~Prologue~
Seeing the Collateral Damage Championship every morning on her nightstand next to her bed never failed to make Heather's chest well up with pride. It was not like she fancied death match wrestling by any means, but it damn sure made her feel valued! Sure, The nature of ultraviolent matches in itself was downright bloody barbaric and a messy spot fest galore. The gore, the bloodshed, the chaos and the carnage that came with it wasn't anything that needed to be taught from a wrestling school. There was nothing artful about it. Nothing skillful. No bragging rights that could be obtained. Anyone could grab a chair and bash someone over the head with it, and because of that, it took nothing truly special to excel in that... "style" or lack thereof.
But Regardless, Heather, ever the good sport, carried enough venom and spite to prove that she was more than just a pretty face by adapting to garbage wrestling such as ultra violence. Ultimately though it was never her intention to be groomed as one in the first place; She never asked to be some sadist pain freak BUT somehow found herself caught in it by PWS APEX management who sought her as a crash test dummy, or a great sideshow attraction to attract the crazed hardcore fanatics who loved seeing the scantily clad ex porn star do inhumanly things in the ring whilst getting beaten to a bloody pulp.
Maybe management just didn't really care or view her as a serious wrestler type or a long term investment. Or maybe to them she was a punchline of jokes by their golden boy McKane when he wasn't trigger happy in using his staple gun to staple her boobies up for shits and giggles! Either way, Despite the utter painful humiliation she endured from doing these crazy deathmatches, it didn't stop her from using that platform to her advantage to become the fastest rising star in all of PWS APEX. Her daring willingness to go balls to the walls and subject her body through immense torture made her a resilient risk taker and a fighter in the ring all for the sake of RESPECT.
At only thirty years old and still well in her prime... It was by far a miracle that she had even lasted this long as she did as a CD champion.
And if Destiny was going to be her last stand, she'd be damned sure as hell to go out in a blaze of glory!
~~~~~~
SCENE ONE
June 28, 2020
~Waffle House Las Vegas, NV~
“So I said to my third ex-wife, ‘You can’t have any alimony money because we both agreed on a prenup. That was the deal of our drive-in wedding, but she still doesn't get it because she thinks I'm a money tree that she can shake me up to front her trip to Cancun. Well, it ain’t happening! She can move her lazy ass from the couch and get a job like everyone else.”
::Lorne chuckled, taking a bite of his Angus Burger while Heather sat there staring at her uneaten salad on her plate.::
::Waffle house was almost empty with only a few patrons occupying the small diner due to co-vid restrictions, but it was Lorne’s favourite hangout spot every afternoon because of how incredibly super cheap he was when it came to affordable meals like their Cheesesteak Melt Hashbrown Bowl.::
::As Lorne took another bite of his crispy burger, he sensed the gloomy feeling in Heather as she sulked away, poking at her salad absentmindedly with her fork.::
~Lorne~
"Hey baby girl...you okay? You haven't said a word since we got here."::Heather looked up, gazing at him with that sad longing puppy dog look in her eyes.::
~Heather Haze~
"Just thinking how this nauseating salad could very well end up being my last meal I get to indulge in a roach infested crap hole like this. Like seriously? Waffle House? You couldn’t think of any place better in this stupid city than this trashy joint filled with fat, obese slobs??"::Lorne sighed heavily, pinching the bridge of his nose in an annoyed way.::
~Lorne~
"Look, If you really don't want to go through with the match you don’t have to. You can say that you are sick. I am sure they’ll not have you wrestle sick."
~Heather Haze~
"Except I ain't Bella or any of Bella’s dimwitted friends to get that kind of privileged treatment. There’s no way I can weasel my way out of this one because I am contractually obligated to participate in it or else I will be stripped off the title... and I can’t allow that!"~Lorne~
"You’re right and I’m sorry you have to defend your title tonight, baby girl. I’m sorry that this is happening to you."~Heather Haze~
"You know what the worst part of all this is, Lorne? I was so DAMN close to beating Bella! Draw or not I had her shoulders pinned to the mat for the three count! I had her beat!!"~Lorne~
"That you did. The clock was no doubt rigged. Actually it's also the referee's fault for that slow count. Even my sprightly 87 year old mother can slap the mat faster than that!"~Heather Haze~
"You know what makes me sick? After all that I was DAMN sure that Laura would at least have the decency to put me in that match with Bella and Allanah and make it a three way at Destiny." ~Lorne~
"Heh.. Three way. Sounds sexy."::Heather narrowed her eyes at Lorne who put his hands up defensively.::
~Lorne~
"Sorry. Please. Continue."::Lorne sat upright in his chair, showing that he was all ears as Heather sighed before continuing on with her rant.::
~Heather Haze~
"I wrestled my heart out. I put on one of the single greatest wrestling matches in my entire career. And just like that I once again am screwed out of that chance and treated like dirt. I am once again forced to compete in a mindless deathmatch against my will like I’m some kind of a circus animal! This is no invitational match. This is nothing more than a bounty put on my head by Laura to make me suffer. How is ANY of this fair?! How long are they gonna make me do this?? I’m not some suicidal junkie who gets off on doing deathmatches. I am a woman of grace and virtue, dammit! I hurt, I bleed, I feel pain like everyone else. I’m not made of some impenetrable steel. I’ve NEVER asked for this. I don’t deserve any of this at all!"::Heather then stabs the salad with full force with her fork and viciously takes a bite of it.::
~Lorne~
"Well, there’s always option b. you could always fake an apology to Laura and Bella to try and get on their good side. It doesn’t have to be a sincere one, but still an effective one."::Heather let out a sardonic chuckle.::
~Heather Haze~
"Me? Apologize? What the heck did I ever do to them? They should be the ones apologizing to me for all the atrocity that they have done against me. How is it fair that Laura is putting out tweets to other wrestlers from that shitcity wrestling to take a crack at MY championship belt? What did they do to earn this when it took me four matches in my rookie year to finally get a shot at this belt with then champion, Dillon Crowe? How the hell does that make me feel when I have been loyal, and gave my best years of my life to this company??"~Lorne~
"I’d like to see Bella and Alanah do half the stuff that you do in the ring."~Heather Haze~
"Ha! Those two bitches don't even come close to what I CAN do in that ring. They can’t walk a mile in my shoes. Do you have any idea how many death matches I’ve been in, Lorne?? Do you??"::Heather held five fingers up.::
~Heather Haze~
"I've been in FIVE deathmatches so far in APEX PWS! FIVE agonizing horrifying excruciating barbaric deathmatches that I feel to this very day everytime I wake up in the morning. Name one female bitch on the entire roster who has competed exclusively in a deathmatch setting against the likes of Mack McKane and lived to tell the tale? ZERO!"~Lorne~
"It's all Mack’s fault anyway for raising the bar so high. He should’ve never came up with such a ridiculous concept of an open invitational. Lord knows why? I tell you If anyone is to be blamed, it’s him."~Heather Haze~
"Exactly! He’s always been a nutjob and suicidal at best. He doesn't care about putting his body through that kind of pain. He loves pain. Whereas I am thinking long term of my health and well-being, and whether I can still perform for another 10 years before I can hang my boots up for good. Deathmatches have implications and the last thing I wanna wind up is being crippled or worse...dead." ::Lorne rested his hand over hers, patting it gently.::
~Lorne~
"You are the strongest toughest woman I know. Look at all that you have gone through and yet you're still standing. You can handle anything. This is all gonna be a breeze for you."~Heather Haze~
"No it won’t be all thanks to Laura on making sure to stack all the odds against me. She wants to make sure that I wind up losing my belt and get stretched out the arena, a bloody freakin mess where I'll die all alone in some godforsaken ICU room with no one around to mourn me."::Heather sighed, burying her head on the table.::
~Heather Haze~
"I barely made it out alive the last time I went up against Mack at Centre Stage. And JUST for that I had to endure three freakin’ months of extensive rehab and a surgery on my left elbow! This time I KNOW I won’t be so lucky."::As Lorne stumbles to find some words of comfort, a stocky built middle aged man with a led zeppelin t-shirt, and a blue mask hanging down his chin comes walking up to their table. He has a small piece of paper and his cell phone out.::
~Man~
"I am sorry but are you Heather Haze?"
::Heather glares sharply at the man, eyeballing him up and down.::
~Heather Haze~
"Who wants to know?"
~Man~
"Well, me and my buddies have this bet that you are her."
~Heather Haze~
"You know exactly who I am cause I've seen you and your buddies gawking at me for the past 15 minutes like a couple of dumb pervy jocks. Rude much?"
~Man~
"Umm what?"
~Heather Haze~
"Don’t act all dumb like you don’t know who I am. Pretty sure you whacked off to me like a million times. Backdoor Bitches 2 ring any bell? How about Anal Attraction? Did you know I got an AVN for best performance scene? Of course you do! But guess what? I’m DONE with ALL THAT PORN SHIT!! And I don’t need all you pretentious low-life scum bags to remind me of my past! THAT IS NOT ME ANYMORE!!"
~Man~
"Holy shit You did adult films?? Wow, That is so cool! Nah, I recognize you from APEX PWS. I’ve been a wrestling fan my whole life...I just got into APEX PWS recently through a friend, and been watching a bunch of matches and stuff. But man You’re easily one of favs. That match you had with Bella Madison was killer. I was like nearly at the edge of my seat throughout the entire thing. Like, holy shit!"
::The man turns to look at his friends at the table across the room and gives them a thumbs up. They all start to smile and talk amongst themselves as the man holds out the paper.::
~Man~
"Would it be possible to get an autograph and a picture, Miss Haze?"
::Heather looks at Lorne with shock, who gives her the same grin the man gave Heather.::
~Heather Haze~
"erm..sure."
::Heather smiled at the man and signed the paper before leaning in with the man for a picture. The man took the selfie and looked at the phone in borderline shock.::
~Man~
"Wow never would I’ve thought in a million years I’d run into a celebrity especially at Waffle House. Thank you Miss Haze. I’ll be sure to watch you tonight at Destiny kicking all kinds of ass. I’m pulling for you."
~Lorne~
"Appreciate the support, my good man. Spread the love."
::The man nods and hurries back to his buddies as Lorne watches him walk away with a huge smile on his face.::
~Lorne~
"See that? You just made that guy’s day. Now do you believe me when I say how awesome you are??"
::Heather can’t help but blush a little.::
~Heather Haze~
"I know, right? I mean I’m so used to all these weirdos and creeps coming up to me all the time hitting on me, cause they know me from adult films...but this is so cool. Finally I’m getting some much deserved respect and admiration as a wrestler. And that’s all I ever wanted y’know?"
~Lorne~
"That’s all you, baby girl. You’ve started a movement. Now that guy is gonna post it all over his instagram and tweeter. I can definitely see this working in your favour."
~Heather Haze~
"Really? How so?"
~Lorne~
"Well, people always like and appreciate a good underdog story. I mean you came from absolutely nothing and used wrestling to turn your life around to become a big superstar."
~Heather Haze~
"Wow, I never thought of it that way. Guess I got suckered into thinking that all I was was just a piece of tits and ass when I am much more than that. The struggles are still real to me to this day. But I’m not gonna let my crummy past translate my wrestling career."
~Lorne~
"No you won’t because you are a fierce modern day Joan of Arc fighting the corrupt system, while wearing your heart proudly on your sleeves. You are A symbol for inspiration to empower other women who can learn from your struggles and triumph in life. I feel this has New York Times best seller written all over it."
~Heather Haze~
"You mean I gotta write an autobiography of my entire life? But I can’t write for shit."
~Lorne~
"We can hire some college Joe schmoe to do the work. And then during publication we’ll say it was all you. OR we can sell this idea to a network executive and do like a whole miniseries centered on your life. I am telling you baby girl this is GOLD STUFF! We gonna make a lot of money off this!"
::Heather considered the idea long and hard, before she shook away her head and glanced at Lorne with all seriousness.::
~Heather Haze~
"Or I can go in this match, raise all kinds of hell, and WIN the whole damn thing myself to get some goddamn respect! That'll show everybody!"
Everyone wants to write me off as a loser. Everyone would LOOOOVE to see me get my ass beat and lose MY belt. Heck, I know Laura is clamouring for me to lose this belt to one of her hand-picked minions. I know she’d absolutely relish the sight of me falling flat on my face; but I am not gonna give her that measure of satisfaction. She wants to deny me my rightful match with Allanah & Bella for the United Title just cause I’m not at their level? She wants me to play second fiddle to Mack when it comes to being a dominant CD Champion? She wants to downplay me and MY meteoric rise in PWS APEX?
Well...
I’m gonna make them regret every single thing they have ever said about me. I’m sure as hell gonna go out there swinging with everything I have so I can throw it all back in their faces. At Destiny I will overcome and I’ll be the one laughing last because I am Heather F’N Haze!!"
::Lorne grinned wildly, pointing his finger at her with that gleam in his eyes.::
~Lorne~
"There it is! There it is right there! That’s what I am talking about! THAT’S the Heather Haze I wanna see tonight! The fire! The passion! God, I love it! I know you're gonna give em hell and knock em dead, baby girl."
::Lorne then raises his mug filled with root beer.::
~Lorne~
"To a successful title defense and many more to come. Salute!!"
::Heather smiled brashly and did the same with her glass of diet Pepsi. They then both clink their mugs together, sloshing their contents and laughing as the scene fades to black.::
~~~~~~
SCENE TWO
June 28, 2020
Destiny Pre Show
~Backstage, APEX Arena~
::The slow walk backstage was a long one for Heather as she dragged her luggage while clutching the Collateral Damage Championship close to her chest, refusing to part with it. It was to be business as usual as she sported a little plaid skirt, a white shirt and a little navy blue cardigan. Her long brunette hair was in low pigtails affixed with matching bows as she smacked the gum between her perfectly glossed lips until she heard a voice calling out from behind her…::
"Heather!"
::That voice of Daniel Clarke bounced off the walls as Heather turned on her heels to see the excited interviewer running towards her with a mic in his hand and the camera man in tow. Rolling her eyes with a dramatic sigh, she waited patiently till Daniel rushed up to her looking a little short out of breath before shooting her that usual shit eating grin of his.::
~Daniel Clarke~
"Heather, you made it? And just a little over twenty minutes before show time. Think you can spare a few minutes to go over the invitational match with us for our Pre-show?"
::Daniel moved the mic inches apart to her lips as Heather shrugged, giving her head a shake.::
~Heather Haze~
"Like I have any choice or any say around here. Whatever. Let's just get this over with."
::Daniel then smiled, craning the mic over to his way.::
~Daniel Clarke~
"Heather last week you and Bella put on an wrestling clinic that many fans are still buzzing about. Unfortunately things ended between you two in a time limit draw, which left many questions unanswered. And now tonight sees you in perhaps another one of the biggest matches of your career as you get to put your CD title up for grabs in this invitational match with the likes of Miles Kasey, Malachi, and new comer Montgomery Creed, and perhaps we could even see a few wrestlers from Sin City Wrestling making a guest appearance, all vying for your belt. How are you feeling heading into this match with all the pressure that's on you as the defending champion?"
::Heather again shrugged .::
~Heather Haze~
"Guess you can thank Laura for that. After all, she was the brains behind all this."
~Daniel Clarke~
"Well so far Montgomery Creed has thrown his name in the hat and has even made his intentions known to win the belt that could no doubt skyrocket his career in one night. What do you expect from this new up and coming rookie who wants to make a name for himself in PWS APEX?"
~Heather Haze~
"He sure is a charming sweet gentle giant, isn't he?"
~Daniel Clarke~
"He does have an imposing size to him standing at 6 feet 7 inches tall."
~Heather Haze~
"Well, Good on him. And Good on the bloc for training his heart out for this; Even if he seems a lil' slow on the uptake with what he really signed up for.
Let me make it perfectly clear to you, Monty. This is by no means a wrestling match in any traditional sense. I mean Sure you can use all that size and strength and that southern charm of yours to sweet talk your way into this match , but how far is that gonna get you when what we have here is something out of Wes Craven's own wet dreams where I get to pummel and bash you up senseless with all kinds of assorted sharp pointy blunt objects like a steel chair or a barbwired bat or heck even a weed whacker for good measure?"
::A melodramatic sigh follows suit, as Heather rolls her eyes. The small but mighty brunette pursed her lips just slightly.::
~Heather Haze~
"But I get it! I so totally get it, and there's nothing wrong in trying to make a name for yourself at my expense, Monty. Hell, I was dragged into the whole allure of deathmatches because I was just as naive and young as you are when I first turned up in this place, thinking that I needed to get my feet off the ground to get from point B to point A. I had that same hunger in my eyes; I had that same drive and passion to make a something out of myself, and I used this belt as means to put myself waaay high up on a pedestal to enjoy and have all the finer things in life like money, clothes, sex, fame, and power. And so far it all worked out great for me. But Little did I know that as I was doing these incredibly inhumanly astonishing things it took a good chunk of my career as I put my body endlessly through continuous hell to appease all these blood sucking leeches who have me to thank for putting APEX PWS on the map with this belt!"
::Heather then holds her CD belt up proudly closer to the camera.::
~Heather Haze~
"So with that in mind. How badly do you REALLY want this? Are you willing to bear this cross of mine like I did for the shameless suits who have fed off on my misery and made money off my blood, my sweat, and my tears that I have shed in that ring ? Are you willing to bleed and sacrifice your entire career like I did to keep this company pain-stakingly alive without even a thank you or a slightest bit of recognition and appreciation from management? Because I don't think you have what it takes, and I hate to see this happen to you during your young promising career. I'd hate to see you succumb to any needless unnecessary and unwanted injuries before even your career can even properly take off. You clearly don't need this. But I know you'll come to understand, and you'll thank me for it one day... perhaps even over that nice dinner."
::Heather winks slyly as Daniel once again hovers the microphone over to his chin to speak.::
~Daniel Clarke~
"And what are your thoughts on Miles Kasey's inclusion in this match especially the strange tweets he's been sending out in recent weeks? What do you make of it?"
::Heather somewhat snickers, almost barely containing herself from laughter.::
~Heather Haze~
"And are we all suppose to really believe that crazy Milo has gone off the rails? I mean yeah Milo is a loony alright. Too many blows to the head maybe? And if he had any brain cells left he'd know that it was a little over six months ago where I knocked him out silly with a baseball bat and won this belt for the second time in my career.
Now, I like Milo. A lot even. He's a good looking guy. He's fast. He's athletically gifted and a former United Champion in his own right. He's an absolute delight and a pleasure to watch in the ring with all the crazy stuff he does, but if I can pin point one flaw in Milo's game plan is that he's injury prone. A delicate little flower if you will. Case and point when he blew out his back at Dishonored. What was that injury he went down with again?"
::Heather tapped away at her chin with her finger, thinking long and hard while trying not to make it look like an overkill.::
~Heather Haze~
"Oooo That's right! 'Hernia'. And of course I cracked open his lil noggin with a bat which made him miss a couple of TV tapings. Poor hapless lil' Milo. See, I don't relish the idea of injuring you or hurting you in any way, but since you're coming after me and my belt than what choice do I have in this matter? I am justified to do what's best for me to survive even if I have to clobber your noggin again with a lead pipe to drive the point home! So Sorry Milo, but that's how it's gonna be. It's nothing personal."
~Daniel Clarke~
"And let's not leave out the former world champion Malachi who also has taken up on the challenge. What do you think he'll bring to the table?"
~Heather Haze~
"Mal..."
::That bitchy smile fell from her face immediately, a rather cold scowl painted on her face.::
~Heather Haze~
"Funny how you stepped up in a heartbeat when this little challenge was thrown out by Laura over on twitter. And why is that? Is it because I beat the holy piss out of your fiancé that left her with a broken, bloody nose to remember me by? Did that fiery Irish temper of yours got you all triggered that you wanna come at me like some raging bull? I mean you were so damn sure that she was gonna wreck me up'; you were so sure she was gonna break my bones and stuff...guess I showed your lady that I am not really the one to fuck with, init? Not bad for a...what's that you called me once...oh 'rat-faced-cunt' like me?"
::She dragged a finger down her cheek, imitating a tear while a cruel grin stretched over her face.::
~Heather Haze~
"And besides why are you even chasing after an 'inferior belt' according to your math whiz sister? Isn't this kinda of a stepdown for you from being world champion to like competing for an 'inferior belt' in a lousy opening match with me? After all, you could easily still invoke your rematch clause. I don't see why you haven't done it yet. Oh and spare me the BS excuse that Mack has his hands full with Synn. Knowing Mack he'd gladly come around, kick your ass, and then go back to saving the love of his life. Then again, you were always a weasel. That's how you got in the world title picture in the first place with your tantrums that got you in that main event at Last Rites where you sneaked up a win to become a transitional World Champion. Just like what you are doing now in this namesake open invitational. Story of your career, ain't it short stack?"
::Heather asked, with a scoff.::
~Heather Haze~
"You're methodical and calculating I'll give you that. And hey it doesn't hurt career wise with you banging the bosses daughter. You have it all made out for you. Guess, the only thing in common we have is getting our asses handed to us by Mack twice in a row! But if you think that you're gonna take MY belt than you better brace yourself from getting your head fucking caved in by this 'walking identity crisis'. You probably have this idea planted in your head of you and Bella leaving tonight with all the gold for yourselves to cement yourselves as the ultimate power couple in order to make up for that shitty loss over at shit city wrestling where you failed to capture those mixed tag belts. Yeah, I check out the Climax shows in my boredom when there's nothing to watch on TV. Not a big fan. And I wouldn't be caught dead in that place... because I am right here being the flagship of this company. THANK YOU VERY MUCH!"
::Heather pats herself softly on the back in a cocky way.::
~Heather Haze~
"You can make all the snide comments you want. I don't care if you're trying to impress Bella or you acting out as Laura's personal enforcer to try n' impress your future mother in law. Come at me with everything you have, asshole! And this goes out to everybody in that dressing room who are right now glued to their monitors watching this. I don't care whether you are developmental talent for life or a part of that shit city wrestling crew looking to make a quick extra buck. Tonight's an opportunity for all of you. One for you to realize I'm not the bad guy you think I am. One where you realize you're swimming in the shark tank and you don't have any cage to protect you. Tonight... I teach you about survival of the fittest, and you get to see if you will survive. The blood that you shed will all be on Laura's head as I take much delight on your pain and suffering. You have one choice: Survive. And if you fail... well...not my fault. But Rest assured.."
::Heather looks at her belt, and cuddles it lovingly as if it were a baby.::
"This is my property, and ya'll trespassing on my turf."
::Heather then glares back at Daniel as a loud pop then follows with her rudely blowing a pink bubble in front of Daniel's face with that same piece of gum, smacking between her glossy lips. The Collateral Damage Champion then rudely pushes him away, protective of her title and anyone who may come near it. As she coddles the title in her arms, the scene fades out.::
OOC: Sorry for the lateness. Been having some net issues. Thankfully all solved now. Good luck everyone.