Leaders of the Pack [vs Catalina Cortes]
Apr 17, 2021 18:10:51 GMT -5
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Post by skyqueen on Apr 17, 2021 18:10:51 GMT -5
A flat-screen tv hangs on a blank, white wall, static filling the display until a burst of color drives away the doldrums. When the colorful explosion clears, an old-fashioned stage is revealed with a mix of typical though meticulously painted cardboard cutouts as background.
A cartoon version of UGWC’s World Champion, Sloane Taylor, makes her way onto the stage from one side with a similarly cartoon version of Carnage’s World Champion, Catalina Cortes, making her way onto the stage from the other. They meet in the middle and smile sweetly at each other before waving out at the world to canned applause.
And then the music starts, each champion continuing to smile though they perceptibly glance out of the corner of their eye at each other. Catalina starts off the musical production.
Catalina: Anything you can do, I can do better. I can do anything better than you.
Sloane snort-laughs at Catalina’s sung declaration.
Sloane: No you can't!
Catalina seems unbothered, not even looking at Sloane.
Catalina: Yes, I can.
Sloane rolls her eyes.
Sloane: No, you can't!
Catalina studies her nails.
Catalina: Yes, I can.
Sloane stomps her foot.
Sloane: No, you can't.
The two start to approach each other, but Catalina steps forward instead and belts out to the crowd enthusiastically.
Catalina: Yes, I can, Yes, I can!
Sloane pushes her to the side and takes the spotlight, that familiar sweetness returned.
Sloane: Anything you can be, I can be greater. Sooner or later I'm greater than you.
Sloane turns at the end and looks over at Catalina before sticking her tongue out.
Catalina gasps.
Catalina: No, you're not!
Sloane: Yes, I am!
Catalina: No, you're not!
She stomps her foot.
Sloane: Yes, I am!
Catalina: No, you're not!
Catalina dives as if to spear Sloane, but cartoon Sloane steps out of the way at the last second and Catalina goes flying off the stage, an animated cloud of dust coming up from the side to show where she’d landed.
Sloane looks smug.
Sloane: Yes, I am, Yes, I am!
April 19, 2021
Columbus, Ohio
The arena was deceptively quiet, as if the facility itself were taking a deep breath before the event that would be held tomorrow. Just hours earlier, it had been bustling and full of life in the form of superstars from both companies, excited fans eager for a meet and greet with their favorites, with merch stands, gift shops, and food vendors all around, not to mention the people who work behind the scenes to ensure that everything the weekend of Incursion went off without a hitch.
The arena had been primped and plucked to perfection, and now in the early morning hours, or late depending on your view, it sat quietly with all of the gathered energy just lying in wait.
Sloane Taylor felt every bit of that potential energy running through her, and though she’d tried to sleep and even lessened her caffeine and sugar intake for the day, she hadn’t quite managed it. She was, for all intents and purposes, a bundle of nerves.
And so she found herself hiring an Uber to take her to the Nationwide Arena and even managed to talk a security guard into letting her in, even if she did look a little shady with a duffel bag thrown over her shoulder.
The contrast between the area that has fairly hummed earlier with anticipation and the quiet waiting now was stark. Sloane hummed to herself as she walked around, smiling when she thought about all the fans she’d met over the weekend, the autographs, the pictures she’d taken. So many who called her things like “hero” and said they wanted to be just like her when they grew up.
And she knew, on the other side of the arena? Catalina had heard some of the same exact things.
After her leisurely stroll around the building, Sloane made her way to the area of every arena that always called to her. The ring at the very center of it all, with all the focus of thousands of screaming fans pouring down.
She made a slow walk down the ramp, somber in her expression, knowing she would remember this moment later when she was springing down for her match and engaging the fans while her music blared over the sound system. When she reached the bottom of the ramp, she slid the bag under the bottom rope and then climbed inside herself, walking around the ring for a moment before she looked up at the lights. With a sigh, she pulled out her phone, sitting it against a turnbuckle, before checking to see if it was recording.
“You know… while Carnage and UGWC have been somewhat intertwined for years with some of their roster, this is the first time the two companies have hosted a collaborative event. It’s the first time both rosters have fully gone head to head, champion to champion, superstar to superstar. UGWC is my home, but I’ve been to Carnage too. I was mostly welcomed there for the Ultraviolent Battle Royal, even if no one expected that I would go as far as I did. Maybe especially me. And here I am now, the UGWC World Champion, the face of the company, during a time when so many things are shiny and new. Like me. I’m leading a company that is reinventing itself during an inaugural event with another company, with pride on the line.”
Sloane leaned down, unzipping the duffel bag to reverently withdraw a velvet lined bag, the World Championship lying inside it. She stared down at the weighted gold and sighed.
“There’s only one other person who really has any idea how I’m feeling right now.”
The cartoon picks up with Catalina’s hand grasping for the stage from the rubble she’d dove into, Sloane still basking in the spotlight. From out of seemingly nowhere, she pulls out a pop gun.
Sloane: I can shoot a partridge, with a single cartridge.
She pulls the trigger and the stopper in the end of the pop gun falls out lazily, dangling by its string. Sloane stares at it with annoyance.
Catalina pulls herself halfway up into the stage.
Catalina: I can get a sparrow, with a bow and arrow.
Sloane’s eyes narrow and she stomps off stage, picks up a toy bow and arrow, and makes a show of breaking the arrow over her knee before singing haughtily.
Sloane: I can live on bread and cheese.
Catalina: And only on that?
Catalina gets to her feet and approaches a suddenly nervous Sloane.
Sloane: Yes.
Catalina gets right in Sloane’s face.
Catalina: So can a rat!
Sloane gasps in outrage, but pushes forward.
Sloane: Any note you can reach, I can go higher.
Catalina: I can sing anything higher than you.
A voice that sounds suspiciously like Sebastian Everett-Bryce the Third is heard from off-stage saying “Please don’t”.
Sloane: No, you can't.
Sloane’s voice goes a little higher.
Catalina: Yes, I can.
Catalina’s reaches higher.
Sloane: No, you can't!
Higher.
Catalina: Yes, I can!
Higher.
Sloane: No, you can't!
Sloane’s voice cracks with the strain.
Catalina: Yes, I can.
Catalina belts out at a higher pitch.
Sloane: No, you can't!
Sloane grabs her throat, coughing afterward and nearly collapses.
Catalina: Yes, I CAN!
Catalina finds her inner opera singer, glass breaks, and cartoon Sloane finds herself blown off the stage by the force of her voice, landing in a heap as Catalina had done earlier.
Sloane lowered herself to the canvas, sitting cross-legged, her fingers brushing the surface of the UGWC World Championship belt though she made no move to lift it onto her lap.
“You know, when I won this? It wasn’t a moment like so many say it is. I didn’t just know in my heart I’d done it, in fact, it took me hearing the announcers, the crowd chanting my name, it took… a lot for it to get through to me. Even when my arm was raised and the belt was handed to me, I just couldn’t…” she trailed off, pressing her lips together.
“I was never supposed to get this far. I was never supposed to be the face of the company, the girl who ran through the Global Challenge, who took out the ones put in front of her. Only a handful of people ever saw my full potential, what I could be, and now that I’m everything they always believed I was? That’s when the hard part kicks in, because now I have to prove myself and be that person, that competitor, every day. It’s a welcome weight on my shoulders, but it’s a weight nonetheless.” Sloane picked up the championship and draped it across her lap.
“Catalina knows that weight. We’re not all that much different when you think about it. Both early 20’s, both high-flyers, both with irritating brothers, both on our first World Championship reign that we both won at our respective company’s most recent event. Both just wanting to make our mark in the world, both with supporters and both with those who persist in saying that we didn’t win, we just got lucky for three seconds.”
Sloane shook her head.
“I don’t know about her, but I’m tired of the Donovan Hastings of the world trying to tear me down. I'd be willing to bet she is, too. At Incursion, Catalina won’t be facing a competitor who wants to rip her apart and devalue every accomplishment she’s earned through blood, sweat, and tears. That’s just not how I roll, and that’s not what I want this event to be about. Everyone on our rosters looks to us as the main event to really set the tone of this thing. Now, we could be typical mean girls and slice each other up with vicious words as much as actions… or we can go out there and show our fans that there is room for two young women to dominate two companies. There’s room for respect and admiration in wrestling, and there’s room for two competitors to lift each other up in the spirit of competition and say one to the other… I see your fight, I see your drive, and I respect it.”
Sloane pushed to her feet, lifting the championship belt to her shoulder, its weight already familiar to her.
“Catalina Cortes. I see your fight. I see your drive, and I respect it.”
Cartoon Sloane pulls herself back onto the stage, her pink hair standing on end from cartoon Catalina’s vocal blast, the music still playing.
Sloane: Anything you can say, I can say softer.
Catalina looks down at her competition, narrowing her eyes.
Catalina: I can say anything softer than you.
Sloane pulls herself to her feet and brushes herself off. She lowers her tone.
Sloane: No, you can't.
Catalina turns fully toward her, her voice the complete opposite from earlier.
Catalina: Yes, I can.
Sloane’s voice softer still.
Sloane: No, you can't.
Catalina merely a whisper.
Catalina: Yes, I can.
Sloane’s lips barely move, the words nearly inaudible.
Sloane: No, you can't.
Catalina spells it out in sign language.
Catalina: Yes, I can.
Sloane leans in closer and shouts at full volume.
Sloane: YES, I CAN!
Sloane sulks while Catalina smirks, Sloane pulling herself together primly.
Sloane: Any note you can hold, I can hold longer.
Catalina rolls her eyes and mouths “here we go again”.
Catalina: I can hold any note longer than you.
She crosses her arms over her chest.
Sloane: No, you can't.
Sloane’s chin lifts with her confidence.
Catalina: Yes, I can
Catalina’s arms uncross and she takes a step forward.
Sloane: No, you can't.
Sloane sings through gritted teeth.
Catalina: Yes, I can
Sloane: No, you can't.
Catalina: Yes, I can....Yes, I-I-I-I-I-I-I-I-I CA-A-A-A-N!
Sloane: Yes, I-I-I-I-I-I-I-I-I-I CA-A-A-A-N!
They stand beside each other, each trying to step just in front while also holding the note. Their voices shake, faces going from red to purple, sweat breaking out on their foreheads, but neither will give way… and then they both collapse in a panting heap.
“I will never be the one to hate on another champion just because circumstance dictates that we find ourselves across the ring from each other. I will respect you, Catalina, your drive, your achievements, the work you’ve put into your career, as well as your hopes and dreams for the future, and not just because we have so many similarities. That needs to happen more often in what we do, respecting others and acknowledging their journeys. What we do isn’t a pie, doing that takes nothing from us, and maybe, just maybe, our actions and words can create and give instead of destroying and taking.”
Sloane looked out at the empty seats that would soon be filled with thousands.
“So here we are. Columbus, Ohio. A sold out arena. Two great companies, full of so much talent and legends combined. And Catalina and I will be the main event of all of that.” Sloane shook her head, looking around herself in something akin to awe. “That is so much bigger than the two of us trying to tear each other down before we even get in the ring.”
She shifted the championship on her shoulder.
“I hope Catalina gets a good night’s rest, and I hope she wakes up in the morning and she has her perfect breakfast and whatever her usual morning routine is? I hope it runs smoothly. I hope the same happens for lunch, and I hope if she has any butterflies about tonight, it’s just because of the fact that we are doing it right and representing our companies in front of thousands of screaming fans. I hope she walks into this arena confident in her abilities and full of love for herself and Carnage, because that’s exactly how I’m coming in here for UGWC. Yeah, I should probably be sleeping now, but for me? It’s the excitement, the adrenaline rush. This is my first solo match as the UGWC World Champion, this is my first time to show the world that not only did I earn this title? I’m going to hold onto it as long as I can, the same as Catalina likely feels about her own championship.”
Sloane leaned against the top rope, her face radiant with a smile.
“At the last events for Carnage and for UGWC, Catalina and I showed the world why we are the representatives of those companies. We both wrestled what could arguably be considered the matches of our careers, and at Incursion? We’ll come together to show everyone exactly what top of the line, baddie lady bosses look like. I will uplift Catalina to the best of my abilities, and I hope she’ll do the same for me. I have a feeling she will.” Sloane paused. “But at the end of it all? This is a match. One of us has to win, one of us will win, and while that doesn’t take anything away from the loser? Tonight, that winner is going to be me.”
Her fingers tightened around the belt strap.
“I honor you, Catalina. I see your fight, and I see your drive. I respect it, even if it won’t be enough. Because before, it was just the skies that were mine. But now it's this ring too.”
Sloane grinned and then winked.
“See you tonight.”
The music continues to play, groans emanating from the stage as the two animated superstars start to stir. They use each other to get to their feet, but once they realize they’ve been doing so they immediately break apart and start swatting at each other without actually landing any blows.
Catalina: Anything you can wear, I can wear better. In what you wear I'd look better than you.
Catalina gestures to Sloane’s animated ring gear. Sloane gestures to the blue fluffy coat she’s wearing.
Sloane: In my coat?
Catalina: In your pants!
Sloane: In my boots?
Catalina: In your hat!
Sloane: No, you can't!
Catalina: Yes, I can....Yes, I CAN!
Sloane scowls and then tosses her pink hair over her shoulder.
Sloane: Oh yeah? Well, I can jump a hurdle.
Catalina: I can milk a turtle.
Sloane gives her a strange look, Catalina waving it away as if to say “just go with it”. Sloane shrugs.
Sloane: I can… knit a sweater?
Catalina: I can fill it better!
Sloane gasps.
Sloane: I can do most anything!
Catalina: Can you actually fly?
Sloane: … well… no.
Sloane makes a face, admitting defeat.
Catalina: Yeah, neither can I.
They both shrug and then seem to try to think of other ways they can compete. Sloane brightens.
Sloane: Anything you can sing, I can sing sweeter.
Catalina doesn’t miss a step, jumping right in.
Catalina: I can sing anything sweeter than you.
Sloane seems to take this as a personal challenge, curtsies politely, and then breaks into a few ballet steps that don’t look correct at all.
Sloane: No, you can't…
Catalina mimics her movements and throws in a few of her own, equally as incorrect.
Catalina: Yes, I can.
Sloane replicates and then adds more, throwing a handful of glitter in the air to rain sparkles around them.
Sloane: No, you can't.
Catalina pirouettes across the stage and then pulls out a bag clearly labeled “Sugar”, dumping the grainy white substance all over the stage as she goes.
Catalina: Yes, I can.
Sloane lies down and makes sugar angels.
Sloane: No, you can't.
Not to be outdone, Catalina drops down with her, her movements much more frantic as she makes sugar angels, leaving Sloane sputtering and coughing as sugar clouds up all around them.
Catalina: Yes, I can.
Sloane scoops up some of the sugar and glitter mix and throws it in Catalina’s face.
Sloane: No, you can't, can't, can't!
Catalina gasps and coughs, sits up, and then launches herself at Sloane. The two of them roll around in their impromptu fight, thoroughly coated in glitter and sugar as they rampage into the cardboard backdrops, knocking them over. Their singing continues, but it’s more embattled now and not at all sweet.
Catalina: Yes, I can, can, can!!
The two of them roll completely off the stage, another animated cloud rising up in their wake, only this one is full of airy sugar and sparkly glitter.
Sloane: No, you can't!
Sloane barely gets the last word out as the cartoon ends.
OOC: Lyrics from “Annie Get Your Gun”
A cartoon version of UGWC’s World Champion, Sloane Taylor, makes her way onto the stage from one side with a similarly cartoon version of Carnage’s World Champion, Catalina Cortes, making her way onto the stage from the other. They meet in the middle and smile sweetly at each other before waving out at the world to canned applause.
And then the music starts, each champion continuing to smile though they perceptibly glance out of the corner of their eye at each other. Catalina starts off the musical production.
Catalina: Anything you can do, I can do better. I can do anything better than you.
Sloane snort-laughs at Catalina’s sung declaration.
Sloane: No you can't!
Catalina seems unbothered, not even looking at Sloane.
Catalina: Yes, I can.
Sloane rolls her eyes.
Sloane: No, you can't!
Catalina studies her nails.
Catalina: Yes, I can.
Sloane stomps her foot.
Sloane: No, you can't.
The two start to approach each other, but Catalina steps forward instead and belts out to the crowd enthusiastically.
Catalina: Yes, I can, Yes, I can!
Sloane pushes her to the side and takes the spotlight, that familiar sweetness returned.
Sloane: Anything you can be, I can be greater. Sooner or later I'm greater than you.
Sloane turns at the end and looks over at Catalina before sticking her tongue out.
Catalina gasps.
Catalina: No, you're not!
Sloane: Yes, I am!
Catalina: No, you're not!
She stomps her foot.
Sloane: Yes, I am!
Catalina: No, you're not!
Catalina dives as if to spear Sloane, but cartoon Sloane steps out of the way at the last second and Catalina goes flying off the stage, an animated cloud of dust coming up from the side to show where she’d landed.
Sloane looks smug.
Sloane: Yes, I am, Yes, I am!
April 19, 2021
Columbus, Ohio
The arena was deceptively quiet, as if the facility itself were taking a deep breath before the event that would be held tomorrow. Just hours earlier, it had been bustling and full of life in the form of superstars from both companies, excited fans eager for a meet and greet with their favorites, with merch stands, gift shops, and food vendors all around, not to mention the people who work behind the scenes to ensure that everything the weekend of Incursion went off without a hitch.
The arena had been primped and plucked to perfection, and now in the early morning hours, or late depending on your view, it sat quietly with all of the gathered energy just lying in wait.
Sloane Taylor felt every bit of that potential energy running through her, and though she’d tried to sleep and even lessened her caffeine and sugar intake for the day, she hadn’t quite managed it. She was, for all intents and purposes, a bundle of nerves.
And so she found herself hiring an Uber to take her to the Nationwide Arena and even managed to talk a security guard into letting her in, even if she did look a little shady with a duffel bag thrown over her shoulder.
The contrast between the area that has fairly hummed earlier with anticipation and the quiet waiting now was stark. Sloane hummed to herself as she walked around, smiling when she thought about all the fans she’d met over the weekend, the autographs, the pictures she’d taken. So many who called her things like “hero” and said they wanted to be just like her when they grew up.
And she knew, on the other side of the arena? Catalina had heard some of the same exact things.
After her leisurely stroll around the building, Sloane made her way to the area of every arena that always called to her. The ring at the very center of it all, with all the focus of thousands of screaming fans pouring down.
She made a slow walk down the ramp, somber in her expression, knowing she would remember this moment later when she was springing down for her match and engaging the fans while her music blared over the sound system. When she reached the bottom of the ramp, she slid the bag under the bottom rope and then climbed inside herself, walking around the ring for a moment before she looked up at the lights. With a sigh, she pulled out her phone, sitting it against a turnbuckle, before checking to see if it was recording.
“You know… while Carnage and UGWC have been somewhat intertwined for years with some of their roster, this is the first time the two companies have hosted a collaborative event. It’s the first time both rosters have fully gone head to head, champion to champion, superstar to superstar. UGWC is my home, but I’ve been to Carnage too. I was mostly welcomed there for the Ultraviolent Battle Royal, even if no one expected that I would go as far as I did. Maybe especially me. And here I am now, the UGWC World Champion, the face of the company, during a time when so many things are shiny and new. Like me. I’m leading a company that is reinventing itself during an inaugural event with another company, with pride on the line.”
Sloane leaned down, unzipping the duffel bag to reverently withdraw a velvet lined bag, the World Championship lying inside it. She stared down at the weighted gold and sighed.
“There’s only one other person who really has any idea how I’m feeling right now.”
The cartoon picks up with Catalina’s hand grasping for the stage from the rubble she’d dove into, Sloane still basking in the spotlight. From out of seemingly nowhere, she pulls out a pop gun.
Sloane: I can shoot a partridge, with a single cartridge.
She pulls the trigger and the stopper in the end of the pop gun falls out lazily, dangling by its string. Sloane stares at it with annoyance.
Catalina pulls herself halfway up into the stage.
Catalina: I can get a sparrow, with a bow and arrow.
Sloane’s eyes narrow and she stomps off stage, picks up a toy bow and arrow, and makes a show of breaking the arrow over her knee before singing haughtily.
Sloane: I can live on bread and cheese.
Catalina: And only on that?
Catalina gets to her feet and approaches a suddenly nervous Sloane.
Sloane: Yes.
Catalina gets right in Sloane’s face.
Catalina: So can a rat!
Sloane gasps in outrage, but pushes forward.
Sloane: Any note you can reach, I can go higher.
Catalina: I can sing anything higher than you.
A voice that sounds suspiciously like Sebastian Everett-Bryce the Third is heard from off-stage saying “Please don’t”.
Sloane: No, you can't.
Sloane’s voice goes a little higher.
Catalina: Yes, I can.
Catalina’s reaches higher.
Sloane: No, you can't!
Higher.
Catalina: Yes, I can!
Higher.
Sloane: No, you can't!
Sloane’s voice cracks with the strain.
Catalina: Yes, I can.
Catalina belts out at a higher pitch.
Sloane: No, you can't!
Sloane grabs her throat, coughing afterward and nearly collapses.
Catalina: Yes, I CAN!
Catalina finds her inner opera singer, glass breaks, and cartoon Sloane finds herself blown off the stage by the force of her voice, landing in a heap as Catalina had done earlier.
Sloane lowered herself to the canvas, sitting cross-legged, her fingers brushing the surface of the UGWC World Championship belt though she made no move to lift it onto her lap.
“You know, when I won this? It wasn’t a moment like so many say it is. I didn’t just know in my heart I’d done it, in fact, it took me hearing the announcers, the crowd chanting my name, it took… a lot for it to get through to me. Even when my arm was raised and the belt was handed to me, I just couldn’t…” she trailed off, pressing her lips together.
“I was never supposed to get this far. I was never supposed to be the face of the company, the girl who ran through the Global Challenge, who took out the ones put in front of her. Only a handful of people ever saw my full potential, what I could be, and now that I’m everything they always believed I was? That’s when the hard part kicks in, because now I have to prove myself and be that person, that competitor, every day. It’s a welcome weight on my shoulders, but it’s a weight nonetheless.” Sloane picked up the championship and draped it across her lap.
“Catalina knows that weight. We’re not all that much different when you think about it. Both early 20’s, both high-flyers, both with irritating brothers, both on our first World Championship reign that we both won at our respective company’s most recent event. Both just wanting to make our mark in the world, both with supporters and both with those who persist in saying that we didn’t win, we just got lucky for three seconds.”
Sloane shook her head.
“I don’t know about her, but I’m tired of the Donovan Hastings of the world trying to tear me down. I'd be willing to bet she is, too. At Incursion, Catalina won’t be facing a competitor who wants to rip her apart and devalue every accomplishment she’s earned through blood, sweat, and tears. That’s just not how I roll, and that’s not what I want this event to be about. Everyone on our rosters looks to us as the main event to really set the tone of this thing. Now, we could be typical mean girls and slice each other up with vicious words as much as actions… or we can go out there and show our fans that there is room for two young women to dominate two companies. There’s room for respect and admiration in wrestling, and there’s room for two competitors to lift each other up in the spirit of competition and say one to the other… I see your fight, I see your drive, and I respect it.”
Sloane pushed to her feet, lifting the championship belt to her shoulder, its weight already familiar to her.
“Catalina Cortes. I see your fight. I see your drive, and I respect it.”
Cartoon Sloane pulls herself back onto the stage, her pink hair standing on end from cartoon Catalina’s vocal blast, the music still playing.
Sloane: Anything you can say, I can say softer.
Catalina looks down at her competition, narrowing her eyes.
Catalina: I can say anything softer than you.
Sloane pulls herself to her feet and brushes herself off. She lowers her tone.
Sloane: No, you can't.
Catalina turns fully toward her, her voice the complete opposite from earlier.
Catalina: Yes, I can.
Sloane’s voice softer still.
Sloane: No, you can't.
Catalina merely a whisper.
Catalina: Yes, I can.
Sloane’s lips barely move, the words nearly inaudible.
Sloane: No, you can't.
Catalina spells it out in sign language.
Catalina: Yes, I can.
Sloane leans in closer and shouts at full volume.
Sloane: YES, I CAN!
Sloane sulks while Catalina smirks, Sloane pulling herself together primly.
Sloane: Any note you can hold, I can hold longer.
Catalina rolls her eyes and mouths “here we go again”.
Catalina: I can hold any note longer than you.
She crosses her arms over her chest.
Sloane: No, you can't.
Sloane’s chin lifts with her confidence.
Catalina: Yes, I can
Catalina’s arms uncross and she takes a step forward.
Sloane: No, you can't.
Sloane sings through gritted teeth.
Catalina: Yes, I can
Sloane: No, you can't.
Catalina: Yes, I can....Yes, I-I-I-I-I-I-I-I-I CA-A-A-A-N!
Sloane: Yes, I-I-I-I-I-I-I-I-I-I CA-A-A-A-N!
They stand beside each other, each trying to step just in front while also holding the note. Their voices shake, faces going from red to purple, sweat breaking out on their foreheads, but neither will give way… and then they both collapse in a panting heap.
“I will never be the one to hate on another champion just because circumstance dictates that we find ourselves across the ring from each other. I will respect you, Catalina, your drive, your achievements, the work you’ve put into your career, as well as your hopes and dreams for the future, and not just because we have so many similarities. That needs to happen more often in what we do, respecting others and acknowledging their journeys. What we do isn’t a pie, doing that takes nothing from us, and maybe, just maybe, our actions and words can create and give instead of destroying and taking.”
Sloane looked out at the empty seats that would soon be filled with thousands.
“So here we are. Columbus, Ohio. A sold out arena. Two great companies, full of so much talent and legends combined. And Catalina and I will be the main event of all of that.” Sloane shook her head, looking around herself in something akin to awe. “That is so much bigger than the two of us trying to tear each other down before we even get in the ring.”
She shifted the championship on her shoulder.
“I hope Catalina gets a good night’s rest, and I hope she wakes up in the morning and she has her perfect breakfast and whatever her usual morning routine is? I hope it runs smoothly. I hope the same happens for lunch, and I hope if she has any butterflies about tonight, it’s just because of the fact that we are doing it right and representing our companies in front of thousands of screaming fans. I hope she walks into this arena confident in her abilities and full of love for herself and Carnage, because that’s exactly how I’m coming in here for UGWC. Yeah, I should probably be sleeping now, but for me? It’s the excitement, the adrenaline rush. This is my first solo match as the UGWC World Champion, this is my first time to show the world that not only did I earn this title? I’m going to hold onto it as long as I can, the same as Catalina likely feels about her own championship.”
Sloane leaned against the top rope, her face radiant with a smile.
“At the last events for Carnage and for UGWC, Catalina and I showed the world why we are the representatives of those companies. We both wrestled what could arguably be considered the matches of our careers, and at Incursion? We’ll come together to show everyone exactly what top of the line, baddie lady bosses look like. I will uplift Catalina to the best of my abilities, and I hope she’ll do the same for me. I have a feeling she will.” Sloane paused. “But at the end of it all? This is a match. One of us has to win, one of us will win, and while that doesn’t take anything away from the loser? Tonight, that winner is going to be me.”
Her fingers tightened around the belt strap.
“I honor you, Catalina. I see your fight, and I see your drive. I respect it, even if it won’t be enough. Because before, it was just the skies that were mine. But now it's this ring too.”
Sloane grinned and then winked.
“See you tonight.”
The music continues to play, groans emanating from the stage as the two animated superstars start to stir. They use each other to get to their feet, but once they realize they’ve been doing so they immediately break apart and start swatting at each other without actually landing any blows.
Catalina: Anything you can wear, I can wear better. In what you wear I'd look better than you.
Catalina gestures to Sloane’s animated ring gear. Sloane gestures to the blue fluffy coat she’s wearing.
Sloane: In my coat?
Catalina: In your pants!
Sloane: In my boots?
Catalina: In your hat!
Sloane: No, you can't!
Catalina: Yes, I can....Yes, I CAN!
Sloane scowls and then tosses her pink hair over her shoulder.
Sloane: Oh yeah? Well, I can jump a hurdle.
Catalina: I can milk a turtle.
Sloane gives her a strange look, Catalina waving it away as if to say “just go with it”. Sloane shrugs.
Sloane: I can… knit a sweater?
Catalina: I can fill it better!
Sloane gasps.
Sloane: I can do most anything!
Catalina: Can you actually fly?
Sloane: … well… no.
Sloane makes a face, admitting defeat.
Catalina: Yeah, neither can I.
They both shrug and then seem to try to think of other ways they can compete. Sloane brightens.
Sloane: Anything you can sing, I can sing sweeter.
Catalina doesn’t miss a step, jumping right in.
Catalina: I can sing anything sweeter than you.
Sloane seems to take this as a personal challenge, curtsies politely, and then breaks into a few ballet steps that don’t look correct at all.
Sloane: No, you can't…
Catalina mimics her movements and throws in a few of her own, equally as incorrect.
Catalina: Yes, I can.
Sloane replicates and then adds more, throwing a handful of glitter in the air to rain sparkles around them.
Sloane: No, you can't.
Catalina pirouettes across the stage and then pulls out a bag clearly labeled “Sugar”, dumping the grainy white substance all over the stage as she goes.
Catalina: Yes, I can.
Sloane lies down and makes sugar angels.
Sloane: No, you can't.
Not to be outdone, Catalina drops down with her, her movements much more frantic as she makes sugar angels, leaving Sloane sputtering and coughing as sugar clouds up all around them.
Catalina: Yes, I can.
Sloane scoops up some of the sugar and glitter mix and throws it in Catalina’s face.
Sloane: No, you can't, can't, can't!
Catalina gasps and coughs, sits up, and then launches herself at Sloane. The two of them roll around in their impromptu fight, thoroughly coated in glitter and sugar as they rampage into the cardboard backdrops, knocking them over. Their singing continues, but it’s more embattled now and not at all sweet.
Catalina: Yes, I can, can, can!!
The two of them roll completely off the stage, another animated cloud rising up in their wake, only this one is full of airy sugar and sparkly glitter.
Sloane: No, you can't!
Sloane barely gets the last word out as the cartoon ends.
OOC: Lyrics from “Annie Get Your Gun”