Post by hawkeye on Jun 6, 2023 23:22:56 GMT
The thought of leaving Heaven flat on the mat for the three-count didn't faze the California Angel. Competition against friends was inevitable in this business. But with the unpredictable Pink Stranger in Hughes’ corner, whispering sweet nothings in Heaven’s impressionable ear?
A chill worked down the spine of Colleen O’Neal, joining the redhead’s butterflies.
“There’s no choice but to do your duty, citizen,” Lady Liberty stated firmly, standing at attention behind her Greater Good counterpart, rubbing the shoulders of the Ginger Genius.
“I know. I just wish it hadn’t come to this…like this,” the GSW icon responds.
As Katy Perry’s California Gurls started to pour through the arena’s speakers, the crowd rose as one to honor their beloved former World Champion.
CALIFORNIA GURLS:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=F57P9C4SAW4
A cascade of cheers echoed until their auburn-haired darling emerged from behind the curtain and planted herself center stage, reveling in a dream made real through a career of hard work, a marvelous second act with FAWN.
COLLEEN O’NEAL
Greater Good partner by her side, Lady Liberty accompanied the redhead in street clothes that suit being Born in the USA, a pair of blue jeans and a white cotton tank top that did wonders for Liberty’s sinewy, tanned frame.
LADY LIBERTY
Colleen was garbed in her iconic tight spandex one-piece, halved in pink and sky blue with pink boots to mid-thigh and silver fingerless gloves, the Cali native seemed more than ready to set close feelings aside and collect another ‘W’ while prying her former student from the danger zone created by Goodheart.
Gear: (https://www.dollskill.com/halloween-sexy-wrestling-champ-costume-set-pink-turquoise.html?gclid=Cj0KCQiAt_PuBRDcARIsAMNlBdr_8wE5qC_kyeTo6lFLvIAIVfi-oFHrA_YlWbDRyxEebaPXuRlroFIaAmIzEALw_wcB without the ‘belt’ ).
The myriad members of the California Angel’s choir beckoned her to the squared circle. O’Neal and her patriotic ally respond.
Adoration flowing freely, FAWN’s former Artemis beamed at the sight of her legion of fans showering her with love. Colleen entered her classic sprint to the ring as she reached the base of the ramp. The long-time face of the Golden State dashed to the squared circle, sliding in under the bottom rope. She popped to her feet, absorbing the ovation then clapping and waving in return.
The auburn-haired veteran grinned from ear to ear, reveling in another magnificent moment she never thought likely to see.
With Lady Liberty stationed in Colleen’s corner the Angel’s music fading, the Ring Announcer broke through the remaining ovation.
“The following contested is scheduled for one fall with a twenty minute time limit. Introducing first, hailing from San Francisco, California, she stands a five feet three inches and weighs in tonight at one hundred and fourteen pounds. She is the auburn-haired artist, the California Angel... COLLEEN O'NEAL!”
The adrenaline-filled Ginger Genius bowed to her Choir, then hopped with excitement. Tonight’s foe likely created some conflict in her mind, but the redhead’s heart was clearly filled with the joy of being a top talent in the top tier…and doing it the right way…for the Greater Good.
“And her opponent, hailing from Santa Monica, California, she stands at five feet two inches tall and weighs in at one hundred and fifteen pounds. She is the Sweetest Sunshine, this is HEAVEN HUGHES!”
A decidedly confused reaction greeted the GSW import as she brushed through the curtain in time with an explosion of golden sparks blossoming overhead. The sporty, sun-kissed blonde appeared as she always did, namely the perfect billboard for Cali. And her dispositions hadn't changed in the slightest, as the smiling blonde greeted her growing fan-base clad in a black and yellow, zippered Body Glove diving top; similarly-hued and branded boy-cut trunks; her tanned legs and feet bare. She was indeed the very model of a lovable ingenue babyface, yet a good portion of the crowd seemed entirely bumfuzzled by how to greet Colleen's one time protege.
HEAVEN HUGHES:
If the confusion bothered Hughes she gave no sign, she was certainly all smiles as she started down the ramp. A zig-zag pattern allowed her to slap hands with braver souls on both sides and Heaven was genuinely grateful for their support. She was about halfway to the squared circle when a woman in old jeans and a brand spankin' new Kylie Sanders tee-shirt hopped over the barricade and started strolling along behind the oblivious blonde! The fact that this intruder performed such a maneuver with both hands sheathed in oversized foam novelty hands did nothing to dissuade the crowd from roaring in concern, the rush of noise causing Heaven to whip around with her hands rai--”
VIOLYT GOODHEART:
“What?” Violyt Goodheart asked over the din she'd created. “Don't look like you're embarrassed when I walk you to school!”
“Jesus, Violyt, you scared the crap out of me!” Hughes raised a hand to the oncoming crush of security and called, “It's ok, it's just Violyt.”
“Just Violyt?” the Princess of Peaksville grumbled. “Like I suppose that's just Doug, Keith and Tucker skulking up behind me like I'm some garden variety rail-jumping lunatic? Like Doug and Keith could do a damned thing to stop me. And don't get me started on Tucker. Fuck Tucker, Tucker sucks.”
“What are you doing here, Violyt?” Hughes asked as patiently as she could.
Goodheart booped her on the nose with the tip of one foam finger. “Isn't it obvious, silly? I'm your back-up!”
“Against Colleen? What, you think I'm gonna endure some chicanery from the leader of the Greater Good?”
“I think Lady Liberty is the one that stopped me from breaking up the pin at March to War.”
“That was a tag match, it wasn't against the rules.”
“Of course not. But this is a singles match and I wasn't penciled in to accompany you on the call sheet, right? So why does a former World Champion need a second against you?”
Heaven frowned, thought it over. “All right, you can stay. But don't help me out, ok? If I can win, this'll be huge for me. I don't need anyone saying I only won because you broke up a pin or threw glitter into someone's eyes.”
“Don't worry, my little cherub.” Vi snickered. “I promise I won't lift a finger to help out if you're getting your ass kicked. That'd make me just like Colleen and Liberty, right?”
Hughes didn't reply, the blonde choosing instead to turn around and sprint the rest of the way to the ring. Goodheart didn't mind the abrupt departure, in fact she used the rest of the walk to come up with some decidedly catchy pro-Heaven limericks in hopes of swaying some of these poor dopes to her new friend's side. Speaking of whom, the Santa Monica Sweetheart dove under the bottom rope and popped to her feet, whereupon she hopped onto the middle rope and offered a wave to the FAWNatics. Their reply was mixed as ever, but there was no denying the upbeat clapping and hollering from the Pink Stranger when Heaven skipped down and offered her elbows and knees to the official for final inspection.
The bell sounded and Colleen headed out from her corner bolstered by the cheers of the FAWNatics and the enthusiastic applause of Lady Liberty. Heaven's cheering section was far smaller but certainly no less zealous as evidenced by the matching pair of oversized gold foam novelty hands Violyt had showed off since her unexpected arrival. They even had Heaven's name emblazoned on both sides, a fact that warmed the Californian's heart until she realized that the upraised fingers were middle and not the more traditional index.
“Show her the true might of heaven, my noble cupid!” Goodheart shouted over the throng. “And remember what I told you, it's not TRUE victory unless everyone in the floor seats signs up for therapy on their way home!”
Hughes cringed, saw the concern on her mentor's face and offered up a nervous little laugh. “Uhhhh, she's joking of course. Vi's got a weird sense of humor.”
“That's a diplomatic way of putting it.” O'Neal extended her hand to the ingenue and was relieved when Heaven returned the gesture with no sign of hesitation or artifice. Quickly settling into a snug crouch that Hughes unconsciously mirrored, the Ginger Genius began to circle and asked, “Anything you want to talk about, Heaven?”
The blonde opened her mouth to reply only to sigh when Violyt called out, “Who's your new friend? She looks a little old to be hanging out with you. She didn't buy you beer, did--”
“We already had this discussion, Violyt!” Heaven stamped her foot for emphasis. “Colleen's my friend! She helped me get into the wrestling business back in California and she's the reason I made it to FAWN!”
Blonde and redhead had circled closer together, though they'd yet to meet in a lock-up or even a feint thereof. The obvious tension didn't seem to bother Goodheart at all, either that or she sensed it and just didn't care. “Well she certainly sounds lovely, but I don't see why she can't swing by to introduce herself sometime while we're training. Frankly it sounds like she's using you, otherwise she'd have offered you a spot in the Power Pack long before Bethany had the opportunity to hand you off to a weirdo like--”
Colleen zigged away from Heaven and locked eyes with the Glittering Enigma. “Do we have a prob--”
'Ooooooooooohhhhhh!' from those gathered for Mayhem when the Santa Monica Sweetheart stepped in front of O'Neal. “You're not wrestling her, Colleen.” Hughes said quietly. “You asked for this match, the least you can do is act like it matters.”
O'Neal stepped back, her expression stung. “Of course it matters!” she replied. “I've been trying to get a hold of you for more than a month, but you won't ret--”
Heaven surged forward, catching the former World Champion in a Collar & Elbow Lock-Up that startled Colleen and the crowd with its intensity. “It's kinda weird how you suddenly found time for me after Violyt and I almost beat Liberty and Giselle despite the fact that we'd never teamed before.” Hughes marched O'Neal backward across the ring and smudged her up against the ropes. “Even as a loss it was probably my best showing in FAWN thus far. And weird as she is, Violyt saw something in me. But you and the rest of the Greater Good? Not so much as a word while I was getting my ass kicked by Danica Dadal and the whole of Muy CalientNNGGGHH!”
Colleen pushed off the strands, laid claim to Heaven's right wrist and spun around behind her to force it up between the blonde's shoulders in a Hammerlock! “You're more than capable of handling yourself, Heaven! There was no reason to think you couldn't make it on your--” Hughes reached back with her free hand and palmed the base of O'Neal's skull. In the next instant she crouched down and vaulted high into the air with the Hammerlock still intact. That changed once she tucked her legs and laid out on one side to send the redhead tumbling across the canvas with a high flying Snapmare! Colleen tumbled through and popped to her feet while Heaven joined her a moment later, the blonde rolling her tweaked shoulder.
“There ya go, see?” Hughes snapped. “I'm more than capable of making my own decisions, yet the instant I make one you don't agree with you're so concerned about what's happening, never mind the fact that you're hanging out with a chick who thinks she's a fairy tale princess and another that looks like she should be painted on the fuselage of a World War Two bomber!”
“Hey!” Violyt said sharply. “Don't be rude. Those are two achievements worth aspiring for. And in her defense, dear ol' Artemis IS concerned for your well-being, albeit for slightly selfish reasons. After all, if crazy ol' Violyt can reach someone as levelheaded as you, just imagine what sort of trouble I could cause someone as unstable as the good Princess Gis--”
“Keep her name out of your mouth, Goodheart.” Colleen warned the Princess of Peaksville. “Stay away from her, stay away from Liberty, and stay away from HeavOOOFFFFHHH!”
Heaven didn't appreciate O'Neal shifting focus again so she made the veteran pay for it by lunging in and THWHUMPING a Broadside Kneelift across her tummy! Colleen 'oooffffhed' and doubled over so Hughes crooked an arm around the back of her head to hold her in place for two more similarly sturdy shots. From there she locked her hands tight and flipped the Ginger Genius over her hip for an emphatic Headlock Takedown that made the ring shiver!
“That was a cheap shot, citizen!” Lady Liberty grumbled from her spot outside the ring. “I thought Colleen taught you better than that.”
Hughes frowned and cranked the Headlock until O'Neal's boot heels were scrabbling against the canvas. When she spoke it was to Liberty, though she made certain her attention remained focused on Colleen. “She did, as a matter of fact. She also taught me not to take my eyes off whoever I was wrestling. Guess some people don't like to follow their own adviHHRRGGH!”
The GSW's living legend crunched in on herself, threaded both legs around Heaven's throat and locked her ankles to break the Headlock with an equally sturdy Headscissors! “Doesn't seem you're much in the mood for taking advice at the moment, Heaven.” O'Neal huffed after dishing out a few stern squeezes. “So how about I teach you a lesson instead.”
“Is it about abandoning your supposed friends to the same system that almost ruined you at the beginning of your career?” Goodheart asked just as Colleen really started pouring on the pressure. “Because I think she's already figured that one out.”
The redhead glared in her direction, that usually pleasant gaze nothing more than ice and steel. “That's enough out of you, Violyt. Far as I can tell you're nothing but an instigator and a rabble-rous--”
Heaven twisted from her back to her belly in a single smooth motion. Doing so scraped her forehead against the canvas but it also allowed her to scramble to all fours despite putting a pretty intense strain on her neck. Dismissing the Glittering Enigma for the moment, O'Neal set her hands against the mat and lifted her hips to put even more force into the Headscissors and while her efforts did earn an audible groan from her fellow Californian it didn't keep Hughes from arranging herself in a nimble headstand that grew all the more impressive when she popped her noggin loose of the Scissors and landed on her feet! Colleen quickly spun from her seat to one knee to better defend against anything Heaven might throw at her so she was mildly surprised when the younger battler simply stepped back and adjusted her trunks.
Not quite sure what to make of the situation, O'Neal hurried to boot leather and settled back into the grappler's crouch. “Back to it, then?” Hughes nodded and so they locked up again, redhead and blonde each managing to push her adversary a few steps one way before the other took over and set them on a new course. Eventually Colleen backed Heaven into the corner and tummied up pretty tight, though she made no effort to drag things out when Craig Long hurried over and asked for a break. Raising both hands to shoulder-level she took a step back and-- Heaven stepped out and THWHAPPED her across the chest with a hard Forearm Smash!
“Stop holding back, dammit!” Hughes barked as O'Neal stumbled in place. “How am I supposed to get any better if you're always treating me with kid gloveNNGGHHH!”
GSW's Archangel answered with a Forearm Smash of her own, then grabbed the second strand in both hands and plowed forward to THWHUMP the point of her shoulder into Hughes' midsection! The Shoulderblock put Heaven's tush on the middle buckle but Colleen wasn't satisfied as evidenced by the extra half dozen Shoulderblocks she tacked on after the first. Now Craig did have to start a count, though it'd only reached 'TWO' when she stepped away. “You want to do this the hard way?” she challenged. “Fine. Just don't start whining at me to take it down again when you're wore out in ten minOOOFFFHHH!”
Hughes hooked her arms over the top rope, brought both knees up to her chest and delivered a quick Mule Kick to O'Neal's sternum! Colleen grunted but otherwise held her ground which meant she was still in range for the Toe Kick Heaven buried in her tummy. Grabbing a handful of hair as the veteran doubled over, Hughes slipped out onto the apron and pulled O'Neal about halfway through so she could thread her arms over the rubber-coated steel. Stepping back so that she was on the redhead's left, Heaven grabbed the rope in her right hand to ensure she kept her balance while unleashing three high kicks that THWHACKED across Colleen's chest!
That last shot knocked her arms loose and left the Greatest Do Gooder folded in half over the second rope while Hughes turned around and stomped to the other end of the apron. Her quick return brought boos that blossomed into sympathetic groans when THWHUNKED her right knee into Colleen's temple! The Kneelift sent O'Neal slopping back into the squared circle where she was promptly joined by Heaven, who covered her mentor for a decisive...
ROPE HUNG KICKS & KNEELIFT:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=UijweAVWOUk
ONE..
TWO...
Colleen kicked out simultaneous with 'TWO!' much to the relief of the FAWNatics.
Elsewhere, Violyt Goodheart looked quite pleased with recent developments. “They grow up so FAST!” she said to no one in particular. “It just makes ya so proud!”
“How’s that for not holding back?” Hughes asked, on her haunches next to her mentor.
With no response beyond a groan from the redhead forthcoming, Heaven wrapped both arms around O’Neal’s noggin and drew the GSW legend to her feet. Shifting her grip to a wrist, she flung Colleen across the canvas with an Irish Whip and delayed a tick before following. After her opponent’s rebound, she took to the air and PLANTED a perfectly placed Dropkick on the chin of the charging veteran.
O’Neal’s knocked flat to the canvas. Crystal blue eyes blurry, Colleen nevertheless scurried to her feet but only in time to be flattened again with a Clothesline from the limber blonde.
Heaven gazed down at her former teacher but then took off, skipping over O’Neal and racing to the far ropes. As she U-turned out of the strands, the risen California Angel advanced toward Hughes.
The Ginger Genius leapfrogged over a ducking Hughes, the blonde sprinting to her second set of cables. Turning and stationing herself dead center for Heaven’s return, the Golden State OG was ready, dipping and collecting Hughes under the curve of her glutes with one arm and around her back with the other when the flaxen-haired fighter ties to get froggie in return.
With a wide-eyed Santa Monica Sweetheart elevated in her arms, Colleen pivoted with her cargo and PLANTED Heaven into the deck with a ring-rattling Spinebuster that had Violyt wincing on the outside.
SPINEBUSTER:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=_d4j9W2AFZk
“How could you?” Goodheart queried, lower lip extended in a pout before shrugging. “On the other hand, spare the rod, et cetera.”
O’Neal dropped her alabaster frame across Hughes in a Lateral Press, hooking the youngster’s far leg for the…
ONE…
TWO…
Heaven kicked free, shifting to her side and reflexively reaching for the base of her spine to assuage the pain.
“Just remember kid, I taught ya everything you know, not everything I know,” Colleen imparted, returning verbal fire to her GSW student.
Pushing to her feet, Colleen surged to the nearest ropes. She bounded to the middle cable, grabbing the top to steady herself, then springboarded off the rubber-coated steel, pivoting as she launched. The auburn-haired Angel sat out and dropped a leg across the chest of the sporty blonde, Hughes spasming from the impact.
The seated O’Neal rolled off her Golden State protégé, snatching the blonde by a wrist and shoulder and pulling the grimacing Heaven to her feet. Colleen shifted her control to a Side Headlock, twisting Hughes’ braincase tight to her side. With a burst, the Greater Good’s do-Goodiest charged toward the opposite buckles with Heaven in tow, apparently ready to Bulldog her fellow Cali grappler.
But as they approached liftoff, Hughes got her palms to the hips of the Angel and heaved her off just as the former Artemis launched. O’Neal deftly landed on the middle ropes, one foot on either side of the corner above her patriotic compatriot. Without an instant wasted, she leapt in a 180 off her perch, shins slamming into Heaven’s shoulders. The collision took Hughes off her feet and the Ginger Genius rode Goodheart’s pet project to the canvas, sticking her with a Meteora.
METEORA:
www.youtube.com/shorts/bnpAIXtsgmI
With O’Neal remaining in a Schoolgirl Pin from touchdown, shins atop biceps, Colleen reached back to hook a leg as Long dropped to the deck and slapped the canvas for the…
ONE…
TWO…
…riding a bit too high on her knees, Colleen left enough room for Heaven to swing her tanned stems up and under O’Neal’s armpits. Thrusting her lower limbs forward, Hughes gathered a pinning attempt of her own when she rolled the Angel onto her back, the redhead’s noggin and torso flat against the floorboards between the blonde’s outstretched gams for the…
ONE…
TWO…
Colleen kicked her legs together, crunching Hughes’ head between to break the effort at an upset.
Both women scrambled to their feet and threw themselves into a fierce Collar-and-Elbow, Heaven eager to show what she has now versus what Colleen still has. It’s the latter with more for the moment as the California Angel pivots into a Three Quarters Facelock grip and Snapmared her protégé to a seat on the canvas, Heaven’s right hand reaching for her aching tailbone.
Her palm quickly ascended her spinal column when Colleen added a Soccer Kick to the base of her adversary’s backbone, Hughes arching in pain from the blasting boot.
Surrounding the golden mane and the cranium beneath, Colleen pulled Heaven to her feet, spun the beach blonde to toward her and DROVE a raised knee into Hughes’ navel, doubling over a gurgling Heaven. The veteran pulled Heaven’s lowered head into a Front Facelock and snatched a handful of spandex at her foe’s near hip.
O’Neal buggywhipped Hughes up and over with a crisp Snap Suplex, Heaven’s body whipping through a front flip before SLAMMING to the deck. Keeping her grips in place, the Ginger Genius maneuvered both herself and her former charge up to the same starting position.
“Don’t let her triple up on you my beautiful cupid,” shouted Violyt. “Y’know these Greater Goodies are all about the cliches.”
The advice was a little late for the second whiplash-like trip to the canvas-covered plywood, Colleen snapping her vulnerable student over for a second time and again rolling each of them back up to the starting block for a third in the set, just as the Glittering Enigma preordained.
But before the redhead could rip Hughes off her boot soles for the requisite troika, Heaven snaked a tanned limb around the ivory of the Angel.
“Yes!” Goodheart yelled. “Heaven always has been the place where Angels go to die...er something like that.”
The heads of both blonde and redhead turned toward Violyt, a look of confusion on each face, but the vet shook off the puzzlement more quickly, rattling Heaven’s jaw with a European Uppercut. Hughes’ noggin snapped back and when O’Neal reacquired, the final iteration of the set was sent into motion, Colleen Suplexing the Santa Monica Sweetheart a final time to a back-bruising conclusion.
As Hughes arched in anguish, flawless features etched in pain, the GSW icon kipped to her feet to a roar from the crowd, the former Artemis with the FAWNatics in the palm of her hand. In her corner, Liberty offered a crisp salute that her Greater Good cohort returned in kind, eliciting another cheer from the crowd.
“Look, kid,” Colleen offered delicately, grabbing a shoulder and wrist. “You don’t need me, but you certainly don’t need or want her. She’ll use you up to get what she really wants.”
The redhead tugged Hughes to her feet and chaperoned her to a corner where she scooped beneath the blonde’s hammies and lifted Heaven to a seat on the top buckle of the neutral corner. Turning to face away from her opponent, the Angel dipped her wings beneath the legs of the ingenue and straightened to vertical. With Heaven lifted on her former mentor’s shoulders, she’s carried toward center stage, Heaven’s dark eyes panicky, arms pinwheeling to keep herself mounted. Once situated dead center the Ginger Genius laid out, SLAMMING her to the deck with an Electric Chair Drop that rocked Heaven’s world.
ELECTRIC CHAIR DROP @ 00:18
www.youtube.com/watch?v=aQUTT3BIks8
Colleen bridged with Heaven’s legs still in grip then pushed through a back-flip, landing on her haunches, the crown of Hughes’ head tight to her crotch, the blonde’s lower limbs folded atop her chest in a matchbook for…
ONE…
TWO…
THRNOOOO!
Heaven got both hands against the veteran's buns and pushed in conjunction with a pulse from her legs that allowed the Santa Monica Sweetheart to roll to a seat while O'Neal was dropped on her face and chest in an impromptu Facebuster! Goodheart clapped politely while Lady Liberty made appropriately concerned noises, neither of which earned much of a response from their respective representatives. Faring quite a bit better than the younger grappler despite her most recent trip to the mat, Colleen untangled herself from the remains of the pin and barrel rolled to a safe distance before she rose to one knee and checked her nose and lips for blood. As for Heaven, she groaned and struggled to all fours, which promptly became three of four as she devoted one hand to rubbing the ache from her abused spine.
She was starting to feel the tiniest bit better when O'Neal strode over and filled her hands with Hughes' blonde locks. “Awful casual with that hair-pull, aren't ya Artie?” Violyt asked it just loud enough to ensure Craig Long took note of the infraction. “If Heaven's a friend I'm curious to know how you'd treat an ene--”
“This is your fault, Goodheart.” Colleen interrupted after switching over to a far more legal grip on the other wrestler's ears. “None of this would be happening if you hadn't spent the last month spewing poison in her--”
“I fail to see how me spending time with someone you only call a friend when it suits you is responsible for you breaking the rules, but justify it however you see fit, I supp--”
Heaven shouldered O'Neal away, then reared back and unleashed a right handed Haymaker aimed straight for the Ginger Genius' chiNO! Colleen dipped low, hooked her left arm around the blonde's exposed right and swung beneath it in a deft little maneuver that spun the GSW imports to face one another. Or rather they faced each other for only a moment because the redhead twisted around and reached over her right shoulder with both hands to snag Heaven's noggin in a Three Quarters Facelock. In the same instant she went up on tiptoe and dropped to one knee, Colleen putting a little extra 'oommph' on the descent that THWHONKED Heaven's forehead against the point of her waiting knee.
SNAPMARE KNEE SMASH:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=h7sWeg9vvRs
Hughes bounced up and stumbled backward, the ingenue clearly on spaghetti legs while the former FAWN World Champion did an about-face and headed toward the opposite side of the squared circle. She'd just rebounded out of the strands when Colleen closed in and took to the skies, the nimble redhead clasping her hands across the back of Heaven's head even as she raised her right knee high enough to wedge against the tyro's ja--'OOOOOOOOHHHHH!' from those assembled when Hughes caught O'Neal's butt in both hands and twisted around on the spot to dump her through the space between the top and middle ropes! Wincing in pain as her tailbone struck the narrow ledge of the apron, Colleen managed to grab hold of the top rope so she didn't slop all the way to the floor in the wake of that awkward, albeit effective counter. Back on her feet once she'd regained her bearings, Colleen dipped through the ropes and-- “NNGGGHHH!” Heaven rushed in with a short-ranged Knee Trembler that caught the GSW Archangel flush on the temple!
That stern rebuke sent O'Neal back to the apron in an effort to clear the cobwebs without offering her resurgent protege any more free shots. Alas both efforts were doomed to failure as Heaven rushed to the nearest corner, hopped onto the second rope (on the far side of the turnbuckle) and leapt back at the woozy redhead to THWHACK a beautiful Dropkick offa Colleen's chin! No soaking that one, Colleen dropped off the apron, backpedaled across the aisle and BWANGED against the steel guardrail with enough force to bruise the shins of some front row fans.
TRIANGLE DROPKICK:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=r4EX2H66vcU
The former Artemis was still cataloging all her new aches when Lady Liberty hurried around the corner to check on her friend. “Are you ok, Colleen? That sounded like a nasty land--”
“Why don't you back off and give her some breathing room?” Liberty looked up fast, her blue eyes trained on Violyt. “Yeah, that's right Norma Rockwell, I'm talking to you.” the Pink Stranger chided. “Colleen might have some miles on her, but I don't think she's so frail she needs you manning her medic alert bracelet.”
“Do we have a problem, citizen?” the blonde asked as she pulled away from O'Neal to advance on Goodheart.
“Not as long as you adopt a more isolationist approach.” Violyt smirked. “But you keep sticking your nose in my business, I might have to consider that a show of aggression, if not an outright act of war.”
The Girl From Anytown wasn't about to tolerate that sort of sass from a dissident weirdo like Violyt Goodheart so she walked the other blonde do-- Colleen lunged off the barricade and shoved Liberty out of the way of one Heaven Hughes, who'd just vaulted over the top rope in a breathtaking Somersault Plancha! O'Neal's timely intervention meant Liberty escaped with little more than an awkward stumble, the redhead on the other hand ate the brunt of the Heaven's wrath as every bit of her hundred and fifteen pounds THWHUMPED down butt-first across Colleen's left shoulder and the back of her neck. Hughes landed on her feet while O'Neal was bowled offa hers, the Ginger Genius grimacing and clutching at her wounded shoulder.
SOMERSAULT PLANCHA:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=l03d293QHRQ
Aware that Colleen had sacrificed herself to ensure she didn't come to any harm, Liberty sounded uncharacteristically grave as Heaven grabbed her mentor by trunks and tresses and scraped her off the floor. “You're traveling a dangerous path, citizen.” she warned. “There are dire consequences ahead if you don't change your ways very soo--”
“You're the one interfering in my match, Liberty.” Hughes snapped once she'd sent O'Neal under the bottom rope in a discombobulated tangle of limbs. “So why don't you stop ACTING like a paragon of virtue and try being one instead?”
Heaven skipped onto the apron without another word but the Lady called after her, “We're just looking out for--”
Violyt grabbed hold of the blonde's shoulder, spun her around in a half circle and 'pfwooofed' a cloud of glitter into her eyes! Liberty shrieked and tried to swipe the horrible rainbow from her vision but she'd barely made a dent when Goodheart snagged a double handful of hair and forced her into a Standing Headscissors. From there she hooked a Waistlock and upended the blinded blonde only to drop to a seat that THWHONKED the crown of her skull against the blue-padded floor!
PILEDRIVER:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=DGHjpIE6CWg
This brutal attack earned the ire of the FAWNatics as well as Craig Long, who might've sent Goodheart back to the locker room on the spot if another rumble from the crowd hadn't drawn his attention to another corner of the squared circle. No sneak attack this, just Heaven Hughes rising to her full height moments prior to leaping out into the void, the limber blonde crunching in on herself at the apex only to stretch out half a heartbeat before she CRUSHED Colleen against the deck with a massive Frog Splash! O'Neal shuddered beneath the tawny tidal wave but couldn't muster the energy to turn onto her side, thus she found herself on the bad end of a short clock when Heaven hooked the far leg for...
FROG SPLASH @ 00:15
www.youtube.com/watch?v=CujzuZzNTrw
ONE...
TWO...
THRENOOOOOOOO!
Colleen inched a shoulder off the mat at the last second to earn a loud roar from the Do Gooders gathered for Mayhem.
Elsewhere, Violyt Goodheart pushed to one knee and made a show of clapping loose glitter off her palms in a shimmery rain that dusted Lady Liberty's gulping tummy. “Only warning, Yankee Doodlebug.” Vi giggled as she got to her feet. “Meddle again and it gets much worse.” With that she turned around and skipped back to her half of the outside like nothing ever happened.
Back in the ring, Heaven hauled Colleen up with a rough handful of hair and reeled her into a Side Headlock. “It's pretty presumptuous thinking you know Violyt's using me for something.” Hughes huffed as she pivoted them both toward a corner on the far side of the ring. “I've been training with her for weeks now I don't have any idea what she's got in mind.”
O'Neal muttered something but Heaven wasn't listening, she'd already broken into a sprint that guaranteed a most dangerous rate of speed by the time she hopped up and glided through the space between top and middle ropes, the clever Californian landing comfortably on the second strand while Colleen was BWUUUNGED forehead-first into the top turnbuckle!
TURNBUCKLE BULLDOG:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=_jMVhvKRQaw
The Living Legend reeled on the spot and stumbled backward without actually surrendering her footing, so Hughes pulled herself back into the ring and hopped into a perch on the second rope. Soon as she had her footing she was off again, the ingenue making the most of this golden opportunity by THWHUMPING her left shoulder into Colleen's midsection with extreme prejudice! The Ginger Genius folded faster than Superman on laundry day, O'Neal groaning and hugging her ribs until Heaven wrapped both legs in a snug bundle and pointed her butt at the rafters with a Back Press good for the...
SANTA MONICA (S)PIER:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=bczyDyn0V98
ONE…
TWO…
THRNOOO!
O’Neal threw a shoulder up, the redhead preventing the biggest win of her former protégé’s career.
Pushed to her haunches, the blonde ran both sets of fingers through her golden locks, sweeping the sweat-dabbled hair off her face and staring at the Pink Stranger.
“Kill your mother young Skywalker and take your place by my side,” Goodheart offered in a surprisingly good Palpatine.
Hughes tried to suppress a tired grin not altogether successfully. As confusing and scary as Violyt could be, she had a certain charm the beach blonde couldn't fully disregard. Still, she had a finish line to cross and claim a statement win.
With a groaning Colleen on her back, Heaven moved to a stance next to her opponent, back to the auburn-haired grappler. With graceful ease, the tanned Cali girl back-flipped through a standing Moonsault and SPLASHED across the open tummy of the Golden State icon. O’Neal’s body jackknifed under the crushing sinewy physique of the sporty blonde.
Before the Ginger Genius collapsed back to horizontal, Heaven scrambled to her feet, ignoring another pin attempt to hop to the nearby bottom rope. She used the springboard to go up and over again and AGAIN she fell like a tempting tidal wave across O’Neal’s form, forcing even more air from Colleen’s lungs as the SMACK of ab on ab abuse continued.
Goodheart’s odious enjoyment of Colleen’s ruin was evident courtesy a giggling ‘ONE…MORE…TIME’ chant and Hughes did her best to impress, scrambling off a vulnerable O’Neal once more.
Risen, Heaven surged to the same set of ropes, leapt to the middle cables and vaulted into a cloud-touching, heavenly Lionsault that would BLAST whatever fight remained in the veteran out of her flagging frame.
LIONSAULT:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=71Qt01zUoyM
BUT….when Hughes descended this time, a breathless Colleen got her knees up and Heaven’s skewered by the bony caps. Hughes rolled away retching. The golden-maned ingenue wrapped her arms around her bruised belly as if she’s trying to keep internal organs in place.
As she watched the disaster, Violyt slapped her forehead.
“I could have had a V8.”
Colleen reached her knees and ‘walked’ to her adversary, freckled face still etched in pain.
When at Heaven’s side, Hughes on her back and rocking from hip to hip as she tried to regain her oxygen with deep breaths, O’Neal brushed the swaddling arms aside. The redhead popped to a handstand and, considering her recent battering, impressively turned in a 180 to better drop her knees into Heaven’s gut once more.
The former World Champ impaled her student again, knees sinking deep in the demolished tawny midriff of the babyfaced blonde. Another round of gasping, breathy moans courses through the ring as the crowd roared its approval.
Colleen pivoted to a schoolgirl position and seemingly decided beating some sense into her wayward cherub might be the best course, pounding open palms into temple and forehead until Hughes was a dazed wreck. Colleen’s palms moved to each of the blonde’s wrists, pinning arms, including shoulders, to the deck for a hard but important life lesson with the…
ONE…
TWO…
THRNOOO!
The Santa Monica Sweetheart shifted a shoulder off the canvas to the great disappointment of everyone but a certain lunatic one-woman fringe, though perhaps there’s a bit of pride in the eyes of Hughes’ former mentor in forcing the match to continue.
As Colleen rose, she pulled Heaven up with her.
“Florida suits you, kid,” O’Neal said to Heaven’s blank stare. “You’re toughening up. But you’re not tough enough for what Miss Crazy Pants has in store.”
Moving shoulder to shoulder, the women headed in opposite directions, Colleen locked up with her fellow Californian and laid out, DRIVING Hughes’ skull into the thinly-sheathed plywood with her Ginger Snap Reverse-STO.
GINGER SNAP:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=1KL26GPDVmg
Instantly, O’Neal professionally pivoted, quickly wrapping a Figure-Four Scissors around the neck of the faltering cherub.
Heaven’s face grows more flushed by the second, her dark eyes bulging as Colleen flexed her alabaster thighs. Not only potentially concussed but with her head about to be popped from her neck, the youngster shows what determination and young legs could do when she pushed to her feet, drawing gasps of astonishment from the FAWNatics.
Rising to full vertical, Heaven had O’Neal draping down her back, the California Angel refusing to release her Scissors despite the potential troublesome position.
Breaking free of the Scissors, the flaxen-haired fighter wrapped her arms around the thighs of the overturned Angel and, with O’Neal hanging on for dear life, Hughes dropped to her knees, sending the crown of Colleen’s skull into the unforgiving deck with a makeshift Piledriver.
Heaven released her grip and an unconscious O’Neal sloughed off the blonde’s back, falling to a flaccid starfish behind her protégé, out cold. Unfortunately for Heaven, she flopped forward from her kneeling position, spent from the rousing reversal.
With both women flat on the canvas, the Angel on her back, the cherub on her chest, Long began a dual count on each woman. On the sidelines, a woozy Lady Liberty marshaled her forces with a rhythmic clap to inspire the Greater Good’s greater-goodiest back to awareness, while Violyt mocked filing her nails and yawning.
“C’mon my noble cupid,” Goodheart ‘inspired’ her partner. “Fire your last arrow through the ginger’s heart and let’s be done with these side quests.”
Heaven pushed to hands and knees and looked over a shoulder to the waylaid Colleen. She fought thoughts of concern. Those could wait until after the match. Turning, she crawled to the splayed redhead, still limp and lifeless. Heaven dropped her nubile frame across what’s left of her former teacher for the…
ONE…
TWO…
THRE…KICKOUT!
O’Neal resuscitates, spasming a shoulder off the deck, making for an incredulous Hughes. Violyt, on the other hand, hardly seemed surprised.
“These Goodies think themselves indestructible and that delusion can sink its way deep into their subconscious. Teach her differently, love.”
The words were a slap in the face to Hughes. She nodded in response. Colleen told her many moons ago, back on the left coast, having a great match meant nothing without a great finish. She had to finish O’Neal.
Rising, she guided the slack, auburn-haired grappler to her boot soles and drew Colleen into a knee lift to the tummy, doubling the Goodiest at the waist. The blonde tugged O’Neal’s drooping head between her thighs and threw her arms wide instead of wrapping them around Colleen’s quivering tummy, ready to launch into her unique California Destroyer finisher and end this calamitous confrontation.
But before Cupid could lift off, the crafty Ginger Genius pulled a startled Heaven’s legs out from under her, Hughes spilling to her back. Colleen flipped forward, landing in a bridge over the flattened Heaven, tanned legs secured within the Angel’s wings, the shoulders of Goodheart’s pawn flat against the canvas for the...
ONE…
TWO…
THRENOOOOOOOO!
Heaven didn't actually kick out, rather she flattened both hands into paddles and SLAPPED O'Neal's arched midsection with stereo shots hard enough to break the bridge with half a heartbeat to spare!
Redhead and blonde rolled in opposite directions, though there wasn't a whole lot of distance between them when they came to a stop and clambered to one knee. Goodheart saw the look that passed between mentor and mentee, thought about offering a comment, then decided against it when Hughes and O'Neal rose up and swept the other into a rough Collar-and-Elbow Lock-Up. Heaven looked to have the initiative at first, but then Colleen wrenched it away from her and forced the younger wrestler to backpedal into the ropes only for the Santa Monica Sweetheart to take over once more. On and on it went, the tangled battlers describing some sort of maniacal Spirograph pattern across the canvas until Heaven abruptly hooked an arm across the back of O'Neal's noggin and tugged her down just to THWHAP a gorgeous European Uppercut against the point of the veteran's chin!
Colleen swooned in place and the blonde closed in to get herself some more only to regret her enthusiasm when the former FAWN World Champion pointed a shoulder in her direction and repaid the earlier tummy swat with a Knife-Edge Chop that CRAAACKED across the blonde's decolletage!
Heaven staggered back with one arm pressed to her chest and a 'wait, we're CHOPPING now?' look on her face, but instead of answering with one of her own she twisted on one foot and stutter-stepped forward to fire off a gorgeous Super Kick at O'Neal's faNO! Colleen caught hold of Hughes' ankle and stepped back to ensure her leg was stretched out full length when she went up on tiptoes and tossed Heaven's foot down with all the force she could muster. The whiplash arc of that descending limb forced Hughes to double over keep her balance and doing so ensured her head was in the perfect spot when GSW's Living Legend THWHACKED a brutal Kneelift between her eyes!
ANGELIC COUNTER:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=-MUa0uOq8v4
Even Violyt cringed along with the rest of the Mayhemers when the blonde rocked back on her heels, Heaven's arms windmilling wildly as she stumbled in fence-post holes as she turned around in search of the-- NOT SO FAST! O'Neal pounced and grabbed hold of her blonde's shoulders to reel Hughes in even as she sprang skyward and wedged her knees between the younger woman's shoulder-blades to guarantee the worst possible landing when Heaven THWHUMPED down atop those upraised joints!
LUNGBLOWER:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=iX6XQ4b4F08
The Lungblower should've sent Hughes tumbling away like a sack of dropped laundry so it was more than a little surprising when the residual momentum straightened her up and let her continue to the nearest corner, albeit in a grotesque, shambling parody of her usual grace.
“Yeah, good job Colleen, you're doing great!” Violyt hollered and cheered from her place on the floor as O'Neal clambered to verticality. “Tough love is the best love, way to put it to that messed up, ingrate kid!”
“One more word, Goodheart.” the redhead warned. “One more word out of your mouth and you and I are going to have a serious problem.”
The Princess of Peaksville regarded Colleen with a smile that touched everything save her eyes. “I'm not here for you, short-timer. This is Giselle's story through and through. But if you're that desperate for attention, I'm sure I could find a spot for a short, painful interlude.”
O'Neal grit her teeth to bite back a reply, then returned her attention to Heaven and raced to the corner where she THWHACKED a huge Elbow Smash into the blonde's jaw! Already sagging, Hughes shuddered from end to end and would've collapsed to her butt if Colleen hadn't stuffed a shoulder into her belly and used it to muscle the weary blonde into a slumped seat on the top turnbuckle. The redhead joined her shortly thereafter, O'Neal mounted on the middle strand where she corralled Hughes into a Front Facelock and slung the blonde's near arm across her shoulders.
Hooks set, she earned several more 'oooohhhhh's!' from the crowd when she made her way to the top rope and forced Heaven to stand alongside. A most precarious position indeed and there was only one way down so the Archangel dipped her knees and--“NGH! NGH! NGH!”
Heaven balled her free hand into a fist and pounded it into Colleen's ribs half a dozen times. She was still hammering away when she lost her balance and slipped to the middle strand with a lurch that made the whole audience gasp in concern! Still set in the high-rent district, O'Neal reached down to put a steadying hand on the blonde's shoulder which is precisely when Hughes grabbed a handful of her foe's waistband and tightened down hard enough to seize control of the Front Facelock. Prizing her head free of Colleen's grasp, Heaven boosted the veteran up to about two o'clock, then slung her forward and down to send her mentor plummeting to the deck with a sort of free-fall Gourdbuster that made the whole ring tremble!
The gut-churning impact bounced Colleen to her feet where she promptly doubled over to clutch her ribs and better inspect the canvas just beyond the tips of her boo—Heaven stood up and hopped down from her perch, the Santa Monica Sweetheart catching O'Neal's bowed noggin in a quick Standing Headscissors. Just like that she wrapped her arms around Colleen's waist and sprang up 'n over to land comfortably on her butt while the one-time Artemis was THWHONKED down on the crown of her skull! The second rope California Destroyer sent Colleen tumbling back to her feet only to timber to the deck an instant before a scrambling Heaven caught the veteran's legs behind the knees and somersaulted into a Jackknife Pin of her own, one that Craig Long looked like he couldn't believe he was counting even as the FAWNatics joined in through...
2ND ROPE CALIFORNIA DESTROYER @ 2:10
www.youtube.com/watch?v=MTWX4BdD8V0
ONE...
TWO...
THREE!
Heaven let loose at the clang of the bell and bounced to her feet in an instant, the ingenue wide-eyed with surprise as the Announcer confirmed, “Ladies and gentlemen, your winner via pin-fall... HEAVEN HUGHES!”
The ref took hold of one wrist and raised it high for the crowd, who responded with what sounded like a dead split between boos and cheers. Her smile turning to a confused frown, she looked around ringside before training her eyes on Goodheart with the thought that the Glittering Enigma might've done something to tilt things in her favor. But Vi was well away from the action and the expression on her face suggested she was more interested than concerned.
Seeing Hughes glance her way, Goodheart offered her a small round of applause and said, “Good work, cupid. Might wanna watch your back.”
Heaven swung around expecting some sort of trickery, but there was only Lady Liberty kneeling beside a softly stirring Colleen. The blonde stepped in and started to go down on one knee when Liberty rose and extended a hand. “That's close enough, citizen. I can tend to Colleen without additional assistance.”
Hughes' frown only deepened. “I'm not going to jump her, Liberty. I just wanted to make sure she was--”
“That's what her friends are for.” the Lady said icily.
“Hey wait just a second, that's not fair! I won fair and square, so don't act like I didn't just because--”
Craig laid a hand on her shoulder and she fell silent. “She's fine, Heaven. Go on and take your lap. I'll make sure she gets to the back ok.”
Hughes nodded, but rather than take the suggested circuit she looked around like she was trying to figure out what'd gone wrong. Eventually she walked over to Violyt and slipped her way through the strands to the floor. “I don't get it.” she told the other blonde. “I didn't cheat. You didn't cheat for me, so why are they booing? Why's Liberty treating me like I did?”
“She's just cranky about the Piledriver.” Goodheart answered without hesitation. Then, more seriously, “It's guilt by association, Hughes. What O'Neal and Liberty call the Greater Good is nothing more than a monotonous cage that punishes anyone who doesn't think and feel exactly as they do. Giselle's put herself in that cage because the world tells her she must, but she also knows I've got the key that'll get her out and it worries those squares more than they'll ever admit. THEY can't possibly fathom understanding me on any level and with the good Princess and now yourself starting to think along different lines, they're only going to get more--”
“I think you're giving me too much credit.” Heaven interrupted. “I have no idea what's going on with you and Giselle, I just know you treated me like a partner when Bethany thought she was throwing me to the wolves. And you're talking to me now, when my 'friends' kicked me out of the ring like I'm a pariah.”
Violyt Goodheart offered the other blonde a smile that was somehow rueful and sardonic at the same time. “You find yourself at a crossroads, Heaven Hughes. In one direction you'll find the person everyone else wants you, or rather, expects you to be. In the other you'll find who you really are.”
“How do I know which is the right way?”
“Introspection and self-reflection are good for most people. Me? I stabbed a lot of chicks in the forehead with a cake fork. It really cleared things up some inner turmoil.”
Heaven shook her head. “I never know when you're dead serious or just spouting bullshit.”
Violyt grinned from ear to ear. “And you never will, Hughes. If I start making sense, you're in very deep trouble.”
Without another word, she turned around and began skipping up the aisle.
“Hey, wait a sec!” Heaven called after her.
Goodheart looked over her shoulder. “Yes?”
“Can I follow you a little while longer? Just to see where the road leads?”
Vi offered an amiable shrug. “I very much believe in free will, so you can do whatever you'd like, Hughes. Just know, the road only gets weirder from here.” The Pink Stranger didn't wait for a response, she just turned back and continued toward the entryway.
Heaven Hughes looked between the stage and the ring for several seconds.
Eventually she took off up the ramp.
A chill worked down the spine of Colleen O’Neal, joining the redhead’s butterflies.
“There’s no choice but to do your duty, citizen,” Lady Liberty stated firmly, standing at attention behind her Greater Good counterpart, rubbing the shoulders of the Ginger Genius.
“I know. I just wish it hadn’t come to this…like this,” the GSW icon responds.
As Katy Perry’s California Gurls started to pour through the arena’s speakers, the crowd rose as one to honor their beloved former World Champion.
CALIFORNIA GURLS:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=F57P9C4SAW4
A cascade of cheers echoed until their auburn-haired darling emerged from behind the curtain and planted herself center stage, reveling in a dream made real through a career of hard work, a marvelous second act with FAWN.
COLLEEN O’NEAL
Greater Good partner by her side, Lady Liberty accompanied the redhead in street clothes that suit being Born in the USA, a pair of blue jeans and a white cotton tank top that did wonders for Liberty’s sinewy, tanned frame.
LADY LIBERTY
Colleen was garbed in her iconic tight spandex one-piece, halved in pink and sky blue with pink boots to mid-thigh and silver fingerless gloves, the Cali native seemed more than ready to set close feelings aside and collect another ‘W’ while prying her former student from the danger zone created by Goodheart.
Gear: (https://www.dollskill.com/halloween-sexy-wrestling-champ-costume-set-pink-turquoise.html?gclid=Cj0KCQiAt_PuBRDcARIsAMNlBdr_8wE5qC_kyeTo6lFLvIAIVfi-oFHrA_YlWbDRyxEebaPXuRlroFIaAmIzEALw_wcB without the ‘belt’ ).
The myriad members of the California Angel’s choir beckoned her to the squared circle. O’Neal and her patriotic ally respond.
Adoration flowing freely, FAWN’s former Artemis beamed at the sight of her legion of fans showering her with love. Colleen entered her classic sprint to the ring as she reached the base of the ramp. The long-time face of the Golden State dashed to the squared circle, sliding in under the bottom rope. She popped to her feet, absorbing the ovation then clapping and waving in return.
The auburn-haired veteran grinned from ear to ear, reveling in another magnificent moment she never thought likely to see.
With Lady Liberty stationed in Colleen’s corner the Angel’s music fading, the Ring Announcer broke through the remaining ovation.
“The following contested is scheduled for one fall with a twenty minute time limit. Introducing first, hailing from San Francisco, California, she stands a five feet three inches and weighs in tonight at one hundred and fourteen pounds. She is the auburn-haired artist, the California Angel... COLLEEN O'NEAL!”
The adrenaline-filled Ginger Genius bowed to her Choir, then hopped with excitement. Tonight’s foe likely created some conflict in her mind, but the redhead’s heart was clearly filled with the joy of being a top talent in the top tier…and doing it the right way…for the Greater Good.
“And her opponent, hailing from Santa Monica, California, she stands at five feet two inches tall and weighs in at one hundred and fifteen pounds. She is the Sweetest Sunshine, this is HEAVEN HUGHES!”
A decidedly confused reaction greeted the GSW import as she brushed through the curtain in time with an explosion of golden sparks blossoming overhead. The sporty, sun-kissed blonde appeared as she always did, namely the perfect billboard for Cali. And her dispositions hadn't changed in the slightest, as the smiling blonde greeted her growing fan-base clad in a black and yellow, zippered Body Glove diving top; similarly-hued and branded boy-cut trunks; her tanned legs and feet bare. She was indeed the very model of a lovable ingenue babyface, yet a good portion of the crowd seemed entirely bumfuzzled by how to greet Colleen's one time protege.
HEAVEN HUGHES:
If the confusion bothered Hughes she gave no sign, she was certainly all smiles as she started down the ramp. A zig-zag pattern allowed her to slap hands with braver souls on both sides and Heaven was genuinely grateful for their support. She was about halfway to the squared circle when a woman in old jeans and a brand spankin' new Kylie Sanders tee-shirt hopped over the barricade and started strolling along behind the oblivious blonde! The fact that this intruder performed such a maneuver with both hands sheathed in oversized foam novelty hands did nothing to dissuade the crowd from roaring in concern, the rush of noise causing Heaven to whip around with her hands rai--”
VIOLYT GOODHEART:
“What?” Violyt Goodheart asked over the din she'd created. “Don't look like you're embarrassed when I walk you to school!”
“Jesus, Violyt, you scared the crap out of me!” Hughes raised a hand to the oncoming crush of security and called, “It's ok, it's just Violyt.”
“Just Violyt?” the Princess of Peaksville grumbled. “Like I suppose that's just Doug, Keith and Tucker skulking up behind me like I'm some garden variety rail-jumping lunatic? Like Doug and Keith could do a damned thing to stop me. And don't get me started on Tucker. Fuck Tucker, Tucker sucks.”
“What are you doing here, Violyt?” Hughes asked as patiently as she could.
Goodheart booped her on the nose with the tip of one foam finger. “Isn't it obvious, silly? I'm your back-up!”
“Against Colleen? What, you think I'm gonna endure some chicanery from the leader of the Greater Good?”
“I think Lady Liberty is the one that stopped me from breaking up the pin at March to War.”
“That was a tag match, it wasn't against the rules.”
“Of course not. But this is a singles match and I wasn't penciled in to accompany you on the call sheet, right? So why does a former World Champion need a second against you?”
Heaven frowned, thought it over. “All right, you can stay. But don't help me out, ok? If I can win, this'll be huge for me. I don't need anyone saying I only won because you broke up a pin or threw glitter into someone's eyes.”
“Don't worry, my little cherub.” Vi snickered. “I promise I won't lift a finger to help out if you're getting your ass kicked. That'd make me just like Colleen and Liberty, right?”
Hughes didn't reply, the blonde choosing instead to turn around and sprint the rest of the way to the ring. Goodheart didn't mind the abrupt departure, in fact she used the rest of the walk to come up with some decidedly catchy pro-Heaven limericks in hopes of swaying some of these poor dopes to her new friend's side. Speaking of whom, the Santa Monica Sweetheart dove under the bottom rope and popped to her feet, whereupon she hopped onto the middle rope and offered a wave to the FAWNatics. Their reply was mixed as ever, but there was no denying the upbeat clapping and hollering from the Pink Stranger when Heaven skipped down and offered her elbows and knees to the official for final inspection.
The bell sounded and Colleen headed out from her corner bolstered by the cheers of the FAWNatics and the enthusiastic applause of Lady Liberty. Heaven's cheering section was far smaller but certainly no less zealous as evidenced by the matching pair of oversized gold foam novelty hands Violyt had showed off since her unexpected arrival. They even had Heaven's name emblazoned on both sides, a fact that warmed the Californian's heart until she realized that the upraised fingers were middle and not the more traditional index.
“Show her the true might of heaven, my noble cupid!” Goodheart shouted over the throng. “And remember what I told you, it's not TRUE victory unless everyone in the floor seats signs up for therapy on their way home!”
Hughes cringed, saw the concern on her mentor's face and offered up a nervous little laugh. “Uhhhh, she's joking of course. Vi's got a weird sense of humor.”
“That's a diplomatic way of putting it.” O'Neal extended her hand to the ingenue and was relieved when Heaven returned the gesture with no sign of hesitation or artifice. Quickly settling into a snug crouch that Hughes unconsciously mirrored, the Ginger Genius began to circle and asked, “Anything you want to talk about, Heaven?”
The blonde opened her mouth to reply only to sigh when Violyt called out, “Who's your new friend? She looks a little old to be hanging out with you. She didn't buy you beer, did--”
“We already had this discussion, Violyt!” Heaven stamped her foot for emphasis. “Colleen's my friend! She helped me get into the wrestling business back in California and she's the reason I made it to FAWN!”
Blonde and redhead had circled closer together, though they'd yet to meet in a lock-up or even a feint thereof. The obvious tension didn't seem to bother Goodheart at all, either that or she sensed it and just didn't care. “Well she certainly sounds lovely, but I don't see why she can't swing by to introduce herself sometime while we're training. Frankly it sounds like she's using you, otherwise she'd have offered you a spot in the Power Pack long before Bethany had the opportunity to hand you off to a weirdo like--”
Colleen zigged away from Heaven and locked eyes with the Glittering Enigma. “Do we have a prob--”
'Ooooooooooohhhhhh!' from those gathered for Mayhem when the Santa Monica Sweetheart stepped in front of O'Neal. “You're not wrestling her, Colleen.” Hughes said quietly. “You asked for this match, the least you can do is act like it matters.”
O'Neal stepped back, her expression stung. “Of course it matters!” she replied. “I've been trying to get a hold of you for more than a month, but you won't ret--”
Heaven surged forward, catching the former World Champion in a Collar & Elbow Lock-Up that startled Colleen and the crowd with its intensity. “It's kinda weird how you suddenly found time for me after Violyt and I almost beat Liberty and Giselle despite the fact that we'd never teamed before.” Hughes marched O'Neal backward across the ring and smudged her up against the ropes. “Even as a loss it was probably my best showing in FAWN thus far. And weird as she is, Violyt saw something in me. But you and the rest of the Greater Good? Not so much as a word while I was getting my ass kicked by Danica Dadal and the whole of Muy CalientNNGGGHH!”
Colleen pushed off the strands, laid claim to Heaven's right wrist and spun around behind her to force it up between the blonde's shoulders in a Hammerlock! “You're more than capable of handling yourself, Heaven! There was no reason to think you couldn't make it on your--” Hughes reached back with her free hand and palmed the base of O'Neal's skull. In the next instant she crouched down and vaulted high into the air with the Hammerlock still intact. That changed once she tucked her legs and laid out on one side to send the redhead tumbling across the canvas with a high flying Snapmare! Colleen tumbled through and popped to her feet while Heaven joined her a moment later, the blonde rolling her tweaked shoulder.
“There ya go, see?” Hughes snapped. “I'm more than capable of making my own decisions, yet the instant I make one you don't agree with you're so concerned about what's happening, never mind the fact that you're hanging out with a chick who thinks she's a fairy tale princess and another that looks like she should be painted on the fuselage of a World War Two bomber!”
“Hey!” Violyt said sharply. “Don't be rude. Those are two achievements worth aspiring for. And in her defense, dear ol' Artemis IS concerned for your well-being, albeit for slightly selfish reasons. After all, if crazy ol' Violyt can reach someone as levelheaded as you, just imagine what sort of trouble I could cause someone as unstable as the good Princess Gis--”
“Keep her name out of your mouth, Goodheart.” Colleen warned the Princess of Peaksville. “Stay away from her, stay away from Liberty, and stay away from HeavOOOFFFFHHH!”
Heaven didn't appreciate O'Neal shifting focus again so she made the veteran pay for it by lunging in and THWHUMPING a Broadside Kneelift across her tummy! Colleen 'oooffffhed' and doubled over so Hughes crooked an arm around the back of her head to hold her in place for two more similarly sturdy shots. From there she locked her hands tight and flipped the Ginger Genius over her hip for an emphatic Headlock Takedown that made the ring shiver!
“That was a cheap shot, citizen!” Lady Liberty grumbled from her spot outside the ring. “I thought Colleen taught you better than that.”
Hughes frowned and cranked the Headlock until O'Neal's boot heels were scrabbling against the canvas. When she spoke it was to Liberty, though she made certain her attention remained focused on Colleen. “She did, as a matter of fact. She also taught me not to take my eyes off whoever I was wrestling. Guess some people don't like to follow their own adviHHRRGGH!”
The GSW's living legend crunched in on herself, threaded both legs around Heaven's throat and locked her ankles to break the Headlock with an equally sturdy Headscissors! “Doesn't seem you're much in the mood for taking advice at the moment, Heaven.” O'Neal huffed after dishing out a few stern squeezes. “So how about I teach you a lesson instead.”
“Is it about abandoning your supposed friends to the same system that almost ruined you at the beginning of your career?” Goodheart asked just as Colleen really started pouring on the pressure. “Because I think she's already figured that one out.”
The redhead glared in her direction, that usually pleasant gaze nothing more than ice and steel. “That's enough out of you, Violyt. Far as I can tell you're nothing but an instigator and a rabble-rous--”
Heaven twisted from her back to her belly in a single smooth motion. Doing so scraped her forehead against the canvas but it also allowed her to scramble to all fours despite putting a pretty intense strain on her neck. Dismissing the Glittering Enigma for the moment, O'Neal set her hands against the mat and lifted her hips to put even more force into the Headscissors and while her efforts did earn an audible groan from her fellow Californian it didn't keep Hughes from arranging herself in a nimble headstand that grew all the more impressive when she popped her noggin loose of the Scissors and landed on her feet! Colleen quickly spun from her seat to one knee to better defend against anything Heaven might throw at her so she was mildly surprised when the younger battler simply stepped back and adjusted her trunks.
Not quite sure what to make of the situation, O'Neal hurried to boot leather and settled back into the grappler's crouch. “Back to it, then?” Hughes nodded and so they locked up again, redhead and blonde each managing to push her adversary a few steps one way before the other took over and set them on a new course. Eventually Colleen backed Heaven into the corner and tummied up pretty tight, though she made no effort to drag things out when Craig Long hurried over and asked for a break. Raising both hands to shoulder-level she took a step back and-- Heaven stepped out and THWHAPPED her across the chest with a hard Forearm Smash!
“Stop holding back, dammit!” Hughes barked as O'Neal stumbled in place. “How am I supposed to get any better if you're always treating me with kid gloveNNGGHHH!”
GSW's Archangel answered with a Forearm Smash of her own, then grabbed the second strand in both hands and plowed forward to THWHUMP the point of her shoulder into Hughes' midsection! The Shoulderblock put Heaven's tush on the middle buckle but Colleen wasn't satisfied as evidenced by the extra half dozen Shoulderblocks she tacked on after the first. Now Craig did have to start a count, though it'd only reached 'TWO' when she stepped away. “You want to do this the hard way?” she challenged. “Fine. Just don't start whining at me to take it down again when you're wore out in ten minOOOFFFHHH!”
Hughes hooked her arms over the top rope, brought both knees up to her chest and delivered a quick Mule Kick to O'Neal's sternum! Colleen grunted but otherwise held her ground which meant she was still in range for the Toe Kick Heaven buried in her tummy. Grabbing a handful of hair as the veteran doubled over, Hughes slipped out onto the apron and pulled O'Neal about halfway through so she could thread her arms over the rubber-coated steel. Stepping back so that she was on the redhead's left, Heaven grabbed the rope in her right hand to ensure she kept her balance while unleashing three high kicks that THWHACKED across Colleen's chest!
That last shot knocked her arms loose and left the Greatest Do Gooder folded in half over the second rope while Hughes turned around and stomped to the other end of the apron. Her quick return brought boos that blossomed into sympathetic groans when THWHUNKED her right knee into Colleen's temple! The Kneelift sent O'Neal slopping back into the squared circle where she was promptly joined by Heaven, who covered her mentor for a decisive...
ROPE HUNG KICKS & KNEELIFT:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=UijweAVWOUk
ONE..
TWO...
Colleen kicked out simultaneous with 'TWO!' much to the relief of the FAWNatics.
Elsewhere, Violyt Goodheart looked quite pleased with recent developments. “They grow up so FAST!” she said to no one in particular. “It just makes ya so proud!”
“How’s that for not holding back?” Hughes asked, on her haunches next to her mentor.
With no response beyond a groan from the redhead forthcoming, Heaven wrapped both arms around O’Neal’s noggin and drew the GSW legend to her feet. Shifting her grip to a wrist, she flung Colleen across the canvas with an Irish Whip and delayed a tick before following. After her opponent’s rebound, she took to the air and PLANTED a perfectly placed Dropkick on the chin of the charging veteran.
O’Neal’s knocked flat to the canvas. Crystal blue eyes blurry, Colleen nevertheless scurried to her feet but only in time to be flattened again with a Clothesline from the limber blonde.
Heaven gazed down at her former teacher but then took off, skipping over O’Neal and racing to the far ropes. As she U-turned out of the strands, the risen California Angel advanced toward Hughes.
The Ginger Genius leapfrogged over a ducking Hughes, the blonde sprinting to her second set of cables. Turning and stationing herself dead center for Heaven’s return, the Golden State OG was ready, dipping and collecting Hughes under the curve of her glutes with one arm and around her back with the other when the flaxen-haired fighter ties to get froggie in return.
With a wide-eyed Santa Monica Sweetheart elevated in her arms, Colleen pivoted with her cargo and PLANTED Heaven into the deck with a ring-rattling Spinebuster that had Violyt wincing on the outside.
SPINEBUSTER:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=_d4j9W2AFZk
“How could you?” Goodheart queried, lower lip extended in a pout before shrugging. “On the other hand, spare the rod, et cetera.”
O’Neal dropped her alabaster frame across Hughes in a Lateral Press, hooking the youngster’s far leg for the…
ONE…
TWO…
Heaven kicked free, shifting to her side and reflexively reaching for the base of her spine to assuage the pain.
“Just remember kid, I taught ya everything you know, not everything I know,” Colleen imparted, returning verbal fire to her GSW student.
Pushing to her feet, Colleen surged to the nearest ropes. She bounded to the middle cable, grabbing the top to steady herself, then springboarded off the rubber-coated steel, pivoting as she launched. The auburn-haired Angel sat out and dropped a leg across the chest of the sporty blonde, Hughes spasming from the impact.
The seated O’Neal rolled off her Golden State protégé, snatching the blonde by a wrist and shoulder and pulling the grimacing Heaven to her feet. Colleen shifted her control to a Side Headlock, twisting Hughes’ braincase tight to her side. With a burst, the Greater Good’s do-Goodiest charged toward the opposite buckles with Heaven in tow, apparently ready to Bulldog her fellow Cali grappler.
But as they approached liftoff, Hughes got her palms to the hips of the Angel and heaved her off just as the former Artemis launched. O’Neal deftly landed on the middle ropes, one foot on either side of the corner above her patriotic compatriot. Without an instant wasted, she leapt in a 180 off her perch, shins slamming into Heaven’s shoulders. The collision took Hughes off her feet and the Ginger Genius rode Goodheart’s pet project to the canvas, sticking her with a Meteora.
METEORA:
www.youtube.com/shorts/bnpAIXtsgmI
With O’Neal remaining in a Schoolgirl Pin from touchdown, shins atop biceps, Colleen reached back to hook a leg as Long dropped to the deck and slapped the canvas for the…
ONE…
TWO…
…riding a bit too high on her knees, Colleen left enough room for Heaven to swing her tanned stems up and under O’Neal’s armpits. Thrusting her lower limbs forward, Hughes gathered a pinning attempt of her own when she rolled the Angel onto her back, the redhead’s noggin and torso flat against the floorboards between the blonde’s outstretched gams for the…
ONE…
TWO…
Colleen kicked her legs together, crunching Hughes’ head between to break the effort at an upset.
Both women scrambled to their feet and threw themselves into a fierce Collar-and-Elbow, Heaven eager to show what she has now versus what Colleen still has. It’s the latter with more for the moment as the California Angel pivots into a Three Quarters Facelock grip and Snapmared her protégé to a seat on the canvas, Heaven’s right hand reaching for her aching tailbone.
Her palm quickly ascended her spinal column when Colleen added a Soccer Kick to the base of her adversary’s backbone, Hughes arching in pain from the blasting boot.
Surrounding the golden mane and the cranium beneath, Colleen pulled Heaven to her feet, spun the beach blonde to toward her and DROVE a raised knee into Hughes’ navel, doubling over a gurgling Heaven. The veteran pulled Heaven’s lowered head into a Front Facelock and snatched a handful of spandex at her foe’s near hip.
O’Neal buggywhipped Hughes up and over with a crisp Snap Suplex, Heaven’s body whipping through a front flip before SLAMMING to the deck. Keeping her grips in place, the Ginger Genius maneuvered both herself and her former charge up to the same starting position.
“Don’t let her triple up on you my beautiful cupid,” shouted Violyt. “Y’know these Greater Goodies are all about the cliches.”
The advice was a little late for the second whiplash-like trip to the canvas-covered plywood, Colleen snapping her vulnerable student over for a second time and again rolling each of them back up to the starting block for a third in the set, just as the Glittering Enigma preordained.
But before the redhead could rip Hughes off her boot soles for the requisite troika, Heaven snaked a tanned limb around the ivory of the Angel.
“Yes!” Goodheart yelled. “Heaven always has been the place where Angels go to die...er something like that.”
The heads of both blonde and redhead turned toward Violyt, a look of confusion on each face, but the vet shook off the puzzlement more quickly, rattling Heaven’s jaw with a European Uppercut. Hughes’ noggin snapped back and when O’Neal reacquired, the final iteration of the set was sent into motion, Colleen Suplexing the Santa Monica Sweetheart a final time to a back-bruising conclusion.
As Hughes arched in anguish, flawless features etched in pain, the GSW icon kipped to her feet to a roar from the crowd, the former Artemis with the FAWNatics in the palm of her hand. In her corner, Liberty offered a crisp salute that her Greater Good cohort returned in kind, eliciting another cheer from the crowd.
“Look, kid,” Colleen offered delicately, grabbing a shoulder and wrist. “You don’t need me, but you certainly don’t need or want her. She’ll use you up to get what she really wants.”
The redhead tugged Hughes to her feet and chaperoned her to a corner where she scooped beneath the blonde’s hammies and lifted Heaven to a seat on the top buckle of the neutral corner. Turning to face away from her opponent, the Angel dipped her wings beneath the legs of the ingenue and straightened to vertical. With Heaven lifted on her former mentor’s shoulders, she’s carried toward center stage, Heaven’s dark eyes panicky, arms pinwheeling to keep herself mounted. Once situated dead center the Ginger Genius laid out, SLAMMING her to the deck with an Electric Chair Drop that rocked Heaven’s world.
ELECTRIC CHAIR DROP @ 00:18
www.youtube.com/watch?v=aQUTT3BIks8
Colleen bridged with Heaven’s legs still in grip then pushed through a back-flip, landing on her haunches, the crown of Hughes’ head tight to her crotch, the blonde’s lower limbs folded atop her chest in a matchbook for…
ONE…
TWO…
THRNOOOO!
Heaven got both hands against the veteran's buns and pushed in conjunction with a pulse from her legs that allowed the Santa Monica Sweetheart to roll to a seat while O'Neal was dropped on her face and chest in an impromptu Facebuster! Goodheart clapped politely while Lady Liberty made appropriately concerned noises, neither of which earned much of a response from their respective representatives. Faring quite a bit better than the younger grappler despite her most recent trip to the mat, Colleen untangled herself from the remains of the pin and barrel rolled to a safe distance before she rose to one knee and checked her nose and lips for blood. As for Heaven, she groaned and struggled to all fours, which promptly became three of four as she devoted one hand to rubbing the ache from her abused spine.
She was starting to feel the tiniest bit better when O'Neal strode over and filled her hands with Hughes' blonde locks. “Awful casual with that hair-pull, aren't ya Artie?” Violyt asked it just loud enough to ensure Craig Long took note of the infraction. “If Heaven's a friend I'm curious to know how you'd treat an ene--”
“This is your fault, Goodheart.” Colleen interrupted after switching over to a far more legal grip on the other wrestler's ears. “None of this would be happening if you hadn't spent the last month spewing poison in her--”
“I fail to see how me spending time with someone you only call a friend when it suits you is responsible for you breaking the rules, but justify it however you see fit, I supp--”
Heaven shouldered O'Neal away, then reared back and unleashed a right handed Haymaker aimed straight for the Ginger Genius' chiNO! Colleen dipped low, hooked her left arm around the blonde's exposed right and swung beneath it in a deft little maneuver that spun the GSW imports to face one another. Or rather they faced each other for only a moment because the redhead twisted around and reached over her right shoulder with both hands to snag Heaven's noggin in a Three Quarters Facelock. In the same instant she went up on tiptoe and dropped to one knee, Colleen putting a little extra 'oommph' on the descent that THWHONKED Heaven's forehead against the point of her waiting knee.
SNAPMARE KNEE SMASH:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=h7sWeg9vvRs
Hughes bounced up and stumbled backward, the ingenue clearly on spaghetti legs while the former FAWN World Champion did an about-face and headed toward the opposite side of the squared circle. She'd just rebounded out of the strands when Colleen closed in and took to the skies, the nimble redhead clasping her hands across the back of Heaven's head even as she raised her right knee high enough to wedge against the tyro's ja--'OOOOOOOOHHHHH!' from those assembled when Hughes caught O'Neal's butt in both hands and twisted around on the spot to dump her through the space between the top and middle ropes! Wincing in pain as her tailbone struck the narrow ledge of the apron, Colleen managed to grab hold of the top rope so she didn't slop all the way to the floor in the wake of that awkward, albeit effective counter. Back on her feet once she'd regained her bearings, Colleen dipped through the ropes and-- “NNGGGHHH!” Heaven rushed in with a short-ranged Knee Trembler that caught the GSW Archangel flush on the temple!
That stern rebuke sent O'Neal back to the apron in an effort to clear the cobwebs without offering her resurgent protege any more free shots. Alas both efforts were doomed to failure as Heaven rushed to the nearest corner, hopped onto the second rope (on the far side of the turnbuckle) and leapt back at the woozy redhead to THWHACK a beautiful Dropkick offa Colleen's chin! No soaking that one, Colleen dropped off the apron, backpedaled across the aisle and BWANGED against the steel guardrail with enough force to bruise the shins of some front row fans.
TRIANGLE DROPKICK:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=r4EX2H66vcU
The former Artemis was still cataloging all her new aches when Lady Liberty hurried around the corner to check on her friend. “Are you ok, Colleen? That sounded like a nasty land--”
“Why don't you back off and give her some breathing room?” Liberty looked up fast, her blue eyes trained on Violyt. “Yeah, that's right Norma Rockwell, I'm talking to you.” the Pink Stranger chided. “Colleen might have some miles on her, but I don't think she's so frail she needs you manning her medic alert bracelet.”
“Do we have a problem, citizen?” the blonde asked as she pulled away from O'Neal to advance on Goodheart.
“Not as long as you adopt a more isolationist approach.” Violyt smirked. “But you keep sticking your nose in my business, I might have to consider that a show of aggression, if not an outright act of war.”
The Girl From Anytown wasn't about to tolerate that sort of sass from a dissident weirdo like Violyt Goodheart so she walked the other blonde do-- Colleen lunged off the barricade and shoved Liberty out of the way of one Heaven Hughes, who'd just vaulted over the top rope in a breathtaking Somersault Plancha! O'Neal's timely intervention meant Liberty escaped with little more than an awkward stumble, the redhead on the other hand ate the brunt of the Heaven's wrath as every bit of her hundred and fifteen pounds THWHUMPED down butt-first across Colleen's left shoulder and the back of her neck. Hughes landed on her feet while O'Neal was bowled offa hers, the Ginger Genius grimacing and clutching at her wounded shoulder.
SOMERSAULT PLANCHA:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=l03d293QHRQ
Aware that Colleen had sacrificed herself to ensure she didn't come to any harm, Liberty sounded uncharacteristically grave as Heaven grabbed her mentor by trunks and tresses and scraped her off the floor. “You're traveling a dangerous path, citizen.” she warned. “There are dire consequences ahead if you don't change your ways very soo--”
“You're the one interfering in my match, Liberty.” Hughes snapped once she'd sent O'Neal under the bottom rope in a discombobulated tangle of limbs. “So why don't you stop ACTING like a paragon of virtue and try being one instead?”
Heaven skipped onto the apron without another word but the Lady called after her, “We're just looking out for--”
Violyt grabbed hold of the blonde's shoulder, spun her around in a half circle and 'pfwooofed' a cloud of glitter into her eyes! Liberty shrieked and tried to swipe the horrible rainbow from her vision but she'd barely made a dent when Goodheart snagged a double handful of hair and forced her into a Standing Headscissors. From there she hooked a Waistlock and upended the blinded blonde only to drop to a seat that THWHONKED the crown of her skull against the blue-padded floor!
PILEDRIVER:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=DGHjpIE6CWg
This brutal attack earned the ire of the FAWNatics as well as Craig Long, who might've sent Goodheart back to the locker room on the spot if another rumble from the crowd hadn't drawn his attention to another corner of the squared circle. No sneak attack this, just Heaven Hughes rising to her full height moments prior to leaping out into the void, the limber blonde crunching in on herself at the apex only to stretch out half a heartbeat before she CRUSHED Colleen against the deck with a massive Frog Splash! O'Neal shuddered beneath the tawny tidal wave but couldn't muster the energy to turn onto her side, thus she found herself on the bad end of a short clock when Heaven hooked the far leg for...
FROG SPLASH @ 00:15
www.youtube.com/watch?v=CujzuZzNTrw
ONE...
TWO...
THRENOOOOOOOO!
Colleen inched a shoulder off the mat at the last second to earn a loud roar from the Do Gooders gathered for Mayhem.
Elsewhere, Violyt Goodheart pushed to one knee and made a show of clapping loose glitter off her palms in a shimmery rain that dusted Lady Liberty's gulping tummy. “Only warning, Yankee Doodlebug.” Vi giggled as she got to her feet. “Meddle again and it gets much worse.” With that she turned around and skipped back to her half of the outside like nothing ever happened.
Back in the ring, Heaven hauled Colleen up with a rough handful of hair and reeled her into a Side Headlock. “It's pretty presumptuous thinking you know Violyt's using me for something.” Hughes huffed as she pivoted them both toward a corner on the far side of the ring. “I've been training with her for weeks now I don't have any idea what she's got in mind.”
O'Neal muttered something but Heaven wasn't listening, she'd already broken into a sprint that guaranteed a most dangerous rate of speed by the time she hopped up and glided through the space between top and middle ropes, the clever Californian landing comfortably on the second strand while Colleen was BWUUUNGED forehead-first into the top turnbuckle!
TURNBUCKLE BULLDOG:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=_jMVhvKRQaw
The Living Legend reeled on the spot and stumbled backward without actually surrendering her footing, so Hughes pulled herself back into the ring and hopped into a perch on the second rope. Soon as she had her footing she was off again, the ingenue making the most of this golden opportunity by THWHUMPING her left shoulder into Colleen's midsection with extreme prejudice! The Ginger Genius folded faster than Superman on laundry day, O'Neal groaning and hugging her ribs until Heaven wrapped both legs in a snug bundle and pointed her butt at the rafters with a Back Press good for the...
SANTA MONICA (S)PIER:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=bczyDyn0V98
ONE…
TWO…
THRNOOO!
O’Neal threw a shoulder up, the redhead preventing the biggest win of her former protégé’s career.
Pushed to her haunches, the blonde ran both sets of fingers through her golden locks, sweeping the sweat-dabbled hair off her face and staring at the Pink Stranger.
“Kill your mother young Skywalker and take your place by my side,” Goodheart offered in a surprisingly good Palpatine.
Hughes tried to suppress a tired grin not altogether successfully. As confusing and scary as Violyt could be, she had a certain charm the beach blonde couldn't fully disregard. Still, she had a finish line to cross and claim a statement win.
With a groaning Colleen on her back, Heaven moved to a stance next to her opponent, back to the auburn-haired grappler. With graceful ease, the tanned Cali girl back-flipped through a standing Moonsault and SPLASHED across the open tummy of the Golden State icon. O’Neal’s body jackknifed under the crushing sinewy physique of the sporty blonde.
Before the Ginger Genius collapsed back to horizontal, Heaven scrambled to her feet, ignoring another pin attempt to hop to the nearby bottom rope. She used the springboard to go up and over again and AGAIN she fell like a tempting tidal wave across O’Neal’s form, forcing even more air from Colleen’s lungs as the SMACK of ab on ab abuse continued.
Goodheart’s odious enjoyment of Colleen’s ruin was evident courtesy a giggling ‘ONE…MORE…TIME’ chant and Hughes did her best to impress, scrambling off a vulnerable O’Neal once more.
Risen, Heaven surged to the same set of ropes, leapt to the middle cables and vaulted into a cloud-touching, heavenly Lionsault that would BLAST whatever fight remained in the veteran out of her flagging frame.
LIONSAULT:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=71Qt01zUoyM
BUT….when Hughes descended this time, a breathless Colleen got her knees up and Heaven’s skewered by the bony caps. Hughes rolled away retching. The golden-maned ingenue wrapped her arms around her bruised belly as if she’s trying to keep internal organs in place.
As she watched the disaster, Violyt slapped her forehead.
“I could have had a V8.”
Colleen reached her knees and ‘walked’ to her adversary, freckled face still etched in pain.
When at Heaven’s side, Hughes on her back and rocking from hip to hip as she tried to regain her oxygen with deep breaths, O’Neal brushed the swaddling arms aside. The redhead popped to a handstand and, considering her recent battering, impressively turned in a 180 to better drop her knees into Heaven’s gut once more.
The former World Champ impaled her student again, knees sinking deep in the demolished tawny midriff of the babyfaced blonde. Another round of gasping, breathy moans courses through the ring as the crowd roared its approval.
Colleen pivoted to a schoolgirl position and seemingly decided beating some sense into her wayward cherub might be the best course, pounding open palms into temple and forehead until Hughes was a dazed wreck. Colleen’s palms moved to each of the blonde’s wrists, pinning arms, including shoulders, to the deck for a hard but important life lesson with the…
ONE…
TWO…
THRNOOO!
The Santa Monica Sweetheart shifted a shoulder off the canvas to the great disappointment of everyone but a certain lunatic one-woman fringe, though perhaps there’s a bit of pride in the eyes of Hughes’ former mentor in forcing the match to continue.
As Colleen rose, she pulled Heaven up with her.
“Florida suits you, kid,” O’Neal said to Heaven’s blank stare. “You’re toughening up. But you’re not tough enough for what Miss Crazy Pants has in store.”
Moving shoulder to shoulder, the women headed in opposite directions, Colleen locked up with her fellow Californian and laid out, DRIVING Hughes’ skull into the thinly-sheathed plywood with her Ginger Snap Reverse-STO.
GINGER SNAP:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=1KL26GPDVmg
Instantly, O’Neal professionally pivoted, quickly wrapping a Figure-Four Scissors around the neck of the faltering cherub.
Heaven’s face grows more flushed by the second, her dark eyes bulging as Colleen flexed her alabaster thighs. Not only potentially concussed but with her head about to be popped from her neck, the youngster shows what determination and young legs could do when she pushed to her feet, drawing gasps of astonishment from the FAWNatics.
Rising to full vertical, Heaven had O’Neal draping down her back, the California Angel refusing to release her Scissors despite the potential troublesome position.
Breaking free of the Scissors, the flaxen-haired fighter wrapped her arms around the thighs of the overturned Angel and, with O’Neal hanging on for dear life, Hughes dropped to her knees, sending the crown of Colleen’s skull into the unforgiving deck with a makeshift Piledriver.
Heaven released her grip and an unconscious O’Neal sloughed off the blonde’s back, falling to a flaccid starfish behind her protégé, out cold. Unfortunately for Heaven, she flopped forward from her kneeling position, spent from the rousing reversal.
With both women flat on the canvas, the Angel on her back, the cherub on her chest, Long began a dual count on each woman. On the sidelines, a woozy Lady Liberty marshaled her forces with a rhythmic clap to inspire the Greater Good’s greater-goodiest back to awareness, while Violyt mocked filing her nails and yawning.
“C’mon my noble cupid,” Goodheart ‘inspired’ her partner. “Fire your last arrow through the ginger’s heart and let’s be done with these side quests.”
Heaven pushed to hands and knees and looked over a shoulder to the waylaid Colleen. She fought thoughts of concern. Those could wait until after the match. Turning, she crawled to the splayed redhead, still limp and lifeless. Heaven dropped her nubile frame across what’s left of her former teacher for the…
ONE…
TWO…
THRE…KICKOUT!
O’Neal resuscitates, spasming a shoulder off the deck, making for an incredulous Hughes. Violyt, on the other hand, hardly seemed surprised.
“These Goodies think themselves indestructible and that delusion can sink its way deep into their subconscious. Teach her differently, love.”
The words were a slap in the face to Hughes. She nodded in response. Colleen told her many moons ago, back on the left coast, having a great match meant nothing without a great finish. She had to finish O’Neal.
Rising, she guided the slack, auburn-haired grappler to her boot soles and drew Colleen into a knee lift to the tummy, doubling the Goodiest at the waist. The blonde tugged O’Neal’s drooping head between her thighs and threw her arms wide instead of wrapping them around Colleen’s quivering tummy, ready to launch into her unique California Destroyer finisher and end this calamitous confrontation.
But before Cupid could lift off, the crafty Ginger Genius pulled a startled Heaven’s legs out from under her, Hughes spilling to her back. Colleen flipped forward, landing in a bridge over the flattened Heaven, tanned legs secured within the Angel’s wings, the shoulders of Goodheart’s pawn flat against the canvas for the...
ONE…
TWO…
THRENOOOOOOOO!
Heaven didn't actually kick out, rather she flattened both hands into paddles and SLAPPED O'Neal's arched midsection with stereo shots hard enough to break the bridge with half a heartbeat to spare!
Redhead and blonde rolled in opposite directions, though there wasn't a whole lot of distance between them when they came to a stop and clambered to one knee. Goodheart saw the look that passed between mentor and mentee, thought about offering a comment, then decided against it when Hughes and O'Neal rose up and swept the other into a rough Collar-and-Elbow Lock-Up. Heaven looked to have the initiative at first, but then Colleen wrenched it away from her and forced the younger wrestler to backpedal into the ropes only for the Santa Monica Sweetheart to take over once more. On and on it went, the tangled battlers describing some sort of maniacal Spirograph pattern across the canvas until Heaven abruptly hooked an arm across the back of O'Neal's noggin and tugged her down just to THWHAP a gorgeous European Uppercut against the point of the veteran's chin!
Colleen swooned in place and the blonde closed in to get herself some more only to regret her enthusiasm when the former FAWN World Champion pointed a shoulder in her direction and repaid the earlier tummy swat with a Knife-Edge Chop that CRAAACKED across the blonde's decolletage!
Heaven staggered back with one arm pressed to her chest and a 'wait, we're CHOPPING now?' look on her face, but instead of answering with one of her own she twisted on one foot and stutter-stepped forward to fire off a gorgeous Super Kick at O'Neal's faNO! Colleen caught hold of Hughes' ankle and stepped back to ensure her leg was stretched out full length when she went up on tiptoes and tossed Heaven's foot down with all the force she could muster. The whiplash arc of that descending limb forced Hughes to double over keep her balance and doing so ensured her head was in the perfect spot when GSW's Living Legend THWHACKED a brutal Kneelift between her eyes!
ANGELIC COUNTER:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=-MUa0uOq8v4
Even Violyt cringed along with the rest of the Mayhemers when the blonde rocked back on her heels, Heaven's arms windmilling wildly as she stumbled in fence-post holes as she turned around in search of the-- NOT SO FAST! O'Neal pounced and grabbed hold of her blonde's shoulders to reel Hughes in even as she sprang skyward and wedged her knees between the younger woman's shoulder-blades to guarantee the worst possible landing when Heaven THWHUMPED down atop those upraised joints!
LUNGBLOWER:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=iX6XQ4b4F08
The Lungblower should've sent Hughes tumbling away like a sack of dropped laundry so it was more than a little surprising when the residual momentum straightened her up and let her continue to the nearest corner, albeit in a grotesque, shambling parody of her usual grace.
“Yeah, good job Colleen, you're doing great!” Violyt hollered and cheered from her place on the floor as O'Neal clambered to verticality. “Tough love is the best love, way to put it to that messed up, ingrate kid!”
“One more word, Goodheart.” the redhead warned. “One more word out of your mouth and you and I are going to have a serious problem.”
The Princess of Peaksville regarded Colleen with a smile that touched everything save her eyes. “I'm not here for you, short-timer. This is Giselle's story through and through. But if you're that desperate for attention, I'm sure I could find a spot for a short, painful interlude.”
O'Neal grit her teeth to bite back a reply, then returned her attention to Heaven and raced to the corner where she THWHACKED a huge Elbow Smash into the blonde's jaw! Already sagging, Hughes shuddered from end to end and would've collapsed to her butt if Colleen hadn't stuffed a shoulder into her belly and used it to muscle the weary blonde into a slumped seat on the top turnbuckle. The redhead joined her shortly thereafter, O'Neal mounted on the middle strand where she corralled Hughes into a Front Facelock and slung the blonde's near arm across her shoulders.
Hooks set, she earned several more 'oooohhhhh's!' from the crowd when she made her way to the top rope and forced Heaven to stand alongside. A most precarious position indeed and there was only one way down so the Archangel dipped her knees and--“NGH! NGH! NGH!”
Heaven balled her free hand into a fist and pounded it into Colleen's ribs half a dozen times. She was still hammering away when she lost her balance and slipped to the middle strand with a lurch that made the whole audience gasp in concern! Still set in the high-rent district, O'Neal reached down to put a steadying hand on the blonde's shoulder which is precisely when Hughes grabbed a handful of her foe's waistband and tightened down hard enough to seize control of the Front Facelock. Prizing her head free of Colleen's grasp, Heaven boosted the veteran up to about two o'clock, then slung her forward and down to send her mentor plummeting to the deck with a sort of free-fall Gourdbuster that made the whole ring tremble!
The gut-churning impact bounced Colleen to her feet where she promptly doubled over to clutch her ribs and better inspect the canvas just beyond the tips of her boo—Heaven stood up and hopped down from her perch, the Santa Monica Sweetheart catching O'Neal's bowed noggin in a quick Standing Headscissors. Just like that she wrapped her arms around Colleen's waist and sprang up 'n over to land comfortably on her butt while the one-time Artemis was THWHONKED down on the crown of her skull! The second rope California Destroyer sent Colleen tumbling back to her feet only to timber to the deck an instant before a scrambling Heaven caught the veteran's legs behind the knees and somersaulted into a Jackknife Pin of her own, one that Craig Long looked like he couldn't believe he was counting even as the FAWNatics joined in through...
2ND ROPE CALIFORNIA DESTROYER @ 2:10
www.youtube.com/watch?v=MTWX4BdD8V0
ONE...
TWO...
THREE!
Heaven let loose at the clang of the bell and bounced to her feet in an instant, the ingenue wide-eyed with surprise as the Announcer confirmed, “Ladies and gentlemen, your winner via pin-fall... HEAVEN HUGHES!”
The ref took hold of one wrist and raised it high for the crowd, who responded with what sounded like a dead split between boos and cheers. Her smile turning to a confused frown, she looked around ringside before training her eyes on Goodheart with the thought that the Glittering Enigma might've done something to tilt things in her favor. But Vi was well away from the action and the expression on her face suggested she was more interested than concerned.
Seeing Hughes glance her way, Goodheart offered her a small round of applause and said, “Good work, cupid. Might wanna watch your back.”
Heaven swung around expecting some sort of trickery, but there was only Lady Liberty kneeling beside a softly stirring Colleen. The blonde stepped in and started to go down on one knee when Liberty rose and extended a hand. “That's close enough, citizen. I can tend to Colleen without additional assistance.”
Hughes' frown only deepened. “I'm not going to jump her, Liberty. I just wanted to make sure she was--”
“That's what her friends are for.” the Lady said icily.
“Hey wait just a second, that's not fair! I won fair and square, so don't act like I didn't just because--”
Craig laid a hand on her shoulder and she fell silent. “She's fine, Heaven. Go on and take your lap. I'll make sure she gets to the back ok.”
Hughes nodded, but rather than take the suggested circuit she looked around like she was trying to figure out what'd gone wrong. Eventually she walked over to Violyt and slipped her way through the strands to the floor. “I don't get it.” she told the other blonde. “I didn't cheat. You didn't cheat for me, so why are they booing? Why's Liberty treating me like I did?”
“She's just cranky about the Piledriver.” Goodheart answered without hesitation. Then, more seriously, “It's guilt by association, Hughes. What O'Neal and Liberty call the Greater Good is nothing more than a monotonous cage that punishes anyone who doesn't think and feel exactly as they do. Giselle's put herself in that cage because the world tells her she must, but she also knows I've got the key that'll get her out and it worries those squares more than they'll ever admit. THEY can't possibly fathom understanding me on any level and with the good Princess and now yourself starting to think along different lines, they're only going to get more--”
“I think you're giving me too much credit.” Heaven interrupted. “I have no idea what's going on with you and Giselle, I just know you treated me like a partner when Bethany thought she was throwing me to the wolves. And you're talking to me now, when my 'friends' kicked me out of the ring like I'm a pariah.”
Violyt Goodheart offered the other blonde a smile that was somehow rueful and sardonic at the same time. “You find yourself at a crossroads, Heaven Hughes. In one direction you'll find the person everyone else wants you, or rather, expects you to be. In the other you'll find who you really are.”
“How do I know which is the right way?”
“Introspection and self-reflection are good for most people. Me? I stabbed a lot of chicks in the forehead with a cake fork. It really cleared things up some inner turmoil.”
Heaven shook her head. “I never know when you're dead serious or just spouting bullshit.”
Violyt grinned from ear to ear. “And you never will, Hughes. If I start making sense, you're in very deep trouble.”
Without another word, she turned around and began skipping up the aisle.
“Hey, wait a sec!” Heaven called after her.
Goodheart looked over her shoulder. “Yes?”
“Can I follow you a little while longer? Just to see where the road leads?”
Vi offered an amiable shrug. “I very much believe in free will, so you can do whatever you'd like, Hughes. Just know, the road only gets weirder from here.” The Pink Stranger didn't wait for a response, she just turned back and continued toward the entryway.
Heaven Hughes looked between the stage and the ring for several seconds.
Eventually she took off up the ramp.