Tempering Steele with Hellfire - Nova Steele VS Ashley Morgan

[Afterhoursclub]

Ashley's fiery gaze was fixed on Nova; she was expecting her to attack and braced herself the moment the pinkette set into motion. She raised her arms and waited for her opponent to come closer.

Ashley was smiling; she was challenging Nova with her teasing words. The redhead was ready for a battle, and she was not gonna stop until she was the last one standing. However, there was another side of the truth that Ashley was never going to admit: that uppercut had truly rattled her; she felt her legs turn into jelly for a brief moment, but she caught herself just in time. "This damn bitch packs a punch!" She thought to herself. Ashley could not afford to be caught like that again.

And she wasn't planning to-

As soon as she saw Nova turn, with her arm coming in fast, the Brit lowered herself, looking to crouch under the upcoming Lariat attack. Ashley would attempt to slide behind Nova and wrap her arms around the pink-haired gal's waist in a tight clinch.

"You keep using that word!" Ashley would attempt to lift Nova using her entire body to pull her up in a backward arc motion "The fuck is a hellion?!"

Every muscle in her back tensed with the effort. If she were successful, she would slam Nova down on the canvas hard with a hefty German Suplex.

[Parker]

Nova came swinging.

The momentum had built from the turn of her hips, the twist of her core, her arm slicing through the air with the speed and force of a battering ram. Her lariat was meant to be decisive, the kind of strike that could fold an opponent inside out and remind them why the Agent of Order was feared. Muscles rippled down her arm as it cut through the space where Ashley’s chest should’ve been… only there was nothing.

She hit nothing but air.

The sudden miss staggered her, her weight carried forward by her own power. The torque of her shoulders pulled her half a step off balance, her boot skidding against the mat as she tried to catch herself. The crowd gave a sharp gasp, sensing the opening at the exact same moment Nova did.

Too late.

Arms snaked around her waist, clamping in like iron bands, and the realization jolted through her chest, Ashley had slipped behind her. Nova’s body tensed as she felt the redhead’s grip cinch tight, pressure closing in on her midsection like a vise. Her teeth clenched, eyes flashing wide. German suplex.

Then came the lift.

Ashley arched back with all her strength, and Nova’s boots left the mat in an instant. For a fleeting second she was weightless, her pink hair flying out around her, her arms shooting down to try and brace. The arena spun in her vision as her body was hurled upside down, folded across Ashley’s power.

And then the world ended with a thunderclap.

Nova’s shoulders and upper back crashed into the canvas with brutal force, the sound echoing through the arena over the loudest of cheers and jeers. The ring ropes rattled with the vibration, the mat shuddering beneath them. Her body bent into a cruel arc, legs snapping up overhead before slamming back down. The shockwave shot through her spine, nerves alight with white-hot pain as her chest heaved from the impact.

“UHHHGH!” The groan tore out of her throat unbidden, sharp and guttural.

Her body folded over itself and left her sprawled, face down on the mat. Her chest rose and fell with ragged breaths, her body twitching with the aftershocks of Ashley’s suplex. The audience roared at the sight of the heroine folded and flattened, the redhead’s counter ringing out as clean and devastating.

[Afterhoursclub]

-SLAM-

The entire ring shook with the impact. Ashley's German Suplex attempt had been a success, lifting the pink-haired gal high up in the air and bringing her crashing back down onto the canvas. The motion was perfect and executed with ease, a testament to how many victims Ashley had subjected to this maneuver before. Ashley rolled on her side before getting up to one knee, taking a look at the downed Nova. A vile smirk drew on the redhead's face.

"Good! Maybe that will shut you up!"

She took one moment to feel up her jaw, still carrying the faint sting of the uppercut from earlier. Ashley stood up and walked closer to her opponent. She needed to take advantage of this opportunity to mount an offense. That's when the Brit began her plan to wear out her opponent. Grabbing hold of both of Nova's legs, the redhead sat on the pinkette's lower back and proceeded to pull as hard as she could, both arms tightly wrapped around her opponent's ankles, trapping Nova in a cruel Boston crab, looking to bend her into a perfect "C" shape.

"Graahh!" she snarled while pulling both legs. Ashley gritted her teeth; her biceps bulged at her sides with the effort made, but she wasn't going to let go, no matter if her arms fell off right on the spot.

[Parker]

The suplex had left her reeling, body sprawled out and breath ragged, but it was the follow-up that truly made Nova’s chest tighten. Before she could even think to roll away, her legs were seized, wrenched up high, and then-

“Ahhh!”

Her voice cracked as Ashley planted herself on her lower back, sinking her weight down like an anchor. The Boston Crab was a cruel knot of pain, her spine bent in an awful arc, her chest bowing upward while her chin was forced down toward her own sternum. Every vertebra in her back screamed, stretched into a near-perfect curve that put her strength against itself.

Her palms slapped against the canvas, fingers digging in, knuckles whitening as she dragged herself forward inch by inch. The soft mattress betrayed her, eating up her effort, making every crawl an agonizing ordeal. Her hair stuck to her flushed face, dark with sweat as she bit her lip to stifle a louder cry.

“Ghhh-nnghh! N-not… giving… in!” she hissed, her words strained between heavy pants. Her legs tried to kick but were locked in tight and taut, thighs strained uselessly in Ashley’s grip, every pull only letting the redhead cinch the hold deeper. The crowd gasped and jeered as the mighty heroine was reduced to a writhing, clawing figure, struggling to claw her way across the ring towards distant salvation.

The ropes were there. So close. Her arm reached out, fingers stretching, pawing, pulling her body a few inches closer with a low groan. Each motion was a war against her own back, every drag threatening to snap her in two, but still she crawled, driven by stubborn pride and the conviction that she could not let Ashley defeat her.

With a desperate lunge, Nova thrust her hand forward, trying to grab for the bottom rope!

[Afterhoursclub]

"Raaah!"

Ashley yelled as she kept pulling on Nova's legs, stretching her body and testing her flexibility to the extreme. The redhead could swear she was hearing a nice cracking noise coming from the pinkette's back, but it was hard to distinguish among the cries from the ecstatic crowd. The Brit had the match under control so far, just as she had planned. If she could continue to wear her opponent out this way, the rest of the encounter would be a walk in the park. She clenched her arms tighter around the heroine's legs.

"Hmph... what?!" Ashley was suddenly shocked the moment she felt Nova fighting back and threatening her plans. The Pink-haired gal was not going to give up so easily, pushing her way through the pain and crawling toward the ropes. Ashley tried to stop her, pulling in the opposite direction. But in a final desperate lunge, the Heroine girl reached the bottom rope. If barely.

Ashley gritted her teeth in rage, forced to release the submission hold. Even so, the redhead continued to pull Nova's legs, with particular force over the next few seconds as the referee began the count, stopping only when it had almost reached the limit.

Ashley let the Pinkette's legs fall to the mat as she stood up and walked to the middle of the right, rolling her shoulders. Maybe it hadn't been as much as she wished, but she had done a number on the Heroine gal. Ashley smirked, her gaze fixed on Nova's crawling form.

[Parker]

Nova’s fingers wrapped white-knuckled around the bottom rope, her whole body shuddering with the effort of dragging herself across the canvas to get there. She thought she’d earned a reprieve the instant she made contact but instead Ashley only yanked harder, twisting the knife while the referee’s count climbed higher. Nova’s cries mixed with the roar of the crowd, her spine arched in agony, hamstrings and calves screaming from the cruel bend. It was only the referee’s bark at the brink of disqualification that finally forced the Brit to relent.

Her body went limp the second Ashley dropped her legs. They hit the mat with a dull thud, her boots bouncing against the canvas as if her limbs no longer belonged to her. Nova’s back felt aflame, a burning line drawn from her lower spine to her shoulders, each nerve lit up with a deep, raw ache. Her legs tingled with that harsh, numbing fire of overextension, the kind that made even the thought of standing unbearable.

For a few long seconds, all she could do was lay on her side, her chest heaving, sweat dripping down onto the mat. Her hand clutched the rope tighter, grounding herself, clinging to it as if it were the only lifeline left.

Slowly, agonizingly, Nova pulled herself up, rope by rope, rung by rung, until her body straightened out. Her knees trembled, every shift of weight a battle against the tremor in her battered muscles. Finally upright, she leaned heavy on the ropes, one arm slung over the top strand to keep herself standing.

Her eyes found Ashley across the ring. Still wobbling, still catching her breath, Nova lifted her chin and stared through sweat-dampened hair at the smirking Brit. No words, no bravado, just that glare, sharp and unbroken, promising she was far from finished.

“So much strength, and yet you hide behind a coward’s tactics.” She practically spat her words, the disgust in them clear. She took a careful step away from the ropes, deliberate and weighted, testing her balance. Bouncing on the balls of her feet. Her legs burned; she could feel her responsiveness dulled by the pain. She brought her fingers together, knuckle to knuckle, before leaning forward and stepping from the edge of the ring.

[Afterhoursclub]

The Red Menace was in her element now: Looking dominant in the ring while torturing her poor opponent. Still, the Brit didn't gloat; she didn't celebrate, nor did she give the crowd a single smug look. Ashley was focused; she rolled her shoulders, stretched her neck, and immediately fixed her gaze on Nova with a smirk. The pink-haired beauty was struggling to stand back up.

"Good..." she thought to herself, but still she wasn't done. There was still plenty of the match ahead. She bent over, her legs stretched out to the sides, and her hands on her knees in a waiting position. watching every move of the hurt heroine as she made her way up to the top rope, still clearly feeling the effects of the prolonged Boston crab.

This was Ashley's strategy: complete dominance right from the start, seize control of the match early on, and make sure to get her adversary right where she wanted. She didn't care about theatrics or wasting time. And as soon as Nova was in position again, the punishment would continue.

The redhead ignored the heroine's comments about her tactics. For Ashley, pushing the rules to the limit was perfectly acceptable in the middle of a fight. As long as she wasn't dumb or careless enough to get herself disqualified.

"There it is!" Ashley's eyes gleamed. She had been waiting for this moment. Nova was back up again, her movement still slow, and most likely her ability to react was too. In the blink of a second, the Red Menace jumped into action, turning into a crimson streak in front of the pinkette's eyes. The Brit raised her arm, tensing every muscle, looking to deck Nova with a heavy clothesline, possibly sending her back down to the canvas again!

[Parker]

Nova staggered forward, every step a small battle after the Boston Crab’s torture, but her eyes stayed locked on Ashley. The Red Menace came tearing at her like a scarlet storm, arm cocked high and wide. The air seemed to split as the clothesline scythed forward, so close that Nova felt the rush of wind whip across her damp hair, brushing against her cheek as the blow just missed.

Her boots screeched on the canvas as she dipped low and swung wide, body twisting just enough to let the strike graze past her face. One more fraction, one more heartbeat slower, and she would’ve been decapitated. Instead, she pivoted hard on her heel, muscles coiling with the turn.

Ashley’s momentum carried her through, a crimson blur overshooting, and Nova seized the opening. She snapped back with sudden ferocity, body whipping around as her arm swung in a wide arc. The crowd gasped as her fist carved through the air, her knuckles aimed like a hammer at the back of Ashley’s skull.

“Crust Buster!”

The spinning backfist cracked out with explosive precision, Nova’s signature counter meant to stop her opponent’s momentum dead and turn the tide in one savage strike. Regardless of how cheesy screaming out the names of her signature moves might be, no one could deny their effectiveness.

[Afterhoursclub]

Ashley flew through the ring at full speed toward the injured Nova, her arm outstretched. She was going to decapitate the pinkette with a tremendous clothesline. The brutal Boston Crab had left her reeling, struggling even to walk, let alone dodge an attack like this. There was no doubt in the redhead's mind.

"You are mine!" she thought, mere seconds before impact. As soon as she was within range, Ashley swung her arm across. However, her attack was met with nothing but empty air. "What?!" Ashley was shocked, unable to process what had just happened. Nova had managed to avoid her blow; Ashley's momentum carried her forward, leaving the redhead no chance to stop.

The Brit went past her opponent, staggering a few steps while trying to correct her course. Losing precious time. Unlike Nova, who took full advantage of the situation. Ashley managed to turn her head only for her eyes to meet with a back fist flying right to her face.

-CRACK-

A cloud of spit escaped Ashley's lips, her head snapped back while her whole body spun from the hard impact. The redhead was left with a ringing noise in her ears and a burning sensation on her cheek; her entire world was spinning nonstop. She stumbled several steps until her back hit the ropes on the side of the ring, her arms hung from the top rope, dazed from Nova's hard strike. The Brit needed a moment to recover.

[Parker]

Nova’s knuckles throbbed as she shook out her hand, the sting in her palm a sharp reminder of how much force she’d poured into that backfist. She hadn’t pulled it for a second, Ashley was too dangerous an opponent to play cautious with. Still, the heroine couldn’t help but flex her fingers, almost amused at the fact that punishing Ashley had punished her own hand just as much.

Her eyes narrowed on the Brit as she sagged limply against the ropes, arms draped, dazed but far from beaten. Not yet, Nova told herself. She knew better than to give Ashley even a second to recover.

With iron-heavy steps that rattled the canvas, Nova closed the distance. She reached in and snared Ashley by the arms, shifting her grip down in one seamless motion to hook the woman across her shoulders. A quick hop jolted Ashley’s weight upward, and Nova swung her opponent into place, wrenching her spine across the pinkette’s broad shoulder. The heroine’s arms cinched around Ashley’s waist, locking her in a brutal Canadian Backbreaker.

Now Ashley dangled helplessly, her body bent in a cruel arch, her arms and legs hanging while Nova’s arms clamped down like steel vices. Each stomp of Nova’s boots sent shockwaves through Ashley’s frame, the crowd roaring louder with every thrash.

“Underestimate me at your own peril,” Nova growled, her voice low, ragged, and burning with defiance.

She carried her burden toward the center of the ring, every step forcing Ashley’s spine to bow deeper across her shoulder. Once there, Nova dug in her heels and shifted her grip, muscles straining as she attempted to muscle the Brit higher, hoisting her into a crucifix position. For a heartbeat the arena seemed to hold its breath, then Nova hurled her down with all the power she could muster, gravity rushing to her aid as she sent Ashley crashing to the mat in a thunderous release powerbomb.

The ring shook with the impact, Ashley folding violently on the canvas, the sound of the slam echoing through the arena as the fans erupted at the sight of Nova’s raw strength.