Maria Tempesta vs. The Black Fang - Behind the Masks

Ah, the STF. One of the Black Fang’s favorite moves. She locked it in with scarcely hidden glee. Not that she enjoyed hurting people with it - though, if she did with anyone, Maria would certainly qualify - but she loved the efficiency of the move. The way it immobilized and hurt multiple parts of the body, the way you could lock it in so fast if you knew what you were doing…

It was an ideal finisher, and while she didn’t have an official submission for her end-game repertoire, the Black Fang was seriously considering if she should add it on

Of course, no move in the world could stand up to cheating, which was precisely what the demoness was up to. ”Hey, hey!” She stuttered about as Maria’s fingers roamed over her face. ”What are you-”

Out came the claws, scratching hard along her face and slashing her eyeballs. The reaction took over and she dropped the hold in an instant, rolling over to her back as she caressed her scratched features.

Maria felt like her neck was being twisted backward at the wrong angle, like her back was being twisted like a pretzel, and like her head was about to pop off like a cork. The fact that Fang was lying on top of her in such a dominant position just made it worse. She didn't think her desperate move was going to work...but then, lo and behold, she heard Fang shriek in pain, and then the other masked girl was rolling off of her.

She heard the crowd boo; well, if they hated her now, they hadn't seen anything yet. Slowly and agonizingly, she crawled over to her corner, barely able to move after the number Fang had done on her back. Reaching an arm around under the ring, where she had hidden a small package while making her entrance, she grabbed a small bottle and stuck it to her mouth, sloshing it's foul tasting contents in her mouth.

Pulling herself shakily up to her feet, Maria would turn to face Fang, and-- provided she did so in timr-- blow out the contents and spray her in the face with a green mist!

In the eye! The eye!

The Black Fang rose to her feet and continued to work on getting her face right after Maria’s dastardly escape. She hadn’t just messed up her vision, but all that fumbling had messed up her mask, too, and there was a frantic second where she had to get everything in its proper place. A frantic second where she could’ve been attacked, where Maria could’ve hurt her in so many ways…

But that didn’t happen. When she got up, she could see that her foe was still wide open, giving her an opportunity that was too tempting to pass up. She charged in fast, hoping to catch the demoness off-guard…

...and took a faceful of mist for her troubles.

The Black Fang fell to the floor, kicking and screaming and whooping and hollering as she rolled back and forth, frantically rubbing her eyes to do something about the fire in them.

If the crowd was angry before, now they were furious. The booing reached a fever pitch now as Black Fang was misted in the face, screaming as she was temporarily blinded by the green ichor. Maria simply laughed and raised her arms in an aloof, innocent expression. "What do you think of your hero now?" she yelled back at them. "Do you still want to cheer for this loser?"

Turning back to Fang, Maria would watch and wait as her masked foe began to pick herself up, her boot scraping at the mat like a restless bull ready to charge. The moment Black Fang rose to her feet, Maria would charge forward to execute one of her trademark moves, El Bota Diablo, slamming a booted kick right into Fang's face in an attempt to finish her then and there!

...was it wrong that, as much as the Black Fang hated the mist, hated the cheap tactic, hated the fact that her foe had resorted to such underhanded methods, she was still kind of geeking out over it? You didn’t see such classic villainous tactics anymore. If she had to go out, at least it was to one of the classics.

And the Black Fang was going out, she realized that much for a a fact. The question when and how, not if, and the answer came soon enough.

She didn’t know, couldn’t know what was coming her way next, but she could make some reasonable guesses. It hurt. Felt like a boot to the face, if she had to guess. A Big Boot? Probably.

Regardless, it was enough to lay her out on the spot, leaving her on her back, staring up at the ceiling lights through her bleary, burning eyes.

Maria practically felt the tremor of impact run up her leg as her boot collided with Fang's face. The other girl collapsed as though poleaxed, staring up at the lights in a blind daze, her mask and face still streaked with green from where Maria had misted her. Seeing her foe now lying prone at her feet, Maria raised her hand and let out a raucous cheer. The audience didn't share her good mood, and responded with yet another chorus of boos.

Ignoring the spoilsports, Maria dropped down on top of Fang. Well, collapsed would have been a more accurate word-- she was still sore after that nasty hold that Fang had put her in. Catching her breath as she lay across Fang's chest, she held her breath and hooked one of her opponent's legs as the ref girl began the countdown.

"ONE..."

Not like this. Not like this.

”2…!”

The second count felt like a death knell more than a slap on the mat, tolling for the end of the match and her hard fight. She didn’t mind losing. It had happened to her in the AFW plenty, against good opponents, worthy foes who’d tested her and pushed her to grow stronger and make her name mean something.

But this was cheap. This was tawdry. This was a villain stealing a victory that was hers by rights, and the very thought left a bitter taste in her mouth. She tried to make her body respond, fought to squeeze together enough energy to lift a single shoulder, but her body was unresponsive. It was simply not happening.

”3…!”

Just like that, it was over. The Black Fang’s body relaxed as she threw her head back, groaning with a mix of frustration and anger. Whether she was more mad at Maria or herself for falling for Maria’s tactics, even she couldn't say.

The bell rang, signalling Maria's hard fought victory. Kneeling upright, she rose a hand in victory and let out a loud whoop-- and heard the crowd booing her in response, the audience thunderous in their disapproval of Maria's heelish win. Grinning, Maria casually let her raised hand turn into a middle finger for the booing crowd, before looking back down at Fang. Her opponent was well and truly beaten, lying dazed at her feet. Kneeling over her, Maria grabbed a handful of her hair and yanked her up to her knees so that their faces were level.

"Good match, hero," she whispered to her, before leaning in and giving her a taunting kiss, her green-flecked lips meeting Fang's in an act designed to both titillate the audience and to mark her victory. Drawing back, Maria would then nonchalantly brush her hair back and roll out of the ring, sauntering up the ramp uncaring of the verbal abuse raining down at her.

Hopefully, she'd run into the Black Fang again...and then this delicious little superhero-meets-devil lady drama could continue...