Headlines on all the main wrestling smark pages read Misty has Vixen’s number and soon her Bombshell title or words to that effect. Wrestleclassic didn’t help either. With her confidence at an all-time low, Vixen must be wondering if it was worth it.
Was she the loser everyone thought she was or would she choke like all other title matches she has had except for the extremely lucky matches winning first the Bombshell Roulette title and then more recently, the Bombshell title itself.
Questions race through the Bombshell champion’s head making her wonder if it was time to just give it all up. Maybe just sit back, offer Spike her services as a manager and step away from the ring and active competition…
Nah…that just wouldn’t be Vixen’s style now would it?
Standing on a patch of muddy slush and looking at a wall, Vixen slowly takes a breath, her exhale fogging in the early morning light. Dressed in a pair of fatigues and combat boots, Vixen reaches up and pulls her hair back into a ponytail, the last twist of which holds her hair in a loose bun. Turning her back to the wall, she begins to jog away from it, heading into the military obstacle course where the wall is the final obstacle.
Alone with her thoughts, Vixen makes it to the first hurdle, a log that she must shimmy across. Familiar skills come into play as she quickly bumps her way across the hurdle. Vixen continues to set a slow pace further, slowly working her breathing into a steady beat before quickening her stride slightly. As she runs, her thoughts turn back to when she first tried this kind of physical training.
It was too early for her…way too early. And COLD!
“All right, it’s time for you recruits to begin your training here on the course. You have ten minutes to finish this course and we are going easy on you,” shouts a man in military fatigues who is pacing in front of a squad of people who, although they were wearing matching fatigues, looked nothing like soldiers as they slouched and stare at the course laid out below. “GO!” exclaims the leader as he steps out of the way.
The recruits shuffle out of the starting line, a harangue from the leader following them, commanding them to move faster and reminding them that they only had ten minutes. Among the recruits, Vixen or Private Lefebvre moved, stumbling sleepily along the trail. Beside her, an out of breath recruit can be heard to curse as they stumble and land face first in the dirt. Vixen stops but is bullied along as the leader comes forward and starts to yell at the downed man.
“Merde,” she mutters as she begins to run again, her breathing shallow as she gets to the first obstacle and eyes it warily. The log is ice covered and the first recruits are trying to do the obvious thing and use it as a balance beam to get across only to fall and slip off. Vixen moves closer to it and then no even trying, she straddles the log and moves across it, the cold of the ice dampening her fatigues. Making it across, she smiles only to have that wiped off her face by another officer yelling at her to move as she stands looking at the log with satisfaction.
With precious time lost enjoying her victory over the obstacle, Vixen picks up the pace even more, her breathing becoming ragged and strained as she fights through the rest of the course. Just before the final obstacle, Vixen can no longer fight the rise of bile in her throat and stumbles to the side as she gags and throws up from the exertion. After wasting more time as she struggled with the final dry heaves Vixen looks up to find the wall as her final obstacle.
Slowly shaking her head, she runs hard at it, intent to fling herself over it and finish. The sprint to the wall sends the burn of chlorination to mix with the vile taste of bile in her mouth as she jumps and grasps at the top of the wall, her feet moving to scramble against the wood to climb it. Unable to pull herself up, she hangs there, her head against the wet, cold wood as tears of frustration drop silently down her cheek.
“What the hell do you think you are doing soldier?” yells a voice right by her ear causing her fingers to let go and sending her to a heap at the feet of the officer. “GET UP!” he barks.
“I can’t,” Vixen says, tears still glistening on her face. “It’s too hard.”
“GET THE HELL UP!” he repeats as the tone of his voice resonates with something in Vixen and she forces herself up to stand there in front of the wall at attention. “Who are you soldier?” the officer asks.
“Private Lefebvre,” Vixen replies.
“Pardon?”
Vixen inhales, the chlorine sting fading swiftly. “PRIVATE LEFEBVRE SIR!” she roars.
“Well Private, why did you tell me that you CAN’T climb this wall?” questions the officer as he leans forward.
“The wall is too big of an obstacle sir,” she replies, sliding a glance at the officer who has set his lips in a straight line.
“So your answer to that is to give up private?” he responses questioningly. “Seems to me, that is what makes it a challenge for you.” Vixen nods only to be reprimanded by the officer leaning once more to scream into her ear. “I can’t hear your head shake private.”
“Yes sir,” she replies with one more glance at the officer who has circled her. “It is a big challenge for someone like me.”
“We don’t ever give up private. This obstacle is only an obstacle,” he states as he turns her to face it. “When we are done with you, that challenge will be nothing to you. VanDoos don’t accept defeat. VanDoos rise to the challenge.”
To Vixen’s surprise, the man moves to the base of the wall and motions her to step forward. “You know we don’t accept failure but that doesn’t mean we will let you fail, either the regiment or the forces nor,” he says as he laces his fingers together. “fail yourself”
“Sir,” Vixen questions as he motions for her to come forward again. Moving slowly, she steps towards the officer.
“There is nothing wrong with asking for help or getting support,” he says as he unlaces his fingers then slaps her leg. “Today is your first day at this so I am going to give you a piece of advice that I got from the man that taught me. Don’t worry about not being able to do it right away but keep your eye on the prize and use whatever support you have. Now, put your foot on here.” He wiggles the stirrup his hands have created.
Vixen braces her hands on his shoulders and gingerly puts her foot into the cupped hands only to feel her body boosted upwards. She barely has time to grab the wall and throw herself over but she manages to land on her feet. The officer comes around the wall to yell at her once more. “Just because you got help doesn’t mean you stop private. You have a course to finish…GO GO GO!”
Once she gets to the finish, she lines up with the other recruits, still breathing heavily. The order to dismiss is heard as the squad disperses and the officer motions for Vixen to join him. On the walk back to the barracks, the officer continues to speak.
“No obstacle should scare you private. But don’t take obstacles too easy either or it will rise to bite your ass,” he says with a bit of a smirk. In the army, you will have all the support you need as well as all the skills to do it yourself. We don’t want you to rely on it but you won’t ever be let down by your support either.”Vixen approaches the wall, her speed increasing slightly as she grabs at the top, her body moving to propel her up the wall. Getting to the top of it, she straddles the pinnacle instead of throwing herself to the other side. Taking in the course, she smiles in remembrance of the first time she had done it herself.
She had kept pushing and pushing, each week, fighting to be better, get higher on the wall. Finally, in her last few days of basic training, she faced the wall and conquered it. Only this time, she knew just what she needed to do.
Now she wasn’t the slowest in the run group and her time on the obstacle course was one of the better ones however, it was still the wall that gave her the most problems. But not today, not when she was geared up and ready to excel.
The officer barked out the order to go and the group made their way through the obstacles, tackling them as if they weren’t even there. At the finish it was up and over the wall. Most people thought nothing of it but under her breath, Vixen talked to it like it was a physical person.
“You won’t beat me anymore,” she mumbled as she jumped, catching the top and yanking herself upward, throwing her feet over the top and then dropping to the other side. Awed by the fact she had scaled the wall, Vixen stopped and put a hand out towards it only to be met with a boot to the shoulder from the next person passing the obstacle.
The officer moves towards Vixen who is lying on the ground, wind knocked out of her. “What is your major malfunction private?” he yells in her direction. Scrambling to her feet, she salutes and replies back with a ‘nothing sir’. The officer gives her the once over and motions her towards the finish without another word. Even the reprimand could not remove the smile of victory on her face. Still straddling the wall, Vixen looks down to see someone approaching the course. Suddenly, she smiles wider and tosses her leg over to drop in front of the woman who looks distinctly out of place there in the slush and mud.
“Ms Mountains, to what do I owe this honour,” she teases as she clasps her hands behind her back and smiles.
“You are going to owe me big time Vixen,” she replies with a look of disgust. “The least you could have done for me was arrange this to be somewhere dry you know.”
Vixen has the good graces to look ashamed for a moment as she holds out her hands in apology. “I know I should have but I needed to prove a point to someone and if truth be told, to myself as well,” she says. “I really want to send a message to someone and the best place to do that, was here in my proving grounds so to speak.”
Rocky Mountains nods as she rolls her eyes. “I guess then we better get this over and done with. Now Vixen, how are feeling knowing that soon you will be facing Misty who has basically come out and said that she is going to beat you because well, she has always beaten you.”
Vixen grits her teeth at the comment but then smiles. “You know, I was feeling pretty down about it. I mean who wouldn’t when faced with the truth.” Vixen nods sagely then continues. “I mean sure, Misty has kept saying that she is going to beat me. That she is the dominant bombshell in the division. Bravo, you have the ability to say that and back it up.”
“I am sensing a ‘but’ here,” answers Ms Mountains.
“Not so much a ‘but’ than a however,” replies Vixen. “And that however is when you look across the ring at me and my title, you are starting to underestimate me or overestimate yourself. Yes, you have beaten me in the past, I will freely admit that. But…I mean…however, things change and times change and the fact that you beat me constantly is going to change at Blaze of Glory. Once I realized that, my down turned right around and now I am feeling pretty good about this match coming up.”
Ms Mountains sniffs as she lifts first one foot then the other, stamping slightly which sends slush flying. “Okay, so you are feeling pretty good about it that is great. Right now all I am feeling or NOT feeling as the case may be is my feet. Tell me why you have me out here in this god forsaken hell hole?”
“This is where it all began for me,” replies Vixen with a wave of her hand. “This was my second great obstacle in my life, this wall right here.” Vixen moves to pat the wall. “I was seventeen at the time, a raw recruit in the military forced to enlist to save myself jail time. God I was a cocky idiot until I faced this wall. And the first time I went up against it…it defeated me. But I came back again and again and then one day, I conquered it and I never looked back.”
Rocky Mountains glares disbelievingly at Vixen. “Are you equating Misty to a WALL?!?”
“No, I am not equating her to a wall, I am just using the allegory of the fact that at first this wall beat me,” says Vixen patiently. “That this wall almost broke me. Just like Misty is so fond of telling everyone and their brother that she does to me. And that is quite fine by me. See, I know from experience, hardship makes you work all the more and defeat forces you to push to victory. Just like when Misty talks and talks and puts me down. All that is doing is making me work harder to keep my title. Making me push harder to scale that ‘wall’ and succeed. And that is precisely what I plan to do at Blaze of Glory.”
“Good good, now can we please get inside where I might find a latte and warmth?” begs Ms Mountains as she again stamps her feet and wraps her arms around herself trying to pull what little warmth her jacket can give her.
Vixen can see the misery that Rocky is suffering and moves towards the reporter to guide her out of the area. “You haven’t lived until you have had a Tim Horton’s French vanilla latte.”
The noisy ‘yum’ from Ms Mountains makes Vixen smile as the pair of them leaves the obstacle course. On the wall is an image of Misty with boot prints all over her face as the scene fades out.
“Mommy doesn’t like you does she?” asks a small voice from behind her as Vixen leans down, the open case of a dvd in one hand and the disc in the other. Straightening, Vixen turns to the little girl sitting on the couch, a big bowl of popcorn beside her and a small black cat curled up nearby.
“What makes you say that Eden?” answers Vixen with a questioning look. Moving to sit on the couch, Vixen sits back and slightly turns to the little girl. Eden looks at Vixen and then shrugs. “Mommy just gets very angry when anyone talks about you and Daddy.”
Vixen puts an arm around the girl and hugs her close. “Don’t you worry about it Eden. Mommy and I have our differences but that is work. Outside of wrestling, I don’t know what she thinks of me.”
“I can show you what she thinks,” offers Timmy who is sitting nearby with his own bowl of snacks. “But I don’t think that,” he says with a nod at Eden, “should see what it is.” Getting to his feet, he motions towards the door and leaves the room. Vixen reaches for the remote and begins the movie. On the screen, the Little Mermaid opening can be seen. Vixen nudges Eden who is focused on the Disney movie. Leaving the girl engrossed in her favourite movie, Vixen follows Timmy out of the room.
Once she meets him in the other room, she notices he has his phone open on Youtube as a video shows Misty at the meet and greet with a man. The conversation is staticky but still mostly understandable. Vixen can’t believe what she is hearing. Under her breath, she mutters, “broken record much…”
“Whatcha say?” Timmy asks.
“Just commenting about how the more things change, the more they stay the same,” admits Vixen with a sigh as Misty appears to attack the man. Background noises can be heard with comments like ‘DAMN’ and ‘Oh sh*t’. Vixen only shakes her head as Timmy presses stop and closes the browser on his phone. “I can’t believe that she did that,” Vixen comments as she moves to the fridge and opens it to pull out a pair of bottles of ice tea.
“So yeah, Misty hates you,” Timmy drawls as he reaches for the bottle of ice tea Vixen holds out to him. “But don’t let that get to you, because that just might make her win the title. And I know that ain’t what you want.”
Vixen smiles, putting her arm around Timmy in a half hug as she hears the song “Part of your World” come on the television. The pair move back into the room with Eden, Vixen snuggling down on the couch with her only to have her cuddle up close.
“So did Timmy show you that video of Mommy fighting with that man?” Eden asks without looking at Vixen who quickly looks at Timmy who holds his hands up to show he was innocent of doing anything to tell Eden. The little girl giggles as she looks up at Vixen. “Don’t worry, Daddy and I saw it on the news,” she adds.
Vixen breaths a silent sigh of relief as she leans back, feeling Eden cuddle in closer and lay her head on Vixen’s shoulder as she watches the movie. Timmy continues to listen to his game as he plays and Vixen relaxes. Fighting back a yawn, Vixen lets her eyes close slightly, not seeing the matching yawn from Eden. Looking at the clock, Vixen decides that it was time to get the kids to bed but when she suggests it, both argue to remain awake. Timmy justifying it by saying he was in the middle of a tough game and Eden pointing to the television screen and saying that Ariel was her FAVOURITE Disney princess. Outnumbered, Vixen nods and then snuggles deeper on the couch with Eden who once again lets her head drop onto Vixen’s shoulder.
That was where Spike found them half an hour later, snuggled up on the couch fast asleep, Eden’s head resting by Vixen’s as both females were covered by the throw blanket off Vixen’s couch back. Spike moved further into the room looking for Timmy and finding him in Vixen’s kitchen eating a piece of cold pizza.
“Boring movie?” Spike wonders as he motions at the two on the couch.
“Nah, they were watching Eden’s ‘favourite’ movie,” says Timmy who chuckles. “Eden passed out first then Vixen wasn’t too far behind her.” Timmy finishes off the pizza and then turns to Spike. “Dad…do you think that Vixen will be able to hold on to her title or” he starts to say before running a hand through his ruffled hair.
Spike nods as he puts a hand on Timmy’s shoulder. “Don’t let Vixen hear you wonder about that,” Spike says with a serious look on his face. “For someone as tough as her, sometimes she doesn’t have that much confidence. I just wish that she wouldn’t worry so much about Misty. I have told her everything she needs to know and trust me, with half the stuff that Vixen seems to do, Misty isn’t going to stand a chance in the ring with my girl.”
“Your girl huh,” teases Timmy. “Isn’t that getting to be a bit serious there pops?”
Spike ruffles his son’s hair at the teasing. Turning back to the living room, he moves to pick up Eden and makes to carry her into her bedroom. Depositing her on the bed, he tucks her in only to be stopped by Eden’s voice. “Daddy won’t let Mommy hurt Vixen because Daddy knows I likes Vixen,” she seems to be saying, still asleep but assuring someone in her dreams that it won’t happen. Spike smiles and leans down to kiss his daughter. Walking to the door, he moves back to the living room and sits on the couch, leaning against Vixen which makes her open her eyes and smile sleepily.
“Hey you,” she says to Spike before a yawn escapes her as she arches and stretches, waking slightly.
“Hey yourself,” he replies as he lets his lips move against hers in a soft kiss. Letting her arms move to wrap around Spike’s neck, Vixen melts into the kiss. Suddenly a snort of disgust from the side breaks them apart.
“Geez, get a room!” exclaims Timmy. “Man, I think I am scarred for life.”
The couple giggle at the melodramatics of the teen. “I thought we already had one,” answers Spike with a waggle of his eyebrows which makes Vixen giggle. Another snort of disgust causes Spike to chuckle as Timmy mutters and leaves the room.
Sitting up, Spike holds out a hand for Vixen who puts her hand in his and allows him to pull her off the couch. The pair slowly make their way into the hallway as the scene fades out.
The wrestling ring is getting its final adjustments for Blaze of Glory. Vixen is standing there wearing a hoodie over her ring gear as she gets into the zone for the match that later tonight could see her lose her title to Misty or could see her end the curse that is the losing streak that she has when she faces Misty. Sighing, she spins slowly only to find a cameraman filming her.
“Could you help me,” he asks as he tries to focus the camera. “I just need to get some tape down so I know the camera’s working.”
Sitting on the ring apron, Vixen nods as she puts her hands into her hoodie pockets and leans back against the ropes. “Sure, what would you like?” she asks.
“Why don’t you talk about your match that is happening later. I am sure that they may want a soundbyte or something from you for the show.”
The smile on Vixen’s face gives her a look of confidence as she thinks about what she wants to say. “Misty has an opportunity tonight,” she begins, “an opportunity to make history as the first every three time Bombshell champion in Sin City Wrestling. I certainly do wish her luck with that because you see, there is only one problem with her winning tonight and that is the fact that she is facing me in the ring and I am not going to let that woman have my title. She claims that after tonight, my soul will be hers however when the dust settles in the ring and the bell is rung, it isn’t going to be Misty’s arm raised.” Tossing back her hair, Vixen crosses her legs, warming to the subject.
“Misty, you know what. The past is the past and that is where it belongs. You see, I have decided to live in the now and look to the future whereas you can’t let go of the past. I see it time and again, you have nothing but selfpraise that you were everything I am now but in the past and before me. Bravo,” states Vixen. “You can’t let go of the past and even now, are more than likely jealous that I have everything that you tossed aside or gave away.”
“Whoa, like that is harsh,” states the cameraman.
“Harsh but the truth,” answers Vixen. “She talks about how she didn’t want Spike, how he was nothing to her. But now that he has moved on in his life, what has happened but Misty can’t let go and uses every trick in the book to keep him in her claws. And I am pretty sure that it just twists in her stomach that he wants nothing to do with her but she can’t help but continue to try with all her might to maintain some hold on him.” Vixen shakes her head. “That cross you are bearing…you need to use the wood, build yourself a bridge and get over yourself.”
Vixen’s eyes light up, a smile crossing her face. “You talk all about how you know you are going to beat me, about how you are THE dominant bombshell in the division. Seems to me you are talking like that to try and get under my skin. And I will freely admit that you used to. But I made up my mind about something,” she says. “I have the support of Spike Staggs, a man that you desperately want back even though you won’t admit it. I have the New Xtremes and I have the Bombshell title. And tonight I have just the drive to see you suffer enough knowing that it is going to be my night. The night I end the curse that is your challenge that I haven’t overcome because tonight will be the night you will suffer the fall from grace or submit to the foxy dreams,” promises Vixen. “I am promising you this Misty, when push came to shove it was your underestimation of me that just pushed me to the edge and now I am ready to start a NEW Xtreme revolution in the Bombshell division here in SCW. I am ready to make you realize that there is a strong new desire to see you put in your place and that is flat on your back in the middle of the ring.”
The cameraman is about to stop filming when Vixen grabs the camera by the lens and brings the man closer still as she vividly glares into the lens. “Tonight Misty, the Vixen you face isn’t going to be the scared, unconfident bombshell that you have faced before. Tonight I am going to be your worst nightmare. I’m declaring war and if you think I am going to offer you any quarter or even a sliver of mercy, you have another thing coming!”
With that, she pushes the cameraman away and he lowers the camera. “Got it, thanks,” he says before backing away as Vixen hops down from the apron and then patting the man on his shoulder, she heads up the ramp and towards the backstage area as she whistles a tuneless little song.
“I am pretty sure that she is going to be giving Misty a run for her money,” the cameraman says to no one in particular as the image fades to black.
