The
roar of the crowd reaches a crescendo as I throw a right cross that connects
with my opponent’s cheek. When the blow sends her crashing to the mat of the
Octagon, I roll my eyes. The best in the world. She barely lasted five minutes
with me.
I
hear them chanting my name as she catches her breath. My eyes meet hers; she’s
on the brink of tears. I thought the world’s best female MMA fighter had a
stronger resolve than this.
“I-I
give up.” She pleads pounding on the mat.
Give
up? I won’t be denied the satisfaction of my victory. “You know the rules.” I
tell her. “The match is over only when one of us is no longer standing.”
As
I hear her whimpers, I give her a smile, grab a handful of jet black hair and
pull her up. She staggers about as I hold out my thumb to the crowd in the
neutral position. “FINISH HER! FINISH HER! The crowd chants.
Thumbs
down it is.
I
catch her eyes before delivering an uppercut that sends her flying across the
Octagon. The arena explodes in cheers as her broken body falls in the center of
the ring.
When
my opponent is defeated, I look up at the audience and soak in the cheers of
the crowd. As I raise my arms in victory the cheers turn to chants of my name.
“NEMESIS!
NEMESIS! NEMESIS!” They chant.
The
door of the black chain link cage opens and announcers and paramedics rush in.
While medical technicians tend to my latest victim, the announcer smiles
proudly before he speaks to the crowd.
“Your
winner….AND STILL THE UNDEFEATED QUEEN OF THE OCTAGON NEMESIS!”
I
look out to my loyal fans and hear their cheers one last time before stepping
over my former opponent to march out of the cage through the hall into my
dressing room. My heralds, Apollos and Sirius my step out of the room and stand
guard outside in the hall as I close the door behind me. I quickly strip out of
my fighting gear and streak into the shower. As hot water rains down on me, I
hear a knock on the door. It must be someone important for Apollos and Sirius
to allow them to disturb my shower.
I
throw a terrycloth robe on and hurry to the door. I’m greeted by the bright
white smile of the manager of my mortal business affairs Cleavon Jackson, and
the president of AFC Enterprises Mark Green. They’re probably here to celebrate
my latest victory. I’m still looking for the challenge they promised me.
Twenty-four opponents in and none of these women have given me the fight I’ve
been looking for.
“Man,
we cleaned up tonight Nemi!” Cleavon says “Sold out the arena and made close to
a million pay-per-downloads online!”
Big
deal. I’ve made close to a hundred million dollars from these contests and
millions more in revenue from side bets in the underground and offshore
gambling circuits. Another million dollars in the bank doesn’t mean anything to
me.
“Man,
the crowd was hot! Mark says. “They just exploded when you delivered that
uppercut to Carano! I’m hoping they’ll be just as hot when you take on Cyborg
next month-”
If
Carano was the best in the world, then it’s a waste of my time fighting Cyborg.
Carano barely lasted five minutes; I doubt Cyborg goes three. No, I need more
challenging competition. “Is that the best the mortal world has to offer?” I
snarl.
“Nemesis,
these are the best fighters in the world-” Mark says.
“And
I beat them with ease.” I snap. “Mark, you promised me competition when I
entered this sport. I’ve yet to see it.”
“Well,
it’s not like we can go out and find some goddesses for you to fight.” Mark
says. “You have to take what we can get.”
“And
Cyborg provides a big payday for all of us until we get to that opponent.”
Cleavon interjects. “We can get $2 million for this fight.”
Two
million isn’t enough for me to fight Cyborg. In the past I’d participate in
such a contest to just to maintain their livelihoods, but no more. I need more
challenging competition. “You’re wasting your time pitching her to me Cleavon-”
Mark
looks at Cleavon then at me. “Are you holding out for more money?” Mark snarls.
Before
I can answer the question, a flash of light explodes in our eyes. We’re greeted
by Hermes, the messenger of the gods. I roll my eyes. What does Zeus want now?
“What
do you want Hermes?”
“Zeus
wants you back meting out retribution.”
Not
this again. “I am meting out retribution. Just one opponent at a time-”
“He
means in the world. Too many mortals are getting away with evil-”
“These
female MMA fighters are filled with a lot of hubris. I humble them by beating
them.”
“Technicalities.”
Hermes snarls. “Must you continue to go on this mad quest Nemi? It’s getting
kind of old-”
“I
won’t stop fighting these mortals until I find the opponent who gives me the
fight I’m looking for.”
Hermes
huffs a sigh. “If it’s competition you seek, then I know just the woman who
will give you a challenge. Isis of New Heliopolis, the goddess of Retribution.”
“That’s
just a myth. The Sword of Nubia doesn’t exist-”
“A
common misconception. The goddess lives. And she’s quite the fighter. Take a
look at the vengeance she meted out on these mortals.”
Hermes
gestures and the television screen in my dressing room lights up. A montage
shows her murdering foe after foe with her bare hands. The mortals dressed in
hoods and white sheets fall before her bloody assault with ease. Now this is
the opponent I’ve been waiting centuries for.
“Where
is this goddess?”
“She
lives on the Island of Solitude in the South Pacific. But lately she’s been
hanging around New York City. Specifically the Harlem area.”
I
gesture my hands. A flash of light explodes around my body and changes my
bathrobe into my one-shouldered short white toga dress. I can’t wait to meet my
next victim.
Mark
grabs my arm. “Hey, where are you going?” Mark asks.
“To issue a challenge to my next opponent.” I
say disappearing into a flash of light.Get Isis: The Ultimate Fight for your Kindle for just 99 cents!
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