Post by hawkeye on Jun 4, 2024 1:52:21 GMT
“Ladies and gentlemen, the following contest is a Last Woman Standing Match! That means there are no pin-falls, no submissions, no count-outs and no disqualifications. The match will only end when one competitor fails to answer the referee's ten count.” The Announcer paused while the crowd rumbled in anticipation. “Introducing first, 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:
Already loud, the FAWN Arena grew downright cacophonous 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 and stepped to the center of the stage. For a moment it looked like the former World Champ would go straight for the squared circle without any of her usual theatrics, but then she caught herself and offered the camera a wink before throwing her arms wide and tossing 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.
For this fifth and what she damned sure meant to be final outing against the Angriest Acolyte, 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. 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 she settled into the far corner with her eyes locked on the curtain.
“And introducing her opponent. Hailing from Hobbs End, New Hampshire, she stands at five feet-eight inches tall and weighs in at one hundred and thirty-two pounds. She is the 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 Mayhem throng 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 Orphan of Midnight'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 already trained on Sue, she repeated the sigil on her left shoulder, then started down the ramp to the squared circle.
PENNY TREMBLAY:
For her latest effort to beat the wickedness out of the Rainmaker, 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 woman in the far corner. Without so much as a word, she crouched down, touched her left hand to the mat and swept a line across the canvas at her feet. Sue ground her teeth and tightened her grip on the top rope, the veteran forcing herself to remain in the corner until Al Carpenter made everything nice and legal.
Sue Burlingame had fought dozens, if not hundreds of tie-breaker bouts during the two decades of her career, be it with best of three, five, or even seven on the line. And far more often than not it was she who emerged victorious from these series because it was oh so easy to summon the necessary motivation. Early on it was purely financial, when the winner's share of the purse guaranteed she could fix the radiator in her shitty little Volvo or keep the phone on for another week or let her pay for that black and gold ring gear she'd been wanting for what seemed like forever. After the money wasn't an issue it was all about pride, be it personal or professional. Winning a series put her closer to a World Title match, or closer to a more lucrative contract, or sometimes it only ensured she wasn't the one buried nose-deep in ass when the match was over.
And after that?
Where'd that drive come from once there was more money than she'd ever need and she'd headlined shows on six of the seven continents? Sue didn't quite know, she only knew she wasn't through proving herself just yet. She didn't think she'd ever be through with that particular task which meant she should've had no problem mustering the motivation needed to kick Penny Tremblay's ass over the horizon not just once, but half a dozen times. So why did she feel so—the bell CLANGED the match to life and ripped the Rainmaker from her thoughts in a single stroke.
Tremblay was already stalking toward the center of the ring and one look at the blonde's face told Sue she was more ready for this match ('fight' her mind whispered) than any other in her still developing career. Seeing the promise of her own pain stamped all over Tremblay's face acted like a whiff of smelling salts that cleared Burlingame's head and tightened her hands into fists. Those eyes were everything she needed because they foretold, no, they promised unmitigated violence for anyone who wasn't at the very top of her game.
“I've earned everything that's mine.” Sue said in a voice little above a whisper. “Wanting to keep it doesn't make me a bad mom, but it does make me one bad mother...” She rolled her shoulders, raised her fists and pushed off the buckles to meet the Angriest Acolyte in the middle of the squared circle.
Considering the venom she'd unleashed during that sit-down interview, the Ace expected Penny to come out guns blazing, but the Last True Believer stopped at the mid-way point and waited for Burlingame to close. Sue did so shortly thereafter but still the blonde didn't attack. Instead she started to circle with both hands raised and curled like she was anticipating a Lock-Up at any moment.
“Spit it out.” Penny growled when the brunette didn't immediately launch into a clench. “Whatever you want to say, get it out in the open so we can—”
“I'm sorry your mom walked out on you.” Burlingame interrupted without meaning to. “That's a shitty thing to happen to a kid and—”
“So why are you doing the same thing to your daughter?” Penny snapped after delivering a testing swat to the brunette's bicep. “What makes you so much different than the woman who abandoned—”
She would've said 'me' if the heiress hadn't rushed forward and swept her into the Collar & Elbow Lock-Up. “I always come back.” Sue growled as she forced the blonde to cede a few steps. “That's the difference between her and I, Penny. I always come baEEERRRGGHHH!”
Tremblay twisted her head away from Sue's encroaching hand, then darted forward and chomped down on her exposed fingers! Burlingame yelped, then hissed when Penny seized hold of that wrist and twisted around behind to secure a Hammerlock! “That so, ma'am?” she hissed in the veteran's ear. “How much of you is coming back each time, I wonder? Because you leave it all in the ring, isn't that right? The Ace can't disappoint herself or her implacable fans, she's gott leave it ALL in the ring, night in and night out. Year after year, town after town. Doesn't sound like there's much left to share once the match is over. And I KNOW I've taken plenty you'll never get backOOOWW NNNGGHHH!”
Sue could've slipped out of the hold without much effort so it spoke volumes that she stamped on Tremblay's toes, then THUNKED a short Headbutt back into the blonde's chin! Reaching over her right shoulder with both hands to collect a Three Quarters Facelock. Then she dropped to one knee and flipped Penny over her shoulder to hit the canvas butt-first via a simple Snap Mare. Without really thinking about it she shifted weight to her left leg, then flicked out the right to THWHACK Penny's right ear with a vicious Buzzsaw Kick!
Tremblay went down in a heap with both arms wrapped around her aching head and while she was moving far too much for Burlingame to believe she might actually stay down, she wanted the blonde to know she wasn't fucking around so Sue glanced at Al and said, “Count her down.”
Carpenter didn't question, he just cleared his throat and did as told. “ONE... TWO... THREE... FOUR...”
Tremblay rolled to her stomach and pushed to one knee. It wasn't enough to actually stop the zebra's toll, but the baleful look she shot at the heiress suggested that not only was the night still young, it hadn't even started. On her feet in time with 'SIX!', the Last True Believer raised her hands for a clinch and when Sue stepped forward to meet her she unleashed a vicious leg kick that THWHACKED against the Ace's left thigh, just below the curve of her glutes!
Sue cursed and stumbled backward, her leg didn't quite buckle but it was a fight to regain her balance. Eyes narrowing as she assumed a stance better to defend against those dangerous strikes, Burlingame muttered, “Someone's been watching a lot of Autumn tape.”
“No one ever kicked your ass quite like she did, not even me. Not yet, anyway.” Tremblay admitted as they began to circle. “I asked the Dragon to train me a few months back, but she declined. Too much respect for you, apparently. It's not a sentiment we share, but I do respect her, so I settled for breaking those matches down frame by fra—”
Sue darted in and unleashed a leg kick of her own, but Penny blocked it with her shin at the last possible second. “Dig as deep in the archive as you want, honey.” Burlingame challenged. “You still won't find what you need to beat—”
Now it was Penny closing in, the blonde sacrificing power for sheer speed to deliver, one, two, three kicks that would've put the Rainmaker on one knee if she hadn't blocked them all with a shin. The defense didn't bother Tremblay in the slightest, indeed rather than back off she snagged Sue's head in what would've been a Muy Thai sort of clasp if she hadn't dug in with her nails and wrenched the brunette's noggin from side to side! Caught off-guard by the shift between kickboxing and catfighting, Burlingame instinctively grabbed hold of the blonde's wrists to prize them free of her hair and that's precisely when Tremblay skewered her abs with a Kneelift that hit just below the nav—“NNNNGGGGGGHHH!”
The first Kneelift was low, albeit clean, the second was lower and figuratively filthy as it THWHUMPED the center of Burlingame's trunks! Sue's knees gave out and she crumpled forward into a sloppy clinch that Penny endured just long enough to deliver two more shots to her rival's crotch. Unable to keep the smile off her face when the Rainmaker collapsed to her knees, the Angriest Acolyte took a step back and said, “I don't need to watch tape to beat you, ma'am. We both know it's your fucking ego that'll be your downfall.”
Burlingame lifted her head to meet the other woman's gaze. “Spoken like a perpetual los—” THWHACK!
Penny planted on her left foot and whipped the right one at Sue's skull with an answering Buzzsaw Kick that made the FAWNatics cringe! Burlingame hit the deck in a heap and Al stepped forward to start a count only to retreat when Tremblay waved him off.
Burying her hands in the brunette's hair, Penny hauled her to her knees, then freed one hand so she could latch onto Sue's waistband. Caught by trunks and tresses, the heiress found herself hauled to knock-kneed verticality then rushed to the ropes facing the stage where Tremblay hit the brakes and hurled her over the top with all the elan of a woman winning a Battle Royale! Sue's landing was far less stylish, in fact it was downright unpleasant as judged by the groans of the crowd when she THUMPED down hard on her right shoulder and hip.
Back in the ring, Penny turned her attention to Al even as she swept an imperious hand over the prone brunette. “By all means, count the selfish bitch down.”
Carpenter moved up against the ropes and called out, “ONE... TWO... THREE... FOUR... FIVE...”
Sue rolled to all fours which earned a cheer of support from the FAWNatics but not a cessation of the ref's count. Pounding a fist against the blue-padded floor in an effort to regain her bearings, Sue clambered to her feet at 'SEVEN!' and rushed across the narrow aisle to dive under the bottom ro—Penny charged from her side and lashed out a kick aimed for her rival's temple, unfortunately Burlingame must've anticipated such treachery because she hit full reverse and ended up back on the floor still in full control of her faculties.
Irked at missing her shot, Penny spread her arms wide and backed up, the lithesome blonde not so graciously inviting her rival to return to the squared circle.
Sue took a step forward, but did not oblige. “Ring's too good for a little brat that wants to throw Low Blows all the time. Down here though, that seems the perfect level of scuzz for a piece of shit like you.”
Penny snorted, the incredulity clear on her face. “You really want to take this outside again? Have you already forgotten what happened last time or are you that eager to get rolled in spilled beer and crushed nachos again?”
“Maybe I just don't want the ring techs having to switch out the canvas after you've bled all over it.” Sue countered. “Of course if your deviant ass needs a little more motivation...”
The Bankable Bombshell dropped to one knee and quickly worked her fingers into the seam separating two of the protective mats. From there she stood up and peeeeeeeeeeeled it back to expose a patch of bare concrete.
Penny scoffed, went to the ropes and mounted the second strand. “Don't give me that shit, ma'am. You don't give a damn about anyone but yourself. If you did, you wouldn't have accepted a match where your daughter could witness all of the terrible things I'm going to do to you.”
Sue didn't answer with words. Instead she bent down, grabbed the edge of another floor pad and tugged it away. She did this two more times immediately thereafter, meaning that more than half of the aisle on the side facing the ramp was nothing but unforgiving floor. Hands on her hips now, the Ace looked up at her opponent and said, “Oh, she's far too young to watch FAWN now. But somewhere down the line I'm sure she'll find some old tapes of me kicking your ass and if she asks me why I beat you so badly they had to call an ambulance, I'll tell her you were a nasty, bullying brat who deserved every bit of what she got.”
“Is that so? Seems like the sort of conversation they'd frown on in supervised visitation.” Penny smirked as Sue seethed. “Assuming of course that your eventual ex-husband is generous or dumb enough to even allow you visitation ri—”
“Not one more word, bitch.” Burlingame warned. “Not unless you want to learn to speak through a jaw that's been wired shut.”
Tremblay thought about it, hopped down from her perch, then grabbed hold of the top and vaulted over to land on the floor only a few steps from the fuming Ace. Going nose to nose with Burlingame the moment her boots touched down, Penny hissed, “You're not going to show her a fucking second of any of this. Because if you do, it won't take her long to realize that I'm the only one of us that's actually thinking of HHRRRGGGHHHH!”
Sue hit the blonde with a short Headbutt, then lowered her shoulder and stuffed it into those trim abs so she could bull-rush Penny into an unpleasant collision with the ring apron! Grabbing onto the edge on either side of her adversary, Sue drew back then delivered half a dozen more Shoulderblocks, all while being careful to bashing the crown of her skull against unyielding surface. Straightening up only when she felt Tremblay fold up atop her own back, Burlingame hooked the Last True Believer's arms over the bottom rope, then grabbed a handful of hair and pulled hard enough to make Penny yelp.
A single brusque slap silenced the noise and a rough grip on the other wrestler's lower face guaranteed enough quiet for Sue to deliver a message. “I am SORRY about what your mother did to you, truly I am. But I am not her and I swear to God, if you mention my daughter one more time I'll FAAAAAHHK!”
Penny sank her teeth into the soft flesh between Burlingame's thumb and forefinger, then pumped a couple knees into her tummy for good measure. Plunging her hands into the brunette's hair as soon as she'd pulled herself off the bottom rope, Tremblay twisted to the side and reared back on her heels just to THWHUNK the Ace's forehead against the apron. From there she switched over to a Side Headlock, one that saw the Orphan of Midnight shift her weight so that every bit of it was bearing down on Burlingame's skull when the blonde started yanking her head back and forth against the rough edge!
“Don't LIE to me you deceitful bitch!” Tremblay roared at the thrashing veteran. “Don't you fucking tell me you're sorry about that shit-bag's choices when you're making them all over again! You can't even use money as an excuse! You're just fucking selfishRRGGHH! HRGH! HRGH!”
Sue blasted several elbows into the blonde's ribs and managed to force herself away from the apron, losing only a few strands of hair in the process. Straightened up in the blink of an eye, Burlingame fired off another elbow, one that caught her blonde flush on the sternum. Penny gasped and staggered back a step, but damned if she didn't respond with a hard slap and a rough handful of Sue's ha—“NNNGGGGHH!”
The Rainmaker tagged her foe with a Headbutt between the eyes, then snatched a double fistful of hair and sprinted to the nearest corner where she BWANGED Tremblay's forehead off the steel post!
The force of it whipped Penny's head back and sent an obvious shudder through her lithesome frame. Burlingame was sure the blonde would take a knee but the Angriest Acolyte proved her wrong by hooking an arm over the post so she could button-hook around the corner and keep on walking. Sue was tempted to let her go, she could use the time to assess her own aches and a few deep breaths never hurt anyone. Then she remembered how their last two matches ended and decided she couldn't risk it. An unsupervised Penelope Tremblay meant danger for everyone around her and Burlingame wasn't about to let the bitch put her through another table.
Or worse.
With that in mind she stomped around the corner and pounced on the retreating bendy-back, Sue plunging her hands up to the wrists in Tremblay's long locks. Twisting Penny around in a half circle as soon as her hooks were secure, Burlingame rushed back to the corner and BWANGED the younger woman's skull for the second time in less than a minute, albeit now from the opposite side. Penny groaned and threw an arm over the bottom rope not to escape, but to keep her legs from giving out entirely.
The show of resilience was impressive, though not entirely wise as Sue used the opening to thread her arms under the blonde's biceps in a Full Nelson that forced Tremblay's chin tight against her own sternum. A few vengeful knees to Penny's backside kept her off balance and provided occasional punctuation as the Ace marched her over to the spot where the pads had been removed.
“Running's no longer an option, honey. You made sure of that every time you opened your mouth.” Sue muttered as she swung around and backed up 'til her heels were right at the edge of the protective covering. “I don't end careers and I won't start tonight, but I will make certain that my family never crosses your mind after tonWHOOAAAHHNNNNNNGGGHHH!”
Penny, who'd watched more Sue Burlingame footage than she cared to admit in the last year, knew a Snap Dragon Suplex on the floor was something she didn't want any part of, which was why the Orphan of Midnight hit full reverse and plowed the both of 'em back across the concrete and kept right on going until she THWHUNKED Sue's back into another ring-post! The Full Nelson loosened without breaking, so Penny pulled forward just to throw herself into the post again while simultaneously smashing her head backward as hard as she could!
The bit of protection provided by her cupped hands probably kept Burlingame from a broken nose even though the strike still hit hard enough to make her eyes water. Yet this was a relatively minor concern in the moment as it was utterly overwhelmed by the jolt of her spine colliding with the ring-post twice in rapid succession. The fingers laced across the back of her skull finally came apart, thus allowing Tremblay to pull her way free and swing around in a single sinuous movement. Snatching a double handful of hair, she tugged Sue's noggin forward just to BWUNK it against the post! The heiress groaned and threw a few punches at her tormentor's midsection, alas Penny soaked these up and answered with a few Kneelifts that skidded off Burlingame's hips.
“What bothers you more, ma'am?” the Last True Believer murmured to her brunette after Sue wrapped her up in a woozy clench. “The fact that I'm thinking about your family any thought at all? Or the fact that I'm thinking about them more thought than you do?”
She'd been expecting a furious hiss, so to hear Susan practically laugh in her face was far more startling than it should've been! “Nuuuhhh... no wonder you and Miranda got along so well.” Burlingame muttered. “The two of you aren't just happy being wrong, you've gotta be wrong with authorNNNNGGGGHHH!”
Penny spiked the brunette with another Kneelift, then backed off without relinquishing her hair-hold so she could draw the knock-kneed Ace into a Standing Headscissors. “I appreciate your efforts to lighten the mood, ma'am.” Tremblay noted as she wrapped her arms around Burlingame's waist. “I hope the ability to find humor in any situation doesn't abandon you before the bell sounds again.”
On that rather distressing note she dipped her knees and muscled / flipped Sue up onto the point of her left shoulder. At first it looked like a Canadian Backbreaker, but the FAWNatics knew better and their suspicions were confirmed once the blonde halved the Waistlock and grabbed onto a bicep instead. Repeating the tactic allowed Tremblay to hoist her burden in a high crucifix, then she stepped back only to lunge forward, the blonde hurling Burlingame like an oversized lawn dart, one that made the whole crowd go 'UUUUUGGGHHH!' in sympathetic anguish when she collided with the ring post!
LAST NIGHT OF SADNESS @ 1:45
www.youtube.com/watch?v=LIuz4dinZ1o
Hellish though it may seem, this wasn't the first time Sue had experienced the Last Night of Sadness against the unyielding steel and she could safely say that familiarity didn't ease the hurt in the slightest. Somehow managing to land on her feet in the wake of the crushing impact, Burlingame lurched at Penny with every intent of snatching a handful of hair or possibly jamming a fist down her throat. Unfortunately for the Ace her intentions remained only that as Tremblay swatted her hands aside before going low and driving her left shoulder into the pit of the older woman's stomach.
Eyes going wide as his brain clocked their arrangement, the ref shouted, “Penny, don't! The pad's not—”
Al still didn't look away but the lanky zebra was clearly gritting his teeth when the Last True Believer straightened up and hurled Burlingame up, over, and down, the former World Champion landing stretched out full length against the exposed concrete. The heavy, slightly damp THAWHAP of her body hitting the floor left Sue silent in breathless anguish but the FAWNatics more than made up for it with a horrified groan that soon curdled into vitriol pointed directly at 'Bad' Penny Tremblay.
The blonde didn't even hear the hate, or maybe she just didn't register it. Regardless of the reason, she paid the haters no mind and would've plunged a hand into Burlingame's hair if Carpenter hadn't stepped in her way.
“Let me count it, Penny.”
“I didn't ask for a count.” she growled.
“Neither did I, but it's happening. Now back off.” With at least some semblance of order restored, Al turned to the twitching wreckage of the Rainmaker and went to work. “ONE... TWO... THREE... FOUR... FIVE...”
“Don't you dare stay on the ground, ma'am.” Penny hissed at the vulnerable brunette. “I mean it, Burlingame. Get your ass up.”
“SIX... SEVEN...”
Sue sat up with a stifled moan and hunched forward to grab hold of the guardrail. Clutching it with fingers that showed white at the knuckle, the Bankable Bombshell dragged herself to verticality by 'EIGHT!' even if she did promptly twist around and sag against the barricade.
“See? She's fine.” Tremblay said to Al in a tone so chilly it should've come with a parka. “Now do be so kind as to keep out of my way unless I—”
“Calm the fuck down, asshole.” Sue snapped at her nemesis. “He was just doing his job, which means he cares about us, even you. I know empathy's a strange concept to a bitch like you, but—”
Now it was Tremblay who laughed at her opposition. “You think I'm going to listen to ANYTHING you have to say on the concept of empathy, ma'am? You, who have sat on HOW many faces in the course of your drawn-out career? You, who spent most of that time THRIVING on the humiliation of her opponents? No, I don't believe I'll listen to a word you have to say on the sub—”
Sue shot across the narrow aisle and fired a Toe Kick at Penny's gut that would've doubled her over if the blonde hadn't caught the Ace's ankle in both hand—Sue took to the skies for an Enzugiri that whipped at Penny's skul—NO! Tremblay ducked the second strike, her evasion forcing Sue to get both hands between her and the floor so she didn't land face-first on the concrete!
Thankfully she was spared this nose-splattering indignity, unfortunately the time it took to guard against this calamity meant Penny had more than enough time to grab the brunette's other ankle before driving a snappy Toe Kick into the fork of her crotch! Sue cried out and crumpled to her forearms, the veteran being careful to tuck her chin to continue protecting her face. Elsewhere, the Angriest Acolyte used her grip to tumble Burlingame onto her back and from there she turned around so she was positioned between Sue's outstretched legs, albeit now facing away. Cupping the Ace's heels in each hand, she quickly trapped both limbs in the crooks of her elbows, then locked her hands to create an inescapable loop. In the next instant she crouched down and stepped over to turn Susan onto her stomach. This new arrangement put a lot of stress on Burlingame's lower back and the predicament grew even worse when Penny sank a little lower and grabbed hold of her rival's wrists.
PENDULUM SWING:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=BKD988WTa0c
“RRRRRGGGHHHH FAAAAAHHHK!” Sue shrieked to the rafters and shook her head 'no, no, no!' despite the fact that submissions meant nothing in tonight's proceedings.
“What're you doing, Penny?” Al asked after several seconds of punishment yielded nothing more cogent from the trapped brunette. “You know a submission gets you nothing.”
“On the contrary, it will bring me a great deal of satisfaction. Do you know the only thing that will bring me even more satisfaction?”
“I'm sure you'll tell me.” he answered dryly.
Penny only smirked and swung her human pendulum a little harder. “Tell me you've had enough and I'll let you go, ma'am. It won't stop the match according to the rules as written, but it'll tell me I don't need to drag this out any fur—”
“Duuuhhhh... don't waste your breath on threats, kiddo.” Sue grunted. “Those skinny little arms of yours are going to need everything they've got to carry around this much greatnHRRGGHHNNHH!”
Patently unimpressed by her mouthy burden, Tremblay swung Burlingame harder still, then released the hold at just the right time to ensure the most height when the Rainmaker THUMPED against the concrete!
Silver lining? The extra height meant Sue got just enough warning to turn her head to the side and thus avoid a broken nose. Alas the positives ended there as she landed flat on her head and chest, the force of it setting off a small explosion in her cheek and sternum. She tried to roll onto her back but Penny wasn't having it and she set a foot between the veteran's shoulders to keep her stuck like a bug on a pin.
“What're you doing, Penny?” Al asked quietly. “You know I can't count her down with—”
The Angriest Acolyte leapt into the air, raised both knees to chest level, then stretched out full length to THWHAP a huge Double Stomp into the small of Sue's back.
“Yes, Algernon, I am aware that you can't start a count as long as I'm in any contact with the Ms. Burlingame's prone form. So, if you are thus aware of my own familiarity with the rules and I choose to ignore them...” Penny pivoted around so Sue was between herself and the official, then dropped to one knee and set it against the nape of Burlingame's neck while snatching a massive handful of hair. Wrenching Sue's head so she was looking up at the official, Penny asked, “...what does that tell you?”
“Thuuuhhhh... that you're a goddamned sadisNNNRRRGGHHHH!”
Tremblay CLOUTED the former World Champion upside the head with a slap that made Sue's ear ring! “I wasn't asking you, ma'am. My question was intended solely for our good referee. Answer me, Algernon.”
Carpenter took a deep breath, was careful to keep his expression neutral. “It tells me you're not through yet.”
“I knew you understood. Don't doubt your intuitions, Algernon. More importantly, don't ever doubt mine.”
With the zebra properly educated, Tremblay plunged her other hand into Susan's hair and hauled her to all fours. In the same motion she swooped around in front of the penitent heiress and drew her into a Standing Headscissors that was soon bolstered by a Waistlock. Such preparations would've drawn minimal interest if secured inside a ring, after all there were dozens, if not hundreds of moves that could transpire after such an arrangement. But done on the outside? With Burlingame folded over in the middle of a few mat's worth of bare concrete? That drew a great deal of clamor indeed. Again, Penny didn't seem to notice. Indeed she looked almost serene as she dipped her knees in a slight crouch and muscled Sue upside down for a Piledriv—Burlingame kicked her legs so frantically she threw off the blonde's balance and was returned to the floor.
Not deterred in the slightest, Penny halved the Waistlock and crooked her left arm into a tire iron that she THWHAPPED down across the Ace's lower back once, twice, thee tim—Susan dropped to one knee and pulled out of the loosened Scissors just to THWHUMP a short, savage Headbutt into her tormentor's crotch!
“Bitch.” Penny choked out as she tried to latch onto the brunette's hips for support. “You're gonna wish you'd never NNNGGGHHH!”
Sue hooked her foe's ankles and yanked as hard as she could, a simple bit of offense that swept Tremblay's legs out from underneath and deposited her on the bare floor with an audible THWHAP! Burlingame saw the back of Penny's head bounce against the edge of the pad which meant the landing wasn't as bad as it could've been. She took this as a personal shortcoming and made up for it by wrenching the blonde's long stems into a near Wishbone before going up on tiptoes and THUMPING the point of her right knee into the juncture of Penny's thighs!
Tremblay shivered like she'd been touched with a live wire but the Bankable Bombshell refused to give up her grip on the bendy-back's feet. Stretching those limbs a little wider once the worst of the thrashing died down, Sue stepped through with her left foot and planted it beside Penny's right hip. From there she crossed Tremblay's legs over her encroaching thigh and tucked the blonde's right shin beneath her left armpit. Sparing a wink for the ref, she said, “No need to explain the rules to me either, Al. I know exactly what I'm doing. With that she flipped Penny onto her stomach, then stepped over and sat down, Burlingame paying tribute to an old tag team partner with one extremely snug Sharpshooter.
SHARPSHOOTER:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=rEMADIUmPzU
Tremblay bared her teeth and shook her head 'no', whether out of pure instinct or an innate desire to let Sue know she wasn't impressed with her efforts. Whatever the reason, her determination didn't much bother Burlingame, who only bounced in place and wrenched back and forth on the blonde's knotted legs. “Get used to that view from the floor, brat.” the Rainmaker snarled as she really started to settle in with the submission. Because it's not changing until the EMT's come to put you on a backboard.”
“You're fucking delusional.” Penny grunted. “The instant your old, tired ass lets go I'm going to get up and kick it between your shouldEEERRRRRGGGHHHH!”
Burlingame jounced in place, making a point to drive the curve of her buns into the small of Tremblay's back. She repeated this tactic half a dozen more times before leaaaaaaaaaaaaaaning backward at a near forty-five degree angle, a modification that put even more strain on the blonde's spine. “Tap out, bitch.” Sue demanded. “I want to hear that hand slapping the floor before I let Al count you out.
Penny set both hands against the concrete and dragged their combined weight closer to the edge, a journey that was most rough on her cheek, chest, and abs. It was agonizing, yet she managed to grab hold of the mat and doing so raised a bubbly little giggle. “ Fuck, you'll do anything to avoid more time at home, won't you? Not only are you a terrible mother, you're clearly the most selfish shit-bag in FAWRRRRRGGGHHHmmmmmppppphhhh!”
Infuriated by the blonde's mouth, Sue stood up only to drop the biggest Butt Bomb yet, this one landing squarely atop Penny's shoulders! With Penny's legs still hers to control, the veteran took advantage of the 'no pins' situation and laid out so her shoulders were flat against the mat and the Angriest Acolyte's lissome frame was bent into a hellish 'O' by the Sharpshooter!
Understandably concerned about the effect of such a predicament on his charge's spinal column, Al swooped around to the other side and dropped to one knee to see if she'd passed out from the pain. In truth Carpenter hoped she had. That way he could call for the bell, prize these two apart and declare things well and truly finished. But of course Penny hadn't passed out, in fact she'd drawn close enough to the pad to sink her teeth into the edge, effectively muffling what would've been a teakettle scream. Al caught her eye and started to ask a question only to have it die on his lips when Penny shot him such a murderous look there was nothing to do but stand up and step off.
Up top, Sue continued to yank her prey's legs back and forth, though Tremblay's stubborn refusal to tap was starting to put serious strain on her own frame. After another ten seconds yielded no results, she pulled as hard as she dared and bellowed, “TAP OUT, TREMBLAY! YOU'RE NOT GETTING UP FROM THIS!”
But Penny didn't tap. She remained stubbornly silent, then had the gall to get her hands up to claw at Sue's hips. Forced to admit she'd have to wait on that humiliating concession at least a little while longer, Burlingame abruptly released the hold and tossed Penny's legs aside as she got to her feet. The tortured blonde immediately started to curl up in a ball, an effort that was thwarted by the Ace seizing control of her ankles. No encore on the Sharpshooter here, she just stretched Tremblay out face-down, then hopped up and came down with both knees THWHUMPING into the center of Penny's back!
Hardly the most creative move the FAWNatics witnessed during the course of the evening, yet it still earned a groan of sympathetic anguish for the Orphan of Midnight as she twitched through the aftermath. Back on her feet for the first time in what felt like hours, Burlingame swept a disgusted hand over the writhing blonde and told Al, “Count her the fuck down.”
No hesitation from Carpenter, he just stepped up into position and called out, “ONE... TWO... THREE... FOUR... FIVE... SIX... SEVEN...”
Tremblay made it to all fours with a spasmodic jolt, then crawled to the edge of the ring and grabbed a double handful of apron. “EIGHT... NI—”
Penny dragged herself to verticality in time with 'NINE!' only to crumple against the apron when Burlingame exploded across the aisle to THWHAP a vicious Forearm Smash into the nape of her neck! She hooked her left arm over the bottom rope to keep from falling to her knees, unfortunately the Ace took the exposed limb as an invitation to secure a Half Nelson. Half became Full immediately thereafter and the former World Champion yanked her nemesis away from the relative safety of the apron. Infinitely aware of the bare floor beneath her boots, Sue looked down, then back, then down again while the crowd roared in anticipation of just what she might unleash. Ultimately she backed up a little bit more, then dropped into a deep crouch and popped her hips in a gorgeous bridge that flung Tremblay up, over, and BUHWAM! Sue released the Nelson at the apex of her bridge so that the back of Penny's head and shoulders hit the barricade hard enough to bruise the shins of half a dozen front row fans!
Arms cradling her skull before her butt ever hit the floor, Tremblay kicked her heels like a madwoman but made no effort to regain her feet so Al stepped forward and started to count. “ONE... TWO... THREE... FOUR...”
Incredulous surprise echoed throughout the arena when the Bad Penny twisted to one knee, grabbed onto the guardrail and clambered to verticality no later than 'FIVE!'
As startled as the rest of the audience, Burlingame closed the gap and buried a Broadside Kneelift in Tremblay's midsection. Securing a Gutwrench the instant her prey doubled over, the Rainmaker locked her hands and stepped away from the steel just far enough so she could muscle Penny up, over, and around through the two-hundred and seventy degree spin that—'OOOOOOOOOHHHHHHH!'
Already loud, the feed from the crowd temporarily blotted out the rest of the audio when Burlingame dropped her blonde spine-first across the unyielding barricade! Still not done, Sue shifted one hand to Penny's glutes and shoved her over the guardrail into the laps of several unsuspecting FAWNatics!
“STAY DOWN!” the grim-faced heiress bellowed at her ruined adversary. “STAY DOWN, GODDAMN YOU!”
Even without a response Tremblay's compliance seemed all but assured when a slightly nauseated Al Carpenter shuffled up beside the former champ and began to count. “ONE... TWO... THREE... FOUR... FIVE... SIX...SEVEN...” Penny didn't so much get up as she shuddered onto all fours. “EIGHT... NINE...”
A blur of motion and she was up, the Orphan of Midnight earning some genuine applause by hauling herself upright by the slimmest of margins. Dark eyes shining in a countenance that was otherwise ashen, Tremblay offered the Bankable Bombshell a hateful smile and hissed, “Make me, ma'a—NNGGGGHH!”
Sue tagged her in the mouth with a Forearm Smash, then grabbed a massive double fistful of hair and dragged the maimed bendy-back over the rail into the ringside area. From there she shifted one hand to Tremblay's waistband and rushed across the narrow aisle to sling her crippled adversary under the bottom rope. Sue slid in behind her and swiftly rose to one knee, the Ace purposely placing herself in the other wrestler's blind spot.
As of yet unaware of the looming danger, Tremblay set her forehead against the mat and used it to help her rise to all fours. From there she shifted to one knee before finally rising to her full hei—Burlingame glommed onto one shoulder, spun the blonde around and took to skies, the heiress snatching a quick Three Quarters Facelock she used to rip Penny from her moorings and THWHAM her down flat on her face, chest and belly!
ACE CRUSHER:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=5egnczCVJSk
Thunderous roars for the Ace Crusher even though Sue couldn't follow through with the usual cover that followed such a clean shot. Still, she was up and Penny was not so Al hurried over to the action and started to count. “ONE... TWO...”
Consternation from the official and the FAWNatics as Burlingame grabbed hold of Tremblay's wrists and draaaaaaaaaaaaagged her closer to the nearest corner. This puzzlement only increased when the Rainmaker went to the corner, slipped out onto the apron and climbed into the high rent district. Understanding only dawned when Sue raised a fist high overhead and popped a thumb for all to see. Sure it might've been a good luck salute, but those assembled knew it for what it was meant—a detonator to trigger an earth-shattering Ka-Boom.
“All right, Lily.” Sue muttered over the wall of noise. “I promise to not fuck this up too much.”
On that self depreciating note the former World Champion leapt into the lights and whirled through her youngest sister's trademark corkscrew while simultaneously pulling off the gorgeous inside-out front flip that'd made the Cherry Warhead the biggest weapon in the Lightweight Division for more than a decade. And if Sue didn't get quite the height that Lily managed she made up for it with twenty extra pounds she brought THAWHAMMING down on Penny's fluttering chest!
CHERRY WARHEAD:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=9PW6hsMYanw
Rolling away from the impact as quickly as she could (Sue had no idea how Lil made it look so freakin' effortless) Sue hurried to her feet and leaned back into the ropes. “Count her.” she rasped to the official. “Count her down, Al.”
Carpenter didn't have to be told twice. Or even once for that matter, as he'd already moved into position halfway through Burlingame's demand. “ONE... TWO... THREE... FOUR... FIVE... SIX... SEVEN... EIGHT... NI—”
Penny rolled to the edge of the ring, paused, then slopped under the bottom rope to end up on her feet, albeit out on the floor, before Al reached 'TEN!'
Back inside the squared circle Sue grabbed a fistful of her own hair and pulled hard enough for the pain to distract her from the frustration seeping from every pore. When the worst of it was over, she moved into position behind Tremblay (who had her back to the Ace while she tried to steady her breathing) Without so much as a word Burlingame spun around on her heel and ran the ropes to ensure the most momentum possible when she threw herself into a Baseball Slide that DRILLED both heels between the blonde's unsuspecting shoulders!
Penny shot across the aisle, BWANGED chest-first into the guardrail and should've crumpled to her knees on the spot but instead she grabbed on and turned around, the Last True Believer keeping herself upright just long enough to hook her arms over the top of the steel.
“Stay down, dammit!” Sue barked at the other wrestler as she got to her feet. “A beating like this will take years off your career!”
Tremblay managed a smile as she took a moment to stand up and step away from the barricade. “I don't need to be here hogging the spotlight for decades, ma'am.” she rasped. “In truth, I'd retire tomorrow if I made you a better mother toniNNGGH!”
Sue grabbed hold of the top rope and and leapt up just high enough to swing her legs through the gap between middle and bottom ropes to deliver another heavy Dropkick to her rival's sternum! Penny caromed across the aisle and crashed against the guardrail for the second time in less than a minute, not that Burlingame noted anything other than the BWANG! Scrambling upright the instant she made contact, the heiress retracing her previous route only this time she chose a higher road, Burlingame hurling herself headlong over the middle rope in a gorgeous Suicide Di—Penny exploded off the barricade, sprang into the air and drilled the point of her right knee into the crown of Sue's skull with an awful THWHUNK!
Burlingame jittered from end to end and might've gone crashing to the floor in a sprawl if Tremblay hadn't caught her pounding noggin in a Front Facelock. Yoking up on the hold while she thought about what to do with this unexpected boon, the blonde glanced around and scowled when she realized they were on the other side of the ring from the bare concrete. Disappointment vanishing when a fresh idea crossed her mind, Penny smacked a few heavy Forearm Smashes across Burlingame's lower back for good measure, then yoked up on the Front Facelock so she could shift that arm into place across the brunette's chest as opposed to over the back of her neck. Right hand pressed between the other woman's shoulders, Tremblay grabbed some waistband with her left hand, then took a couple steps away from the ring and laid out on her back to THAWHUMP the Rainmaker down flat on her face, chest and belly with a pitiless rope hung Reverse STO!
Stretched out alongside the prone battler, Penny allowed herself a brief reprieve to enjoy the 'HOLY SHIT!' chants raised in the aftermath of her catastrophic counter. Pushing to one knee while they were still rising in volume, the Angriest Acolyte cupped her rival's ears in hoisted her to all fours so it was that much easier to secure a Standing Headscissors. Cinching her arms tight around Burlingame's waist so she could drag her up to something resembling verticality, Penny twisted around so she was facing toward the increasingly concerned FAWNatics.
“Are you wondering just what I'll have to do to keep her down?” she asked the first row. “I am too. Let's find out together, shall we?”
In truth that was a bit of information that the crowd figured they could live without, unfortunately the Orphan of Midnight was on a journey of discovery and she meant to bring everyone in the arena along for the ride. To that end she muscled the Bankable Bombshell up ass over teakettle and let her hang there, Tremblay more than happy to give Al Carpenter enough time to scurry through the ropes to the floor. Sensing another stupid question about to pollute the air, the blonde put a stop to it by hopping up and kicking her legs legs out straight so that she came down on her butt in relative comfort while poor Sue was SPIKED head-first into the thinly-padded concrete!
Burlingame seemed to accordion in on herself before unspooling and collapsing onto one side with both arms wrapped loosely around her head. As for Penny, she pushed to one knee and glanced at Al. “Well, are you going to count?”
“I wasn't sure you were done.” he replied.
“Oh, I'm not.” Tremblay replied. “But she might finally be seeing reason. So you're going to count and we'll both find out.” Yet for someone who'd just demanded a count, Penny didn't seem too interested in sticking around to see how it played out. Indeed she stood up and walked away after setting Al to his task.
“ONE... TWO... THREE... FOUR... FIVE... SIX...” Sue sat up, lurched / shuffled in the direction of the guardrail and bumped it with one shoulder. “SEVEN... EIGHT...” Still seated, the Rainmaker scrabbled and groped at the uncaring steel as Al tolled. “NINE...”
Roars of delight and relief from the FAWNatics when Burlingame hauled herself upright no less than a heartbeat or two ahead of 'TEN!' Elbows heavy against the rail as she fought to steady her legs, Sue huffed, “Gonna take more than that to keep me down, Tremb—THWHACK! Penny came in fast as an obtrusive thought and infinitely more painful, the blonde CLAPPING a Yakuza Kick off the side of her opponent's face!
Sue's head snapped back and the rest of her quickly followed, the Ace almost certainly tumbling into the front row if the Orphan of Midnight hadn't snatched one shoulder in a death-grip. “You're looking a bit worn out, ma'am. How about we get you a seat?” She hauled Burlingame back across the rail and switched over to a Side Headlock that let her march them both toward what she'd been working on during the count.
Al Carpenter followed their progress and cursed under his breath when he saw Penny draw up alongside a pair of steel chairs. Like everyone else in the house for Heartbroken he'd cringed when Penny hit Sue with the Spine Tremblar on a steel chair, but that had at 'least' been the seat. These two were arranged back to back and Tremblay had drawn up beside them which meant—Penny dipped her head beneath the Rainmaker's left arm and slipped her right arm across the brunette's lower back. In the next instant she hoisted Sue up onto her shoulder, then pivoted and dropped, but rather than let her burden fall onto upraised knees, she BWAM-CRASHED her down spine-first across those narrow steel arches!
Sue shrieked and tumbled to the floor in a heap, her whole body jittering like someone who'd just touched a live wire. “Christ on a bicycle, Penny, what's wrong with you?” Al shouted even before he knelt to check on the Rainmaker. “It's just a wrestling ma—”
“That's EXACTLY my point!” she screamed at the official. “She has no reason to keep getting up and every reason to stay down, yet she keeps getting up. That says far more about her than it does about me, Mr. Carpenter. Now, if you actually give a shit about her well-being, I suggest you stop wasting time and start counting.”
Al didn't feel right letting Tremblay have the last word, but he didn't want to see Sue go through any more hell so he choked it down and did as told. “ONE... TWO... THREE... FOUR...” Sue rolled from her side to her stomach and then to all fours, though the reaction to this wasn't as loud as expected because one whole side of the arena was watching Penny pull a table out from under her side of the ring. “FIVE... SIX... SEVEN...” Sue crawled into the shadow of the squared circle and snatched hold of the ring skirt with both hands. “EIGHT... NINE... TE—”NO!
Sue pulled herself up high enough to latch onto the bottom rope, which she clutched like a lifeline to continue her participation in the match. “For fuck's sake, Sue.” Al groaned. “Why didn't you just stay down?”
“Shuuuu...she doesn't get to decide, Al.” the Bankable Bombshell rasped. “I'm the only one who decides when my story is donMMMMPPPPPPHHHHHHH!”
Penny crept up quietly, slapped on a Half Nelson, then reached around with her free hand and pressed it tight across Burlingame's mouth and nose! Careful to pinch the veteran's nostrils between thumb and forefinger, Tremblay peeled her thrashing rival away from the ropes and started dragging her toward the table Al had not yet clocked. “Could've stayed down.” she murmured to the brunette as they rounded the corner. “A Piledriver on the floor this late? The Spine Tremblar across the backs of two steel chairs? That's enough to keep anyone down. No one would've questioned your heart if you'd stayed down, but you had to get up, didn't you? You could do it, which meant should you do it never once crossed your mind. Because for you they're one and the same. Isn't that right, ma'am?”
Sue fought and squirmed, her right hand buried in Penny's hair while the left pounded furiously at her attacker's hip, thigh, and flank. But Penny wouldn't relinquish the Half Nelson and she sure as hell didn't let up on the HOM smother. All of which meant it wasn't long before Burlingame's resistance faded to the occasional fitful outburst. “You're an addict. Willing to risk everything for an industry where there's nothing left for you to prove. Have you figured it out yet, ma'am? This isn't a wrestling match. It isn't even a fight. It's an intervention.”
Burlingame's grip on Tremblay's hair actually tightened for a moment, but 'Bad' Penny just kept her clamp in place until the heiress' grip relaxed to almost nothing. With the Rainmaker little better than dead weight in her clutches, the blonde sidled up against the table she'd arranged perpendicular to the squared circle and carefully muscled her burden up on to it. Carefully to make sure the brunette's hands and feet weren't hanging over an edge, Penny nodded approval at her work, then strode over to the edge and hopped onto the apron.
“Don't even think about beginning the count, Mr. Carpenter.” Tremblay spared the zebra a quick backward glance as she headed toward the nearest corner. “I'll give you an unmistakable starter pistol soon enough.”
Al didn't like the sound of that one bit, alas he was in no position to do anything other than watch alongside the rest of the FAWNatics as Tremblay climbed to the high rent district and rose to her full height. Penny took a deep breath and then she was gone, the lissome blonde vanishing into the overhead lights on the heels of a gorgeous leap. She was crunched in on herself reappearing a few heartbeats later, but then she stretched out full length, the Orphan of Midnight drawn taut as a bowstring as she THWHAM-KERUNCHED onto Sue and through the table with a godawful Dying Breath!
DYING BREATH:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=QHXmakQQrJo
Tremblay bounced up and skidded away from the landing to land on her back a short distance away with both arms strapped to her midsection and both heels beating against the floor. As for Sue, she didn't so much as twitch at the bottom of her brand new crater. That wasn't entirely true, Al saw the shallow rise and fall of her chest so the Ace was alive, but that was the only information he could offer. The roar of the crowd brought the official back to himself, and realizing he was the only one still on his feet, he cleared his throat and started to count.
“ONE... TWO... THREE... FOUR... FIVE... SIX... SEVEN...”
Penny sat up and screamed, then rolled onto all fours and screamed again.
“GET UP!”
“EIGHT...”
Tremblay forced herself to verticality with a growl, then stomped back to the wreckage to stand beside Al.
“NINE...”
“GET UP, YOU BITCH!” she roared down at Burlingame. “GET UP! GET UP! GET UP! I'M NOT FINISHED WI—”
“TEN!”
Al threw a signal to the Timekeeper, who clanged the bell immediately. Hands curled into fists tight enough to make her palms bleed, the Angriest Acolyte jerked away when Carpenter tried to raise her hand and she only vaguely noted the Announcer's confirmation.
“Ladies and gentlemen, the Last Woman Standing is... PENNY TREMBLAY!” “Get up.” she hissed through clenched teeth. “I know you're not satisfied so just get up and we can keep going. Get up. Get up. Get up. Get up. Get—”
Al touched a hand to her bicep and said, “It's over, Penny. You won. Celebrate however you see fit, as long as you don't put another hand on Sue, understand?”
“You heard her, Mr. Carpenter.” Penny didn't step back, but she did turn her attention to the ref, which Al considered a win. “She's the only one who decides when this is over. Did she strike you as a woman who will let this outcome stand?”
Coming from anyone else, Al might've considered that last question an attempt at humor, yet Penny asked it with such cold certainty he could only sigh and reply, “I don't know. Probably not, but you just closed a best of five series, she may not have much of a choice.”
“Perhaps. Unfortunately luck has a disgusting way of smiling on certain people, perhaps none more so than Susannah Burlingame.” Tremblay sighed in irritation, then added, “Tell her to go home and be with her family, Mr. Carpenter. Tell her to stay there. Because if I have to repeat myself one more time... no one is going to be pleased with the results.”
Al didn't know what to say to that so he remained silent until the first of the EMT's appeared to check on the former World Champion. Penny looked on for a little while longer, but soon lost hope for a post-bell revival from her defeated rival. Daring to wonder if her words had finally been taken to heart, she turned around and limped up the aisle amidst a storm of vitriol that meant next to nothing in the face of a job well done.
CROWN ON THE GROUND:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=wGEZpSQEhls
SUE BURLINGAME:
Already loud, the FAWN Arena grew downright cacophonous 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 and stepped to the center of the stage. For a moment it looked like the former World Champ would go straight for the squared circle without any of her usual theatrics, but then she caught herself and offered the camera a wink before throwing her arms wide and tossing 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.
For this fifth and what she damned sure meant to be final outing against the Angriest Acolyte, 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. 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 she settled into the far corner with her eyes locked on the curtain.
“And introducing her opponent. Hailing from Hobbs End, New Hampshire, she stands at five feet-eight inches tall and weighs in at one hundred and thirty-two pounds. She is the 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 Mayhem throng 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 Orphan of Midnight'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 already trained on Sue, she repeated the sigil on her left shoulder, then started down the ramp to the squared circle.
PENNY TREMBLAY:
For her latest effort to beat the wickedness out of the Rainmaker, 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 woman in the far corner. Without so much as a word, she crouched down, touched her left hand to the mat and swept a line across the canvas at her feet. Sue ground her teeth and tightened her grip on the top rope, the veteran forcing herself to remain in the corner until Al Carpenter made everything nice and legal.
Sue Burlingame had fought dozens, if not hundreds of tie-breaker bouts during the two decades of her career, be it with best of three, five, or even seven on the line. And far more often than not it was she who emerged victorious from these series because it was oh so easy to summon the necessary motivation. Early on it was purely financial, when the winner's share of the purse guaranteed she could fix the radiator in her shitty little Volvo or keep the phone on for another week or let her pay for that black and gold ring gear she'd been wanting for what seemed like forever. After the money wasn't an issue it was all about pride, be it personal or professional. Winning a series put her closer to a World Title match, or closer to a more lucrative contract, or sometimes it only ensured she wasn't the one buried nose-deep in ass when the match was over.
And after that?
Where'd that drive come from once there was more money than she'd ever need and she'd headlined shows on six of the seven continents? Sue didn't quite know, she only knew she wasn't through proving herself just yet. She didn't think she'd ever be through with that particular task which meant she should've had no problem mustering the motivation needed to kick Penny Tremblay's ass over the horizon not just once, but half a dozen times. So why did she feel so—the bell CLANGED the match to life and ripped the Rainmaker from her thoughts in a single stroke.
Tremblay was already stalking toward the center of the ring and one look at the blonde's face told Sue she was more ready for this match ('fight' her mind whispered) than any other in her still developing career. Seeing the promise of her own pain stamped all over Tremblay's face acted like a whiff of smelling salts that cleared Burlingame's head and tightened her hands into fists. Those eyes were everything she needed because they foretold, no, they promised unmitigated violence for anyone who wasn't at the very top of her game.
“I've earned everything that's mine.” Sue said in a voice little above a whisper. “Wanting to keep it doesn't make me a bad mom, but it does make me one bad mother...” She rolled her shoulders, raised her fists and pushed off the buckles to meet the Angriest Acolyte in the middle of the squared circle.
Considering the venom she'd unleashed during that sit-down interview, the Ace expected Penny to come out guns blazing, but the Last True Believer stopped at the mid-way point and waited for Burlingame to close. Sue did so shortly thereafter but still the blonde didn't attack. Instead she started to circle with both hands raised and curled like she was anticipating a Lock-Up at any moment.
“Spit it out.” Penny growled when the brunette didn't immediately launch into a clench. “Whatever you want to say, get it out in the open so we can—”
“I'm sorry your mom walked out on you.” Burlingame interrupted without meaning to. “That's a shitty thing to happen to a kid and—”
“So why are you doing the same thing to your daughter?” Penny snapped after delivering a testing swat to the brunette's bicep. “What makes you so much different than the woman who abandoned—”
She would've said 'me' if the heiress hadn't rushed forward and swept her into the Collar & Elbow Lock-Up. “I always come back.” Sue growled as she forced the blonde to cede a few steps. “That's the difference between her and I, Penny. I always come baEEERRRGGHHH!”
Tremblay twisted her head away from Sue's encroaching hand, then darted forward and chomped down on her exposed fingers! Burlingame yelped, then hissed when Penny seized hold of that wrist and twisted around behind to secure a Hammerlock! “That so, ma'am?” she hissed in the veteran's ear. “How much of you is coming back each time, I wonder? Because you leave it all in the ring, isn't that right? The Ace can't disappoint herself or her implacable fans, she's gott leave it ALL in the ring, night in and night out. Year after year, town after town. Doesn't sound like there's much left to share once the match is over. And I KNOW I've taken plenty you'll never get backOOOWW NNNGGHHH!”
Sue could've slipped out of the hold without much effort so it spoke volumes that she stamped on Tremblay's toes, then THUNKED a short Headbutt back into the blonde's chin! Reaching over her right shoulder with both hands to collect a Three Quarters Facelock. Then she dropped to one knee and flipped Penny over her shoulder to hit the canvas butt-first via a simple Snap Mare. Without really thinking about it she shifted weight to her left leg, then flicked out the right to THWHACK Penny's right ear with a vicious Buzzsaw Kick!
Tremblay went down in a heap with both arms wrapped around her aching head and while she was moving far too much for Burlingame to believe she might actually stay down, she wanted the blonde to know she wasn't fucking around so Sue glanced at Al and said, “Count her down.”
Carpenter didn't question, he just cleared his throat and did as told. “ONE... TWO... THREE... FOUR...”
Tremblay rolled to her stomach and pushed to one knee. It wasn't enough to actually stop the zebra's toll, but the baleful look she shot at the heiress suggested that not only was the night still young, it hadn't even started. On her feet in time with 'SIX!', the Last True Believer raised her hands for a clinch and when Sue stepped forward to meet her she unleashed a vicious leg kick that THWHACKED against the Ace's left thigh, just below the curve of her glutes!
Sue cursed and stumbled backward, her leg didn't quite buckle but it was a fight to regain her balance. Eyes narrowing as she assumed a stance better to defend against those dangerous strikes, Burlingame muttered, “Someone's been watching a lot of Autumn tape.”
“No one ever kicked your ass quite like she did, not even me. Not yet, anyway.” Tremblay admitted as they began to circle. “I asked the Dragon to train me a few months back, but she declined. Too much respect for you, apparently. It's not a sentiment we share, but I do respect her, so I settled for breaking those matches down frame by fra—”
Sue darted in and unleashed a leg kick of her own, but Penny blocked it with her shin at the last possible second. “Dig as deep in the archive as you want, honey.” Burlingame challenged. “You still won't find what you need to beat—”
Now it was Penny closing in, the blonde sacrificing power for sheer speed to deliver, one, two, three kicks that would've put the Rainmaker on one knee if she hadn't blocked them all with a shin. The defense didn't bother Tremblay in the slightest, indeed rather than back off she snagged Sue's head in what would've been a Muy Thai sort of clasp if she hadn't dug in with her nails and wrenched the brunette's noggin from side to side! Caught off-guard by the shift between kickboxing and catfighting, Burlingame instinctively grabbed hold of the blonde's wrists to prize them free of her hair and that's precisely when Tremblay skewered her abs with a Kneelift that hit just below the nav—“NNNNGGGGGGHHH!”
The first Kneelift was low, albeit clean, the second was lower and figuratively filthy as it THWHUMPED the center of Burlingame's trunks! Sue's knees gave out and she crumpled forward into a sloppy clinch that Penny endured just long enough to deliver two more shots to her rival's crotch. Unable to keep the smile off her face when the Rainmaker collapsed to her knees, the Angriest Acolyte took a step back and said, “I don't need to watch tape to beat you, ma'am. We both know it's your fucking ego that'll be your downfall.”
Burlingame lifted her head to meet the other woman's gaze. “Spoken like a perpetual los—” THWHACK!
Penny planted on her left foot and whipped the right one at Sue's skull with an answering Buzzsaw Kick that made the FAWNatics cringe! Burlingame hit the deck in a heap and Al stepped forward to start a count only to retreat when Tremblay waved him off.
Burying her hands in the brunette's hair, Penny hauled her to her knees, then freed one hand so she could latch onto Sue's waistband. Caught by trunks and tresses, the heiress found herself hauled to knock-kneed verticality then rushed to the ropes facing the stage where Tremblay hit the brakes and hurled her over the top with all the elan of a woman winning a Battle Royale! Sue's landing was far less stylish, in fact it was downright unpleasant as judged by the groans of the crowd when she THUMPED down hard on her right shoulder and hip.
Back in the ring, Penny turned her attention to Al even as she swept an imperious hand over the prone brunette. “By all means, count the selfish bitch down.”
Carpenter moved up against the ropes and called out, “ONE... TWO... THREE... FOUR... FIVE...”
Sue rolled to all fours which earned a cheer of support from the FAWNatics but not a cessation of the ref's count. Pounding a fist against the blue-padded floor in an effort to regain her bearings, Sue clambered to her feet at 'SEVEN!' and rushed across the narrow aisle to dive under the bottom ro—Penny charged from her side and lashed out a kick aimed for her rival's temple, unfortunately Burlingame must've anticipated such treachery because she hit full reverse and ended up back on the floor still in full control of her faculties.
Irked at missing her shot, Penny spread her arms wide and backed up, the lithesome blonde not so graciously inviting her rival to return to the squared circle.
Sue took a step forward, but did not oblige. “Ring's too good for a little brat that wants to throw Low Blows all the time. Down here though, that seems the perfect level of scuzz for a piece of shit like you.”
Penny snorted, the incredulity clear on her face. “You really want to take this outside again? Have you already forgotten what happened last time or are you that eager to get rolled in spilled beer and crushed nachos again?”
“Maybe I just don't want the ring techs having to switch out the canvas after you've bled all over it.” Sue countered. “Of course if your deviant ass needs a little more motivation...”
The Bankable Bombshell dropped to one knee and quickly worked her fingers into the seam separating two of the protective mats. From there she stood up and peeeeeeeeeeeled it back to expose a patch of bare concrete.
Penny scoffed, went to the ropes and mounted the second strand. “Don't give me that shit, ma'am. You don't give a damn about anyone but yourself. If you did, you wouldn't have accepted a match where your daughter could witness all of the terrible things I'm going to do to you.”
Sue didn't answer with words. Instead she bent down, grabbed the edge of another floor pad and tugged it away. She did this two more times immediately thereafter, meaning that more than half of the aisle on the side facing the ramp was nothing but unforgiving floor. Hands on her hips now, the Ace looked up at her opponent and said, “Oh, she's far too young to watch FAWN now. But somewhere down the line I'm sure she'll find some old tapes of me kicking your ass and if she asks me why I beat you so badly they had to call an ambulance, I'll tell her you were a nasty, bullying brat who deserved every bit of what she got.”
“Is that so? Seems like the sort of conversation they'd frown on in supervised visitation.” Penny smirked as Sue seethed. “Assuming of course that your eventual ex-husband is generous or dumb enough to even allow you visitation ri—”
“Not one more word, bitch.” Burlingame warned. “Not unless you want to learn to speak through a jaw that's been wired shut.”
Tremblay thought about it, hopped down from her perch, then grabbed hold of the top and vaulted over to land on the floor only a few steps from the fuming Ace. Going nose to nose with Burlingame the moment her boots touched down, Penny hissed, “You're not going to show her a fucking second of any of this. Because if you do, it won't take her long to realize that I'm the only one of us that's actually thinking of HHRRRGGGHHHH!”
Sue hit the blonde with a short Headbutt, then lowered her shoulder and stuffed it into those trim abs so she could bull-rush Penny into an unpleasant collision with the ring apron! Grabbing onto the edge on either side of her adversary, Sue drew back then delivered half a dozen more Shoulderblocks, all while being careful to bashing the crown of her skull against unyielding surface. Straightening up only when she felt Tremblay fold up atop her own back, Burlingame hooked the Last True Believer's arms over the bottom rope, then grabbed a handful of hair and pulled hard enough to make Penny yelp.
A single brusque slap silenced the noise and a rough grip on the other wrestler's lower face guaranteed enough quiet for Sue to deliver a message. “I am SORRY about what your mother did to you, truly I am. But I am not her and I swear to God, if you mention my daughter one more time I'll FAAAAAHHK!”
Penny sank her teeth into the soft flesh between Burlingame's thumb and forefinger, then pumped a couple knees into her tummy for good measure. Plunging her hands into the brunette's hair as soon as she'd pulled herself off the bottom rope, Tremblay twisted to the side and reared back on her heels just to THWHUNK the Ace's forehead against the apron. From there she switched over to a Side Headlock, one that saw the Orphan of Midnight shift her weight so that every bit of it was bearing down on Burlingame's skull when the blonde started yanking her head back and forth against the rough edge!
“Don't LIE to me you deceitful bitch!” Tremblay roared at the thrashing veteran. “Don't you fucking tell me you're sorry about that shit-bag's choices when you're making them all over again! You can't even use money as an excuse! You're just fucking selfishRRGGHH! HRGH! HRGH!”
Sue blasted several elbows into the blonde's ribs and managed to force herself away from the apron, losing only a few strands of hair in the process. Straightened up in the blink of an eye, Burlingame fired off another elbow, one that caught her blonde flush on the sternum. Penny gasped and staggered back a step, but damned if she didn't respond with a hard slap and a rough handful of Sue's ha—“NNNGGGGHH!”
The Rainmaker tagged her foe with a Headbutt between the eyes, then snatched a double fistful of hair and sprinted to the nearest corner where she BWANGED Tremblay's forehead off the steel post!
The force of it whipped Penny's head back and sent an obvious shudder through her lithesome frame. Burlingame was sure the blonde would take a knee but the Angriest Acolyte proved her wrong by hooking an arm over the post so she could button-hook around the corner and keep on walking. Sue was tempted to let her go, she could use the time to assess her own aches and a few deep breaths never hurt anyone. Then she remembered how their last two matches ended and decided she couldn't risk it. An unsupervised Penelope Tremblay meant danger for everyone around her and Burlingame wasn't about to let the bitch put her through another table.
Or worse.
With that in mind she stomped around the corner and pounced on the retreating bendy-back, Sue plunging her hands up to the wrists in Tremblay's long locks. Twisting Penny around in a half circle as soon as her hooks were secure, Burlingame rushed back to the corner and BWANGED the younger woman's skull for the second time in less than a minute, albeit now from the opposite side. Penny groaned and threw an arm over the bottom rope not to escape, but to keep her legs from giving out entirely.
The show of resilience was impressive, though not entirely wise as Sue used the opening to thread her arms under the blonde's biceps in a Full Nelson that forced Tremblay's chin tight against her own sternum. A few vengeful knees to Penny's backside kept her off balance and provided occasional punctuation as the Ace marched her over to the spot where the pads had been removed.
“Running's no longer an option, honey. You made sure of that every time you opened your mouth.” Sue muttered as she swung around and backed up 'til her heels were right at the edge of the protective covering. “I don't end careers and I won't start tonight, but I will make certain that my family never crosses your mind after tonWHOOAAAHHNNNNNNGGGHHH!”
Penny, who'd watched more Sue Burlingame footage than she cared to admit in the last year, knew a Snap Dragon Suplex on the floor was something she didn't want any part of, which was why the Orphan of Midnight hit full reverse and plowed the both of 'em back across the concrete and kept right on going until she THWHUNKED Sue's back into another ring-post! The Full Nelson loosened without breaking, so Penny pulled forward just to throw herself into the post again while simultaneously smashing her head backward as hard as she could!
The bit of protection provided by her cupped hands probably kept Burlingame from a broken nose even though the strike still hit hard enough to make her eyes water. Yet this was a relatively minor concern in the moment as it was utterly overwhelmed by the jolt of her spine colliding with the ring-post twice in rapid succession. The fingers laced across the back of her skull finally came apart, thus allowing Tremblay to pull her way free and swing around in a single sinuous movement. Snatching a double handful of hair, she tugged Sue's noggin forward just to BWUNK it against the post! The heiress groaned and threw a few punches at her tormentor's midsection, alas Penny soaked these up and answered with a few Kneelifts that skidded off Burlingame's hips.
“What bothers you more, ma'am?” the Last True Believer murmured to her brunette after Sue wrapped her up in a woozy clench. “The fact that I'm thinking about your family any thought at all? Or the fact that I'm thinking about them more thought than you do?”
She'd been expecting a furious hiss, so to hear Susan practically laugh in her face was far more startling than it should've been! “Nuuuhhh... no wonder you and Miranda got along so well.” Burlingame muttered. “The two of you aren't just happy being wrong, you've gotta be wrong with authorNNNNGGGGHHH!”
Penny spiked the brunette with another Kneelift, then backed off without relinquishing her hair-hold so she could draw the knock-kneed Ace into a Standing Headscissors. “I appreciate your efforts to lighten the mood, ma'am.” Tremblay noted as she wrapped her arms around Burlingame's waist. “I hope the ability to find humor in any situation doesn't abandon you before the bell sounds again.”
On that rather distressing note she dipped her knees and muscled / flipped Sue up onto the point of her left shoulder. At first it looked like a Canadian Backbreaker, but the FAWNatics knew better and their suspicions were confirmed once the blonde halved the Waistlock and grabbed onto a bicep instead. Repeating the tactic allowed Tremblay to hoist her burden in a high crucifix, then she stepped back only to lunge forward, the blonde hurling Burlingame like an oversized lawn dart, one that made the whole crowd go 'UUUUUGGGHHH!' in sympathetic anguish when she collided with the ring post!
LAST NIGHT OF SADNESS @ 1:45
www.youtube.com/watch?v=LIuz4dinZ1o
Hellish though it may seem, this wasn't the first time Sue had experienced the Last Night of Sadness against the unyielding steel and she could safely say that familiarity didn't ease the hurt in the slightest. Somehow managing to land on her feet in the wake of the crushing impact, Burlingame lurched at Penny with every intent of snatching a handful of hair or possibly jamming a fist down her throat. Unfortunately for the Ace her intentions remained only that as Tremblay swatted her hands aside before going low and driving her left shoulder into the pit of the older woman's stomach.
Eyes going wide as his brain clocked their arrangement, the ref shouted, “Penny, don't! The pad's not—”
Al still didn't look away but the lanky zebra was clearly gritting his teeth when the Last True Believer straightened up and hurled Burlingame up, over, and down, the former World Champion landing stretched out full length against the exposed concrete. The heavy, slightly damp THAWHAP of her body hitting the floor left Sue silent in breathless anguish but the FAWNatics more than made up for it with a horrified groan that soon curdled into vitriol pointed directly at 'Bad' Penny Tremblay.
The blonde didn't even hear the hate, or maybe she just didn't register it. Regardless of the reason, she paid the haters no mind and would've plunged a hand into Burlingame's hair if Carpenter hadn't stepped in her way.
“Let me count it, Penny.”
“I didn't ask for a count.” she growled.
“Neither did I, but it's happening. Now back off.” With at least some semblance of order restored, Al turned to the twitching wreckage of the Rainmaker and went to work. “ONE... TWO... THREE... FOUR... FIVE...”
“Don't you dare stay on the ground, ma'am.” Penny hissed at the vulnerable brunette. “I mean it, Burlingame. Get your ass up.”
“SIX... SEVEN...”
Sue sat up with a stifled moan and hunched forward to grab hold of the guardrail. Clutching it with fingers that showed white at the knuckle, the Bankable Bombshell dragged herself to verticality by 'EIGHT!' even if she did promptly twist around and sag against the barricade.
“See? She's fine.” Tremblay said to Al in a tone so chilly it should've come with a parka. “Now do be so kind as to keep out of my way unless I—”
“Calm the fuck down, asshole.” Sue snapped at her nemesis. “He was just doing his job, which means he cares about us, even you. I know empathy's a strange concept to a bitch like you, but—”
Now it was Tremblay who laughed at her opposition. “You think I'm going to listen to ANYTHING you have to say on the concept of empathy, ma'am? You, who have sat on HOW many faces in the course of your drawn-out career? You, who spent most of that time THRIVING on the humiliation of her opponents? No, I don't believe I'll listen to a word you have to say on the sub—”
Sue shot across the narrow aisle and fired a Toe Kick at Penny's gut that would've doubled her over if the blonde hadn't caught the Ace's ankle in both hand—Sue took to the skies for an Enzugiri that whipped at Penny's skul—NO! Tremblay ducked the second strike, her evasion forcing Sue to get both hands between her and the floor so she didn't land face-first on the concrete!
Thankfully she was spared this nose-splattering indignity, unfortunately the time it took to guard against this calamity meant Penny had more than enough time to grab the brunette's other ankle before driving a snappy Toe Kick into the fork of her crotch! Sue cried out and crumpled to her forearms, the veteran being careful to tuck her chin to continue protecting her face. Elsewhere, the Angriest Acolyte used her grip to tumble Burlingame onto her back and from there she turned around so she was positioned between Sue's outstretched legs, albeit now facing away. Cupping the Ace's heels in each hand, she quickly trapped both limbs in the crooks of her elbows, then locked her hands to create an inescapable loop. In the next instant she crouched down and stepped over to turn Susan onto her stomach. This new arrangement put a lot of stress on Burlingame's lower back and the predicament grew even worse when Penny sank a little lower and grabbed hold of her rival's wrists.
PENDULUM SWING:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=BKD988WTa0c
“RRRRRGGGHHHH FAAAAAHHHK!” Sue shrieked to the rafters and shook her head 'no, no, no!' despite the fact that submissions meant nothing in tonight's proceedings.
“What're you doing, Penny?” Al asked after several seconds of punishment yielded nothing more cogent from the trapped brunette. “You know a submission gets you nothing.”
“On the contrary, it will bring me a great deal of satisfaction. Do you know the only thing that will bring me even more satisfaction?”
“I'm sure you'll tell me.” he answered dryly.
Penny only smirked and swung her human pendulum a little harder. “Tell me you've had enough and I'll let you go, ma'am. It won't stop the match according to the rules as written, but it'll tell me I don't need to drag this out any fur—”
“Duuuhhhh... don't waste your breath on threats, kiddo.” Sue grunted. “Those skinny little arms of yours are going to need everything they've got to carry around this much greatnHRRGGHHNNHH!”
Patently unimpressed by her mouthy burden, Tremblay swung Burlingame harder still, then released the hold at just the right time to ensure the most height when the Rainmaker THUMPED against the concrete!
Silver lining? The extra height meant Sue got just enough warning to turn her head to the side and thus avoid a broken nose. Alas the positives ended there as she landed flat on her head and chest, the force of it setting off a small explosion in her cheek and sternum. She tried to roll onto her back but Penny wasn't having it and she set a foot between the veteran's shoulders to keep her stuck like a bug on a pin.
“What're you doing, Penny?” Al asked quietly. “You know I can't count her down with—”
The Angriest Acolyte leapt into the air, raised both knees to chest level, then stretched out full length to THWHAP a huge Double Stomp into the small of Sue's back.
“Yes, Algernon, I am aware that you can't start a count as long as I'm in any contact with the Ms. Burlingame's prone form. So, if you are thus aware of my own familiarity with the rules and I choose to ignore them...” Penny pivoted around so Sue was between herself and the official, then dropped to one knee and set it against the nape of Burlingame's neck while snatching a massive handful of hair. Wrenching Sue's head so she was looking up at the official, Penny asked, “...what does that tell you?”
“Thuuuhhhh... that you're a goddamned sadisNNNRRRGGHHHH!”
Tremblay CLOUTED the former World Champion upside the head with a slap that made Sue's ear ring! “I wasn't asking you, ma'am. My question was intended solely for our good referee. Answer me, Algernon.”
Carpenter took a deep breath, was careful to keep his expression neutral. “It tells me you're not through yet.”
“I knew you understood. Don't doubt your intuitions, Algernon. More importantly, don't ever doubt mine.”
With the zebra properly educated, Tremblay plunged her other hand into Susan's hair and hauled her to all fours. In the same motion she swooped around in front of the penitent heiress and drew her into a Standing Headscissors that was soon bolstered by a Waistlock. Such preparations would've drawn minimal interest if secured inside a ring, after all there were dozens, if not hundreds of moves that could transpire after such an arrangement. But done on the outside? With Burlingame folded over in the middle of a few mat's worth of bare concrete? That drew a great deal of clamor indeed. Again, Penny didn't seem to notice. Indeed she looked almost serene as she dipped her knees in a slight crouch and muscled Sue upside down for a Piledriv—Burlingame kicked her legs so frantically she threw off the blonde's balance and was returned to the floor.
Not deterred in the slightest, Penny halved the Waistlock and crooked her left arm into a tire iron that she THWHAPPED down across the Ace's lower back once, twice, thee tim—Susan dropped to one knee and pulled out of the loosened Scissors just to THWHUMP a short, savage Headbutt into her tormentor's crotch!
“Bitch.” Penny choked out as she tried to latch onto the brunette's hips for support. “You're gonna wish you'd never NNNGGGHHH!”
Sue hooked her foe's ankles and yanked as hard as she could, a simple bit of offense that swept Tremblay's legs out from underneath and deposited her on the bare floor with an audible THWHAP! Burlingame saw the back of Penny's head bounce against the edge of the pad which meant the landing wasn't as bad as it could've been. She took this as a personal shortcoming and made up for it by wrenching the blonde's long stems into a near Wishbone before going up on tiptoes and THUMPING the point of her right knee into the juncture of Penny's thighs!
Tremblay shivered like she'd been touched with a live wire but the Bankable Bombshell refused to give up her grip on the bendy-back's feet. Stretching those limbs a little wider once the worst of the thrashing died down, Sue stepped through with her left foot and planted it beside Penny's right hip. From there she crossed Tremblay's legs over her encroaching thigh and tucked the blonde's right shin beneath her left armpit. Sparing a wink for the ref, she said, “No need to explain the rules to me either, Al. I know exactly what I'm doing. With that she flipped Penny onto her stomach, then stepped over and sat down, Burlingame paying tribute to an old tag team partner with one extremely snug Sharpshooter.
SHARPSHOOTER:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=rEMADIUmPzU
Tremblay bared her teeth and shook her head 'no', whether out of pure instinct or an innate desire to let Sue know she wasn't impressed with her efforts. Whatever the reason, her determination didn't much bother Burlingame, who only bounced in place and wrenched back and forth on the blonde's knotted legs. “Get used to that view from the floor, brat.” the Rainmaker snarled as she really started to settle in with the submission. Because it's not changing until the EMT's come to put you on a backboard.”
“You're fucking delusional.” Penny grunted. “The instant your old, tired ass lets go I'm going to get up and kick it between your shouldEEERRRRRGGGHHHH!”
Burlingame jounced in place, making a point to drive the curve of her buns into the small of Tremblay's back. She repeated this tactic half a dozen more times before leaaaaaaaaaaaaaaning backward at a near forty-five degree angle, a modification that put even more strain on the blonde's spine. “Tap out, bitch.” Sue demanded. “I want to hear that hand slapping the floor before I let Al count you out.
Penny set both hands against the concrete and dragged their combined weight closer to the edge, a journey that was most rough on her cheek, chest, and abs. It was agonizing, yet she managed to grab hold of the mat and doing so raised a bubbly little giggle. “ Fuck, you'll do anything to avoid more time at home, won't you? Not only are you a terrible mother, you're clearly the most selfish shit-bag in FAWRRRRRGGGHHHmmmmmppppphhhh!”
Infuriated by the blonde's mouth, Sue stood up only to drop the biggest Butt Bomb yet, this one landing squarely atop Penny's shoulders! With Penny's legs still hers to control, the veteran took advantage of the 'no pins' situation and laid out so her shoulders were flat against the mat and the Angriest Acolyte's lissome frame was bent into a hellish 'O' by the Sharpshooter!
Understandably concerned about the effect of such a predicament on his charge's spinal column, Al swooped around to the other side and dropped to one knee to see if she'd passed out from the pain. In truth Carpenter hoped she had. That way he could call for the bell, prize these two apart and declare things well and truly finished. But of course Penny hadn't passed out, in fact she'd drawn close enough to the pad to sink her teeth into the edge, effectively muffling what would've been a teakettle scream. Al caught her eye and started to ask a question only to have it die on his lips when Penny shot him such a murderous look there was nothing to do but stand up and step off.
Up top, Sue continued to yank her prey's legs back and forth, though Tremblay's stubborn refusal to tap was starting to put serious strain on her own frame. After another ten seconds yielded no results, she pulled as hard as she dared and bellowed, “TAP OUT, TREMBLAY! YOU'RE NOT GETTING UP FROM THIS!”
But Penny didn't tap. She remained stubbornly silent, then had the gall to get her hands up to claw at Sue's hips. Forced to admit she'd have to wait on that humiliating concession at least a little while longer, Burlingame abruptly released the hold and tossed Penny's legs aside as she got to her feet. The tortured blonde immediately started to curl up in a ball, an effort that was thwarted by the Ace seizing control of her ankles. No encore on the Sharpshooter here, she just stretched Tremblay out face-down, then hopped up and came down with both knees THWHUMPING into the center of Penny's back!
Hardly the most creative move the FAWNatics witnessed during the course of the evening, yet it still earned a groan of sympathetic anguish for the Orphan of Midnight as she twitched through the aftermath. Back on her feet for the first time in what felt like hours, Burlingame swept a disgusted hand over the writhing blonde and told Al, “Count her the fuck down.”
No hesitation from Carpenter, he just stepped up into position and called out, “ONE... TWO... THREE... FOUR... FIVE... SIX... SEVEN...”
Tremblay made it to all fours with a spasmodic jolt, then crawled to the edge of the ring and grabbed a double handful of apron. “EIGHT... NI—”
Penny dragged herself to verticality in time with 'NINE!' only to crumple against the apron when Burlingame exploded across the aisle to THWHAP a vicious Forearm Smash into the nape of her neck! She hooked her left arm over the bottom rope to keep from falling to her knees, unfortunately the Ace took the exposed limb as an invitation to secure a Half Nelson. Half became Full immediately thereafter and the former World Champion yanked her nemesis away from the relative safety of the apron. Infinitely aware of the bare floor beneath her boots, Sue looked down, then back, then down again while the crowd roared in anticipation of just what she might unleash. Ultimately she backed up a little bit more, then dropped into a deep crouch and popped her hips in a gorgeous bridge that flung Tremblay up, over, and BUHWAM! Sue released the Nelson at the apex of her bridge so that the back of Penny's head and shoulders hit the barricade hard enough to bruise the shins of half a dozen front row fans!
Arms cradling her skull before her butt ever hit the floor, Tremblay kicked her heels like a madwoman but made no effort to regain her feet so Al stepped forward and started to count. “ONE... TWO... THREE... FOUR...”
Incredulous surprise echoed throughout the arena when the Bad Penny twisted to one knee, grabbed onto the guardrail and clambered to verticality no later than 'FIVE!'
As startled as the rest of the audience, Burlingame closed the gap and buried a Broadside Kneelift in Tremblay's midsection. Securing a Gutwrench the instant her prey doubled over, the Rainmaker locked her hands and stepped away from the steel just far enough so she could muscle Penny up, over, and around through the two-hundred and seventy degree spin that—'OOOOOOOOOHHHHHHH!'
Already loud, the feed from the crowd temporarily blotted out the rest of the audio when Burlingame dropped her blonde spine-first across the unyielding barricade! Still not done, Sue shifted one hand to Penny's glutes and shoved her over the guardrail into the laps of several unsuspecting FAWNatics!
“STAY DOWN!” the grim-faced heiress bellowed at her ruined adversary. “STAY DOWN, GODDAMN YOU!”
Even without a response Tremblay's compliance seemed all but assured when a slightly nauseated Al Carpenter shuffled up beside the former champ and began to count. “ONE... TWO... THREE... FOUR... FIVE... SIX...SEVEN...” Penny didn't so much get up as she shuddered onto all fours. “EIGHT... NINE...”
A blur of motion and she was up, the Orphan of Midnight earning some genuine applause by hauling herself upright by the slimmest of margins. Dark eyes shining in a countenance that was otherwise ashen, Tremblay offered the Bankable Bombshell a hateful smile and hissed, “Make me, ma'a—NNGGGGHH!”
Sue tagged her in the mouth with a Forearm Smash, then grabbed a massive double fistful of hair and dragged the maimed bendy-back over the rail into the ringside area. From there she shifted one hand to Tremblay's waistband and rushed across the narrow aisle to sling her crippled adversary under the bottom rope. Sue slid in behind her and swiftly rose to one knee, the Ace purposely placing herself in the other wrestler's blind spot.
As of yet unaware of the looming danger, Tremblay set her forehead against the mat and used it to help her rise to all fours. From there she shifted to one knee before finally rising to her full hei—Burlingame glommed onto one shoulder, spun the blonde around and took to skies, the heiress snatching a quick Three Quarters Facelock she used to rip Penny from her moorings and THWHAM her down flat on her face, chest and belly!
ACE CRUSHER:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=5egnczCVJSk
Thunderous roars for the Ace Crusher even though Sue couldn't follow through with the usual cover that followed such a clean shot. Still, she was up and Penny was not so Al hurried over to the action and started to count. “ONE... TWO...”
Consternation from the official and the FAWNatics as Burlingame grabbed hold of Tremblay's wrists and draaaaaaaaaaaaagged her closer to the nearest corner. This puzzlement only increased when the Rainmaker went to the corner, slipped out onto the apron and climbed into the high rent district. Understanding only dawned when Sue raised a fist high overhead and popped a thumb for all to see. Sure it might've been a good luck salute, but those assembled knew it for what it was meant—a detonator to trigger an earth-shattering Ka-Boom.
“All right, Lily.” Sue muttered over the wall of noise. “I promise to not fuck this up too much.”
On that self depreciating note the former World Champion leapt into the lights and whirled through her youngest sister's trademark corkscrew while simultaneously pulling off the gorgeous inside-out front flip that'd made the Cherry Warhead the biggest weapon in the Lightweight Division for more than a decade. And if Sue didn't get quite the height that Lily managed she made up for it with twenty extra pounds she brought THAWHAMMING down on Penny's fluttering chest!
CHERRY WARHEAD:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=9PW6hsMYanw
Rolling away from the impact as quickly as she could (Sue had no idea how Lil made it look so freakin' effortless) Sue hurried to her feet and leaned back into the ropes. “Count her.” she rasped to the official. “Count her down, Al.”
Carpenter didn't have to be told twice. Or even once for that matter, as he'd already moved into position halfway through Burlingame's demand. “ONE... TWO... THREE... FOUR... FIVE... SIX... SEVEN... EIGHT... NI—”
Penny rolled to the edge of the ring, paused, then slopped under the bottom rope to end up on her feet, albeit out on the floor, before Al reached 'TEN!'
Back inside the squared circle Sue grabbed a fistful of her own hair and pulled hard enough for the pain to distract her from the frustration seeping from every pore. When the worst of it was over, she moved into position behind Tremblay (who had her back to the Ace while she tried to steady her breathing) Without so much as a word Burlingame spun around on her heel and ran the ropes to ensure the most momentum possible when she threw herself into a Baseball Slide that DRILLED both heels between the blonde's unsuspecting shoulders!
Penny shot across the aisle, BWANGED chest-first into the guardrail and should've crumpled to her knees on the spot but instead she grabbed on and turned around, the Last True Believer keeping herself upright just long enough to hook her arms over the top of the steel.
“Stay down, dammit!” Sue barked at the other wrestler as she got to her feet. “A beating like this will take years off your career!”
Tremblay managed a smile as she took a moment to stand up and step away from the barricade. “I don't need to be here hogging the spotlight for decades, ma'am.” she rasped. “In truth, I'd retire tomorrow if I made you a better mother toniNNGGH!”
Sue grabbed hold of the top rope and and leapt up just high enough to swing her legs through the gap between middle and bottom ropes to deliver another heavy Dropkick to her rival's sternum! Penny caromed across the aisle and crashed against the guardrail for the second time in less than a minute, not that Burlingame noted anything other than the BWANG! Scrambling upright the instant she made contact, the heiress retracing her previous route only this time she chose a higher road, Burlingame hurling herself headlong over the middle rope in a gorgeous Suicide Di—Penny exploded off the barricade, sprang into the air and drilled the point of her right knee into the crown of Sue's skull with an awful THWHUNK!
Burlingame jittered from end to end and might've gone crashing to the floor in a sprawl if Tremblay hadn't caught her pounding noggin in a Front Facelock. Yoking up on the hold while she thought about what to do with this unexpected boon, the blonde glanced around and scowled when she realized they were on the other side of the ring from the bare concrete. Disappointment vanishing when a fresh idea crossed her mind, Penny smacked a few heavy Forearm Smashes across Burlingame's lower back for good measure, then yoked up on the Front Facelock so she could shift that arm into place across the brunette's chest as opposed to over the back of her neck. Right hand pressed between the other woman's shoulders, Tremblay grabbed some waistband with her left hand, then took a couple steps away from the ring and laid out on her back to THAWHUMP the Rainmaker down flat on her face, chest and belly with a pitiless rope hung Reverse STO!
Stretched out alongside the prone battler, Penny allowed herself a brief reprieve to enjoy the 'HOLY SHIT!' chants raised in the aftermath of her catastrophic counter. Pushing to one knee while they were still rising in volume, the Angriest Acolyte cupped her rival's ears in hoisted her to all fours so it was that much easier to secure a Standing Headscissors. Cinching her arms tight around Burlingame's waist so she could drag her up to something resembling verticality, Penny twisted around so she was facing toward the increasingly concerned FAWNatics.
“Are you wondering just what I'll have to do to keep her down?” she asked the first row. “I am too. Let's find out together, shall we?”
In truth that was a bit of information that the crowd figured they could live without, unfortunately the Orphan of Midnight was on a journey of discovery and she meant to bring everyone in the arena along for the ride. To that end she muscled the Bankable Bombshell up ass over teakettle and let her hang there, Tremblay more than happy to give Al Carpenter enough time to scurry through the ropes to the floor. Sensing another stupid question about to pollute the air, the blonde put a stop to it by hopping up and kicking her legs legs out straight so that she came down on her butt in relative comfort while poor Sue was SPIKED head-first into the thinly-padded concrete!
Burlingame seemed to accordion in on herself before unspooling and collapsing onto one side with both arms wrapped loosely around her head. As for Penny, she pushed to one knee and glanced at Al. “Well, are you going to count?”
“I wasn't sure you were done.” he replied.
“Oh, I'm not.” Tremblay replied. “But she might finally be seeing reason. So you're going to count and we'll both find out.” Yet for someone who'd just demanded a count, Penny didn't seem too interested in sticking around to see how it played out. Indeed she stood up and walked away after setting Al to his task.
“ONE... TWO... THREE... FOUR... FIVE... SIX...” Sue sat up, lurched / shuffled in the direction of the guardrail and bumped it with one shoulder. “SEVEN... EIGHT...” Still seated, the Rainmaker scrabbled and groped at the uncaring steel as Al tolled. “NINE...”
Roars of delight and relief from the FAWNatics when Burlingame hauled herself upright no less than a heartbeat or two ahead of 'TEN!' Elbows heavy against the rail as she fought to steady her legs, Sue huffed, “Gonna take more than that to keep me down, Tremb—THWHACK! Penny came in fast as an obtrusive thought and infinitely more painful, the blonde CLAPPING a Yakuza Kick off the side of her opponent's face!
Sue's head snapped back and the rest of her quickly followed, the Ace almost certainly tumbling into the front row if the Orphan of Midnight hadn't snatched one shoulder in a death-grip. “You're looking a bit worn out, ma'am. How about we get you a seat?” She hauled Burlingame back across the rail and switched over to a Side Headlock that let her march them both toward what she'd been working on during the count.
Al Carpenter followed their progress and cursed under his breath when he saw Penny draw up alongside a pair of steel chairs. Like everyone else in the house for Heartbroken he'd cringed when Penny hit Sue with the Spine Tremblar on a steel chair, but that had at 'least' been the seat. These two were arranged back to back and Tremblay had drawn up beside them which meant—Penny dipped her head beneath the Rainmaker's left arm and slipped her right arm across the brunette's lower back. In the next instant she hoisted Sue up onto her shoulder, then pivoted and dropped, but rather than let her burden fall onto upraised knees, she BWAM-CRASHED her down spine-first across those narrow steel arches!
Sue shrieked and tumbled to the floor in a heap, her whole body jittering like someone who'd just touched a live wire. “Christ on a bicycle, Penny, what's wrong with you?” Al shouted even before he knelt to check on the Rainmaker. “It's just a wrestling ma—”
“That's EXACTLY my point!” she screamed at the official. “She has no reason to keep getting up and every reason to stay down, yet she keeps getting up. That says far more about her than it does about me, Mr. Carpenter. Now, if you actually give a shit about her well-being, I suggest you stop wasting time and start counting.”
Al didn't feel right letting Tremblay have the last word, but he didn't want to see Sue go through any more hell so he choked it down and did as told. “ONE... TWO... THREE... FOUR...” Sue rolled from her side to her stomach and then to all fours, though the reaction to this wasn't as loud as expected because one whole side of the arena was watching Penny pull a table out from under her side of the ring. “FIVE... SIX... SEVEN...” Sue crawled into the shadow of the squared circle and snatched hold of the ring skirt with both hands. “EIGHT... NINE... TE—”NO!
Sue pulled herself up high enough to latch onto the bottom rope, which she clutched like a lifeline to continue her participation in the match. “For fuck's sake, Sue.” Al groaned. “Why didn't you just stay down?”
“Shuuuu...she doesn't get to decide, Al.” the Bankable Bombshell rasped. “I'm the only one who decides when my story is donMMMMPPPPPPHHHHHHH!”
Penny crept up quietly, slapped on a Half Nelson, then reached around with her free hand and pressed it tight across Burlingame's mouth and nose! Careful to pinch the veteran's nostrils between thumb and forefinger, Tremblay peeled her thrashing rival away from the ropes and started dragging her toward the table Al had not yet clocked. “Could've stayed down.” she murmured to the brunette as they rounded the corner. “A Piledriver on the floor this late? The Spine Tremblar across the backs of two steel chairs? That's enough to keep anyone down. No one would've questioned your heart if you'd stayed down, but you had to get up, didn't you? You could do it, which meant should you do it never once crossed your mind. Because for you they're one and the same. Isn't that right, ma'am?”
Sue fought and squirmed, her right hand buried in Penny's hair while the left pounded furiously at her attacker's hip, thigh, and flank. But Penny wouldn't relinquish the Half Nelson and she sure as hell didn't let up on the HOM smother. All of which meant it wasn't long before Burlingame's resistance faded to the occasional fitful outburst. “You're an addict. Willing to risk everything for an industry where there's nothing left for you to prove. Have you figured it out yet, ma'am? This isn't a wrestling match. It isn't even a fight. It's an intervention.”
Burlingame's grip on Tremblay's hair actually tightened for a moment, but 'Bad' Penny just kept her clamp in place until the heiress' grip relaxed to almost nothing. With the Rainmaker little better than dead weight in her clutches, the blonde sidled up against the table she'd arranged perpendicular to the squared circle and carefully muscled her burden up on to it. Carefully to make sure the brunette's hands and feet weren't hanging over an edge, Penny nodded approval at her work, then strode over to the edge and hopped onto the apron.
“Don't even think about beginning the count, Mr. Carpenter.” Tremblay spared the zebra a quick backward glance as she headed toward the nearest corner. “I'll give you an unmistakable starter pistol soon enough.”
Al didn't like the sound of that one bit, alas he was in no position to do anything other than watch alongside the rest of the FAWNatics as Tremblay climbed to the high rent district and rose to her full height. Penny took a deep breath and then she was gone, the lissome blonde vanishing into the overhead lights on the heels of a gorgeous leap. She was crunched in on herself reappearing a few heartbeats later, but then she stretched out full length, the Orphan of Midnight drawn taut as a bowstring as she THWHAM-KERUNCHED onto Sue and through the table with a godawful Dying Breath!
DYING BREATH:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=QHXmakQQrJo
Tremblay bounced up and skidded away from the landing to land on her back a short distance away with both arms strapped to her midsection and both heels beating against the floor. As for Sue, she didn't so much as twitch at the bottom of her brand new crater. That wasn't entirely true, Al saw the shallow rise and fall of her chest so the Ace was alive, but that was the only information he could offer. The roar of the crowd brought the official back to himself, and realizing he was the only one still on his feet, he cleared his throat and started to count.
“ONE... TWO... THREE... FOUR... FIVE... SIX... SEVEN...”
Penny sat up and screamed, then rolled onto all fours and screamed again.
“GET UP!”
“EIGHT...”
Tremblay forced herself to verticality with a growl, then stomped back to the wreckage to stand beside Al.
“NINE...”
“GET UP, YOU BITCH!” she roared down at Burlingame. “GET UP! GET UP! GET UP! I'M NOT FINISHED WI—”
“TEN!”
Al threw a signal to the Timekeeper, who clanged the bell immediately. Hands curled into fists tight enough to make her palms bleed, the Angriest Acolyte jerked away when Carpenter tried to raise her hand and she only vaguely noted the Announcer's confirmation.
“Ladies and gentlemen, the Last Woman Standing is... PENNY TREMBLAY!” “Get up.” she hissed through clenched teeth. “I know you're not satisfied so just get up and we can keep going. Get up. Get up. Get up. Get up. Get—”
Al touched a hand to her bicep and said, “It's over, Penny. You won. Celebrate however you see fit, as long as you don't put another hand on Sue, understand?”
“You heard her, Mr. Carpenter.” Penny didn't step back, but she did turn her attention to the ref, which Al considered a win. “She's the only one who decides when this is over. Did she strike you as a woman who will let this outcome stand?”
Coming from anyone else, Al might've considered that last question an attempt at humor, yet Penny asked it with such cold certainty he could only sigh and reply, “I don't know. Probably not, but you just closed a best of five series, she may not have much of a choice.”
“Perhaps. Unfortunately luck has a disgusting way of smiling on certain people, perhaps none more so than Susannah Burlingame.” Tremblay sighed in irritation, then added, “Tell her to go home and be with her family, Mr. Carpenter. Tell her to stay there. Because if I have to repeat myself one more time... no one is going to be pleased with the results.”
Al didn't know what to say to that so he remained silent until the first of the EMT's appeared to check on the former World Champion. Penny looked on for a little while longer, but soon lost hope for a post-bell revival from her defeated rival. Daring to wonder if her words had finally been taken to heart, she turned around and limped up the aisle amidst a storm of vitriol that meant next to nothing in the face of a job well done.