Tempest: A what?
Tempest had been getting ready to start preparing dinner for Anela and herself just a few short minutes ago when she had overheard her phone ring from her bedroom and found the man who had brought her into the rough and tumble world of professional wrestling on the other end with some (unwelcome) news. That ever since she had won the Internet Championship in Las Vegas and declared she would bring the Internet back to the related title, the GO Gym had been getting requests for interviews with the most recent champion under his and Odette’s tutelage.
And the vast majority of them were requests from the hosts of random webcasts; some very well known, and others not so much. Not exactly what she had in mind with her promising statement.
Gabriel: A webcast interview. It’s usually hosted by a wrestling fan who doubles as an influencer of sorts. He or she gets sponsors and makes a pretty good living off of it…
Tempest: I know what an influencer does, Gabriel. I just can’t believe that there’s a wrestling related version of them out there!
Gabriel: Well, believe it champ. Your winning the Internet title garnered for you a lot of attention and these guys are clamoring to get you onto their shows. Especially considering it’s pretty well known how much you dislike interviews.
Tempest: Meaning … what? Getting me on one of their shows lets them ‘neener neener’ the other shows?
Gabriel chuckled.
Gabriel: In a manner of speaking, yes. It’s a pretty competitive field. I’ve been on a handful of these types of interviews and they’re not as bad as they sound.
Tempest: They couldn’t possibly be.
Tempest slowly sat back in her chair and massaged her temple with the fingers of her free hand.
Tempest: Christ, what the hell have I gotten myself into?
From her end of the call, she could hear the soft chuckle escape from Gabriel before her trainer could shield himself from allowing her to overhear his amusement at her own expense.
Gabriel: Well Alleyne, that’s what you get for winning your first singles championship. It comes with the territory, especially when you went on public record to say you were wanting to bring the ‘Internet’ back to the Internet Championship.
Tempest: I just wanted to bring back using those polls to decide challengers. I didn’t think it would mean I’d have to conduct interviews from home or in some studio the size of a pantry with some that smells like cheese!
Again, she could hear the laughter being held rather unsuccessfully at bay. She bit at her lower lip and gazed half heartedly into her cell.
Tempest: You’re enjoying this just a little too much!
Gabriel: I’m sorry Alleyne, but you're making it rather easy when you get so worked up over the most basic part of this business! It’s not like this would be the first time where you conducted interviews outside of the actual promotion.
Tempest: Those times were different.
Gabriel: Yeah, this time you don’t have Austin to shoulder the majority of the burden!
Tempest: Exactly!
A moment’s pause passed between trainer and student, and this time Tempest realized that the mirth that Gabriel had been enjoying during this conversation had been replaced with the more serious understanding that she had come to know and appreciate over the past few years where he was concerned. It was more evident when he broke the lingering silence between them.
Gabriel: Listen to me Alleyne. You're going to be fine. It’s only natural that you started garnering more attention with some of these folks wanting to get some ratings in for their programs. Especially considering who won the poll to get the title shot at Blaze of Glory XII.
Tempest: Yeah, well…
She leaned back in her office chair, turning her head to look outside of her apartment window and watched as the train gently pelted against the window of her bedroom.
Tempest: I still think she stuffed the proverbial ballot box with everyone she could contact to get that rub.
Gabriel: While I really wouldn’t be surprised, the simple fact that Crystal did win the poll, so people sat up and took notice that you’d be defending the title against her in Arizona. … Unless, of course, you just want to job out to Mercedes or Seleana so they could face Crystal instead?
A frown crossed her face and she did a double take toward the phone. But before she could even answer that suggestion with whatever scathing retort that might have crossed her mind, Gabriel took the initiative.
Gabriel: I could hear that thought without you having to even say it aloud. And you’re lucky I’ve heard worse. … And that Despy wasn't here today to overhear whatever it was that you didn’t just say out loud.
Tempest drew in a deep breath and slowly exhaled through pursed lips before she finally responded.
Tempest: I don’t job - to anyone. I wouldn’t give them the satisfaction.!
Gabriel: That’s all I wanted to hear. You’ll be fine.
To this, Tempest just rolled her eyes even though Gabriel was unable to see the fact. But then she heard something coming from further in the apartment and a slight frown of confusion crossed her face as she glanced toward her closed bedroom door.
Tempest: I know I will be. But I have to go and take care of something.
Gabriel: Understood. I’ll see you tomorrow when you drop Anela off before your flight.
Tempest: Fine. And Gabriel?
Gabriel: Yeah?
Tempest: Thanks.
This time there was no laugh or subdued chuckle, but nevertheless, she could hear the smile behind his voice as the call was concluded.
Gabriel: It’s what I do.
That being said, the call ended silently between them and with a deft click of the thumb, her phone was shut off and dropped to the desktop. Pushing herself up from her seat, Tempest exited her bedroom and walked down the hall of her apartment and the sound she had heard from behind closed doors gradually grew louder, now realizing it to be the television in the living room.
Tempest entered the living space and walked up behind the plush recliner where she could see her stepdaughter, Anela, curled up and her attention fixated on the flickering image of the 32 inch smart TV that was stationed against the far wall, atop the multi-level TV stand. Standing behind the chair, opposite another chair and the sofa, Tempest rested her forearms on the back of the chair, leaning against it. She could sense the gaze upon her and looked down into the warm and loving eyes of her adopted, nine year old daughter before she shifted her attention back to the screen and the movie playing on it.
Tempest: What exactly are you watching?
Under most circumstances, Anela would be found watching something like Hilda, the Dragon Prince or Over the Garden Wall. But this wasn’t just not an animated series or movie, it was live action and it didn’t look like something one would assume a nine year old would be interested in watching. After watching a few moments further, Tempest would have likened it to a female version of Beverly Hills Cop or a film edition of Law and Order. But it was the face of whom crossed the screen, speaking to detectives at the scene of a crime that caught her completely off guard.
Crystal Zdunich.
Anela reached into a small fun-sized bag of Cheetos, answering without taking her eyes off of the screen.
Anela: Hollywood Hills Detective. The first one.
Tempest: Crystal Zdunich did a movie?
Anela: She did three.
The girl emphasized the number three, looking up at her mom ever so briefly as if she had just asked the silliest question imaginable. Tempest just stared at the screen with an arched brow.
Anela: This is just the first. There’s a marathon of all three tonight!
Tempest slowly walked around the chair to take a seat on the sofa, seemingly transfixed by the actual sight of a fellow SCW Bombshell on the screen and not in an actual wrestling match.
Anela: I’ve seen them a hundred times! Crystal is my favorite.
Tempest just turned her head slightly to look at Anela whose own eyes widened just a smidge at what she had just said and just as quickly corrected herself.
Anela: Second … favorite.
Tempest: Mm hm. Nice save.
Anela just smiled as she and her mom watched the happenings on the screen, and the adventures Crystal played in this film before the adult in the room shook her head.
Tempest: I think you could get more entertainment value out of an episode of Keeping Up With the Kardashians.
Anela leaned up on her elbow and looked to her with hopeful eyes to which Tempest quickly corrected her.
Tempest: And no we are not watching the Kardashians!
Anela moaned audibly as children her age might but she turned back to the TV when after a moment’s pause, Tempest frowned having realized something.
Tempest: Hold up. Aren’t you supposed to be doing your homework?
Anela: I’m finished.
Tempest: You read that whole chapter?
Anela: …. Can we just say that I’m finished?
Tempest reached over and snatched the remote from Anela’s hand, prompting the little girl to cry out in protest as her momma shut the TV off.
Tempest: Back to work, kiddo!
Anela: Aww!
With incredible reluctance, Anela pushed herself to her feet and with a playful smile, tempest nudged her along. She knew all too well how the girl felt as she had been that girl a number of years ago, with a mom who sent her to finish her homework rather than watch TV just as she had done. Tempest then got up and walked into the kitchen where she opened the fridge and took out some ground beef to get dinner started, when there was a knock at the door.
Tempest frowned and set the ground beef into the kitchen sink, quickly rinsing her hands under the faucet before she started for the door. She was curious who would be calling on their home, especially in this weather. She herself rarely had visitors and she had trouble believing any of the parents of Anela’s friends would visit without calling first, let alone in this wet weather. But one quick look through the eye hole told the story as she opened the door, revealing somewhat friend and ally Hana Nguyen, from the PTA of Anela’s school. She had visited once or twice so her daughter could visit and play with Anela, and the two women had grown to be on friendly terms.
Tempest: Hana, what are you doing out in this weather?
Hana: I’m sorry for not calling first but I just left an emergency PTA meeting and I had to tell you the news. Can I come in real quick?
Tempest quickly stepped aside and was privately (and silently) grateful she had invested in the door mat so Hana’s soaked shoes didn’t dampen or ruin her floors.
Tempest: Can I get you anything…?
Hana: No, I can’t stay. Caishen is waiting in the car. I just had to let you know that we voted Monica out of the PTA.
Tempest: Out of… not just as President?
Hana: No, she’s out entirely after what she did to us and her history of doing it to anyone who got her proposals voted down. She put up quite a fight but even her hardest supporters had trouble justifying what she was doing. Eric carried a lot of influence when he flat out told the room he doesn’t trust her in the PTA where she’d have influence over his son and wanted her gone. So…
She shrugged and Tempest nodded, satisfied.
Tempest: We should take up a collection and get that man a muffin basket. And that bitch… I got notice from CPS I might need to make a statement in court for what she did. They’re charging her with a misdemeanor.
To which Hana nodded in understanding.
Hana: And me as well, and a few other parents she is suspected of doing that to. Now I am going to head out but before I do, Eric proposed something at the meeting that actually does involve you.
Tempest’s eyebrow arched and she shook her head.
Tempest: If you’re about to ask me to officially join the PTA, I’m really not interested.
Hana: Please Alleyne, just think it over. We voted Eric as the new president, but he had to be talked into it. You showed you carry a voice with influence already, so everybody was pretty much on board with the idea of you being a member.
Tempest closed her eyes, really having nothing to say because the actual thought of her as an actual participating member of the PTA was about as alien to her as the idea of putting ketchup on ice cream.
Hana: It’s only once a month. Maybe an additional meeting if something extra comes up. Will you at least consider it? Give it some thought before you refuse?
Tempest exhaled in a huff, opening her eyes and she shrugged. It wasn’t altogether that often when people actually wanted her to take part in something.
Tempest: Fine. I’ll think about it.
Smiling, Hana patted her on the arm and turned for the door. Tempest quickly opened it so her guest could take her leave, offering one last farewell before the door closed between them. Tempest just turned around and fell back against the closed door.
Tempest: Bollocks…!
The only thing seen with prominence in the immediate vicinity was a darkened wrestling ring, with no ring lights shining down from above but one single spotlight burning bright directly from behind. This basked the ring itself in brilliance but the surrounding area in shadow, much like when police shine a bright, single spotlight on a given target.
There were footsteps heard echoing off of the walls of the gym, and through the spotlights illuminance, the shadowy outline of a figure with an impressive stature appeared walking toward the ring. That figure turned out to be none other than the newly crowned Bombshell Internet Champion, Tempest.
Dressed for battle in her red and gold ring gear, Tempest stepped up onto the ring apron and climbed through the ropes, entering the ring. There in the center of the ring was a steel folding chair, in which Tempest removed the championship belt from around her waist before taking a seat. With the belt propped up on her lap and her arms resting on the brown leather of the prestigious title, Tempest started to speak.
“I’m about to be extremely honest with everyone out there who decided to grace me with their attention; as honest with them as I’ve ever been with anyone since I first entered this business. And that honest fact I am starting off with is that I was actually terribly disappointed with the outcome of the poll for this, my first defense of the Internet Championship. Not because of who was in the actual poll because both Seleana and Mercedes deserve their places, for reasons I’ll jump into here in a moment. But because of how the poll turned out. A tie.”She held up a hand in a placating gesture.
“I had high hopes. I admit that my first defense would be a one on one match, against either one of these bad ass chicks, but things didn’t go my way. And I guess that was one of the risks of this public internet method Calvin Harris first cooked up to decide challengers, but something was off in this one, in my own not so humble opinion. Even more so than what I was thinking in regards to Crystal Zdunich coming from behind so quickly to overtake Alexandra Calaway to win the shot at Blaze of Glory XII.”
“You see, I was paying close attention to the poll and how the votes were going and here’s what I saw; ties. Almost every time I looked, the distance between Mercedes Vargas and Seleana Zdunich had closed and they were dead even in the poll. Then … I see a change and someone cast a vote for Seleana, allowing her to pull ahead and get a better chance at facing me one on one. Only to check back later to see that someone out there, one single individual, cast a vote for Mercedes to bring it back to a tie. As far as I could tell, not a single time did Vargas pull ahead, but every time Seleana did, some lone individual cast a vote that brought it back to an even tie. It was almost as if there was someone watching the poll as closely as I was, and had one of two things on their agenda. Either they were working from multiple accounts to prevent Seleana from getting a one on one shot against me, or they were going that extra mile to make sure both women got this shot in hopes it would take two to take me down and get this title off of me.”Tempest smiled and scoffed.
“Well, lots of luck with the former, but as far as the latter? That is where my money is laying and it is the first reason why I am happy either one of these women were named by the head honchos to be a part of that poll, let alone the actual title match. And that is because Seleana Zdunich did the one thing that Mercedes has not - she beat me.”
“Almost two years ago. May of `22. Into the Void X. Remember that? I know a lot of people tend to gloss over some of the big wins Seleana has gotten for herself and would rather focus on losses, but the fact is Seleana is one of the few women in SCW who hold a pinfall win over me. And granted at times her record doesn’t look perfect on paper but here’s the thing; we don’t wrestle on paper. We compete inside of a ring and in there? Seleana is one of the single most underrated stars in the entire division. That is all the evidence I could want or need to appreciate why she was in that poll, and why she is getting this chance at the Internet title. I went into that match against her, thinking I was the shit! I had it over her in every way imaginable EXCEPT …”She held up one finger.
“... For experience. Before I went into that match, I looked at her and all I saw was one of those typical Barbie dolls that I have hated so much! One of those pretty little girls that think they can get by on their looks alone.”She scoffed and shook her head.
“And I am woman enough to admit that I couldn’t have been more wrong. She did one thing that I was not expecting. She watched as I pretty much decimated her stepdaughter and her wife, and while I was using those actions to pretty much hype myself, she used them to throw gas on a fire that was already out of control. She went in there fighting for her family and that was the action that gave her the advantage. Now… I can only imagine that she thinks she is going to be able to repeat history. She probably watched as her wife won that lottery a week ago and is getting this golden chance all on her own. Sel probably thinks that she is going to use the fact as a catalyst to take this away from me…”She holds the title belt up briefly.
“And lead into a wife versus wife title match in Flagstaff, instead.”Tempest shook her head.
“Sorry, not sorry, Sel. You see, just as you think you can repeat the past, I’ve learned from it. I made the mistake of looking past you once, thinking you were little more than a blip on my radar. I now know that your family is your strength - respect, but in this case, I am going to turn your so-called strength into your big weakness where you and I are concerned. You are going to be so focused on doing right by your wife that you are thinking more of her welfare and less of your own. You are going to want to keep me from doing to her again what I’ve already accomplished in the past, that you simply aren’t going to see the end coming. Just do your family a favor and ask them not to watch. Crystal I could care less about seeing what’s going to be in her own future, but even I’m not cruel enough to want your little girl to see what’s about to happen to her mama.”Tempest then slipped the title belt over her shoulder and sat back in the chair, looking contemplative.
“Mercedes Vargas on the other hand… Now that is one bad ass chick I knew about from the day I signed to SCW. I mean, how the hell can any woman sign to this promotion and not know and understand who Mercedes is as both a woman and a competitor? And I have been pretty damn lucky to have gotten to face her a handful of times; most of which had been in mixed tag team matches as I recall. And granted, while I had my reservations on tag team matches of any form, Vargas was a veteran who might have been half my size but she taught me so damn much in those encounters!”
“When Mercer and I faced her and Goth the first time, Vargas surprised the hell out of me at the tenacity she came into that match with! I was used to the women across the ring from me looking at me with either fear or apprehension because of my size and strength but that crazy ass bitch ignored all that and just came tearing away at me! It was as if Vargas was all but ignoring the fact I was twice her size or she just refused to acknowledge and she just jumped me! She came at me swinging and even though Austin and I managed to win that first round between our teams, damn did I change my outlook on that woman! And the fact she played no small part in her and Goth taking the titles away from Austin and myself?”Tempest shook her head.
“I don’t get how some of these little girls can stand there and say things like Mercedes needs to retire or she needs to just give it up. They accuse her of being ‘past it’ because it’s been so long since she’s won a championship but I am going to tell everyone out there one simple truth where they are concerned compared to her.”
“Every one of those jealous little bitches who talk all this trash and say these things about Vargas have not and will not accomplish half of what she has over the past decade in SCW! The woman has earned every merit that’s been handed to her! Every award, every Hall of Fame nod! The woman is one of, if not the first, Grand Slam Champions in Sin City Wrestling, and do you know what that means for me? It means that as far as I’m concerned, Mercedes Vargas does not have to wait in line for the title opportunities that get thrown her way that these jealous Barbies like to cry about. She does not have to wait in line because she MADE the damn line! And come Sunday, I fully expect her to cross that proverbial line that I’ve drawn in the sand – and she will enjoy just as much success at my personal expense as she’s enjoyed in the past.”Tempest leaned forward into the camera.
“Meaning … None.”Tempest stood up from the chair, towering over the camera that she looked down into.
“So yes, I would have much rather this be a one on one between either one of these women, for the sole reason I’d prefer to test myself against them alone as opposed to being put in an environment where I could lose the title and not even be the one to get beat! And I am pretty damn certain that both Vargas and Zdunich would love that very same thing. But I am not going to give either one of them the satisfaction!”
“I am not going to lose this championship on my very first defense!”
“I am not going to wind up another notch in the belt that is Mercedes’s already established career!”
“And I won’t give Seleana the satisfaction of taking this away from me and holding two straight wins over me!”The floodlight goes out, and all that is left in the gym is a foreboding darkness.
“This is my time, girls. And there is no chance in hell that I'm going to give it up to either one of you!”
