Post by Valerie Williams on Aug 9, 2019 22:25:11 GMT -4
Pat Pat Pat PAM!
Valerie's punches against the punching bag echoed through the Upper Body Gym's walls. No one was around, as was usually the case so early in the morning. Or so she'd like to say.
The truth was, people rarely ever came in here. It was enough to keep the lights on and food on her plate, but her decade-plus of prize money was beginning to run dry. She would need new business and soon. The bag her fists were impacting against now was quite old itself. She stopped for a moment, resting against the bag, breathing.
She closed her eyes, shutting out the oncoming doubts. Sure, it was an uphill battle, running this place, but she was no stranger to those. Her mind drifted back to one such fight, so far away now, yet perfectly clear in her mind.
2061, 12 Years Ago
Grand Final Bout, Intercontinental Quirker's Boxing Breakdown 8
Queens, New York, USA
"Ladies and gentlemen, we are entering Round TEN of the Intercontinental Quirker's Boxing Breakdown! Our lovely newcomer, Valerie Williams, is truly living up to her title as a real Diamond In The Rough, folks! In the 8 years of this fine enterprise's history, I don't think we have ever seen a match like this!"
The crowd roared as the announcer's voice rung out, but the green, 19-year-old Valerie's mind didn't hear it. Her mind was occupied on the big, metal-skinned mother in front of her. A big Russian hunk of man, easily over 7 feet tall. The legendary vigilante hero Iron Champion. Boxing was his paycheck, but justice was his true passion.
The two heard the bell ring out, signaling the start of the round. Her fist instinctively reaches out to Champion's chest, a blow he's just too slow to block, but one she pays for when she tries to follow up, taking a hit to the side of her face. It's too fast to put up her diamond skin, and it stings against her flesh, but she works through it. She weaves away from his next hook, throwing a blow into his midsection, then another and another and another before he staggers back just out of reach, dodging her uppercut. He throws a hook into her shoulder, throwing her off balance.
She wrings her arm out, working through the pain before facing Champion again, stepping closer. He pulls his right fist back, but it's a feint. He's trying to psych her out, but she sees his legs. When he means to punch, he plants his feet, so if he hasn't, he won't throw one with any meaning.
Suddenly, his feet plant as he throws a straight. She throws one in kind, and time seems to slow as their fists fly at each others' faces...
Knock Knock Knock
Back in the present, the 31-year-old veteran Valerie hears a knock at the door. She shook her head of the memory, beginning to take off her gloves. She tied the ropes together, slinging them around one of the corners of the boxing ring in the gym. She takes a towel, wiping the sweat from her brow and neck, letting it hang around her shoulders as she strides toward the door.
Valerie's punches against the punching bag echoed through the Upper Body Gym's walls. No one was around, as was usually the case so early in the morning. Or so she'd like to say.
The truth was, people rarely ever came in here. It was enough to keep the lights on and food on her plate, but her decade-plus of prize money was beginning to run dry. She would need new business and soon. The bag her fists were impacting against now was quite old itself. She stopped for a moment, resting against the bag, breathing.
She closed her eyes, shutting out the oncoming doubts. Sure, it was an uphill battle, running this place, but she was no stranger to those. Her mind drifted back to one such fight, so far away now, yet perfectly clear in her mind.
2061, 12 Years Ago
Grand Final Bout, Intercontinental Quirker's Boxing Breakdown 8
Queens, New York, USA
"Ladies and gentlemen, we are entering Round TEN of the Intercontinental Quirker's Boxing Breakdown! Our lovely newcomer, Valerie Williams, is truly living up to her title as a real Diamond In The Rough, folks! In the 8 years of this fine enterprise's history, I don't think we have ever seen a match like this!"
The crowd roared as the announcer's voice rung out, but the green, 19-year-old Valerie's mind didn't hear it. Her mind was occupied on the big, metal-skinned mother in front of her. A big Russian hunk of man, easily over 7 feet tall. The legendary vigilante hero Iron Champion. Boxing was his paycheck, but justice was his true passion.
The two heard the bell ring out, signaling the start of the round. Her fist instinctively reaches out to Champion's chest, a blow he's just too slow to block, but one she pays for when she tries to follow up, taking a hit to the side of her face. It's too fast to put up her diamond skin, and it stings against her flesh, but she works through it. She weaves away from his next hook, throwing a blow into his midsection, then another and another and another before he staggers back just out of reach, dodging her uppercut. He throws a hook into her shoulder, throwing her off balance.
She wrings her arm out, working through the pain before facing Champion again, stepping closer. He pulls his right fist back, but it's a feint. He's trying to psych her out, but she sees his legs. When he means to punch, he plants his feet, so if he hasn't, he won't throw one with any meaning.
Suddenly, his feet plant as he throws a straight. She throws one in kind, and time seems to slow as their fists fly at each others' faces...
Knock Knock Knock
Back in the present, the 31-year-old veteran Valerie hears a knock at the door. She shook her head of the memory, beginning to take off her gloves. She tied the ropes together, slinging them around one of the corners of the boxing ring in the gym. She takes a towel, wiping the sweat from her brow and neck, letting it hang around her shoulders as she strides toward the door.