August 13, 2023
Rio De Janeiro, Brazil
[Open on Mercedes Vargas as the camera pulls back to show the SCW Hall of Famer pacing backstage long after Climax Control 370 has left the airwaves. There are a few promotional posters of the Violent Conduct supercard plastered on a wall.]
Mercedes Vargas: If anyone else did what they did to Christian Underwood or Mark Ward, how much do you want to bet they'd get their walking papers via FedEx?
[SCWrestling.net cameras caught up with Mercedes as she was bewildered after the events that went down tonight.]
Mercedes Vargas: Forget that I lost tonight, forget that Kim won't make the supercard. Let’s get one thing straight: Zoey and Tempest should be fired tonight. And before anybody gets the idea that I'm looking for an easy way out of this match, I'm not.
[A pause is met as Mercedes shakes her head and breathes a small sigh before looking back at the camera.]
Mercedes Vargas: Zoey is not better than me. Tempest got lucky. Whether she calls herself *using air quotes* extreme or not, she is just out of her element.
Cameraman: Do you think tonight was the last we could be seeing Zoey and Tempest in SCW?
Mercedes Vargas: What other punishment is there? You saw what they did out there, the whole world did! The whole of Brazil!
Cameraman: We’re two weeks away from Violent Conduct and the Queen for a Day. If Zoey and Tempest are hypothetically fired, do you think you will face new opponents or will the match be cancelled?
Mercedes Vargas: Don't know, don't care. I'm just glad I won't have to hear Christian tear into Zoey and Tempest in the morning.
[***Fade.***]
~~~
Blog: Almighty Firesemana del 11 al 19 de agosto de 2023 This has been a roller coaster year for me. When I'm good, I'm really good, but when I'm bad, I'm terrible. My thoughts on my last match with Tempest? You mean other than the fact that she's partly responsible for the most heinous act committed in SCW history? Heat of the moment? That remains to be seen. The other thing is, Tempest and Zoey were trying to send a message. Somehow that doesn’t surprise me.
Well, message sent, message received. I'll let SCW management deal with that. Me? I'm getting ready to make history in Mexico. It's going to be my greatest win to date.
What? I won at Violent Conduct last year, I plan on winning again this year, whether I have opponents to face or not. Because, let's face it, everyone and their grandma knows that Zoey and Tempest should be gone from SCW. They shouldn't even bother booking a trip to Mexico because the CC 370 in Rio should have been their last match. Conventional wisdom says I don't stand a chance because both Zoey and Tempest have beaten me in the past. Statistics say my chances are be 33 percent in winning next Sunday, but my confidence is 100 percent that I'll be grabbing that briefcase.
A lot of the Bombshells in the lockerroom think that they know me pretty damn well, and saying how I’m all about two things – counting the many championships in my career, and my huge ego, but really, the only thing they should be counting on is yours truly overcoming the odds just like I have in my career. I’m going to show Zoey and Tempest that underestimating me will be their biggest mistake. And trust me on this one, they're going to get everything that’s coming to them next Sunday. I can promise you that.
Long before they knew and long after they remember.~~~
MERCEDES: If I'm feeling bitchy, I'm still suffering from jet lag, so you might want to think twice about asking anything because I'm going to be spending more time in the air before I'm through.
IRMA: You look like a glass-eyed junkie standing in the middle of Midtown on a weekday. You sure you're going to be alright?
[Six o'clock in the morning. Mercedes reaches for the coffee pot and pours another cup. Black. Her third. Because the difference between a good day and a bad day is caffeine.]
MERCEDES: Ask me after this cup.
IRMA: Do you take anything seriously?
MERCEDES: My parents said I could be anything, I choose caffeinated.
[Mercedes glances at her Twitter feed. The silent shake of her head clues anyone that what she was looking at was not good. She looks up from her smartphone in disgust.]
MERCEDES: You have GOT to be kidding me.
[Irma raises an eyebrow and gives Mercedes a confused look.]
IRMA: What? Is your flight cancelled?
MERCEDES: No, my match is still happening, sadly.
[Mercedes has a defeated look on her face.]
MERCEDES: I just reached my Twitter limit. God, I hate this Elon guy. Ugh!
[***Fade***]
~~~
Present Day ♦ S A N T A M O N I C A, C A L I F O R N I A[REC•][As the scene opens, we’re met with Mercedes Vargas reading a book while sitting with her legs draped over the arms of a wicker chair. A week removed from the go-home show in Brazil and less than a week to go before she has to fly out to Mexico for a high-stakes showdown against Zoey Lukas and Tempest for Violent Conduct in the hopes of climbing the ladder and seizing the prized Queen for a Day briefcase, which guarantees the winner gaining control of Climax Control on the next show following the supercard, there was much to be had from the week that was. Her hair is styled in messy curls, adorned with a red flower, and she's in jeans and a tube top. As if on cue, she closes the book, sets it aside, looks into the camera with anticipation.]
"Climax Control 370, the go-home show to Violent Conduct was pretty wild, huh?
"Now, I don't know if there was something in the air in Rio that night, or maybe something in the water, but what happened this past Sunday is a night that will live in infamy. I thought Zoey and Tempest would be better than that then do something that will likely get them suspended or even fired from Sin City Wrestling. M
"I want to believe that, I want to tell you that, but here we are. Zoey and Tempest actually went through with putting Christian Underwood, the co-owner of Sin City Wrestling, the sometimes General Manager of the company we all work for, through a table."
[She turns away briefly, eyes tight and getting a look of disbelief on her face. Slightly looking down while shaking her head, she looks up again in earnest, holding up her hands innocently.]
"I know Christian isn't the easiest person to get along with - even we had our disagreements at times - but this doesn't make it right. Do you know what could have happened to Christian? He could have suffered a back injury or a concussion, maybe both! What gives some of these Bombshells the audacity to do these heinous acts, I'll never know. I mean, Seleana Zdunich slapped Christian for no good reason. Christian firing her that night wouldn't have hurt the women's division. I honestly hoped for her wife's sake that Seleana could find something else she's marginally good at, and earn a living, but I guess Christian has a soft spot for the Swede idiot because even though she's proven she's on the fringe of the Bombshells Division, she's still getting undeserved opportunities when she should be the gate keeper opening shows against the new competition."
[A smile tugs at her lips for the first time as she waves her hand around airily.]
"But then again, karma must be a bigger bitch than I am because Seleana is a raging dumpster fire this year. Have you seen her win-loss record? Oh my God! Pathetic!"
[She throws her head back and laughs.]
"I'm willing to bet there were a few smiles that broke out in the locker room when Christian was put through the table. In the days after CC 370, I hope Christian actually goes through with suspending Zoey and Tempest for putting an authority figure in harms way and just declare that I won Queen for a Day by outright. Sounds like a smart business decision to me. Choosing a two-time SCW Hall of Famer over someone who is selfish at best and dangerous at worst and another one who will end up as a flash in the pan in the next two to three years? This is an EASY decision."
[Her mouth widens, the corners lifting heavenward. The idea did sound pretty tempting though.]
"Don't get me wrong, I would love nothing more than for the Queen for a Day to happen, it's one of the biggest matches at Violent Conduct. Now, it may not even happen because two idiots only cared about beating each other up instead of someone else's safety.
"Getting to Mexico is nothing for me since I live in Los Angeles. Tijuana is five hours tops; Cancun is seven. Either would be better than flying to Yucatan. That being said, I have my own match to worry about next weekend."
[Clicking her tongue partly out of dismay and partly out of the sheer wonder of it all, Mercedes' smile faded as she briefly shook her head, a look of disappointment is there too.]
"Now, if people want to compare victories and look past me as a threat, by all means continue. Because now you've put yourself in a bind that I don't think you'll escape from."
[Mercedes pauses, taking time to wipe away a strand of hair from her eyes. For some reason, she remains eerily calm, despite her voice raising slightly.]
"Tell you what, Tempest, if you win next weekend, congratulations. If you win, Zoey, you most definitely earned it. But if either of you don't, well, you can't say I didn't warn you. I know how good you both are. The matches I've seen of you both proves it. But come Violent Conduct, despite what anyone else tells you, I'm not enhancement talent, far from it.
"It's necessary to take risks in order to achieve something. So, I'll take this dare, because I've got nothing to fear from either of you. I'll take this match, because, in the end, she who dares, wins. So, I will take your advice. I'm walking away from this match...Walking away as Queen for a Day."
[With that, the scene fades on Mercedes' confident smirk before she offers a heart gesture with her hands before breaking it in two.]
[***Fade***]