Post by hawkeye on Dec 31, 2023 3:38:04 GMT
The crowd went from dull roar to murmur when the Announcer stepped into the spotlight once more. “Ladies and gentlemen, the following contest is scheduled for one fall with a twenty minute time limit. Introducing first, hailing from Hobbs End, New Hampshire, she stands at five feet-eight inches tall and weighs in at one hundred and thirty-two pounds. She is the Soul Survivor... the Angriest Acolyte, I give to you ‘BAD’ PENNY TREMBLAY!”
The lights cut out in the span between heartbeats, darkness descending on the Season's Beatings carolers before they could even start to jeer. With it came the low hum of a guitar and a repetition of vaguely ecclesiastical ‘oh’s’ that marked the beginning of ‘Walk on Water’.
WALK ON WATER:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=FA2w-PMKspo
Jeers did their level best to contend with the Soul Survivor's anthem, but the words rolled on heedless of the massed disdain, nor was it enough to halt the arrival of ghostly blue lights or a thin bank of dry ice fog. The Harbinger of a Dark Tomorrow appeared moments later, rising into view on a mechanical lift hidden within the dark so it looked as though she appeared from thin air. Taking up residence center stage, Penelope Tremblay gazed around the arena for several long seconds before she raised her left hand to her right shoulder and brushed off some invisible dust. Eyes locked on some point beyond the horizon, she repeated the sigil on her left shoulder, then started down the ramp to the squared circle.
PENNY TREMBLAY:
For her third confrontation with FAWN's standard-bearer, Tremblay wore a midnight blue two piece consisting of a sports-bra top and strappy briefs, both edged in copper trim. Pads at knee and elbow were matte gray while her boots matched her trunks. Ignoring the startled jeers of the poor lost sheep crowded against the guardrails, Tremblay made her way down the ramp, then hurried up the steel steps, climbed onto the empty corner and sprang from there to the center of the ring, where she dropped to her knees facing the hard camera A detail noted by those with particularly sharp vision, Penny wore copper-colored eye shadow, a sartorial detail that made every blink glint like the coins placed atop the eyes of the dearly departed. Standing after an appropriate stretch of genuflection, Tremblay stood up and turned to face the stage. Without shifting her gaze she crouched down, touched her left hand to the mat and swept a line across the canvas at her feet. Challenge made, she backpedaled into the far corner to await the Ace.
"And introducing her opponent,hailing from Stovington, Vermont, she stands at five feet seven inches tall and weighs in at one hundred and thirty pounds! She is the Rainmaker, the Ace, the Bankable Bombshell, this is...SUSANNAH BURLINGAME!”
CROWN ON THE GROUND:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=wGEZpSQEhls
SUE BURLINGAME:
Things went from dour to delightful in time with the discordant opening riff of 'Crown on the Ground'. The noise was still building when the eldest Burlingame brushed through the curtain with the sort of swagger that one earned after fifteen years of humbling the best and queening the rest. Smiling wide as the first 'SUE!' chants reached her ears, the Rainmaker stretched her arms wide and threw back her head to call down a ‘BOOM’ of zappy blue pyro! Stock still until the last of it had faded away, Sue offered a raised fist for the crowd, then started down the ramp.
To close out this series with a particularly vicious brat, Burlingame wore her classic dark blue two-piece with mellow golden trim; matching boots and pads at knee and elbow completed the look. Though never a hand-slapper in the vein of a Shea London or Kylie Sanders, the Bankable Bombshell angled from side to side to touch some of the fans reaching out in her direction. Worthy of note: while she made sure to acknowledge the FAWNatics, her eyes never once left the Orphan of Midnight. Drawing back to the middle of the aisle as she closed in on the ring, Burlingame exploded into a sprint that took her to and then into the squared circle via a slick little dive under the bottom rope. Simply kipping to boot-leather earned the veteran battler another raucous ovation, one that was still going strong when Al Carpenter stepped up to ostensibly check her boots and pads while also keeping her from going straight for Penny.
Months of separation hadn't lessened the enmity between Burlingame and Tremblay in the slightest, as evidenced by Carpenter busting his ass to keep the latter from attacking the former as soon as Burlingame hopped onto the apron. Now, standing in the center of the ring with his arms outstretched like a man trying to keep the walls from coming together, he glanced to both participants before shifting attention to the Timekeeper, who he acknowledged with a single nod.
The bell CLANGED and Al took a giant step backward. Good thing too, as the Ace and the Orphan of Midnight exploded from their respective corners to meet in a sneering clinch on the spot so recently occupied by the lanky zebra! An initial skirmish of catty hand-fighting gave way to an exchange of tart, indignant slaps which in turn segued into blonde and brunette snatching her adversary by the nape of the neck so she could hold her in place for a heavy series of Forearm Smashes that thwhap-thwhap-THWHAPPED! against her foe's sternum!
Much as she enjoyed pounding away at the Last True Believer, Sue Burlingame wasn't interested in a one for one exchange, so she abandoned her own bludgeoning to block Tremblay's latest attempt. Soon as that was done she locked that hand behind the blonde's head in a Muy Thai style clasp and yanked her down while simultaneously THUMPING a Kneelift into the pit of the other wrestler's stomach! Penny took it flush, her hips shooting backward in a way that told Burlingame she should've gone down on one knee, but damned if the blonde didn't answer with an identical clasp and drive a short Headbutt into the bridge of Sue's nose.
“That all you got?” she hissed in the brunette's ear. “Way you were talking last time, I thought we were going to settle this in a parking lot, instead you make me wait five fucking monHHHRRGGHH!”
Sue countered with a Headbutt of her own, then three more Kneelifts, the last of which succeeded in dropping Tremblay to one knee. “No bitch, Bethany Christian made you wait.” the Bankable Bombshell explained as she collected Penny's hair in a sloppy ponytail she immediately wrapped around one fist. “Apparently FAWN legal thought a cooling off period was needed to ensure I didn't smear your blood across the canvas in front of a worldwide audience. Joke's on them though, I can be exceedingly patient when it comes to making bitches ble--”
Penny balled one hand into a fist and pulled it back, instinctively causing Burlingame to bring her knees together to defend against the low blow. In this she was successful, unfortunately 'Bad' Penny had a different tactic in mind as she instead grabbed the veteran's ankles in both hands and yanked her legs out from underneath! Susan landed flat on her back with a startled grunt that became an angry snarl the instant Tremblay threw herself aboard in a Full Body Press. Snatching hold of the brunette's wrists even as their tummies and legs engaged in a furious battle, Penny pressed her cheek to Sue's and hissed, “Fuck patience. I want to make you bleed right now, hag!” The threat was barely out of her mouth when she twisted her head to one side, opened up wide and chomped down on Burlingame's cheek!
“PSYCHO BITCH!” Sue shrieked at the top of her lungs. “STOP FUCKING BITING ME OR HHHRRRGGHHHHH!”
The pain in her face had understandably taken the former World Champion's attention off the secondary battle going on down below and Penny made her pay for the lapse by DRIVING the point of her right knee into Sue's crotch! The Ace shuddered from end to end, but Tremblay's encroaching frame kept it from being too obvious, even when she drilled her a second time! “Or you'll what?” Tremblay huffed in Sue's ear even as she slipped her calves beneath the brunette's just to hook her ankles in a nasty Double Leg Grapevine. “Whine for a break? Retire on the spot? Just what are you going to do, old woman? You've got me curious.”
“Guuuuhhhh... gonna bleed you, for one.” Sue grimaced. “Forget about the crimson mask, you're gonna be a goddamned ginger by the time I let them wheel you out of AAAAAARRRHHHH FAAAAAHHHK!”
Penny bit her again, this time a chomp on the neck worthy of Adelaide Brewster! Burlingame wailed to wake the dead and Tremblay had made no effort to disguise her voracious tactics so it was a matter of heartbeats before Al scurried over and warned, “Knock off the biting, Penny. Right now!” There was no way Penny could've missed the order, yet she continued to chew even as she stretched the Ace's squirming stems a little wider. Not willing to cede control this early in the contest, Al dropped to one knee beside the action and counted off, “ONE! TWO! THREE! FOUR!”
The Angriest Acolyte stopped nibbling but did not relinquish her mount. Instead she surged forward and pressed the washboard of her midsection down on the brunette's face to keep her glued to the mat for...
ONE...
TWO...
Sue planted her feet and bridged with enough force to get her shoulders off the mat at 'TWO!' Unfortunately the strong jolt also shifted her rival up into a heavy seat on the brunette's chest. Catching Burlingame's hands in identical Knuckle-locks before the Ace could even think about mustering a defense, Tremblay slid forward until Sue's chin was pressed to the fork of her crotch and from there she brought her thighs together to ensure the other wrestler was blinded as well as smothered while Carpenter slapped the mat...
ONE...
TWO...
THR--“NNGGGH!”
Sue curled in on herself and THUMPED both knees between Penny's shoulders. Much like her previous effort, this broke the pin but not the mount as the Last True Believer came to rest with her pert backside snug against her rival's forehead! Burlingame went wild with the gluteal encroachment, understandable considering she was far happier to give than receive in regards to Face Sits of any variety. Not that her squirming and thrashing amounted to much, indeed it was only a matter of moments before Tremblay captured the brunette's legs at the knee and pinned them beneath her arms in a galling Matchbook that pointed the former World Champion's rump directly into the overhead lights.
“Eat it.” Penny demanded amidst another round of callous wriggling and bouncing. “Beat it or eat it you miserable fucking wash-out.” Sue did neither, though her shoulders persistent contact with the canvas meant it wasn't long before Al counted off another...
ONE...
TWO...
THRE--“BITCH!”
Tremblay abandoned the pin and popped to her feet like she'd been jabbed by a live wire! The FAWNatics knew such a thing was hardly possible and the actual cause presented itself when they noted the Orphan of Midnight rubbing her right cheek with one hand. “Biting?” the blonde hissed down at her rival, who'd made it to all fours and was drawing in deep, ragged breaths. “That's the sort of message you're happy to pass along to your children? Feels like I need to make some calls, a welfare check might be in ord--”
“You're the only one that needs checking on.” Burlingame rasped. “Assuming of course that anyone can be made to give a shit about HHRRRGGHHHHHH!”
Groans of nauseated, sympathetic anguish from those gathered for Season's Beatings when Tremblay reared back and delivered a vicious punt between the thighs of her penitent foe! “Jesus, Penny!” Al barked as Burlingame curled in on herself with both hands pressed to her throbbing center. “You can't just tee off on her like that!”
“Ring the goddamned bell, then.” she hissed. “Stop the fucking match, raise my hand and I'll walk away so you can tend to this whining piece of shit.”
The ref considered doing just that, but he knew that Bethany would have his ass for such an early stoppage and if by some miracle she didn't, Sue would happily pick up that slack herself. After another moment's consideration he muttered, “You want to fight however you please? Fine, I'll allow it. But leniency goes both ways, Penny. So don't you even think about complaining to me when Susan decides to return the favor.”
He'd expected some sort of incredulity from the blonde, but Tremblay only nodded and offered a knowing smile. Stomping around the fallen heiress so she could sink to one knee and snatch a huge handful of dark hair, she glanced at the official and murmured, “My issue is with Mom of the Year, Carpenter. Just keep out of my way and that's how it'll stay.”
The ref stayed silent so Penelope dragged her brunette to verticality, then snuggled in nose to nose and dipped down to wrap her arms around Burlingame's upper thighs. Hands locked just beneath the curve of her opponent's buns, Tremblay shot up on tiptoe and took a few steps forward before going down on one knee to pile more abuse on Burlingame's center with an eye-watering Inverted Atomic Drop!
INVERTED ATOMIC DROP:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=QTY0_rFR4mE
Painful though the move was, Sue would've remained on her feet in the aftermath in most circumstances. But with her legs still jellied from the previous Low Blow, the Bankable Bombshell's knees gave out and she landed flat on her back, an arrangement that only grew worse when Penny took possession of her ankles and streeeeeeeeeeetched the Ace's legs in a wide 'V'. “What's this, you think you're actually gonna wave me off?” Tremblay scoffed when Sue's hands began fluttering around her abused groin. “Go ahead, try and beg off. See what happ--”
A sneer crossed Penny's elegant features even as the crowd cheered uproariously for the pair of middle fingers the former World Champ pointed in the blonde's direction. “Duuuhhhhh... do your worst, you no talent piece of sh--” Sue shut up when Penny jerked one foot high into the air, but this turned out to be a ruse from the Angriest Acolyte. Rather than deliver yet another shot to the veteran's traumatized trunks, Tremblay drilled a short, mean kick into the back of Sue's left thigh, then tucked those captured feet under her armpits and pulled up hard enough that Burlingame was stacked flat on her shoulders. This was technically a pin, but Al didn't have time to swoop into position before Penny rocked back on her heels and laid out flat in a smooth pendulum motion that peeled Sue off the deck and hurled her into the nearest corner where she BWUNGED face-first against the top turnbuckle!
Burlingame groaned against the rough canvas and might've slopped down to her knees if an arm hooked over the top rope hadn't given her just enough support to put her back to the buckles. As this was playing out, 'Bad' Penny deftly pulled down the pad protecting her right knee and gave it a single ominous swat. Off at a run without further preamble, the lissome blonde hopped up and landed with her left foot on the bottom rope, thus providing an excellent point to launch the Kneelift she THWHUNKED between the brunette's eyes!
CORNER KNEE STRIKE:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=GN_1hYD_U_g
Sue's head snapped back on impact though there was no concern of her losing her footing this time around as Tremblay had shifted to a mount on the second rope and stuffed the warm plank of her tummy against Burlingame's cheek. “You can't run from this beating, hag.” the Orphan of Midnight snarled as she worked her left hand into Sue's hair, all the better to wrench her head backward at a painful angle. “You can't politic your way out of more matches and those rapidly deteriorating veteran wiles won't be enough to make me stop. If you REALLY want to win, you'll have to muster everything you still have.”
'Have' was still on Tremblay's lips when she curled her free hand into a fist and delivered a single punch to Burlingame's left eyebrow. Savoring the thrum of impact and her foe's grunt of pain, Penelope smiled prettily and murmured, “And somehow, if you manage all of that... I'll still have proven my point. I'll still wi--” Burlingame earned a brief cheer from the crowd when she reached up and SLAPPED the younger wrestler's buns before treating them to a rough, groping squeeze.
Snorting at Tremblay's irritation, the former World Champ asked, “Are you actually going to punch me or just keep running your goddamned mouNGH!”
Oh so delighted to oblige the brunette's bludgeoning request, Penny brought her hand down like a hammer over and over, the infuriated bendy-back making a point to focus her knuckles on the same spot even as the crowd grudgingly tolled off, 'TWO... THREE... FOUR... FIVE... SIX... SEVEN... EIGHT... NINE... OOOOHHHH!'
Tremblay hadn't grown bored of punches by the time she reached 'NINE!', yet she decided to end the set with something a little more emphatic so she snatched a double handful of Sue's hair and yanked head from side to side just to ensure the Ace was thoroughly discombobulated when she THWHACKED her right knee into her rival's left eyebrow! The roar of the crowd and drip of something warm on her strikin' knee told Penny everything she needed to know without actually looking at the cut over Sue's eyebrow. “That's two straight matches I've bloodied you.” Tremblay noted after she'd hopped down and grabbed hold of Burlingame's wrist. “I wonder how much you'll have to lose before Carpenter decides to wave it off?”
“Huuuhhh... he won't have to.” she grunted. “You'll be shoulders down, ass up in no timMOOOFFFHHH!”
The Last True Believer delivered another heavy Kneelift, then stepped away from the corner, dropped a shoulder and sent Susan rushing to the opposite side of the squared circle courtesy an Irish Whip! The heavy THUD of buckles on back was all the invitation Penny needed to rush off in pursuit of her prey, the leggy blonde burning up the canvas like-- “NNGGGHH!” The Rainmaker couldn't get out of the way so she brought both legs up and drove a heavy Mule Kick into her attacker's chest! Penny bounced backward and stumbled away, though Sue's reprieve was only a few seconds old when the other wrestler rounded on her and rushed back faster than bef—Sue twisted, grabbed hold of the top rope to her right and deftly hopped / slid between the ropes to end up on the apron half a heartbeat before Tremblay's knee collided with the top turnbuckle!
Barely registering the blonde's snarl of pain, Susan sprang up so her whole body was parallel to the top rope and THWHACKED a stiff kick into her adversary's forehead! Penny took it flush and backed off stumbling in fence-post holes, her wooziness allowing the bloodied brunette enough time to vault into a crouch on the top turnbuckle. Pausing just long enough to swipe the blood out of her left eye, the Ace straightened up and leapt out into the void for a gorgeous Missile Dropkick that concentrated every bit of her hundred and thirty-so pounds into a sledgehammer blow that connected with the blonde's sternum!
MISSILE DROPKICK:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wtmg_p5qNEk
Tremblay went down like a felled tree and Burlingame's landing wasn't that much better as she came down hard on her left hip and shoulder. Yet there was no denying the power of adrenaline in situations like these because the brunette immediately rolled to her back, pulled both knees up to her chest and kipped to verticality while Penny was still fighting to catch her breath. Pausing long enough to raise an index finger to the rafters, the resurgent heiress wiped the worst of the blood off with the back of her left wrist even as she glared down at the vulnerable blonde with undisguised disdain.
“You really enjoy leaving my blood on this canvas, don't you?” she muttered. “But for as easily as you've busted me open, I don't think you truly understand what it means to do so. That's gonna change tonight, kiddo.”
Penny made no verbal reply, she did however tumble onto her stomach and push to all fours, which was more than enough invitation for Burlingame. Striding into position off the penitent blonde's left shoulder, Sue brought her right leg up so that heel was snug against her backside. In the same instant she grabbed hold of that ankle and pivoted to her left so that folded leg hung ominously over Tremblay's head. Pushing up on tiptoe even as she tugged up on that secured ankle, she abruptly let go and brought her shin THWHACKING down on the nape of Penny's neck!
SWITCHBLADE KICK:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=7-dectaSr2k
The Switchblade Kick sent Tremblay back to the deck where she tumbled over onto her back and—“UNNGGGHHH!” Sue had backed into the ropes as soon as the Angriest Acolyte turned over and like Penny had done earlier, she pulled down the pad protecting her right knee. Plans set, she bounced out of the strands, took to the sky in a gorgeous vertical leap and came down with the bare joint THWHUNKING her rival's forehead!
Tremblay thrashed like a downed power-line while Burlingame rolled clear in an effortless little tumble that earned another round of applause once she returned to boot-leather. A single glance at the other wrestler's face told Sue she was well behind on the Crimson Deficit so she strode over to Penny and grabbed a double handful of hair to help haul her upright. This was only a half truth, as the Last True Believer was still doubled over when Burlingame reared back and DRILLED her with a Kneelift delivered from the younger woman's left. The THUMP of bone on bone was most satisfying, yet the Ace was certain she hadn't actually drawn blood so she reeled the bendy-back into a Front Facelock and slung her near arm across her shoulders. A handful of Tremblay's waistband provided all the additional leverage she needed to muscle her opponent directly overhead and hold her there, the FAWNatics quick to start counting when Sue didn't promptly deposit her prey in one direction or the other. The raucous revelers had reached 'EIGHT!' when Burlingame tromped forward almost to the edge of the squared circle and unceremoniously dropped her burden gut-first across the top rope with a nauseating TWAAAANG!
Penny folded in half on contact and probably would've dribbled down to the apron or even the floor if Sue hadn't buried her hands in the blonde's long hair. Careful to remain planted on her foe's left side, Burlingame pulled Tremblay a little bit more into the ring, then flicked up her right leg to THWHACK! a kick into that dangling noggin. Penny grunted and tried to protect her face but of course Sue was having none of that and she simply shook the blonde's head this way and that to disrupt her defenses before unleashing a whole flurry of kicks to her forehead and cheek!
ROPE-HUNG KAWADA KICKS:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZYQaTVfDmnw
She landed a full ten before Al started getting too pushy and rather than deal with more of his nonsense she doubled down on the blonde's hair a final time and pulled forward and down so Tremblay flipped back into the squared circle and landed flat on her butt with her shoulders braced heavily against the bottom ro--THWHACK! Sue rushed in and kicked her hard across the side of the face, the force of her strike leaving the Bankable Bombshell hanging in the strands with her kickin' leg draped over the bottom rope.
BASEMENT LEANED FACEWASH:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=WUvymceXDsI
A cheer from the crowd drew her attention to Penny and she was pleased to register the red rills on the blonde's chin spilling from a seemingly busted bottom lip. Extricating herself from the ropes in short order, Burlingame took possession of Tremblay's ankles and draaaaaaaaaaaaaaagged her to the middle of the ring where she folded her into a snug Matchbook and stepped over those hapless stems with her right leg and dropped to one knee, Sue effectively using her thigh to keep the cover in place while she treated the crowd to a gaudy double bicep flex and a count of...
ONE...
TWO...
Penny kicked out with a full second to spare, the Orphan of Midnight shoving Burlingame off her perch much to the irritation of the FAWNatics. The eldest Burlingame sister did not share in their disappointment, indeed she looked quite satisfied as she knee-walked over to Tremblay and helped herself to a double handful of hair. Planting her right knee in the small of the younger wrestler's back, she puuuuuuuuuuuulled Penny's torso off the mat in something resembling a particularly awkward Camel Clutch. Of course a standard Camel Clutch didn't involve a blatant hair-pull so it didn't earn a swift warning from the official.
“Get off her hair, Sue.” Carpenter murmured. “You know better than that.”
“But cutie here likes to work rough, isn't that right, cutie?” Sue jostled her foe's head from side to side and pulled even harder, the rough treatment earning a snarl and scrabbling claws from the bloodied blonde. “Isn't that right, Penny? You like leaving my blood all over the mat, you're not afraid to do the same with yours?”
Tremblay smiled and her teeth were stained red, it was a disconcerting sight to say the least. “Oh, I'm loving every bit of this.” she hissed. “Of course I'm not the one who has to justify my actions to a child when I go homEERRRGGNNNGGGGHHHH!”
The heiress yanked harder still, then SLAMMED her opponent's forehead into the canvas as hard as she could! The mat was still shivering when she climbed into a mount on Tremblay's back and began to scrrrrrrruuuuuuub her face back and forth against the canvas!
Al hadn't actually made a count on the hair-pull despite his warning, but that was not the case with this aggressive abrasion. Sue'd been at it for only a second or two when he barked, “Cut it out, Sue! ONE! TWO! THREE! FOUR!”
Burlingame did as ordered and raised both hands overhead to confirm as such. Alas this proved little reprieve for Tremblay as the former World Champ went right back to the hair so she could drag Penny to her knees. Standing off to her foe's left, Susan raised her right heel and pressed it to the corner of Tremblay's mouth so she could deliver no less than three scuffing swipes! Tremblay cursed, yanked her head away from Burlingame's boot at the cost of several strands of hair and crawled away to assess the damage. Sue started to pursue, only to stop when Al put a hand on her elbow.
“You cut that Dennehy shit out right now, understand? The two of you want to fight to draw blood? Fine, I can't stop where knees and elbows land, but I'm sure as hell not going to let the two of you injure one another on my watch.”
The Bankable Bombshell was formulating a response when Penny chimed in. “Don't keep her on a leash for my benefit, Carpenter.” the blonde's nose was bleeding too, though the malicious gleam in her eyes suggested she either didn't feel it, or didn't particularly care. “I appreciate your concern for my safety, but we both know Mama Burlingame is undeserving trust-fund TRASH and I'm more than willing to bleed buckets to remind the world of that fa--”
Sue hopped forward and lashed out with her right leg in a Basement Super Kick that would've spread Penny's nose all over her face if the Last True Believer hadn't caught her ankle in both hands. Quick to twisssssssssssst the veteran's foot as she rose to her full height, Tremblay offered Burlingame a nasty smile and asked, “What do you hate more, hag? Knowing I'm right? Or knowing that one day your daughter will know I'm rigNNNNGGGGHHH!”
Sue hopped up and THWHACKED the blonde across the temple with an Enzugiri that made the first several rows cringe! Penny dropped the brunette's foot and crumpled to one knee. She was trying to collect her bearings when Burlingame came around on her six and snagged a double handful of hair. Setting the woozy wrestler on her feet with a single massive yank, Susan segued from hair-hold to Full Nelson, one that forced Penny's chin snug against her sternum. Bearing down hard on the simple hold, Burlingame leaned in close enough to whisper, “You really willing to risk your career like this, bitch?”
“If it means protecting that kid from a piece of shit like you, yeah, I'll do whatever it fucking tak--” Sue dropped real low, then popped her hips and snapped off a gorgeous bridge that THWHUNKED Tremblay down on the back of her head and shoulders, the Orphan of Midnight well and truly folded in half by the Ace's Dragon Suplex. Strongly tempted to release the bridge so she could continue the beating uninterrupted, Sue ultimately pushed up on tiptoe in the hopes that she'd either end this shit show right now, or at least get a moment to clear her head.
DRAGON SUPLEX HOLD @ 00:35
www.youtube.com/watch?v=IfsEY7LldAs
Unaware of his role in all of this, Al Carpenter swooped into place beside the action and slapped the mat...
ONE...
TWO...
Penny twisted loose a whisper after 'TWO', the leggy blonde spilling over onto her stomach with one arm cradling the base of her aching skull. Sue didn't question the count, didn't even look in Al's direction to be honest. Considering the shit that'd spilled from Tremblay's mouth since the bell sounded ('since the first time they'd crossed paths, you mean' noted a voice in the back of her head) she was quite confident she wouldn't be consulting the referee until long after they'd called for a stoppage. To that end she helped herself to a double handful of hair, then hauled Penny to a seat and dragged her kicking and skidding to the middle of the ring. Once she had the brat in position, Burlingame hooked her hands over Tremblay's chin and dropped to a seat while simultaneously stretching the younger wrestler out flat. In the same instant she brought her legs up and threaded them around the Angriest Acolyte's noggin, Sue threading her left leg across Penelope's throat so she could tuck that shin into the pit of her right knee.
“Eeeerrrggghhhhhhhh!” Tremblay twisted this way and that, both hands swatting and tugging at her attacker's knees as Burlingame began to squeeeeeeeeeeze the Figure-Four Headscissors. Seemingly unimpressed by the initial show of resistance, the Bankable Bombshell hunkered forward and delivered a sharp overhead SLAP to her opponent's abdomen! “Come on!” Burlingame dished out two more slaps in rapid succession, then planted her hands and hoisted her buns off the mat to apply even more pressure. “Fuckin' come in here running your mouth like you belong in the ring with me and now you're just gonna let me show off while I crush your head between my thighs? Where's that fucking attitude now, honey?”
“Nnnnnnnghhhhh... this is what you call crushing, hag?” Penny sneered, the blonde putting in work to keep her voice level despite the obvious strain. “This is barely a flex, but I'd advise against trying any harder. Wouldn't want you to dislocate a hip or someNGH! NGH! NGH!”
Burlingame dropped back to a seat, leaned forward and delivered three more tummy slaps before Tremblay caught hold of her wrist! The Last True Believer was quick to gouge her nails into the underside of Sue's wrist, but the heiress endured and made her rival pay for the nastiness by THUMPING her right elbow into the bridge of Penny's nose! “Like that, bitch?” Sue maintained contact and grrrrrrrrrrrrooooound the bony joint this way and that while Tremblay cursed and tried to push it away. “Yeah, I think you DO like it. Probably because you've convinced yourself that if I spread your nose all over your face, there's no way I can sit on it later. Maybe you're right... maybe you're wro--”
“I'd never waste MY ass on a face like yours, old woman.” Penny taunted. “I want to make sure the whole world sees the enormity of your fuck-up stamped all over your face, even if it is covered in blooHHHRRGGGH!”
Susan rolled over onto her stomach, forcing the blonde to do the same. From there she pushed up onto all fours and tucked her head so she could roll forward while Tremblay was peeled off the deck and THAWHAMMED down on the deck with the Headscissors still intact! Such rough treatment was never inflicted only once and indeed Burlingame didn't break with tradition as she immediately rolled back to her stomach to deliver a second, third, and fourth spine-jarring collision!
ROLLING FIGURE FOUR HEADSCISSORS:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=VRS86BpgGWw
A fifth was almost certainly in the works when Penny jerked within the confines of the Scissors and managed to wrap her ankles around the bottom strand. She called for a break and Al acknowledged it without hesitation. As for Sue, she nodded at the ref's command, but rather than honor it she caught the blonde's nose between the lowest knuckles of her index and middle fingers and twissssssssssssssted until Carpenter reached 'FOUR!' on his count!
Disengaging from the Scissors with a showy flourish, Sue rolled to one knee, made a quick adjustment to her briefs, then grabbed Penny by the nape of the neck. Hauling her blonde to boot-leather in fits and starts, the Ace dipped a shoulder and slipped that arm through Tremblay's legs so she could muscle her up across her shoulders in a Fireman's Carry. Bolstered by the crowd as she backpedaled away from the ropes, Sue gave 'em a little hip waggle before twisting her torso to point Penny's feet almost straight forward. Then she snapped back the other way, tossed Tremblay off her shoulders and went down on one knee to inflict more damage on that bloodied—NO!
Penny got both hands braced atop Sue's knee and pushed back as hard as she could to ensure she'd land on her knees instead of her face. It wasn't the prettiest counter, but it surprised Sue long enough for the Orphan of Midnight to grab a double handful of hair and hurry to her fe—'OOOOOOOHH!' from the sold-out crowd when 'Bad' Penny exploded forward and DRILLED her nemesis' bloodied eyebrow with a vicious Kneelift! Burlingame went down in a heap and Penny was right there to collect, the blonde brazenly shoveling Sue onto her back so she could press a knee to the side of her face while she hooked the far leg in snug cradle good for...
ONE...
TWO...
THRNOOOO!
Burlingame got a hand against Tremblay's knee and was able to shove it away with a half second to spare, the wobbly Ace voluntarily turning her back on the blonde so she could better inspect the damage done to her busted brow. Penelope made no effort to stop her. Instead the Last True Believer took the opportunity to dab at her own bloodied nose and lips. Her fingers came away red though this didn't seem to bother Tremblay at all. Indeed she offered the camera a devilish smile before she planted a smooch on her fingertips and blew it in the direction of the FAWNatics. This earned a loud grumble of disdain from those assembled and it grew that much more raucous when Penny snatched the proffered kiss from the air and SLAPPED it down on Sue's upturned hip!
Burlingame grunted, swatted Tremblay's hand away, then cursed in obvious disgust when the younger woman put her hand to the side of the heiress' face and pushed down with all her weight! “What's wrong, ma'am? Too hard to fight when you're not winning?” With one hand still pressing down full force on Burlingame's cheek, 'Bad' Penny plunged her other hand into the former World Champion's hair and pulled like she meant to bare a great patch of scalp. “Then tell them you quit.” Penny demanded. “Tell all these greedy, selfish, insatiable people that you're going home to be with your family. You've already been queen of the ring, it's time you were queen of the car lineeerrrgghhhhh.”
Sue wrapped a hand around wrist and squeezed until her knuckles showed white. In the same breath she prized her head out from under that encroaching palm and struggled to one knee, a task made considerably more painful by the blonde's relentless grip on her hair. One free hand meant she could've punched Tremblay square in the mouth, so it was most interesting that Burlingame chose to mirror Penny's eye-watering hair pull. “Yuuuhhh... you don't get to make that decision, brat.” Sue explained through clenched teeth. “I'M the one who decides when it's time to hang it up.”
“Because it's all about you, right?” Tremblay asked. “All about your precious, misbegotten legacy.”
The Ace's dark eyes flashed at the obvious derision Penny heaped on the last word. “As if a mindless little cultist like you knows the first thing about legaRRRGGHHH!”
Committed as she seemed to claiming Sue's locks as a trophy, Penelope abandoned the grip in a heartbeat to POUND her knuckles into the veteran's left eyebrow! Stars blossomed inside Sue's skull, those constellations of pain rapidly blossoming into a whole galaxy when Tremblay drew her into a rough Side Headlock and scrambled to her feet while the Bombshell was still struggling on her knees. Flipping battle-damp hair out of her eyes, the infuriated blonde cupped Sue's chin with one hand to better hold her head in place while she delivered punch after punch after punch to the cut that was once again bleeding freely.
“Oh, I know ALL ABOUT the importance of perception and reputation to a woman like you.” Penny's voice dripped with sardonic humor but her dark eyes were as cold as December ice. “That's why I'm so happy to make you bleed, hag. All the spin in the world won't be enough to explain why half your face got dragged along--”
“Enough of those closed fists, Penny!” Carpenter interrupted. “Either open up or let her go right now!”
The Orphan of Midnight paused, seeming to consider the demand. “Very well, Mr. Carpenter. Have it your way.” On that presumably agreeable note the blonde opened up her punchin' hand, only then things got a whole lot worse because 'Bad' Penny set her thumb against Sue's bloodied brow and pressed down at hard as she could! Susan shrieked in abject anguish and began smashing frantic punches into the blonde's tummy and flank, but Tremblay endured the brunette's resistance to keep pouring it on while Al delivered a count worthy of a fire and brimstone preacher.
“ONE! TWO! THREE! FOUR!” Penny threw her hands up and stalked after Al, the lanky zebra rapidly backpedaling from the blood splattered bendy-back. “Consider your next move carefully, Penny.” he warned. “I don't care how much Bethany hates DQ's, I'll do it if...”
Penny grabbed a double handful of his striped shirt and proceeded to wipe her hands clean. “What would make you call for the bell, Mr. Carpenter?” she asked quietly. “Would you be more inclined to punish me for my apparent lack of respect for the order you find so appealing? Or would cut things short because you were concerned about the hag's well-being? Look at her, Carpenter. Look at what I've DONE to her. Would you ring the bell to save her from more? Or would you stay your hand until the idiots in the back told you enough was enough?”
“You are here to wrestle Penelope.” Al replied after he'd straightened his now bloody shirt. “You may inflict all the hurts you see fit, but I will not let you injure anyone, regardless of how much you seem to think they deserve it.”
Tremblay's dark eyes narrowed as she searched the referee's face for some lie. Apparently finding none, she nodded and said, “Very well. But know this, Mr. Carpenter. She can bleed a great deal without sustaining any real injury.”
On that cheerful note she turned around and honed in on the eldest Burlingame sister, who'd managed to make it to one knee while 'Bad' Penny's attention was elsewhere. Al cringed when he saw the blood painting the left side of Sue's face and much of her left shoulder, though he halted his advance when the Ace raised a hand in his direction. Penny noted this and stopped as well, though her expression lacked the concern shown by the lanky zebra. “What do you have left to prove?” she asked the penitent veteran. “Three time World Champion. Arguably the most recognizable name of post-merger FAWN. A veritable library of matches against the best of the best, not to mention names forgotten by all by the loneliest of nerds. That is an... an enviable list of accomplishments, old woman. Yet here you are, a bowed and bloodied object of concern for even the most heartless among the rabble. Why are you still here, ma'am?”
“Because I'm the goddamned best at this.” Susan huffed as she rose to boot-leather on a round of applause from the FAWNatics. “My time's not over until I say it's over. And if you call me ma'am one more time I'll--”
“Be careful of threats, ma'am.” Penny interrupted with icy politeness. “You remember what the doctor said about angering up the blood at your ag--”
The Bankable Bombshell sprang up and forward, her right knee shooting toward Tremblay's mouth either to shut her up for good or maybe she just wanted to get the bleeding going again. Whatever her reason, it ended in catastrophic failure as Penny took a step backward, got both hands between herself and the encroaching joint and swatted it down hard! The deflection knocked Burlingame off balance and she landed awkwardly, her legs almost buckling before she steadied out and straightened—“NNNNGGGGGHH!” Penny tagged the point of her chin with a stiff European Uppercut that knocked the brunette up on tiptoe!
She was in the midst of swooning away from the implacable blonde when Penny grabbed a handful of waistband and reeled her back the way she'd come. A Kneelift to the spine froze Burlingame in place long enough for Tremblay to dip low and thrust her head beneath the Ace's left arm. Sue crooked that arm around Penny's noggin in a seemingly instinctual Side Headlock, certainly the Last True Believer made no effort to shake it off when she curled her right arm across the heiress' lower back and braced her left hand against the back of Sue's left thigh. Those hooks were more than enough for Tremblay to boost Burlingame onto the point of her right shoulder and the crowd cringed in anticipation of a Spine Tremblar only to murmur in surprise when she tromped forward and dropped Sue's calves down onto the top rope! The rubber-coated steel provided more than enough springiness to bounce the Bankable Bombshell back into the air and that's when Penny twisted around and dropped to one knee, the Orphan of Midnight delivering on the promise of spinal trauma by THWHUMPING her burden down across the post of her left thigh!
SLINGSHOT BACKDROP BACKBREAKER:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=5TjFxdpgmlY
Sue bounced off and tumbled away like a felled tree, though she didn't move so fast that Penny couldn't scramble after and catch on at shoulder and hip. “Tell Carpenter you're throwing in the towel.” Penny told the bleeding, groaning grappler. “Show your daughter you're capable of making a selfless choi—NGH!”
Sue slapped the blonde across the face and would've snatched hold of her hair if Tremblay hadn't immediately grabbed that wrist and pounded it against the deck half a dozen times! “Ok... ok...” 'Bad' Penny nodded as she glared down at the former World Champion. “I get it. A gunslinger can't die in her bed, right? She needs pistols in both hands and mountains of shells at her feet, otherwise what was the point?” Tremblay chuckled, offered the brunette a smile that was simultaneously malicious and sad. “I can give you that, old woman. Just remember, the gungslinger's death is what you asked for.”
“Hhhrrgghhhh... guuuhhh... go fuck yourself you crazy NNNGGGHGHH!” Penny raised a knee like she meant to swing a leg over Burlingame's torso, instead she drew it back straight and DRILLED a pitiless Kneelift into her adversary's crotch!
Delighted by the jeers that showered the ring after that nauseating strike, Tremblay ground her knee back and forth before filling her hands with Sue's increasingly lank locks. Peeling Burlingame off the mat in fits and starts, Tremblay set the bloodied brunette on her feet and shook off a woozy clench attempt by simply slapping the three time former World Champion in the mouth. With Susan reeling, Penny slunk around behind and grabbed hold of the heiress by trunks and tresses. “I have so much to prove, ma'am.” Tremblay tightened each grip and pulled up, muscling the veteran onto tiptoe. “More than you could ever know. That's why you have to stop me. Left to my own devices... there's no telling what I might do.”
Burlingame bared her teeth and tensed her right arm in anticipation of a Back Elbow, unfortunately the Angriest Acolyte interrupted with a quick Kneelift to the small of her back! Sue lurched forward and Penny went with her, the willowy blonde bum-rushing her adversary at a corner on the far side of the squared—“NNNNNNGGGGGH!” Tremblay slammed on the brakes and hurled her burden forward and down, the Ace tumbling into an awful skid on her left hip and shoulder that ended with her BWUNGING spine-first into the post just below the bottom turnbuckle! Burlingame writhed like a bug on a pin as she tried to shake off the shock of impact. This task grew considerably more difficult once Penelope slipped through the ropes and stalked around to the other side of the ring-post. Gripping Sue's right ankle in one hand and cupping her chin with the other,Tremblay planted her feet wide and puuuuuuullllllllllled back, the Last True Believer's lithesome frame shredding into shadowy relief as she did everything in her power to snap Sue in half against the cold steel!
RINGPOST SURFBOARD:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=kSr3lpcVytU
“ROOOOOPPPPPEEEEES!” Susan shrieked to Al because she did in fact have her right hand wrapped around the bottom rope. “GET HER THE FUCK OFF ME!” Penny just shook her head 'no' through every word of Carpenter's warning, though she did break away when the frustrated official reached 'FOUR!' on his count. Clearing off with her hands raised to shoulder level, Tremblay nodded understanding, then pivoted on her left foot and hopped forward to THWHACK a Super Kick off the side of Burlingame's dangling skull!
The crowd cringed in sympathetic anguish as Sue tumbled away from the blow and came to rest on her stomach with both arms wrapped around the back of her head. Out on the floor, Penny glanced to the corner that Sue had so recently occupied and hopped onto the apron just to go straight for the high rent districts. Knowing damned well what the Orphan of Midnight had on her mind, the FAWNatics tried to warn Sue of the looming threat but she paid them no mind, or perhaps she simply couldn't hear their roar over the ringing in her ears. Whatever the reason, she barely even twitched when Tremblay took flight out into the void, the blonde soaring like a harbinger of doom over a new and glorious morn—[/b]THAWHAM![/b] 'Bad' Penny dropped the Dying Breath square across the small of her rival's back, the pin-point Splash making Sue writhe like she'd been touched by a live wire! She was still twitching and shuddering when Tremblay hooked a Half Nelson and rolled her over, the domineering bendy-back quick to slide in for a Crossbody she augmented by hooking the far leg for...
ONE...
TWO...
THRENOOOOOOOO!
Incredulity and delight reigned in equal measure when Sue twisted onto her side and shot an arm into the air with nothing more than a whisper between her and defeat! Beside her, Penelope leaned back on her haunches and glanced between Burlingame and Carpenter a few times before eventually settling on the latter.
“You do understand that these slow counts are doing her no good on the long term?”
“Wasn't a slow count, Penny.” Al replied with none of the umbrage you might expect following such an accusation. “Sue just... doesn't know when to quit.”
“That's not quite it.” the blonde worked her fingers into the Ace's hair and hauled her up enough to draw into a Standing Headscissors. “Even after all these years, I don't think she knows HOW to quit. But I'll teach her, Mr. Carpenter. I'll teach the old bitch to quit even if it's the only thing I ever do in this industry.”
Al had no idea how to respond to such a thing and Burlingame was still shuddering with hurt so Penny leaned down, wrapped her arms around the heiress's waist and hauled her up onto the point of one shoulder. What looked like it could be a Canadian Backbreaker turned out to be something even more troubling when Tremblay carefully shifted her grasp to Burlingame's biceps one after the other and hoisted her into a defenseless crucifix. Already pointed at the opposite corner, the Last True Believer took a couple steps back, then charged the buckles and top speed to kick-start Sue's Last Night of Sad—NO!
Burlingame kicked her legs back and up around Tremblay's hips, then popped free of the blonde's grasp to tumble down her back and into a seat that flipped Penny off her feet and deposited her flat on her back! Leaping to their feet even as Carpenter dove in beside his charges, the crowd joined Al in counting off...
ONE...
TWO...
THRENOOOOOOOO!
Tremblay somersaulted clear of the impromptu Sunset Flip and popped to verticality without missing a beat! With Burlingame still flat on her butt, the blonde pointed her right shoulder at the Ace and skipped forward to fire off a Basement Super Kick aimed at the point of her rival's chi—NO!
Sue got her hands up and caught hold of Penelope's ankle while simultaneously throwing her head back to avoid the concussive impact by the slimmest of margins! Clambering upright without ceding her grip on the younger woman's ankle, Burlingame drew Tremblay's leg all the way to the left, then slung it right with more than enough 'oomph' to spin the Angriest Acolyte around in a smooth circle. Knees dipped long before Penny made it all the way 'round, the Bankable Bombshell sprang into the air and reached out with both hands to catch the bendy-back's noggin in a snug Three Quarters Facelock.
Everyone was already bellowing for the Ace Crusher when Tremblay braced both hands between the former World Champion's shoulders and shoved as hard as she could! Susan's grip crumbled and she arced away to land awkwardly a few feet awa—[/b]THWHACK![/b]
Penny's previous Super Kick had missed the mark, but this latest effort struck the base of her skull with pinpoint accuracy! Sue stumbled hard, dropped to one knee and pushed herself upright just as the Orphan of Midnight put both hands on the veteran's shoulders and vaulted herself into a seat atop her opponent's shoulders! Mount secure, Tremblay tucked her head in close and tumbled forward to come down flat on her back just to sit up so that Burlingame was drawn down and stacked on her shoulders, the Ace's calves caught tight in the blonde's clutches for a Victory Roll that left her butt upturned and wriggling through a count of...
ONE...
TWO...
THRENOOOOOOOO!
Burlingame thrust backward with everything she had left to put Tremblay down on her back with the heiress seated on her chest in an awkward, albeit effective Reverse Matchbook. Shifting position to confirm that Penelope's shoulders were flat against the canvas, Al started to count which meant his attention was elsewhere when Sue grabbed double handful of Tremblay's waistband and pulled tight to guarantee a little extra leverage through...
VICTORY ROLL:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=MWr1b_v1iMc
ONE...
TWO...
THREE!
Tremblay exploded free and the two rivals scrambled upright like things were still live, yet the CLANG of the bell proclaimed otherwise, as did the voice of the Announcer. “Ladies and gentlemen, your winner via pin-fall... SUSANNAH BURLINGAME!”
Eyes locked on the fuming blonde as Carpenter raised her hand, Sue blew Penny a kiss and huffed, “Nice try, kid. But you're not ready for--”
Penny exploded off her back foot, went low and buried a shoulder in the Ace's midsection! Hooking her arms around Burlingame's upper thighs even as she continued to plow forward, Tremblay carried her prey to and then through the strands with a brutal Spear that sent them both tumbling to the floor! It wasn't a pleasant landing for either woman judging by the heavy THWHUMP when they landed, but it was clear Sue got the worst of it as she remained sprawled on her back while Penny clambered to verticality on unsteady legs.
“Not ready?” she spat down at the vulnerable Ace. “You win a tied series with a roll-up, and I'm not ready? You win with a handful of tights and I'm NOT READ--”
Al dropped down beside the fuming blonde and took hold of her arm. “That's enough, Penny. Don't do anything you'll NNNGGHHHH!” Tremblay smote the ref across the jaw with a Forearm Smash, then grabbed him by his collar and belt and hurled him into the barricade with an awful BWANG! “Keep your goddamned hands off me.” she spat down at the moaning zebra. “Especially if you can't do your fucking job.”
Swinging back to the eldest Burlingame sister, the Orphan of Midnight stalked over, grabbed a huge handful of hair and hauled her to all fours. From there she secured a Standing Headscissors, then hunched forward and wrapped both arms around Sue's waist, all the better to muscle he up onto the point of her right shoulder. She'd already gone for it earlier in the night, now the crowd's worst suspicions were confirmed when Penny shifted from the Waistlock to stereo bicep grips that hoisted Sue into a defenseless crucifix. With the Bankable Bombshell held aloft and Al out of commission, Tremblay shifted so she angled toward the ring before she rushed forward several steps and hurled her burden into the ring-post with an awful THWHUNK!
LAST NIGHT OF SADNESS @ 1:45
www.youtube.com/watch?v=LIuz4dinZ1o
Her head bounced and shoulders bisected by the uncaring steel, Sue bounced away from the collision and collapsed to her knees. She would've slopped forward into a face-down sprawl if the Last True Believer hadn't snatched hold of her hair and led / dragged her around the corner on a beeline for the Commentator's Table. Switching one hand over to Burlingame's waistband to better haul her upright, Penny gave Joanna and Gordy a malicious grin and murmured, “I'd get out of here, if I were you.”
Give her credit, Coleman tried to appeal to Tremblay's better angels, but she cleared off when the blonde stretched Sue out on the table like a sacrificial offering. Some latent instinct must've told the Ace she was in serious trouble because she sat up and tried to slide away, alas Penny intercepted her with a Headbutt and followed up with several more clubbing Forearm Smashes to the chest once she was prone. Holding Burlingame's head in her hands, Penelope leaned in close and whispered, “You're going to make the right choice, ma'am. Even if I have to force it upon you.” She planted a kiss on the brunette's forehead, then straightened up and hurried away, the vicious bendy-back skipping up onto the apron so she could make her way to the corner.
Worry gave way to concern which immediately yielded to outright dread when Penny stood tall on the top turnbuckle and looked out over the buzzing choir. No smile now, indeed the blonde's features could've been carved from ice as she raised her left hand high and extended her index and middle fingers in a... peace sign? No sign of mercy this, as Tremblay touched her fingertips to her eyebrows and slowly drew them down across her lids, the Angriest Acolyte symbolically closing the eyes of her hapless prey. Rites properly tended, she leapt out into this midnight clear and descended like a judgment, 'Bad' Penny just KERASH-THAWHAMMING Sue through the table with another Dying Breath!
DYING BREATH:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=QHXmakQQrJo
Tremblay tumbled away with both arms strapped over her ribs, yet she'd still regained a wobbly verticality in about ten seconds, which was far more than anyone could say for Sue (or Castle, for that matter). Observing the wreckage with undiminished hatred, Penny lurched forward and might've put a boot on the former champ's chest if a flood of zebras hadn't finally washed over the ringside area.
“Enough, Penny.” Nick Castle warned as he put himself between Tremblay and Burlingame. “Not another step, understand?”
Tremblay shook her head 'no'. “It's not nearly enough, asshole. But it will do for tonight. When she wakes up, tell her to find me when she's ready... if she's ever gonna be ready.” Finally finding cause to smile, Penny Tremblay put her fingers to bloodied lips and blew Susan the chilliest of kisses to ensure she remembered that wins and losses were just numbers on a page. Victory and defeat however, those were measured in who walked away of her own accord and who was assisted to the back.
Far as Penny was concerned, she owned the night's biggest victory.
The lights cut out in the span between heartbeats, darkness descending on the Season's Beatings carolers before they could even start to jeer. With it came the low hum of a guitar and a repetition of vaguely ecclesiastical ‘oh’s’ that marked the beginning of ‘Walk on Water’.
WALK ON WATER:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=FA2w-PMKspo
Jeers did their level best to contend with the Soul Survivor's anthem, but the words rolled on heedless of the massed disdain, nor was it enough to halt the arrival of ghostly blue lights or a thin bank of dry ice fog. The Harbinger of a Dark Tomorrow appeared moments later, rising into view on a mechanical lift hidden within the dark so it looked as though she appeared from thin air. Taking up residence center stage, Penelope Tremblay gazed around the arena for several long seconds before she raised her left hand to her right shoulder and brushed off some invisible dust. Eyes locked on some point beyond the horizon, she repeated the sigil on her left shoulder, then started down the ramp to the squared circle.
PENNY TREMBLAY:
For her third confrontation with FAWN's standard-bearer, Tremblay wore a midnight blue two piece consisting of a sports-bra top and strappy briefs, both edged in copper trim. Pads at knee and elbow were matte gray while her boots matched her trunks. Ignoring the startled jeers of the poor lost sheep crowded against the guardrails, Tremblay made her way down the ramp, then hurried up the steel steps, climbed onto the empty corner and sprang from there to the center of the ring, where she dropped to her knees facing the hard camera A detail noted by those with particularly sharp vision, Penny wore copper-colored eye shadow, a sartorial detail that made every blink glint like the coins placed atop the eyes of the dearly departed. Standing after an appropriate stretch of genuflection, Tremblay stood up and turned to face the stage. Without shifting her gaze she crouched down, touched her left hand to the mat and swept a line across the canvas at her feet. Challenge made, she backpedaled into the far corner to await the Ace.
"And introducing her opponent,hailing from Stovington, Vermont, she stands at five feet seven inches tall and weighs in at one hundred and thirty pounds! She is the Rainmaker, the Ace, the Bankable Bombshell, this is...SUSANNAH BURLINGAME!”
CROWN ON THE GROUND:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=wGEZpSQEhls
SUE BURLINGAME:
Things went from dour to delightful in time with the discordant opening riff of 'Crown on the Ground'. The noise was still building when the eldest Burlingame brushed through the curtain with the sort of swagger that one earned after fifteen years of humbling the best and queening the rest. Smiling wide as the first 'SUE!' chants reached her ears, the Rainmaker stretched her arms wide and threw back her head to call down a ‘BOOM’ of zappy blue pyro! Stock still until the last of it had faded away, Sue offered a raised fist for the crowd, then started down the ramp.
To close out this series with a particularly vicious brat, Burlingame wore her classic dark blue two-piece with mellow golden trim; matching boots and pads at knee and elbow completed the look. Though never a hand-slapper in the vein of a Shea London or Kylie Sanders, the Bankable Bombshell angled from side to side to touch some of the fans reaching out in her direction. Worthy of note: while she made sure to acknowledge the FAWNatics, her eyes never once left the Orphan of Midnight. Drawing back to the middle of the aisle as she closed in on the ring, Burlingame exploded into a sprint that took her to and then into the squared circle via a slick little dive under the bottom rope. Simply kipping to boot-leather earned the veteran battler another raucous ovation, one that was still going strong when Al Carpenter stepped up to ostensibly check her boots and pads while also keeping her from going straight for Penny.
Months of separation hadn't lessened the enmity between Burlingame and Tremblay in the slightest, as evidenced by Carpenter busting his ass to keep the latter from attacking the former as soon as Burlingame hopped onto the apron. Now, standing in the center of the ring with his arms outstretched like a man trying to keep the walls from coming together, he glanced to both participants before shifting attention to the Timekeeper, who he acknowledged with a single nod.
The bell CLANGED and Al took a giant step backward. Good thing too, as the Ace and the Orphan of Midnight exploded from their respective corners to meet in a sneering clinch on the spot so recently occupied by the lanky zebra! An initial skirmish of catty hand-fighting gave way to an exchange of tart, indignant slaps which in turn segued into blonde and brunette snatching her adversary by the nape of the neck so she could hold her in place for a heavy series of Forearm Smashes that thwhap-thwhap-THWHAPPED! against her foe's sternum!
Much as she enjoyed pounding away at the Last True Believer, Sue Burlingame wasn't interested in a one for one exchange, so she abandoned her own bludgeoning to block Tremblay's latest attempt. Soon as that was done she locked that hand behind the blonde's head in a Muy Thai style clasp and yanked her down while simultaneously THUMPING a Kneelift into the pit of the other wrestler's stomach! Penny took it flush, her hips shooting backward in a way that told Burlingame she should've gone down on one knee, but damned if the blonde didn't answer with an identical clasp and drive a short Headbutt into the bridge of Sue's nose.
“That all you got?” she hissed in the brunette's ear. “Way you were talking last time, I thought we were going to settle this in a parking lot, instead you make me wait five fucking monHHHRRGGHH!”
Sue countered with a Headbutt of her own, then three more Kneelifts, the last of which succeeded in dropping Tremblay to one knee. “No bitch, Bethany Christian made you wait.” the Bankable Bombshell explained as she collected Penny's hair in a sloppy ponytail she immediately wrapped around one fist. “Apparently FAWN legal thought a cooling off period was needed to ensure I didn't smear your blood across the canvas in front of a worldwide audience. Joke's on them though, I can be exceedingly patient when it comes to making bitches ble--”
Penny balled one hand into a fist and pulled it back, instinctively causing Burlingame to bring her knees together to defend against the low blow. In this she was successful, unfortunately 'Bad' Penny had a different tactic in mind as she instead grabbed the veteran's ankles in both hands and yanked her legs out from underneath! Susan landed flat on her back with a startled grunt that became an angry snarl the instant Tremblay threw herself aboard in a Full Body Press. Snatching hold of the brunette's wrists even as their tummies and legs engaged in a furious battle, Penny pressed her cheek to Sue's and hissed, “Fuck patience. I want to make you bleed right now, hag!” The threat was barely out of her mouth when she twisted her head to one side, opened up wide and chomped down on Burlingame's cheek!
“PSYCHO BITCH!” Sue shrieked at the top of her lungs. “STOP FUCKING BITING ME OR HHHRRRGGHHHHH!”
The pain in her face had understandably taken the former World Champion's attention off the secondary battle going on down below and Penny made her pay for the lapse by DRIVING the point of her right knee into Sue's crotch! The Ace shuddered from end to end, but Tremblay's encroaching frame kept it from being too obvious, even when she drilled her a second time! “Or you'll what?” Tremblay huffed in Sue's ear even as she slipped her calves beneath the brunette's just to hook her ankles in a nasty Double Leg Grapevine. “Whine for a break? Retire on the spot? Just what are you going to do, old woman? You've got me curious.”
“Guuuuhhhh... gonna bleed you, for one.” Sue grimaced. “Forget about the crimson mask, you're gonna be a goddamned ginger by the time I let them wheel you out of AAAAAARRRHHHH FAAAAAHHHK!”
Penny bit her again, this time a chomp on the neck worthy of Adelaide Brewster! Burlingame wailed to wake the dead and Tremblay had made no effort to disguise her voracious tactics so it was a matter of heartbeats before Al scurried over and warned, “Knock off the biting, Penny. Right now!” There was no way Penny could've missed the order, yet she continued to chew even as she stretched the Ace's squirming stems a little wider. Not willing to cede control this early in the contest, Al dropped to one knee beside the action and counted off, “ONE! TWO! THREE! FOUR!”
The Angriest Acolyte stopped nibbling but did not relinquish her mount. Instead she surged forward and pressed the washboard of her midsection down on the brunette's face to keep her glued to the mat for...
ONE...
TWO...
Sue planted her feet and bridged with enough force to get her shoulders off the mat at 'TWO!' Unfortunately the strong jolt also shifted her rival up into a heavy seat on the brunette's chest. Catching Burlingame's hands in identical Knuckle-locks before the Ace could even think about mustering a defense, Tremblay slid forward until Sue's chin was pressed to the fork of her crotch and from there she brought her thighs together to ensure the other wrestler was blinded as well as smothered while Carpenter slapped the mat...
ONE...
TWO...
THR--“NNGGGH!”
Sue curled in on herself and THUMPED both knees between Penny's shoulders. Much like her previous effort, this broke the pin but not the mount as the Last True Believer came to rest with her pert backside snug against her rival's forehead! Burlingame went wild with the gluteal encroachment, understandable considering she was far happier to give than receive in regards to Face Sits of any variety. Not that her squirming and thrashing amounted to much, indeed it was only a matter of moments before Tremblay captured the brunette's legs at the knee and pinned them beneath her arms in a galling Matchbook that pointed the former World Champion's rump directly into the overhead lights.
“Eat it.” Penny demanded amidst another round of callous wriggling and bouncing. “Beat it or eat it you miserable fucking wash-out.” Sue did neither, though her shoulders persistent contact with the canvas meant it wasn't long before Al counted off another...
ONE...
TWO...
THRE--“BITCH!”
Tremblay abandoned the pin and popped to her feet like she'd been jabbed by a live wire! The FAWNatics knew such a thing was hardly possible and the actual cause presented itself when they noted the Orphan of Midnight rubbing her right cheek with one hand. “Biting?” the blonde hissed down at her rival, who'd made it to all fours and was drawing in deep, ragged breaths. “That's the sort of message you're happy to pass along to your children? Feels like I need to make some calls, a welfare check might be in ord--”
“You're the only one that needs checking on.” Burlingame rasped. “Assuming of course that anyone can be made to give a shit about HHRRRGGHHHHHH!”
Groans of nauseated, sympathetic anguish from those gathered for Season's Beatings when Tremblay reared back and delivered a vicious punt between the thighs of her penitent foe! “Jesus, Penny!” Al barked as Burlingame curled in on herself with both hands pressed to her throbbing center. “You can't just tee off on her like that!”
“Ring the goddamned bell, then.” she hissed. “Stop the fucking match, raise my hand and I'll walk away so you can tend to this whining piece of shit.”
The ref considered doing just that, but he knew that Bethany would have his ass for such an early stoppage and if by some miracle she didn't, Sue would happily pick up that slack herself. After another moment's consideration he muttered, “You want to fight however you please? Fine, I'll allow it. But leniency goes both ways, Penny. So don't you even think about complaining to me when Susan decides to return the favor.”
He'd expected some sort of incredulity from the blonde, but Tremblay only nodded and offered a knowing smile. Stomping around the fallen heiress so she could sink to one knee and snatch a huge handful of dark hair, she glanced at the official and murmured, “My issue is with Mom of the Year, Carpenter. Just keep out of my way and that's how it'll stay.”
The ref stayed silent so Penelope dragged her brunette to verticality, then snuggled in nose to nose and dipped down to wrap her arms around Burlingame's upper thighs. Hands locked just beneath the curve of her opponent's buns, Tremblay shot up on tiptoe and took a few steps forward before going down on one knee to pile more abuse on Burlingame's center with an eye-watering Inverted Atomic Drop!
INVERTED ATOMIC DROP:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=QTY0_rFR4mE
Painful though the move was, Sue would've remained on her feet in the aftermath in most circumstances. But with her legs still jellied from the previous Low Blow, the Bankable Bombshell's knees gave out and she landed flat on her back, an arrangement that only grew worse when Penny took possession of her ankles and streeeeeeeeeeetched the Ace's legs in a wide 'V'. “What's this, you think you're actually gonna wave me off?” Tremblay scoffed when Sue's hands began fluttering around her abused groin. “Go ahead, try and beg off. See what happ--”
A sneer crossed Penny's elegant features even as the crowd cheered uproariously for the pair of middle fingers the former World Champ pointed in the blonde's direction. “Duuuhhhhh... do your worst, you no talent piece of sh--” Sue shut up when Penny jerked one foot high into the air, but this turned out to be a ruse from the Angriest Acolyte. Rather than deliver yet another shot to the veteran's traumatized trunks, Tremblay drilled a short, mean kick into the back of Sue's left thigh, then tucked those captured feet under her armpits and pulled up hard enough that Burlingame was stacked flat on her shoulders. This was technically a pin, but Al didn't have time to swoop into position before Penny rocked back on her heels and laid out flat in a smooth pendulum motion that peeled Sue off the deck and hurled her into the nearest corner where she BWUNGED face-first against the top turnbuckle!
Burlingame groaned against the rough canvas and might've slopped down to her knees if an arm hooked over the top rope hadn't given her just enough support to put her back to the buckles. As this was playing out, 'Bad' Penny deftly pulled down the pad protecting her right knee and gave it a single ominous swat. Off at a run without further preamble, the lissome blonde hopped up and landed with her left foot on the bottom rope, thus providing an excellent point to launch the Kneelift she THWHUNKED between the brunette's eyes!
CORNER KNEE STRIKE:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=GN_1hYD_U_g
Sue's head snapped back on impact though there was no concern of her losing her footing this time around as Tremblay had shifted to a mount on the second rope and stuffed the warm plank of her tummy against Burlingame's cheek. “You can't run from this beating, hag.” the Orphan of Midnight snarled as she worked her left hand into Sue's hair, all the better to wrench her head backward at a painful angle. “You can't politic your way out of more matches and those rapidly deteriorating veteran wiles won't be enough to make me stop. If you REALLY want to win, you'll have to muster everything you still have.”
'Have' was still on Tremblay's lips when she curled her free hand into a fist and delivered a single punch to Burlingame's left eyebrow. Savoring the thrum of impact and her foe's grunt of pain, Penelope smiled prettily and murmured, “And somehow, if you manage all of that... I'll still have proven my point. I'll still wi--” Burlingame earned a brief cheer from the crowd when she reached up and SLAPPED the younger wrestler's buns before treating them to a rough, groping squeeze.
Snorting at Tremblay's irritation, the former World Champ asked, “Are you actually going to punch me or just keep running your goddamned mouNGH!”
Oh so delighted to oblige the brunette's bludgeoning request, Penny brought her hand down like a hammer over and over, the infuriated bendy-back making a point to focus her knuckles on the same spot even as the crowd grudgingly tolled off, 'TWO... THREE... FOUR... FIVE... SIX... SEVEN... EIGHT... NINE... OOOOHHHH!'
Tremblay hadn't grown bored of punches by the time she reached 'NINE!', yet she decided to end the set with something a little more emphatic so she snatched a double handful of Sue's hair and yanked head from side to side just to ensure the Ace was thoroughly discombobulated when she THWHACKED her right knee into her rival's left eyebrow! The roar of the crowd and drip of something warm on her strikin' knee told Penny everything she needed to know without actually looking at the cut over Sue's eyebrow. “That's two straight matches I've bloodied you.” Tremblay noted after she'd hopped down and grabbed hold of Burlingame's wrist. “I wonder how much you'll have to lose before Carpenter decides to wave it off?”
“Huuuhhh... he won't have to.” she grunted. “You'll be shoulders down, ass up in no timMOOOFFFHHH!”
The Last True Believer delivered another heavy Kneelift, then stepped away from the corner, dropped a shoulder and sent Susan rushing to the opposite side of the squared circle courtesy an Irish Whip! The heavy THUD of buckles on back was all the invitation Penny needed to rush off in pursuit of her prey, the leggy blonde burning up the canvas like-- “NNGGGHH!” The Rainmaker couldn't get out of the way so she brought both legs up and drove a heavy Mule Kick into her attacker's chest! Penny bounced backward and stumbled away, though Sue's reprieve was only a few seconds old when the other wrestler rounded on her and rushed back faster than bef—Sue twisted, grabbed hold of the top rope to her right and deftly hopped / slid between the ropes to end up on the apron half a heartbeat before Tremblay's knee collided with the top turnbuckle!
Barely registering the blonde's snarl of pain, Susan sprang up so her whole body was parallel to the top rope and THWHACKED a stiff kick into her adversary's forehead! Penny took it flush and backed off stumbling in fence-post holes, her wooziness allowing the bloodied brunette enough time to vault into a crouch on the top turnbuckle. Pausing just long enough to swipe the blood out of her left eye, the Ace straightened up and leapt out into the void for a gorgeous Missile Dropkick that concentrated every bit of her hundred and thirty-so pounds into a sledgehammer blow that connected with the blonde's sternum!
MISSILE DROPKICK:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wtmg_p5qNEk
Tremblay went down like a felled tree and Burlingame's landing wasn't that much better as she came down hard on her left hip and shoulder. Yet there was no denying the power of adrenaline in situations like these because the brunette immediately rolled to her back, pulled both knees up to her chest and kipped to verticality while Penny was still fighting to catch her breath. Pausing long enough to raise an index finger to the rafters, the resurgent heiress wiped the worst of the blood off with the back of her left wrist even as she glared down at the vulnerable blonde with undisguised disdain.
“You really enjoy leaving my blood on this canvas, don't you?” she muttered. “But for as easily as you've busted me open, I don't think you truly understand what it means to do so. That's gonna change tonight, kiddo.”
Penny made no verbal reply, she did however tumble onto her stomach and push to all fours, which was more than enough invitation for Burlingame. Striding into position off the penitent blonde's left shoulder, Sue brought her right leg up so that heel was snug against her backside. In the same instant she grabbed hold of that ankle and pivoted to her left so that folded leg hung ominously over Tremblay's head. Pushing up on tiptoe even as she tugged up on that secured ankle, she abruptly let go and brought her shin THWHACKING down on the nape of Penny's neck!
SWITCHBLADE KICK:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=7-dectaSr2k
The Switchblade Kick sent Tremblay back to the deck where she tumbled over onto her back and—“UNNGGGHHH!” Sue had backed into the ropes as soon as the Angriest Acolyte turned over and like Penny had done earlier, she pulled down the pad protecting her right knee. Plans set, she bounced out of the strands, took to the sky in a gorgeous vertical leap and came down with the bare joint THWHUNKING her rival's forehead!
Tremblay thrashed like a downed power-line while Burlingame rolled clear in an effortless little tumble that earned another round of applause once she returned to boot-leather. A single glance at the other wrestler's face told Sue she was well behind on the Crimson Deficit so she strode over to Penny and grabbed a double handful of hair to help haul her upright. This was only a half truth, as the Last True Believer was still doubled over when Burlingame reared back and DRILLED her with a Kneelift delivered from the younger woman's left. The THUMP of bone on bone was most satisfying, yet the Ace was certain she hadn't actually drawn blood so she reeled the bendy-back into a Front Facelock and slung her near arm across her shoulders. A handful of Tremblay's waistband provided all the additional leverage she needed to muscle her opponent directly overhead and hold her there, the FAWNatics quick to start counting when Sue didn't promptly deposit her prey in one direction or the other. The raucous revelers had reached 'EIGHT!' when Burlingame tromped forward almost to the edge of the squared circle and unceremoniously dropped her burden gut-first across the top rope with a nauseating TWAAAANG!
Penny folded in half on contact and probably would've dribbled down to the apron or even the floor if Sue hadn't buried her hands in the blonde's long hair. Careful to remain planted on her foe's left side, Burlingame pulled Tremblay a little bit more into the ring, then flicked up her right leg to THWHACK! a kick into that dangling noggin. Penny grunted and tried to protect her face but of course Sue was having none of that and she simply shook the blonde's head this way and that to disrupt her defenses before unleashing a whole flurry of kicks to her forehead and cheek!
ROPE-HUNG KAWADA KICKS:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZYQaTVfDmnw
She landed a full ten before Al started getting too pushy and rather than deal with more of his nonsense she doubled down on the blonde's hair a final time and pulled forward and down so Tremblay flipped back into the squared circle and landed flat on her butt with her shoulders braced heavily against the bottom ro--THWHACK! Sue rushed in and kicked her hard across the side of the face, the force of her strike leaving the Bankable Bombshell hanging in the strands with her kickin' leg draped over the bottom rope.
BASEMENT LEANED FACEWASH:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=WUvymceXDsI
A cheer from the crowd drew her attention to Penny and she was pleased to register the red rills on the blonde's chin spilling from a seemingly busted bottom lip. Extricating herself from the ropes in short order, Burlingame took possession of Tremblay's ankles and draaaaaaaaaaaaaaagged her to the middle of the ring where she folded her into a snug Matchbook and stepped over those hapless stems with her right leg and dropped to one knee, Sue effectively using her thigh to keep the cover in place while she treated the crowd to a gaudy double bicep flex and a count of...
ONE...
TWO...
Penny kicked out with a full second to spare, the Orphan of Midnight shoving Burlingame off her perch much to the irritation of the FAWNatics. The eldest Burlingame sister did not share in their disappointment, indeed she looked quite satisfied as she knee-walked over to Tremblay and helped herself to a double handful of hair. Planting her right knee in the small of the younger wrestler's back, she puuuuuuuuuuuulled Penny's torso off the mat in something resembling a particularly awkward Camel Clutch. Of course a standard Camel Clutch didn't involve a blatant hair-pull so it didn't earn a swift warning from the official.
“Get off her hair, Sue.” Carpenter murmured. “You know better than that.”
“But cutie here likes to work rough, isn't that right, cutie?” Sue jostled her foe's head from side to side and pulled even harder, the rough treatment earning a snarl and scrabbling claws from the bloodied blonde. “Isn't that right, Penny? You like leaving my blood all over the mat, you're not afraid to do the same with yours?”
Tremblay smiled and her teeth were stained red, it was a disconcerting sight to say the least. “Oh, I'm loving every bit of this.” she hissed. “Of course I'm not the one who has to justify my actions to a child when I go homEERRRGGNNNGGGGHHHH!”
The heiress yanked harder still, then SLAMMED her opponent's forehead into the canvas as hard as she could! The mat was still shivering when she climbed into a mount on Tremblay's back and began to scrrrrrrruuuuuuub her face back and forth against the canvas!
Al hadn't actually made a count on the hair-pull despite his warning, but that was not the case with this aggressive abrasion. Sue'd been at it for only a second or two when he barked, “Cut it out, Sue! ONE! TWO! THREE! FOUR!”
Burlingame did as ordered and raised both hands overhead to confirm as such. Alas this proved little reprieve for Tremblay as the former World Champ went right back to the hair so she could drag Penny to her knees. Standing off to her foe's left, Susan raised her right heel and pressed it to the corner of Tremblay's mouth so she could deliver no less than three scuffing swipes! Tremblay cursed, yanked her head away from Burlingame's boot at the cost of several strands of hair and crawled away to assess the damage. Sue started to pursue, only to stop when Al put a hand on her elbow.
“You cut that Dennehy shit out right now, understand? The two of you want to fight to draw blood? Fine, I can't stop where knees and elbows land, but I'm sure as hell not going to let the two of you injure one another on my watch.”
The Bankable Bombshell was formulating a response when Penny chimed in. “Don't keep her on a leash for my benefit, Carpenter.” the blonde's nose was bleeding too, though the malicious gleam in her eyes suggested she either didn't feel it, or didn't particularly care. “I appreciate your concern for my safety, but we both know Mama Burlingame is undeserving trust-fund TRASH and I'm more than willing to bleed buckets to remind the world of that fa--”
Sue hopped forward and lashed out with her right leg in a Basement Super Kick that would've spread Penny's nose all over her face if the Last True Believer hadn't caught her ankle in both hands. Quick to twisssssssssssst the veteran's foot as she rose to her full height, Tremblay offered Burlingame a nasty smile and asked, “What do you hate more, hag? Knowing I'm right? Or knowing that one day your daughter will know I'm rigNNNNGGGGHHH!”
Sue hopped up and THWHACKED the blonde across the temple with an Enzugiri that made the first several rows cringe! Penny dropped the brunette's foot and crumpled to one knee. She was trying to collect her bearings when Burlingame came around on her six and snagged a double handful of hair. Setting the woozy wrestler on her feet with a single massive yank, Susan segued from hair-hold to Full Nelson, one that forced Penny's chin snug against her sternum. Bearing down hard on the simple hold, Burlingame leaned in close enough to whisper, “You really willing to risk your career like this, bitch?”
“If it means protecting that kid from a piece of shit like you, yeah, I'll do whatever it fucking tak--” Sue dropped real low, then popped her hips and snapped off a gorgeous bridge that THWHUNKED Tremblay down on the back of her head and shoulders, the Orphan of Midnight well and truly folded in half by the Ace's Dragon Suplex. Strongly tempted to release the bridge so she could continue the beating uninterrupted, Sue ultimately pushed up on tiptoe in the hopes that she'd either end this shit show right now, or at least get a moment to clear her head.
DRAGON SUPLEX HOLD @ 00:35
www.youtube.com/watch?v=IfsEY7LldAs
Unaware of his role in all of this, Al Carpenter swooped into place beside the action and slapped the mat...
ONE...
TWO...
Penny twisted loose a whisper after 'TWO', the leggy blonde spilling over onto her stomach with one arm cradling the base of her aching skull. Sue didn't question the count, didn't even look in Al's direction to be honest. Considering the shit that'd spilled from Tremblay's mouth since the bell sounded ('since the first time they'd crossed paths, you mean' noted a voice in the back of her head) she was quite confident she wouldn't be consulting the referee until long after they'd called for a stoppage. To that end she helped herself to a double handful of hair, then hauled Penny to a seat and dragged her kicking and skidding to the middle of the ring. Once she had the brat in position, Burlingame hooked her hands over Tremblay's chin and dropped to a seat while simultaneously stretching the younger wrestler out flat. In the same instant she brought her legs up and threaded them around the Angriest Acolyte's noggin, Sue threading her left leg across Penelope's throat so she could tuck that shin into the pit of her right knee.
“Eeeerrrggghhhhhhhh!” Tremblay twisted this way and that, both hands swatting and tugging at her attacker's knees as Burlingame began to squeeeeeeeeeeze the Figure-Four Headscissors. Seemingly unimpressed by the initial show of resistance, the Bankable Bombshell hunkered forward and delivered a sharp overhead SLAP to her opponent's abdomen! “Come on!” Burlingame dished out two more slaps in rapid succession, then planted her hands and hoisted her buns off the mat to apply even more pressure. “Fuckin' come in here running your mouth like you belong in the ring with me and now you're just gonna let me show off while I crush your head between my thighs? Where's that fucking attitude now, honey?”
“Nnnnnnnghhhhh... this is what you call crushing, hag?” Penny sneered, the blonde putting in work to keep her voice level despite the obvious strain. “This is barely a flex, but I'd advise against trying any harder. Wouldn't want you to dislocate a hip or someNGH! NGH! NGH!”
Burlingame dropped back to a seat, leaned forward and delivered three more tummy slaps before Tremblay caught hold of her wrist! The Last True Believer was quick to gouge her nails into the underside of Sue's wrist, but the heiress endured and made her rival pay for the nastiness by THUMPING her right elbow into the bridge of Penny's nose! “Like that, bitch?” Sue maintained contact and grrrrrrrrrrrrooooound the bony joint this way and that while Tremblay cursed and tried to push it away. “Yeah, I think you DO like it. Probably because you've convinced yourself that if I spread your nose all over your face, there's no way I can sit on it later. Maybe you're right... maybe you're wro--”
“I'd never waste MY ass on a face like yours, old woman.” Penny taunted. “I want to make sure the whole world sees the enormity of your fuck-up stamped all over your face, even if it is covered in blooHHHRRGGGH!”
Susan rolled over onto her stomach, forcing the blonde to do the same. From there she pushed up onto all fours and tucked her head so she could roll forward while Tremblay was peeled off the deck and THAWHAMMED down on the deck with the Headscissors still intact! Such rough treatment was never inflicted only once and indeed Burlingame didn't break with tradition as she immediately rolled back to her stomach to deliver a second, third, and fourth spine-jarring collision!
ROLLING FIGURE FOUR HEADSCISSORS:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=VRS86BpgGWw
A fifth was almost certainly in the works when Penny jerked within the confines of the Scissors and managed to wrap her ankles around the bottom strand. She called for a break and Al acknowledged it without hesitation. As for Sue, she nodded at the ref's command, but rather than honor it she caught the blonde's nose between the lowest knuckles of her index and middle fingers and twissssssssssssssted until Carpenter reached 'FOUR!' on his count!
Disengaging from the Scissors with a showy flourish, Sue rolled to one knee, made a quick adjustment to her briefs, then grabbed Penny by the nape of the neck. Hauling her blonde to boot-leather in fits and starts, the Ace dipped a shoulder and slipped that arm through Tremblay's legs so she could muscle her up across her shoulders in a Fireman's Carry. Bolstered by the crowd as she backpedaled away from the ropes, Sue gave 'em a little hip waggle before twisting her torso to point Penny's feet almost straight forward. Then she snapped back the other way, tossed Tremblay off her shoulders and went down on one knee to inflict more damage on that bloodied—NO!
Penny got both hands braced atop Sue's knee and pushed back as hard as she could to ensure she'd land on her knees instead of her face. It wasn't the prettiest counter, but it surprised Sue long enough for the Orphan of Midnight to grab a double handful of hair and hurry to her fe—'OOOOOOOHH!' from the sold-out crowd when 'Bad' Penny exploded forward and DRILLED her nemesis' bloodied eyebrow with a vicious Kneelift! Burlingame went down in a heap and Penny was right there to collect, the blonde brazenly shoveling Sue onto her back so she could press a knee to the side of her face while she hooked the far leg in snug cradle good for...
ONE...
TWO...
THRNOOOO!
Burlingame got a hand against Tremblay's knee and was able to shove it away with a half second to spare, the wobbly Ace voluntarily turning her back on the blonde so she could better inspect the damage done to her busted brow. Penelope made no effort to stop her. Instead the Last True Believer took the opportunity to dab at her own bloodied nose and lips. Her fingers came away red though this didn't seem to bother Tremblay at all. Indeed she offered the camera a devilish smile before she planted a smooch on her fingertips and blew it in the direction of the FAWNatics. This earned a loud grumble of disdain from those assembled and it grew that much more raucous when Penny snatched the proffered kiss from the air and SLAPPED it down on Sue's upturned hip!
Burlingame grunted, swatted Tremblay's hand away, then cursed in obvious disgust when the younger woman put her hand to the side of the heiress' face and pushed down with all her weight! “What's wrong, ma'am? Too hard to fight when you're not winning?” With one hand still pressing down full force on Burlingame's cheek, 'Bad' Penny plunged her other hand into the former World Champion's hair and pulled like she meant to bare a great patch of scalp. “Then tell them you quit.” Penny demanded. “Tell all these greedy, selfish, insatiable people that you're going home to be with your family. You've already been queen of the ring, it's time you were queen of the car lineeerrrgghhhhh.”
Sue wrapped a hand around wrist and squeezed until her knuckles showed white. In the same breath she prized her head out from under that encroaching palm and struggled to one knee, a task made considerably more painful by the blonde's relentless grip on her hair. One free hand meant she could've punched Tremblay square in the mouth, so it was most interesting that Burlingame chose to mirror Penny's eye-watering hair pull. “Yuuuhhh... you don't get to make that decision, brat.” Sue explained through clenched teeth. “I'M the one who decides when it's time to hang it up.”
“Because it's all about you, right?” Tremblay asked. “All about your precious, misbegotten legacy.”
The Ace's dark eyes flashed at the obvious derision Penny heaped on the last word. “As if a mindless little cultist like you knows the first thing about legaRRRGGHHH!”
Committed as she seemed to claiming Sue's locks as a trophy, Penelope abandoned the grip in a heartbeat to POUND her knuckles into the veteran's left eyebrow! Stars blossomed inside Sue's skull, those constellations of pain rapidly blossoming into a whole galaxy when Tremblay drew her into a rough Side Headlock and scrambled to her feet while the Bombshell was still struggling on her knees. Flipping battle-damp hair out of her eyes, the infuriated blonde cupped Sue's chin with one hand to better hold her head in place while she delivered punch after punch after punch to the cut that was once again bleeding freely.
“Oh, I know ALL ABOUT the importance of perception and reputation to a woman like you.” Penny's voice dripped with sardonic humor but her dark eyes were as cold as December ice. “That's why I'm so happy to make you bleed, hag. All the spin in the world won't be enough to explain why half your face got dragged along--”
“Enough of those closed fists, Penny!” Carpenter interrupted. “Either open up or let her go right now!”
The Orphan of Midnight paused, seeming to consider the demand. “Very well, Mr. Carpenter. Have it your way.” On that presumably agreeable note the blonde opened up her punchin' hand, only then things got a whole lot worse because 'Bad' Penny set her thumb against Sue's bloodied brow and pressed down at hard as she could! Susan shrieked in abject anguish and began smashing frantic punches into the blonde's tummy and flank, but Tremblay endured the brunette's resistance to keep pouring it on while Al delivered a count worthy of a fire and brimstone preacher.
“ONE! TWO! THREE! FOUR!” Penny threw her hands up and stalked after Al, the lanky zebra rapidly backpedaling from the blood splattered bendy-back. “Consider your next move carefully, Penny.” he warned. “I don't care how much Bethany hates DQ's, I'll do it if...”
Penny grabbed a double handful of his striped shirt and proceeded to wipe her hands clean. “What would make you call for the bell, Mr. Carpenter?” she asked quietly. “Would you be more inclined to punish me for my apparent lack of respect for the order you find so appealing? Or would cut things short because you were concerned about the hag's well-being? Look at her, Carpenter. Look at what I've DONE to her. Would you ring the bell to save her from more? Or would you stay your hand until the idiots in the back told you enough was enough?”
“You are here to wrestle Penelope.” Al replied after he'd straightened his now bloody shirt. “You may inflict all the hurts you see fit, but I will not let you injure anyone, regardless of how much you seem to think they deserve it.”
Tremblay's dark eyes narrowed as she searched the referee's face for some lie. Apparently finding none, she nodded and said, “Very well. But know this, Mr. Carpenter. She can bleed a great deal without sustaining any real injury.”
On that cheerful note she turned around and honed in on the eldest Burlingame sister, who'd managed to make it to one knee while 'Bad' Penny's attention was elsewhere. Al cringed when he saw the blood painting the left side of Sue's face and much of her left shoulder, though he halted his advance when the Ace raised a hand in his direction. Penny noted this and stopped as well, though her expression lacked the concern shown by the lanky zebra. “What do you have left to prove?” she asked the penitent veteran. “Three time World Champion. Arguably the most recognizable name of post-merger FAWN. A veritable library of matches against the best of the best, not to mention names forgotten by all by the loneliest of nerds. That is an... an enviable list of accomplishments, old woman. Yet here you are, a bowed and bloodied object of concern for even the most heartless among the rabble. Why are you still here, ma'am?”
“Because I'm the goddamned best at this.” Susan huffed as she rose to boot-leather on a round of applause from the FAWNatics. “My time's not over until I say it's over. And if you call me ma'am one more time I'll--”
“Be careful of threats, ma'am.” Penny interrupted with icy politeness. “You remember what the doctor said about angering up the blood at your ag--”
The Bankable Bombshell sprang up and forward, her right knee shooting toward Tremblay's mouth either to shut her up for good or maybe she just wanted to get the bleeding going again. Whatever her reason, it ended in catastrophic failure as Penny took a step backward, got both hands between herself and the encroaching joint and swatted it down hard! The deflection knocked Burlingame off balance and she landed awkwardly, her legs almost buckling before she steadied out and straightened—“NNNNGGGGGHH!” Penny tagged the point of her chin with a stiff European Uppercut that knocked the brunette up on tiptoe!
She was in the midst of swooning away from the implacable blonde when Penny grabbed a handful of waistband and reeled her back the way she'd come. A Kneelift to the spine froze Burlingame in place long enough for Tremblay to dip low and thrust her head beneath the Ace's left arm. Sue crooked that arm around Penny's noggin in a seemingly instinctual Side Headlock, certainly the Last True Believer made no effort to shake it off when she curled her right arm across the heiress' lower back and braced her left hand against the back of Sue's left thigh. Those hooks were more than enough for Tremblay to boost Burlingame onto the point of her right shoulder and the crowd cringed in anticipation of a Spine Tremblar only to murmur in surprise when she tromped forward and dropped Sue's calves down onto the top rope! The rubber-coated steel provided more than enough springiness to bounce the Bankable Bombshell back into the air and that's when Penny twisted around and dropped to one knee, the Orphan of Midnight delivering on the promise of spinal trauma by THWHUMPING her burden down across the post of her left thigh!
SLINGSHOT BACKDROP BACKBREAKER:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=5TjFxdpgmlY
Sue bounced off and tumbled away like a felled tree, though she didn't move so fast that Penny couldn't scramble after and catch on at shoulder and hip. “Tell Carpenter you're throwing in the towel.” Penny told the bleeding, groaning grappler. “Show your daughter you're capable of making a selfless choi—NGH!”
Sue slapped the blonde across the face and would've snatched hold of her hair if Tremblay hadn't immediately grabbed that wrist and pounded it against the deck half a dozen times! “Ok... ok...” 'Bad' Penny nodded as she glared down at the former World Champion. “I get it. A gunslinger can't die in her bed, right? She needs pistols in both hands and mountains of shells at her feet, otherwise what was the point?” Tremblay chuckled, offered the brunette a smile that was simultaneously malicious and sad. “I can give you that, old woman. Just remember, the gungslinger's death is what you asked for.”
“Hhhrrgghhhh... guuuhhh... go fuck yourself you crazy NNNGGGHGHH!” Penny raised a knee like she meant to swing a leg over Burlingame's torso, instead she drew it back straight and DRILLED a pitiless Kneelift into her adversary's crotch!
Delighted by the jeers that showered the ring after that nauseating strike, Tremblay ground her knee back and forth before filling her hands with Sue's increasingly lank locks. Peeling Burlingame off the mat in fits and starts, Tremblay set the bloodied brunette on her feet and shook off a woozy clench attempt by simply slapping the three time former World Champion in the mouth. With Susan reeling, Penny slunk around behind and grabbed hold of the heiress by trunks and tresses. “I have so much to prove, ma'am.” Tremblay tightened each grip and pulled up, muscling the veteran onto tiptoe. “More than you could ever know. That's why you have to stop me. Left to my own devices... there's no telling what I might do.”
Burlingame bared her teeth and tensed her right arm in anticipation of a Back Elbow, unfortunately the Angriest Acolyte interrupted with a quick Kneelift to the small of her back! Sue lurched forward and Penny went with her, the willowy blonde bum-rushing her adversary at a corner on the far side of the squared—“NNNNNNGGGGGH!” Tremblay slammed on the brakes and hurled her burden forward and down, the Ace tumbling into an awful skid on her left hip and shoulder that ended with her BWUNGING spine-first into the post just below the bottom turnbuckle! Burlingame writhed like a bug on a pin as she tried to shake off the shock of impact. This task grew considerably more difficult once Penelope slipped through the ropes and stalked around to the other side of the ring-post. Gripping Sue's right ankle in one hand and cupping her chin with the other,Tremblay planted her feet wide and puuuuuuullllllllllled back, the Last True Believer's lithesome frame shredding into shadowy relief as she did everything in her power to snap Sue in half against the cold steel!
RINGPOST SURFBOARD:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=kSr3lpcVytU
“ROOOOOPPPPPEEEEES!” Susan shrieked to Al because she did in fact have her right hand wrapped around the bottom rope. “GET HER THE FUCK OFF ME!” Penny just shook her head 'no' through every word of Carpenter's warning, though she did break away when the frustrated official reached 'FOUR!' on his count. Clearing off with her hands raised to shoulder level, Tremblay nodded understanding, then pivoted on her left foot and hopped forward to THWHACK a Super Kick off the side of Burlingame's dangling skull!
The crowd cringed in sympathetic anguish as Sue tumbled away from the blow and came to rest on her stomach with both arms wrapped around the back of her head. Out on the floor, Penny glanced to the corner that Sue had so recently occupied and hopped onto the apron just to go straight for the high rent districts. Knowing damned well what the Orphan of Midnight had on her mind, the FAWNatics tried to warn Sue of the looming threat but she paid them no mind, or perhaps she simply couldn't hear their roar over the ringing in her ears. Whatever the reason, she barely even twitched when Tremblay took flight out into the void, the blonde soaring like a harbinger of doom over a new and glorious morn—[/b]THAWHAM![/b] 'Bad' Penny dropped the Dying Breath square across the small of her rival's back, the pin-point Splash making Sue writhe like she'd been touched by a live wire! She was still twitching and shuddering when Tremblay hooked a Half Nelson and rolled her over, the domineering bendy-back quick to slide in for a Crossbody she augmented by hooking the far leg for...
ONE...
TWO...
THRENOOOOOOOO!
Incredulity and delight reigned in equal measure when Sue twisted onto her side and shot an arm into the air with nothing more than a whisper between her and defeat! Beside her, Penelope leaned back on her haunches and glanced between Burlingame and Carpenter a few times before eventually settling on the latter.
“You do understand that these slow counts are doing her no good on the long term?”
“Wasn't a slow count, Penny.” Al replied with none of the umbrage you might expect following such an accusation. “Sue just... doesn't know when to quit.”
“That's not quite it.” the blonde worked her fingers into the Ace's hair and hauled her up enough to draw into a Standing Headscissors. “Even after all these years, I don't think she knows HOW to quit. But I'll teach her, Mr. Carpenter. I'll teach the old bitch to quit even if it's the only thing I ever do in this industry.”
Al had no idea how to respond to such a thing and Burlingame was still shuddering with hurt so Penny leaned down, wrapped her arms around the heiress's waist and hauled her up onto the point of one shoulder. What looked like it could be a Canadian Backbreaker turned out to be something even more troubling when Tremblay carefully shifted her grasp to Burlingame's biceps one after the other and hoisted her into a defenseless crucifix. Already pointed at the opposite corner, the Last True Believer took a couple steps back, then charged the buckles and top speed to kick-start Sue's Last Night of Sad—NO!
Burlingame kicked her legs back and up around Tremblay's hips, then popped free of the blonde's grasp to tumble down her back and into a seat that flipped Penny off her feet and deposited her flat on her back! Leaping to their feet even as Carpenter dove in beside his charges, the crowd joined Al in counting off...
ONE...
TWO...
THRENOOOOOOOO!
Tremblay somersaulted clear of the impromptu Sunset Flip and popped to verticality without missing a beat! With Burlingame still flat on her butt, the blonde pointed her right shoulder at the Ace and skipped forward to fire off a Basement Super Kick aimed at the point of her rival's chi—NO!
Sue got her hands up and caught hold of Penelope's ankle while simultaneously throwing her head back to avoid the concussive impact by the slimmest of margins! Clambering upright without ceding her grip on the younger woman's ankle, Burlingame drew Tremblay's leg all the way to the left, then slung it right with more than enough 'oomph' to spin the Angriest Acolyte around in a smooth circle. Knees dipped long before Penny made it all the way 'round, the Bankable Bombshell sprang into the air and reached out with both hands to catch the bendy-back's noggin in a snug Three Quarters Facelock.
Everyone was already bellowing for the Ace Crusher when Tremblay braced both hands between the former World Champion's shoulders and shoved as hard as she could! Susan's grip crumbled and she arced away to land awkwardly a few feet awa—[/b]THWHACK![/b]
Penny's previous Super Kick had missed the mark, but this latest effort struck the base of her skull with pinpoint accuracy! Sue stumbled hard, dropped to one knee and pushed herself upright just as the Orphan of Midnight put both hands on the veteran's shoulders and vaulted herself into a seat atop her opponent's shoulders! Mount secure, Tremblay tucked her head in close and tumbled forward to come down flat on her back just to sit up so that Burlingame was drawn down and stacked on her shoulders, the Ace's calves caught tight in the blonde's clutches for a Victory Roll that left her butt upturned and wriggling through a count of...
ONE...
TWO...
THRENOOOOOOOO!
Burlingame thrust backward with everything she had left to put Tremblay down on her back with the heiress seated on her chest in an awkward, albeit effective Reverse Matchbook. Shifting position to confirm that Penelope's shoulders were flat against the canvas, Al started to count which meant his attention was elsewhere when Sue grabbed double handful of Tremblay's waistband and pulled tight to guarantee a little extra leverage through...
VICTORY ROLL:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=MWr1b_v1iMc
ONE...
TWO...
THREE!
Tremblay exploded free and the two rivals scrambled upright like things were still live, yet the CLANG of the bell proclaimed otherwise, as did the voice of the Announcer. “Ladies and gentlemen, your winner via pin-fall... SUSANNAH BURLINGAME!”
Eyes locked on the fuming blonde as Carpenter raised her hand, Sue blew Penny a kiss and huffed, “Nice try, kid. But you're not ready for--”
Penny exploded off her back foot, went low and buried a shoulder in the Ace's midsection! Hooking her arms around Burlingame's upper thighs even as she continued to plow forward, Tremblay carried her prey to and then through the strands with a brutal Spear that sent them both tumbling to the floor! It wasn't a pleasant landing for either woman judging by the heavy THWHUMP when they landed, but it was clear Sue got the worst of it as she remained sprawled on her back while Penny clambered to verticality on unsteady legs.
“Not ready?” she spat down at the vulnerable Ace. “You win a tied series with a roll-up, and I'm not ready? You win with a handful of tights and I'm NOT READ--”
Al dropped down beside the fuming blonde and took hold of her arm. “That's enough, Penny. Don't do anything you'll NNNGGHHHH!” Tremblay smote the ref across the jaw with a Forearm Smash, then grabbed him by his collar and belt and hurled him into the barricade with an awful BWANG! “Keep your goddamned hands off me.” she spat down at the moaning zebra. “Especially if you can't do your fucking job.”
Swinging back to the eldest Burlingame sister, the Orphan of Midnight stalked over, grabbed a huge handful of hair and hauled her to all fours. From there she secured a Standing Headscissors, then hunched forward and wrapped both arms around Sue's waist, all the better to muscle he up onto the point of her right shoulder. She'd already gone for it earlier in the night, now the crowd's worst suspicions were confirmed when Penny shifted from the Waistlock to stereo bicep grips that hoisted Sue into a defenseless crucifix. With the Bankable Bombshell held aloft and Al out of commission, Tremblay shifted so she angled toward the ring before she rushed forward several steps and hurled her burden into the ring-post with an awful THWHUNK!
LAST NIGHT OF SADNESS @ 1:45
www.youtube.com/watch?v=LIuz4dinZ1o
Her head bounced and shoulders bisected by the uncaring steel, Sue bounced away from the collision and collapsed to her knees. She would've slopped forward into a face-down sprawl if the Last True Believer hadn't snatched hold of her hair and led / dragged her around the corner on a beeline for the Commentator's Table. Switching one hand over to Burlingame's waistband to better haul her upright, Penny gave Joanna and Gordy a malicious grin and murmured, “I'd get out of here, if I were you.”
Give her credit, Coleman tried to appeal to Tremblay's better angels, but she cleared off when the blonde stretched Sue out on the table like a sacrificial offering. Some latent instinct must've told the Ace she was in serious trouble because she sat up and tried to slide away, alas Penny intercepted her with a Headbutt and followed up with several more clubbing Forearm Smashes to the chest once she was prone. Holding Burlingame's head in her hands, Penelope leaned in close and whispered, “You're going to make the right choice, ma'am. Even if I have to force it upon you.” She planted a kiss on the brunette's forehead, then straightened up and hurried away, the vicious bendy-back skipping up onto the apron so she could make her way to the corner.
Worry gave way to concern which immediately yielded to outright dread when Penny stood tall on the top turnbuckle and looked out over the buzzing choir. No smile now, indeed the blonde's features could've been carved from ice as she raised her left hand high and extended her index and middle fingers in a... peace sign? No sign of mercy this, as Tremblay touched her fingertips to her eyebrows and slowly drew them down across her lids, the Angriest Acolyte symbolically closing the eyes of her hapless prey. Rites properly tended, she leapt out into this midnight clear and descended like a judgment, 'Bad' Penny just KERASH-THAWHAMMING Sue through the table with another Dying Breath!
DYING BREATH:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=QHXmakQQrJo
Tremblay tumbled away with both arms strapped over her ribs, yet she'd still regained a wobbly verticality in about ten seconds, which was far more than anyone could say for Sue (or Castle, for that matter). Observing the wreckage with undiminished hatred, Penny lurched forward and might've put a boot on the former champ's chest if a flood of zebras hadn't finally washed over the ringside area.
“Enough, Penny.” Nick Castle warned as he put himself between Tremblay and Burlingame. “Not another step, understand?”
Tremblay shook her head 'no'. “It's not nearly enough, asshole. But it will do for tonight. When she wakes up, tell her to find me when she's ready... if she's ever gonna be ready.” Finally finding cause to smile, Penny Tremblay put her fingers to bloodied lips and blew Susan the chilliest of kisses to ensure she remembered that wins and losses were just numbers on a page. Victory and defeat however, those were measured in who walked away of her own accord and who was assisted to the back.
Far as Penny was concerned, she owned the night's biggest victory.