The younger Johnson sister had a history of being brash, and unforgiving. She also had a history of violence before thinking – Not to mention being far too easy to rile up into a murderous rage. That’s both what’s gotten her into a myriad of trouble over the years, and being the reason she’s accomplished the things that she’s accomplished in all that time.

Things that no longer matter now that her home is gone.

It’s taken her a lot of time, and an abundance of patience that she just doesn’t have in order to come to terms with it. She’s found herself lucky to be at a place in her life, however, that she doesn’t have to navigate these uncertain roads on her own.

She was lucky to have Ken.

She felt incredibly blessed to have been given the gift of his love and his companionship – Considering her past. Considering the type of person she’s been, and the type of person that still rests beneath the smiles and the happiness.

Kyra knew that coming to UGWC might be a mistake.

But she also knew that she still had that boulder sized chip on her shoulder, and nothing besides getting inside the ring, any ring and doing what she does best is going to chip away at that burden. So why not show everyone who thought that Carnage Wrestling was just some throwaway, second tier promotion…What Carnage is really about.

Why not be the living embodiment of everything she’s held dear.

Why not expand her horizons and prove that she, and everyone else who’s found themselves in UGWC as castaways from Baltimore… Are more than what everyone else thinks.

Kyra Johnson is Carnage Wrestling’s living legacy… And she’s about to tear some shit up in the name of Ultraviolence.

 

Baltimore, Maryland
The Carnage Arena
Parking Lot

“Mommy, you said we were goin’ swimming.”

Getting Adina out of the house today was easy. The promise of an afternoon in the water was all her little four year old brain needed in order to stop fighting me at every turn and finish what few chores I gave her to do.

Hindsight being what it is, I probably should have told her we’d be making a pitstop before we got to the pool.. It’s been a few months now, Ken and I have moved on to UGWC – But coming here – Coming to the Carnage Arena every now and again somehow helps me clear my mind.

That and I’ve never brought my baby here. Seeing the empty parking lot sprawled out in front of us, and how… lifeless the old warehouse is now, it makes me wish I’d of shown her sooner.

“We will, baby girl,” Ken interjects as I glance over in his direction. “We just wanted to talk to you about something. Well, more like show you.”

The car pulls right up to the front door of the arena and comes to a stop. Just like every other time I’ve been here, my chest tightens in anticipation – Even though there’s nothing to anticipate anymore.

The entire thing is weird to me.

“Where ARE we?!” Adina asks curiously, and when I look back at her, I can’t help but chuckle as I see that same look of impatience that I see when I look into the mirror.

“You know how you’ve been asking about where Mommy and Ken used to work?”

“Uh huh.” Adina replied absentmindedly as she stared out the window into the empty parking lot, and the (now) vacant building sitting right in front of us like a fossil of what Baltimore wrestling used to be.

God damn I miss it.

“Well, this is where me and your mom met. I know it’s not much to look at now, but one day, we’ll show you. It was the best time in my life.”

Ken lets out a sigh.

“Never thought we’d ever have another match against each other.”

I shrug my shoulders and glance over at him once more, smirking.

“I know, but it’ll be fun.”

Of course he doesn’t like it. Any person in their right mind wouldn’t enjoy the prospect of facing their significant other in a match – Let alone a Chaos style match. I guess I’m just not any person though.

Sure, being against each other instead of teaming up isn’t what either of us had in mind, but there’s always going to be a part of me that doesn’t mind going up against the odds on my own.

I know what Ken’s capable of and he knows what I’m capable of. That’s what makes this fun.

“Fun? No. Hitting Johnny in the balls is fun. Hitting each other, not so much.”

“You hit each other?“ Adina says, the shock palpable in her voice as her little mind takes in the simple fact that her mother and the man who’s become a father to her could possibly lay their hands on one another.

Maybe this wasn’t a good idea.

“Not anymore. Your mom and I met in the ring. We were opponents.” Ken states, very obviously trying his hardest to put an explanation to his previous statement.

I shake my head, turning to look Adina in the eyes. “Now we work together to–”

“Beat up the bad guys?”

“Careful with that, don’t want to get hit with gimmick infringement.” I reply, shooting Ken a playful look, hoping I’m not the only one who gets the joke. But when I turn my attention back to my daughter, the confused look on her face tells me all I need to know. “I mean, yeah, let’s go with that, sweetie.”

Letting out a sigh, I give Ken another look before opening the door of the car and stepping out, kneeling down and pointing to the building beside me. “Hey, wanna go look? Maybe they left the door unlocked…”

By the time I finish the thought, Adina was standing beside me in the parking lot, her confusion from earlier turned into pure excitement. “Yeah! Come on guys!”

With that, she took off – Running towards the arena like a banshee, yelling and carrying on so much that I wouldn’t be surprised if we end up with a visit from Baltimore’s finest. Wouldn’t be the first time either. I’d just rather my offspring not be the reason.

By the time I make it around to the front of the car, Ken’s already standing there, ready to follow that little girl.

As we walk, I can sense the tension oozing from my fiance and finally he lets out a exasperated sigh.

“I don’t like it.” He says quietly.

I nod my head. “I know you don’t. But hey, the way I see it.. It’s gonna go one of two ways.. Either one of us gets eliminated earlier than the other then whoever’s left ain’t got anything to worry about. Or, we work together and it comes down to you and me.. And then we… work it out.”

And by ‘work it out’ I mean, I try to win. But that part doesn’t need to be said.

“I feel like this is a set up. Besides, we both know I can beat you.” He says jokingly, raising his eyebrows at me. I let out a laugh and shake my head.

“And we both know that I came out on top the last time we went head to head. You do remember that, don’t you? Or did I clock you on the head a little too hard?”

I push him playfully, remembering back to our last meeting in the ring. It was for the Ultraviolent title, and funnily enough, that was the match that showed me everything I needed to know about Ken Davison the man.. and the wrestler. I might have won that night, and kept my UV title, but at the end of the day, that wasn’t the biggest thing I took from that match.

He changed my life.

And he keeps changing my life, for the better.

He stumbles sideways slightly, grabbing me and wrapping his arm around my shoulders, placing a soft kiss on my cheek. “Nope. I don’t remember it at all. Besides, I’d say I won in the long run.”

He says brightly, letting me go.

“So, are we breaking in to this place or not?”

I shrug my shoulders.

“Normally I’d be all for it, but I don’t think teaching that little hellion how to break and enter is such a good idea. She’s too much like me as it is.”

We catch up to Adina, watching her as she stands in front of the huge double doors at the entrance to the arena, tapping her foot like she’s been waiting all day for us to get here. “Is it open?!” She asks, pointing at the door.

“I’m surprised you didn’t try it yourself.” I reply, reaching out to try the door handle, only to find it to be locked. I can’t lie, a pang of disappointment strikes me in the gut when I can’t get the door open.

For some reason, no matter how nerve wracking it is to open up this part of my life for my daughter to see, I still wanted her to see it. I wanted to see the wonder in her eyes as she explored the previously unknown world of what we do for a living.

And maybe, just maybe.. In some fucked up way, I wanted to find out if she would be proud of what I do, even though deep in the back of my mind, I don’t want her to be. But, just when I’m about ready to turn around and take Adina back to the car, I look up to see Ken digging around in his pocket, eventually pulling out a key and holding it up between them.

“Who says we have to break in?” Ken wiggles the key in front of myself and Adina. “Shall we?”

Ken opens the door and bows deeply, allowing Adina and I to pass. It’s funny, the range of emotions I feel as I step into the building. Happiness, nostalgia, anger and disappointment. I wasn’t expecting to walk into something that even looked remotely like the arena we’d worked and fought in for all these years – but surprisingly enough, even in the absence of Carnage Wrestling, the building still looked like it was being kept up.

Hell, the damn thing looked cleaner than it ever has.

Suddenly, what was once shrouded in darkness was bathed in light as Ken flipped the light switch on, and in that moment everything truly came into view… And in the center of the building, the wrestling ring sat – an attention getter even when there wasn’t a soul around to enjoy it.

“Well, what do you think?” Ken asks as I feel him step up beside me. I can only shake my head for a few moments, watching Adina as she takes in the enormity of the space before her.

“Firstly… how?” I say, still trying to figure out how Ken was able to procure the keys to the arena. But after a moment, I stop and shake my head. “You were talking to her… Weren’t you?”

I point at Adina, who’s walking slowly in front of us, just taking it all in. It might not be the Royal Farms arena, or any of the other places that promotions like UGWC goes to – But to someone who’s never been in a place like this, I’m sure it feels like the Taj Mahal.

“Wow…” Adina says, her voice soft and breathy.

I feel Ken’s hand grab my own. “I was talking to both of you. And as for ‘how’? I just dipped into my rainy day fund. This building means too much for me to just let it go. One thing, we’re not getting married here under and circumstances. You know how wrestling weddings go.”

I can’t help but roll my eyes. “I’m glad you said that because, God no.”

Ken nods his head. “I’ve got some plans for this place. I couldn’t let something happen to it. I know it’s stupid and sentimental, but this place is like a part of US.”

He looks down at Adina.

“That includes you, munchkin.”

Adina turned her head and smiled up at Ken before she turned her attention back towards the arena and I could see the temptation in her eyes as she found the entrance ramp – And before I could say anything, she was gone, running through the building, towards it. Before I go after her though, I turn towards Ken and grab him into a hug. “Thank you.” I say quietly as I turn to make sure my kid doesn’t destroy anything in her wake.

I catch up to her just as she disappears behind the curtain and when I get back there, I see her eyeing up the backstage. “What is all this?” She asks, pointing to all the equipment crates and everything else that’s been abandoned since Underground, apparently.

“A lot goes into the show, baby girl. I don’t really know what’s in every crate, but it’s probably lighting and maybe even pyro. Who knows.”

“Pyro?”

I nod my head. It’s almost odd to have to explain all of this to someone who literally had no knowledge of it until recently. “Fireworks. Some people have fireworks during their entrances.”

Her eyes light up. “Entrances? What is that?”

“I can show you better than I can tell you.” I say, turning Adina around, facing the curtain once more. “When it’s time for us to fight, they play our music and we go out through here…”

Like a natural, Adina nods her head and presses back through the curtain, stepping out onto the stage as if she’d always belonged there. I can’t deny that there was a level of pride that went along with watching my kiddo make her very first entrance.

“On her way to the ring, accompanied by “The Jawdropper” Kyra Johnson, she weighs in tonight at 33 pounds, give or take two or three Twinkies, AAAAAADDDINNNNNAAAA!!!!!”

We both jumped at first, hearing Ken’s voice booming over the PA system but quickly enough, I could see the excitement in Adina’s eyes as she looked over to see Ken standing by the soundboard. After a few moments, she glances over at me and I motion towards the ring.

“You ready?”

Adina giggles and grabs me by the hand, pulling me down the ramp, pretending there were people in the stands as she waves and caters to her ‘adoring’ fans. Finally we make it to the ring, and I guide her up the steps before I hop up onto the apron and hold the ropes open for her.

Once she’s inside the ring, she stops and looks around, her gaze settling on me. “Mommy, that’s what you get to do at work?!”

“Well, that’s part of it.” I reply, stepping up to the ropes, leaning on them as I stare out at Ken. Can’t help but think about how lucky we are to have someone like him in our lives. “Pretty fun, huh?”

I ask Adina, watching Ken leave the soundboard and head towards the ring. He hops the railing and slides into the ring in one fluid motion. Once he’s inside he kips up and as I turn around, the look on Adina’s face is priceless.

“It’s even better with a crowd.” Ken says, grinning down at Adina.

It’s plain to see that it’s an awful lot for her to take in, but Adina’s handling it like a true champ. I take a step towards her and kneel down, grabbing her up into my arms. “So… What do you think, baby girl?”

She hasn’t taken her eyes off of Ken since she watched him kip up just a few moments ago and once I ask that question, she immediately points right at him. “I wanna learn how to do that.” She says, her eyes widening.

I let out a chuckle, hugging her even tighter. “You should see what else he can do.”

Ken nods his head, his eyes moving from Adina’s face to mine. “Hey, babe. Would it be cool if I just stepped outside for a minute?”

Adina releases herself from my grasp and moves towards the corner, carefully climbing up the turnbuckle and starts bouncing on the bottom rope, testing it. I stand up and watch her, nodding my head as Ken and I watch her. “Yeah, sure.. We’ll be here.”

As Ken leaves, I move into the center of the ring and sit down. Eventually, Adina hops off the rope and lands on her knees on the mat.

“You’re an awful lot like me, little lady.”

Adina’s head cocks to the side. “What does that mean Mommy?”

“It means you’re a daredevil and you’re gonna end up getting yourself hurt if you keep it up.”

“Oh, mommy.” She says as if she’s annoyed while she climbs back up to her feet and moves towards the next corner, repeating the same process. Finally she lands just a little too hard on the mat and she lets out a little yelp.

“Told you.” I say, smirking at her.

“I’m fine, Mommy.” She snarks back at me.

I roll my eyes. “Yeah, yeah… Come here. Let me take a look.” I reply, motioning for her to come here. She begrudgingly obliges me, stepping up in front of me so I can take a look at her knees. “You’re fine. But you gotta be careful.. This ain’t no game in here, sweetie.”

Don’t get me wrong, I love that she’s enjoying herself, but I don’t want her growing up thinking that what I do is all fun and games. She’s seen me come home all beat up too many times, but being here, seeing where it all happens.. I don’t know. Maybe I’m expecting too much out of what’s supposed to be a fun day before Ken and I gotta head back off to Chicago.

After a few moments of silence, Adina finally moves into my lap and lays her head on my shoulder. “I wanna see you do your work, Mommy.”

My eyes widen.

I definitely didn’t expect to hear that. But why wouldn’t she? I guess I just never imagined she’d be as interested as I am in what I do.

“Well, I’ll have to talk it over with Ken – but maybe.”

She lets out a groan and I shake my head.

“Let me finish. Maybe when you turn five, we’ll bring you to Chicago with us and you can see us fight. Hmm?”

That was all she needed to hear as she nods her head enthusiastically. “Okay Mommy!”

“BUT…” She looks up into my eyes as I speak. “You have to be good.”

I say it knowing there’s literally no chance she can be good for another month, let alone the next ten minutes. She is my child, afterall.

“Uh huh.” She replies, and I can already see the mischief in her eyes as she looks around the arena.

I’m in trouble.

 

Chicago, Illinois
The UGWC Arena
Parking Lot

It’s dark in the parking lot as we see Kyra Johnson moving around, from car to car – It’s obvious that she’s searching for something, or someone. She’s dressed in a tight pair of jeans and a loose grey tank top, her wavy brunette hair swaying in the breeze as she takes a few steps away from the camera crew that’s following her.

After inspecting another few vehicles, she finally turns around to face them, a mischievous look on her face.

“What am I doing? Oh…”

She shrugs her shoulders.

“Well, you’ll see. But until then… Might as well say a few things about tonight, huh?”

Kyra nods her head and turns away, motioning to the crew to continue following her as she begins searching through the parking lot once more.

“I know we’re still getting to know one another around here, folks.. But let me just say it now, you’ll never find me complaining about being put into what ya’ll call a ‘Chaos’ match. I much prefer to call it Ultraviolent, but you do you, UGWC. We can’t all use amazing words to describe what these matches always end up turning into.”

She stops once again and turns around.

“And we all know exactly what I mean. Even if a lot of you couldn’t bear to imagine some of the shit I’ve done in the name of Ultraviolence.”

Kyra bows before turning away and continuing her search.

“But that being said, I know tonight ain’t gonna be easy. It never is. Everyone wants to make a name off of everyone else, they wanna be the top shit, even if it just puts them one fraction of a percent above the rest of em when it comes to the rankings. The funniest thing about this though? Putting me and my fiance into this match… against one another.”

She finishes that sentence, shooting a bit of shade back at the camera.

“Am I surprised? Hell no. Ken and I are both smart enough to know that this could have happened eventually. And I’m sure everyone else that we’re facing here tonight knows that technically they’re facing us as a unit. And my goal? Whittle down the competition until it’s just Ken and I. Then… we put on a fucking clinic until one of us wins. Sounds like the perfect fucking plan to me. Do I wanna fight him? Nah. I think we’ve moved past that now, but if it’s just him and I across from one another and it’s gotta be one of us… You’re damn right I’m gonna do it. You’re damn right I’m gonna do my damndest to come out of tonight with another win under my belt.”

She stops in front of one car in particular and a dark smile crosses her lips as she turns around and hoists herself up onto the hood of the car, crossing her legs.

“Now, that’s just the best case scenario. But we all know that the lot of you are probably going to fuck that up in some way. And that’s fine too. I don’t mind. If you haven’t already figured it out, I really enjoy punching people in the face.”

Kyra chuckles to herself as she leans back on the hood.

“Guess I should talk about the rest of you before I finish up here, huh? Might as well. Roxy Cotton. One half of the UGWC Cooperative Champs, and from what I’ve heard, Slut extraordinaire. I gotta give it to you, Barbie – How you manage to take that many dicks and still manage to win championships… It’s impressive. I know, I know… Right to the playground insults, right? How predictable. How quaint. But in all fairness, I’m hoping to end up across from you, fighting for those Coop titles so why would I use up any decent material in a Chaos match?”

She shrugs again.

“I’m here tonight to win, but I’m also here tonight to use this opportunity to let you know just who in the fuck you’re dealing with. You’ve dealt with Lucy, and that’s great. But I ain’t my sister. I’m a lot more rough around the edges, and I’m a lot less scared of anything you could imagine doing to me. What I see when I look at you is someone who’s posturing. Someone who’s insecure and desperate to keep what measure of relevance she’s gotten through her ‘only fans’ or whatever in the fuck, and whatever championships she can get her hands on. Are you talented? Sure. You’ve gotta have some measure of talent in order to do what you’ve done, but are you spectacular? Are you going to be remembered as a great fighter, as someone who changed the industry?”

Kyra chuckles.

“Or are you going to be remembered as a set of fat lips and big tits that just so happened to be holding a pretty gold belt around her waist? Are you going to be remembered for being tough? Or are you going to be remembered for being an easy lay? I don’t know, Rox. Maybe I’m wrong. I guess we’ll see, Hmm?”

Kyra sighs.

“But you’re not the only one I’m gonna be fighting tonight. We’ve got an old friend in the mix too. An old friend who disappeared off the face of the earth for a few years… Hey Joey. I didn’t really think we’d be going at it so soon, but beggars can’t be choosers, huh? You deserve at least some of what I’m gonna have to do to you out there later on, so don’t expect any regret coming from me. But I know from experience that you’re a tough son of a bitch and I know what you’ll do in order to walk out of here tonight with a ‘W’… It just so happens that I’m willing to do just as much as you are.”

She grins and runs a hand through her hair.

“And I know you’re back, and you’re ready – But how ready are you really? I suppose I’m gonna have to test that out, ain’t I? I hope you’re ready, friend, because I’ve been looking forward to this since you stopped returning my phone calls… And even more so since you magically reappeared and called me for a ‘favor’. But you know me, Joey. You know me almost as well as anyone not named Ken – But I’m sure you’ve forgotten some stuff and I’m all too happy to knock you around and help you remember.”

She winks.

“Just another gift, from one friend to another. You know how it goes. But anyway, I can’t spend all night threatening you – As much fun as that sounds like… I’ve got other people to threaten. Like the ‘entertainer’, Montague Cervantes, or the Dark Destroyer.. Or the guy that treats each show like it’s the last one. That last one is actually kind of clever…”

Kyra sits up once more and shakes her head.

“That way, when someone does fuck you up enough and you literally can’t continue – You’ve already treated it like it was the last one. It’s actually genius. Maybe you should take notes, Joey? Oh, is that too far? Too much? What the fuck do you expect? What the fuck do any of you expect? You want me to run the rest of you down? You want me to say some shit that I don’t know whether it’s true or not in the spirit of trying to talk myself into winning here tonight?”

She throws her hands into the air.

“Ain’t one person in this industry that actually thinks anything I say here tonight means a damn thing when we all get into the ring and duke it out. Sure, you guys might say some shit that pisses me off and I might hit you a little harder because of it, but will calling Roxy a two cent whore, or telling Joey he should be calling himself the Farewell tour guy mean ANYTHING at the end of the night? Fuck no! All that matters is what we do out there. So how about I shut my fucking mouth and save everything else I wanna say for when we’re standing face to face?”

She slides off the hood and moves towards the camera, reaching out for something and when she comes back into view, she’s holding a baseball bat.

“Actions speak louder than words… Let me prove it to you. Oh Johnny? This look familiar?”

She steps to the side, revealing the car that she’s been sitting on.

“You’ve been running your mouth an awful lot lately… And I know I could just walk right into the building and punt you right in your non-existent jewels… but I wanna draw it out, sweetie… I wanna make you suffer before I put you down for good.”

In one quick motion, she swings the bat downwards into the windshield, shattering it. She glances back at the camera and grins sadistically as she moves forward and kicks the driver’s side mirror off the car, sending it flying under the car beside it. Then, she takes the bat and breaks the two drivers’ side windows and the tail-lights.

Taking a step back, she inspects her handy work as a scowl crosses her features – realizing that the passenger side of the car has gotten much less attention than the other. She remedied that fairly quickly with a few well placed smacks with the bat.

Once she shattered the headlights, she turned towards the camera and smiled, blowing a kiss at the camera.

“Your move, John Boy. Can’t wait to see the impending meltdown. And for the rest of you? See you soon.”