#BAUERRELOADED I.0

[bauerreloaded]

07/01/2016 ~ LITTLE WARS 
Las Vegas, Nevada

Pain is temporary.

She wasn’t quite sure how often she heard that sentence, leave alone how often she preached it herself. But this pain was different. It was the kind that took your breath away. Made it impossible to carry a clear thought. In short words: Nora Bauer was fucked. And not in the good way.

They had been sitting inside that waiting room for the past hours, without any news. She was still in her wrestling gear, probably smelling worse than she looked. Every thirty seconds she checked the time -- watching the hospital staff rushing by. Not one bothered looking back at her. She protested when the owner of the promotion accompanied her, but little did he listen. Nora couldn’t even remember his name at this point -- but it didn’t matter. He was small and highly overweight. The sweat on his forehead growing by the minute.

“I am sorry Nora… this should have never happened. That person had instructions.” He repeated for the third time now.

It was not hard to tell that he felt terribly sorry, but more important he was scared. About what? Getting sued.

“It’s okay. I told you plenty of times. It was an… accident.”

He kept talking but Nora simply closed her eyes tuning him out. Completely. In her mind she was going through the events. From a regular match to someone attacking her knee with a steel pipe. The audience was in shock but thought this was part of the show. In the first seconds she felt nothing. Not even the slightest hint of pain. She demanded to finish the match but the referee didn’t listen.

“Son of a bitch.” She mumbled to herself.

Everything that happened next was hidden from her. The pain would eventually set in the moment she arrived backstage, not able to stand on her leg. They had rushed her to the nearest hospital, where she was brought to see a specialist. At least they weren’t cheap bastards. In far distance someone was calling her name, several times.

“Miss Bauer, the doctor called you in. We have someone take you to him.”

Nora simply shrugged her shoulders before getting in the wheelchair. Her dark eyes focusing on that cast that now covered her knee. It seemed way too heavy and already itched. Doctor Garrison was a handsome man in his early fifties, with a friendly smile and full hair.

George Clooney alert.

He was skimming over the x- rays with a small wrinkle on his forehead. His gentle eyes looked somewhat apologetic when they found hers. If she hadn’t been so angry in this moment she would have smiled back.

“What a tragic accident, Miss Bauer.”

“You can call me Nora. And I highly doubt this was an accident, but that is besides the point. How can you fix it and how long will it take.” The impatience in her voice was reachable.

“I am afraid the answer to that question is not as easy as you wish for. I will not annoy you with medical terms and latin descriptions. All in all, Nora, your knee is highly fucked up.”

Ha.

“You’re not saying? I had a feeling like that when they put that heavy motherfucker on my leg. But I don’t appreciate you holding back with what you know. I am a professional wrestler -- which you probably seen in my folder. I need my leg. Of course everyone does, but I NEED it to make a living. So let me ask once again. How long is it gonna take to make me whole again?”

An awkward pause. Her palms began to sweat and the back of her head itching. It was the kind you couldn’t scratch. Like someone tingled your brain. When he spoke again she almost jumped.

“I have seen a lot of damage in my career. Especially when you have athletes come through your door every second day. From football players to hockey stars -- I have seen them all. And from an outside perspective they were a lot more damaged than your young body.” He looked at her sympathetic. “But checking those scans I have found a few injuries. Older ones. Broken bones that never fully grew back together. So I am afraid… .”

“Don’t you dare tell me what I think you tell me… .”

“... you probably should think of a different job, Nora.”

Boom! It was one thing to suspect something but a total different one to hear it. It was a fact that her body had been through a lot ever since she was a teenager. And never received proper healing time. But it also was the truth that fighting was the only thing she ever was good at. The one thing she given her whole interest and passion to.

So against better knowledge she lifted herself, both hands holding onto the desk. Nora was clever enough to not put too much pressure on her injured leg. Her eyes giving him a serious glare.

“And then what? Sit behind a desk and type up reports? Or become a cashier girl? I am not sure you understood what I have said in the beginning. I am a professional wrestler. Which means fighter. Warrior if you want. You can’t tell me to just stop doing that, doc. I maybe haven’t studied or am booksmart. But I can read scans and understand when something is broken.” Nora let go of the table, balancing out on one leg. “But I tell you this, nothing is ever so broken that it can’t be fixed. At least not where I come from.”

She shoved the wheelchair aside and probably looked hilarious jumping towards the exit. A certain arrogance was written all over her face when she stared at him.

“Mark my words, doc. This won’t be the last time the world hears of Nora Bauer. It will take time but I will be damned if this knee ends career. I have seen worse.”

And she had. Every day of her life.

03/01/2018 ~ PRETTY THINGS

Boston, Massachusetts

Nothing but a memory.

She lifted the weight one more time before dropping it onto the mat. Like every other day herself and Graham were the first to come and last to go. She enjoyed her life the way it was -- but there had been something missing. The itch never fully vanished and they both knew it. While her other half was trying out a company here and there, Nora was drilling clients at the gym. But there was so much more left to do.

Knowing she was the last in the gym and him in the office -- the music was louder than usually. It was latin influenced and reminded her on home. While cleaning some of the weights, machines and mirrors her hips moved to the rhythm. It took her a moment to notice him leaning against the wall, watching her.

“You just gonna stand there and watch me work? Or plan to help me?” Her tone was almost playful.

“Nah. You do that better than me. And on top you look way better swinging those hips.” The expression on his face slightly changed. “We gotta talk about that first Factory show, Nora.”

Like every other time Graham wouldn’t beat around the bush. It was one of the many things she admired about him. It fitted every missing piece of her. A young, introverted woman ready to set the world on fire.

“You’ve seen those punks on this anti social bollocks, right? Not only do they think this battle will be won with clever words -- but they also have no idea who they are messing with.”

Nora laughed. “I have seen that kind a dozen times and they never change. I might not be an advocate of words -- but I know all about pain. I have seen Twat A talk about how our submission skills wont do us any good in the Factory. Which honestly amused me. This place is all about hardcore. And that means inflicting pain on your opponent. Sure you can do that with weapons -- but I can break necks with my hands too. So argument invalid. But I think it is a given to talk down your opponents skills, to have yourself shine.”

Graham nodded fully aware she wasn’t done with her talk.

“Don’t get me wrong I know about the art of war. But with this new century of keyboard ninjas it gets to a point where it is simply ridiculous. It is pretty obvious that they are faster than us -- but how fast are they when crashed into a mat? Bend into a pretzel? I will also sign that they are both good at flying like birds. Which probably is the reason for their moniker. High as fuck and so on. Neither you nor me are comfortable on the ropes. So what?”

“We keep them on the ground or break their wings?”

She smiled and walked closer towards him, her arm wrapping around his waist. He wasn’t bothered when she poked him in the ribs.

“They will try to push us to the limits, but we will do exactly the same. I heard they can go for hours. I applaud them for that. But neither of them have ever gone hours against someone like us. I don’t break under pressure. It motivates me to go even further. I have performed in front of thousands of people. The adrenaline pumping through my veins is worth every bruise I might carry. They will try to wear us down, Graham. Will try to get under our skin with their hipster comments. But what is it that makes us different than the rest?”

Nora ran her hand over his cheek in a gentle manner, soaking in his scent.

“That is an easy one, Miss Bauer. We never lose track of our victims. Like every good predator.”

“Exactly. If my mind is set on something there is zero chance that I will get distracted. I think put together we make the perfect athlete. It is not only about skills for that matter -- being successful takes a lot more. You have to be able to win a match inside your head. Play through every possibility before you do your next strike. I can withstand a lot of pain and even though Crosby is a tough son of a bitch -- Thaddeus is a little soft. I know how weird that sounds -- but I can’t help but smirk.”

They looked at each other for a long moment. There was still a worried expression on his face, one she had seen often the past days. Situations like that were new to her. But she learned to welcome his care.

“It all comes down to one thing, who wants this more? I have been out of action for almost two years. Sure, I have kept in great shape, but apart from a little sparing I haven’t done shit. Not because I didn’t wanna, but the time was never right. But, Graham, it is now. I am ready to fulfill the circle with you at my side. No matter if they put two members of the Backstreet Boys or the fanclub of Justin Bieber in front of us. We can do that. Because let’s face it, I love to hear boys cry in pain. Which is the reward of truly being hardcore.

There was a sadistic smile covering her face when she reached for the light switch.

Paint me black.

FINAL.