Chapter 57 (Supernova)
It was hard to believe, but somehow, the attendance to Supernova was much bigger than in Olympia. The crowd cheered as the lights dimmed and the show's intro flashed onstage. A cosmic storm lit on the Titantron screen.
"It's time, everybody! Tonight, we will see events on a cosmic scale as the beautiful and powerful wrestlers of Xtrema make their legacies known tonight! Titles, futures, careers, and pride are all on the line here at Supernova!"
*Artemis Creed vs Clover*
The opening match was about to begin. Up first, Artemis Creed took a boxer's stance and marched toward the ring. She was shadowboxing until she made it to the apron. She climbed into the ring and raised her fists into the air. Next, Clover appeared on stage. She presented herself like Hercules before beginning her walk toward the stage. She walked right in and cracked her knuckles smirking at her opponent.
"What an opening match, am I right? First up, our Puerto-Rican boxer, Artemis Creed, will test her striking speed against Clover's brute strength! Will Artemis overcome Clover's obvious size advantage, or will the big brawler win her first ever singles contest?"
DING-DING!
Artemis raised her fists carefully circling Clover, who raised her hands up daring the boxer to come to her.
"Come on, punchy. I just want to play."
Artemis threw the first punch, but Clover stopped it by grabbing her wrist. Artemis punched with the other hand, but Clover grabbed that too. Artemis tried to break herself free, but Clover held onto her tight. Eventually, the big brawler pulled Artemis toward her by both arms before striking her with a solid headbutt. She hit Artemis again with another headbutt before finishing it with a third. She released her hands and let Artemis fall on her back.
"Is that all you got?" Clover taunted. "I've had a better fist on my last date."
Artemis growled before quickly retaliating. She caught Clover by surprise with an uppercut. She then grabbed her by her head and slammed it right to her knee. Clover took a step backwards trying to recover from the knee strike. Artemis ran to the other side of the ring, bounced off the ropes, and ran back to Clover striking her across the face with great force. Clover fell down on her back.
"Not forgetting this time." Artemis said before getting on top of Clover.
1… 2…
Clover kicked out of that. She returned to her feet wiping the drool off her face that came from that last punch. She smiled sadistically.
"Nice punch. Too bad it's nothing. Like I said, I'm not losing on my first singles match!"
Artemis crouched down and connected with a stomach punch, but Clover flexed her abdomen to push her away. She then grabbed Artemis and trapped her in a tight bearhug. The boxer yelled feeling her bones being crushed.
"Creed, give up?" the referee asked.
"NO!"
Clover smiled harder before throwing Artemis over her shoulders in a torture rack. Artemis yelled again, but refused to submit. Clover moved on to the corner and climbed up the second rope.
"Ready for your punishment?" she yelled loudly. She jumped backwards and landed Artemis in a Samoan drop. But she wasn't done yet. Clover climbed up the middle rope again with the groaning Artemis underneath her. She bounced on the ropes before jumping and crushing Artemis with a Banzai drop. She stayed down for the referee.
1… 2… 3!
DING-DING!
"Ooh! That's gotta hurt in the morning! A big hand for Clover for winning her first singles match! Better luck next time for Artemis Creed though!"
Artemis groaned trying to stand up. She hasn't felt this defeated since her match against Jackal. Artemis sighed before turning back to Clover, who was admiring her victory. She raised her closed fist waiting for a bump.
"Congratulations on your first win." Artemis said. "Looks like I still have a long way to go."
"Eh, you weren't so bad… for a puncher, of course." Clover said returning the fist bump.
Up at the skybox, both Sayuri and Jackal watched from above. Jackal smiled at the sportsmanship.
"Lucky Clover, pardon the pun. Artemis didn't offer me a fist bump when she and I met in the ring."
"I'm sure she's had a lot of time to think after that." Sayuri said. "By the way, that was a good match you had."
"With Creed or with Sakura Hagiwara last night?" Jackal asked.
"I was talking about with Creed," Sayuri said, "But your match against Sakura was good too. Better, even. Though, I can tell you held back for a bit."
"Just for a bit." Jacky said. "Some of the surprising things she did was all her own. We ended the match later than I planned too. She's well on her way to being championship material like Misaki."
"Well, we better keep an eye out for her, Jacky." Sayuri said.
Jackal nodded. "By the way, I've noticed that all but two of your newcomers are competing tonight. I figured a tag team called the Galaxy Twins would want to participate in a PPV called Supernova."
"I couldn't fit them in." Sayuri said. "Not to worry though. I promised those two that at the next Xtrema episode, I'll give them a shot at the Tag Team Championship."
"Fair enough." Jackal said. "So who's next?"
"That'll be Zelda Logan, a gimmick-hating hardcore type, against Sam Hamilton, a cosplayer who Zelda's had in her sights in a while. They'll be competing in an I'm Sorry match."
"I'm Sorry?"
"It's like an I Quit match, only the loser is whoever says 'I'm sorry' first."
"Sounds interesting. So this Sam Hamilton is going to wear a costume in the ring. Any idea who she'll be going out as?"
Sayuri chuckled. "Oh, I do. And Zelda's certainly not going to like it."
*Zelda Logan vs Sam Hamilton*
The second match was ready to start. After a moment of silence, Zelda Logan began her entrance. She readied herself and marched down the ring. When she was done, she awaited her opponent, but much to everyone's surprise, Sam Hamilton came out in a very insulting costume: Zelda Logan herself. She had on Zelda's costume, spray tanned herself to match Zelda's skin color, put on a wig, and even had the very same entrance as her. She looked identical to the real Zelda, who growled at Sam's display.
"Whoa! This looks like it's going to get brutal! Sam Hamilton appears to come to this I'm Sorry match dressed exactly like her opponent, Zelda Logan! I can tell the latter isn't liking that one bit! Remember, the only way to win is to make your opponent say the words 'I'm sorry'! Everything else is allowed!"
"What do you think you're doing?" Zelda shouted at her counterpart.
"What does it look like?" Sam responded. "I'm just cosplaying. This here is called a mirror match."
"First, you disrespect the sport. And now, you're disrespecting me?" Zelda growled. "I'm so going to enjoy tearing you apart."
"Just be glad I didn't decide to put pillows in my top to make fun of your boobs."
DING-DING!
Zelda wasted no time running forward and striking hard at Sam's face. Zelda then grabbed onto Sam's leg and bent it backwards before locking in an STF. Sam thankfully was close to the rope, so she grabbed onto it. There wasn't a rope-break, but Sam used it as leverage to escape and power out of the hold.
Once she was free, Sam sent a strong kick to Zelda making her fall backward. Sam then gave her own STF. What bothered Zelda was that not only did it hurt, it was almost exactly like she did to Sam. Zelda tried to reach, but she was too far from the rope to.
"What do you say, Zelda?" the referee asked.
"I WON'T APOLOGIZE!" Zelda shouted. She started crawling her way across the ring. Sam tried to keep the hold on, but after a minute, Zelda made it to the ropes. Sam let go and waited for Zelda to get back onto her feet.
The two competitors locked each other in a collar-and-elbow struggling for the advantage. Zelda broke the tie-up by sending a punch at Sam's head again. Sam retaliated by sending a knee-strike at Zelda's stomach. She then connected with a DDT before hooking for the pin.
1… 2…
Zelda rolled out, which gave Sam the opportunity to lock in a sleeper hold. Zelda grunted feeling the tightening grip on her neck. She struggled and ended up grappling with her opponent. They rolled around the ring trying to gain the advantage over each other, eventually rolling out of the ring.
The crowd watched in anticipation, but only because they noticed that Sam not only looked like Zelda, she was copying her move to move. This mirror match had everyone at the edge of their seats.
The real Zelda returned to her feet and gripped her fingers on Sam's wig. She ripped it off and threw it to the crowd.
"Hey! My friend worked hard on that!" Sam shouted.
"You're an embarrassment to the sport, you bimbo!" Zelda insulted before tackling Sam to the steel steps. She grabbed Sam's head and slammed it right at the top of the steps. "Apologize!"
"No!" Sam shouted. She kicked Zelda's stomach sending her to the barricade.
Sam went underneath the ring and pulled out a kendo stick. She swung it until it struck right at Zelda's back. She swung it again making impact once more. She swung one more time, but Zelda grabbed it and pulled it out of her hands. Cautious of what might happen, Sam retreated back into the ring. Zelda followed with the kendo stick in hand, but as soon as she got in, Sam grabbed her in a headlock and threw her in a bulldog.
Sam took back the kendo stick and kept swinging it right at Zelda's back until it cracked. Zelda groaned in pain while Sam threw the bamboo sword out. She grabbed both of Zelda's hands and raised her in a sitting position before sitting behind her and locking her legs around Zelda's arms in a lotus lock. Zelda screamed once more at that.
"APOLOGIZE NOW!" Sam shouted.
"NEVER!"
With little choice, Zelda reached her hands back and raked Sam across her eyes. The cosplayer yelled and let go. Zelda looked back at Sam before grabbing her legs. She crossed the cosplayer's legs and locked her in a Texas cloverleaf. Sam yelled feeling the massive pain on her back.
"IT'S TIME YOU APOLOGIZE TO THE SPORT!" Zelda shouted. "APOLOGIZE!"
"I'VE GOT NOTHING TO APOLOGIZE FOR!" Sam responded loudly. She lifted herself with her arms and slowly crawled backwards until she was laying on her back in front of Zelda. She broke out of the hold and kicked Zelda in the face immediately.
Sam leaped forward for a spear slamming Zelda on her back on the mat. Sam then grabbed ahold of her legs and applied her own Texas cloverleaf. She used the same force, but the pain on Zelda's back was much worse because of the bamboo sword strikes applied on it earlier. Sam applied more pressure to make it hurt more until…
"STOP IT!" Zelda shouted. "STOP IT! I'M SORRY!"
DING-DING!
"What a match! Both women gave it their all and Sam Hamilton matched her opponent move for move, even her own finishing move to win the match! But the question remains, will this be the end of their rivalry?"
Sam let go of Zelda and offered her hand to help her up. "That's a good question. Listen, Zelda, I respect that you don't like gimmicks, but you gotta at least understand that I love mine. I wouldn't trade it for anything. So how's about we put this behind us?"
Zelda growled and got up on her own without accepting Sam's help. "I don't need your pity. For now, I'll stay out of your way, but if you do anything that disrespects pro wrestling, I won't hesitate to break you so much, you'll never get in the ring again." She turned and left Sam to sigh in the ring.
*Kaito Marx vs Clementine Cirrus*
Kaito Marx made his entrance next after Sam Hamilton went backstage. He did gain some support from the public, but a majority of Xtrema viewers saw his only victory a month earlier as either a fluke or an unwanted win. Either way, he was determined to show them his new grit tonight. After he entered the ring, Clementine Cirrus arrived with her western music on. She ran up to the ring and leaped over the ropes giving her cowgirl yell.
"This next match is one that many have low first impressions about! Clementine Cirrus, a second-generation wrestler who's competed in events around America, is squaring off against Xtrema's only male competitor, Kaito Marx, who hasn't competed ever since his only win in Olympia! The odds are way against Marx in this regard, but his slow improvement might just be a sign of him growing as a wrestler!"
DING-DING!
Clementine wildly ran for a shoulder tackle. Kaito widened his eyes before rolling under her arms as she passed by. She grabbed onto the ropes at the corner before she hit the turnbuckle. She turned back to Kaito who leaped at her back first. He was attempting to slam her to the corner, but instead, she grabbed him and held him up in a reverse bearhug. She walked to the center of the ring still holding him above the mat.
"Good try, sugar," she whispered, "But I'm afraid you just wasted your chance." She lunged herself backward hitting Kaito with a German suplex. She then hooked his leg for the pin.
1.. 2…
Kaito managed to kick out. Clementine stood up waiting for him to stand back up to his feet. She dared him to attack, but Kaito ran to the ropes. He bounced off and Clementine prepared for his attack. Much to her surprise, he ran past her and bounced off the ropes behind her. She turned, but Kaito ran past her again. She turned one more time before he jumped up and struck her hard with a dropkick that was heard across the arena. Most of the fans were genuinely shocked silent.
Clementine fell to the mat while Kaito ran to the ropes. He leaped onto the middle rope and springboarded off. He fell down landing an elbow drop right at Clementine's chest. He hooked her leg for the pin.
1… 2…
Clementine kicked out. She smiled facing him as she stood up. "Not bad. Looks like Bee was right for me not to hold back. In that case…"
Kaito tried to surprise her with a kick to her stomach, but the cowgirl caught his leg and tripped him onto his back. She flipped him over and applied a single leg Boston crab. He gritted his teeth at the hold.
"Do you give up, Marx?" the referee asked.
"NO!" Kaito responded. He used his free leg to help him get close enough to the ropes to grab the bottom rope. Clementine let go right after.
Kaito rolled out of the ring to regain himself. Clementine smiled and followed, but when she went ringside, Kaito wasn't anywhere to be found. He already went back to the ring. She looked around for him until she saw him bounce off the far side of the ring. He ran back so fast, Clementine couldn't respond until he jumped through the top and middle rope slamming himself right on top of her. The crowd cheered at the display they just witnessed.
Kaito used much of his strength to pick Clementine up and throw her back into the ring. He followed and hooked her leg.
1… 2…Thr…
At the very last nanosecond, Clementine lifted her shoulder up. The crowd was getting excited beginning to cheer for both sides. Kaito was elated, both from the praise around him and the rush of his new wrestling style. In the past, he'd be too afraid to do high-flying moves, but now that he's learned that's his specialty and gave it a try, he can't help but keep going. Kaito turned and climbed up the corner posing for the crowd.
"NEVER SAY DIE!"
Kaito knelt down before springing from the top of the corner. He readied for a splash, but so was Clementine. She quickly sprang up to her feet and grabbed Kaito in her arms.
"Good try, sugar, but you lose!"
Clementine flipped herself down and struck Kaito down in a scoop slam. She hooked his leg for the pin.
1… 2… Thre…
While Clementine barely kicked out before, Kaito's escape was even narrower. He rolled himself into the corner and tried to pick himself up, but the momentum he had lost had drained him too much to get out of the seated position. At least, before Clementine jumped onto him with her finishing bronco buster that took away his next three breaths. She pulled him away from the corner and rested herself on top of him.
1… 2… 3!
DING-DING!
"WHOA! That was surprising! I admit, even I didn't see that coming! Kaito Marx came very close to his first pinfall victory! On more than one occasion, he got the best of his much bigger opponent! Though he still lost, it doesn't seem to matter!"
The announcer was right. Even though Kaito lost, the crowd cheered for him and thanked him for putting on a good show. That was the first time that Kaito smiled after a lost. Clementine helped him up and shook his hand saying congratulation.
Meanwhile, backstage, several other wrestlers who were watching the show were either amazed at his improvement or angry at it.
The Skunk thought, "So he's such a hot shot now? Well, it'll be my pleasure to put him back at the bottom where he belongs. And just to make sure, I think I'll take him away to be my butt-slave for the rest of his life."
Midnight thought, "Mmm. Now, that's what I call bride material. Just you wait, Marx. You will be all mine, body and heart."
Mantis thought, "They actually praised that? Oh, Kaito. That just earned you ten broken bones."
Eris thought, "Hoo-hoo. Not bad. Maybe he'll be better off worshipping a goddess than a queen."
Neko Girl thought, "Whoa, Kaito. You're getting stronger every day. That's why I… Never mind."
Both members of Team Spirit thought, "Go, Kaito! You did great!"
Willow Powell thought, "What a complete farce. I don't know what zat was, but Marx needs to learn zat zere are winners and zere are losers. And he needs to remember his place."
Diana Diaz thought, "How can they praise somebody this weak? What does Queen Bee see in him? Well, when I'm done, she'll forget all about him."
Jasper Jones thought, "Truly, a warrior's spirit indeed. Reminds me of one of Barbaria the Savage Queen's lovers in the past."
Carina thought, "Whoa. Now, that's what I call a man."
Jun Juli thought, "Great work, Kaito. You're pretty cute, even if you lose. Glad you showed another side."
Catrina Horace thought, "That twerp came close to winning? Well, maybe I should revise my earlier statement and give him another shot."
Maria Crawford thought, "So he's tougher than he looks. Good. I've been wanting a good challenge before I make him squirm."
Queen Bee thought, "That's it, sweetie. You're very close. You just need to find your finishing move. Speaking of, let's hope the one I use works."
*Xtrema Shorts*
Chibi Monica Everly waved to the crowd as her latest segment started. Sitting next to her was a Chibi version of Mantis.
"Welcome back to Xtrema Shorts, everyone! We hope you've enjoyed the first thirds of Supernova! Now, onto our interview! Give it up for our nastiest martial artist, Mantis!"
"Nasty is a horrible description of me." Chibi Mantis said. "I prefer the term, most willing."
"If you say so, Mantis." Chibi Monica said. "Now, let's get on with our interview! Standard question plus some personal questions asked by our readers, mainly Awesome ax10. Ready?"
"Let's get this over with."
"Great. First question… How long have you been wrestling?"
"Five years."
"Do you have any dream opponents?"
"Well, I've heard about this martial artist named Yuri Ora. I think she'd make an interesting opponent to surpass."
"How do you feel about your fans?"
"I'd call them bugs, but that'd be an insult to bugs everywhere."
"What's the toughest match you've had so far?"
"Kyoko Natsumi. She may be a clown with fat arms and legs, but she really had me on my toes."
"What do you do for fun?"
"Well, bullying that boy, Kaito, is a good way to kill time. I also like practicing my speed, agility, and skills. He makes the world's best training dummy"
"What do you think makes a great wrestler?
"A real wrestler knows when it's crushing or being crushed. If you can crush others, you can lift yourself even higher, despite what anyone else says."
"Do you have any interests besides wrestling?"
"Well, I am interested in entomology. I've always enjoyed insects as a child, and anyone who ever made fun of me… Well, let's just say they're not physically incapable of laughing again."
"All right. Onto the personal topics. Awesome ax10 would like to know… What's your relationship with your old master?"
"You mean Jaiying? Yeah. She found me after my old bullies left me for dead. She taught me everything I needed to defend myself, but after she told me she wanted to teach me the ways of peace, I lost faith in her because that didn't include getting revenge on anyone who put me down. These days, she's dead to me."
"What martial arts do you believe is superior in wrestling?"
"Well, I do practice in multiple forms of martial arts, but if I had to choose, I'd go with my dominant art, kung fu."
"What ways do you think about humiliating Kaito Marx further than just playing with him?"
"Every time he challenges me to a public match or even a sparring session, I convince him to bet that if he lost, he'd be my training dummy at my dojo for the night. And whenever I train on him, I force him to wear costumes similar to whoever I feel like hurting on the roster. It gives me a good visual while I'm hurting him pretending he's Natsumi, Carly X, or even Queen Bee. Of course, ever since those two started going out, that Queen Bitch has declared him off limits. But she won't protect him forever. That's a promise."
"Thank you for that detailed description, Mantis. Thank you for your time. Now, everyone, that's one part of Supernova down and two to go. You'll see me again next time. Any and all comments are welcome!"