Overkill

10 | glory & gore

It was a good thing Cruella sat next to her because Moxie didn't realize how difficult it would be watching Eddie's match. Sneaking glances at a beautiful woman who was not actively getting punched in the face helped distract her from the weird feeling in her gut over watching something violent, even if she respected the sport itself and, especially, watching women kick ass. She felt silly about it considering she regularly watched cars drive around going hundreds of kilometers an hour. Clearly, she wasn't that risk-averse.

Her only saving grace was that she knew she looked much better than Everleigh. Nurse Meadowlark alternated hiding behind Maverick's and Moxie's shoulders, wincing every time Eddie took a hit that looked like it hurt... which meant nearly every second of the match. Everleigh Meadowlark could wear a paper bag and look like a million bucks, but green wasn't her best color at that moment.

Cruella, on the other hand, looked like a kid dropped in the middle of the world's largest arcade, a handful of game tokens. Her eyes didn't know where to land—darting all around, taking flight like she was surrounded by flashing lights and omniscient voices screaming at her exactly what she wanted to hear to play their games. Moxie knew there had to be something more to it, something that Cruella was keeping secret, though she didn't dare question her on it while they were still at the match and surrounded by people who were doing a terrible job pretending like they weren't aware of her presence. Moxie dodged sneak attack pictures snapped conspicuously.

Throughout the match, Cruella tried her best to explain to Moxie what was happening, and Moxie tried even harder to follow along. The former described the differences in their fighting style, which made everything more easily observed. Parker, Eddie's opponent, had a height advantage and maneuvered around the ring with a distinct awareness of where her body was and where Eddie was. What Eddie lacked in height she made up for in defiance. A refusal to back down even when faced with odds that seemed stacked against her.

Moxie saw the exact moment, right before round three, when everything inside Eddie kicked into overdrive. An intense fire lit within her eyes that saw no chance of being extinguished. Whatever was building up inside Eddie could burn down the entire world if she wanted it to. Her coach talked into her ear while her eyes fixated on her opponent, dressed in blood and exhaustion, while wearing a few too many battle scars of her own. It was all too easy to get carried away by the look in those eyes. To see the determination and strength that fortified them. Moxie was finally able to tear herself away from the art piece sitting beside her and focus solely on the dance playing out in front of her between two artists who were a masterclass.

Eddie was a strategic fighter and took full advantage of the weakness starting to plague Parker's hits. Even when the latter managed to land a few, the former returned the favor, and then some. With Parker's back against the ropes, clinging to what little strength she had left, Eddie continued the barrage of hits, each stronger than the last.

And then, after sustaining one final blow, Parker slumped over until she completely fell over. Eddie stood there, watching her opponent lie still on the ground. The referee stood over Parker and counted as the crowd hushed to a low thrum like a bass note.

Once Eddie's wrist was raised into the air, the crowd erupted into thunderous applause. The champion of the night lifted her other, a smile stretched wide across her face. It didn't take long for her to tear herself away so she could hug her coach who had ducked into the ring.

Eddie stood there at the top of her game, soaking in all of that glorious applause. Moxie had never met her before and yet she understood, without a doubt, that there was nowhere else that Eddie Yamaguchi would rather—or deserved—to be.

Of course, Moxie couldn't help herself. She stole another glance at Cruella, whipped as one could ever possibly be. The woman beside her, the beaming golden light of beauty, sat in awe of what she had just witnessed.