Prodigy (Part 2)

Christine Kendall drove with a lot on her mind; some of it was memories from her past as a wrestler known as The Golden Goddess, but her central thought was connected to her past: The Crimson Queen, her greatest rival. The Golden Goddess and The Crimson Queen had a feud for the ages in the ring for many years, and both of them have enjoyed retirement in the last decade-plus. Or so Christine thought.

All of a sudden, the Queen was back, but she was going after another Kendall: Christine's daughter, Joanne Kendall. Joanne was coming off winning a battle royal when the Crimson Queen suddenly surfaced and challenged Joanne, while mentioning her past rivalry with Christine. Joanne's acceptance was followed by the up-and-coming wrestler learning that the villainous Crimson Queen was none other than the dean of Joanne's school, Dr. Celeste Payne.

Joanne was stunned that her dean actually competed in the ring, and was actually Christine's rival. Christine herself was a bit surprised over the possibility of her in-ring rival and real-life good friend would get back in the squared circle out of the blue, and that's what drove Christine to arrange a meeting with Celeste, to find out the truth about everything. Christine arrived at the destination, a gym where both she and Celeste--among many other women who wanted to compete in the ring--trained. She stood waiting for Celeste, when she heard that familiar voice.

"Well, well, well! Hello, Goddess."

Christine turned around and saw Celeste, the very woman she battled in the ring for many years.

"Queen," Christine says somewhat chillingly, as the two women walked closer to each other. They stared each other down, but both of them smiled and hugged each other, showing their longtime friendship. "It's great to see you!"

"Good to see you, too!" said Celeste. "So what's this meeting about? Talking about old times?"

"Well, sort of," said Christine. "The Crimson Queen. She's back. Or should I say, 'you're back'?" Celeste gave a look that seemed to be half guilt, but also half pride in what she had started.

"So you know," said Celeste.

"What's going on, Cel?" asked Christine. "You're getting back in the ring? And competing against my girl?"

"I do enjoy my job as an educator," said Celeste, "but I still have that mentality as a wrestler. I did have that itch to return, but I kept it at bay. And then Joanne became a student at my school. Little Joanne. She is the spitting image of you, in more ways than one. I've watched her, Chrissy. She's so amazing."

"Thank you so much," said Christine.

"You taught her well, Chrissy," said Celeste. "You taught her to fight the good fight. However, I want to see if she really has that passion. I want to prepare her. Joanne has championship aspirations, right? She needs a big, bad villainess to prepare her for those ruthless women who want to stop her. And come on, Chrissy, who's bigger and badder than the Crimson Queen?" Celeste gave a slight cackle, which amused Christine to no end.

"You always were quite theatrical, Cel," said Christine.

"That's what wrestling is--theater," said Celeste. "I still remember our battles. The Golden Goddess, the ultimate heroine, the shining star, while I was the villainess looking to cast a shadow over you. We made absolute magic together."

"We certainly did," said Christine. "So that's what this is? Just a lesson for Joanne."

"Pretty much," said Celeste. "Plus think about it. A young up-and-comer face-to-face with an evildoer from her mother's past? It'll definitely sell, and we will all win in the end. And it all takes place in two weeks." Celeste and Christine hugged each other once more, and Christine returned home, where Joanne was studying.

"Hey, Jo," said Christine. "I just talked to Celeste. She confirmed it. She's back as the Crimson Queen, and your match will take place in two weeks."

"Wow!" exclaimed Joanne. "So I'm actually going to face off against my dean. Awesome. So why's she doing this?"

"It's Celeste's weird way of preparing you," answered Christine. "She talked about our rivalry and how much she loved it. She sees you as the spitting image of me and wants to see if you have that drive I had." Christine placed her hands on Joanne's face and quickly noticed that look of determination on her daughter's face.

"You want this, do you?"

"I'm ready, Mom," said Joanne. "I plan on passing Dr. Payne's, I mean, the Crimson Queen's test with flying colors."

The next two weeks saw Joanne prepare vigorously, in both the wrestling world and academically. Her dean had lit a fire under her, and Joanne was dedicating these two weeks to proving that she can handle both school and wrestling at the same time. She aced a few projects during that time, but now came the big test in the ring. Joanne was in her locker room, processing her final thoughts before going into battle against the legendary Crimson Queen. She was ready. Joanne knew that this would be a huge test for her. She had her sights set on the RWW World Championship, but before she could go through with that opportunity, Joanne needed to face her biggest battle.

Joanne's music hit, and she would later come out to a raucous crowd who was behind her every step of the way. She basked in the cheers and the positive reaction, but once she entered the ring, the focus was on the task at hand. The Crimson Queen's music hit, and out she came. Full red and gold bodysuit, cape, crown, mask, and gloves, along with that venomous demeanor. The Queen ordered the official to open the ring ropes for her, and she glared at the jeering crowd in attendance.

"Just like riding a bike," Celeste thought.

The cape and crown were removed, and the bell rang shortly afterwards. The Queen and Joanne stared holes into each other. Joanne knew that it was her dean in the ring with her, but for that moment, from bell to bell, she had to forget that. This was not Dean Payne in the ring, this was the Crimson Queen, and the two women tied up and tested each other out with quick takedowns and even quicker one-counts. The combatants looked at each other again and tied up again, but this time, the Queen delivered a knee to Joanne's gut before placing her in a headlock.

"Come on, little prodigy!" the Queen snickers. "Show your Queen what you're made of! Show the world what you're made of!" Joanne felt the grip of her opponent, but she continued to stay strong against the Queen's stranglehold. It was at that moment that the Queen's taunt later made a turn.

"Show the Golden Goddess, your dear mother, what you're made of!"

The mention of her mother lit a fire in Joanne. Whether it was out of love, out of honor, or out of a drive to fight back against the Queen's taunts, Joanne exploded and delivered lefts and rights to her foe, who backed away to the ropes to force a break. The Queen rushed towards Joanne, who ducked and later delivered a scoop slam to her opponent. The effort was only enough for a two-count, but Joanne was still on tons of adrenaline. That momentum was stopped by the Queen's tackle towards Joanne, and with her opponent down, the Queen let the crowd know that it was over, and she was preparing for her longtime finisher, the Crimson Crush, a modified powerbomb.

"You fought hard, little one," the Queen hissed, "but now, it's time to meet your fate." The Queen lifted Joanne up, but Joanne jumped off and landed on her feet, and after ducking a clothesline, Joanne delivered a Bulldog to the Queen, and that ended up being the winning move. Joanne was full of emotion after the final bell rang. She had another defining victory; first the battle royal, and now, she defeated a legend in the Crimson Queen. Joanne joined the crowd in celebrating her victory, and once she entered the ring, she engaged in a staredown with the Crimson Queen, who removed her mask, revealing the face of Dr. Celeste Payne.

"I had to know, and I was right," Celeste said warmly, "you truly are your mother's daughter." Celeste extended her hand to Joanne, who pulled her dean in with a hug; the perfect and emotional ending to her saga.

Three weeks later, Renegade Women's Wrestling held their big event, Golden Road, and it was at this event that Joanne received her title opportunity. Her opponent was the formidable "Iron Woman" Donna DeMarco, who won the title at last year's Golden Road event. Joanne had her work cut out for her, and the big title bout went on for 30 minutes, with Donna and Joanne hitting each other with everything but the kitchen sink. Donna kicked out of Joanne's Bulldog, but Joanne shocked everyone by kicking out of Donna's "Death Drop" Piledriver. Joanne fought back against a second attempt at the Piledriver, and hit not one, but two Bulldogs, and that ended up winning the match, and the RWW World Championship, for Joanne.

Joanne celebrated her biggest win of her young career with not only the fans in attendance, but also with Christine, the Golden Goddess herself. At only the age of 22, Joanne reached the top of the wrestling world and captured her first title, and she and Christine--both with tears in their eyes--hugged each other and celebrated the big win.

However, there was one more person who wanted to congratuate Joanne:

"Come in!"

A day after her big win, Joanne entered Celeste's office, as Celeste wanted to talk to Joanne once she won the title.

"Close the door," said Celeste, after which Joanne acquiesced. Celeste turned around in her chair, stood up, walked slowly towards Joanne, and gave her a hug. "I am so proud of you! You were amazing out there! I knew you could do it!"

"Thanks, Dr. Payne," said Joanne.

"You and I traded punches and suplexes in the ring," said Celeste, "so as far as I'm concerned, between us, it's Celeste." Joanne smiled and laughed with Celeste, but she had to talk about the very thing that had been gnawing at her ever since this whole thing began.

"I still can't believe that you're the Crimson Queen," said Joanne. "And you went against my mom."

"Your mother was my greatest rival, and is one of my best friends," said Celeste. "We really helped each other out. Back then, women's wrestling wasn't getting the respect it deserved, so your mother and I really gave our all, and we enjoyed the music we made together. When I saw you, it took me back to those days. You are an absolute dynamo, just like your mother."

"Thanks again, Celeste," said Joanne. "And I've watched your matches online, you're an absolute legend. It was quite an honor to work with you in the ring."

"Oh, I know," Celeste said, as her demeanor suddenly transformed into that of her villainous alter-ego. "But I'm not done teaching yet, little prodigy. Have a seat." Joanne sat down and watched as Celeste continued to perform and speak as her Crimson Queen persona.

"Joanne, sweet little Joanne," purred Celeste. "you truly are the embodiment of your Golden Goddess mother. So pure-hearted. It's fine... if you like that sort of thing. I wanted to put you to the test, see if you truly had your mother's passion; the very passion I dueled against for years. You definitely have that fire, little prodigy. You survived the diabolical Crimson Queen and went on to become champion. Now you must use that fire to stay on top, because that RWW roster is full of villainesses even more ruthless than I am!" Joanne drank in Celeste's performance and her every word, but her nerves increased when Celeste walked closer to her.

"So, Joanne, do really have what it takes to stay on top?"

"I definitely do," said Joanne. "I'll take on anyone and I will stay on top the mountain."

"I know you will," said Celeste.

Joanne Kendall's journey was one she'll never forget. A budding career that's already seen her win big matches, and also led to her finally reach the top as RWW World Champion. All the while, she had the support of two women who are very close to her: her mother, Christine Kendall, aka the legendary Golden Goddess, and her dean, Celeste Payne, aka the legendary Crimson Queen. It was a road that saw surprise revelations and an even more surprising match between two different generations, and ended with Joanne on the top of the proverbial mountain. Joanne knew the responsibilities that came with being champion, but even so, she would enjoy the ride for as long as possible.