Glory Braddock vs. Polly Playtime

[Konrad Raab]

2 RP Limit for singles

3500 word max per RP

Deadline: 11:59:59 pm ET Wednesday, May 25, 2022

[Braddock]

Ooc: 1 of 2
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May 21st, 2022
Miami, Florida
Off Camera
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Change is inevitable. Evolution is a natural part of life. Everyone undergoes change at some part in their life. There are few things that can truly considered to be consistent and unchanging. When it comes to the life of Glory Braddock, that one thing that has always remained consistent is karaoke night. When she was a young teenage tomboy, she enjoyed karaoke night. When she grew up and embraced the life of luxury and acted the part of a prim, proper, and spoiled princess she still enjoyed going out for karaoke. Now that she has returned to her roots and has once again embraced her original tomboyish attitude and personality, Braddock is still enjoying a night of karaoke.

It is a party atmosphere late at night in Grails Miami, a local bar and grill in Miami, Florida. There are many places one can find to hang out and enjoy a good night of drinking and the occasional karaoke, but this is one specific place that Glory Braddock has grown to enjoy as her favorite hangout. The bar is dimly lit, contrasted by the neon lights inside decorating this restaurant. At a round table near the back of the restaurant one finds Glory Braddock and Fiona Osbourne. Fiona is dressed in torn denim jeans, flip flops, and a plain black t-shirt. Braddock is wearing royal purple jogging shorts, white tennis shoes, and a royal purple t-shirt that matches her shorts. Her long blonde hair cascades down, flowing freely to past her shoulders. She is sporting zero nail polish and absolutely no makeup. The British Bombshell is sporting a big smile upon her lovely naturally beautiful face.

A brown hat is on the table in front of Glory Braddock. Also in front of Glory is a mixed drink, specifically a Black Russian. Fiona is enjoying a simple red wine. There is one thing missing about this scene; namely, Amelia Stone. Both Fiona and Amelia have been taken under the wing of Glory Braddock, being mentored by the former multi-time World Champion. So where is Amelia tonight? Did Braddock and Fiona ditch Amelia? No, they did not ditch Amelia. Quite the opposite. In fact, up at the front of the restaurant where the DJ has his equipment set up stands Amelia Stone, who is in the process of entertaining the fans with a song…

“I’ve seen your face…uh…a lot of tiiiiimmeeess!”
“Every time….no, DAY….we’ve been apaaaaaaarrrrrrt!”

Braddock and Fiona laugh hysterically as Amelia stumbles over the words of this Ozzy Osbourne classic. Glory and Fiona toast themselves, clinking their glasses of Black Russian and red wine respectively before taking a sip.

“And I don’t care about this soooonnnnng NOOOO!”
“Cause mother, mother I’m coming hoooooommmmme!”

Fiona laughs so much that she snorts her drink out of her nose. Glory even snorts a little. Both women realize that this latest misstep was intentional on Amelia’s part, not accidental.

“I’m NOT coming hooooooome!”
“I’m NOT coming hoooooooooommmmmme!”

Amelia hands the microphone back to the DJ. She takes a bow and receives a polite applause from everyone in attendance. Fiona and Glory give the loudest and most enthusiastic applause. Fiona even whistles loudly. Amelia begins to make her way back to the table. Amelia is red in the face partially from the embarrassment of singing before everyone. She pulls out her chair and quickly sits down, folding her arms over her chest.

“Happy now?” Amelia asks. Braddock and Fiona both nod their heads in unison.

“Brilliant, mate! Absolutely brilliant!” Glory answers. “That was great!”

“No it wasn’t.” Amelia shakes her head. “Why’d I have to sing that song anyway?”

“Because the magical hat said so.”

“Magical hat? Glory, that is just some hat you bought at a Yard Sale.” Amelia points out.

“Do NOT blaspheme the magical hat. The magical hat knows what song is best suited for you. In fact…” Glory picks up the hat and holds it out to Fiona “...you’ll be called on to sing soon, may as well choose your song.”

“Do I have to?” Fiona asks. Glory nods her head.

“We all agree do to. And plus Amelia already went through it, so its only fair that you do too.”

“Yeah!” Amelia exclaims. Fiona sighs and reaches into the hat. She pulls out a slip of paper and reads it. She sighs and drops the paper on the table.

“What’d you get?!” Amelia asks. She quickly grabs the paper and reads it. Amelia laughs. “Baby Got Back!”

“That’s perfect for you, Fiona!” Glory states, grinning from ear to ear.

“Are you suggesting that I have a big ass?”

“No…yes…well maybe…” Glory sets the hat back on the table. Fiona immediately shakes her head.

“No, wait!” She points at Glory. “What about your song?”

“Fair enough.” Braddock reaches into the hat and pulls out a slip of paper. She reads it and rolls her eyes. “Bloody hell…”

“What is it?” Fiona asks. “What does the so-called magical hat have you singing?”

“In My Daughter’s Eyes by Martina McBride.”

“That’s a great song for your vocals.”

“Yeah but it’s country, I prefer rock.”

“I got Mama I’m Coming Home, now Glory has In My Daughter’s Eyes. There’s a theme here.” Amelia shoots Glory a curious gaze. “Did you plan this?”

“If I were to intentionally plan a theme, wouldn’t I have rigged it so that Fiona would have gotten a song other than Baby Got Back?”

“Good point…” Amelia sighs and stands back up “...still, I’m going to the bathroom before the magical hat pisses me off.” Amelia walks away from the table. Once Amelia is out of sight, Glory Braddock takes the Black Russian and downs the rest of it in one quick swig. She places the glass back on the table and sighs. Fiona arches her brow out of curiosity.

“You ok, Glory?”

“Yeah, mate. Just thinking about taking a peek into that magical hat and seeing exactly what other parenting songs are still in that bloody thing.”

“Hey! That’d be against the rules!”

“Yeah? Well I made the rules.”

“And who did you get to pick out these random ass songs?”

“Kurt, Melinda, Julia, and Dawn each got to pick three songs to put in the hat without telling any of us what songs they chose.” Braddock frowns. “I hope to hell they didn’t get together and plan this stupid theme.” The server stops by their table shortly after Glory’s rant comes to an end. She looks at Glory’s empty glass.

“Would you like another Black Russian?”

“Nah…get me a Bloody Mary.”

“Right away.” She points to Fiona. “And you? Do you want more wine?”

“Sure.” Fiona shrugs. The server walks away. Fiona looks back at Glory. “So you don’t like the apparent karaoke theme of the evening, either do you?”

“It isn’t my favorite topic.” Glory chuckles softly. “And it isn’t just because my mom and dad got divorced. Even when they were together they constantly were fighting. My mom hated the fact that my dad was a wrestler, she hated the fact that he constantly risked his physical well being in match after match, week in and week out.”

“You can’t blame her, though. It has to be tough to watch a loved one get hurt all the time. I mean, you probably hated it when Kurt wrestled, didn’t you?”

“I still do.” Glory nods her head. The server returns with the drinks. She places them on the table. Glory takes her Bloody Mary and takes a sip. “Kurt recently returned to the ring for a one night only affair. And of course the buffoon hurt his leg in the process. So yeah, I see why mom hated it when dad would wrestle. And the bickering got worse after his career ended. He wanted to remain in the wrestling business as a trainer and manager, my mom wanted him to quit the business altogether. She gave him an ultimatum, wrestling or her.”

“And he chose wrestling?” Fiona asks. Glory nods her head.

“Yeah, and mom walked out on him. They filed for divorce and unsurprisingly dad won full custody of me and my sister. When you are as popular and well connected as my dad is, you generally get what you want. And my mom was so incensed that she just moved to across the pond to the United States.” She takes another sip of her Bloody Mary. “I was in my late teens when mom left. I was very bitter and I blamed her for refusing to come and see me. I hated her for that…I blamed her for leaving dad. It wasn’t until I was older before I saw her side of the story and realized how dad used his political connections to get full custody of me and my sister. Then I grew to hold a grudge against him too.” Again Braddock chuckles softly. She shakes her head. “I probably sound like a whiny little brat.”

“No, you sound like a perfectly normal person.”

“Thanks for lying, mate.” Glory says with a smirk. “But you know what that bitterness did to me. But enough about me and my madness…” she motions to Fiona “...tell me about your parents. I know so very little about them.”

“Do you really want to know about my parents?” Fiona asks. Glory nods her head.

“Of course! I mean, I just poured out my heart and soul about my own dysfunctional past. I expect the same in return.”

“If you say so…” Fiona takes a sip of her wine and sighs; she sounds unsteady, clearly not feeling good about this subject “...you already met Todd. He’s a real piece of work. He and my foster mom both saw me as a prize, a beautiful trophy they could pawn off on modeling jobs to make money.”

“It’s short of sex slavey…using your looks to make themselves money…” Glory glares angrily “...that should be illegal.”

“It probably is, but when you are as well connected as my foster father was, you could get away with just about anything short of murder. He was drunk and abusive which made things worse. Eventually I just threw myself into modeling, realizing that the more involved I got, the busier I got, would mean the less time I would spend around Todd.”

“Yeah, Todd is a real jerk.” Braddock says, sipping on her Bloody Mary again. “But I already met that wanker.”

“You did a real number on him too. PAINT by numbers!” Fiona says laughing. Glory smirks.

“Nice pun, mate, but work on your comedy routine. Anyway, I don’t want to hear any more about your foster parents. I want to hear about your real parents.” Glory states. There is a long pause as Glory looks at Fiona, waiting on an answer. The wait grows more awkward as it is clear that Fiona is equally as uncomfortable with this topic as she was with the other. Eventually Fiona shrugs her shoulders.

“There really isn’t much to say about them.” Fiona says quietly as she sips on her wine.

“Are you sure?” Braddock asks, looking more than just a little confused. “Surely you know at least SOMETHING about them? You weren’t given up for adoption at birth, were you?”

“No, no, it’s not like that…well kind of….” Fiona shakes her head. “Look, I there really isn’t much for me to say because I know very little about them. When I said I was abandoned by my parents I meant it. I was abandoned. And as a result I don’t know much about them. In fact, I only know their names. My dad’s name was David. My mom’s name was Patty.”

Glory watches as Fiona takes another sip of her wine, although this time it is more than just a sip. Braddock can tell that Fiona is slightly upset about this subject. Her mind tells her to back off but lately she has been following her heart more than her mind. So The British Bombshell once again lets her heart take the lead and presses her young student on the issue.

“Uh, Fiona?”

“Yeah?”

“I do have some connections myself. I know several private investigators who are really good. If you wanted I could pay them to find out about your biological parents.”

“I’d rather not, thanks.” Fiona says, shaking her head.

“Are you sure? Sometimes it helps to learn from the past. If you don’t learn from the past you are doomed to repeat it, you know?”

“True. But they also say that ignorance is bliss.” Fiona grins. “And I enjoy living in bliss.”

Braddock is about to counter when she is interrupted by the voice of the DJ… “And coming up next to sing is the musical stylings of Fiona Osbourne!” The people in the attendance clap politely. Fiona sighs with some relief as she now has an excuse to get out of this conversation.

“Well I’m up.” She winks at Glory. “Wish me luck!”

“Yeah, good luck…” Glory’s voice trails off as she watches Fiona rise up out of her chair and walk towards the front of the restaurant, towards the DJ. The British Bombshell doesn’t even notice when Amelia returns to the table. She taps Glory on her shoulder. Glory is startled as she turns around. “...oh, it’s you.”

“Gee, you sound happy to see me.”

“Sorry, it’s just…” Glory looks up at Fiona who is handed the microphone “...it’s Fiona.”

“Is everything ok?”

“I hope so.”

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May 22nd, 2022
Miami, Florida
Off Camera
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Twenty four hours has passed since the girls night out at a karaoke bar in Miami. The British Bombshell and her two students, Amelia and Fiona, have already returned to Glory’s luxurious home in Miami. The girls are already in bed and as for Braddock herself, she is getting ready to turn in for the night as well. She has a big day ahead, for tomorrow she begins training for her match on Breakdown next week against Polly Playtime. Despite not having the most stellar and sparkling of records in SCW, Polly has shown a newfound aggression and passion. She has proven that she can take even the best of SCW athletes to their limits. Braddock refuses to look past anyone, especially Polly Playtime. And right now, as Taking Hold of the Flame signals the beginning of Rise To Greatness season, Glory knows that a victory and gaining momentum is very important.

Still, despite knowing how important the up coming task at hand is, The British Bombshell is distracted by the events of yesterday evening at the karaoke bar. Glory is lying in bed in her pink pajamas staring blankly up at the wall. The blonde doesn’t even notice when she hears the prodding and stumbling of her husband entering the bedroom.

“Don’t worry about me, babe…I got it…” the voice of her husband startles Glory back to attention. She quickly sits up and sees her husband slowly making his way to the bed. He is in white boxer shorts and his foot in a big medical boot. She contorts her face uncomfortably, as if she herself feels the pain her husband must be feeling at this moment.

“Like hell you do!” Glory hops up out of bed and goes over to his aid. She takes him by the arm and helps him across the floor. Once they get to the bed, Glory helps Kurt down onto the bed. Then she slowly starts to take the medical boot off of him. “Did you hurt your ankle or your leg?”

“Well my leg was targeted but somehow the ankle got the worst of it.” Kurt was recently competing in a one night only return to the ring for a submission match. Kurt lost via figure four. But in the build up to the final move his opponent had targeted the ankle and leg heavily. “Nothing is broke, just sprained. To be honest, I could probably get along fine without it. The doctor is just being cautious.”

“Then you had better wear it, mate…or else.”

“Yes, ma’am.” Kurt says playfully.

“I mean it. I don’t want to see you hurt yourself.”

“Fair enough. Though I’m gonna hate missing out on helping you train Fiona and Amelia. Speaking of which, how was your karaoke night with the girls?”

“It was good. Amelia decided to mess with everyone by intentionally singing bad. And Fiona was…” she sighs and considers telling Kurt about their conversation earlier. She decides against it and shakes her head. “...she was good.”

“You sounded like you wanted to tell me something else, Glory?”

“Did I?” Glory smiles jokingly. Kurt nods his head.

“You did.”

“Well…she really was a good singer.”

“Was there anything else about Fiona that we should talk about? I mean, I can’t help but notice that you look a little upset about something.”

“I suppose you’re right.” Glory sighs and nods her head. “Look, we caught on rather quickly to the little theme you lot all came up with for our song list.” Kurt snickers.

“You never said we couldn’t have a theme. You just asked me, our daughters, and your sister to come up with some song choices.”

“It was supposed to be a random choice!”

“You never said random.” Kurt sighs. “Although Dawn insisted on baby got back for some reason.”

“Baby Got Back was Dawn’s choice?” Glory furrows her brow confusingly. “I should talk to her.”

“Don’t change the subject. What is this about Fiona?”

“Right.” Braddock sighs. “Well anyway, that little theme of yours got us to talking. I ended up telling Fiona all about my own problems with my mom and dad.”

“There’s nothing terribly wrong about that.”

“Yeah? Well what about the fact that Fiona knows NOTHING about her real mom and dad?”

“Seriously?” Kurt asks. “I thought Todd was…”

“No,” Glory says, shaking her head “Todd is her foster parent, remember? She knows nothing of her biological mom and dad. It sounds like they abandoned her at birth. And that’s just sad.”

“It really is.” Kurt says quietly.

“Well I’m going to do something about it.”

“What do you mean?” Kurt asks in a nervous tone.

“Just lie down and I’ll tell you all about it.” Glory says. Kurt does as he is told as he lies down in the bed. Glory walks over to the other side of the bed and lies down next to him. “You know I still have a lot of connections. I know some good private investigators. I’m going to hire one of them to do some research into Fiona’s past. I will find out who they are…or were…and…” Glory’s voice trails off. Kurt looks over at Glory skeptically.

“And what?”

“I don’t know.”

“So you don’t even know what you’re going to do with this information if you manage to get it? Are you going to tell Fiona?”

“I don’t know.” Glory says, repeating herself. “She claims she doesn’t want to know about them.”

“Then maybe you should keep out of it?” Kurt remarks. “Maybe ignorance is bliss?”

“That’s what Fiona said.” Glory sighs. “But you need to face the past head on. That’s how I was taught.”

“But what if her past is something she really shouldn’t know?”

“I know I’m doing the right thing, Kurt.” Glory insists. Kurt shakes his head.

“Whatever. Just be careful, ok?”

“Am I not always careful, love?” Glory says grinning playfully.

[Jay Gold]

Season 2 / Episode 22 / A Pending Deal - Part 1

[Braddock]

Ooc: 2 of 2
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May 23rd, 2022
Miami, Florida
Off Camera
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It is early on a bright and sunny monday morning in Miami, Florida at the residence of Glory Braddock. Typically The British Bombshell is one of the earliest risers; it is a trait she inherited from her father. She is early to rise and get a jump start on the day and late to bed, typically working late into the night. However today has already started off on an unusual note. Braddock’s two understudies, students if you will, Amelia Stone and Fiona Osbourne, were the first to arise in the morning. Considering how much of a slave driver The British Bombshell can be in the gym, and also taking into account her recent penchant for being a tricker and a prankster, the two girls decided to give Glory a taste of her own medicine. Amelia and Fiona have already left, making their way towards the private gym that they are currently using for training purposes. Today was supposed to mark the beginning of intense training, for Braddock she has a match this week on SCW Breakdown against Polly Playtime. And what’s more important is the event coming up, Taking Hold of the Flame, the massive battle royal to determine the next number one contender to the SCW World Championship.

Yet Braddock slept later than she had planned. Usually she has an alarm blaring loudly that would wake The British Bombshell. The alarm didn’t come into play this time. The beautiful blonde slept right through it all. She panicked when she realized what had happened but started to laugh it off as the realization set in that Amelia and Fiona ditched her to start training without her. This is just the kind of trick she would have played. They are learning quite well from the princess of pranks herself. Still, despite the small amount of pride that Braddock feels, she still feels quite troubled and for good reason. After all, Fiona is partially to blame for Glory sleeping in.

Staying up late, working late into the night, that is all part of what makes Glory Braddock who she is; but Braddock stayed up later than usual last night. She even got up out of bed, leaving her husband Kurt behind to walk back downstairs to the living room and lie down on the sofa to think about her student and the unique situation she finds herself in. Thinking about Fiona’s current problem is what kept Braddock up all night. Fiona was abandoned as a child by her parents and, according to Fiona, she knows nothing about her past. Braddock’s immediate gut instinct is to stick her nose into Fiona’s past, see what information she can dig up in order to teach Fiona about who she is and where she came from. Fiona herself doesn’t seem to care about her past nor does she seem to want to know. And because of that, Glory’s husband Kurt has advised Glory to stay out of this. In the past, the power hungry corporate Glory Braddock would have stayed out of it because it was none of her business. This is original Glory; and original Glory feels a need to help people. And she feels that Fiona needs help.

Braddock spent several hours lying on the sofa trying to figure out what she wanted to do, whether she would get involved or stay out of it. She thought about it so long that she ended up falling asleep on the sofa. Braddock woke up to sight of her husband sitting in the recliner perpendicular to her. He was grinning from ear to ear. Braddock would get up and get dressed. Then she went into the kitchen and poured herself and Kurt glasses of orange juice. Now Glory has returned to the living room. She is wearing denim shorts, white tennis shoes, and a plain white t-shirt. Her long blonde hair hangs straight and cascades to past the shoulders. Kurt is still wearing just his boxer shorts and his injured foot is back in the medical walking boot.

“Thanks for the juice, babe.” Kurt says as his wife hands him a glass of juice. “I suppose this means chivalry IS dead?”

“Not quite, love.” Braddock quips with a soft chuckle. “You have a bum leg, mate. Besides, I think if feminism has proven anything it is that we ladies are fully capable of pouring our own glasses of juice.” Braddock sits back down on the sofa with her own glass of juice. She takes a sip and sighs. “So they really ran off without me?”

“Yep.”

“Whose idea was it?”

“Amelia’s.”

“I knew it!” Glory states triumphantly, proud that she guessed right.

“Amelia certainly seems to have more of your playful personality.”

“And Fiona seems to be adapting your straight forward, no nonsense approach to the ring.”

“You think so?” Kurt asks curiously. “From what you told me she enjoyed karaoke night.”

“Hey, anyone can have fun outside the ring and that includes Fiona. But inside the ring she is all business. Fiona doesn’t strike me as the kind of person who would play mind games to trick her opponent or to just annoy them.”

“Like you and Amelia would?” Kurt asks. Glory nods her head.

“Exactly. In that sense, at least, they are opposites. Ideally I would like them to gravitate towards the center, though. The fact is that you can still be respectful towards the business, you can still get the job done inside the ring, and you can do all of that without having a giant stick shoved up your ass.”

“You have to admit, though,” Kurt points a finger at Glory “you have had trouble with that in the past.”

“You’re right. When I first debuted back in 2008 with my dad as my manager, I was always a prankster, not just outside the ring but inside as well. And it drove my dad absolutely bonkers.”

“You drove EVERYONE crazy.” Kurt points out. Glory snickers as she sips on her orange juice.

“Damn right I did. I even opened a little small business of my own. You remember it, right Kurt?”

“The Prankster Service?” Kurt asks. Glory nods her head.

“Yeah, my pranks were so legendary that blokes would pay me to play a prank on one of their rivals. Of course I was picky about who I helped…I only helped those who deserved help, and I only targeted those who deserved to be targeted. And I made some money off of it too. Capitalism is grand, isn’t it?” Braddock sighs as she thinks back to these fond memories. “Ah but that didn’t last forever. About six years later I would agree to be mentored by Aphrodite Noel.”

“And you changed.” Kurt says with a noticeable frown. He recalls the influence Aphrodite had on his wife all too well. He was not always fond of her influence or their relationship. But he could do nothing about it. They grew so close that Glory named her second daughter after her; Dawn Aphrodite Logan.

“Yeah, I took everything seriously. No more games, no more jokes, everything was a mission for me, a mission to defend the integrity of professional wrestling. And at times I let that whole notion go to my head…I grew so arrogant that I thought I alone knew what was best for this business.” Braddock shakes her head. “And that’s not right…but wrestling and its tradition is something to be taken seriously. Like I said, Kurt, I wish those two girls would gravitate towards the center…not too much fun and games, not too super serious, just some happy medium. You know?”

“Yeah.” Kurt sips on his orange juice. “Just out of curiosity, who are you most worried about?”

“Fiona.” Glory states immediately. This was an easy question for The British Bombshell. There is no doubt in her mind as to who needs help the most between Amelia and Fiona. “Amelia is already there. She has been in the ring and has beaten former SCW World Champions. She thinks that she needs my help but in all honesty, Kurt, I could let her go on her own right now and she would be just fine. But Fiona on the other hand is missing something…” she taps her head “...something right up here.”

“Her mind?”

“Well her mentality, to be precise. I don’t know if it is a lack of self-confidence or what but something feels off about her. Its why I haven’t signed off on her wrestling a full schedule yet. She has the technical skills but I think she lacks the confidence. And lacking confidence can be devastating. Don’t forget what happened to my sister.”

Kurt nods his head. Glory is referring to her sister Julia Braddock. She started wrestling at a time when she lacked self-confidence. That lack of self-confidence, that lack of a strong mental will, caused her to resort to strong drug use in order to deal with the feelings of insecurity. The drug use nearly destroyed Julia’s life. Glory doesn’t want to see that same kind of incident happen to Fiona.

“Is that why you are so concerned about helping Fiona?”

“You mean with her career?”

“No, I mean about learning about her past.” Kurt says, correcting Glory, who sighs and nods her head.

“A lot of Julia’s problem was she was left out of the loop. She was practically raised by our uncle Peter due to the fact that dad kept her at his house so damn much, he had uncle Pete babysit her so much because he didn’t want Julia to hear him and our mom argue and fight so damn much.”

“But he let you endure the fighting?”

“He thought I was old enough and mature enough to handle it. He didn’t have as much confidence in Julia. Then when he and mom decided to break up, they never told Julia. Julia found out through me.”

“That’s awful.” Kurt remarks. Glory nods her head.

“It was. And it only got worse. Dad took me on as his special project, he trained me to take up his mantle and follow in his footsteps. He cared deeply that I make it. He did train Julia but when it came down to her it was more like ‘eh, if you make it you make it, if you don’t you don’t.’ He didn’t really care if Julia made it at that point because he at least had one daughter who made it. So Julia making it wasn’t as important to him.”

“I can see why Julia always had such insecurities growing up.” Kurt remarks quietly and sadly as he shakes his head.

“Luckily she fought through all of those obstacles, obstacles put in front of her by our own father. What if Fiona is the same way, Kurt? What if deep down inside Fiona NEEDS to know about her past in order to overcome her insecurities and gain the self-confidence necessary to survive in a cutthroat business like wrestling?” There is a pause while Glory waits on Kurt to process this. Kurt sips on his juice and then shakes his head.

“I still think you’re taking a big risk, Glory. Fiona specifically said she doesn’t really want to know.”

“Wrong.” Braddock remarks, shaking her head. “She said she doesn’t CARE to know. She might actually care if she heard what her past really was.”

“And what if that past is something really bad that will actually make things worse?” Kurt asks. Glory sighs and shrugs her shoulders.

“I don’t know. But I need to find out about her, I need to know who she is, Kurt. There is more to that young lady than that god-awful abusive foster parent Todd Osbourne. There is more to her identity than that jackass.”

“I agree with you on that.” Kurt chuckles softly. “Alright, if you really want to dig into her past then you have my full support. Just use your best judgment, Glory. If you do manage to find about where she comes from and its not good, then damn it do NOT tell her.”

Braddock grins. “Thanks, Kurt. Your support means everything to me. And trust me, I know what I am doing.”

==========
May 25th, 2022
St. Louis, Missouri
On Camera
==========

We open out in front of a large open field somewhere in and around or near St. Louis, Missouri. A few seconds into the cameras rolling and we see a figure wearing a bulky yellow hazard suit walks into the scene from the right. The figure is carrying what resembles a military grade weapon of some sort. She takes aim and then suddenly flames start pouring out from the barrel. The figure blasts a second wave of flames out into the air before finally stopping and setting the flame thrower on the ground. The figure removes the head piece of the hazard suit and turns to face the camera. We can see based on the blonde hair framing her beautiful features that this is none other than “The British Bombshell” Glory Braddock. She waves at the camera with a grin on her face.

“I took hold of the flame! Did I win? Does that mean I get to main event Rise To Greatness and challenge for the SCW world title?” Braddock shrugs her shoulders. “Or did I take the whole ‘flame’ part a wee bit too literally?” She winks at the camera. “A shout out to my cousin Kimberly for letting me borrow the flame thrower. And if my little gag here wasn’t enough of a sign, then let me just tell all of you out there in plain and simple English…I am entering the 2022 Taking Hold of the Flame battle royal. I have been here before, I have competed in this match before, and I haven’t managed to win. This time is different because it is a different Glory Braddock that all of the other competitors will deal with. I am ready, willing, and able to do whatever it takes win Taking Hold of the Flame. Anyone who decides to get in my way will get thrown over the top rope rather unceremoniously…or ceremoniously if you’d prefer, I’m sure Amelia could manage to get some fancy music ready to play for when you get eliminated. But either way the fact remains that I am entering this match and I am going to win it all, because this year no one quite knows what to expect from Glory Braddock.” She points a finger at the camera.

“Especially not you, Polly.” she snickers. “In the past I probably would have mocked you because of your name, I probably would have even accused you of not taking this business as seriously as you should. But that’s just not who I am anymore. I have learned that it is not wise to judge a book merely by its cover. You might be surprised at what you find when you peel off that fine top layer of Polly Playtime, you might be surprised to find what lies underneath. Besides, anyone who chooses to look past you would be making a serious mistake. You have taken the likes of Syren to her limits, you came within an eyelash of beating my cousin for the SCW Television Title. And you showed plenty of guts by marching up to Shaun Cruze and demanding your spot in the United States Championship Tournament. How did that turn out for you, by the way?” Glory grins from ear to ear.

“You dropped your first round match to my protege, Amelia Stone. Now don’t get me wrong, there is no shame to losing to someone like Amelia. Trust me, I know. I’ve fought her myself and even she will admit that had it not been for that nasty little trick she pulled I probably would have choked her unconscious. But despite the outcome of that match, I still experienced how good she is in that ring. I experienced first hand just how good of a wrestler she is; so you know what, Polly? Losing to Amelia Stone, a protege of Glory Braddock, is absolutely nothing to be ashamed of.” Braddock pats herself on the chest. “But on Breakdown you are not fighting Glory Braddock’s protege, you are fighting Glory Braddock herself. So how did I do in that same United States Championship tournament?” Braddock chuckles softly.

“I outsmarted, outwitted, and ultimately put down the monster Tsunami. I forced a former world champion in Alexis Quinne to tap out to Shekhinah Glory. True, I did lose in the finals to Josh Hudson but once again, there is no shame in that. Hudson is a legend, he is a former champion. But my point, mate, is that YOU are still way too new, way too fresh, and green. Greener than many of the new kids I have encountered in my career. Meanwhile I have been competing against and BEATING the very best competition in this business since 2008. Your accomplishments thus far amount to the mind games you play, how annoying you can be, and yes, taking certain SCW wrestlers to their limits.” Braddock shrugs her shoulders.

“But who am I to judge on being annoying or playing mind games? That’s how I got my start, to be perfectly honest. When I made my debut in January of 2008 I was playing the mind games, I was playing jokes on my enemies in order to annoy the piss out of them, just to get them off their game. So yeah, I understand you more than you might think, Polly. In fact, I appreciate you and what you’ve done so far in SCW. But unlike you, who merely pushed the greats to their limits, I have BEATEN those same greats in the center of the ring. Back to back Trios Tournament winner, former SCW Adrenaline Champion, and a former SCW World Champion. That is who I am, mate, and that is who you will ultimately have to deal with on Breakdown.”

“This isn’t any normal one on one match.” Glory shakes her head. “We are on the verge of Taking Hold of the Flame, we are about to begin Rise To Greatness season, and as a veteran of this business and of SCW specifically I know just how important it is to have momentum on your side heading into this crazy, wacky, roller coaster of a season. If you have the momentum at your back, you could ride that wave of momentum into the Flame and win it all. You could ride the wave of momentum you’ve built up through to Rise To Greatness and make your impact on the grandest stage. My first Rise To Greatness I was in the main event, my second Rise To Greatness, I won the Adrenaline Championship, my third Rise To Greatness I competed for the United States Title. And I managed to put myself into those high profile matches because of momentum I picked up through hard work, through busting my ass and kicking the asses of anyone and everyone who SCW put in my path.” Braddock points a finger at the camera. “And you, Polly, are now in my way. Shaun Cruze has put you in my path and that means I must kick your ass.”

“Now I have no doubt about your ability, I have no doubt that you will give me one hell of a fight, but understand that once again all you will manage to say at the end of the night is that at least you held your own against The British Bombshell. You will only be able to say that you pushed Glory Braddock to her limits. But will you be able to say that you actually won a big match against a big name?” Braddock shakes her head. “Not gonna happen. Rise To Greatness season is when I take my game up to a whole new level. I fight harder and stronger than ever around this time of year, only this year I will pull out every single trick I know in order to build up the momentum necessary to once again make an impact at Rise To Greatness, and that means doing whatever it takes to defeat you on Breakdown.”

The British Bombshell bends over and picks up the headpiece portion of the hazard suit and places it back on her head. Then she bends over and picks the flame thrower back up. “Polly, I am going to light you up on Breakdown. It’s going to get hot!” She shoots out more flames. The camera fades to black.

[Jay Gold]

Season 2 / Episode 23 / A Pending Deal - Part 2