Azurine Vebbins vs Zombie vs Jansen Myrrh

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Wendy and Lexa are sitting on the balcony of their New York apartment, enjoying a drink together when the apartment phone rings. Wendy puts her phone away, sighing at the conversation she was having. J comes running out and hands Lexa the phone.

J: “There’s people downstairs.”

As Lexa takes the phone, Wendy picks up the glasses from the bistro table and brings them inside. She mouths to Lexa ‘Mom?’ and Lexa nods as she hangs up.

Lexa: “Val’s the one who called. She says Mom has a lot of stuff and wanted you to help her bring stuff up.”
Wendy: “What the heck did she get?”
Lexa: “Val didn’t say, just that there was a lot.”
Wendy: “Alright then, I’ll be back up in a few.”
Lexa: “Okay, J and I will pick up a bit. Max is on her way over as well.”
Wendy: “Sounds like we’ll have a full table. Love you, back soon.”

A few minutes later, Wendy comes in, followed by her sister Valerie Morielaz, and her mother Agata Morielaz. They place the bags on the counter and Lexa and Max start emptying the bags and putting things away.

Wendy: “The hell did you buy, Mom?”
Agata: “You say we do dinner. We do right.”
Wendy: “It didn’t mean emptying the grocery store.”
Agata: “I don’t know what you have or no, so I get things. If you have, we use another time. No stress.”

Lexa comes over from around the counter and hugs Agata and Valerie.

Lexa: “Any trouble finding the place, Ma?”
Agata: “No, no. Val had directions on her phone.”
Valerie: “GPS. Plus the Uber driver knew where to go. How you guys doing? Wendy was telling us about how she won the Trueblood match.”
Lexa: “Yeah, it was fierce, and mostly one-sided. She got cut above the eye from an errant punch.”

Wendy laughs.

Wendy: “Battle scar. It’ll heal like all the others. So what are we having and how much do we owe you?”
Agata: “You say we do dinner. So, I got things for aperitivo, antipasto, primo, secondo, contorno, formaggi, frutta, dolce…”
Wendy: “You didn’t answer my other question, Ma.”
Agata: “We square, tesoro. We have vino, yes?”

Lexa comes back into the kitchen as Max had arrived. Max puts a case of wine near the fridge.

Maxine: “Gotcha covered. Spumante Brut for the appetizers, Amarone for the main course. Hi, I’m Maxine, Lexa’s sister.”

Wendy shakes her head and looks at everyone suspiciously.

Wendy: “Max, this is my mother Agata, and my sister Valerie.”
Maxine: “We spoke yesterday, Lex and I were preparing for today.”
Wendy: “The fuck was I?”
Maxine: “Compound, it was before you guys flew out to Denver for your match.”
Wendy: “So, I’m the only one who has no idea what’s going on?”

Val pats Wendy on the shoulder. She may have been younger and smaller, but she had a couple of inches on her older sister.

Valerie: “Guess so, sis.”

Val takes one of the bottles of Spumante Brut and nods her approval that it was pre-chilled.

Agata: “Where your wine glasses?”
Lexa: “I got them.”

Lexa brings down six wine glasses as Val pops the cork and pours out five glasses of wine. Lexa goes into the fridge and pulls out some Sprite and pours a glass for J who’s come in to say hello to everyone and got mauled with hugs and kisses by everyone before Lexa hands him his glass, warning him to be careful. Lexa holds up her glass.

Lexa: “A toast. To family.”

The six clink their glasses together, before taking sips, nodding in approval over the quality of wine before most move into the kitchen. Val sits on a stool on the other side of the island.


Valerie: "Jesus fucking Christ...."
Lexa: "Oh, yous should have fuckin' seen when Max got a little fucked up and tried to cook for her band while doing what they always did..."
Wendy: “They were doing worse than what Mom was into.”
Agata: “I do worse then than you know.”

Max laughs as her face goes red.

Maxine: “Hey, I wasn’t THAT bad! Okay, maybe a little.”
Valerie: "Big boom?"
Lexa: "Big fuckin' boom!"
Wendy: "You guys are fuckin' nuts! Oh, and if you haven’t noticed, the f-bombs fly around here like it was Kennedy International. Sorry Ma."

Val smirks, knowing she doesn’t get to swear around her mother but decides not to press her luck.

Wendy: "Fuckin' right?"
Lexa: "Fuckin' right!"
Valerie: “I like you, Lexa. You’re awesome!”

Agata comes over and rubs Lexa’s back and walks over to Val, checking up on how she’s coming along.

Agata: “I, too, like you, mia figlia. Tutte le mie figlie”
Wendy: “We’re glad you’re here, guys. All of you.”
Valerie: “Hey, did you guys know last Sunday, the 11th, was National Daughters Day?”

Wendy glares at Valerie as Val flashes a mischievous grin.

Valerie: “Did I say something wrong, Sister?”
Wendy: Not at all… Valazzy. Why would you think you have?”

Lexa and Maxine watch Wendy and Valerie playfully bicker before Wendy shakes her head and pulls Val in for a hug of the bear variety. As everyone is picking away at the finger foods, and prepping other stuff, Agata is back in the kitchen, partly directing traffic and tasting different things. She shakes her head after tasting the alfredo sauce.

Agata: "Wendy, dov'è il tuo pepe?"
Lexa: "Ripiano intermedio, armadio accanto agli occhiali, mamma."
Valerie: "Guys, English?"

Wendy laughs.

Wendy: "She was asking where the pepper was, Val. Just be glad my other sisters aren't here. You’d have Italian, Irish, and Spanish to contend with. And in the penthouse upstairs, we have the Swedes that pop over now and then."

Lexa, blushing, walks over and hugs Wendy, looking up at her with her big blue beautiful eyes. Wendy looks at her, knowing she’s about to drop a bombshell.

Lexa: "Um, speaking of the other sisters. Remember that promo against Raven, and I asked if yous were going to edit it and you said you would and then decided yous weren’t?"
Wendy: “Uh huh.”
Lexa: “Well, you mentioned the dinner party and, well, Alex called me.”
Wendy: “So the chairs and the extra dishes weren’t just conveniently in our storage closet, were they?”
Lexa: “No. We needed a few more place settings.”

Wendy looks at Lexa, confused. At this point Agata, Val and Max all come over waiting to see Wendy’s reaction as all of them were in on this.

Wendy: “Um, how many exactly?”
Lexa: “I think we counted eighteen total. I rented two buffet tables and stored them at Loti’s. When they get here, I’m sure someone will help move our table to Loti’s and help bring the others over. We should have room for everyone then. Surprised?”
Wendy: “Lex, you’re gonna need to stop being so amazing. Someone’s likely gonna come and scoop you up and take you away.”
Lexa: “Not happenin’. I fuckin’ love you.”

Lexa wasn’t lying when she said eighteen total. After many introductions and generally acceptable levels of wine and beer had flowed, everyone was sitting around the large buffet tables that stretched across both the living and dining rooms of the apartment, practically the entirety of their living space. The entire group at the table consisted of Wendy, Lexa and their son J of course. Wendy’s sister Valerie and mother Agata. Lexa’s sister, Maxine. Lexa’s former roommate Loti. And active wrestler section of the New Orleans chapter of the Shieldmaidens Motorcycle Club. That list includes Alex “Bullet” Carbajal, Jackie “Bandit” Layton, Angelique “Angel” LeRoux, Essentia “Essie” Carbajal, “Psycho” Saoirse Maguire, Becca “Bruiser” Rogers, their son Robbie John, Aoife “Banshee” Maguire, Katrina “K-Dub” Knox, Samantha “Titaness” Hamilton, Samantha’s husband Joseph “Orion” Hunter, and Samantha’s husband-to-be Lio Walsh. After the courses of chicken fettuccine alfredo and roast pork with all the trimmings, the table had been cleared by Lexa, Valerie, and Agata. J was excused from the table to help take care of RJ Jr. with Loti and Maxine, while Joseph and Lio went out to the balcony, leaving the Maidens at the table.

Bullet: “Alright, since we’re all here, there’s a couple of things I want to discuss. The biggest one, though, is with you, Wendy. You’re like a car with a cylinder out. You can still run, but not fully. That make sense?”
Zombie: “You’re saying I’m missing something. And I can probably guess what.”
Bullet: “It’s quite obvious. It’s Azurine Vebbins. We understand she comes across as different, but to hear you talk about her, she’s practically insignificant.”

Wendy grits her teeth, before she feels Lexa’s hand on her shoulder.

Zombie: “I just don’t see what you guys do when it comes to her. I mean, I even fought her twice now and…”
Titaness: “She beat you both times, Wendy. You scouted my matches with her, she’s beaten me for the ThrowDown Title. She’s much more legit than you make her out to be. Probably why you haven’t beat her yet.”
Bandit: “Would also explain your record in EWC. I know it sounds like we’re ganging up on you, and we’re not. Entirely. It’s just… I know you’ve only been wrestling professionally for a year and used to the indie shows, but it’s much different in these bigger companies. Ale and I haven’t been at it much longer but we learned from a lot of people about give and take. Krigare was a big help in that. Shonn trained us. Sam’s helped us.”
Bullet: “And you’re up here in your Compound almost trying to go it alone. How’s that working so far?”

Wendy clenches her fist for a minute before stretching out her fingers, and sighs. She looks around the table at everyone.

Zombie: “I hate her, with everything in me.”
Bandit: “Then beat her already. Even if it means for you that she has to be the biggest and toughest opponent you know, train for that, let her feel like you are taking her seriously. Hell, lie if you have to. Then once you finally beat her, you can put her behind you.”
Zombie: “All I’m trying to do is be like you guys. Ale, you’re a fucking assault rifle, both linguistically and physically. I’ve seen you against Skrabz and Tyke, and you hold your own and it’s fucking impressive. Jack, you’re an aerial bomber, you’re quick, agile. Sam, you’re freaking Gigantor for fuck’s sake. A powerhouse with strong technical prowess. I’ve got firepower with the targets off or something. I know I’m missing that key thing, just don’t know what it is yet.
Psycho: “Mabae ye bae baedin’ tae bae comin’ home more often.”
Bruiser: “Yeah, Nola ain’t bad, you know? And that’s coming from a born and bred New Yorker, you feel me?”
Banshee: “Surin’ we kin bae findin’ ye a place big enof fer everyone. We kin bae doin’ more dinners like these.”
K-Dub: “We can always use people at the nursery. I’m sure Val wouldn’t mind working there, she’s been eyeing Essie all night.”

Essie kinda smirks and catches Valerie checking her out again. Wendy had noticed the exchange and looked over at Aoife and Saoirse.

Wendy: “Is cosúil go mbainfeadh Essie sult as Val.”

The Maguire sisters, along with Bruiser and even Agata who understood a bit of Irish from her deceased husband began to laugh. Essie and Val looked over simultaneously, waiting for a translation that wouldn’t come.

Valerie: “I don’t know what you said, but I did recognize our names. And I haven’t been…”

Essie can see Val blushing a little as she tried to hide her own and had hoped to change the subject.

Essie: “I also have no idea what you’re talking about. Besides, I seem to recall you guys were supposed to move down a few months ago. What happened there?”

Wendy clears her throat and mumbles something. Bullet catches it and nods.

Bullet: “Right, I remember that. Listen, it’s a big decision, but I think it’s one to consider. You can expand the business down there, Lord knows we can use better bail bondsmen.”
Bandit: “I also made a couple of calls, and we found a doc who can help your mother stay on the right path as well. If you guys need the help, of course.”

Agata peeked over the island counter to see Bandit. She smiled warmly.

Agata: “You find doctor for me?”
Bandit: “Yes, ma’am. It’s something we’ve done for a couple of our other members, Lyric who is not here, and Krigare. Eavan being her real name. Plus Alex and I have used the services as well, as well as my own mother. Actually, speaking of Eavan, looks like she’s moving to Nola as well.”
Zombie: “I saw that. Thought her old man didn’t want to go down there, afraid she’d get too involved in the dark side.”
Bandit: “Seems as though he’s gotten lax about that now. You want to see a great negotiator? You wouldn’t expect it from her the way she acts sometimes but Eav saw the condo in Vegas listed for fifteen. Million, it’s stupid gorgeous and she was on a spending spree, but I think she ended up paying something like six for it. The place she just got was listed at two point two five mil and got it for seven hundred fifty grand.”
Zombie: “Damn, I might have to borrow her if we move down. I know J loved Nola when we went down the few times with him. It’d have to be a quick move as he starts school in a month. I don’t know, what do you say, babe?”
Lexa: “You know we’d follow you anywhere.”
Zombie: “Mom? Val?”
Valerie: “Well, like Kat said, I could work at her nursery. And I just found you, I don’t want to lose you. I’m in.”
Agata: “I no live anywhere but here. But I see pictures, went holiday with your father year before you born, Wendy. It’s nice. Il Mardi Gras potrebbe anche essere stato dove sei stato concepito.”
Valerie: “English?”

Wendy leans back in her chair laughing as Agata smirks mischievously on the way back to the kitchen.

Wendy: “Sure you want to know about Mom getting down with her bad self, Val?”
Valerie: “MOM!”
Agata: “What? I was young too.”

Bullet and the rest of the Maidens laugh as well as they caught on to what Wendy and Agata were talking about before Bullet tries to restore order.

K-Dog: “Well, guess you have no excuse now, huh?”
Bullet: “Alright, let’s get to the next piece of business. Episode Twenty-One at Mile High. All of us have big matches. We’re obviously still establishing ourselves there, much as most of us hold, or held, titles, we can’t rest on our laurels.”
Psycho: “I’ll bae kickin’ Gabriel Ohio fer th’ tird time!”

Bullet just shakes her head at the idea of little five foot tall Saoirse kicking that high again.

Bullet: “Hijueputa… ”

Bruiser can’t help but grin slightly.

Bruiser: “What about you guys? Bullet, Bandit and Titaness against The War Queen Leah and the Sports Entertainment Xpress.”

Sam grimaces slightly, her fingernails lightly tapping on the table.

Titaness: This is very likely gonna be the toughest tag match I’ve had in a long while. SEX by themselves are already a force to be reckoned with. Adding Leah into the equation?

Sam chuckles softly.

Titaness: This is gonna be painful. But we definitely need to show all of them - especially SEX - we’re the champions for a damn good reason. I’ll be ready by the time Episode XXI rolls around.

Bullet and Bandit nod and smirk. They knew they were going to war in their match and were prepared for it.

Banshee: “An’ yer match, Zombie, bae why we bae mentionin’ earlier changin’ yer perspact’ve on yer opponents. Ye bae lucky tae bae gettin’ anutter shot at th’ ThrowDown Title.”
Zombie: “What am I supposed to say, that I admit I’m the underdog in this match? That I’m more concerned and nervous than I let on?”
Bullet: “It’s a good start. Now, why are you concerned and nervous?”
Zombie: “Well, let’s see. I’ve been chasing down Azzy over two companies, and both times we’ve fought, she’s beat me. I can’t stand her, I really want to dismiss those losses as flukes and completely shred her apart…”

Lexa stops her.

Lexa: “What have I always tried to put into your head?”
Zombie: “Treat your opponent with respect so that win or lose, both come out looking better.”
Lexa: “And why do we do this?”

The Maidens all sit back and listen. They’ve never witnessed Lexa pull her manager card and they were intrigued by what she’s been teaching Wendy.

Zombie: “If you beat an unsold opponent, you don’t advance. And if you lose to an unsold opponent, you look worse in the process.”
Bullet: “Exactly. You treat Azurine like she’s a joke. Well, joke’s on you, she beat you twice. So now what?”
Zombie: “Train harder, hit harder, last longer?”
Bandit: “And maybe give the devil her due.”

Wendy leans back in her chair, her hands over her face, her arms shaking, and lets out a growl. She pulls on her hair as she takes deep breaths to calm herself down. Through clenched jaws and a glare, the growl dissipates.

Zombie: “Fine, Azzy’s a decent wrestler. Happy now?”
Lexa: “Until the sarcastic end, you were doing well.”

Bruiser interjects and nods her chin at Zombie.

Bruiser: “Hey, think back to how you got on the Mile High radar. Mack put out an open challenge to anyone who’d face Tyke Index in a Buried Alive match. YOU stepped up, and not only accepted the challenge, you fuckin’ beat him.”
Zombie: “Did I though? Think Lance Mikes got an assist on that.”
Bullet: “That was Katrina’s doing, to do exactly what you’re feeling. She’s hated us from the beginning, so getting another Shieldmaiden to question their abilities is one of her favorite pastimes. You had him dead to rights, and Mikes’ involvement or not, you had that match won. You changed Tyke, maybe even for the better. And he did beat me for the Phoenix Title. So all this talk about you wanting to be like us? Wendy, you ARE like us.”
Titaness: “They’re not lying. Look at our tag match in EWC against Blue Phoenix. You more than held your own in our match.”
Bandit: “Or the eight-man match we had the following week there. You went through three-quarters of their team practically on your own, and only fell to Scorpio after how many finishers?”
Zombie: “Enough of them. The match against Skrabz, I will handily admit Skrabz was the better fighter that night, and yes, I did mock his shit. Just as I did to Azzy. I’m not just facing Azzy this time though, I got the new champ to contend with as well. Came out of nowhere, got a title shot, and won, which is impressive and I even wanted her to win.”
Bullet: “She was in Mile High before the hiatus. Retired Candi Bratton and busted her leg. You only wanted Jansen to win just so Azurine would lose.”
Zombie: “Okay, maybe a little, but there was something Jansen said in her promos against Azzy. Nobody expected her to win. Seemed to be the consensus I heard as well surrounding the match. If people like Sam and I couldn’t beat Azzy, how much of a chance did Jansen have? Truthfully, I wanted her to prove people wrong. We’ve all had that moment at least once. People writing us off, the odds against us, and yet we overcame them. I wanted Jansen to have that moment as well. Hell. I remember how I felt when I beat Tyke. And to be honest, I had kinda forgotten what that moment had felt like. I was too focused on my losses to Skrabz and Azzy. The first-round loss in that EWC tournament. I was looking at the “should haves” and not focusing on what brought me to the dance. My tenacity is what brought me here, that same tenacity that got yours and RJ’s attention all those months ago.”

Val taps Lexa on the shoulder and looks at her.

Valerie: “Damn, she became a completely different person all of a sudden.”
Lexa: “You haven’t heard anything yet. Wait until she really gets into Zombie mode.”
Valerie: “Zombie mode?”
Lexa: “Just watch.”

Wendy looks over at the two hecklers behind her and shakes her head.

Zombie: “Thing is, guys, I KNOW I have the ability to beat Azurine Vebbins. I know if I look past the fluff and gimmick, I’d see she’s a shrewd businesswoman and a pretty good athlete. I would even go so far to say that her marketing is almost genius because so many opponents, including me, fall for it. First time we fought, I was cocky as hell. I don’t even think I trained for the match and got my ass handed to me. Two weeks ago, much as I trained, I got caught up in the window dressing and I paid for it. Jansen says Azzy got lucky that night, but it wasn’t luck. I undersold Azzy, at by the end of the night, Azzy beat me to retain. Jansen, she’s young, she’s hungry, and you’re right, Ale. I did my research on her. She not only beat a former World Champion in Candi Bratton, but broke the woman’s leg and retired her. She’s legit impressive, I’d even say I’m a fan of hers, and she’s not one I’ll take likely. There’s no off-putting gimmick with her, she’s straight tough.”
Lexa: “Do you truly think you will win?”
Zombie: “Trick question, babe, and you know it. I can only be confident in my own abilities. I know I have the ability to beat Azzy. I’ve fought her, I’ve watched the match back recently, and I saw where I fucked up. Jansen, different animal completely but I have to believe compared to other opponents I’ve faced, people you guys reminded me of tonight, I’m confident I can more than hang with her. I have no illusions of walking into this match as the biggest threat. Hell, I’m fighting the woman who beat me two weeks ago, and the woman who beat HER last week. Coming in as the Zombie everyone has seen lately is not going to cut it. I want to win, obviously, I don’t know anyone going into a match wanting to lose. And besides, that’d make all active members of the Maidens a champ, or former champ, in Mile High, so I have that pressure on me as well. So, to answer your question, do I think I WILL win? Won’t know that until the final bell. Do I think I CAN win? Damn right I do.”

Lexa leaned into Valerie and smirked.

Lexa: “Now you’ve met Zombie. At least the best one I’ve heard in a while.”

Bullet grabs Wendy by the shoulder and gets in her face.

Bullet: “Una cosa más. Those tweets about hanging up your boots? That shit ends. You pulled that stunt twice now, and it’s gotten old. You’re not quitting. If Azurine beats you again, she’ll have earned that win. Just as you or Jansen will have if either of you win. Stop. Treating. Her. Like. A. Joke. Because right now? The biggest joke in that match is you. And we know you’re better than that. You have to figure out you’re better than that as well. And fast. Comprende?”

Agata comes out of the kitchen with her hands full of assorted desserts.

Agata: “Okay, no more work talk. Nutrirsi, nutrirsi. Siete tutte donne forti. E siete tutta famiglia. Siete tutti benvenuti al nostro tavolo in qualsiasi momento.

Wendy takes a deep breath, glaring at Bullet, realizing she's right but not willing to admit it in the moment. Instead she smiles and looks at everyone, as they all came back in the room to sit at the table again.

Wendy: “Mom says to eat up. We are all strong women, and family, and you are all welcome at our table anytime. I love you guys, all of you. Tonight we eat. Sunday, we shake Denver to the core with the roars of motorbikes, shields on our backs, and the strongest of hearts and minds. All in?”

Everybody puts a fist towards the center of the table, leaning in to make sure everyone touches somebody.

Wendy: “With stomachs full, and an empty Hell, the Maidens are coming. What’s in your head?”