The Sorceress Supreme of Professional Wrestling
5'7"
143
"Ladies and Gentlemen" - Saliva
Malibu, CA
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Seeing Stars, Spellbound
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The Sorceress Supreme of Professional Wrestling
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15 posts
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VICTORY ROSTER
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Post by Zoey Madigan-Star on Feb 19, 2022 4:03:46 GMT
 “BLACK SORCERY”
Pro Wrestling Excellence Victory IX
Boardwalk Brawl: vs. Xaria Linette
Cameraperson: N/A
On-Camera: Zoey Madigan-Star, Katalina Star
Off-Camera: Cassidy Gentry, ?
Tuesday, February 8th, 2022
Arena Mexico, Mexico City
12:21am, Local Time
”You took it all away from me.”
The voice is whispered and, even more so, wavering. Heavy, too. The weight of the world rests upon the shoulders of the speaker. The images before us do not match the tone or location, however; they are spoken above it. Beyond this pre-recorded moment in the illustrious Arena Mexico… or rather, backstage in one of the rooms set aside for PWE trainers and doctors to tend to any injuries that might occur. At a pay-per-view with stakes as high as those here at Magnificence, tempers and emotions can and will flare. Have flared, rather. Which brings us to this moment.
Zoey Madigan-Star is, in a word, a fucking mess. There’s no sugarcoating the situation, though if it were just the physical toil of a no-disqualification match with a woman who broke the arm of someone who simply said the wrong thing on a whim? That would be understandable. But Tara Ayla, the new Impulse Champion… Zoey considered her a friend and was beaten ruthlessly despite that. Not that the Sorceress Supreme didn’t give her all and then some. Truly, it was a side of the magician never seen before. It also was not enough. Seated on the edge of the trainer’s table, still in her gear, she lifts her arms robotically as her ribs are wrapped securely in bandages, barely wincing. This… well, intensity isn’t the word. Detachment? Focus? Numbness? It extends to her cut temple being disinfected and stitched up as well.
Tara’s tiger claws really pack a wallop.
”I stepped away from wrestling over a year ago because I felt, for better or worse, that I had done everything I could. Record-setting title reigns, a Hall of Fame ring, notoriety, friendships, a stable financial future, the adoration of so many… what more could a self-respecting professional want? My start in PWE was less than stellar comparatively, but when I first laid hands upon that Impulse Championship, I started to believe. I started to feel like I had only just begun. The scent of the leather, the weight of the gold, the cheers of the fans… it was like I had never left. Couldn't wipe the smile off my face after that.”
It certainly sounds like voice-over Zoey is smiling at that point, though sadly if we were to guess. With the stitching finishing up, Zoey continues to sit on the edge of the table, forlorn and heavy.
”Should have known it wouldn’t last.”
And there it is.
”You took it from me, Xaria! You and your apologist friends and your rotten nephew and the people who you swayed with your accusations! Did you HEAR them tonight?! They booed ME! One of the few good people left in wrestling anymore! The adulation I have earned with my honesty, my showmanship and my smile among other things?! Broken! Shattered! Because of YOU! Once a Child, ALWAYS a Child! You took EVERYTHING from me!”
”...Zoey?”
A soft knock comes to the open door. Zoey does not immediately turn in that direction, but the trainers do. They are about to try and shoo Katalina away but Zoey snaps her fingers sharply, the noise almost like a gunshot, making them jump and turn her way. She looks up at her wife and gestures her in. Katalina, thankfully, is too concerned to be smug about it and just goes to Zoey’s side.
Wifely concern has her wanting to check those injuries herself, but she relents. Instead, she brings a hand up to Zoey’s cheek. That simple touch is all it takes. In the same moment, Zoey smiles shakily as a few tears slip from her golden eyes, cutting through dirt and dried blood on her cheeks.
”No, dear. None of that.”
In a very motherly way, Katalina takes a handkerchief from her pocket and dabs at the tears… then just straight up starts cleaning off Zoey’s face. The magician weakly waves her hand away but Kat is having none of that. At least she doesn’t spit into it…
”I failed…”
”Losing isn’t the end of the world.”
”You heard them out there-”
”They don’t know any better.”
”But-”
”Stop it.”
Her tone is quiet, yet carries weight without the side-effect of harshness. At some point in the midst of all the intrigue and chaos, the world and Zoey herself forgot the woman that she used to be many years ago, before she became a world-renowned wrestler and stage magician. Before life had given her ample reason to toughen up. When a clap of thunder would make her squeak and a harsh word would have her in tears.
Half-leaning, half-falling forward, Zoey puts her head against Katalina’s chest and the well-dressed lady of pleasure wraps her arms around her wife. They’re silent for several moments before Katalina speaks up again. There is no mistaking the command in her voice, though. It might be tinged with roses and honey for the sake of her partner, but it IS a command.
”You make that bitch pay. You understand me?”
”Now? I’M going to take everything away from YOU.”
The scene freezes without warning, the moment that Zoey’s eyes open with her head still resting upon her wife’s chest. Her golden eyes staring away, toward the camera…
…and you have never seen such fury, for the rage of a good person pushed too far is too frightening to remember, to the point that our brains shut it out for the sake of our sanity.
Thursday, February 12th, 2022
Malachi’s, Malibu, California
1:01pm, Pacific Time
”First things first…”
Cassidy Gentry, intrepid private investigator, carefully ferries her tray to one of the corner booths of Malachi’s deli. Uncharacteristically, Zoey only carries a cup of steaming liquid with her. Her favorite place for ‘comfort food’ and to just relax and enjoy the simplicity of life over a good meal… and nothing suits her. Nothing but coffee with a few spoons of sugar, at least. The large fellow behind the counter knows that something is amiss. Cassidy catches his eye and mouths an apology that Zoey herself does not witness as she mulls over recent events.
”...how are things? In general, I mean.”
Smooth save there. Cassidy clearly means to tiptoe around the worst of things and stay on business as much as possible.
”There’s nothing to complain about, is there?”
Set to respond, the private investigator does not, for Zoey expands on her answer past a sip of coffee.
”I’m alive. And where there’s life, there’s hope. That’s what we’re told, isn’t it?”
She forces a smile; it doesn’t amount to much.
”Thank you again for getting me out of that… mess.”
”I… actually wanted to talk to you about what happened if you’re okay with that?”
”Why, have you discovered something?”
Zoey looks hopeful for a few moments as Cassidy puts down her sandwich and reaches for her briefcase, taking out a tablet. Activating it, she opens a file and places the device on the table, pushing it toward Zoey.
”You told me that your captor had several heated conversations with someone on a cell phone during your imprisonment and that, as the days wore on, he became more and more frustrated. He never related to you whom he was speaking with, but from the sound of things he had a… personal interest in what was going on? As in beyond getting information about your former patient?”
Zoey exhales and closes her eyes…
...and presently opens them. They glisten briefly but she forces the threat of tears away and sips more coffee before responding.
”He didn’t want anyone else working with him. Seemed like whoever hired him was putting pressure on him to deliver the information. If you put aside all else, he would have come off as protective. Despite the situation I was in, I rarely felt… threatened, I guess? It was strange.”
”Hm. Well, Ursula and I hunted after the guy after you were rescued, but came up with nothing. A couple days after, well… maybe you can confirm this, although I’m already 99% sure it’s accurate.”
Cassidy sweeps her finger across the tablet screen twice, bringing up an online newspaper clipping, specifically an article about a death in Arizona. At first, Zoey looks at the investigator with confusion, but then she scrolls further…
”Armand Zunderson, 31, Found Dead in Hotel Room of Apparent Drug Overdose. Wait…”
”That’s who your captor was looking for, correct?”
”I-It is…”
”And your former patient?”
”Also yes…”
Pushing the tablet back toward Cassidy, Zoey puts her coffee down and rubs her fingers into her eyes a bit, her breathing becoming shaky.
”If Zunderson told you anything, Zoey, anything at all… well, doctor-patient confidentiality can go fuck itself. This is a big damn deal. From everything you’ve told me, these people who were after him are dangerous. They might consider you a loose end.”
Her hands folded before her, a futile effort to cause her trembling to cease, Zoey swallows hard before lifting her gaze in the direction of the tablet before finally settling on Cassidy.
”Let them come.”
”You fuckin’ what?”
Twisting her index finger in her ear, Cassidy stares incredulously at Zoey, who calmly repeats her statement.
”Let them come.”
”I… can’t tell if you’re serious or not and that scares me a little. Unless you’re under guard 24/7, Zoey, you got no reason to act so bold. The man who grabbed you clearly knows how to find you and when to make his move. The people behind him are probably… no, scratch that… definitely worse-”
”I gave him the file. He knows everything I know. And good riddance.”
”...you’re serious?”
”Felt like it was that or my life. What would YOU have done?”
Even as easily as she admitted to it, clearly this was not a decision that Zoey made lightly. She sips more of her coffee and Cassidy, left a bit dumbfounded, nibbles at her sandwich. The two women sit in silence for about a minute before Zoey’s phone goes off. Cassidy’s attention is acquired immediately as Zoey takes it out of her pocket, examines the screen and in turn affects a confused expression.
”Bad news?”
Sweeping her finger across the glass, Zoey’s eyes move back and forth for a couple moments, then close tightly. She shakes her head a little and places the phone face-down on the table.
”...I have to go.”
”You wanna tell me what’s going on?”
”An old friend needs me. That’s all. I need to get to Trenton.”
”If it’s all the same, I’d prefer to travel with you. I’m heading back that way as it is to continue the original investigation given my feeling that it and your recent encounter are related. Plus I don’t feel right with you being alone.”
Zoey is about to refuse but does not have the energy.
”Fine. I’ll call you once I have details.”
Not really waiting for a reply, Zoey rises and leaves the restaurant. Cassidy looks after her sadly. Her own phone goes off a few moments later and she answers it somewhat brusquely.
”Gentry. What? Whoa, slow down… wait, what do you mean it was empty in the first place?! This ain’t a good time for jokes, Kowalski! All right, all right… yeah, I’m already planning to head up that way. I’ll see you Saturday. Right. And don’t let those federal shitheads near it for one goddamn second, you hear me? They’ll screw it up before we get anything out of it! I mean it! Put guards on it if you have to!”
Hanging up while muttering a curse, Cassidy hurriedly wraps up her sandwich and prepares to depart.
Friday, February 11th, 2022
Capital Health Regional Medical Center, Roof - Trenton, New Jersey
10:39pm, Local Time
It’s a chilly New Jersey evening. Zoey, cell phone in hand, is recording from a hospital roof of all places. Why? Perhaps she will elaborate on that. What is clear is that the young woman is in an even worse mood than before. Whether it is anger or sadness, fury or insanity, could not be said to look at her. It is in the rigidity of her posture and the cold, unfocused look in her eyes… as if she is looking through something, or otherwise seeing what is not there to anyone else. And the cool calm of her tone does not help answer the question of her mental state, either, save to affirm that it is NOT a good one.
”The saddest part of all is that I don’t hate you, Xaria. You most certainly deserve to be hated… hated, reviled and burned at the stake, if I’m being utterly honest… but it will not be me that does those things. No…”
The wind catches her unbound dark hair as her hood is tossed back by the same stiff breeze. Zoey calmly wipes a tear away as if it were the most natural thing. Certainly, though, that was not shed for the Rainbow Angel?
”...your conscience will do it for me.”
It is less a smile and more a twitch of her lips. She wants to smile but knows she shouldn’t. Or perhaps she is fighting another side of herself… the side that so desperately wants to hate but just can’t.
”I tried to be kind to you from the start, Xaria. I didn’t care about your past. Instead, I saw someone also making their return to wrestling. Someone with a bright smile and lots of talent. A person I would have been happy to share the ring with, as partner or opponent. That’s why I called you over that evening, to join me in greeting those young fans. But your darkness is forever a part of you. I learned that on the evening in question. And do you know what?
You were right, too. Do you remember?”
The phone is turned, aiming now at the skyline in the near distance… the twinkling stars in the sky and the lights among the high-rises and streets. It’s rather nice, in fact. Something about the crisp winter air just makes everything clearer. Including Zoey’s voice.
”Everyone has a dark side. Well, you weren’t wrong. The difference is in how we deal with it and what form it takes. Some give it free reign, enjoying what they consider the freedom that comes with it. Some fight all their lives to suppress it, though they’re usually consumed by it in the end. Some, like you, obfuscate theirs. Oh, I know, you claim to accept it, but I think we both know that’s bull. You know it is there and so does the rest of the world. But you dare to act as though it no longer controls you. This is your wake-up call, Xaria:
Honest people don’t accuse others of bad things in order to make themselves feel better as a person.
Maybe I DID protest too much. Maybe this DID affect me worse than it should have. A person secure in their innocence and self-esteem, perhaps, would have laughed off the ridiculous assumption that they were up to no good. Except I’ve never been secure. Not in a very long time. Heck, not ever. Or did you mistake my pretty smile, pleasant personality and desire to please for confidence? No, Xaria, I’ve pretty much been living a lie my whole life. More so since my brother was taken from me. That's my darkness. The darkness I've fought to not let infect those around me or rule my life. You just… ripped away the curtain on my greatest illusion. You exposed the scared child that’s been hiding in the body of a talented young lady for more than fifteen years. Congratulations. The trick’s exposed. Just like that.”
The sharp snap of fingers is heard, but the sound she makes afteris an odd mix… laughter and crying at the same time? Something like that. The girl is pretty emotional these days, after all. It’s the… chaotic tilt to it, the borderline madness. Which is probably why the next words out of her mouth are of the type that none had ever heard Zoey speak before.
”So… fucking congratulations, you dire bitch.”
The camera is back on her as she says those words, eyes streaming with anger. She mockingly bows before straightening up and pulling her dark purple hood back into place.
”Now if you’ll excuse me, I have to experience someone else I love leaving this world. You’ll forgive me if I don’t care about your feelings in our fight… not match, FIGHT… at Victory, Xaria. I said I would end this and so I shall. I will do unto you… and you will know the power of black sorcery.”
Whipping around, Zoey shoves her free hand in her pocket as she deactivates the phone’s camera, the last shot being of her staring straight ahead with angry tears flowing.
Two hours later…
An aged gentleman lies on the hospital bed, innumerable hoses and wires connected to him and the various monitoring devices. In his prime, he was no doubt incredibly handsome, perhaps tall and lean with an easy smile. But that is a version of him that only exists in memories and photographs now, some of both in black-and-white rather than color. At this very moment he is sleeping and looks quite peaceful, but make no mistake: the machines are the only reason he clings to life.
Sitting at the bedside on a chair, her knees drawn up to her chest with her arms around them and her head resting atop her legs is Zoey. She, too, seems to be sleeping. How she manages in such a position is a mystery. Perhaps she’s just dozing?
”Zzz…”
Scratch that.
The door softly opens and closes. The man does not stir, but Zoey blinks beneath her hood and slowly lifts her head. For a moment, in the fuzzy realm between wakefulness and slumber, the young woman almost looks normal. Unfettered by anger.
”Mmm? Oh… sorry. I guess it’s a bit too late for me to still be here. I just-”
CLICK.
The door is locked and the man in the white jacket turns. Zoey looks his way, slowly unfolding her legs, noting that the man is masked and wears a cap. All pretty standard. Except for his eyes. Eyes that are FAR too familiar. Zoey’s own widen considerably and she bounds out of the chair like a cat, her right hand flashing into her left sleeve, coming out with a stun gun. She flips the switch and electricity harshly crackles as the VIPERTEK VTS-989 crackles to life. The false doctor remains by the door, staring.
Then he laughs gently.
”Put that away.”
”Not on your life. Turn around and leave. I have Detective Gentry on speed-dial and this place will be swarming with cops before you can make it to the ground floor.”
Her voice wavers, but the weapon held before her seems to be keeping her former abductor at bay. He shakes his head, though, rather than leaving as asked.
”I only came to talk. Let me say my piece and I’ll leave.”
”Why should I?”
”Because you believe in second chances.”
”Try again.”
It’s quite the stalemate. The man shrugs, then does just that: he tries again.
”Because your family is in danger and I’m the only one willing and able to help you.”
That comment makes Zoey pause. Still, he does not move.
”Do I have your attention now?”
”Say what you have to say. Then I’ll decide if I believe you.”
He glances toward the bed and, for a moment, looks unbearably sad. Zoey sees this and appears confused… but just like that, the look is gone and he’s staring at the young woman once more.
”Fine. It’s like this…”
Fade to black. |
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