favored the crowd for the first time and the open contempt on her face unleashed the full power of their heretofore controlled disdain. This didn’t bother Tremblay in the slightest, though she did show mock concern as she tapped a finger to one ear. For tonight’s finale against the Renaissance Woman, she wore a midnight blue two piece consisting of a sports-bra top and strappy briefs, both edged in copper trim. Pads at knee and elbow were matte gray while her boots matched her trunks.
The spotlight soon resumed its previous hue, so Tremblay moved to the side opposite Bliss and simply stared her down while Long went through the motions of checking her boots and pads.
Aware of the quiet susurrus of the crowd off to her left even though the world seemed to end at the bounds of the spotlight, Eliza Bliss fought a subtle yet powerful urge to turn in their direction to better project her vaunted voice. But doing so would’ve meant taking her eyes from Penelope Tremblay and the Superlative Soprano wasn’t about to do commit such folly, not with Tremblay watching her from the opposite side of the spotlight with narrowed, hating eyes. Meeting the blonde’s heat with the iciest smile in her arsenal, Bliss took a few steps forward, crossed one ankle in front of the other and bent at the waist while simultaneously extending her arms in a flawless curtsey. “Enjoy your time in my spotlight, understudy. You have my word that it will be as memorable as it is brief.”
Penny bared her teeth in something like a grin. “You’re going to lose badly tonight, you disgusting old crow. Not due to a lack of talent or will, though those deficiencies may contribute. You will lose because you fear the dark outside your precious spotlight. I on the other hand…” The Orphan of Midnight took two steps backward, Tremblay willingly retreating to the gloom that would eventually spell defeat for one competitor.
Craig frowned but showed no hesitancy in performing his duties. “ONE… TWO… THREE… FOUR…”
Bliss didn’t exactly lose track of Penny when she moved into the gloom, but the glare of the spotlight did make it far more difficult to track the blonde’s position than she cared to admit. Striding to the center of the glow, she pivoted in time with the faint squeak of Tremblay’s boots on the polished floor to ensure she wouldn’t be caught flatfooted when-- Penny shot in from the left just as the ref counted ‘SEVEN!’ In search of a quick Takedown, she snatched for Eliza’s legs and would’ve laid claim to both if the Brit hadn’t thrown her hips back at the last possible instant.
Catching hold of a Front Facelock as Tremblay surged off one knee, Eliza cranked up hard enough to qualify the grip as a Guillotine Choke, if she’d been searching for a quick submission. But she was not, the brunette simply needed the Facelock to keep the rest of her blonde under control while she pumped a few Kneelifts into that flat tummy. Tossing Tremblay’s near arm across her shoulders once she’d landed a few more shots, Bliss caught a handful of her foe’s waistband, then dipped her knees and popped her--NO!
Penny snaked a stem around one of Eliza’s legs, effectively freezing the Suplex attempt in place. Not about to be denied her first effort, the Renaissance Woman slipped the block and drove another knee into the other wrestler’s navel before she set her feet and muscled Tremblay directly overhead!
The unseen audience murmured appreciatively at the show of power only to get a little louder when Bliss walked toward the edge of the light with her burden swaying ever so slightly. Satisfied she’d land mostly within the boundary of the spotlight, Eliza rocked back on her heels and--“NGH! NGH! NNNHHH!”
Penny couldn’t power her way free of the Englishwoman’s grasp so she worked within it, the lithesome blonde crunching in on herself to deliver a rough knee to the crown of Eliza’s skull! Two more forced Bliss to sling her rival back the way she’d came, Tremblay landing on her feet directly in front of the former World Champ-- Bliss lunged for her, that right hand curled into a C-shaped vanguard aimed squarely at Penny’s hateful mo-- the Last True Believer caught Eliza’s wrist in a white-knuckle grip and stuffed her free hand against opposing chest, then sent her stumbling into the gloom with a massive shove!
Barking a laugh as backed away from the edge, Tremblay sneered, “Stay out of my spotlight, cro--”
Eliza exploded into view showing a Super Kick that was intercepted just shy of the blonde’s chin. No snide cheek now, Penny stretched the exposed limb out full length, then whipped it away to spin the leggy brunette around in a smooth circ--“HHHRRRRK!” The roundabout hadn’t bothered Eliza in the slightest as evidenced by the way she launched herself at Penny and jammed a three-fingered claw into the blonde’s open mouth! Cupping the base of Tremblay’s skull even as she plowed forward with the Cleft Note, Bliss stomped the pair across the spotlight presumably with the intention of dumping her prey into the dark closest to the edge of the stage.
“I hope you’ve enjoyed your time basking in my glow, chorus girl.” Eliza grunted as Penelope tugged and scraped at her encroaching wrist. “I’m sure you dreamed of some grand finale, but like so many others before, you were found wanting when the spotlight shined brightesTEERRRGGGHH!”
Penny couldn’t prize the Cleft Note away from her mouth so she turned her ire on the Englishwoman’s index and pinky fingers and tried to snap them clean off her hand! The Songbird grit her teeth, shook her head ‘no’ and jostled Tremblay’s head back ‘n forth in the hopes that the creeping numbness could overwhelm the counter cla--“AAAAWWW BLOODY F*CK!”
Eliza wrenched her Cleftin’ hand free of Penny’s grips (all three of ‘em), then flattened it into a spade and buried her fingertips in the hollow of the blonde’s throat!
Penny gagged, went to one knee and spat something unprintable when the Superlative Soprano reeled her into another Front Facelock. Throwing up her free hand even as she serenaded the audience with a glorious high ‘C’, Bliss sank into a deep crouch and left the stage in a gorgeous vertical leap that culminated with the lithe brunette stretched out from her adversary at a near perfect forty-five degree angle. In the whisper between Eliza reaching her zenith and the resumption of gravity, Tremblay got her hands up and planted them against the Briton’s washboard tummy. This bracing wasn’t enough to halt Bliss’ descent, however it slowed it enough that the Angriest Acolyte was able to switch over to a Waistlock that set Eliza down on her feet rather than flat on her back for the DDT that would’ve dented Penny’s skull on the stage.
Dropping her hips as soon as her rival was grounded, Tremblay snapped off a quick bridge and tossed Bliss back into the center of the spotlight via a huge Release Northern Lights Suplex! Eliza hit with a THWHUMP that was equal parts dull and ugly, the trembling base of it providing an ominous harmony for Bliss’ piercing shriek!
RELEASE NORTHERN LIGHTS SUPLEX:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=sesd3ml6Wk0
The Bad Penny rolled to one knee with the intention of catching her breath only to frown when she heard Craig Long counting. “TWO… THREE… FOUR… FIVE… SIX…”
Tremblay looked down and realized that the edge of the spotlight traced across the edge of her shoulders. Without even thinking about it she scrambled fully into the light to put an end to the ref’s tally. “Spotlight’s already getting smaller, old woman.” Penny noted after she’d worked the worst kinks from her aching jaw. “You’re fighting to regain it now, but soon you’ll be begging to escape it. Begging to escape me.”
Hunched over with one hand pressed to the small of her back in the aftermath of that Suplex, Eliza snapped, “I’ve never begged anyone for anything, understudy. The whole world’s a stage and the stage is mine to command, which makes you nothing more than another chorus girl destined to sing my praiseRRRGGGGGGGHHH!”
Tremblay rushed in and slammed her left knee between the brunette’s shoulder even as she cupped her hands over Bliss’ chin. “Do you still think this is high opera, Bliss?” Penny sneered while she wrenched and tugged on Eliza’s jaw to increase the torque on the brunette’s neck. “It’s not. What happens on this stage tonight is grand guignol at best and pure Grindhouse exploitation at worst.” The Orphan of Midnight sensed disbelief from her rival so she repaid Bliss for an earlier encroachment by slipping two fingers of each hand (index and middle) into the sides of the Englishwoman’s mouth and pulling as hard as she could!
Long’s well honed instincts made him step forward to issue a warning, but he stopped and fell back upon remembering he could do nothing more than count unless maiming was evident. Tremblay’s nasty fishhooking hadn’t quite reached that level, though it certainly wasn’t for lack of effort, or, perhaps even more disconcerting, enjoyment on the blonde’s part.
“At least your back is to the audience, Bliss.” Penny told her prey in a maliciously sweet titter. “So they can’t SEE what I’m doing to your miserable face. Thankfully the acoustics of this place are so perfect,” she wormed a third finger into each side of the Brit’s mouth and puuuuuuuuuuuuulled that much harder, “that they can HEAR everything! So go on, Songbird! Sell all that hurt, humiliation and hopelessness like only you GGRRRH! Leggo of my hair you nasty bytch.”
Eliza, who’d abandoned her grips on Tremblay’s wrists in favor of much stronger holds on those cascading gold tresses, pulled her foe’s head down and to the right at a cringe-worthy angle. She couldn’t quite respond with words considering there were six of ten possible fingers in her mouth, however her previously pitiable gabbling had taken on defiant quality that the audience, the official and especially the acolyte interpreted with no problem whatsoever.
Her cheek now resting atop the brunette’s skull, Penelope jostled the fishhooks from side and side and whispered, “Let go of my hair, songbird. Or I’ll show these idiots one of your highest registerrrrrrrhhhhhhhhh!”
Bliss countered with more eye-watering torque so the blonde turned her head as best she could and began to gnaw on the Englishwoman’s forehead! Eliza shrieked all the louder and she did in fact halve her grip on Tremblay’s hair, though this was only so she could CLAP a desperate slap against the blonde’s left ear! Penny hissed, went back to work with her canines and endured three more slaps before she abruptly stood up and THWHACKED a straight Soccer Kick between her shoulders! Bliss shrieked aloud as the jolt ran down her spine, the power of it throwing her hands into the air to claw at unseen tormentors.
“CRAWL!” Tremblay roared down at the wincing brunette. “Out of my spotlight, songbird. It’s high time you acclimated to the dar--”
“Kiss my arse, understudy.” countered through clenched teeth. “I know more about the dark than you ever wiGAAAARRRRRHHHHH!”
Penny got a little revenge for Bliss’ work on her hair by snatching a double fistful of dark tresses and hauling her to verticality in a single convulsive movement. Setting her hooks for a Body Slam before Eliza could regain her bearings, Tremblay scooped the Renaissance Woman up onto one shoulder and tromped to the middle of the spotlight whereupon she wheeled around and went up on tiptoe to add a little more ‘oomph!’ to the Slam that THWHUMPED Bliss to the stage!
Eliza arched her back on impact, it wasn’t quite as awful as landing on bare concrete but it was still far worse than the canvas-sheathed plywood of the ring. “You’ve been awful quiet so far!” The Last True Believer told the audience as she planted her boots atop the dark fan of the Englishwoman’s hair. “Is it because you don’t believe your heroine is in real peril? Or maybe you just don’t care what happens to her anymore?”
A round of emphatic jeers told her the latter wasn’t true, so it must’ve been the former. Dedicated to the giving Eliza Bliss the epic finale she truly deserved, Penny leaned over, grabbed hold of her opponent’s wrists and pulled with all her might! Bliss was forced up into a bridge, the simple, catty staple putting a truly awful strain on her neck. “Cheer for her, idiots!” Tremblay shouted out into the gloom. “She might as well be screaming to an empty room, let this hack know you truly APPRECIATE her suffering!”
“F*ck off, understudy!” Eliza demanded once she was able to reign in the worst of the hurt. “If the audience isn’t reacting it’s YOUR fault, not theirRRRRGGGGHH!” Tremblay tossed the Brit’s wrists aside, then hopped up and scraped the soles of her boots across Eliza’s forehead!
FOOT-PRESSED HAIR PULL & BOOT SCRAPE:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=tbJqrgCZW18
Coughing out a nasty laugh when Bliss sat up clutching her face, Penelope smacked the back of her foe’s head, then helped herself to a handful of trunks and tresses to get the former World Champion back to a semblance of verticality. “Sounds like they’re awake now, doesn’t it?” Tremblay cooed. “Guess I just needed to up the violence. Hey, why don’t you show them what I’ve done so far?” Penny charged the front of the stage without waiting for an answer and let go a step or two shy of the gloom to ensure that the Superlative Soprano couldn’t stop herself from a headlong plunge out of sight!
Delighted by the thud-squeak-groan triptych of Bliss tumbling across the well-polished wood, Penny turned her ire on the crowd only to fall silent when the spotlight shrunk! A moment prior she’d been at the edge of the light, now there was almost six feet of dark between she and it. Backpedaling her way to safety by the time Craig Long counted ‘TWO!’, the Orphan of Midnight called out, “The spotlight keeps getting smaller, hag! Far too small for the likes of your saggy ass! Do yourself a favor and--”
The sound of feet pounding across the stage caused Tremblay to take two giant steps back, all the better to prepare for-- A steel chair flew out of the black on a beeline for Penny’s face but damned if the Last True Believer didn’t catch it several inches shy of her nose! “Too slow for FAWN, Bliss! But I bet it’ll make you a hit with the dinner theater seNNNNGGGHHH!”
Tremblay had lowered the chair to chest level which is exactly where Eliza placed the Dropkick when she exploded into view at the count of ’SEVEN!’ Blown loose from her moorings by the augmented shot, Penny came down hard, the back of her head bouncing against the stage with a low thwhunk.
“Jeeze, Eliza!” Craig exclaimed to his charge as she clambered to her feet. “You can’t use a chair for--”
“The hell I can’t.” she interrupted. “This is a no disqualification affair, after all. And since I found my friend there when I was picking myself up, it seems only fair she gets her moment in the spotlight, don’t you think?” The zebra wanted to protest, but a sharp chirp in his ear told him to pipe down in no uncertain terms, so he raised his hands and cleared off while Eliza strolled over and casually STAMPED on the chair which was still resting on Penny’s chest.
“Can I be honest, Penelope? I don’t think you’re quite cut out for the spotlight. It only seems to find you when you’re looking up into it. And that doesn’t speak highly of your career prosp--”
“It shined plenty bright when I was sitting on your face, bytch.” Tremblay rasped. “You just couldn’t see it, for obvious reasRRRGGGHHH!”
Eliza stepped over and dropped down, the blue-clad battler putting every bit of her weight into the Butt Bomb detonated atop her vulnerable opposition! Swishing her bum back & forth to ensure the blonde wouldn’t breathe easy any time soon, Eliza snatched a handful of hair so she could lift her head off the stage and deliver several quick, stinging slaps! “I didn’t much care for the view from the cheapest of cheap seats.” she told the fuming woman. I much preferred the seat atop your sniveling mouth.”
“Thuuuuhhh… then I hope the memory hasn’t faded already, bytch. Because it’ll never happen againNOOO!”
Eliza curled her slappin’ hand into a Cleft Note claw and reached for Tremblay’s mouth but the younger woman turned her face away to avoid the Diva’s devastating finisher. Alas, the resistance didn’t slow Eliza in the slightest, she simply pinched Penny’s upper lip between thumb and forefinger and gave it a sharp twissssssssst! The blonde keened loudly, albeit through clenched teeth that refused to open despite Eliza’s best (read: worst) efforts. Ultimately giving up the lip clamp to palm the younger woman’s head in both hands, Bliss yanked Penny’s noggin off the floor just to drive it back with an awful THUNK!
Tremblay loosened considerably and Long thought Eliza might try for the Cleft Note again so he was mildly surprised when she filled her hands with the blonde’s long hair and hauled her to verticality. Turning her foe in a single smooth motion, Bliss looped her right arm around the Last True Believer’s neck and grabbed onto her own left bicep while her left hand palmed the back of Penny’s skull half a heartbeat before she bore down with considerable pressure.
Sleeper Hold, Eliza Bliss to Penelope Tremblay in the center of the spotlight.
Credit the wherewithal of the Bad Penny, she didn’t immediately twist and writhe to escape Bliss’ grip, rather she clamped down on the Briton’s elbow and set to work trying to free her chin from the crook of Eliza’s elbow. Hers was a strong effort and it showed veteran instincts in the relative newcomer, but the Renaissance Woman didn’t allow them to continue for more than a few seconds before she planted both feet and wrenched her fellow bendy-back back & forth for several seconds.
“Is it your vision starting to tunnel?” Bliss asked once her aggressive efforts brought the blonde to one knee. “Or is it the spotlight getting smaller? Perhaps it’s both, understudrrrrhhhh!”
The technical approach hadn’t worked, so Tremblay filled her hands with Bliss’ hair and pulled like she meant to liberate a few patches of scalp! “Duuuhhhh… don’t flatter yourself, hag.” Penny huffed. “It’s your singing that puts people to sleep, your wrestling only makes them laugHRGH! HRGH! HRGH!”
Eliza planted a few quick Kneelifts in the small of her opponent’s back, then hauled her to verticality and proceeded to stomp toward the edge of the spotlight all while continuing to reef and yank on the Sleeper. “No one will be laughing at what I do to you, chorus girl.” she cooed in Tremblay’s ear. “Most of them will consider your fate well deserved, a few might even feign sympathy, but I can say with the utmost certainty that none will be laughing.” Turning her back to the darkness on the heels of that fearsome promise, Eliza dropped low and popped her hips to fling the Angriest Acolyte up, over and down, the lissome lovely landing flat on her face, chest and belly with an echoing THAWHUMP!
SLEEPER SUPLEX:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=bHpYDp-MX6g
Sitting up returned Eliza fully to the light, though this didn’t stop her from keeping a close ear on Craig Long’s count while she strolled over and laid claim to the chair she’d introduced earlier. “ONE… TWO… THREE… FOUR… FIVE…” Bliss opened the chair, pointed it toward the spot she’d last seen Tremblay and took a seat. “SIX… SEVEN… EIGHT…”
Penny returned to the spotlight on her hands and knees, clearly still feeling the effects of the Suplex that’d turned her inside out. “Aaaaaahhhh, now there is a position much more worthy of your obnoxious attitude.” Bliss spoke to Penny but she actually addressed the audience, if the ripple of chuckles was any indication. “Come back to me, understudy and we’ll continue your long-delayed educat--”
“F*ck off.” Tremblay snarled. “If I really wanted to learn I’d have targeted Dare. You’ve got nothing to teach anyonHHRGGGH!”
Eliza launched herself from the chair to deliver an angry Double Axehandle to the nape of her rival’s neck! “That’s where you’re mistaken, you insolent little retch.” Bliss growled in the midst of burying her hands in Tremblay’s hair. “There is still a great deal for you to learn and when this is all over you will THANK ME for imparting such fundamental wisdom upon your aching, beaten form.”
Taking leave of her unlikely pupil to fetch a study aid, Bliss took command of the chair and set it down in front of Tremblay with the seat pointed at her face. With the props arranged to her liking, Bliss moved to the opposite side of the chair where she dropped to one knee and reached through the gap with both hands to snatch hold of the blonde’s battle-damp locks. “Let go of me, bytch!” Penny came squirming back to life when Eliza yanked her up and forward, the Superlative Soprano apparently trying to force her adversary’s head through the open space. Tremblay didn’t just allow this however, she grabbed the chair with her right hand and drew backward despite the ever-increasing burn in her scalp. “F*cking crazy hag!” Penny yowled to the Briton. “What do you think you’re doNNNGGHHH!”
Bliss yanked the younger woman’s head up and then BWANGED it against the chair-seat once, twice, three times! “Isn’t it obvious, understudy?” Eliza relinquished her grip on Tremblay’s hair so she could dig her nails into the fingers wrapped around the top of the chair leg. Beaming with triumph as she wrenched Penny’s anchor away from the chair, Bliss angled the captured arm through the gap between seat and backrest and pulled hard enough to Tremblay’s head and arm through to the far side. On her feet in the blink of an eye, Eliza swung around to the front and took a seat on the small of her opponent’s back.
“You showboating slut!” Penny raged as she tried to fight out from under the domineering Brit. “I’ll rip you to pieces for this HHHHRRRRRGAAAAAHHH!” The Renaissance Woman reached down with both hands, laced them under Tremblay’s chin and CRANKED up on a cruelly-modified Camel Clutch!
CAMEL CLUTCH W/ CHAIR:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=-8GVBJPNmBE
Biting her bottom lip and nodding as she tried to stretch Penny’s neck in all sorts of new and interesting directions, the Songbird glanced over to the referee and said, “Ask her, would you? I think she’s finished!”
Craig took an appraising look around the stage and while he was fairly certain the spotlight had shrunk yet again (it was maybe half the size of a standard wrestling ring now) both ladies were still well within its illuminated confines. “You know I can’t do that, Eliza. Submissions don’t count tonight, you’ve got to get her out of the spotlight.”
Bliss ground her the curve of her glutes against the small of Tremblay’s back while continuing to yank and pull on the Chinlock. “You hear that, chorus girl? You need to crawl into the dark if you want this to end!”
“Guuuuhhhh… gonna STEP over your body on the way out of here, birdbrain.” Penny rasped. “Not that you’ll be awake to see NNNNGGGHH!”
Eliza broke her grip, grabbed the top edge of the chair and got to her feet so she could hoist it up by six or more inches, then BWANG! it down on the stage! The jolt acted like a truncated Curbstomp, one that left Tremblay draped limp across and down the back of the seat.
Backpedaling out of the straddle so she could take hold of the blonde’s ankles, Eliza jostled and pulled until she was able to wrest Penny loose from the steel trap. Tremblay managed to turn away so she didn’t break her nose when her head collided with the stage, but she was still so woozy she didn’t realize Bliss had turned her onto her back. Holding Penny’s right ankle in both hands, the Renaissance Woman hooked that limb behind her own left leg, then snatched Tremblay’s left ankle and lifted that leg up and braced it behind the crooked lower leg in the unmistakable figure of four. “Nuuuhhh…NO!” Penny shook her hands and tried to sit up, but it was too late. Bliss threaded her right leg over the blonde’s ankle and dropped to a seat to complete the Figure Four Leglock.
FIGURE FOUR LEGLOCK:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bl7ABawcIpw
Hands set flat on the stage, the Superlative Soprano pushed her butt up by several inches and poured pressure onto Tremblay’s awkwardly straightened left leg. “Can’t tap out, understudy!” Eliza barked at the writhing battler. “All you can do is drag yourself out of my spotlight and pray I decide to let you go!”
Penny shook out a furious ‘no’, but her glances toward the edge of the light suggested she’d at least contemplated the thought. Eliza noted this and rocked the Leglock that much harder, the Briton jouncing in place to earn a fresh round of shrieks from the trapped blonde.
“I can’t make her break the hold, Penny.” Craig said once the noise died down. “You either have to do it yourself or--”
“Or drag your pathetic carcass off into the shadows, just as I suggested earlier.” Bliss interrupted. “You do understand the implication don’t you, chorus girl? Our dear referee is concerned you’re too weak to--” Eliza drew back fast when Tremblay sat up and lashed out with a talon that came within no more than half an inch of raking the Diva’s face!
Bracing her other hand against the stage to better maintain her seat, Penny swiped for the brunette’s face again and when she couldn’t reach that she started pounding away at Bliss’ left thigh and knee instead. “Don’t you dare talk to me about weakness, Bliss.” the Orphan of Midnight sneered. “Don’t you dare, not when you’ve made a career of leaching off of NNNGGGHH!”
Eliza hunched forward and slapped Tremblay across the mouth, then snatched a handful of hair and slapped her half a dozen more times just so she could jab an index finger under the other woman’s nose. “Olivia and I are partners. Friends. What would you know of either concept, underst--”
Tremblay went straight for Eliza’s face only to curse in frustration when the Superlative Soprano snatched her fingers and gave them a sharp twist! Eyes narrowed to slots as she bore down on Penny’s knotted stems, Bliss continued to bend and grind her opponent’s fingers. “Did you mistake me for easy prey, Tremblay? Did you think you could build your name at my expense? Alas, I am not and you cannot. All you can do is join the enormous supporting cast that once dared brave the spotlight only to discover it is mine and mine alone!”
Eliza tossed Penny’s hand aside and immediately thrust her own into the blonde’s mouth! Middle and ring fingers clamped down beneath the tongue, thumb pressing in sharp against the shelf of her foe’s chin, Bliss yanked Tremblay’s head from side to side, then cupped the back of the blonde’s skull with her free hand to ensure she couldn’t wriggle free of the Cleft Note. Nodding as she saw Penny’s eyelids beginning to flutter, Eliza murmured, “Submit or succumb, it doesn’t matter to me, understudy. No matter the path you choose, this story ends with you facedown in the dark while AAAARRRRRRRHHHHH YOU BLOODY WITCH, LET GOOOOOOOOO!”
Tremblay, realizing her opponent’s hands were both occupied, hooked her own hands into talons and wedged them into the fork of the Brit’s crotch! The nauseating jolt from her center loosened Bliss’ Leglock considerably, but the Cleft Note stayed white-knuckle tight until Penny shifted her wrists and attacked with both thumbs! Eliza released the Cleft Note with a sob, backhanded Penny hard enough to bloody her bottom lip, then dug her elbows into the stage and crab-walked some distance between herself and the blonde.
As for the Angriest Acolyte, she tumbled onto her stomach and crawled in the opposite direction. A few frenetic seconds brought her to the edge of the spotlight (it’d shrunk again during her torturous stretch in the Figure Four) and then out of it, Penelope seemingly heeding her opponent’s advice now that she was free. Craig Long watched her disappear from sight, then turned to make sure Bliss was fully illuminated. Seeing that she was, the ref began to count. “ONE… TWO…. THREE…” The Renaissance Woman fought to a knee, though one hand was still pressed to her aching undercarriage. “FOUR… FIVE… SIX… SEVEN…” Eliza powered to boot-leather and glanced this way and that, the veteran presumably evaluating potential angles of attack. “EIGHT… NINE… “
Penny trudged back into the spotlight from almost the exact spot she’d initially left. “Still big enough for both of us, you nasty old crow.” Tremblay huffed as she took in the rapidly dwindling circle of light. “Won’t be for much longer, but that’s not going to be a problem. You know why?”
Bliss snapped the waistband of her trunks back into place with a ‘flick’ so oft-practiced it qualified as muscle memory. “I’m sure you’ll revel in telling me, chorus girl.”
The Last True Believer took another couple of steps forward, a wince crossing her face every time she put weight on her injured knee. “In the end you’ll choose the darkness.” she answered. “Not because it’s preferable, not because you’re tired of cheers and applause, but because to remain in your precious spotlight is simply too painful. You will choose the dark because it’s the only way to escape--”
She would’ve said ‘me’ if Eliza hadn’t pounced with another Cleft Note trained on the blonde’s faNO! Penny swung a punt at the juncture of the Briton’s thighs only to roar in outrage when Bliss’ approach turned into a feint, one designed to give her possession of the younger woman’s foot!
Smart not to kick with your injured leg.” the Superlative Soprano admitted even as she wrenched Tremblay’s ankle this way and that. “But in doing so you’ve left all your weight on that strained joint.”
No waiting for an answer, Eliza swept the leg to put Penelope flat on her back, then twisted around the captured leg and sank down to collect Tremblay’s other ankle for a second and decisive application of the Figure Fo--“HUUUURRRRGHHK!”
Penny sat up and jammed a hand into Bliss’ mouth, her counterfeit Cleft Note earning an incredulous round of disapproval from the audience. A less experienced wrestler might’ve tried to keep her hooks set long enough to complete the Leglock, but Eliza tossed them aside within heartbeats so she could snatch hold of Penny’s wrist to get the blonde’s goddamned hand out of her-- Tremblay pulled a knee up to her chest and pistoned a heel into the center of the Renaissance Woman’s briefs!
Baring her teeth as Bliss’ eyes went wide, Penny reset her kickin’ foot against the pit of the brunette’s stomach and tossed her up & over with what might’ve been described as a Monkey Flip if Tremblay hadn’t rolled through to wind up on top of the winded Englishwoman. “Time for the grand finale, you insufferable bytch.” the Bad Penny exclaimed as she caught hold of Eliza’s flailing hands and proceeded to thum-thum-THUMP! them against the stage floor! From there she scrambled up into a much higher mount, the Angriest Acolyte planting her tush on Eliza’s chest, her shins on Eliza’s biceps, the fork of her crotch tight against Eliza’s chin. With her thighs framing the Songbird’s cheeks, Penny fetched a heavy sigh, then brushed some hair off her opponent’s forehead.
“Open your mouth, crow.”
Bliss shook her head ‘no’, bridged as high as she could and THUNKED a knee into the small of her opponent’s back once, twice, three times! Penny growled, rose up in her mount and dropped a truncated Butt Bomb on Eliza’s chest. “I said open your mouth, crow.” To emphasize the demand she crooked her left hand into a claw and began to draaaaaaaaaaaa it down Bliss’ face from forehead to chin!
“…evil c*nt…” Eliza delivered the threat through clenched teeth in a valiant defense against another faux Cleft Note.
“What did you say? Speak louder.” Penny slowed the pace of her raking while simultaneously squeezing Eliza’s head between her thighs. “Come on you arrogant bytch, project!” The Orphan of Midnight had no directorial credits to her name, but that didn’t stop her from getting the desired response from her nemesis by SMECKING a claw grip down on Eliza’s trunks!
“AAAAARRRRHHH GAAAAAAAHHHHH!” Bliss shrieked to the rafters and instinctually crossed her legs, though it wasn’t enough to break Penelope’s callous clasp.
Delighted by the concerned murmur from her unseen audience, Tremblay pumped her clawin’ hand down once, twice, three times while simultaneously gouging and digging with her hooked fingers. “Tell them it’s mine, Bliss.” as she continued to worry and ‘chew’ with that malicious claw. “Tell them you’ll cede the spotlight and I’ll let you crawl away under your own powNGH! NGH! NGH!”
Eliza hit her rival’s back with several more Kneelifts, though that damnable grip meant her shots were quite a bit more off center than the previous round. “Nuuuuhhhh…. never cede it.” the Superlative Soprano tried her damndest, but couldn’t keep the hitch out of her voice. “If you want it, you’ll have to take it GGRRRRHHHHH HUUURRRRRRGK!”
Tremblay threw every bit of her anger into the Crotch Claw only to trade it in for a Cleft Note when Bliss’ mouth finally gaped wide! Securing the Diva with a fervor Eliza would’ve appreciated if she wasn’t on the receiving end thereof, Penny gripped her own wrist and leeeeaaaaaaned down over the flailing Englishwoman. “I don’t want your f*cking spotlight, Bliss.” Penny sneered down at the sputtering, struggling battler. “In fact you’re welcome to crawl back to it whenever you find the strength, all I WANT is for you to understand that I can come along at any time and take it on a whimMWHOOOAAAH!”
Eliza kicked her legs up, forced them under the blonde’s arms and popped her hips hard enough to tumble Tremblay down onto her back. The lack of pin-falls (or perhaps it was simply her own exhaustion) meant Bliss didn’t bother to wrap her arms around Penny’s waist, which meant the Orphan of Midnight somersaulted off her shoulders and vanished from the spotlight, which was now little bigger than a phone booth.
Resigned to the gloom to allow his charges the most possible space, Craig Long began to count, “ONE… TWO… THREE… FOUR… FIVE…” Rasping and coughing after the terrible tandem talons, Eliza clambered to a knee and put kept one hand to her throat while the other swept back and forth in anticipation of a blonde attack. “SIX… SEVEN… EIGHT… NI--” Penelope flew in from the Songbird’s six, leading with her right knee to THWUNK a gawdawful Enzu Shining Wizard offa the base of her opponent’s skull!
MALIGN MIRACLE:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=XD4SzE1Gi04
Residual momentum carried Tremblay off into the dark again, but she was back a moment later and the ref stepped into the light to confirm the match was still live. Looming over the Renaissance Woman, Penny raked hair out of her face and roared, “GET OUT, BLISS! PICK YOURSELF UP AND CRAWL AWAY FROM THE SPOTLIGHT!”
Those gathered for this contest urged Eliza not to listen, each and every one of them offering their support for the brunette as she began to struggle to her hands and knees. “Don’t you listen to them, Bliss. Don’t even f*cking entertain the notion! They’re only going to take years off your career, so swallow your heathenish pride and get the F*CK out of my spotlig--”
A raucous, decidedly un-operalike cheer from the audience when Bliss raised her right hand and showed Tremblay one of her favorite phalangeal avians. “Thuuuu… the… spotlight… is mine… chorus girl. For better or worse, it belongs to me and I belong to it.”
Eliza grunted to the woman whose hate she could feel radiating down from somewhere overhead.
Shoulders rising and falling in the wake of that damnable defiance, Penny took a few deep breaths before she replied, “So this is what it’s come to, songbird? Debasement and humiliation are no longer satisfactory, you’ll accept nothing short of TRAGEDY as a proper outcome?” Tremblay backed out of the spotlight without waiting for an answer, the Last True Believer leaving Bliss to clear her clouded head with nothing but the concerned crowd for company.
Hoping against hope that he wasn’t in Penny’s line of fire, Craig took a deep breath before he began another count. “ONE…. TWO… THREE… FO--” Tremblay reemerged from the dark in a handstand that culminated in her right knee striking Eliza’s skull with an echoing THWHONK!
HANDSTAND KNEE DROP:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=fAASDaopTkA
Dark eyes burning like coals, a penitent Penelope plunged a hand into Bliss’ dark hair and lifted her head off the stage floor. “Last chance, Bliss.” Penelope’s voice was little more than a whisper. “Drag yourself into the dark or…”
Eliza hoisted her hand for another middle finger salute, then turned it around in search of a last-ditch Cleft Note. Tremblay drew her head back to remain clear of the effort while simultaneously clamping down on the Brit’s exposed wrist. On her feet shortly thereafter, she used the Wristlock to haul Bliss to all fours and reel her into a Standing Headscissors. Eliza groaned and dug claws into the back of her blonde’s thighs, but Penny endured it to secure an answering Waistlock, the first strong squeeze of which put an end to the brunette’s weary countermeasures. Upending Bliss on a wave of concern from those in the crowd, Tremblay turned the both of ‘em toward the stage and let her hang there, Eliza’s glossy stems wavering like reeds in a soft breeze for three, four, five, six, sev-- Penny hopped up and dropped to her tush to deliver a no-frills Piledriver that SPIKED the crown of the veteran’s skull with frightening force!
PILEDRIVER:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=R9lPT6B4L64
Bliss’ legs tumbled forward, slopping into a boneless ‘V’ that made it look like she was in some odd tipped over version of a three-point stance. Behind her, Tremblay let the audience clutch their collective pearls for a moment before she palmed Eliza’s right flank in both hands and shoved her aside in a boneless, lolling sprawl. The resultant tumble put Bliss half-in half-out of the spotlight, which was enough for Craig to begin another count. “ONE… TWO… THREE…Come on, Penelope. That’s not necessary.”
The Orphan of Midnight had cupped Eliza’s ears and dragged her back into the spotlight, which was now little more that a bright flare amidst a sea of gloom. “I have to take this by force.” Tremblay gestured to the remaining light, in case there was any question of what she meant. “She was VERY clear on that point, so I will honor that demand, if no other.”
The ref had nothing to say to that, meaning the blonde could work in silence as she dipped her head beneath Bliss’ left arm and wrapped her right arm around the Brit’s lower back. Bracing her free hand against the jutting shelf of Eliza’s bum, Bad Penny hoisted the Superlative Soprano onto the point of her right shoulder, then dropped down and drew both knees up across her chest to provide a most uncomfortable landing for the blue-clad battler. Launched away from the Spine Tremblar like her foe’s knees were spring-loaded, Bliss flew out into the dark and would’ve been entirely lost if the crowd hadn’t heard the dull, sweaty thud of her landing somewhere in the shadows.
SPINE TREMBLAR:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=612Eh6wXNO8
Spinning to verticality in the wake of that callous chiropractic cudgeling, Penelope Tremblay took her place alone in the spotlight as Craig counted off, “ONE… TWO… THREE… FOUR… FIVE… SIX… SEVEN… EIGHT… NINE… TEN!”
The blonde spread her arms wide, dropped to her knees and tipped her head back, Penny’s beatific features raised to the light in an homage to her mentor as the Announcer delivered his grim news. “Ladies and gentlemen, your winner of the match… PENELOPE TREMBLAY!”
“Ring, penthouse, boudoir and beach. Peaks, valleys, cliffs and sky. Red light, green light, black light and spotlight.” She opened her eyes and smiled out to the audience. “There’s NO place I won’t go to take what you hold most dear. Because you better believe I am the baddest of Bad Penny’s. And I’ll always turn up where you least suspect it.”
The Mayhem broadcast cut to a shot of the ‘tron atop the stage, which showed dark for a moment before fading up on an exterior of the Harrenhal Training Facility, a building known far and wide as simply, ‘The Madhouse. Locale established, the camera guided its audience up the drive and through the double doors to pause in the immaculate, albeit ominous main lobby. Then it was a quick zoom to the right for a dizzying trip down half a dozen featureless hallways until it slowed before another set of double doors, this one flanked by an usher on each side.
No verbal acknowledgement for the new arrival, though the silent ushers quickly took hold of a mellow brass handle and swung the doors wide. Inside was a grand old theatre emphasis on the ‘re’. The lights were down, but not so dim as to lose the outlines of a small audience (no more than a hundred strong, if that), not to mention the sort of sumptuous architectural details most often reserved for the palaces of cinema that hadn’t existed in almost a century. Proceeding only after a suitably reverential pause, the camera honed in on a figure standing in the spotlight at center stage and closed on it at a good clip. It was an Announcer, not the erstwhile Ring Announcer, but a silver haired, elegantly appointed gentleman of perhaps sixty-five.
“Ladies and gentlemen,” he called once the camera drew to a stop, “the following contest is scheduled for one fall and it is the first ever Spotlight Match! This contest allows for no pin-falls, no submissions, no knock-outs and no disqualifications. The only way for a participant to win is to force her opponent out of the spotlight for a count of ten from the referee. And as you will soon see, the spotlight will gradually shrink throughout the duration of the match, until there is only enough room for the winner. The referee for tonight’s contest is Craig Long.”
A smattering of polite applause from those in attendance when Craig stepped up and raised a hand.
With the official properly acknowledged, the Announcer went on. “Introducing first, hailing from London, England, she stands at five feet eight inches tall and weighs in tonight at one hundred and twenty two pounds. She is the Renaissance Woman, the Superlative Soprano, ladies and gentlemen I give to you… ELIZA BLISSSSSS!”
The theatergoers were still chewing over the rules when lights faded to almost nothing. This gloom was soon pierced by a second, smaller spotlight, one aimed to the rear of the venue. Standing tall amidst this illumination, her back to the crowd, was a tall willowy brunette draped in a diaphanous robe that did nothing to hide the lithesome strength of her frame.
ELIZA BLISS:
A sweet melodious set of notes from the back of the theater filled this part of the Madhouse with a sweetness it had never known. Eliza, her arms raised high, serenaded the guests with her own entrance accompaniment, no one else able to reach those perfect notes of sweetest rapture. After several seconds of, well, pure bliss, the Renaissance Woman grabbed the sash at her waist, yanked the robe open and let it fall at her feet.
For tonight’s third act against the Baddest Penny of them all, the svelte Englishwoman wore deep blue briefs and a matching sleeveless crop-top that left the whole of her midsection bare. Across the seat of her trunks was a single word done in bold white strokes designed to make them look like they’ve been illuminated by a spotlight. It reads simply: BLISS. Below and beside, elbow and knees were protected by glossy white pads, while the Briton’s wrestling boots matched the blue of her briefs.
Eliza tossed her long dark locks over a shoulder with a whiplash shrug, turned, and started down the aisle toward the stage. The narrowness of the passage meant there was no reason to crisscross to slap reaching hands, she simply extended her arms to catch each and every opera aficionado, all while continuing to belt out a flawless rendition of the concluding aria of Giulio Cesare.
Finishing her performance with a dainty trip up the steps, Bliss claimed the center of the stage as her own, then dipped into a deep curtsey as thanks for this latest round of thunderous applause. Once it died down, she made her way to Craig Long and presented her elbows, knees and boots, all of which were inspected without incident. Thus blessed by audience and official, the Superlative Soprano turned her attention to the back of the theater and the malicious presence that would soon be joining her on stage.
“And introducing her opponent, hailing from Hobbs End, New Hampshire she stands at five feet-eight inches tall and weighs in at one hundred and thirty-two pounds. She is the Orphan of Midnight, the Malign Miracle, this is… ‘BAD’ PENNY TREMBLAY!”
Braced for the darkness that always accompanied Tremblay at the FAWN Arena, those gathered for this peculiar contest were surprised to see the lights remain low but steady when ‘Walk on Water’ began to pour forth from the sound system.
WALK ON WATER:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=O8yo7l43Yoo
The resultant grumble suggested that the guests were eager to jeer for the Last True Believer, though they held the full force of their vitriol in check because there was no sign of the billowing fog or icy blue lights that always heralded her arr--
PENELOPE TREMBLAY:
The spotlight flicked from warm gold to a pitiless blue in time with the chorus and Penelope Tremblay was just there, the willowy, aristocratic blonde stepping out of the gloom only a few feet removed from her startled adversary. Offering Bliss the faintest of smiles, Tremblay strode to the center of the spotlight, spread her arms wide and dropped to her knees. Eyes closed, face upturned, Tremblay sang along with anthem, putting particular emphasis on three words. ”Times are changin’.”
Rising shortly thereafter, Penny favored the crowd for the first time and the open contempt on her face unleashed the full power of their heretofore controlled disdain. This didn’t bother Tremblay in the slightest, though she did show mock concern as she tapped a finger to one ear. For tonight’s finale against the Renaissance Woman, she wore a midnight blue two piece consisting of a sports-bra top and strappy briefs, both edged in copper trim. Pads at knee and elbow were matte gray while her boots matched her trunks.
The spotlight soon resumed its previous hue, so Tremblay moved to the side opposite Bliss and simply stared her down while Long went through the motions of checking her boots and pads.
Aware of the quiet susurrus of the crowd off to her left even though the world seemed to end at the bounds of the spotlight, Eliza Bliss fought a subtle yet powerful urge to turn in their direction to better project her vaunted voice. But doing so would’ve meant taking her eyes from Penelope Tremblay and the Superlative Soprano wasn’t about to do commit such folly, not with Tremblay watching her from the opposite side of the spotlight with narrowed, hating eyes. Meeting the blonde’s heat with the iciest smile in her arsenal, Bliss took a few steps forward, crossed one ankle in front of the other and bent at the waist while simultaneously extending her arms in a flawless curtsey. “Enjoy your time in my spotlight, understudy. You have my word that it will be as memorable as it is brief.”
Penny bared her teeth in something like a grin. “You’re going to lose badly tonight, you disgusting old crow. Not due to a lack of talent or will, though those deficiencies may contribute. You will lose because you fear the dark outside your precious spotlight. I on the other hand…” The Orphan of Midnight took two steps backward, Tremblay willingly retreating to the gloom that would eventually spell defeat for one competitor.
Craig frowned but showed no hesitancy in performing his duties. “ONE… TWO… THREE… FOUR…”
Bliss didn’t exactly lose track of Penny when she moved into the gloom, but the glare of the spotlight did make it far more difficult to track the blonde’s position than she cared to admit. Striding to the center of the glow, she pivoted in time with the faint squeak of Tremblay’s boots on the polished floor to ensure she wouldn’t be caught flatfooted when-- Penny shot in from the left just as the ref counted ‘SEVEN!’ In search of a quick Takedown, she snatched for Eliza’s legs and would’ve laid claim to both if the Brit hadn’t thrown her hips back at the last possible instant.
Catching hold of a Front Facelock as Tremblay surged off one knee, Eliza cranked up hard enough to qualify the grip as a Guillotine Choke, if she’d been searching for a quick submission. But she was not, the brunette simply needed the Facelock to keep the rest of her blonde under control while she pumped a few Kneelifts into that flat tummy. Tossing Tremblay’s near arm across her shoulders once she’d landed a few more shots, Bliss caught a handful of her foe’s waistband, then dipped her knees and popped her--NO!
Penny snaked a stem around one of Eliza’s legs, effectively freezing the Suplex attempt in place. Not about to be denied her first effort, the Renaissance Woman slipped the block and drove another knee into the other wrestler’s navel before she set her feet and muscled Tremblay directly overhead!
The unseen audience murmured appreciatively at the show of power only to get a little louder when Bliss walked toward the edge of the light with her burden swaying ever so slightly. Satisfied she’d land mostly within the boundary of the spotlight, Eliza rocked back on her heels and--“NGH! NGH! NNNHHH!”
Penny couldn’t power her way free of the Englishwoman’s grasp so she worked within it, the lithesome blonde crunching in on herself to deliver a rough knee to the crown of Eliza’s skull! Two more forced Bliss to sling her rival back the way she’d came, Tremblay landing on her feet directly in front of the former World Champ-- Bliss lunged for her, that right hand curled into a C-shaped vanguard aimed squarely at Penny’s hateful mo-- the Last True Believer caught Eliza’s wrist in a white-knuckle grip and stuffed her free hand against opposing chest, then sent her stumbling into the gloom with a massive shove!
Barking a laugh as backed away from the edge, Tremblay sneered, “Stay out of my spotlight, cro--”
Eliza exploded into view showing a Super Kick that was intercepted just shy of the blonde’s chin. No snide cheek now, Penny stretched the exposed limb out full length, then whipped it away to spin the leggy brunette around in a smooth circ--“HHHRRRRK!” The roundabout hadn’t bothered Eliza in the slightest as evidenced by the way she launched herself at Penny and jammed a three-fingered claw into the blonde’s open mouth! Cupping the base of Tremblay’s skull even as she plowed forward with the Cleft Note, Bliss stomped the pair across the spotlight presumably with the intention of dumping her prey into the dark closest to the edge of the stage.
“I hope you’ve enjoyed your time basking in my glow, chorus girl.” Eliza grunted as Penelope tugged and scraped at her encroaching wrist. “I’m sure you dreamed of some grand finale, but like so many others before, you were found wanting when the spotlight shined brightesTEERRRGGGHH!”
Penny couldn’t prize the Cleft Note away from her mouth so she turned her ire on the Englishwoman’s index and pinky fingers and tried to snap them clean off her hand! The Songbird grit her teeth, shook her head ‘no’ and jostled Tremblay’s head back ‘n forth in the hopes that the creeping numbness could overwhelm the counter cla--“AAAAWWW BLOODY F*CK!”
Eliza wrenched her Cleftin’ hand free of Penny’s grips (all three of ‘em), then flattened it into a spade and buried her fingertips in the hollow of the blonde’s throat!
Penny gagged, went to one knee and spat something unprintable when the Superlative Soprano reeled her into another Front Facelock. Throwing up her free hand even as she serenaded the audience with a glorious high ‘C’, Bliss sank into a deep crouch and left the stage in a gorgeous vertical leap that culminated with the lithe brunette stretched out from her adversary at a near perfect forty-five degree angle. In the whisper between Eliza reaching her zenith and the resumption of gravity, Tremblay got her hands up and planted them against the Briton’s washboard tummy. This bracing wasn’t enough to halt Bliss’ descent, however it slowed it enough that the Angriest Acolyte was able to switch over to a Waistlock that set Eliza down on her feet rather than flat on her back for the DDT that would’ve dented Penny’s skull on the stage.
Dropping her hips as soon as her rival was grounded, Tremblay snapped off a quick bridge and tossed Bliss back into the center of the spotlight via a huge Release Northern Lights Suplex! Eliza hit with a THWHUMP that was equal parts dull and ugly, the trembling base of it providing an ominous harmony for Bliss’ piercing shriek!
RELEASE NORTHERN LIGHTS SUPLEX:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=sesd3ml6Wk0
The Bad Penny rolled to one knee with the intention of catching her breath only to frown when she heard Craig Long counting. “TWO… THREE… FOUR… FIVE… SIX…”
Tremblay looked down and realized that the edge of the spotlight traced across the edge of her shoulders. Without even thinking about it she scrambled fully into the light to put an end to the ref’s tally. “Spotlight’s already getting smaller, old woman.” Penny noted after she’d worked the worst kinks from her aching jaw. “You’re fighting to regain it now, but soon you’ll be begging to escape it. Begging to escape me.”
Hunched over with one hand pressed to the small of her back in the aftermath of that Suplex, Eliza snapped, “I’ve never begged anyone for anything, understudy. The whole world’s a stage and the stage is mine to command, which makes you nothing more than another chorus girl destined to sing my praiseRRRGGGGGGGHHH!”
Tremblay rushed in and slammed her left knee between the brunette’s shoulder even as she cupped her hands over Bliss’ chin. “Do you still think this is high opera, Bliss?” Penny sneered while she wrenched and tugged on Eliza’s jaw to increase the torque on the brunette’s neck. “It’s not. What happens on this stage tonight is grand guignol at best and pure Grindhouse exploitation at worst.” The Orphan of Midnight sensed disbelief from her rival so she repaid Bliss for an earlier encroachment by slipping two fingers of each hand (index and middle) into the sides of the Englishwoman’s mouth and pulling as hard as she could!
Long’s well honed instincts made him step forward to issue a warning, but he stopped and fell back upon remembering he could do nothing more than count unless maiming was evident. Tremblay’s nasty fishhooking hadn’t quite reached that level, though it certainly wasn’t for lack of effort, or, perhaps even more disconcerting, enjoyment on the blonde’s part.
“At least your back is to the audience, Bliss.” Penny told her prey in a maliciously sweet titter. “So they can’t SEE what I’m doing to your miserable face. Thankfully the acoustics of this place are so perfect,” she wormed a third finger into each side of the Brit’s mouth and puuuuuuuuuuuuulled that much harder, “that they can HEAR everything! So go on, Songbird! Sell all that hurt, humiliation and hopelessness like only you GGRRRH! Leggo of my hair you nasty bytch.”
Eliza, who’d abandoned her grips on Tremblay’s wrists in favor of much stronger holds on those cascading gold tresses, pulled her foe’s head down and to the right at a cringe-worthy angle. She couldn’t quite respond with words considering there were six of ten possible fingers in her mouth, however her previously pitiable gabbling had taken on defiant quality that the audience, the official and especially the acolyte interpreted with no problem whatsoever.
Her cheek now resting atop the brunette’s skull, Penelope jostled the fishhooks from side and side and whispered, “Let go of my hair, songbird. Or I’ll show these idiots one of your highest registerrrrrrrhhhhhhhhh!”
Bliss countered with more eye-watering torque so the blonde turned her head as best she could and began to gnaw on the Englishwoman’s forehead! Eliza shrieked all the louder and she did in fact halve her grip on Tremblay’s hair, though this was only so she could CLAP a desperate slap against the blonde’s left ear! Penny hissed, went back to work with her canines and endured three more slaps before she abruptly stood up and THWHACKED a straight Soccer Kick between her shoulders! Bliss shrieked aloud as the jolt ran down her spine, the power of it throwing her hands into the air to claw at unseen tormentors.
“CRAWL!” Tremblay roared down at the wincing brunette. “Out of my spotlight, songbird. It’s high time you acclimated to the dar--”
“Kiss my arse, understudy.” countered through clenched teeth. “I know more about the dark than you ever wiGAAAARRRRRHHHHH!”
Penny got a little revenge for Bliss’ work on her hair by snatching a double fistful of dark tresses and hauling her to verticality in a single convulsive movement. Setting her hooks for a Body Slam before Eliza could regain her bearings, Tremblay scooped the Renaissance Woman up onto one shoulder and tromped to the middle of the spotlight whereupon she wheeled around and went up on tiptoe to add a little more ‘oomph!’ to the Slam that THWHUMPED Bliss to the stage!
Eliza arched her back on impact, it wasn’t quite as awful as landing on bare concrete but it was still far worse than the canvas-sheathed plywood of the ring. “You’ve been awful quiet so far!” The Last True Believer told the audience as she planted her boots atop the dark fan of the Englishwoman’s hair. “Is it because you don’t believe your heroine is in real peril? Or maybe you just don’t care what happens to her anymore?”
A round of emphatic jeers told her the latter wasn’t true, so it must’ve been the former. Dedicated to the giving Eliza Bliss the epic finale she truly deserved, Penny leaned over, grabbed hold of her opponent’s wrists and pulled with all her might! Bliss was forced up into a bridge, the simple, catty staple putting a truly awful strain on her neck. “Cheer for her, idiots!” Tremblay shouted out into the gloom. “She might as well be screaming to an empty room, let this hack know you truly APPRECIATE her suffering!”
“F*ck off, understudy!” Eliza demanded once she was able to reign in the worst of the hurt. “If the audience isn’t reacting it’s YOUR fault, not theirRRRRGGGGHH!” Tremblay tossed the Brit’s wrists aside, then hopped up and scraped the soles of her boots across Eliza’s forehead!
FOOT-PRESSED HAIR PULL & BOOT SCRAPE:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=tbJqrgCZW18
Coughing out a nasty laugh when Bliss sat up clutching her face, Penelope smacked the back of her foe’s head, then helped herself to a handful of trunks and tresses to get the former World Champion back to a semblance of verticality. “Sounds like they’re awake now, doesn’t it?” Tremblay cooed. “Guess I just needed to up the violence. Hey, why don’t you show them what I’ve done so far?” Penny charged the front of the stage without waiting for an answer and let go a step or two shy of the gloom to ensure that the Superlative Soprano couldn’t stop herself from a headlong plunge out of sight!
Delighted by the thud-squeak-groan triptych of Bliss tumbling across the well-polished wood, Penny turned her ire on the crowd only to fall silent when the spotlight shrunk! A moment prior she’d been at the edge of the light, now there was almost six feet of dark between she and it. Backpedaling her way to safety by the time Craig Long counted ‘TWO!’, the Orphan of Midnight called out, “The spotlight keeps getting smaller, hag! Far too small for the likes of your saggy ass! Do yourself a favor and--”
The sound of feet pounding across the stage caused Tremblay to take two giant steps back, all the better to prepare for-- A steel chair flew out of the black on a beeline for Penny’s face but damned if the Last True Believer didn’t catch it several inches shy of her nose! “Too slow for FAWN, Bliss! But I bet it’ll make you a hit with the dinner theater seNNNNGGGHHH!”
Tremblay had lowered the chair to chest level which is exactly where Eliza placed the Dropkick when she exploded into view at the count of ’SEVEN!’ Blown loose from her moorings by the augmented shot, Penny came down hard, the back of her head bouncing against the stage with a low thwhunk.
“Jeeze, Eliza!” Craig exclaimed to his charge as she clambered to her feet. “You can’t use a chair for--”
“The hell I can’t.” she interrupted. “This is a no disqualification affair, after all. And since I found my friend there when I was picking myself up, it seems only fair she gets her moment in the spotlight, don’t you think?” The zebra wanted to protest, but a sharp chirp in his ear told him to pipe down in no uncertain terms, so he raised his hands and cleared off while Eliza strolled over and casually STAMPED on the chair which was still resting on Penny’s chest.
“Can I be honest, Penelope? I don’t think you’re quite cut out for the spotlight. It only seems to find you when you’re looking up into it. And that doesn’t speak highly of your career prosp--”
“It shined plenty bright when I was sitting on your face, bytch.” Tremblay rasped. “You just couldn’t see it, for obvious reasRRRGGGHHH!”
Eliza stepped over and dropped down, the blue-clad battler putting every bit of her weight into the Butt Bomb detonated atop her vulnerable opposition! Swishing her bum back & forth to ensure the blonde wouldn’t breathe easy any time soon, Eliza snatched a handful of hair so she could lift her head off the stage and deliver several quick, stinging slaps! “I didn’t much care for the view from the cheapest of cheap seats.” she told the fuming woman. I much preferred the seat atop your sniveling mouth.”
“Thuuuuhhh… then I hope the memory hasn’t faded already, bytch. Because it’ll never happen againNOOO!”
Eliza curled her slappin’ hand into a Cleft Note claw and reached for Tremblay’s mouth but the younger woman turned her face away to avoid the Diva’s devastating finisher. Alas, the resistance didn’t slow Eliza in the slightest, she simply pinched Penny’s upper lip between thumb and forefinger and gave it a sharp twissssssssst! The blonde keened loudly, albeit through clenched teeth that refused to open despite Eliza’s best (read: worst) efforts. Ultimately giving up the lip clamp to palm the younger woman’s head in both hands, Bliss yanked Penny’s noggin off the floor just to drive it back with an awful THUNK!
Tremblay loosened considerably and Long thought Eliza might try for the Cleft Note again so he was mildly surprised when she filled her hands with the blonde’s long hair and hauled her to verticality. Turning her foe in a single smooth motion, Bliss looped her right arm around the Last True Believer’s neck and grabbed onto her own left bicep while her left hand palmed the back of Penny’s skull half a heartbeat before she bore down with considerable pressure.
Sleeper Hold, Eliza Bliss to Penelope Tremblay in the center of the spotlight.
Credit the wherewithal of the Bad Penny, she didn’t immediately twist and writhe to escape Bliss’ grip, rather she clamped down on the Briton’s elbow and set to work trying to free her chin from the crook of Eliza’s elbow. Hers was a strong effort and it showed veteran instincts in the relative newcomer, but the Renaissance Woman didn’t allow them to continue for more than a few seconds before she planted both feet and wrenched her fellow bendy-back back & forth for several seconds.
“Is it your vision starting to tunnel?” Bliss asked once her aggressive efforts brought the blonde to one knee. “Or is it the spotlight getting smaller? Perhaps it’s both, understudrrrrhhhh!”
The technical approach hadn’t worked, so Tremblay filled her hands with Bliss’ hair and pulled like she meant to liberate a few patches of scalp! “Duuuhhhh… don’t flatter yourself, hag.” Penny huffed. “It’s your singing that puts people to sleep, your wrestling only makes them laugHRGH! HRGH! HRGH!”
Eliza planted a few quick Kneelifts in the small of her opponent’s back, then hauled her to verticality and proceeded to stomp toward the edge of the spotlight all while continuing to reef and yank on the Sleeper. “No one will be laughing at what I do to you, chorus girl.” she cooed in Tremblay’s ear. “Most of them will consider your fate well deserved, a few might even feign sympathy, but I can say with the utmost certainty that none will be laughing.” Turning her back to the darkness on the heels of that fearsome promise, Eliza dropped low and popped her hips to fling the Angriest Acolyte up, over and down, the lissome lovely landing flat on her face, chest and belly with an echoing THAWHUMP!
SLEEPER SUPLEX:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=bHpYDp-MX6g
Sitting up returned Eliza fully to the light, though this didn’t stop her from keeping a close ear on Craig Long’s count while she strolled over and laid claim to the chair she’d introduced earlier. “ONE… TWO… THREE… FOUR… FIVE…” Bliss opened the chair, pointed it toward the spot she’d last seen Tremblay and took a seat. “SIX… SEVEN… EIGHT…”
Penny returned to the spotlight on her hands and knees, clearly still feeling the effects of the Suplex that’d turned her inside out. “Aaaaaahhhh, now there is a position much more worthy of your obnoxious attitude.” Bliss spoke to Penny but she actually addressed the audience, if the ripple of chuckles was any indication. “Come back to me, understudy and we’ll continue your long-delayed educat--”
“F*ck off.” Tremblay snarled. “If I really wanted to learn I’d have targeted Dare. You’ve got nothing to teach anyonHHRGGGH!”
Eliza launched herself from the chair to deliver an angry Double Axehandle to the nape of her rival’s neck! “That’s where you’re mistaken, you insolent little retch.” Bliss growled in the midst of burying her hands in Tremblay’s hair. “There is still a great deal for you to learn and when this is all over you will THANK ME for imparting such fundamental wisdom upon your aching, beaten form.”
Taking leave of her unlikely pupil to fetch a study aid, Bliss took command of the chair and set it down in front of Tremblay with the seat pointed at her face. With the props arranged to her liking, Bliss moved to the opposite side of the chair where she dropped to one knee and reached through the gap with both hands to snatch hold of the blonde’s battle-damp locks. “Let go of me, bytch!” Penny came squirming back to life when Eliza yanked her up and forward, the Superlative Soprano apparently trying to force her adversary’s head through the open space. Tremblay didn’t just allow this however, she grabbed the chair with her right hand and drew backward despite the ever-increasing burn in her scalp. “F*cking crazy hag!” Penny yowled to the Briton. “What do you think you’re doNNNGGHHH!”
Bliss yanked the younger woman’s head up and then BWANGED it against the chair-seat once, twice, three times! “Isn’t it obvious, understudy?” Eliza relinquished her grip on Tremblay’s hair so she could dig her nails into the fingers wrapped around the top of the chair leg. Beaming with triumph as she wrenched Penny’s anchor away from the chair, Bliss angled the captured arm through the gap between seat and backrest and pulled hard enough to Tremblay’s head and arm through to the far side. On her feet in the blink of an eye, Eliza swung around to the front and took a seat on the small of her opponent’s back.
“You showboating slut!” Penny raged as she tried to fight out from under the domineering Brit. “I’ll rip you to pieces for this HHHHRRRRRGAAAAAHHH!” The Renaissance Woman reached down with both hands, laced them under Tremblay’s chin and CRANKED up on a cruelly-modified Camel Clutch!
CAMEL CLUTCH W/ CHAIR:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=-8GVBJPNmBE
Biting her bottom lip and nodding as she tried to stretch Penny’s neck in all sorts of new and interesting directions, the Songbird glanced over to the referee and said, “Ask her, would you? I think she’s finished!”
Craig took an appraising look around the stage and while he was fairly certain the spotlight had shrunk yet again (it was maybe half the size of a standard wrestling ring now) both ladies were still well within its illuminated confines. “You know I can’t do that, Eliza. Submissions don’t count tonight, you’ve got to get her out of the spotlight.”
Bliss ground her the curve of her glutes against the small of Tremblay’s back while continuing to yank and pull on the Chinlock. “You hear that, chorus girl? You need to crawl into the dark if you want this to end!”
“Guuuuhhhh… gonna STEP over your body on the way out of here, birdbrain.” Penny rasped. “Not that you’ll be awake to see NNNNGGGHH!”
Eliza broke her grip, grabbed the top edge of the chair and got to her feet so she could hoist it up by six or more inches, then BWANG! it down on the stage! The jolt acted like a truncated Curbstomp, one that left Tremblay draped limp across and down the back of the seat.
Backpedaling out of the straddle so she could take hold of the blonde’s ankles, Eliza jostled and pulled until she was able to wrest Penny loose from the steel trap. Tremblay managed to turn away so she didn’t break her nose when her head collided with the stage, but she was still so woozy she didn’t realize Bliss had turned her onto her back. Holding Penny’s right ankle in both hands, the Renaissance Woman hooked that limb behind her own left leg, then snatched Tremblay’s left ankle and lifted that leg up and braced it behind the crooked lower leg in the unmistakable figure of four. “Nuuuhhh…NO!” Penny shook her hands and tried to sit up, but it was too late. Bliss threaded her right leg over the blonde’s ankle and dropped to a seat to complete the Figure Four Leglock.
FIGURE FOUR LEGLOCK:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bl7ABawcIpw
Hands set flat on the stage, the Superlative Soprano pushed her butt up by several inches and poured pressure onto Tremblay’s awkwardly straightened left leg. “Can’t tap out, understudy!” Eliza barked at the writhing battler. “All you can do is drag yourself out of my spotlight and pray I decide to let you go!”
Penny shook out a furious ‘no’, but her glances toward the edge of the light suggested she’d at least contemplated the thought. Eliza noted this and rocked the Leglock that much harder, the Briton jouncing in place to earn a fresh round of shrieks from the trapped blonde.
“I can’t make her break the hold, Penny.” Craig said once the noise died down. “You either have to do it yourself or--”
“Or drag your pathetic carcass off into the shadows, just as I suggested earlier.” Bliss interrupted. “You do understand the implication don’t you, chorus girl? Our dear referee is concerned you’re too weak to--” Eliza drew back fast when Tremblay sat up and lashed out with a talon that came within no more than half an inch of raking the Diva’s face!
Bracing her other hand against the stage to better maintain her seat, Penny swiped for the brunette’s face again and when she couldn’t reach that she started pounding away at Bliss’ left thigh and knee instead. “Don’t you dare talk to me about weakness, Bliss.” the Orphan of Midnight sneered. “Don’t you dare, not when you’ve made a career of leaching off of NNNGGGHH!”
Eliza hunched forward and slapped Tremblay across the mouth, then snatched a handful of hair and slapped her half a dozen more times just so she could jab an index finger under the other woman’s nose. “Olivia and I are partners. Friends. What would you know of either concept, underst--”
Tremblay went straight for Eliza’s face only to curse in frustration when the Superlative Soprano snatched her fingers and gave them a sharp twist! Eyes narrowed to slots as she bore down on Penny’s knotted stems, Bliss continued to bend and grind her opponent’s fingers. “Did you mistake me for easy prey, Tremblay? Did you think you could build your name at my expense? Alas, I am not and you cannot. All you can do is join the enormous supporting cast that once dared brave the spotlight only to discover it is mine and mine alone!”
Eliza tossed Penny’s hand aside and immediately thrust her own into the blonde’s mouth! Middle and ring fingers clamped down beneath the tongue, thumb pressing in sharp against the shelf of her foe’s chin, Bliss yanked Tremblay’s head from side to side, then cupped the back of the blonde’s skull with her free hand to ensure she couldn’t wriggle free of the Cleft Note. Nodding as she saw Penny’s eyelids beginning to flutter, Eliza murmured, “Submit or succumb, it doesn’t matter to me, understudy. No matter the path you choose, this story ends with you facedown in the dark while AAAARRRRRRRHHHHH YOU BLOODY WITCH, LET GOOOOOOOOO!”
Tremblay, realizing her opponent’s hands were both occupied, hooked her own hands into talons and wedged them into the fork of the Brit’s crotch! The nauseating jolt from her center loosened Bliss’ Leglock considerably, but the Cleft Note stayed white-knuckle tight until Penny shifted her wrists and attacked with both thumbs! Eliza released the Cleft Note with a sob, backhanded Penny hard enough to bloody her bottom lip, then dug her elbows into the stage and crab-walked some distance between herself and the blonde.
As for the Angriest Acolyte, she tumbled onto her stomach and crawled in the opposite direction. A few frenetic seconds brought her to the edge of the spotlight (it’d shrunk again during her torturous stretch in the Figure Four) and then out of it, Penelope seemingly heeding her opponent’s advice now that she was free. Craig Long watched her disappear from sight, then turned to make sure Bliss was fully illuminated. Seeing that she was, the ref began to count. “ONE… TWO…. THREE…” The Renaissance Woman fought to a knee, though one hand was still pressed to her aching undercarriage. “FOUR… FIVE… SIX… SEVEN…” Eliza powered to boot-leather and glanced this way and that, the veteran presumably evaluating potential angles of attack. “EIGHT… NINE… “
Penny trudged back into the spotlight from almost the exact spot she’d initially left. “Still big enough for both of us, you nasty old crow.” Tremblay huffed as she took in the rapidly dwindling circle of light. “Won’t be for much longer, but that’s not going to be a problem. You know why?”
Bliss snapped the waistband of her trunks back into place with a ‘flick’ so oft-practiced it qualified as muscle memory. “I’m sure you’ll revel in telling me, chorus girl.”
The Last True Believer took another couple of steps forward, a wince crossing her face every time she put weight on her injured knee. “In the end you’ll choose the darkness.” she answered. “Not because it’s preferable, not because you’re tired of cheers and applause, but because to remain in your precious spotlight is simply too painful. You will choose the dark because it’s the only way to escape--”
She would’ve said ‘me’ if Eliza hadn’t pounced with another Cleft Note trained on the blonde’s faNO! Penny swung a punt at the juncture of the Briton’s thighs only to roar in outrage when Bliss’ approach turned into a feint, one designed to give her possession of the younger woman’s foot!
Smart not to kick with your injured leg.” the Superlative Soprano admitted even as she wrenched Tremblay’s ankle this way and that. “But in doing so you’ve left all your weight on that strained joint.”
No waiting for an answer, Eliza swept the leg to put Penelope flat on her back, then twisted around the captured leg and sank down to collect Tremblay’s other ankle for a second and decisive application of the Figure Fo--“HUUUURRRRGHHK!”
Penny sat up and jammed a hand into Bliss’ mouth, her counterfeit Cleft Note earning an incredulous round of disapproval from the audience. A less experienced wrestler might’ve tried to keep her hooks set long enough to complete the Leglock, but Eliza tossed them aside within heartbeats so she could snatch hold of Penny’s wrist to get the blonde’s goddamned hand out of her-- Tremblay pulled a knee up to her chest and pistoned a heel into the center of the Renaissance Woman’s briefs!
Baring her teeth as Bliss’ eyes went wide, Penny reset her kickin’ foot against the pit of the brunette’s stomach and tossed her up & over with what might’ve been described as a Monkey Flip if Tremblay hadn’t rolled through to wind up on top of the winded Englishwoman. “Time for the grand finale, you insufferable bytch.” the Bad Penny exclaimed as she caught hold of Eliza’s flailing hands and proceeded to thum-thum-THUMP! them against the stage floor! From there she scrambled up into a much higher mount, the Angriest Acolyte planting her tush on Eliza’s chest, her shins on Eliza’s biceps, the fork of her crotch tight against Eliza’s chin. With her thighs framing the Songbird’s cheeks, Penny fetched a heavy sigh, then brushed some hair off her opponent’s forehead.
“Open your mouth, crow.”
Bliss shook her head ‘no’, bridged as high as she could and THUNKED a knee into the small of her opponent’s back once, twice, three times! Penny growled, rose up in her mount and dropped a truncated Butt Bomb on Eliza’s chest. “I said open your mouth, crow.” To emphasize the demand she crooked her left hand into a claw and began to draaaaaaaaaaaa it down Bliss’ face from forehead to chin!
“…evil c*nt…” Eliza delivered the threat through clenched teeth in a valiant defense against another faux Cleft Note.
“What did you say? Speak louder.” Penny slowed the pace of her raking while simultaneously squeezing Eliza’s head between her thighs. “Come on you arrogant bytch, project!” The Orphan of Midnight had no directorial credits to her name, but that didn’t stop her from getting the desired response from her nemesis by SMECKING a claw grip down on Eliza’s trunks!
“AAAAARRRRHHH GAAAAAAAHHHHH!” Bliss shrieked to the rafters and instinctually crossed her legs, though it wasn’t enough to break Penelope’s callous clasp.
Delighted by the concerned murmur from her unseen audience, Tremblay pumped her clawin’ hand down once, twice, three times while simultaneously gouging and digging with her hooked fingers. “Tell them it’s mine, Bliss.” as she continued to worry and ‘chew’ with that malicious claw. “Tell them you’ll cede the spotlight and I’ll let you crawl away under your own powNGH! NGH! NGH!”
Eliza hit her rival’s back with several more Kneelifts, though that damnable grip meant her shots were quite a bit more off center than the previous round. “Nuuuuhhhh…. never cede it.” the Superlative Soprano tried her damndest, but couldn’t keep the hitch out of her voice. “If you want it, you’ll have to take it GGRRRRHHHHH HUUURRRRRRGK!”
Tremblay threw every bit of her anger into the Crotch Claw only to trade it in for a Cleft Note when Bliss’ mouth finally gaped wide! Securing the Diva with a fervor Eliza would’ve appreciated if she wasn’t on the receiving end thereof, Penny gripped her own wrist and leeeeaaaaaaned down over the flailing Englishwoman. “I don’t want your f*cking spotlight, Bliss.” Penny sneered down at the sputtering, struggling battler. “In fact you’re welcome to crawl back to it whenever you find the strength, all I WANT is for you to understand that I can come along at any time and take it on a whimMWHOOOAAAH!”
Eliza kicked her legs up, forced them under the blonde’s arms and popped her hips hard enough to tumble Tremblay down onto her back. The lack of pin-falls (or perhaps it was simply her own exhaustion) meant Bliss didn’t bother to wrap her arms around Penny’s waist, which meant the Orphan of Midnight somersaulted off her shoulders and vanished from the spotlight, which was now little bigger than a phone booth.
Resigned to the gloom to allow his charges the most possible space, Craig Long began to count, “ONE… TWO… THREE… FOUR… FIVE…” Rasping and coughing after the terrible tandem talons, Eliza clambered to a knee and put kept one hand to her throat while the other swept back and forth in anticipation of a blonde attack. “SIX… SEVEN… EIGHT… NI--” Penelope flew in from the Songbird’s six, leading with her right knee to THWUNK a gawdawful Enzu Shining Wizard offa the base of her opponent’s skull!
MALIGN MIRACLE:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=XD4SzE1Gi04
Residual momentum carried Tremblay off into the dark again, but she was back a moment later and the ref stepped into the light to confirm the match was still live. Looming over the Renaissance Woman, Penny raked hair out of her face and roared, “GET OUT, BLISS! PICK YOURSELF UP AND CRAWL AWAY FROM THE SPOTLIGHT!”
Those gathered for this contest urged Eliza not to listen, each and every one of them offering their support for the brunette as she began to struggle to her hands and knees. “Don’t you listen to them, Bliss. Don’t even f*cking entertain the notion! They’re only going to take years off your career, so swallow your heathenish pride and get the F*CK out of my spotlig--”
A raucous, decidedly un-operalike cheer from the audience when Bliss raised her right hand and showed Tremblay one of her favorite phalangeal avians. “Thuuuu… the… spotlight… is mine… chorus girl. For better or worse, it belongs to me and I belong to it.”
Eliza grunted to the woman whose hate she could feel radiating down from somewhere overhead.
Shoulders rising and falling in the wake of that damnable defiance, Penny took a few deep breaths before she replied, “So this is what it’s come to, songbird? Debasement and humiliation are no longer satisfactory, you’ll accept nothing short of TRAGEDY as a proper outcome?” Tremblay backed out of the spotlight without waiting for an answer, the Last True Believer leaving Bliss to clear her clouded head with nothing but the concerned crowd for company.
Hoping against hope that he wasn’t in Penny’s line of fire, Craig took a deep breath before he began another count. “ONE…. TWO… THREE… FO--” Tremblay reemerged from the dark in a handstand that culminated in her right knee striking Eliza’s skull with an echoing THWHONK!
HANDSTAND KNEE DROP:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=fAASDaopTkA
Dark eyes burning like coals, a penitent Penelope plunged a hand into Bliss’ dark hair and lifted her head off the stage floor. “Last chance, Bliss.” Penelope’s voice was little more than a whisper. “Drag yourself into the dark or…”
Eliza hoisted her hand for another middle finger salute, then turned it around in search of a last-ditch Cleft Note. Tremblay drew her head back to remain clear of the effort while simultaneously clamping down on the Brit’s exposed wrist. On her feet shortly thereafter, she used the Wristlock to haul Bliss to all fours and reel her into a Standing Headscissors. Eliza groaned and dug claws into the back of her blonde’s thighs, but Penny endured it to secure an answering Waistlock, the first strong squeeze of which put an end to the brunette’s weary countermeasures. Upending Bliss on a wave of concern from those in the crowd, Tremblay turned the both of ‘em toward the stage and let her hang there, Eliza’s glossy stems wavering like reeds in a soft breeze for three, four, five, six, sev-- Penny hopped up and dropped to her tush to deliver a no-frills Piledriver that SPIKED the crown of the veteran’s skull with frightening force!
PILEDRIVER:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=R9lPT6B4L64
Bliss’ legs tumbled forward, slopping into a boneless ‘V’ that made it look like she was in some odd tipped over version of a three-point stance. Behind her, Tremblay let the audience clutch their collective pearls for a moment before she palmed Eliza’s right flank in both hands and shoved her aside in a boneless, lolling sprawl. The resultant tumble put Bliss half-in half-out of the spotlight, which was enough for Craig to begin another count. “ONE… TWO… THREE…Come on, Penelope. That’s not necessary.”
The Orphan of Midnight had cupped Eliza’s ears and dragged her back into the spotlight, which was now little more that a bright flare amidst a sea of gloom. “I have to take this by force.” Tremblay gestured to the remaining light, in case there was any question of what she meant. “She was VERY clear on that point, so I will honor that demand, if no other.”
The ref had nothing to say to that, meaning the blonde could work in silence as she dipped her head beneath Bliss’ left arm and wrapped her right arm around the Brit’s lower back. Bracing her free hand against the jutting shelf of Eliza’s bum, Bad Penny hoisted the Superlative Soprano onto the point of her right shoulder, then dropped down and drew both knees up across her chest to provide a most uncomfortable landing for the blue-clad battler. Launched away from the Spine Tremblar like her foe’s knees were spring-loaded, Bliss flew out into the dark and would’ve been entirely lost if the crowd hadn’t heard the dull, sweaty thud of her landing somewhere in the shadows.
SPINE TREMBLAR:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=612Eh6wXNO8
Spinning to verticality in the wake of that callous chiropractic cudgeling, Penelope Tremblay took her place alone in the spotlight as Craig counted off, “ONE… TWO… THREE… FOUR… FIVE… SIX… SEVEN… EIGHT… NINE… TEN!”
The blonde spread her arms wide, dropped to her knees and tipped her head back, Penny’s beatific features raised to the light in an homage to her mentor as the Announcer delivered his grim news. “Ladies and gentlemen, your winner of the match… PENELOPE TREMBLAY!”
“Ring, penthouse, boudoir and beach. Peaks, valleys, cliffs and sky. Red light, green light, black light and spotlight.” She opened her eyes and smiled out to the audience. “There’s NO place I won’t go to take what you hold most dear. Because you better believe I am the baddest of Bad Penny’s. And I’ll always turn up where you least suspect it.”