==========
Scene 1
Off Camera
==========
February
twenty-second was the last time the SCW universe saw Marie Annabelle Jones in a
wrestling ring. She had lost in a hotly
contested match to Syren. She had just
come off of another impressive showing against then SCW Television Champion
Kennedy Street, despite being unable to come away with the title. No one quite knew what happened to the heir
apparent to the Jones family dynasty.
Did she leave SCW because of her disappointing performance against
Kennedy and later Syren?
No, quite
the contrary, Marie was proud of herself.
Both Kennedy and Syren are former SCW World Champions and Marie thought
she performed well against them. Despite
losing the matches, her performance proved to Marie that she could potentially
win gold in SCW; but she knew she’d have to put her entire focus on SCW if she
were to do that.
Marie wasn’t
ready to do that just yet. She enjoyed
SCW but she wasn’t ready for that kind of commitment. She still had unfinished business in UWA. So she took time off from SCW in order to take
care of that unfinished business.
Now Marie
finds herself at a crossroads. Her
business with UWA came to a rather abrupt halt just a couple weeks ago when she
requested her release from the company.
This also brought about the end of her business relationship with
Tabitha Silverstone, who cut ties with Jones after she was released from the
company.
Her future
in wrestling is uncertain right now, but her professional life isn’t the only
thing consuming Marie right now. She
also has to deal with her identical twin sister, Kimberly Williams.
Technically
she doesn’t have to deal that any longer.
Kimberly has been institutionalized.
It’s on the mental hospital to take care of her now. And yet, despite this, Marie still feels an
obligation to her sister. Marie wants
Kimberly to feel welcomed and accepted in the Jones family. No one else is willing to give her a chance,
and with good reason, considering the crimes Kimberly is guilty of.
But Marie
made Kim a promise. She promised to be
with her sister the entire way. She
promised she would not abandon her.
Marie
intends to keep that promise.
The mental
institution where Kimberly currently calls home is state of the art and,
usually, is for the more well-to-do patients.
Kimberly may not be well-to-do but luckily her family is. The Jones family, primarily Marie Annabelle
Jones, is paying a hefty sum of money for her to stay here for treatment at
this luxurious place which has its own recreational park for certain patients
to have free time to go out and enjoy the day by themselves or with their
visitors. In this case, Kimberly has two visitors; Marie Annabelle Jones and
her husband, Arthur Pond.
Jones, her
husband Arthur, and her twin are seen walking through the grassy fields of the
recreational park. The grass waves like
people in a stadium, catching the light in a way that shows it isn't one green
but many. The blades can be skinny or broad, but in this field of the park they
are packed so tightly you can't see the earth beneath. In this spring that is
so rich in rain, and on the good black soil of the district, each one has grown
so tall you have to walk as if you are on the moon. The birds sing like they've never seen a dawn
so fresh. These fields remind Kimberly
of the fields of home, which in a way, makes the park one of more depressing
places for her to be.
Oh but
Kimberly is doing a good job of keeping up appearances. She is putting on a brave face as they walk…
“So, how are you Dr. Warren getting along?”
“Eh, doc is treating me well. Rarely do I see any of the other docs at this
loony bin, just her.”
Marie sighs
and shakes her head.
“I really wish you wouldn’t call it a loony
bin, Kim.”
“What should I call it?”
“Call it what it is; a mental institution.”
“Right, a loony bin. Same thing.”
Arthur
shakes his head.
“No, Kim, they’re not. A mental institution is a serious place. It’s here to help you. A loony bin is a derogatory term.”
Kim chuckles
as she reaches over and pinches Arthur’s cheeks.
“You’re so adorable Arthur! Do NOT change!”
“Uh…thanks?”
Marie rolls
her eyes.
“Kim, I don’t think you understand…”
Kimberly
stops walking and turns to face her sister, looking very tense and serious.
“No, I get it alright. Our mom spent time in a mental institution,
she spent time in a loony bin and now I’m here in a loony bin. I understand the Jones pride you have, Marie,
but don’t sugar coat it. This is a loony
bin. I’m here because I’m mentally
unbalanced, just like mom was here at one time because she was mentally
unbalanced.”
“Yeah, I know…”
Kimberly
takes her sister’s hands.
“But hey, they helped mom. Maybe they’ll help me too?”
Kimberly and
Marie, with Arthur in tow, turn and continue to walk through the park. Other patients are out there as well, some
with their families visiting them, but the twins ignore them. They are focused on one another right
now. Marie hates having to see Kimberly
institutionalized, but Kim did agree to this and besides, maybe Kim is
right? Maybe they can help her achieve
what she’s always wanted: normalcy. And another benefit is that Kim is safe
here.
“I just hope Doc Warren isn’t giving me any
preferential treatment just because of her ties to our family.”
Arthur
shakes his head.
“I doubt she’d do that, Kim. Dr. Warren is a professional through and
through.”
“Are you making progress though, sis?”
Kimberly
shrugs her shoulders.
“I guess so…they haven’t resorted to
electro-shock therapy yet!”
Marie
chuckles.
“That’s
good, I guess.”
Marie and
Kimberly and Marie’s husband Arthur approach a bench. It had come to resemble driftwood, the bright
tones of its once fresh state had become a somber brown, but beautiful. Marie sits down first followed by Kimberly
who sits down next to her. Arthur sits
on the other side of Marie. Kimberly
grins from ear to ear.
“So, what
about you, big sis?”
Marie
furrows her brow.
“Big sis?”
“Yeah, you’re older.”
“We’re twins, Kim.”
“No, you’re older…by about half of a second
maybe…”
“Kim has a point, babe. Technically you would be older.”
Marie rolls
her eyes.
“Whatever.”
Marie pokes
Arthur in his side.
“Why don’t you go back inside and get us
some drinks?”
“I don’t know if I have any money for the
drink machine.”
Marie
reaches into her pocket and produces a wad of one dollar bills. She hands them to her husband.
“Go!
Leave!”
He chuckles.
“Yes, ma’am.”
Arthur
quietly gets up and leaves to retrieve the drinks, leaving Marie alone with her twin sister Kimberly,
who grins knowingly.
“Good…now that he’s gone, what about you?”
“What do you mean, Kim? What about me?”
“I mean your wrestling career! Last I saw was you defending the UWA X-Limits
Championship against Myra Lynwood.”
“Yeah, and I lost.”
“And I only knew that from watching the
program. And do you know how hard it was
convincing the other patients to watch wrestling? They wanted to watch Walking Dead reruns.”
“How did you convince them to change the
channel?”
Kim smirks
evilly.
“Oh I just threatened to make them rearrange
their faces to look like those Walking Dead folks on the show.”
Marie sighs
and shakes her head.
“Kim, that’s NOT how you get by in a place
like this…”
“Oh it was ok, Doc Warren knew I didn’t
actually mean it. Now any time you
wrestle, they promise the television will be tuned in.”
“Well that’s nice of them.”
“Yeah, but there’s one wee little problem,
sis; we haven’t watched wrestling lately.
Not since that match you lost to Lynwood.”
“Well that sucks, I guess.”
“Yeah, but I’m wondering why? Either they lied and are still refusing to
let me watch you wrestle, and with Doc Warren in charge of the loony bin I
kinda doubt that, or something else is wrong.”
Kimberly
folds her arms over her chest.
“So spill the beans, sis. What’s wrong?”
“How do you know something is wrong?”
“The men in white coats won’t let us watch
wrestling, which tells me you aren’t wrestling since they only put wrestling on
when you are wrestling. Also there’s the
fact that you haven’t shared anything about your wrestling career with me over
the phone when you call.”
“You never ASK!”
“Yeah, because normally you always tell me
regardless , you don’t need prompting.
Something is fishy, babes. What’s
up?”
Kimberly has
always been the smartest, most cunning of Angelica’s children. She also seems to have a sixth sense of
knowing when there is a problem. That
seems to be the case with most twins.
When one is hurt, the other is hurt.
Perhaps Kimberly was unknowingly affected by Marie’s own professional
troubles inside the ring? That question
would be a good question for scientists but for now all Marie knows is that her
twin sister Kimberly has her dead to rights.
She can’t make excuses any longer.
“Yeah, I did lose the X-Limits Title to
Myra, but there was more after that, stuff that I didn’t tell you about. I didn’t mention it because the loss affected
me a great deal, Kim. I felt things that
I hadn’t felt in a long time.”
Kim’s eyes
grow wide in anticipation.
“Uh-oh…that doesn’t sound good.”
“Hush it.”
Marie sighs.
“Look, I’m not going into any details about
any of those feelings. And maybe I let
those feelings get the better of me?
Time will tell if I made the right decision, but I decided to demand my
release from UWA.”
Kimberly
shrugs.
“Ok, so what? You know me, I don’t care what you do, I’m
with you all the way.”
“Yeah, you are, but Tabitha apparently
wasn’t with me all the way no matter what I chose to do.”
“You mean?”
Marie nods
her head.
“Yeah, she ended our relationship.”
“Well that sucks. I know you valued that relationship and all.”
Kim grins
nastily.
“Do you want me to do the whole ‘stabby
stabby’ to her? Make her pay and all?”
Marie rolls
her eyes.
“No!
Remember, violence won’t help you get cured of your mental
instability. Besides, I may be gone from
UWA but there are other avenues I plan on taking. There is Supreme Championship Wrestling.”
Kim furrows
her brow out of confusion.
“I thought you weren’t wrestling for SCW any
longer?”
“I wasn’t, but I never said my contract with
them had expired.”
“It’s a good idea. The last time you were there you were
competing for the United States Championship.”
Marie nods
her head.
“That’s right, I was on the cusp of breaking
through when I took a break to focus on UWA.
But there is no relationship between me and UWA any longer. I burned that bridge and I wouldn’t want to
cross it again anyway. I’m looking to
the future and that future is in SCW.”
==========
Scene 2
Off Camera
==========
Viewed in
isolation the patio could be anywhere with its grey stone floor and cafe
tables, each with a green sun umbrella.
This happens to be the patio area of a small café on the outskirts of
Boston, Massachusetts. Two redheads sit
at one of the tables, one is clearly older than the other. The older one is one half of the tag team of
SCW-universe fame known as TheSisterhood; Kayla Jones. The other woman, sitting across from her at
that table, is her niece, Marie Annabelle Jones.
The elder
Jones is wearing a faux-wrap long sleeved sheath dress that includes a crossover V-neckline, empire waist with slight
shirring. It has a hemline that stops
just below the knee. Kayla’s niece is
attired far less classy in denim jeans, black boots, a black “SCW” t-shirt, and
her signature black leather jacket.
Both Jones
women have hot beverages before them; Kayla a hot French Vanilla and Marie a
latte. The latte sits prettily in a
white china cup, a leaf pattern in delicate milky foam among the pale brown.
She wraps her fingers around it, enjoying the heat that spreads through her
hands. Her aunt sips at hers like it is
a great luxury, savoring both the drink and the moment.
“How is your latte?”
“It’s delicious! And this place is great, such atmosphere and
such a great view! How have I never
known about this?”
Kayla
smirks.
“I have my secrets.”
She sighs.
“But seriously, this is just a little out of
the way place that I sometimes go if I want to get away from everyone. Your mom doesn’t even know about this place.”
“Really?!”
Kayla nods
her head.
“Really.
She has no clue. It’s good,
though, especially lately because of…well…you know…”
Marie nods
her head. She knows the situation
regarding Aphrodite all too well. She,
like Kayla, has her doubts about the relationship between Angelica and
Aphrodite. Marie just hasn’t been vocal
about it yet.
“How are you and mom dealing with that
situation with Aphrodite anyway?”
Kayla takes
a sip of her French Vanilla…
“We are on good terms, if that’s what you
want to know.”
“That’s good. I hate to see you two fighting.”
“And I hate fighting with your mom, but I
will never trust Aphrodite. I hope
Aphrodite will prove me wrong but I somewhat doubt she will. Nevertheless, it was wrong for me to treat your
mom the way I was treating her just because of the woman she chose to have a
relationship with. I apologized and
we’re on good terms now. That situation
has been put to rest…”
She sets her
French Vanilla down on the table.
“…for now.”
The younger
Jones sips her latte. She sets it back
down on the table.
“That’s good to hear, because I’d hate to
return to SCW while my favorite aunt was feuding with my mother.”
Kayla arches
a brow.
“You’re returning to SCW?”
“Yeah, I think that’s the best career move
for me right now.”
“Well I did see that you had left UWA. If this is what you feel is best then great,
good for you. Your mother and I will
definitely be there to help you in any way you need.
“Thanks for that offer, Aunt Kayla, but I do
want to stand on my own two feet. When
opportunities come knocking on my door, I want to be able to take advantage
myself. And speaking of opportunities,
Fatal Fortunes is coming up. What is
that?”
Kayla sighs.
“Well it’s hard to say because no one really
knows. In fact, from what I understand,
no one will know what match they have until time for the actual match. I know every championship is on the line, so
you could end up competing for a title.”
Marie grins
from ear to ear.
“Now that’s what I’m talking about!”
“Yes, but you could end up with something
real bad. You could end up facing
someone really tough. You have to be
prepared for anything, Marie.”
“I know, Aunt Kayla, but it isn’t about the
titles for me. If I happen to get drawn
for a title shot, awesome, but I don’t really care. I view this as my opportunity to prove that I
can take on any challenge thrown my way.”
Kayla grins
knowingly at her grown up niece.
“That’s the right attitude to have,
Marie. I’m glad to see you’ve matured.”
“Yeah, well, not everyone would agree.”
“Oh?”
Marie nods
her head.
“Yeah, I still have one other problem. Tabitha abandoned me.”
“Did you give her reason to abandon you?”
Marie
frowns.
“No!
She’s just upset I left UWA the way I did.”
Kayla sighs.
“Look, I don’t care about your squabble with
her…”
“There is no squabble, Aunt Kayla. As far as I’m concerned, it’s over.”
“Good, then move on.”
“That’s the problem, I don’t know anyone
else to represent me.”
Kayla takes
another sip of her French Vanilla.
“Well there is Jones Wrestling
Incorporated. I used to manage Allison
Lorraine and Julia Braddock. I am
currently managing Gabriela Austin. I
could easily manage you.”
Marie shakes
her head.
“No, never.
I mean, no offense Aunt Kayla, but I don’t want to give off the
impression that I need you or mom to help me get by. I can do it without you. I just need the chance, and the right
representation.”
Marie sips
her latte and sighs with disappointment.
“There just aren’t many good agents out
there.”
“No, but I do know someone who could help.”
Marie sets
her latte back down on the table and looks on with intrigue.
“Oh really?”
“Yes, you just have to keep an open mind…”
==========
Scene 3
Off Camera
==========
The future
of Marie Annabelle Jones is here and now and she knows it. The future could very well be decided within
the confines of this room where she finds herself on this day. The room is small and square, with two
plastic chairs. Between the two plastic
chairs is a much more comfortable leather chair that seats Marie Annabelle
Jones. In front of Marie is a table and
an empty water dispenser. The window is cracked, allowing a faint but pleasant
smell of moisture into the room. The walls are cream and bare. The light outside is now fading, the watery
sun shining a single, dust-laden bar of brightness into the room. Then there is the desk; in a state of half
organized clutter, mahogany desk with three drawers on the right hand side,
swivel chair, a computer, several stacks of paperwork, pens in a tin, floor to
ceiling bookshelf, books leaning against one another in different
directions. There are filling cabinet with
paper work stacked on top. The redheaded
Jones waits patiently on someone to arrive…
…that wait
is not a long one.
The door on
the far side of the room opens. Marie
turns her head in time to see Adam Chase entering. This is one of his offices and he is here
today to meet with Marie and discuss business.
Marie stands up and extends a hand, Adam accepts the handshake as he
goes to his desk and sits down. Marie
then sits back down as well.
“Thank you for meeting with me on such short
notice, Mr. Chase.”
“Not a problem. I hope you don’t mind me saying that I am
kind of surprised you did call, if I am perfectly honest. There are a great many people out there who
could help you, who could represent you, and yet you asked me to represent you.”
Marie
chuckles lightly.
“Yeah, I know that this is definitely a
rather awkward request, especially considering my past with Vanilla Skyy. You and I were on opposing sides of UWA’s
Feud of the Year, Adam.”
He smirks.
“Yes, and we won the final battle of that
feud if I remember correctly.”
“Oh I remember. And I won’t deny that at first it ate me
alive inside knowing that even though I beat her to win the UWA world
championship, I couldn’t beat her again to keep it.”
She sighs
and shakes her head.
“It was a tough loss, but I learned from
it. I took a great deal away from that
loss to Vanilla. And Adam, despite
anything that went down or anything that I said before, during, or after that
feud with her, I respect the hell out of Vanilla Skyy. I always have and always will. Despite that respect, initially I still
thought my Aunt Kayla was a little crazy when she suggested this, but…”
Marie grins
knowingly.
“…the three of us…you and Vanilla, me…we
made a lot of magic together when I went against you. Imagine what magic we could create working
together?”
Adam nods
his head.
“Ok, I’m intrigued. What do you have in mind?”
“You may have heard that my days in UWA have
come to an end. Well, I want to return
to Supreme Championship Wrestling. I was
on the verge of something special, Adam, but I left because of unfinished
business in UWA. My business with UWA is
now officially over. I’m ready to return
and like I said, I want to make magic happen.”
Adam scratches
his chin.
“You were a former UWA World Champion and
you did it by beating Vanilla. And you
were right, you were on the verge of something special in SCW before you
left...”
Adam extends
hand.
“…and I would be happy to stand by your
side, assisting you to take that next step in SCW.”
Marie smiles
happily as she stands up and accepts the handshake.
“Thank you, Adam. You won’t regret it. We will make magic happen in SCW. I guarantee it!”
==========
On Camera
==========
Supreme
Championship Wrestling…guess what? I’m
baaaaaaack!
There’s a
metaphor I use quite frequently. It has
to do with my ring name. I am “The
Phoenix” Marie Annabelle Jones and I am The Phoenix for a reason. It’s because that no matter how many times I
get knocked down, I keep getting back up, just like the mythical phoenix that
dies and is resurrected, rising up from the ashes, never to die!
Though some
of you may compare me to a roach, because you know what they say about
roaches? They just won’t go away!
Either way,
the wrestling world can never and will never get rid of me. Wrestling is what I was born to do. It is in my blood. Hell, it is written into my DNA! Wrestling is my passion, my love, and my art
form all rolled into one. No one will
take it from me.
But just
like the mythical Phoenix, who is not only destined for its rises but also its
eventual falls as well, I have had my
fair share of falls. I won’t ignore the
elephant in the room. UWA and I had some
differences of opinion. I asked for my
release and we went our separate ways.
That’s all you need to know. I
wish them luck in their future endeavors.
I won’t deny
mistakes I made in my UWA tenure, just as I won’t deny mistakes I made in
SCW. But I always learn from the
mistakes I make. And trust me, I have
learned from my mistakes and I have made many changes in my professional
career.
The first
and most noticeable change will be my representation. Tabitha Silverstone doesn’t want to be my
agent. So we’re done. I’m now being managed by the manager of a
former two-time UWA World Champion…
…that’s
right, Adam Chase, Vanilla Skyy’s former agent, is my agent.
But Adam
knows that his job is my representative, agent, and advocate. He knows that I want to get the job done in
the ring on my own without any outside interference, which brings me to the
next big change you will notice in The Phoenix…
…Amy
Chastaine told me shortly before I took my leave from SCW that I didn’t need to
use any cheap tricks. Amy, I want to
thank you for saying that. I needed to
hear that. I am good enough without any
cheap tricks. I won six world
championships without cheap tricks. I
don’t need anything but my pure wrestling ability.
I will get
the job done inside the ring based upon my own abilities and nothing else. If I win, fine. If I fail to get the job done, I will learn
from the experience and move on.
Now before I
left Supreme Championship Wrestling to take care of unfinished business in UWA,
I was on the verge of something special.
I took it to Amy Chastaine and came up just short in a bid to win the
United States Championship. I beat
Rachel Foxx to earn the right to face Kennedy Street in another close but
losing bid for a championship, the Television Championship. Then I fought Syren in a very close match but again, lost.
Three
losses, one win, all of them close, and all of them against former world
champions. I took it to four former
world champions and one of those former world champions I beat. What that told me was that I was on the cusp
of breaking through. I was oh so close…
…but close
only counts in horse-shoes and hand grenades.
In SCW you have to get the job done, and I am prepared to once again be
The Phoenix and once again try to break through in SCW. And it seems as if I arrived at the perfect
opportunity to do just that…
…Fatal
Fortunes is here.
Every match
and every stipulation is random.
Everyone will be booked between two Breakdowns and the icing on the cake
is the fact that every championship will be defended.
Now I do
want to be champion again. My mother
calls herself the Golden Goddess for a reason because she loves being champion. I get it honestly, because I do too.
Women’s Championship? Maybe.
World
Championship? Now that would be
something!
And I could
go on and on and on. I want to be
champion again and just like my mom and my aunt Kayla have cemented their names
forever in SCW lore as two time SCW World Tag Team Champions, I would love to
etch my name forever in SCW record books.
I have yet to taste SCW championship gold. Perhaps Fatal Fortunes is my opportunity?
I hope
so. But see, therein lies another way in
which I grew as a competitor. Yes, being
champion is glorious and grand. There is
no denying that fact. But being champion
isn’t the end all be all of professional wrestling and winning a championship
isn’t the end all be all of Fatal Fortunes.
At least it
isn’t for me.
See, I was
very close to breaking through after four great matches with four great
athletes, but I regrettably left before I could finish the job. Fatal Fortunes is my opportunity to prove
that I am STILL The Phoenix, I am STILL The Crown Jewel of Professional
Wrestling, and I am STILL that stubborn redheaded bitch who, come hell or high
water, will break through and become a major player in SCW!
It doesn’t
matter who I face at Fatal Fortunes. A
championship match or otherwise, everything is an opportunity. If it is for a title, it is an opportunity to
win gold. If not, then it is my time to return to SCW the right way, on the
right footing, my opportunity to make an impact against whichever unfortunate
soul is chosen to be my opponent.
The Phoenix
was gone, but now she’s back, having risen from the flame, and she is ready to
take on Fatal Fortunes.
