... But to that second circle of sad hell,
Where 'mid the gust, the whirlwind, and the flaw
Of rain and hail-stones, lovers need not tell
Their sorrows. Pale were the sweet lips I saw,
Pale were the lips I kiss'd, and fair the form
I floated with, about that melancholy storm
They fell for ages. Pam wasn't sure how she knew they were falling, and it proved impossible among the whirling and tearing of reality to discern the passage of time. Yet they still fell. After a few moments of unconsciousness Pam pried her eyes open and found herself again in unfamiliar territory. She felt a gale ripping around her though there was no indication of its origin. As far as Pam could tell she'd ended up in a windowless room without light. She brought herself to her feet and focused on her surroundings, reaching out with her sensors and energy only to realize they no longer functioned. In the Wasteland and Skyrim she'd been able to access abilities which allowed her to crush those in her way. She could kill with a thought, create matter from nothing, and even revive her slain enemies to again butcher their mangled corpses for amusement. Yet this new location had somehow suppressed her innate abilities. I not like this at all, she thought. What had G.A.R.F.I.E.L.D. got her into?
Which begged the question, where was G.A.R.F.I.E.L.D. anyway? Pam turned her head a few times and saw only darkness. Perhaps the cybercat tricked her and left her stranded in this new dimension. She felt a pang of regret that she ever trusted him in the first place, but the time for revenge was later. Pam stretched out her arms and grasped around her, hoping to find weapons or at least feel something solid. Her palms grazed concrete walls much closer than she expected, but thankfully surrounding her on only three sides. She strode forward, one hand on the wall and the other in front. The wind blew faster.
After several minutes of careful striding Pam noticed a slit of light at the end of the hallway. As she drew closer the illumination helped her make out shapes of objects. She nearly tripped on a stack of folding chairs and had to briefly crawl to avoid a metal ladder, both of which were unceremoniously stacked in her path. Once she was again standing Pam found herself directly in front of the light source which she recognized as being level with her feet. Not only was this the end of the hall, but also apparently the source of the gusts which continued to blow louder. She stretched out her hand and this time it struck smooth wood. A door, she mused. Sure enough more groping led her to grasp a cold metal handle protruding from the wood. Only one way out of this. Pam seized a kendo stick that for some inexplicable reason leaned against the door and turned the handle. She threw her body at the frame, pushing against a gale which frenetically tried to contain her. Pam's body responded to her efforts, her unnatural strength seemingly still intact. She screamed with ferocity that few deathclaws could match and nearly tore the door from its hinges as she burst through the hallway and into a dozen glaring spotlights. Pam held her stick in the right hand and shielded her eyes with the left. When her eyes adjusted, she couldn't help but feel amazed by the raucous mural into which she'd stepped.
The wind had gone, its sound replaced by the noise of thousands of cheering humans seated in an immense indoor arena. She stood on an elevated platform which spewed gouts of flame on both of her sides. Behind her, a gargantuan screen displayed live camera feed of her as she examined the surroundings spliced between strangely professional pictures of her menacing smile. While Pam was still processing how those photos were obtained, a furry hand grabbed her wrist and pulled her forward. She swiveled her head and glared at G.A.R.F.I.E.L.D.'s apologetic face.
"What have you done you pathetic snake?" Pam shouted, grabbing the cat by his neck fur. "I have no problem gutting you in front of humans if you not speak soon," emphasizing the point by jabbing his ribs with the kendo stick.
"Pam let's not be hasty darling." G.A.R.F.I.E.L.D. muttered nervously, hands up beside his head. "I assure you this was certainly not intentional." The crowd cheered as Pam tossed him down a ramp descending into the center of the arena. Though he landed on his feet, G.A.R.F.I.E.L.D. barely had time to stand before Pam again clutched him by the throat.
"Where are we?" she demanded through gritted teeth. G.A.R.F.I.E.L.D. answered by raising a shaking hand, pointing at the screen behind them. Pam dropped the frightened cyborg and squinted. "Wrest…leman…ia?" Though she was new to this whole dimensional travel thing, she was certain this world didn't exist even in legends. Before Pam could continue interrogation of her companion a booming voice echoed throughout the square arena.
"It looks like there's some trouble between our next challenger and her manager!" said the voice with amusement. "She'll have to save some of that for the Cell!" Pam briefly considered what the voice could be talking about until seconds later an enormous metal cage dropped from the ceiling, trapping her and G.A.R.F.I.E.L.D. inside. Simultaneously, a panel opened up in the floor of the arena which spewed forth a raised white platform which stood several feet taller than the average human. Elastic ropes formed the platform's perimeter. Most significantly, the platform contained nearly a dozen of the largest, beefiest boys Pam had ever seen. Dressed in foreign garments which clung tightly to their bodies, the combatants grinned at Pam and G.A.R.F.I.E.L.D. with some even motioning for her to step into the ring. Even though her supernatural powers remained locked away Pam knew her raw strength remained. She pulled herself up to the edge of the ring and hung on the outside. She'd never needed to back down from a fight against humans. These oddly muscular ones didn't frighten her.
"I give all chance to surrender. Leave now and there is no hurting." She swung her upturned palm toward the cage's door (although Pam couldn't comprehend why a cage might have a door) to accentuate her point. A sweet beef boy tried to rebuff her offer with an elbow to the face, but quickly found Pam was stronger than she looked. Said elbow shattered upon contact with Pam's forehead and the assailant fell to his knees, groaning. She bent the elastic ropes and used them to vault into the center of the arena. Pam smiled. Her solitary constant in life was violence which she welcomed like a family friend. "Hurting starts now, yes?"
The audience members howled with joy while they watched the unfolding melee. Audible blows rang around the arena and the excited cheers turned to angry yells which petered out into shocked silence. When the final wrestler was thrown against the cage wall, the thud from his fall could be heard without difficulty. Whoever this newcomer claimed to be, she wrestled unlike any previous competitor.
Pam leaned on her knees, breathing heavily. She still needed time for her body to adjust to this world. The exertion of besting twelve humans hardly phased her, but the effort it took to render them helpless with style gave her pause. This could take some getting used to.
G.A.R.F.I.E.L.D. caught her eye by waving his arms frantically. Pam cocked her head to the side. "What you doing?" she whispered. He responded by miming a bow and raising his arms, then pointing to her. She shot him a quizzical look but soon realized his intention.
"I not much of a showman G.A.R.F.I.E.L.D.."
"Irrelevant Pam, you need to win them over while you've still got the chance!" he whispered with urgency.
Resisting the urge to roll her eyes Pam raised both her arms with fists clenched. The silence hung in the air and for a short period of time she felt something unlike anything else she'd been programmed to feel. A dread unlike that which accompanied being under fire or the emotions experienced when her sons disappeared around her. It was almost as if Pam feared she would disappoint these anonymous humans, as if she wanted their respect after showing them the one skill she possessed. She dared not let it show on her face, but for a moment Pam felt embarrassed.
Thankfully as soon as the feeling came it passed. The crowd erupted into the loudest cheers she'd heard since her arrival in this strange new world. Her eyes darted toward G.A.R.F.I.E.L.D. once more and he grinned, motioning again for her to bow. She stiffly bent at the waist to continued applause. Pam could not understand why these people accepted her actions, but she knew she liked how their approval made her feel. Reminiscent of how she felt when surrounded by her sons or when Metal Husband clasped her in his mechanical arms. Different, but in a good way.
Smirking, Pam strode over to one of her fallen foes and with one arm raised him above her head. The crowd booed while G.A.R.F.I.E.L.D. yelled something incomprehensible at them, then moved his paws across his throat. Pam heaved the beaten wrestler towards G.A.R.F.I.E.L.D. who deftly kicked the poor man in the chin and through the metal cage door. The people yelled and laughed as the man struggled to stand before limping out of sight. G.A.R.F.I.E.L.D. gave Pam a thumbs-up and she copied the gesture. Not sure why cat is having so much fun, she thought, but it couldn't hurt to enjoy the moment. She leaned out over the edge of the ring and grasped the cyborg's forearm, yanking him up onto the platform beside her. Their eyes met and G.A.R.F.I.E.L.D. winked. Despite the absurdity of the situation, Pam couldn't help but feel a small swell of pride. Is nice to feel important. The pair took a simultaneous bow while humans all around them clapped.
Their victory proved short lived. Pam and G.A.R.F.I.E.L.D. both recognized a change in the tone of the room not thirty seconds after their bow. They looked at the ramp from which they'd originally descended and saw the wrestler whom G.A.R.F.I.E.L.D. had just ejected from the cage. However the fighter now stood next to a strange metal capsule attached to various screens and tubes. The pod emitted a burst of steam when the fighter pressed several buttons on an input, causing the arena lights to dim for a few seconds. The capsule split in half and swung open on hidden hinges, revealing a stout shape emerging from the fog. Nearly half the audience seemed to recognize the process taking place and raised bright green signs with the words "Billion Dollar Princess" scrawled across them.
G.A.R.F.I.E.L.D. muttered something about caution under his breath, gesturing toward the kendo stick which lay broken in half over some unfortunate wrestler's body. Pam retrieved the weapon, handing one half to her friend and holding the other half parallel to her forearm. No need for pride. Not out of woods yet.
The loudspeaker crackled to life and cheerfully announced the arrival of this unknown figure. "Ladies and gentleman! This is quite a surprise! All the way from Capetown, South Africa, the beautiful man-spider himself is here!" People in the audience reacted in different ways to this news; some stood and began to chant, others sat stone-faced, and others barely concealed looks of abject horror.
"The son of our very own Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson, please give a warm welcome to the one, the only, Christopher Christopher 'The Pebble' Christopher Chrrrrrristopher!"
Pam pinched the bridge of her nose and rubbed her eyes. "G.A.R.F.I.E.L.D.," she asked in a resigned tone, "what the fuck is going on?"