Post by bigfan on Dec 4, 2016 7:12:56 GMT
The sounds of Wonder Woman’s theme song blare through the arena PA system, heralding the imminent arrival of Camille Cosworth.
For the first time since she made her FAWN debut, she feels just as heroic and epic as her entrance anthem sounds while she slowly walks her way through the audience. Her dramatic victory at FAWNAMANIA had made her a darling with the fans, and even the FAWN executives were giving her a big push -- first by giving Camille her own official merchandise, and then by booking her against Maggie Connor with the rationale that one spectacular athlete plus another spectacular athlete would invariably make for a spectacular match.
The music picks up in tempo and Cosworth increases her speed to a light jog as fans along the crowded aisle reach out to pat her on the back and shoulders. She notices that many of the FAWNatics are wearing her official FAWN t-shirt bearing a logo of a red rose growing from between two slabs of sidewalk and the words “F#CK THE IMPOSSIBLE” and she can’t help but ruefully shake her head.
CAMILLE COSWORTH:
At her insistence, the marketing department had made an alternate version of the same shirt bearing the words “HOPE NEVER DIES” although they warned her that focus group testing showed that the vulgar variant would be overwhelmingly more popular. Indeed, Camille herself seems to be the only person in the arena wearing the G-rated version of her shirt -- along with the ankle length black leggings and low cut Converse shoes that complete her outfit.
A pair of spotlights that had been canvassing the audience focus on Cosworth and that’s her cue to break into a sprint for the ring, causing the fans along her path rising to their feet as she streaks by. A few seconds later, she leaps off the steel barricade without breaking stride, soars towards the ring, and then smoothly hurdles over the top rope to land in the center of the squared circle just as her music crescendos.
Camille breaths deeply through her nose and releases it slowly through her mouth as a wide smile creeps onto her face at the thought of showing her stuff against a wrestler as accomplished as Connor. Even watching her girlfriend succumb to Rue Ann McKenna’s lewd assault did little to dampen her spirits -- at the very least, it was better than what Trisha Belle suffered, Cosworth reasons to herself. After a VERY cold post-match shower, Yoona had rejoined Camille in the stands none the worse for the wear, unlike Trisha who required a trip to the infirmary.
“Ladies and gentlemen, our next match is scheduled for one fall with a twenty minute limit,” the ring announcer says over the PA. “Introducing first... from San Antonio, Texas... at 5’6” and 130 lbs… she is the Girl of Tomorrow… Camille Cosworth!”
She beams with pride when she hears the ring announcer formally introduce her, complete with one of the epithets that Park had bestowed upon her at FAWNAMANIA. ‘Girl of Tomorrow’ had tested particularly well with marketing’s focus groups even though no one, not even Camille herself, truly knew what it meant due to Yoona’s steadfast refusal to elaborate. With her ring music fading out, Camille turns towards the entrance ramp in eager anticipation of her opponent’s arrival.
After the rookie settles in her corner, the Ring Announcer went on. “And introducing her opponent, hailing from Belmont, Massachusetts, she stands at five feet seven and a half inches tall and weighs in at one hundred and forty pounds. She is the Alpha Athlete… She is a former FAWN World Champion... Ladies and gentlemen, THE VARSITY VIXEN… this is… MAGGIE CONNOR!” <br>
The FAWNatics jumped to their feet as the Silversun Pickups ‘Panic Switch’ rolled through the arena. <Br>
PANIC SWITCH: <br>
www.youtube.com/watch?v=AG8fugqFn9Q <br>
The Blue Chipper strides through the curtain and pauses to survey the FAWN arena. Bouncing on the balls of her feet Maggie rolls her shoulders and then throws her arms into the air and lets out a loud, “YEEEAAHHH! LETS GOOOOOO!”, Mags still slapped hands and acknowledged the fans cheering her on, and stopped to exchange high fives with a fan holding a sign that read, ‘Varsity Vixen 4Ever!’ There are many more signs now lending their support to the Blue Chipper. <Br>
MAGGIE CONNOR:
Maggie is decked out in a blue bikini top with white trim and matching short shorts while her pads and boots are a matching blue; the look was completed with a stylized ‘MC’ scrolled along her ankles. The Blue Chipper circles the ring making sure each extended hand gets her palm, moving to the ring stairs Mags stops and focuses, Connor climbs the steel steps and slips through the ropes quickly.
Connor saluted the crowd one more time, then turns her attention to the new comer. Giving Camille a wink she hadn’t had time to talk to Cosworth before the match, but she did watch all the young girl’s matches, and liked what she had seen. Mags backed into her corner, grabbed the top rope and did a few deep knee-bends. Her purpose was two-fold. First, it was always good to see how springy the strands were on any given night. Second, she wanted to give her opponent a chance to see what sort of power she would be contending with.
The Blue Chipper allows head referee Al Carpenter to check her pads and boots, satisfied Al lets Maggie get back to warming up in her corner. During this bit of pre-match lull the home audience is getting a playback of the controversial ending to Yoona’s earlier match with Trisha. Cold November Pain has already had its share of excitement, now it is up to Maggie and Camille to add to that spectacle.
Carpenter asks Maggie if she’s ready, and gets a curt nod in response. Turning around, he asks Cam and gets the same short nod of her head. Waving at the time keeper Al yells, “Ring the Bell!”
Camille walks to the center of the ring and offers both fists, which Maggie bumps up, down, and knuckle to knuckle. With the show of sportsmanship complete, the two wrestlers start circling each other in the middle of the ring. Similarly matched in athletic capabilities, Cosworth gives up a handful of pounds and a couple of inches in size, although the the thinner soles on her sneakers versus Connor’s boots exaggerate the height difference.
“Good to see you finally put Sparkles in her place,” Maggie says with a lopsided grin.
“Umm… who’s Sparkles?” Camille asks, feigning ignorance. She was a hormonal young teenager when the Twilight craze hit its peak, and she had not been immune to the allure of the cold, dead eyes and wooden expression of Kristen Stewart. Nowadays, her erstwhile fandom is a secret shame that she would have preferred to forget.
“Brewster,” Connor clarifies. “She goes absolutely ballistic anytime someone mentions Twilight and its sparkling vampires. I guess you could say it drives her… batty.”
“That pun just took five years off my life,” Cosworth groans with a roll of her eyes.
“Hmpf. If my puns hurt you that much, better brace yourself for -- THIS!” Maggie shouts.
The Alpha Athlete shoots forward and closes the distance so quickly that Camille’s eyes are still widening when a shoulder drives into her gut. Taken by surprise and caught flat-footed, Cosworth finds herself forced to backpedal towards the ropes.
The rookie is as creative as she was athletic, however, so when she gets close to the side of the ring she kicks up both legs behind her, plants her feet on the middle rope, and pushes off into a springboard somersault over her opponent. Wrapping her arms around Maggie’s waist as she flips, Camille is able to reverse Connor’s forward momentum and dump her to the mat with a Sunset Flip Powerbomb.
Referee Al Carpenter drops down and pounds out a --
Maggie kicks free of the pin attempt before even a one-count, then both brunettes roll away and reset the fight.
“Pretty tricky for a greenhorn,” the veteran comments as she rises to her feet.
“I’ll take that as a compliment,” Camille says, unable to keep a smile off her face. Hearing a few kind words from a FAWN World Champion does wonders for her self-esteem.
“Alright, here we go,” Cosworth mutters to herself as she prepared to go on the offensive. Showing off her own explosiveness, she makes a lightning quick dash of her own at Maggie. Rather than collide head-on with her larger opponent, Camille suddenly veers off 45 degrees to her left in an attempt to outflank Connor.
Maggie is far too sharp of mind and nimble of feet to be taken by such a tactic, however. The Alpha Athlete drops into a defensive crouch and pivots in her stance to remain squared with the charging rookie.
Seeing that Connor had adjusted to her zig, Cosworth immediately counters with a zag by cutting back against the grain to her right while still going at full speed.
Once again Maggie is agile enough to pivot her body to match Camille’s misdirection, and now with less than two feet separating the wrestlers she instinctively dips her shoulder and prepares for impact.
As it turns out, Connor dropping down in her stance and lowering her shoulder was exactly the sort of opening Cosworth needed. She launched into a hands-free, aerial cartwheel that places her up, over, and directly behind her opponent. She quickly throws Maggie’s left arm over her neck, loops her right arm under Connor’s left thigh, then straightens her back to lift the Alpha Athlete onto her right shoulder in preparation for a Backdrop Suplex.
Of course, it is never that easy.
Just as she feels Camille start to tilt over backwards to complete the slam, Maggie crunches her legs toward her stomach as forcefully as she can. Combined with the inertia of Cosworth lifting her up and back that is enough to break the rookie’s grip, allowing Connor to slip off her opponent’s shoulder and land safely on her feet with a backflip.
“Huh, so that’s what it’s like when -- OOF!” Camille muses while she turns around just in time to catch a Shoulder Block square in the chest.
The tackle sends her flying for a brief moment before she lands on her back. Spreading her arms out in a T to soften the landing, Cosworth simultaneously tucks her head to one side and rolls backwards over the opposite shoulder to further absorb the momentum. Regaining her footing after the backroll, she immediately launches into a back handspring which is in turn followed by a high-arcing back somersault that ends with her perched atop a set of corner turnbuckles. Camille stays crouched for a fraction of a second to steady herself, then rises to full height on top of the steel cables to a round of applause from the FAWNatics.
Maggie regards the rookie with an arched eyebrow and says, “Okay, that seemed a little excessive. Were all the extra flips really necessary?”
“Only if I want to look AWESOME!” Cosworth calls back through a wide grin that exposes all thirty-two of her pearly white teeth.
“Alright Coz, why don’t you come down here and show me how awesome you are?” Connor says with a chuckle.
“Oh, I don’t have to come down to do that…”
Wanting to give the adoring fans a full exhibit of her athletic gifts, Camille chooses to display her sense of balance by briefly running along the top rope, covering the distance in two bounding strides before launching herself legs first at her opponent. Maggie is expecting Dropkick, and thus is mildly surprised to find Cosworth’s shins wrapped around either side of her head.
Realizing that the Hurricanrana is imminent, she grips onto Camille’s thighs and then leans backwards as hard as she can to neutralize the throw. The two wrestlers teeter back and forth for a few moments before settling at an impasse with Connor still standing upright and Cosworth hanging upside down from her shoulders.
The stalemate does not last long, however. As soon as her brain registers that her Hurricanrana has been short-circuited, Camille crunches up to wrap both hands around the back of Maggie’s head, then pops her legs open in a V. No longer latched to her opponent’s neck and shoulders, she starts to fall to the canvas and hopes to bring Connor along for the Sitout Facebuster.
It is a solid plan of attack, and it would have worked had the Alpha Athlete not proven to be faster than gravity. Just as Camille starts to drop to the mat, Maggie brings her arms up, plants her hands on the rookie’s hips, and shoves as hard as she can to break Cosworth’s grasp on her head. Sent flying away from her opponent, Camille can only make the fall alone, although she still manages to coil her legs underneath her to safely land in a crouch.
“Not bad. Not bad at all,” Connor says with an approving nod. “I want to see you do that freaky thing with your eyes though.”
“Freaky thing with my eyes…?” Cosworth asks, slightly confused.
“Yeah! Right before you flattened Sparkles, your pupils got all big and black and creepy. I want to see that side of you,” Maggie answers.
“I, uh, I’d rather not,” Camille says as she sheepishly scratches the back of her head. “I call that my Ninety Seconds of Awesome, and it’s followed shortly afterwards by Twenty Minutes of Ice Bath. I don’t feel like climbing into a tub of ice tonight, so I’m afraid you’re just going to get plain old, regular me.”
“That’s too bad,” Connor replies, sounding a little disappointed. “Very well then, show me what you’ve got.”
Cosworth takes the Blue Chipper’s offer and turns racing towards the ropes, showcasing her impressive speed. Maggie though follows cutting down the distance Camille has to work with after she slingshots off the ropes. Connor stands her ground and lowers her shoulder, and Camille doesn’t have the ring experience to make the quick adjustment to her plan and she hits against the former champ. Maggie puts only a little effort into her Shoulder Block letting the rookie’s momentum do the work of putting Camille on her backside.
Maggie stands over Cosworth allowing her to return to vertical, Connor smiling, “I thought you were going to show me something?”
Camille grins. Of course Maggie isn’t going to just ‘let’ her show her. Camille smiles, “All right, but you asked for it.”
The younger woman heads to the far ropes again. Cam is going fast, but not as fast as before as she hopes Maggie follows again. Connor does trail a few steps behind, although this time Cam doesn’t just turn into the ropes, instead she leaps on to the middle rope and propels herself in a backflip. The Lionsault brings Cosworth over into a collision with the oncoming brunette. Maggie catches her, but can’t remain upright as she lands on her back with Camille on top of her in a North to South cover.
ONE…
TWO…
Maggie bridges up off the canvas, her arms wrapped around Cosworth as she lifts up off the mat and turns Camille over when they stand. Still bear-hugging the squirming rookie, Connor hoists Camille up onto her shoulder. Camille kicks her legs trying to slip out the back, but Maggie takes a few running steps ready to Power Slam her load into the canvas.
THUMMP!
The ring rattles and ropes shake as Maggie slams Cosworth flat on her back and lands on top of her. Camille’s back arches in pain, and she groans even louder when Connor pushes her flat and goes for a cover.
ONE…
TWO…
KICKOUT!
The rookie tries rolling away after breaking the pinfall. She groans getting to her side when she feels the Alpha Athlete’s hands grabbing her and pulling her back. Maggie cups Cosworth’s chin and grabs an ankle pulling the youngster into a bow and arrow type hold. The former champ leans back bending Cam around her knee, “Let’s see how you do on the mat.”
Camille tries pushing Mags hand off her chin, and squirms the best she can in the Alpha Athlete’s grip. Before the referee can step in asking Camille if she needs to submit, Maggie drops the hold and shoves Cosworth to her stomach. The Blue Chipper takes Cam by the wrist pulling her left arm behind her back and applying a Hammerlock as she mounts Cosworth laying herself on the rookie’s back. Connor settles her hips on top of the other brunette’s before leaning forward and saying, “Most wrestling takes place on the mat.”
With Brewster, Camille had to deal with some of FAWN’s looser tactics, but Connor is just stronger and more skilled on the mat. Still the rookie squirms gets her hips out from under Maggie and spins, as even on the canvas Camille can be fast. The Blue Chipper scrambles as well staying behind Cam, but the former Black Bear switches direction and reverses Maggie into a side headlock. Cosworth grins broadly as she spreads her legs for balance and squeezes on the former champs head.
“Mat wrestling is for those not athletic enough to fly,” Camille beams.
The words are barely out of her mouth before Maggie rolls the rookie over the Blue Chipper’s own body and stacks Camille on her shoulders, legs bicycling in the air as the referee drops down.
ONE…
TWO…
THNOOOO!
Camille realizes that her headlock is really what’s holding her shoulders on the mat, and she releases in time to roll away and avoid the pin. Coming out of her roll Cosworth comes up on her feet and lines up the rising Blue Chipper. The crowd lets out a cheer and a gasp as they see Camille’s Converse sneaker shoot from the canvas and catch the standing Maggie on the chin with a Super Kick.
Maggie’s knees lock as she falls backwards landing flat on her back starfished on the canvas. After regaining her balance Camille moves to Maggie’s right and leaps, flipping a 360 she comes crashing down across the former champion’s stomach after her Standing 360 Splash. Connor’s legs and head jackknife up off the canvas as the former track star’s body hits.
Camille thinks to herself, “I got it, that was near the Ninety Seconds of Awesome, but without the burn out.”
Cosworth hooks the far leg...
ONE…
TWO...
NO!
Maggie kicks out with a full second to spare.
Camille gets up, does a brief backpedaling jog while thumbing her nose, and gives a little head bob and shoulder shimmy in a Bruce Lee imitation that draws some cheers from the crowd. The bit of showmanship is actually just a front for her to pause the action briefly and catch her breath. While not as strenuous as the incredible strain of her Ninety Seconds of Awesome, it was still exhausting to roll on the mat with a heavier, more experienced wrestler like Connor who understood the nuances of leverage that Camille did not.
Her respite is brief, as Maggie is upright just a few moments later. Connor moves to the center of the ring and holds her hands aloft for a Test of Strength, but Camille is hesitant to engage.
“What’s the matter?” Connor says when she sees that her opponent appears to be stalling for time. “You track and field girls don’t work on cardio?”
“Only the slow ones,” Cosworth replies flatly.
It sounds like a taunt to the FAWNatics and they respond with a collective round of oooooohh, but Camille only intended for it to be an honest statement of fact. Top level sprinters and long jumpers such as herself frequently eschewed endurance training in favor of resistance training and plyometrics to increase their explosiveness.
“You calling me slow, Coz?” Maggie asks with a hard, competitive smile.
“I said no such thing,” Camille shrugs innocently, drawing out the short exchange of banter a few more precious seconds to gulp down some oxygen and refuel her tank.
Maggie quickly catches on to her game, however, and rushes forward to sweep Camille into an Elbow and Collar tie-up. Rather than push back, Cosworth lets her opponent drive her back a step while she bends her knees and drops into a crouch. Connor thinks the rookie is about to attempt a sneaky Monkey Flip, and is caught off-guard when Camille grabs her around the hips, suddenly springs up from her crouch, and pops her up into a Flapjack.
Cosworth turns 180 degrees while jumping into the air, secures a Three-Quarters Face Lock on Maggie while Connor’s temporarily suspended in mid-air from the Flapjack, then kicks her own legs out in front and lets herself drop down to the mat. A Pop-up Ace Crusher from that height would be a devastating maneuver, but Camille forgets to account for Maggie’s aerial agility.
Once she gets over the initial shock of how easily the smaller woman hoisted her high into the air, Connor’s instincts kick in and she folds her body to get her legs under herself instead of being laid out Superman-style in mid-air. She manages to get her feet to touch down on the mat first to safely absorb most of the impact from the fall through her legs rather than her head, although the 130 pound weight hanging from her neck still brings her down a fraction of a second later. Nevertheless, her adjustment turns what might have been a spectacular, match-ending move into a much more mundane, much more survivable Ace Crusher.
Camille realizes what’s happened as soon as she hits the mat, and she quickly scrambles upright to follow up on her opponent who’s down but far from out. Ascending the top turnbuckle in a single, effortless bound, she turns around and prepares to launch into a 630 Senton.
“WITNESS MMmmm -- aww man, she’s getting up already,” Cosworth calls out, her War Boy battlecry deflating midway when she sees Connor crawling to hands and knees.
Deciding not to take the risk of missing a 630 Senton and knocking herself out cold, Camille hops off the turnbuckle and sheepishly tells the audience, “Umm, haha, geez. Witness me... later.”
“GODDAMN IT, CAM! YOU’RE SUCH A COCK-TEASE!” a familiar, sarcastic voice shouts from somewhere in the audience.
“SHUT UP, OR ELSE YOU’RE SLEEPING ON THE COUCH TONIGHT!” Cosworth yells back as her face flushes red from embarrassment.
The time it takes for Camille to make her Lysistrata threat allows Maggie to get to her feet, although with her head still a bit fogged from the Ace Crusher. Connor barely gets a second to recover before Cosworth leaps at her, kicks both feet into her chest, and pushes off into a flawless backflip. The Dropsault puts Maggie on her back and Camille on her feet, and the younger wrestler immediately pounces into a simple Crossbody cover. Cosworth knows there’s precisely zero chance for a 1-2-3 pin, she just wants to take a breather any chance she gets and to make Maggie expend energy on a kickout.
The referee pounds out…
ONE!
TW--
...before Connor emphatically shoots a shoulder up.
Not wanting to get caught in another round of mat wrestling, Camille immediately gets up and backs off a couple of steps. She doesn’t close in again until Maggie is back on her feet a couple of seconds later, and even then she wants to send Connor running off with an Irish Whip rather than engage in any extended grappling. The plan goes awry, however, when Maggie reverses the Whip and launches Camille into the ropes instead.
As soon as she sends her opponent sprinting off, Connor makes a run for the perpendicular set of ropes. Both brunettes rebound at approximately the same time, and they seem to be on a collision course in the middle of the ring. Maggie tucks her chin into her chest and lowers her right shoulder, preparing to plow through Camille with a Decleater. There’s no bone-crunching impact to be had, however, as the long jump record-holder for the University of Maine puts her skills to good use by simply hurdling over her would-be tackler.
The two wrestlers skid to a stop after the missed connection, then Cosworth turns around and mimics spiking a football into the mat as if she were a halfback who had just leapt the defensive line to get into the end zone. Wrestling a former world champion and a fellow ‘good girl’ put Camille in a cheerful mood, allowing her to indulge in a more playful side that had not been allowed to show during her battles with Adelaide Brewster.
Amused to see another football fan, Maggie gets in on the act by pretending to throw a flag and making the NFL referee signal for unsportsmanlike conduct by holding her arms out in a T-shape.
“Fifteen yard penalty,” Connor sternly says as she begins circling her opponent, looking for an opening.
“Hey, spiking the football is allowed!” Cosworth protests with a faux frown as she keeps pace with the more veteran wrestler.
Suddenly, Camille feints a low tackle and then explodes forward and up with her right knee brought forward. Maggie still manages to throw up a guard in front of her face to block the Flying Knee with her forearms, but doing so leaves the rest of her body open. Somehow hanging in the air as if suspended by invisible strings, Cosworth brings her left leg forward in a second, lower Knee Strike that connects solidly with her opponent’s chest a heartbeat later.
The unexpected blow leaves Maggie stunned and winded, and Camille quickly takes advantage by slipping her right shoulder under Connor’s right arm while throwing her own right arm across her opponent’s chest and neck. Cosworth crouches down, lifts Maggie high up off the mat with a flex of her knees and a push from her left hand on her opponent’s hip, then spins around 180 degrees and forcefully deposits Connor’s head and shoulders into the canvas with a Lifting Side Slam that shakes the ring and brings the fans to their feet.
Camille is certain that she just scored a huge underdog victory, and without getting up from her slam, she immediately pivots into a cover and hooks the far leg for a pin.
The official slides to the mat nearby and counts out…
ONE!
TWO!
THR--
...before Maggie once again gets a shoulder up, albeit much less emphatically than before and with only half a second to spare.
Cosworth releases the pin and pushes up into a kneeling position with an incredulous look on her face. That was about as hard as she could slam someone without her Ninety Seconds of Awesome, and she was having far too much fun to psyche herself up into the dark and desperate mental headspace necessary to trigger that overwhelming adrenaline rush. Seeing that brute force wasn’t going to get it done, Camille gets up and begins to set Maggie up for a Figure Four Leglock.
As astonishing as she is when performing aerial attacks and slams, Cosworth is just as awkward when it comes to mat submissions. It’s a bumbling, clumsy attempt as she first seems indecisive about which leg to use to form the crook of the 4, and then it takes three tries for her to step over and bend Maggie’s right knee into the correct shape. When Camille finally cinches in the hold -- with Connor’s right ankle folded over left knee, her left shin in the hole of the 4, and her right calf over Maggie’s right ankle -- the FAWNatics give her a polite round of applause.
Breathing a subtle sigh of relief that she managed to complete the Figure Four Leglock before Connor fully came to her senses, Camille props her hands against the mat and raises her hips to put pressure on the submission. The pain in her knees instantly brings Maggie’s senses back to full clarity and she instinctively sits up with a hiss of pain.
“What do you say, Maggie? Do you need me to call it?” Carpenter asks.
“Are you kidding me, Al?!” Connor grunts as she swivels her head around to get a sense of her location within the ring.
The closest ropes were in the direction of her head. They were out of immediate arm’s reach, but Maggie was certain that she could drag herself over before the pain of the Figure Four Leglock became unbearable. More importantly, she saw that Camille was more or less dead center in the ring and quite far from any of the ropes.
With her plan in mind, Connor begins to roll her body left and right. The twisting and torquing motion exacerbates the pain in her knees, but Maggie notices that her less experienced opponent is having trouble maintaining her balance.
“Hey! No! Stop it! No! Noooo!” Cosworth cries out as one final twist rolls the two wrestlers onto their stomachs and reverses the pressure on the Figure Four Leglock. “OW! OWW! AAHHHHH!”
Camille desperately tries to release the hold, only to come to the dreadful realization that she never learned how to untangle her own legs from the reversed configuration. She crawls for the ropes instead, only to find that she’s barely making any progress because at the same time Maggie is counteracting her efforts by crawling in the opposite direction.
“AHHHHH!! AHHHHHHHH!!!” Cosworth shrieks before stuffing her left forearm into her mouth. “Mmmmrrrgghh! Mmmrrrggggghhhhh!!!”
“Say the word and I’ll call for the bell,” Al offers.
“Mmmmmrrrrggghhh!” is the only answer, which for the time being, Carpenter assumes is a ‘No.’
After nearly a minute of crawling yields negligible forward progress towards the ropes, Camille is seemingly at her wit’s end. Her right hand flattens and hovers six inches above the mat as if to signal her surrender at any moment. Rather than tap the mat, however, Cosworth makes a fist and punches the canvas as hard as she can. She nearly breaks her own wrist in the process, but the sudden recoil is enough to roll the two wrestlers onto their backs once more. Not wanting to risk Maggie reversing the submission again, Camille immediately relinquishes the hold and scampers to the ropes, gasping with relief.
She lies on the mat and massages the worst of the pain from her thighs and knees before using the ropes to haul herself up. After all the wasted effort in trying to escape her own Figure Four Leglock gone wrong, she is sweating heavily and laboring to catch her breath. Cosworth turns away from the ropes and sees that Maggie is upright and looking at her expectantly from the other side of the ring.
“See, that’s why you gotta beef up your ground game,” Connor advises.
“It’s… uhh… a work in progress,” Camille replies.
Yoona had been harping on her to improve her mat wrestling and submissions for weeks and she kept putting it off because she felt it was boring, though she had to begrudgingly admit both her girlfriend and her current opponent were correct.
Maggie gives a tug on her top, adjusting it more for comfort than any worry of wardrobe malfunction. The Blue Chipper asks, “You all warmed up now? Ready to go for real?”
Camille’s jaw drops, she thinks the former champ must be trying to mess with her. The newcomer decides to play in cool and answers, “Sure.”
The Alpha Athlete shoots across the ring, Cam scoots left to avoid, but she’s off balance and when Connor twists she catches Cosworth, one hand over her shoulder and then the other hand grabs the back of Cam’s right thigh. The rookie only has a moment to realize she’s caught before Maggie lifts Camille with ease and falls backwards tossing the rookie over her head to a hard landing thanks to the T-Bone Suplex.
T-BONE SUPLEX:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=mkwJ5oECHFc
When Cam comes to a stop she arches her back and reaches behind to rub her spine, but Maggie is already up and coming on. The former champ bends down hooking her arms under the rookie’s and lifts her back to her boots. Camille thinks she needs to move and tries turning to head for the ropes, but Connor grabs the hem of her t-shirt and pulls her right back into the waiting arms of the Varsity Vixen.
“You really need better ring gear.” Mags observes as she slips her hands under Cosworth’s arms and then laces her fingers behind the rookie’s head locking in a full nelson. Cam only grunts as her chin is pushed down to her bosom, and then she feels herself lifted and pulled back as Maggie sits out. The younger athlete eeps as her backside is slammed into the thinly padded plywood by the Keister Bomb.
Maggie locks her legs around the thinner woman and squeezes, as she pushes on the full nelson as well. Camille lets out a pained grunt, Carpenter kneeling out in front tries to see Cam’s face, but Connor has it pushed down. Al asks, “You want to give up Cam? I’ll call for the bell.”
It’s the Blue Chipper that answers, “She’s fine Al, just realizing that she needs to work on wrestling.”
Al shakes his head, “I need her to say something Maggie.”
The Alpha Athlete decides that there is no need for that, twisting her hips she releases the Full Nelson. Cam gasps as she’s rolled to her back with her legs waving above her and Maggie’s strong legs around her waist. The unusual pin is Maggie’s attempt to see how Cosworth reacts.
ONE…
TWO…
THRNOOO!
Cam twists her entire body and kicks her legs to roll herself and Maggie over and pulls her shoulders off the canvas. The Alpha Athlete unlocks her legs and returns to her boots while Cam tries getting to all fours. When the Blue Chipper palms the sides of her head Cosworth realizes that the veteran has started into her kick just like a running and Cam doesn’t seem to be able to keep up.
Connor hooks the rookie’s arm and puts her other arm into Cam’s chest pushing her back into the ropes. Maggie sets Cosworth up and then snaps a chop across the new girl’s chest before sending her across the ring. Camille thinks Connor has opened a window for her, sending her into the ropes will let Cam use her speed and leaping ability again. The fans see Maggie head to the ropes on the right, lining up another Decleater for the rookie.
Both hit the ropes at the same time, Cam though isn’t sure what she has planned for her return, while Maggie has her already in the crosshairs. Cosworth gasps when she turns and sees what’s awaiting her, and thinks she out leaped Maggie before she can do it again. The rookie though doesn’t take into account the Alpha Athlete has worked that in, as instead of coming straight across she’s now angled at the FAWN newbie. Cam is just about to leap when Maggie’s shoulder plows into her sending the young girl flying sideways.
Landing in a crumpled heap Cosworth’s eyes are wide with panic as she can’t get air into her lungs after the Decleater. Maggie trots over and grabs the brunette by the ankles spinning her into position as the Blue Chipper hops onto the middle turnbuckle and steps up to the penthouse. Maggie rises to her full height and leaps into the void, if Cam would have been able to see it from another angle she would have to take back some of comments from earlier. The angle she is at, the fact that her body is not obeying commands, and her watering eyes make everything a blur for her first taste of Connor’s finisher, the Gymnasty, when the former champ crashes down across her body after the impressive 360 splash.
Cosworth’s head and legs jackknife around the intruding brunette and Maggie grabs one leg before it can fall back to the canvas. Al is down on the mat quickly and only needs one look before starting the count.
ONE…
TWO…
THREE!
The Cold November Pain crowd counted along with Carpenter’s call and then breaks into uproars of cheers. Maggie drops the limb and climbs to her feet before moving over to the center of the ring, business-like waiting for Al to come raise her hand.
The ring announcer makes it official, “YOUR WINNER, BY PINFALL…THE ALPHA ATHLETE…MAGGIE CONNOR!”
The fans cheer again as Maggie smiles and waves to them. After acknowledging all four sides of the ring Connor steps away from Carpenter and walks over to her still foggy opponent. Maggie takes a knee near Cam looking down on the rookie.
“Get up,” Maggie orders
Still having problems breathing Cam wheezes, “Wh-wh-what?”
Connor looking stern orders again, “Get up, and let your fans know that you’ll be back.”
Cosworth has a bit of trouble understanding the Blue Chipper’s meaning, groaning she wipes her eyes and coughs as her lungs are still not working properly. Maggie though grows impatient and grabs Cam by the arm pulling her up.
Once up on rubbery legs Maggie says, “Breathe, you’ll be ok. Now smile and wave to the people buying all your merch.”
Camille is almost robotic in her actions, but does as she’s told. Maggie puts an arm around the other girl’s shoulders and leans in saying, “Losses are never fun, but they aren’t the end. Keep working you’ll get there.”
Maggie starts to turn to go, but then adds, “And for the love of God, get some real ring gear.”
Maggie winks and gives Cam’s backside a swat as she drops down and rolls under the bottom rope as Cam is left wondering while the FAWNatics applaud her performance even if she did come up short at Cold November Pain. The rookie has a lot to go over after facing one of FAWN’s top competitors.
For the first time since she made her FAWN debut, she feels just as heroic and epic as her entrance anthem sounds while she slowly walks her way through the audience. Her dramatic victory at FAWNAMANIA had made her a darling with the fans, and even the FAWN executives were giving her a big push -- first by giving Camille her own official merchandise, and then by booking her against Maggie Connor with the rationale that one spectacular athlete plus another spectacular athlete would invariably make for a spectacular match.
The music picks up in tempo and Cosworth increases her speed to a light jog as fans along the crowded aisle reach out to pat her on the back and shoulders. She notices that many of the FAWNatics are wearing her official FAWN t-shirt bearing a logo of a red rose growing from between two slabs of sidewalk and the words “F#CK THE IMPOSSIBLE” and she can’t help but ruefully shake her head.
CAMILLE COSWORTH:
At her insistence, the marketing department had made an alternate version of the same shirt bearing the words “HOPE NEVER DIES” although they warned her that focus group testing showed that the vulgar variant would be overwhelmingly more popular. Indeed, Camille herself seems to be the only person in the arena wearing the G-rated version of her shirt -- along with the ankle length black leggings and low cut Converse shoes that complete her outfit.
A pair of spotlights that had been canvassing the audience focus on Cosworth and that’s her cue to break into a sprint for the ring, causing the fans along her path rising to their feet as she streaks by. A few seconds later, she leaps off the steel barricade without breaking stride, soars towards the ring, and then smoothly hurdles over the top rope to land in the center of the squared circle just as her music crescendos.
Camille breaths deeply through her nose and releases it slowly through her mouth as a wide smile creeps onto her face at the thought of showing her stuff against a wrestler as accomplished as Connor. Even watching her girlfriend succumb to Rue Ann McKenna’s lewd assault did little to dampen her spirits -- at the very least, it was better than what Trisha Belle suffered, Cosworth reasons to herself. After a VERY cold post-match shower, Yoona had rejoined Camille in the stands none the worse for the wear, unlike Trisha who required a trip to the infirmary.
“Ladies and gentlemen, our next match is scheduled for one fall with a twenty minute limit,” the ring announcer says over the PA. “Introducing first... from San Antonio, Texas... at 5’6” and 130 lbs… she is the Girl of Tomorrow… Camille Cosworth!”
She beams with pride when she hears the ring announcer formally introduce her, complete with one of the epithets that Park had bestowed upon her at FAWNAMANIA. ‘Girl of Tomorrow’ had tested particularly well with marketing’s focus groups even though no one, not even Camille herself, truly knew what it meant due to Yoona’s steadfast refusal to elaborate. With her ring music fading out, Camille turns towards the entrance ramp in eager anticipation of her opponent’s arrival.
After the rookie settles in her corner, the Ring Announcer went on. “And introducing her opponent, hailing from Belmont, Massachusetts, she stands at five feet seven and a half inches tall and weighs in at one hundred and forty pounds. She is the Alpha Athlete… She is a former FAWN World Champion... Ladies and gentlemen, THE VARSITY VIXEN… this is… MAGGIE CONNOR!” <br>
The FAWNatics jumped to their feet as the Silversun Pickups ‘Panic Switch’ rolled through the arena. <Br>
PANIC SWITCH: <br>
www.youtube.com/watch?v=AG8fugqFn9Q <br>
The Blue Chipper strides through the curtain and pauses to survey the FAWN arena. Bouncing on the balls of her feet Maggie rolls her shoulders and then throws her arms into the air and lets out a loud, “YEEEAAHHH! LETS GOOOOOO!”, Mags still slapped hands and acknowledged the fans cheering her on, and stopped to exchange high fives with a fan holding a sign that read, ‘Varsity Vixen 4Ever!’ There are many more signs now lending their support to the Blue Chipper. <Br>
MAGGIE CONNOR:
Maggie is decked out in a blue bikini top with white trim and matching short shorts while her pads and boots are a matching blue; the look was completed with a stylized ‘MC’ scrolled along her ankles. The Blue Chipper circles the ring making sure each extended hand gets her palm, moving to the ring stairs Mags stops and focuses, Connor climbs the steel steps and slips through the ropes quickly.
Connor saluted the crowd one more time, then turns her attention to the new comer. Giving Camille a wink she hadn’t had time to talk to Cosworth before the match, but she did watch all the young girl’s matches, and liked what she had seen. Mags backed into her corner, grabbed the top rope and did a few deep knee-bends. Her purpose was two-fold. First, it was always good to see how springy the strands were on any given night. Second, she wanted to give her opponent a chance to see what sort of power she would be contending with.
The Blue Chipper allows head referee Al Carpenter to check her pads and boots, satisfied Al lets Maggie get back to warming up in her corner. During this bit of pre-match lull the home audience is getting a playback of the controversial ending to Yoona’s earlier match with Trisha. Cold November Pain has already had its share of excitement, now it is up to Maggie and Camille to add to that spectacle.
Carpenter asks Maggie if she’s ready, and gets a curt nod in response. Turning around, he asks Cam and gets the same short nod of her head. Waving at the time keeper Al yells, “Ring the Bell!”
Camille walks to the center of the ring and offers both fists, which Maggie bumps up, down, and knuckle to knuckle. With the show of sportsmanship complete, the two wrestlers start circling each other in the middle of the ring. Similarly matched in athletic capabilities, Cosworth gives up a handful of pounds and a couple of inches in size, although the the thinner soles on her sneakers versus Connor’s boots exaggerate the height difference.
“Good to see you finally put Sparkles in her place,” Maggie says with a lopsided grin.
“Umm… who’s Sparkles?” Camille asks, feigning ignorance. She was a hormonal young teenager when the Twilight craze hit its peak, and she had not been immune to the allure of the cold, dead eyes and wooden expression of Kristen Stewart. Nowadays, her erstwhile fandom is a secret shame that she would have preferred to forget.
“Brewster,” Connor clarifies. “She goes absolutely ballistic anytime someone mentions Twilight and its sparkling vampires. I guess you could say it drives her… batty.”
“That pun just took five years off my life,” Cosworth groans with a roll of her eyes.
“Hmpf. If my puns hurt you that much, better brace yourself for -- THIS!” Maggie shouts.
The Alpha Athlete shoots forward and closes the distance so quickly that Camille’s eyes are still widening when a shoulder drives into her gut. Taken by surprise and caught flat-footed, Cosworth finds herself forced to backpedal towards the ropes.
The rookie is as creative as she was athletic, however, so when she gets close to the side of the ring she kicks up both legs behind her, plants her feet on the middle rope, and pushes off into a springboard somersault over her opponent. Wrapping her arms around Maggie’s waist as she flips, Camille is able to reverse Connor’s forward momentum and dump her to the mat with a Sunset Flip Powerbomb.
Referee Al Carpenter drops down and pounds out a --
Maggie kicks free of the pin attempt before even a one-count, then both brunettes roll away and reset the fight.
“Pretty tricky for a greenhorn,” the veteran comments as she rises to her feet.
“I’ll take that as a compliment,” Camille says, unable to keep a smile off her face. Hearing a few kind words from a FAWN World Champion does wonders for her self-esteem.
“Alright, here we go,” Cosworth mutters to herself as she prepared to go on the offensive. Showing off her own explosiveness, she makes a lightning quick dash of her own at Maggie. Rather than collide head-on with her larger opponent, Camille suddenly veers off 45 degrees to her left in an attempt to outflank Connor.
Maggie is far too sharp of mind and nimble of feet to be taken by such a tactic, however. The Alpha Athlete drops into a defensive crouch and pivots in her stance to remain squared with the charging rookie.
Seeing that Connor had adjusted to her zig, Cosworth immediately counters with a zag by cutting back against the grain to her right while still going at full speed.
Once again Maggie is agile enough to pivot her body to match Camille’s misdirection, and now with less than two feet separating the wrestlers she instinctively dips her shoulder and prepares for impact.
As it turns out, Connor dropping down in her stance and lowering her shoulder was exactly the sort of opening Cosworth needed. She launched into a hands-free, aerial cartwheel that places her up, over, and directly behind her opponent. She quickly throws Maggie’s left arm over her neck, loops her right arm under Connor’s left thigh, then straightens her back to lift the Alpha Athlete onto her right shoulder in preparation for a Backdrop Suplex.
Of course, it is never that easy.
Just as she feels Camille start to tilt over backwards to complete the slam, Maggie crunches her legs toward her stomach as forcefully as she can. Combined with the inertia of Cosworth lifting her up and back that is enough to break the rookie’s grip, allowing Connor to slip off her opponent’s shoulder and land safely on her feet with a backflip.
“Huh, so that’s what it’s like when -- OOF!” Camille muses while she turns around just in time to catch a Shoulder Block square in the chest.
The tackle sends her flying for a brief moment before she lands on her back. Spreading her arms out in a T to soften the landing, Cosworth simultaneously tucks her head to one side and rolls backwards over the opposite shoulder to further absorb the momentum. Regaining her footing after the backroll, she immediately launches into a back handspring which is in turn followed by a high-arcing back somersault that ends with her perched atop a set of corner turnbuckles. Camille stays crouched for a fraction of a second to steady herself, then rises to full height on top of the steel cables to a round of applause from the FAWNatics.
Maggie regards the rookie with an arched eyebrow and says, “Okay, that seemed a little excessive. Were all the extra flips really necessary?”
“Only if I want to look AWESOME!” Cosworth calls back through a wide grin that exposes all thirty-two of her pearly white teeth.
“Alright Coz, why don’t you come down here and show me how awesome you are?” Connor says with a chuckle.
“Oh, I don’t have to come down to do that…”
Wanting to give the adoring fans a full exhibit of her athletic gifts, Camille chooses to display her sense of balance by briefly running along the top rope, covering the distance in two bounding strides before launching herself legs first at her opponent. Maggie is expecting Dropkick, and thus is mildly surprised to find Cosworth’s shins wrapped around either side of her head.
Realizing that the Hurricanrana is imminent, she grips onto Camille’s thighs and then leans backwards as hard as she can to neutralize the throw. The two wrestlers teeter back and forth for a few moments before settling at an impasse with Connor still standing upright and Cosworth hanging upside down from her shoulders.
The stalemate does not last long, however. As soon as her brain registers that her Hurricanrana has been short-circuited, Camille crunches up to wrap both hands around the back of Maggie’s head, then pops her legs open in a V. No longer latched to her opponent’s neck and shoulders, she starts to fall to the canvas and hopes to bring Connor along for the Sitout Facebuster.
It is a solid plan of attack, and it would have worked had the Alpha Athlete not proven to be faster than gravity. Just as Camille starts to drop to the mat, Maggie brings her arms up, plants her hands on the rookie’s hips, and shoves as hard as she can to break Cosworth’s grasp on her head. Sent flying away from her opponent, Camille can only make the fall alone, although she still manages to coil her legs underneath her to safely land in a crouch.
“Not bad. Not bad at all,” Connor says with an approving nod. “I want to see you do that freaky thing with your eyes though.”
“Freaky thing with my eyes…?” Cosworth asks, slightly confused.
“Yeah! Right before you flattened Sparkles, your pupils got all big and black and creepy. I want to see that side of you,” Maggie answers.
“I, uh, I’d rather not,” Camille says as she sheepishly scratches the back of her head. “I call that my Ninety Seconds of Awesome, and it’s followed shortly afterwards by Twenty Minutes of Ice Bath. I don’t feel like climbing into a tub of ice tonight, so I’m afraid you’re just going to get plain old, regular me.”
“That’s too bad,” Connor replies, sounding a little disappointed. “Very well then, show me what you’ve got.”
Cosworth takes the Blue Chipper’s offer and turns racing towards the ropes, showcasing her impressive speed. Maggie though follows cutting down the distance Camille has to work with after she slingshots off the ropes. Connor stands her ground and lowers her shoulder, and Camille doesn’t have the ring experience to make the quick adjustment to her plan and she hits against the former champ. Maggie puts only a little effort into her Shoulder Block letting the rookie’s momentum do the work of putting Camille on her backside.
Maggie stands over Cosworth allowing her to return to vertical, Connor smiling, “I thought you were going to show me something?”
Camille grins. Of course Maggie isn’t going to just ‘let’ her show her. Camille smiles, “All right, but you asked for it.”
The younger woman heads to the far ropes again. Cam is going fast, but not as fast as before as she hopes Maggie follows again. Connor does trail a few steps behind, although this time Cam doesn’t just turn into the ropes, instead she leaps on to the middle rope and propels herself in a backflip. The Lionsault brings Cosworth over into a collision with the oncoming brunette. Maggie catches her, but can’t remain upright as she lands on her back with Camille on top of her in a North to South cover.
ONE…
TWO…
Maggie bridges up off the canvas, her arms wrapped around Cosworth as she lifts up off the mat and turns Camille over when they stand. Still bear-hugging the squirming rookie, Connor hoists Camille up onto her shoulder. Camille kicks her legs trying to slip out the back, but Maggie takes a few running steps ready to Power Slam her load into the canvas.
THUMMP!
The ring rattles and ropes shake as Maggie slams Cosworth flat on her back and lands on top of her. Camille’s back arches in pain, and she groans even louder when Connor pushes her flat and goes for a cover.
ONE…
TWO…
KICKOUT!
The rookie tries rolling away after breaking the pinfall. She groans getting to her side when she feels the Alpha Athlete’s hands grabbing her and pulling her back. Maggie cups Cosworth’s chin and grabs an ankle pulling the youngster into a bow and arrow type hold. The former champ leans back bending Cam around her knee, “Let’s see how you do on the mat.”
Camille tries pushing Mags hand off her chin, and squirms the best she can in the Alpha Athlete’s grip. Before the referee can step in asking Camille if she needs to submit, Maggie drops the hold and shoves Cosworth to her stomach. The Blue Chipper takes Cam by the wrist pulling her left arm behind her back and applying a Hammerlock as she mounts Cosworth laying herself on the rookie’s back. Connor settles her hips on top of the other brunette’s before leaning forward and saying, “Most wrestling takes place on the mat.”
With Brewster, Camille had to deal with some of FAWN’s looser tactics, but Connor is just stronger and more skilled on the mat. Still the rookie squirms gets her hips out from under Maggie and spins, as even on the canvas Camille can be fast. The Blue Chipper scrambles as well staying behind Cam, but the former Black Bear switches direction and reverses Maggie into a side headlock. Cosworth grins broadly as she spreads her legs for balance and squeezes on the former champs head.
“Mat wrestling is for those not athletic enough to fly,” Camille beams.
The words are barely out of her mouth before Maggie rolls the rookie over the Blue Chipper’s own body and stacks Camille on her shoulders, legs bicycling in the air as the referee drops down.
ONE…
TWO…
THNOOOO!
Camille realizes that her headlock is really what’s holding her shoulders on the mat, and she releases in time to roll away and avoid the pin. Coming out of her roll Cosworth comes up on her feet and lines up the rising Blue Chipper. The crowd lets out a cheer and a gasp as they see Camille’s Converse sneaker shoot from the canvas and catch the standing Maggie on the chin with a Super Kick.
Maggie’s knees lock as she falls backwards landing flat on her back starfished on the canvas. After regaining her balance Camille moves to Maggie’s right and leaps, flipping a 360 she comes crashing down across the former champion’s stomach after her Standing 360 Splash. Connor’s legs and head jackknife up off the canvas as the former track star’s body hits.
Camille thinks to herself, “I got it, that was near the Ninety Seconds of Awesome, but without the burn out.”
Cosworth hooks the far leg...
ONE…
TWO...
NO!
Maggie kicks out with a full second to spare.
Camille gets up, does a brief backpedaling jog while thumbing her nose, and gives a little head bob and shoulder shimmy in a Bruce Lee imitation that draws some cheers from the crowd. The bit of showmanship is actually just a front for her to pause the action briefly and catch her breath. While not as strenuous as the incredible strain of her Ninety Seconds of Awesome, it was still exhausting to roll on the mat with a heavier, more experienced wrestler like Connor who understood the nuances of leverage that Camille did not.
Her respite is brief, as Maggie is upright just a few moments later. Connor moves to the center of the ring and holds her hands aloft for a Test of Strength, but Camille is hesitant to engage.
“What’s the matter?” Connor says when she sees that her opponent appears to be stalling for time. “You track and field girls don’t work on cardio?”
“Only the slow ones,” Cosworth replies flatly.
It sounds like a taunt to the FAWNatics and they respond with a collective round of oooooohh, but Camille only intended for it to be an honest statement of fact. Top level sprinters and long jumpers such as herself frequently eschewed endurance training in favor of resistance training and plyometrics to increase their explosiveness.
“You calling me slow, Coz?” Maggie asks with a hard, competitive smile.
“I said no such thing,” Camille shrugs innocently, drawing out the short exchange of banter a few more precious seconds to gulp down some oxygen and refuel her tank.
Maggie quickly catches on to her game, however, and rushes forward to sweep Camille into an Elbow and Collar tie-up. Rather than push back, Cosworth lets her opponent drive her back a step while she bends her knees and drops into a crouch. Connor thinks the rookie is about to attempt a sneaky Monkey Flip, and is caught off-guard when Camille grabs her around the hips, suddenly springs up from her crouch, and pops her up into a Flapjack.
Cosworth turns 180 degrees while jumping into the air, secures a Three-Quarters Face Lock on Maggie while Connor’s temporarily suspended in mid-air from the Flapjack, then kicks her own legs out in front and lets herself drop down to the mat. A Pop-up Ace Crusher from that height would be a devastating maneuver, but Camille forgets to account for Maggie’s aerial agility.
Once she gets over the initial shock of how easily the smaller woman hoisted her high into the air, Connor’s instincts kick in and she folds her body to get her legs under herself instead of being laid out Superman-style in mid-air. She manages to get her feet to touch down on the mat first to safely absorb most of the impact from the fall through her legs rather than her head, although the 130 pound weight hanging from her neck still brings her down a fraction of a second later. Nevertheless, her adjustment turns what might have been a spectacular, match-ending move into a much more mundane, much more survivable Ace Crusher.
Camille realizes what’s happened as soon as she hits the mat, and she quickly scrambles upright to follow up on her opponent who’s down but far from out. Ascending the top turnbuckle in a single, effortless bound, she turns around and prepares to launch into a 630 Senton.
“WITNESS MMmmm -- aww man, she’s getting up already,” Cosworth calls out, her War Boy battlecry deflating midway when she sees Connor crawling to hands and knees.
Deciding not to take the risk of missing a 630 Senton and knocking herself out cold, Camille hops off the turnbuckle and sheepishly tells the audience, “Umm, haha, geez. Witness me... later.”
“GODDAMN IT, CAM! YOU’RE SUCH A COCK-TEASE!” a familiar, sarcastic voice shouts from somewhere in the audience.
“SHUT UP, OR ELSE YOU’RE SLEEPING ON THE COUCH TONIGHT!” Cosworth yells back as her face flushes red from embarrassment.
The time it takes for Camille to make her Lysistrata threat allows Maggie to get to her feet, although with her head still a bit fogged from the Ace Crusher. Connor barely gets a second to recover before Cosworth leaps at her, kicks both feet into her chest, and pushes off into a flawless backflip. The Dropsault puts Maggie on her back and Camille on her feet, and the younger wrestler immediately pounces into a simple Crossbody cover. Cosworth knows there’s precisely zero chance for a 1-2-3 pin, she just wants to take a breather any chance she gets and to make Maggie expend energy on a kickout.
The referee pounds out…
ONE!
TW--
...before Connor emphatically shoots a shoulder up.
Not wanting to get caught in another round of mat wrestling, Camille immediately gets up and backs off a couple of steps. She doesn’t close in again until Maggie is back on her feet a couple of seconds later, and even then she wants to send Connor running off with an Irish Whip rather than engage in any extended grappling. The plan goes awry, however, when Maggie reverses the Whip and launches Camille into the ropes instead.
As soon as she sends her opponent sprinting off, Connor makes a run for the perpendicular set of ropes. Both brunettes rebound at approximately the same time, and they seem to be on a collision course in the middle of the ring. Maggie tucks her chin into her chest and lowers her right shoulder, preparing to plow through Camille with a Decleater. There’s no bone-crunching impact to be had, however, as the long jump record-holder for the University of Maine puts her skills to good use by simply hurdling over her would-be tackler.
The two wrestlers skid to a stop after the missed connection, then Cosworth turns around and mimics spiking a football into the mat as if she were a halfback who had just leapt the defensive line to get into the end zone. Wrestling a former world champion and a fellow ‘good girl’ put Camille in a cheerful mood, allowing her to indulge in a more playful side that had not been allowed to show during her battles with Adelaide Brewster.
Amused to see another football fan, Maggie gets in on the act by pretending to throw a flag and making the NFL referee signal for unsportsmanlike conduct by holding her arms out in a T-shape.
“Fifteen yard penalty,” Connor sternly says as she begins circling her opponent, looking for an opening.
“Hey, spiking the football is allowed!” Cosworth protests with a faux frown as she keeps pace with the more veteran wrestler.
Suddenly, Camille feints a low tackle and then explodes forward and up with her right knee brought forward. Maggie still manages to throw up a guard in front of her face to block the Flying Knee with her forearms, but doing so leaves the rest of her body open. Somehow hanging in the air as if suspended by invisible strings, Cosworth brings her left leg forward in a second, lower Knee Strike that connects solidly with her opponent’s chest a heartbeat later.
The unexpected blow leaves Maggie stunned and winded, and Camille quickly takes advantage by slipping her right shoulder under Connor’s right arm while throwing her own right arm across her opponent’s chest and neck. Cosworth crouches down, lifts Maggie high up off the mat with a flex of her knees and a push from her left hand on her opponent’s hip, then spins around 180 degrees and forcefully deposits Connor’s head and shoulders into the canvas with a Lifting Side Slam that shakes the ring and brings the fans to their feet.
Camille is certain that she just scored a huge underdog victory, and without getting up from her slam, she immediately pivots into a cover and hooks the far leg for a pin.
The official slides to the mat nearby and counts out…
ONE!
TWO!
THR--
...before Maggie once again gets a shoulder up, albeit much less emphatically than before and with only half a second to spare.
Cosworth releases the pin and pushes up into a kneeling position with an incredulous look on her face. That was about as hard as she could slam someone without her Ninety Seconds of Awesome, and she was having far too much fun to psyche herself up into the dark and desperate mental headspace necessary to trigger that overwhelming adrenaline rush. Seeing that brute force wasn’t going to get it done, Camille gets up and begins to set Maggie up for a Figure Four Leglock.
As astonishing as she is when performing aerial attacks and slams, Cosworth is just as awkward when it comes to mat submissions. It’s a bumbling, clumsy attempt as she first seems indecisive about which leg to use to form the crook of the 4, and then it takes three tries for her to step over and bend Maggie’s right knee into the correct shape. When Camille finally cinches in the hold -- with Connor’s right ankle folded over left knee, her left shin in the hole of the 4, and her right calf over Maggie’s right ankle -- the FAWNatics give her a polite round of applause.
Breathing a subtle sigh of relief that she managed to complete the Figure Four Leglock before Connor fully came to her senses, Camille props her hands against the mat and raises her hips to put pressure on the submission. The pain in her knees instantly brings Maggie’s senses back to full clarity and she instinctively sits up with a hiss of pain.
“What do you say, Maggie? Do you need me to call it?” Carpenter asks.
“Are you kidding me, Al?!” Connor grunts as she swivels her head around to get a sense of her location within the ring.
The closest ropes were in the direction of her head. They were out of immediate arm’s reach, but Maggie was certain that she could drag herself over before the pain of the Figure Four Leglock became unbearable. More importantly, she saw that Camille was more or less dead center in the ring and quite far from any of the ropes.
With her plan in mind, Connor begins to roll her body left and right. The twisting and torquing motion exacerbates the pain in her knees, but Maggie notices that her less experienced opponent is having trouble maintaining her balance.
“Hey! No! Stop it! No! Noooo!” Cosworth cries out as one final twist rolls the two wrestlers onto their stomachs and reverses the pressure on the Figure Four Leglock. “OW! OWW! AAHHHHH!”
Camille desperately tries to release the hold, only to come to the dreadful realization that she never learned how to untangle her own legs from the reversed configuration. She crawls for the ropes instead, only to find that she’s barely making any progress because at the same time Maggie is counteracting her efforts by crawling in the opposite direction.
“AHHHHH!! AHHHHHHHH!!!” Cosworth shrieks before stuffing her left forearm into her mouth. “Mmmmrrrgghh! Mmmrrrggggghhhhh!!!”
“Say the word and I’ll call for the bell,” Al offers.
“Mmmmmrrrrggghhh!” is the only answer, which for the time being, Carpenter assumes is a ‘No.’
After nearly a minute of crawling yields negligible forward progress towards the ropes, Camille is seemingly at her wit’s end. Her right hand flattens and hovers six inches above the mat as if to signal her surrender at any moment. Rather than tap the mat, however, Cosworth makes a fist and punches the canvas as hard as she can. She nearly breaks her own wrist in the process, but the sudden recoil is enough to roll the two wrestlers onto their backs once more. Not wanting to risk Maggie reversing the submission again, Camille immediately relinquishes the hold and scampers to the ropes, gasping with relief.
She lies on the mat and massages the worst of the pain from her thighs and knees before using the ropes to haul herself up. After all the wasted effort in trying to escape her own Figure Four Leglock gone wrong, she is sweating heavily and laboring to catch her breath. Cosworth turns away from the ropes and sees that Maggie is upright and looking at her expectantly from the other side of the ring.
“See, that’s why you gotta beef up your ground game,” Connor advises.
“It’s… uhh… a work in progress,” Camille replies.
Yoona had been harping on her to improve her mat wrestling and submissions for weeks and she kept putting it off because she felt it was boring, though she had to begrudgingly admit both her girlfriend and her current opponent were correct.
Maggie gives a tug on her top, adjusting it more for comfort than any worry of wardrobe malfunction. The Blue Chipper asks, “You all warmed up now? Ready to go for real?”
Camille’s jaw drops, she thinks the former champ must be trying to mess with her. The newcomer decides to play in cool and answers, “Sure.”
The Alpha Athlete shoots across the ring, Cam scoots left to avoid, but she’s off balance and when Connor twists she catches Cosworth, one hand over her shoulder and then the other hand grabs the back of Cam’s right thigh. The rookie only has a moment to realize she’s caught before Maggie lifts Camille with ease and falls backwards tossing the rookie over her head to a hard landing thanks to the T-Bone Suplex.
T-BONE SUPLEX:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=mkwJ5oECHFc
When Cam comes to a stop she arches her back and reaches behind to rub her spine, but Maggie is already up and coming on. The former champ bends down hooking her arms under the rookie’s and lifts her back to her boots. Camille thinks she needs to move and tries turning to head for the ropes, but Connor grabs the hem of her t-shirt and pulls her right back into the waiting arms of the Varsity Vixen.
“You really need better ring gear.” Mags observes as she slips her hands under Cosworth’s arms and then laces her fingers behind the rookie’s head locking in a full nelson. Cam only grunts as her chin is pushed down to her bosom, and then she feels herself lifted and pulled back as Maggie sits out. The younger athlete eeps as her backside is slammed into the thinly padded plywood by the Keister Bomb.
Maggie locks her legs around the thinner woman and squeezes, as she pushes on the full nelson as well. Camille lets out a pained grunt, Carpenter kneeling out in front tries to see Cam’s face, but Connor has it pushed down. Al asks, “You want to give up Cam? I’ll call for the bell.”
It’s the Blue Chipper that answers, “She’s fine Al, just realizing that she needs to work on wrestling.”
Al shakes his head, “I need her to say something Maggie.”
The Alpha Athlete decides that there is no need for that, twisting her hips she releases the Full Nelson. Cam gasps as she’s rolled to her back with her legs waving above her and Maggie’s strong legs around her waist. The unusual pin is Maggie’s attempt to see how Cosworth reacts.
ONE…
TWO…
THRNOOO!
Cam twists her entire body and kicks her legs to roll herself and Maggie over and pulls her shoulders off the canvas. The Alpha Athlete unlocks her legs and returns to her boots while Cam tries getting to all fours. When the Blue Chipper palms the sides of her head Cosworth realizes that the veteran has started into her kick just like a running and Cam doesn’t seem to be able to keep up.
Connor hooks the rookie’s arm and puts her other arm into Cam’s chest pushing her back into the ropes. Maggie sets Cosworth up and then snaps a chop across the new girl’s chest before sending her across the ring. Camille thinks Connor has opened a window for her, sending her into the ropes will let Cam use her speed and leaping ability again. The fans see Maggie head to the ropes on the right, lining up another Decleater for the rookie.
Both hit the ropes at the same time, Cam though isn’t sure what she has planned for her return, while Maggie has her already in the crosshairs. Cosworth gasps when she turns and sees what’s awaiting her, and thinks she out leaped Maggie before she can do it again. The rookie though doesn’t take into account the Alpha Athlete has worked that in, as instead of coming straight across she’s now angled at the FAWN newbie. Cam is just about to leap when Maggie’s shoulder plows into her sending the young girl flying sideways.
Landing in a crumpled heap Cosworth’s eyes are wide with panic as she can’t get air into her lungs after the Decleater. Maggie trots over and grabs the brunette by the ankles spinning her into position as the Blue Chipper hops onto the middle turnbuckle and steps up to the penthouse. Maggie rises to her full height and leaps into the void, if Cam would have been able to see it from another angle she would have to take back some of comments from earlier. The angle she is at, the fact that her body is not obeying commands, and her watering eyes make everything a blur for her first taste of Connor’s finisher, the Gymnasty, when the former champ crashes down across her body after the impressive 360 splash.
Cosworth’s head and legs jackknife around the intruding brunette and Maggie grabs one leg before it can fall back to the canvas. Al is down on the mat quickly and only needs one look before starting the count.
ONE…
TWO…
THREE!
The Cold November Pain crowd counted along with Carpenter’s call and then breaks into uproars of cheers. Maggie drops the limb and climbs to her feet before moving over to the center of the ring, business-like waiting for Al to come raise her hand.
The ring announcer makes it official, “YOUR WINNER, BY PINFALL…THE ALPHA ATHLETE…MAGGIE CONNOR!”
The fans cheer again as Maggie smiles and waves to them. After acknowledging all four sides of the ring Connor steps away from Carpenter and walks over to her still foggy opponent. Maggie takes a knee near Cam looking down on the rookie.
“Get up,” Maggie orders
Still having problems breathing Cam wheezes, “Wh-wh-what?”
Connor looking stern orders again, “Get up, and let your fans know that you’ll be back.”
Cosworth has a bit of trouble understanding the Blue Chipper’s meaning, groaning she wipes her eyes and coughs as her lungs are still not working properly. Maggie though grows impatient and grabs Cam by the arm pulling her up.
Once up on rubbery legs Maggie says, “Breathe, you’ll be ok. Now smile and wave to the people buying all your merch.”
Camille is almost robotic in her actions, but does as she’s told. Maggie puts an arm around the other girl’s shoulders and leans in saying, “Losses are never fun, but they aren’t the end. Keep working you’ll get there.”
Maggie starts to turn to go, but then adds, “And for the love of God, get some real ring gear.”
Maggie winks and gives Cam’s backside a swat as she drops down and rolls under the bottom rope as Cam is left wondering while the FAWNatics applaud her performance even if she did come up short at Cold November Pain. The rookie has a lot to go over after facing one of FAWN’s top competitors.