SCENE ONE
NEW YEAR, NEW BEGINNINGS (PART I)
31/12/21, NEWCASTLE, ENGLAND
(OFF CAMERA)

*THUMP* *THUMP* *THUMP*
Was this what passed for music nowadays?

Staring down at her fifth pint of Tennants lager, Violetta de Luca found her eyes drawn to the large red “T” logo on the side of the glass. It felt good to focus on something, however briefly. The claptrap cacophany of sound masquerading as music that came from the speakers in the bar was doing her bleeding head in. And while the alcohol was slowly beginning to drown it out, the awful music was running a special duet with her sister; whom she was pretty sure had been talking without drawing breath for a solid twenty minutes. Come home for New Year, they said, it’ll be fun, they said. As her eyes left her pint and the big red “T”, she gradually zoned back in on whatever her younger sister was blithering on about.

JESS DE LUCA
..........so she’s got her white cotton panties in a bunch about what people will think, like what, am I some hulking ogre you don’t wanna be seen dead holding hands with? Like it’s 2021, I wanna wear those rainbow bands and live my best life, I don’t need to put up with her arse being so far in the closet she’s having a tea party with Mr. Tumnus...

Oh right, the recent breakup. It was actually amazing she could go on this long on the subject; though she could be repeating herself, she hadn’t actually been listening. Not tonight, not any of the various other rants she’d gone on over the holiday period. She didn’t resent her sister, persay; but she got so animated and passionate about everything, and it was incredibly tiring. KAIJU RAINBOW was passionate and animated as well, but that was a bit she did for the cameras, a persona. She could only imagine being that way 24/7 was bloody exhausting.

JESS DE LUCA
...........so she was like “fuck you”, and I was like “NO FUCK YOU!” So she spits beer in my face, and tells me to get fucked, and I’m all like... you’ll like this one... I’ve been trying for years, but I’ve been stuck dating YOUR FRIGID ARSE! Eh? EH? HEY! Are you even listening?!

Oops, that was my cue.

LETTA DE LUCA
Yeah, Carrie doesn’t put out. Nice burn, I guess.

JESS DE LUCA
Hmph. You’re no fun. Grumpyface.

Was that supposed to get a rise, a reaction out of her? Not even close.

LETTA DE LUCA
Isn’t it time we got back?

Jess smacked her palms down on the table.

JESS DE LUCA
It’s not even ten-o-clock yet! You really ARE NO FUN. You’re as miserable as Sturgeon, and her stupid arse is the reason we’re stuck over the border instead of partying in a civilized country.

Sure enough, Scottish first minister Nicola Sturgeon had banned Scottish holiday fraternizations due to the pandemic. Violetta had been quite pleased about the fact, figured she’d get some peace and quiet, but here she was, dragged to Newcastle-Upon-Tyne by her sister, and half the population of the Scottish lowlands as far as she could tell.

LETTA DE LUCA
You’re not very good at this whole “Scottish Nationalist” thing, are you? Talking shit on the SNP leader, dating an English woman for seven years, coming across the border to England to get pissed up because we can’t at home... for someone who hates the English so much, you sure stick your fingers in a lot of English pies.

This clearly wound her sister right up. Which was good, because that was the idea.

JESS DE LUCA
HEY FUCK YOU! I’m a modern day William Wallace. I have felt the cold, sickening taste of English uppityness. I know I want freedom.

Violetta couldn’t help but wonder if this was part of some great rallying speech she was planning, or whether she was just talking about her ex’s cooch. Knowing her sister, either option likely had equal viability.

LETTA DE LUCA
I don’t really get it.

Jess’s eyes narrowed.

JESS DE LUCA
Because I’m proud to be Scottish. You’re Scottish too, aren’t you proud of that fact?

LETTA DE LUCA
We’re also Sicilian.

JESS DE LUCA
HALF Sicilian.

LETTA DE LUCA
Yeah. And HALF Scottish.

This caused a growl from her younger sister.

JESS DE LUCA
Whatever. I hate going to Sicily, working for dad... it’s fucking shit.

Their dad was a small time promoter over there; he’d gone back after he split with their mum when Jess was little. He’d been their gateway into the business, but inbetween major jobs, they were supposed to go over there and help out.

LETTA DE LUCA
It’s not that bad.

JESS DE LUCA
My arse! We do all the ring assembly, wrestle three nights a week and don’t even get fucking paid by the cheap bastard. It’s all right for you, you’re his favourite, his precious seven-time fucking Sicilian Champion.

LETTA DE LUCA
You’ll get to the top one day, it’s all about paying your dues.

JESS DE LUCA
I’m nearly fucking thirty, I don’t need to pay a damn thing, he needs to pay me some damn money! Besides, I’m never gonna get to the top of the card when you’re up there, hogging all the praise and attention as bleeding usual.

Well... this seemed like as good a time as any to tell her.

LETTA DE LUCA
Jess... I’m not coming back with you to Sicily.

Jess looked confused.

JESS DE LUCA
Why? You’re the champion! Like... what the fuck?

Violetta shrugged.

LETTA DE LUCA
I got a job. Wrestling in Vegas. Major promotion. So I’m not coming back. I’ll be flying out to Nevada. So hey... maybe you can get that first Sicilian Championship while I’m gone.

JESS DE LUCA
ARSE!!!

The volume of this response caught Letta off guard, and she flinched a little. She hadn’t expected her to take it well, but...

LETTA DE LUCA
Yeah, Sin City Wrestling, it’s kind of a big deal.

JESS DE LUCA
No way, Sin City? You gotta get me a gig there! I can’t cope going back to Palermo. I’ve never got to base in Vegas!

LETTA DE LUCA
You based in Reno for a bit.

JESS DE LUCA
That’s the SHIT B-Tech version of Vegas! Please sis, you gotta put in a word for me!

LETTA DE LUCA
Look. I’m batting way above my recent history just getting myself in there. I’m in no position to start pushing for nepotism. Besides, dad needs you over in Sicily.

JESS DE LUCA
I don’t GIVE A FUCK! You can’t just leave me behind! We could form a tag team!

That sounded horrendous.

LETTA DE LUCA
Jess, calm down. I’m going to Vegas, to Sin City. And you are NOT coming with me. You’re always dragging me out to pubs, and doing things... I need to focus. I’ve been in the wilderness for a couple of years; this is my big opporunity to get my Stateside career back on track. I’ve conquered Europe, I’ve conquered Japan... North America is the final step.

Jess sighed, seeming somewhat defeated.

JESS DE LUCA
You know... I only dragged you out because I wanted you to be happy, right?

Happy? What did she mean by that?

LETTA DE LUCA
What?

JESS DE LUCA
When I was young, you were always so happy-go-lucky and confident. I admired you, looked up to you, wanted to be you. And then after what happened with Nick... everything changed. YOU changed.

Nick... she didn’t want to hear that name.

JESS DE LUCA
You’re grumpy. You’re miserable. You won’t date, you barely talk to anyone... I... I thought you’d get over it, but it’s been seven fucking years and still...

She sighed.

JESS DE LUCA
I just wanted to make you smile. I want my sister back.

It was an emotional, tear-jerking moment for sure. But Violetta felt... nothing. She hadn’t felt much of anything for seven years. Feelings hurt her. All the pain back then... the anguish, the frustration, the misery... and then she closed. She closed herself off to the world, to everyone. Even her own family. She had no friends. She had no lovers. All she had was her fighting training, a mild alcohol dependency... and the character she created, KAIJU RAINBOW. A woman who was everything she wasn’t. Strong. Confident. Assured. Funny. Maybe she was all those things once. But it was amazing how quickly life could beat the shit out of you.

LETTA DE LUCA
I’m sitting right here.

JESS DE LUCA
NO YOU’RE NOT! You’re a husk, a shell, a carapace!

LETTA DE LUCA
...Where did you learn the word carapace?

JESS DE LUCA
DAMMIT! You’re broken! I’ve tried for years to fix you and I can’t! Maybe you should go to Vegas, hopefully you find whatever it is you need to find because I can’t help you, clearly...

Jess wiped her eyes, she seemed on the verge of tears. Violetta knew she should feel something here, have some emotions, but nothing was forthcoming from inside. She sank her pint and stood up.

LETTA DE LUCA
I’m going to the bar, you want anything?

Jess really had started to cry now.

JESS DE LUCA
My sister back.

Violetta rolled her eyes.

LETTA DE LUCA
Will you settle for another rum and coke?

Her sister let out a horrible wail as Violetta sighed and sauntered across to the bar. She decided she’d take that as a “loose yes”.

But stuff like that... was exactly why emotions were overrated.

-----


SCENE TWO
NEW YEAR, NEW BEGINNINGS (PART II)
3/1/2022, GLASGOW AIRPORT
(OFF CAMERA)

Violetta had gotten done with her COVID checks, and was sitting in the airport waiting to board her flight, paying little attention to the people coming and going. She was there alone; no doubt Jess would have wanted to come, but that was why she lied to her, and said she wasn’t flying until Wednesday.

*RING RING*
She pulled her phone out, it was the number she’d been expecting. Well, too late for her to get here now.

*CLICK*

LETTA DE LUCA
Hey sis.

JESS DE LUCA
Hey, where the hell are you? Why is half your stuff gone?

LETTA DE LUCA
At Glasgow Airport. Due to board for Vegas in twenty minutes.

JESS DE LUCA
WHAT?! YOU LIED TO ME! You said you were leaving on Wednesday!

LETTA DE LUCA
Yep. Didn’t want you trying to come with me.

JESS DE LUCA
Shit... you’re such a bitch. I wanted to show you this in person.

LETTA DE LUCA
Show me what, exactly?

There was a pause, then a long sigh.

JESS DE LUCA
I... I’ll text you the link. Just... promise you’ll look at it, okay? I think it might mean something to you.

Violetta rolled her eyes. It was probably nonsense.

LETTA DE LUCA
Fine. I’ll look at it?

JESS DE LUCA
PROMISE?!

Violetta sighed.

LETTA DE LUCA
Yes, I promise.

JESS DE LUCA
Okay. I’ll send it now. You... have a good flight, okay? And call me when you get there?

LETTA DE LUCA
Sure, after I’ve spent two hours being abused by American airport security, I’ll get right on that.

JESS DE LUCA
You better. I... I’ll see you when I see you, I guess... bye Letta. I hope you find what you’re looking for.

Always with the weird abstract shit, she was.

LETTA DE LUCA
Yep. Bye.

She clicked the call off before Jess could start babbling on about something else that randomly popped into her head. She was about to put her phone away when...

*BEEP BEEP*

Oh right, the “link” she was supposed to look at. She almost felt like not bothering, but fine. Let’s see what it is. She tapped the link in the text, which took her to an article on the Wrestling Observer. She read the headline.

“SEX & VIOLENCE WRESTLING CLOSES ITS DOORS AFTER TWELVE YEARS”

That name... that place... the creation of Nick Flaherty. Wrestling promoter... and her ex-husband. Seven years ago, she’d left them both behind. It was a painful breakup... she’d never looked back once she moved past it all. Nick wasn’t even in charge of the company at that point, but she’d never watched another show. She didn’t know who was on the roster, who even owned the damn place. Was this supposed to bring something out of her? Garner some kind of reaction? She felt nothing other than sheer ambivalence. Just like every other day. Should she be happy? Sad? She didn’t feel one way or the other. Just like always. She didn’t even bother to read the article, swiping off and putting her phone away.

The past is the past, after all. No point looking back.

“PASSENGERS FOR FLIGHT 246 TO LAS VEGAS, PLEASE LINE UP TO BOARD THE PLANE.”

But the future? The future starts now. And maybe she would, as her sister put it, “find what she was looking for”.

Whatever the fuck that was.

-----


SCENE THREE
NEW YEAR, NEW BEGINNINGS (PART III)
6/1/2022, TWO BUCKS WRESTLING GYM, LAS VEGAS, NEVADA
(OFF CAMERA)

Arriving in Las Vegas, Violetta had surmised she needed a base camp. A lot of pro wrestlers would just flit from gym to gym, but Violetta had always been of a mind that having a settled base was a much smarter way of doing things. She’d looked around a couple places in Vegas, and had found this one: Two Bucks Wrestling gym. Very unassuming, unpretentious; maybe a bit run down, but Violetta wasn’t much of one for the fancypants way of things. This place may well do nicely. She started to look around, see if she could find the person in charge.

The gym had seen better days for sure, when? Probably couple or maybe ten presidents ago. To call it a dump would probably get you charged for insulting dumps. The there was a flashing neon light that read “OFFICE” the flickering of the sign made her wonder if it was supposed to do that or just faulty wiring, she tried the handle and the door creaked as it opened, what she saw next was a man holding open what looked like a skiin mag “MASSIVE JUGS” it read on the cover, he startles and stuffs tha mag to the top drawer.

BUCK
No new classes until Thursday!

Violetta blinked.

LETTA DE LUCA
Oh uh.. Hi! I’m not actually a rookie, I’m a professional wrestler already, new in town. I was looking for somewhere to set up a base camp, and I... uh... was wondering if I could do it here. Nice to meet you Mr... uh...?

He got up, extending a hand to her. A thick gold chain around his neck and both wrists, a sleeves tanktop and worn out jeans.

BUCK
Sterling Buck..

She looks at his hand, remembering what he had just been holding in one hand..wondering which hand was he offering to her the one holding the girly mag or..

LETTA DE LUCA
Yeah, maybe we don’t need to do that.

BUCK
Why? Oh right the pandemic and such..?

LETTA DE LUCA
..yeah, sure.

BUCK
I’m gonna need the money now. Upfront, cash.

LETTA DE LUCA
Cash? Well, I might need to nip to a cashpoint...

BUCK
A what now?!

LETTA DE LUCA
Oh, right. An ATM. Sorry, kinda new in the country.

BUCK
I mean, it’s a creative way of paying to train but..sure.

He flashes a lewd smirk.

LETTA DE LUCA
Pardon?

BUCK
ATM..

LETTA DE LUCA
Yeah I need to find one and.. OH you meant THAT. Yeah, that’s gonna be a hard pass from me.

Back shrugs.

BUCK
Can’t blame a guy for trying, been a bit of a drought as of late socially.

LETTA DE LUCA
Well... I can at least relate to that I guess.

Sure the guy was a bit of a creeper... to say the least, but maybe it wasn’t so bad. Besides, she usually kept herself to herself, so it wasn’t like she’d be tethered to him.

LETTA DE LUCA
Alright. How much do I owe? I’ll be here for... well, as long as this gig lasts, I guess. Years I’m hoping. So maybe, we work it out on a per month basis?

BUCK
Sure, but I still need some upfront, consider it a downpayment.

She glares at him, was this dude trying to hold her up for money?

LETTA DE LUCA
Or what?

BUCK
Or you’ll be training in the dark, kinda behind on the bills

LETTA DE LUCA
Yet had the finances to buy “Massive Jugs”?

He shrugged.

BUCK
Man’s got needs.

Violetta was about to ask him if he didn’t have an Internet connection, but looking around the place, maybe he didn’t. Violetta opened her purse and pulled out a wad of twenties.

LETTA DE LUCA
Two hundred sufficient?

Without even blinking the man swipes the wad and stuffs it down his pants.

BUCK
Sold. You need a locker?

LETTA DE LUCA
Um, yeah? Just give me a key and..

BUCK
Why? There’s no locks on them.

Ugh. Maybe she’d get one fitted herself.

LETTA DE LUCA
Well, now that’s done... I guess I’ll be in tomorrow. Good to meet you, Mr. Buck.

BUCK
Yeah, sure thing toots.

LETTA DE LUCA
Toots? OH, I never told you my name. It’s Violetta. Violetta De Luca.

BUCK
OH, I thought you spoke funny. You one of them there immigrants?

Violetta sighed.

LETTA DE LUCA
Uh... yeah, I’m Scottish, so I suppose so.

BUCK
Alright, well as you gave me the cash... if the feds come lookin’, I didn’t see ya.

LETTA DE LUCA
What? I have a visa!

Buck lets out a grin, clearly missing a few teeth.

BUCK
That’s what they all say.

Violetta sighs, grabbing her bag and making her way out. I guess this could turn out to be something of an adventure. Besides, once she worked her way up the card and made more money, she could always find somewhere nicer. Though really, whatever you  wanted to say about Buck...

She’d take him over Dad & Jess any day.

-----


SCENE FOUR
A KAIJU CAME TO TEA
15/01/2022, TWO BUCKS WRESTLING GYM, LAS VEGAS, NEVADA
(ON CAMERA PROMOTIONAL VIDEO)

And so it begins. The Kaiju comes. When I mesh with her, it is like a transformation. I become her. I gain her power. Violetta de Luca sits in the shadows. The Kaiju will take the stage.

The scene opens in what appears to be a run-down wrestling gym. The walls, the ring are gray. But there is a burst of light and colour front and center as leaning over the ropes is the tall, athletic woman known as KAIJU RAINBOW.

KAIJU RAINBOW
Friends, Roamers, Countryballs. Lend me your ears, for I bring good tidings of great joy and apparently multiple confused references! I am KAIJU RAINBOW, a woman of great skill, talent and discernment, fuelled by Scotch, and coming to Sin City with a twitchy right leg. Now I could get that out by dancing the Charleston, or I COUUUUULD get that out by kicking someone in the jaw. And while BOTH are fun, I am Leeeeeaning towards the latter. But for those of you who do not know, allow me to share a few details about myself. You see, I made my name both in Europe and Japan, but sustained success in the Americas has been rather harder to come by. You see, the American market is a particularly tricky market to crack for a Scot, because most people don’t have a clue what I’m saying half the time. So I asked the production guys to put on subtitles, just to be sure!

Sure enough, there are subtitles. You’re reading them now.

KAIJU RAINBOW
But what makes me a Kaiju, you might be asking? Well, I got the nickname in the Japanese joshi circuit, because standing six feet tall in a world where most women were considerably shorter, I was like a very real Kaiju in the eyes of many of them. A giant amongst men... or, uh, women I guess! And the Rainbow part... well that’s just because I have a tendency to dump buckets of rainbow-coloured gunge over people’s heads. OH and my spectacularly vibrant and stylish outfits.

Garish may have been a better way of describing the Kaiju’s outfits, but hey-ho, we move on.

KAIJU RAINBOW
So now we have the introduction out of the way, I make my debut in a week or so’s time at the Inception supercard against the woman known as Masque. She is described on the blurb as “enigmatic” but from what I’ve seen of her, that might be a synonym for “loony”. She talks like one of those Victorian poets, and that makes me remember English Literature class at Dunfermline Comprehensive School and Mrs. Batty, who was a miserable old bat and I always hated her. “DE LUCA, I do not believe Shakespeare wrote the Nurse that way because his mother was annoying him that morning...” BITCH YOU DON’T KNOW! But that’s the thing, yeah? Godzilla has laser eyes, I have the smart eyes, I see things, I read between the lines. A power harnessed in multiple detentions Mrs. Batty gave me. I have to use that power to see BEHIND the Masque. Which... considering what she’s already said, means this match is probably less of a contest of combat and is spiralling dangerously close to a two-way psychoanalysis programme. That’s cool though, My psychology teacher was Mr. Clarke and he was an ABSOLUTE G. Shout out to you if you’re watching!

She grins.

KAIJU RAINBOW
You see, as athletes... nay combatants... NAY WARRIORS... it would really be much simpler if we just went in there and hit each other until one of us fell over. But wrestling is so much more than that, it is about the spectacle, the grandeur, the hype, the proverbial DICK measuring contest. And don’t think that last thing doesn’t apply because we’re Bombshells, because ANYONE can rock a massive PROVERBIAL dick. So I for one strive to entertain, I endeavour to stand up and be counted and make things fun for all of you. After all, dunking a bucket of gunge over someone’s head has no PRACTICAL purpose. If anything, it makes them slippery which probably makes them harder to pin. But it’s all about having fun, right? I am all about having fun in the ring, and making sure ALL OF YOU have fun as well. And pardon me if I’m overstepping my bounds, but... I don’t think, “enigmatic” as she may be, that Masque is really all about the FUN. She seems more about the Psychosomatic psychoanalysis, or if I’m honest, just being a bit weird. I mean... weird is fine! My sister’s kinda weird. It’s just, well... I don’t really see the two of us sharing much of a common discourse. We clearly come from different worlds. And that’s fine! After all, it takes all kinds of people to make the world, just as it takes many colours to make a Rainbow. But what I will say to you, Masque, is don’t worry about figuring me out, and who I really am. There’s one part of me you need to focus on, and it is not my heart, it is not my core, it is my FOOT, because if you are not VERY careful it will connect with your jaw so damn hard you’ll be on the soup through a straw diet for two weeks. I may seem dorky, and silly and a bit of a goof, but I am a trained, black-belt level fighter. So you, and everyone else on this bombshell roster better take me seriously. Because if you don’t... I will pout and start pulling your hair. And THEN kick you in the jaw!

She laughs.

KAIJU RAINBOW
I know monsters are supposed to be scary. I guess I’m more like one of those monsters from Monsters Inc?! Does anyone remember those movies? Am I old? DON’T ANSWER THAT ONE. But yes, I maybe should be more evil and scary and rawr, but I kinda like being a cuddly Kaiju. A friendly monster. A BFG. THE BFG. So Masque, I shall see you anon. I look forward to more of your weird ramblings!

She waves bye bye, as the camera clicks off and we fade to black.