[Christian Underwood]

 First RP Period Deadline:
United States: 11:59pm EST Saturday 11/01/2014
England: 03:59am Sunday 11/02/2014

[Char Kwan]

 


It's a cold, Halloween night as Zuri and Blanca are spending some quality time in Webster, South Dakota. They are roaming the busy streets watching all the little kiddos and their parents bounce from house to house. The sounds of children screaming "Trick or Treat" cause smiles to come across their faces. The sisters wrap their arms together as they continue walking down the streets.

{Zuri Justice}
"Blanca, do you remember our trick or treating days?"

{Blanca Justice}
"How can I forget? You would always try to out do my costume."

{Zuri Justice}
"I did no such thing. I was a perfect little angel when we were little."

{Blanca Justice}
"Yes, you did Zuri. Don't you remember whenever I wanted to be Ms. Marvel, you had to be Black Widow. If I wanted to be Daisy Duck then you had to be Minnie Mouse. You wasn't the perfect little angel like you think. You were a little devil but we had so much fun."

Zuri continues to deny any wrongdoing during their childhood when their creepy little brother steps out from an empty alleyway dressing in his normal clothing. The twins stop dead in their tracks as Zuri cocks her head to the side. He is constantly looking up and down the sidewalk while keeping his hands behind him. Blanca notices a small pool of blood forming and begins wondering what he had been up to all night

{Zuri Justice}
"What's going on Rory?"

{Rory Justice}
"It has been done so as it was written. This night belongs to those who have been utterly forgotten. The prophecy is close to being fulfilled. It shall be told that a man whore will be sacrificed to the Lord of Man. Thus it is written and thus it shall be done."

{Blanca Justice}
"Everything okay Rory?"

Rory doesn't respond as he about faces and walks back into the empty alleyway. Zuri and Blanca blank stare at each other before resuming their walk. They continue with their Halloween stroll until Blanca stops in front of a dress shop. She glances at the horrid dress designs sitting in the window as Zuri let's out a laugh.

{Blanca}
"What's so funny Zuri?"

{Zuri}
"Don't you see it."

{Blanca}
"See what?"

Zuri let's go of her sister's arm and points at the rather ratty design dress. She then tries to give her sister a hint. Blanca continues to draw a blank as Zuri playfully shakes her head.

{Zuri}
"Just look at this dress and ask yourself this one question. Who would buy something like this? Which brainless zombie would think this mold infested dress is a fashion statement waiting to happen?"

{Blanca}
"I am drawing a complete blank. I am sorry."

{Zuri}
"That's okay Blanca. I am sure Mercedes won't take offense to you forgetting about her. I mean in her eyes, you should be the one "facing" her for the Bombshell Roulette Championship. I guess she has never faced identical twins before huh. How does she really know if it was really you who pinned her?"

{Blanca}
"I am sure when they were handing out brains, she was in the back of the line making sure her face was presentable. The only problem with that is she cares way too much on the looks. Which is probably why, she had a real problem with the both of us. I mean, she needed help from Angelica but in the end it turned to be a disastrous move. Now she is probably going to bitch and complain that the wrong Chastain twin is in this match. We said time and time again. We are hard to figure out which one is which. I mean there are times where I wind up wearing Zuri's mask for a night and she wears mine. That's what twins do. We share and share a like."

Zuri turns her head toward the cameraman that is following them the entire time and begins her dissection of one Mercedes Vargas.

Well Mercedes, we have finally reached the boiling point in this little battle between the two of us. I really hope you don't hate me once I shorten your Bombshell Roulette Championship reign on your third title defense. Right now, I expect you to jump out of the gate with the same irrelevant bullshit that you always start out with. I mean who really gives a shit about how many win streaks you have had during your time here in SCW. That has nothing to do with this match one eye owe duh. All that proves is you can intimidate people with your poor excuse for wrestling ability.

I mean for someone who tried to have everyone thinking you could make "short" work of my sister and I, you sure got your ass handed to you by Blanca. I wonder how that sat with you. Did you think about how she knocked your fucking head off with same brass knuckles you tried to use? Did you have nightmares after getting nailed with the bimbo breaker? I wouldn't blame you if you decide to forfeit this match and save yourself the utter embarrassment of losing yet again to a Chastain.

When you think about, Blanca and I have had your number on numerous occasions. From leaving you broken in the back to driving you right into panic drive after kicking your ass in an actual match. I wonder if you are second guessing your decision of being a Mean Girl. I understand why you joined them to begin with, you needed back up to face us. Instead of putting your big girl panties on and facing us alone. You decided to keep your diapers on and have your fashion reject comrade join you at ringside.

Now this time around we are alone. Blanca will be worried about Necra and making sure Joanne doesn't get screwed royally by that fucktard Veronica. I just wonder if you have the balls to come alone or if you need a hand to walk you down the aisle. If that turns out to be the case then you might as well saw that Championship in half and give everyone in the Mean Girls a portion of that belt. I will overlook the fact that we have your good friend Holly Wood refereeing this match. All I know is, he had better call this match straight down the middle or so help me Hades, I will rip your fake ass hair right off your scalp.

You don't believe me then I say try me. This will be one match where I will prove just how dominant I can fucking be inside the ring. Lady Justice is out to provide her kind of justice and that is something you can't run from. We already proved last time that even Mercedes Vargas can't cross Lady Justice. Look, NO ONE CROSSES LADY JUSTICE and I shall prove it once again. Oh and Mercedes after High Stakes IV, the Daughters of Darkness will be adding some more gold into our family. Then you know that we RUN THIS TOWN!

Bitch ya later.

Zuri and Blanca laugh out loud as they turn away from the dress shop window and walk out of focus as the camera slowly begins to fade.

[Mercedes Vargas]

 S|C|E|N|E| 001
[ F R U S T R A T I O N | U N N O T I C E D]

OCTOBER 26, 2014
CLIMAX CONTROL 98
FORT BRAGG MILITARY BASE
HEDRICK STADIUM, FORT BRAGG, NORTH CAROLINA

“YOU THINK I CARE WHAT CHRISTIAN, MARK OR ERIK DOES TO ME?!? SCREW THAT! SUSPEND ME! FIRE ME! I COULDN'T CARE LESS! THAT BITCH IS DEAD!”

Scene opens backstage post Climax Control 98. Mercedes is trying to get through the wall of security, referees, and personnel standing in her way towards Zuri Chastain's lockerroom. To add more to this chaotic scene, resident backstage reporter Ms. Rocky Mountains is having a difficult time having her questions answered.

Ms. Rocky Mountains: Mercedes, what ab -

Mercedes: Get away from me, Rocky. Get away from me, Rocky. Get away from me, Rocky.

Ms. Rocky Mountains: How do you know it was Zuri who set you up, Mercedes? It's no secret that you, and by extension the rest of the Mean Girls, have ruffled a lot of feathers within the ranks of the SCW Bombshells.

Mercedes: How do I know it was Zuri? How do I know it was NOT Zuri, April O’Neil?!?

Rocky shoots an upward eye roll at the camera mouthing the word OK wordlessly before turning back to Mercedes.

Mercedes: Since day one – DAY ONE! - Zuri Chastain has had it in for me. She has done everything possible to try and get under my skin. What happened tonight isn't something the rest of the roster could even think up because whether they admit it or not, they FEAR the Mean Girls and what we'd do to them if we found out. That stunt was all Zuri's doing, or maybe she got talked into it by Necra for all I know.  And as for the week before? For someone to cheap shot me from behind for no reason, they have to be either one of two things – dumb or desperate. She might be both.

Ms. Rocky Mountains: But aren't you the least concerned about your Bombshell Roulette Championship defense at High Stakes?

Mercedes: Delia may or may not show for her match, but I'm not so sure there's going to be a Bombshell Roulette Championship match with Zuri, because she's about to get shanked right now! If I have to share the same jail cell with Misty tonight, then so be it. I swear, when I find that half-pint, I'm going to give her a reason why she really need to use that mask!

A member of security tries to grabs her arm, but Mercedes pulls away.

Mercedes: DON'T TOUCH ME!

She whirls around and stares down a referee who attempted to pull her back.

Mercedes: I said don't tou –

And then shoves him back when he got too close.

Mercedes: Get away from me!

She shoves another heavyset member of security away, but the wall continued to form around her as they ward her off from going any further. Mercedes holds up her hands and turns around in defeat as Rocky gets a microphone near her.

Mercedes: You know what? Fine! Zuri gets to live and tell about what happened tonight, but you tell her that in two weeks I don't care what it takes, she's done at the supershow. And I won't be held responsible for what happens to her in West Point. And as for you rent-a-cops? You put your hands on me again, I will sue your asses for every penny.

Mercedes heads elsewhere and this scene fades to black.

• • •

S|C|E|N|E| 002
[H O W | S O O N | I S | NOW?]

[REC•]

The sound of meditation music. Our scene opens up to a simple room, with walls painted in an off-white color and a floor that's tiled marble. The room is filled with an orange glow from the setting sun pouring from the window. Sitting on a straw mat in the center of the room is Mercedes with a calm, peaceful expression. The camera pulls back to show her in meditation.

“It's like every week Climax Control is going to the dogs. Did you see what the Daughters of Darkness did to Veronica Taylor? I mean, what was that? Where the hell was security? How is anyone letting this stand?”

During the end of this line, her eyes slowly open and she slowly shakes her head in disappointment.

“It's bad enough that Misty – yes, I mentioned your name again – went about and ruined Delia's crowning moment of awesome at the last supershow, and that was before Spike Staggs had his hands around her throat. Then it got that much worse when Amy and Jessie pulled the mother of all hissy fits when they got their collective asses kicked for the second time, and now out comes Necra, Joanne, and the Chastain Twins. That's like (Mercedes briefly pauses, looks skyward as she counts to herself then back to the camera) four people – four people! - beating up a helpless and defenseless Veronica Taylor after she beat that supervillian POSER, Zuri Justice last week. It's funny that WE, the Mean Girls, are called bullies, when all of this is going down and NOTHING IS BEING DONE ABOUT IT!”

“I bet the Daughters of Darkness feel so proud after Climax Control. They feel so big and bad after what they did, but let's face facts – they are bullies! Are they so insecure that they have to go around attacking people after a match? That is a bully. And Joanne Canelli is a THIEF! Doesn't she know that possession is nine-tenths of the law? This girl probably has a rap sheet the length of War and Peace. She should be locked up in the same cell with Misty and the key thrown away instead of being on the lam with Veronica's other belt!”

Resting her head against her hand, she lets out a heavy sigh.

“And Zuri. Zuri Chastain, you thought you had the last laugh by once again choosing my match, but just like how I walked out that Prison Chamber match, I walked out of that Strap match with my title intact, but the thing is as in both cases, you once again put your hands on me. This tells me one of two things, you're trying so desperately to get my attention – OR YOU'RE REALLY DESPERATELY TRYING TO GET MY ATTENTION.”

Consider me convinced, Zuri. You've convinced me that this is no longer a rivalry. This is an infatuation. This is an obsession. You want me, you want my championship badly. Well, this Sunday, you're going to get everything that's coming to you. In eight days, you get me, you get a shot at the Bombshell Roulette Championship, and you'll get your fifteen minutes of fame before I'm done kicking your ass and adding your name to my checklist. But not because you deserve it, not because you earned it – and don't give me any of that Twin Magic BS, you didn't earn this match, Blanca earned it FOR YOU – but because, Zuri Chastain, I'm a nice girl and I'm giving you this opportunity. And after this...After this, Zuri, there will be no more forgiveness, no more chances, no more excuses, and no more lies. After I finally put you down and end you and crush your dreams, it's over for you. After this, you're out of my hair forever. After this, that's two members of the Daughters of Darkness I put away. And after this, that's it, it's over. I'm going to end you – and I want your entire family to be front row and center to watch. There will be no cheating involved – because let's face it, it's going to take more than a pair of brass knucks to put me away.”

She becomes quiet as she pulls her knees up to her chest, resting her arms across her knees.

“What's that phrase you're always babbling on about? 'No one crosses Lady Justice?” Well, what happens when Lady Justice crosses the line? What happens when Lady Justice crosses the boundary? Does anyone else take up for her? No, of course not. Silly me. You claim to be a vigilante, but you're no better at it then Jessie Salco or Amy Marshall because you're just like them. You're a bully. Just like Misty. Just like Spike Staggs. Just like your sister. Yeah, that's some elite company you got there, Zuri.”

Her voice hardened as she continues.

“High Stakes is going to begin and end with the Mean Girls and we will once again walk out of another supershow undefeated, undisputed and unchallenged. Veronica is too damn talented to have to carry both Joanne Canelli and try not to let those titles fall into the hands of Jessie Salco and Cynthia Warren. And as for my girl, Delia? The only way Misty is going to become a four-time Bombshell Champion is if Delia fails to show up. But if she does, then Misty is going to find out first hand – just like Roxi and Traci did – that her moment of glory is not going to end with a bang, but a whimper. Might as well call the match, “Misty's Last Stand.” And it very might be, not just for her but for the rest of the division.

“That's right, because these fashion rejects as you would say, you two-bit piece of Eurotrash, hold every title in the Bombshell division – and we did it WITHOUT cheating or running interference in each others matches, thank you very much  - these fashion rejects stood out during the SCW Awards at Climax Control 96 almost three weeks ago, and these fashion rejects, just in case you forgot, does own a pinfall victory over you, Zuri. That same night that you had your moment of crowning awesome when you attacked me from behind after I had got done wiping the floor with one Cynthia Warren and retained my title – in a match that you choose might I add – you were counting how many lights were up in the arena as Veronica stood over you just like this...

Mercedes mimics having her hand raised then her arms goes limp.

“Victorious, over your limp, lifeless body.

You want to waste my time, you want this to be all about you? Fine. It's obvious you don't get it, Zuri. You claim that I keep ducking you, and you know what you're right. I have been ducking you and I explained exactly why I've been “ducking you” for so long. Thing is, sweetheart, you've been living in this dream world thinking you've got any kind of chance of beating me. Well, I'm going to be the reality staring you dead in the face at High Stakes IV. And come next Sunday, the bully is about get outbullied. And I promise you that I'm going to be walking away from the playground with my title...And your name on my checklist.”

Fade.

[Christian Underwood]

 We are now in the second RP period.

Second RP Period Deadline:
United States: 11:59pm EST Friday 11/07/2014
England: 03:59am Saturday 11/08/2014

[Char Kwan]

 

Zuri is sitting on her couch as laughter exudes from her voice. She can't help to find Mercedes' latest promo a tad bit amusing. She props her feet up on top of her coffee table and shakes her head.

Mercedes, Mercedes, Mercedes. I never figured you would ploy the victim's card like you are some helpless bystander who got thrusted into a fight against someone like me. Let's take a lengthy look at our history shall we. First, you interrupt my interview and blindside me with your tag title belt. Second, you attack me from behind like a coward with a steel chair. You want to talk about us being bullies. That is hilarious. Because I remember you girls doing exactly the same shit to Misty when she returned. Now that you guys are getting a taste of your own medicine, you want to call foul. Well, I guess you are finally learning the meaning of the phrase, PAYBACK'S A BITCH!!! Now you want to call us bullies. Interesting term you chose there Mercedes because I do remember you and Angelica attacking my sister two on one. Again you attack her from behind. That's kind of like your calling card. If you attack someone from behind it's sending a message but the moment someone does the same to you then it's us being a "bully." Give me a break with that bullshit.

Zuri leans up a bit to take a sip of her Samuel Adams while still smirking at the lame promo Mercedes gave.

It's amazing how you go from one extreme to the other extreme there Mercedes. First you say I am not worth your time and effort. When you were the one who kept bringing me up into the conversation. I was ready to move on from someone so lack luster like you but for some reason your ever growing obsession with me got out of control. Now you are saying that I am obsessed with you or infatuated with you. Tell me Mercedes, are these your own thoughts running through your brain or are you being fed through an ear piece? Because I could swear I've told you time and time again that this was completely about business until you started targeting my sister and family. You made this personal. You were the one who took it to the next level. Now that you are caught with your hand in the cookie jar, you want to change things around to where I was the problem. I really think that after High Stakes IV that you go get yourself checked Mercedes. Because I really think those fumes from your shampoo are finally seeping through your scalp and affecting your brain. I mean what's left of your brain that is.

Zuri rewinds Mercedes' promo to the spot where Mercedes says Zuri is desperately trying to get her attention. Zuri pauses it right there and begins pounding her fist into her hand.

Boy, are you fucking clueless? I didn't have to resort to desperate measures to get your attention Mercedes. I got your attention from the first time I knocked you flat on your ass several weeks ago. I continued to have your attention from that point forward. Your attention got averted from me when you joined The Mean Girls so I had to do something to remind you about me. Yes, you have won both matches that I picked out but I didn't care about that to be honest. I chose the Prison Chamber Match as my way of getting inside your head. I must say it fucking worked because Necra kicked your sorry ass all over that chamber. Like I have said time and time again. You are one lucky bitch but your luck is quickly running out. When I attacked you after the prison chamber match, I wanted you to know that your reign will not be long. That was the same message after the strap match. During our first encounter, I must admit, I was off my game but here's the thing. I wanted you to back up all your claims. I wanted to see if you could beat my sister in a fight. You had to resort to dirty tactics but you found out a couple of things. One, you can't outsmart an anti hero. Two, you got your ass knocked out with just one punch. Now tell me Mercedes, would you have used the brass knuckles if Blanca never picked them up. I bet you would because you are a creature of habit.

The Mean Girls are slowly losing the edge it once had due to the egos finally coming out. It's amazing how you call me a "bully" but yet you resort to calling me "Eurotrash" which really isn't a word but that's beside the point. I never said I played nice all the time. I never said that I follow the rules all the time. In fact, I have always beat to my own drum. That's the reason behind The Daughters of Darkness. We are individuals coming together to dethrone a common enemy. That enemy just so happens to be The Mean Girls. In case you forgot, we currently hold a portion of the Tag Team Titles so yeah The Mean Girls only have half the claim of holding all the gold in the Bombshell Division. Once I remove that belt from your pathetic waist Mercedes then we will have completed phase 2 in our plan.

I wonder what will happen the moment this belt leaves The Mean Girls and more importantly your grasp Mercedes. Are you going to throw a temper tantrum and blame everyone around you? Are you going to storm back to your little home and cry about how you got schooled again by Zuri Chastain? What aren't you getting Mercedes? I have been inside your head since day one. I don't think you can beat me. No matter how much you psych yourself up.

Zuri stands up to her feet and stretches out her arms. She slips her fingers through hair before shaking the tangles out. Zuri continues to pound her fist into her hand.

It's amazing how you kept bringing up a lot of irrelevant facts. All of your pals could have beaten me but the fact still remains Mercedes on your own. You can't get the job done. You couldn't beat us back on Climax 95. Now, you must go at it alone and trust me history will repeat itself. You can cry wolf all you want and try to get someone to see things your way. Then again all they are really going to see is another Mean Girl finally meeting her match. I don't really care what happens Delia or Misty. All I care about is embarrassing you once again and this time I will become the new Bombshell Roulette Champion. You already know that NO ONE CROSSES LADY JUSTICE but did you know that I will make sure you get a LONG KISS GOODBYE. See ya soon Mercedes and hopefully you don't fuck it up too badly. After High Stakes IV, The Mean Girls find out that the Daughters of Darkness RUN THIS BITCH.

Zuri walks out of her living room as the TV is playing Blanca planting Mercedes with a Bimbo Breaker as the scene fades.

[Mercedes Vargas]

 S|C|E|N|E| 001
[ N O W | C O M E S | T H E  |H A R D | P A R T]

8:15 AM
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 29, 2014
WQTA WASHINGTON, D.C./XM 145

Host: Well, just to remind our listeners, it's SCW's next supershow event, High Stakes IV, this coming Sunday from Michie Stadium in West Point, New York.

Co-host: Home of the Army Black Knights.

Host: That's right. And you can watch Army take on visiting Connecticut this Saturday afternoon at three right here on WQTA.

Co-host:  What better way to spend Veterans Day weekend then with a little college football and wrestling?

Mercedes: Sounds like a pretty good combination.

48 hours until High Stakes IV. The scene opens in a small kiosk where a local radio station is doing a promotion in highlighting the pay-per-view event. A man, the host of the program, and a woman sits on one side of a table, both with microphones in hand, as Mercedes their guest for the morning, also has a microphone.

Host: How's it going?

Mercedes: Oh, it's going. Another morning, another great day to be alive. I know that I'm awake, but I still feel asleep, you know?

Co-host: I take it you didn't get enough sleep?

Mercedes: Oh, I slept like a baby. It just that days like today, you have to have the iron will to wake up this early. Even if you had four hours.

Host: So, what were you up to last night?

Mercedes: Um, is this off the record?

Host: So, again, thanks for making your record sixth appearance here on That Wrestling Show.

Mercedes: Thanks for having me, guys. I'm feel honored. Don't I get like a star on the Walk of Fame or something?

The hosts share a good laugh with Mercedes.

Time passes. Mercedes answers a few questions from callers calling into the show.

Mercedes: Liz had so much potential in SCW. It's just sad that, depending on what story you want to believe, a concussion or burnout or a very fragile ego after her first loss ended all that. Everyone thinks that she was the star of the Mean Girls. And maybe she was, maybe she wasn't. I'm not wishing ill will towards her, she's always welcome to come back. If she doesn't, that's okay, too. It's not the end of the world. The Mean Girls were here before her, and the Mean Girls, surprising to some, are still going strong after she left. So that's how I look at it.

Co-host: And we'll take one more call. This is Kurt from Evansville, Illinois. Kurt, welcome to That Wrestling Show.

Kurt: Thanks, Roz. Loving the show so far, guys. 200 episodes! That's a milestone!

Host: Indeed, it is. So what’s your question?

Kurt: My question is about your match with Zuri. What do you think happens if she actually beats you Sunday?

Mercedes: Thank you for your question. My match with Zuri is pretty much straightforward. I'm going to win on Sunday, and I won't need any help to do it. She knows it, the fans know it, I know it. Zuri is trying her level best to get me off my game, but as she'll find out at High Stakes, the game plays her. She's a lot like a Chihuahua. You know how they're always going 'yip, yip, yip, yip, yip' until you get in their face and they shut up? That's what I'm going to do to Zuri. I'm going to get in her face and I'm going to shut her up. Very few people haven’t be able to get under my skin the way Zuri has. She's mocked me for everything that I've done and everything that I am, she's attacked me from behind several times, and now her family is getting involved, which is remarkable seeing as this was just between me and her. And just as she hides behind a mask, she hides behind her family because she's a coward, plain and simple. Well, I'm going to give her a reason to be one in two days.

Co-host: Sin City Wrestling presents its High Stakes pay-per-view this Sunday from West Point, New York. Mercedes, thanks for gracing us with your presence, and good luck on Sunday.

Mercedes: Thank you, but it's not like I'll need it. I've got this match in the bag.

Host: The always confident Mercedes Vargas. It is 8:33 on WQTA 94.9. I am Mark Slaton, and you’re listening to That Wrestling Show. Hey, let’s get an update on Traffic. Dave, take it away…

• • •


S|C|E|N|E| 002
[ A R R I V A L S | A N D | D E P A R T U R E S, P A R T I III]

MISSION DISTRICT
SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA

“Why are we here?”

“Well, you see, that's a good question that people have wondered for years. Most people have wondered if God really exist, but it's all part of the grand divine and everyone's place in the world as part of one big mystery yet nobody knows why.”

Mercedes shakes her head at Carmen as this night was not going the way she planned.

Mercedes: No, I mean, why are we here, at Arby's

Carmen: It was either here or Denny's. Besides, you know anywhere else that serves pulled pork sandwiches this good?

Service is unusually busy tonight, and it didn't help much that the one or two people who came by her table kept staring back at them. Well, mostly Carmen, as she was still in a very festive Day of the Dead  costume, wearing a lace-up bodice, lace accents, and a black flower pinned to her hair. Her face is covered in a rich array of sugar skulls, roses, stitching, and hallowed out black eyes. One patron jokingly wondered if she was an Oakland Raider fan, to which Carmen responded with withered look as the patron went on his way back to his table.  Mercedes, kept a low-profile, wearing a simple Mean Girls t-shirt, jeans and as usual a San Francisco Giants baseball cap, which she hoped would keep the patrons at bay. So much for that. ]Mercedes looks out of the window. The night is filled with noises and colorful pageantry. The streets filled with orange and black as the city honors the San Francisco Giants recent World Series championship and third in four years, ushering in what very well could be the next dynasty in baseball.

Mercedes: I'm kind of surprised with all this. I thought you never wanted to speak to me again.

Carmen: That is still mostly true, but there's a reason why I asked you here.

She gestures at the manila folder between them on the table. Mercedes sighs and opens it, then looks back between the documents and her cousin before closing the folder and pushing it right back. She looks at her cousin with about the most solemn expression as she could form.

Mercedes: No way, no how. I'm not going.

Carmen: Oh yes you are.

Mercedes: No, I'm not. I've got places to go, people to see, promos to record. You know I don't like going to court, especially when I always base my decisions on who has the better attorney.

Carmen eyes narrows to slits.

Carmen: Did they teach you that at Mean Girls school? This isn't jury duty, and this isn't a game, Merce. This is serious, and I suggest you take this seriously. And you're going to love this attorney, because she took time out of her busy schedule to represent me against Helen.

Mercedes: Oh yeah. Who would that be?

Carmen: My mom, that's who.

Mercedes: Aunt Irene? Now I knew I shouldn't have come here.

• • •

S|C|E|N|E| 003

[REC•]

“How out of her league is “Lady Justice” Zuri Chastain when it comes to our match this Sunday? I mean, come on, this match shouldn't even be happening!

Mercedes shakes her head as she doesn't even consider this match worth her time, but believe it or not, whether she liked it or not, the match was happening, and her title was on the line. Seems like the Bombshell Roulette Championship was once again THE title to fight for in the division. She was a fighting champion, and for the past two title defenses, she fought like one. Nothing was going to change going into High Stakes.

“It must eat away at you that your sister did all the work while you got the glory. It must really burn you up that even though you had a 2-on-1 advantage that neither one of you could beat me fair and square, by the book, and within the rules. Deep down, Zuri, I know you wish you were the one who got the pinfall, but if you wanted to be passive that night, that's okay. This Sunday, you're going to have to work hard if you're going to beat me, but seeing as you'll end up falling flat on your face anyway, I don't even see the need to motivate you, Zuri.”

A show of concern crosses her face, though whether it is sincere is anyone's guess. She slightly looks down, shaking her head, though a small smirk can be seen.

“And you want to know why? It's not because you're that damn good, rather, you took advantage of a favorable situation and Blanca did all the work while you got the glory. Now, tell me, what's so impressive about that? Before that little handicap win, you went the entire month of July (0-2) and August (0-2) without a win to your name. The only thing you got going for you, other than beating Jessie Salco in your debut, is that you have yet to be pinned or submitter in the four months since then, but all that is going to change Sunday. To me, it doesn't matter who's behind the mask. Whether it's you or Blanca or even Rory. Someone is getting pinned at High Stakes IV.”

“People can label me whatever they want. They can say I'm losing my touch, they can say I'm going through a midlife crisis, they can label me a pathetic champion. I don't know about them, but since I got here I've accomplished quite a lot in seventeen months. Not bad for someone who is supposed to be past her prime, right?”

A raised eyebrow, a condescending shrug of her shoulders. As it turns out, Mercedes was really making her case as a bonified star in SCW. Did it take long? A little. But she didn't exactly ask for title shots right away either. Slow and steady wins the race, as they say.

“Now as much as I love talking about myself, Sunday isn't just all about me. No, no, no. Sunday is all about the Mean Girls. I get that we're loved, hated, and constantly debated. We can deal with the boos, cheers, jeers, and tears. But at the same time I am sick and tired of the disrespect we're getting, and it's going to end when we sweep all our matches and walk out of another city and another venue and another supershow still victorious. Not because I said so, but because it's clearly obvious that we've overestimated you for the last time. Sunday, when Veronica single handingly defeats Jessie Salco and Cynthia Warren, she will not only prove that she has come a long way since she started here, but she will continue to prove why she is the Most Improved Superstar of the Year. Sunday is about Delia Darling, the SCW Future Star of the Year – but why talk about the future when she's already tearing up the present, as in right now – and how she will crush that pale-skin, Lydia from Beetlejuice, weirdo emo/goth, Lenore the Cute Little Dead Girl wannabe poser, Misty, at High Stakes IV. And this Sunday, Zuri, there is no stopping me from beating you within every inch of your life and retaining the Bombshell Roulette Championship.”

“It's funny that this supershow is called High Stakes. It's almost fitting what we're up against. We're putting everything on the line. Everything. We've got nothing to gain and everything to lose. Zuri, you've got it easy. You have everything to gain, and nothing to lose. And you know, it got me thinking. I'm putting up something on the line. I'm making a sacrifice, but what are you going to sacrifice? I'm putting my title on the line, third tittle defense in six weeks this coming Sunday. Why don't you up the ante a little, Zuri? Why don't you put something on the line at the supershow? And I mean, it could be anything: your hair, your mask, even your career. Of course, you could always surprise me. I'm sure you'll think of something. So, what do you say? Are you willing to put it all on the table? Are you willing to sacrifice it all?”

I hope you're as good a gambler as Misty, but just the same, you might end up just like her at the end of High Stakes IV.

Empty-handed.

Sorry. Not. Sorry.

Fade.