Dinomorphs Vol. 3: The New Henchmen

Chapter 1: Gill's Defeat

It was Saturday night in Sarasota, just a few minutes before ten o'clock. Gill sat in the locker room, waiting patiently. Against the rules laid down by Lucy, Gill had snuck out of his water tank in the basement of their hideout and had entered an underground wrestling match, wanting to prove that he wasn't a complete screw up and bring in some nice cash that the team could use. He took a deep breath, knowing he would mostly likely be fighting a normal human. Were Crash or Jimbo in his position they'd be terrified to their core. Complete wimps they were, at least in Gill's mind. 

The locker room door opened and a man with a clipboard looked upon the tylosaurus.
"Mr. Gill? It's time." He said and Gill rose to his feet from the bench, startling the man as he towered at least two feet above him, as he did most adult males. "Whoa, that's one convincing costume you got. Hope you can fight in that thing."
"Don't worry about me." Gill replied. "Worry about the other guy." He said with his usual confidence.
"Heh, you might wanna hold onto that thought." The man said as Gill left the locker room and entered the arena at the end of the corridor just as the announcer introduced him.
"Give a warm welcome to our newcomer...the Deadly Dino!!!" The crowd cheered as Gill walked in and approached the ring, climbing over the ropes and adding the referee to the list of people who were visibly startled by the muscular, seven-foot dinosaur man that night. The crowd seemed almost instantly won over by his appearance and stature.

"And now let's hear it for everyone's favourite skull crusher...Neera the Nightmare!" The announcer continued and fountain fireworks sprayed up from the ground on either side of the opposite door as Gill's opponent confidently sauntered in, taking in the cheers and adoration. She climbed into the ring and Gill observed her closely. He was surprised to see that his opponent was a woman, and even more surprised at her height and physique. She was only about half a foot shorter than him and her muscles made it clear that she was very strong. She wore a tight sleeveless red and yellow spandex leotard that ended at the ankles with thin stirrups around her exposed feet. She had long, dark brown hair that she kept tied back in a ponytail. With Gill being the kind of male he was, he was immediately distracted by her gender and almost seemed to forget that she was his enemy.
"Heya, gorgeous. When this is over, how about I get your number? You won't regret it." The human rolled her eyes at his pathetic attempt at flirting.
"I see you fancy yourself a ladies' man. Well you're just another male to crush beneath my heel. I know your kind, Englishman, and your inability to think with your brain and focus on the fight ahead of you will unquestionably lead to your defeat, just like all my previous prey. Though I must admit, you will be the largest beast I have conquered yet." She spoke with a thick Russian accent and her attitude and complete confidence in herself only made Gill like her even more.
"Oh man, this is one awesome lady. We could really benefit from having her on the team. If only."

The bell rang, signalling the start of the fight before he could flirt anymore and while Gill was normally the one to make the first move in a fight, this time was an exception.
"Go ahead, sweetheart. I'll let you make the first move." Not even taking the time to reply to his cockiness, Neera took advantage of and punished him for it. Too quickly for Gill to react, Neera leapt forward with a drop kick, both feet smashing into his cheek and sending him crashing to the floor with the crowd cheering loudly. Her speed and skill surprised Gill as he rubbed his eye, checking for signs of bleeding. Fortunately, there was nothing but a bruise covering most of the right side of his face.
"Foolish male, you are all the same. Your arrogance is your biggest weakness, and for it I shall break you!" Growling in annoyance, Gill swiftly shot his tail forwards, wrapping it around both of Neera's ankles and binding her feet together before throwing his tail upwards, sending the woman flying up into the air and landing on her back with a loud thump against the ring floor. Quickly attempting to capitalize on her vulnerability, The tylosaurus rose and leapt into the air and came down upon her prone form. Fortunately for Neera, she was quick enough to roll out of his way and avoid being crushed beneath his large webbed feet as they slammed loudly into the floor.

Both fighters were so intensely focused that they didn't hear a single word that was being said by the commentators. "Damn, how can a human be so fast?" Gill asked himself before bringing his tail down in another attempt to crush her. She rolled left and right, avoiding what would have been several bone-crushing blows from the dinosaur's tail before managing to regain her feet. Gill attempted a horizontal swing at her this time. Neera braced herself and took the impact from Gill's tail as she wrapped her muscular arms around it, gripping tightly as it sent the soles of her feet skidding painfully across the canvas. As she screeched to a halt, she shot Gill a grin as he stared in astonishment at her feat of strength. Her grip on his tail tightened as she roared loudly. With a mighty heave, she swung Gill horizontally, lifting him right off the floor as she spun around in a three-sixty degree angle. She spun him around several times, picking up speed before letting him go. The tylosaurus flew across the ring and connected with the ropes, almost snapping them before they catapulted him back towards Neera. Although Gill realized what was happening, he was powerless to stop it as he soared back into the arms of his awaiting opponent. Neera ran full speed towards Gill with her left arm fully outstretched and the poor male's throat smashed straight into it, sending him crashing onto his back while coughing and clutching his adam's apple.

A sharp pain then radiated from Gill's chest, provoking a pained roar from him as the Russian woman brought her full weight down on it in a crushing elbow drop. Neera delighted in the sounds of her opponent suffering, which only got louder and more agonized as she expertly demonstrated all of her favourite wrestling moves on the Dyno-morph. The Camel Clutch, the Bronco Buster, the Jungle Buster, the Hip Smash and several submission holds all had the Deadly Dino screaming in pain and yelling many unsavoury words at the woman while the crowd erupted with excitement. The giant muscle-bound lizard was soon reduced to a kneeling mess of bruises and pained groans before his opponent. Neera stood proudly in front of her prey while he knelt, panting helplessly. As Gill opened his mouth to insult her once more, he was only met with the back of her hand. "Silence, male filth! I don't wish to hear that ridiculous accent of yours any longer." The slap had enough force to knock the weakened fighter onto his back, where he lay as Neera towered over him, hands on her hips while she shook her head. "Call yourself a fighter?" She taunted. "Look at you. You attack without thinking, you let your emotions get the best of you and you get distracted by the opposite gender. You'd never survive in this line of work. You're not even worth using my signature pin on." She said with genuine disappointment in her voice as she tauntingly prodded his face with the ball of her foot, evoking an annoyed growl from the beaten Dinomorph. Then, without moving a muscle except for her left leg, she placed her foot on top of his chest, initiating a pin. Gill was too weak to even struggle against her but even if he could, he knew it wasn't worth any further beating. The referee was quick to begin the count.
"One...two...three!"

The bell was sounded a second time, signalling the end of the fight. Gill's face became wet as tears rolled down his face. These tears were not from pain or embarrassment, but for his utter failure at proving himself to his own team. He had a chance to prove he could handle himself on his own and bring back some cold hard cash, some of which he could have used to thank Claire for everything she had done for him and the others. Neera posed victoriously as people took photos with their cameras and chanted her name, not even bothering to take her foot off of the conquered male, which only furthered his humiliation as he lay there like a scaly doormat. After a while though, she crouched and whispered into his ear. "Consider yourself lucky. Challenge me again and next time, they'll be wheeling you off to the morgue." Her threat was just barely heard as Gill lay in a daze, too distracted by his own disappointment to acknowledge her.

Neera gently kicked Gill in the side a couple of times. 
"Oh come now, I know you are a wimp but don't make them carry you out on a stretcher. This is already embarrassing enough." Gill agreed and, as painful as his body was whenever it moved, he struggled slowly to his feet. As he stood, he looked at his former adversary and was just about able to swallow his pride and offer her a handshake. 
"Congratulations, Neera. Well fought." His usual frustrated scowl returned as Neera scoffed and slapped his hand away from her. "This is no place for manners, Englishman. I didn't need to fight well to crush you. It was the easiest 'fight' I have ever had. Now kindly leave and pray that we never see each other again." 
"Fine." Gill said as he grunted in frustration before leaving and returning to the locker room and allowing Neera to bask in her victory.

"Cocky, stupid, arrogant woman!" Gill said as he retrieved his long coat and Larcen's hat from his locker. "Who does she even think she is? Wrestling's a man's sport. She should stick to gymnastics and ballet." Throwing his hat and coat on in irritation, he left the underground arena and quietly made his way back to Claire's garage, unsure of how he was going to explain his bruises to the others.