Leah

The roar of the crowd met my ears even from the room that I stood in. My anger boiled the blood in my veins, as I had just ended my first fight - which truth be told, wasn't much of a challenge.

Having needed none of my pent-up anger, I now paced around the room like a caged animal. Waiting impatiently for my next call.

Grace's blog flashed through my mind as I remembered every last word of it – having read it about ten times. I was raging mad at what she had dared to do.

So, when the call came about getting a slot tonight, I jumped at the idea before Shay could even get the words out. And then when I got here and he informed me of another two slots, I accepted without hesitation.

Usually, I would only take on two fights a night, but tonight was different, because I had some anger to burn. Plus, since I hadn't broken a sweat in my first fight, I was sure I could go on with the next two. I mean all it really meant for me was some extra cash and another notch to my name.

Something I definitely needed if I wanted to get somewhere in this place.

Shaking my head, I moved to the punching bag hanging in the corner and started throwing punches and kicks at it. My confinement within this room was starting to slowly piss me off as I had no way of releasing my anger.

For a second my mind wondered to Cole – who had been in more than seven fights this week alone. People had been looking for him during his absence and now that he was back – they wanted blood.

Something Cole wouldn't allow them to get, because he was just that good. I mean come on; we were trained by the best.

"You ready?" a voice asked, behind me.

Jumping slightly, I turned to face Shay. His brown gaze met mine, with a curious look shining in them.

"Uh... Yeah," I answered with a sheepish grin.

"You sure?" he asked, narrowing his eyes at me as concern crossed them.

"Yeah."

"Three fights in one night isn't a joke, Leah," he said in warning, his eyes travelling over my body before once again meeting mine.

Scoffing at his words, I rolled my eyes. "Could you even consider that last fight I had, a fight?"

"That girl got some good punches in though," he retorted with a hard look at me.

"Yeah, and yet she still got her ass beat!" I snapped back. "I'm all good, Shay, so when is my..."

Three loud bangs on the door to our room, cut me off. Signifying that I was up for my next fight.

Glancing at Shay, he came to my side and wrapped his arm around me in one of his reassuring hugs. Something he had been doing since I had started fighting here in the Warehouse.

When I had first joined, I had freaked out a little considering what had happened to me, but his reassuring hugs helped me and soon I got used to things around here.

As Shay dropped his arm, my mask of indifference fell into place as we walked towards the door that would lead me to my opponent and my second fight for the night.

The sound of my surname being called over and over again as if it were a chant reached my ears as we exited the room. I hadn't been given a nickname yet since I wasn't that well known and hadn't proven myself to the Warehouse Masters.

Having only been fighting in these fights for about two and a half years, I had won almost all of my matches. However, I still wasn't on the Masters radar as I had only started playing in the big leagues about a year ago.

"Mercer!" they yelled, the sound of my name on their lips causing a smirk to tug at mine. A thrill ran through me as my blood sang at the sound, my anger flaring up within me.

Shay walked with his arm around my shoulders, as we walked through the crowd towards the cage where another girl already stood waiting for me. Pushing and shoving occurred, the crowd was in constant motion as people tried to either gain more space or move to a place where they could place their bets.

Looking up at the cage, I focused my eyes on the girl who stood within it and stiffened at the sight of her. She was a bulky woman with beefy tattooed arms and beefy legs that made her appear scary. Her appearance more like a boulder than that of a person.

"She must be on steroids, right?" I asked Shay, as we finally broke through the crowd and came to the wide space around the cage where only the trainers were allowed.

"No," he answered, shaking his head.

"It seems like it," I answered, glancing over at her again. Her fists looked like they could pummel bricks to dust.

I glanced at Shay to find him staring at me with a raised brow. Pulling me closer, he whispered, "Watch her, she isn't like normal fighters." He warned as I glared at him.

"No fucking shit, if you placed her in a plaid shirt and overalls, she could be fucking Wreck-It Ralph," I snapped, resorting to sarcasm as a way to hide the slight fear that was now coursing through my veins. My anger had died down at the sight of my opponent and her ham hands.

"This is serious Leah," he hissed.

"Yeah, I know," I argued, "Paint her green and give her purple shorts and she could be She-Hulk, Shay."

Rolling his eyes, he looked down at me with a stern expression. "Take her down fast and hard," he said, glancing in her direction. "Keep your attacks fast and don't get caught by those fists."

"Definitely wasn't planning to," I replied, with a small reassuring smile.

With Shay's words of wisdom thrust upon me, I glanced up into his soft brown eyes once more as a way to calm my racing heart. His gaze sadly didn't chase away my fear, fear that I might end up with a few broken bones at the end of this fight.

"Ready?" he asked.

Scared that my voice might betray me, I nodded before turning and heading towards the stairs that lead up to the ring. With one last glance in Shay's direction, I walked up them and into the cage.

The moment I stepped into it; the crowd started screaming louder. My surname, still on the lips of those who supported me. Turning around in the cage, I took in all the people who were watching us, while the Ringmaster closed and locked the door.

Facing my opponent, I locked eyes with her before sizing her up. We took in each other's stature and stance as a way to figure out the best way to beat them. But even as I was doing so, I stood there carefully listening to the screams of the crowd, hoping to find out who my opponent was before our fight began.

For even something as small as a person's name could make a huge difference.

My eyes widened in surprise when her name finally became clear to me. For the girl that looked like She-Hulk and who could most likely lift a car without breaking a sweat, was known as Cupcake.

I stared at her in disbelief before the Ringmasters voice broke through my thoughts, "Cupcake and Mercer Meet in Combat!" he screamed into the mic, causing the crowd to roar.

Shoving my mouth guard into place, I shook my head of any other thoughts and distractions. As I shoved the knowledge of Cupcake's name to the back of my mind and stepped forward. Mentally preparing myself for the fight that was about to commence.

Flicking my eyes to hers, I sized her up once more. She stood about a head taller than me, with a body that was far bulkier than mine which surely made her slower than me. Though Shay had said I should watch out for her, I doubt that she could be faster than me.

"Let the Fight, Begin!" the Ringmaster screamed, his voice snapping me out of my thoughts. As the bell sounded to signal the fight.

At the bell Cupcake moved, coming straight for me with a rock sized fist aimed right for my face. Shocked I stood in place for a second, before my brain caught up to what was happening – dodging just in time.

Ducking under her arm with a second's noticed, I felt the wind of her attack move the hairs on my head. As I raced to the other side of the cage. Twisting around quickly to find Cupcake barreling towards me again.

"Holy shit," I breathed out at her surprising speed, dodging her next attack by a mere hair's breadth.

This is insane, this is fucking insane.

I had barely any time to search for an obvious weakness on her while she had been standing still, but now I had to do so while running. No way, this was definitely insane.

Dodging again, I allowed my eyes to search her body for a bruise, a cut, anything that I could exploit but sadly, I came up empty.

Cupcake continued to come at me, and each time I dodged out of the way. Making sure to dodge her attacks by either a massive gap or by the smallest one possible. Because one hit from her and I was dead.

"Duck," I breathed out, ducking under her fist as she once again aimed for my face.

"Side step- Jump- Roll- Jump through again," I commented as I dodged her attacks. For dodging was the only option unless I chose to block but that wasn't gonna happen when one of her attacks might just end up numbing or breaking my body.

Cupcake kicked out at my back, causing me to drop into a roll. Coming to a stop I stood to find her where I left her, her eyes burning with rage as she glared at me. Me dodging of her attacks was pissing her off – but what else could I do.

Let her hit me, fat chance.

Getting hit by her meant I was done for. A skim or light brush could do slight damage and maybe put me off course, but full contact. Ha, if that happened, I would be out and then I could forget about my last fight of the night and the handsome amount of money I would get.

"Stay still bitch!" Cupcake hissed as she ran at me.

"No," I shouted back, dodging again.

"It Seems Like Mercer is Playing A Game of Chicken!" the Ringmaster commented.

No fucking shit, I'm definitely not letting She-Hulk get her hands on me.

Cries of anger rose up from the crowd because of the lack of action. No punches or kicks have landed and definitely no blood has been spilled – something which they had come here to see.

The only thing they were watching right now, was me running for my life. And at this point, I couldn't give a damn about giving these people a show.

I wracked my brain for a way to beat her as I continued to dodge her attacks. Finally having to give in to blocking some of them when I found myself with no other choice. My forearms burning at the impact of her blows.

My game of cat and mouse couldn't last any longer as the crowd was becoming restless. They wanted some action, they wanted to hear and see some pain, they wanted blood.

My mind raced while I ran away from Cupcake, her attacks finally slowing down slightly.

She came to a stop a second later as she stood across from me and dropped her hands to her knees. Her breath coming out in heavy pants, my little game having tired her out.

Oh, thank God, she was damn fast.

"Awww, is Cupcake feeling a little tired?" I shouted, trying to catch my breath as I finally got a minute to stand still.

And yes, I chose now as the time to taunt a murderous She-Hulk.

"Has Cupcake run out of energy? Cupcake need some sugar? Cupcake, need a cupcake?" I asked with a laugh, watching as her body stiffened at my incessant calling, my words getting under her skin.

Jackpot, her name was her soft spot.

One thing we learnt at the gym was that all fighters had a temper. No matter what, each and every one had a temper. Even if they appeared calm or peaceful, they had some kind of rage within them. And I bet Cupcake's anger was definitely attached to her nickname.

"Cat got your tongue Cupcake?" I asked with a raised brow, a smirk slowly forming on my lips as she sneered at me. "Isn't it just such a cute name, Cup...Cake..." I said dragging out her name.

And just like magic, a scream escaped her. Her eyes blazed with rage as she came at me again with renewed energy. This time her arms were spread wide as if she were going to close-line me, wrestling style. I dodged out of the way, chuckling as she shouted in anger.

While teasing her, I carried on dodging her attacks. Watching as her rage took over while I pranced around the ring happily.

"I Don't Know What Is Going On!" the Ringmaster shouted into his mic, confusion clear in his voice, "But It Seems that Mercer is Chatting Cupcake Up While Dodging Her Attacks!"

Shrugging at his comment, I ducked under another of her attacks, "Cupcake, wow," I said shaking my head with a chuckle, "Your name just rolls off the tongue, so nicely," I teased. Watching as her rage level flared higher at my incessant harping on her nickname.

Dodging another punch, I bobbed and weaved my way in and out of another series of punches. Before suddenly dodging a kick which I had almost missed but successfully evaded in the nick of time. Cupcake continued to attack me with different combos, forcing me to pay more attention to her attacks and less on taunting her.

This time when she came at me, instead of with her usual punch combo, she came at me with a high kick. Forcing me to drop to the ground and roll away quickly as she brought her leg down to stomp on me.

"Can't catch me, can you?" I snapped at her, as I jumped to my feet once I was a safe distance from her. Only to find her already moving towards me with her next attack.

Fuck, she's fast.

"Things are getting interesting! Cupcake is attacking with almost inhuman speed and has Mercer on the run! Though Mercer still carries on with her merciless chatter!" the Ringmaster commented.

Oh great, at this rate I'm going to end up with the nickname Chatter.

Shaking off my thoughts I dodged more of her attacks, as she came at me with vigour. Jumping back at the sudden pop out of her elbow, I moved too slow and her elbow grazed the end of my jaw.

The crowd screamed at the slight contact that had been made, while I made sure to get away from her as quickly as possible because that was a bit too close for my liking.

"How do you like that bitch?" she shouted, before rushing at me.

"As if you could call that a hit, Cupcake!" I shouted back. Dodging her attack, I made another comment, "Do you know the Cuppy Cake song?" I asked.

A roar left her lips at the question as she turned and ran at me again. Her attacks now wild and sloppy, her rage fueling her every move.

Cupcake wanted to pummel me badly and yet with each attack I dodged, she failed. This enraged her, and it was exactly what I was looking for, because the more enraged she was, the sloppier she fought.

Coming at me again, she screamed as she rushed towards me. Sliding across the floor, I popped up behind her, and quickly got to my feet before pivoting on my right foot and sending a roundhouse kick into her face.

Her face turned to the side, before she moved for me again as if the attack hadn't even affected her.

What the...

Dodging again, I pivoted on my back leg and kicked her in the face. Her face being the only weak point I could find at this moment. Knowing that if I kicked her hard enough in the face that I could daze her enough or maybe even knock her out.

Hoping for a miracle of the latter.

Dancing away from my attack, I watched as Cupcake stood in a daze for a second before she shook her head and came at me again.

Shouts could be heard from the side-lines as the crowd went wild that there was finally some action and that the fighters, they had come to see were finally beating the crap out of each other.

I dodged another two attacks, as I rolled out of the way and sent a backwards kick into her back. A grunt leaving her as she stumbled forward a bit before turning and running at me.

I was slowly losing my patience with Cupcake and her overly thick defensive build. My attacks seemed to do nothing to her as she just shook them off and came at me again.

Slamming my hands onto the floor, I dodged a few more attacks from Cupcake before I went in with a series of my own. Throwing both fists, elbows, knees and feet at her as if it were some kind of funky dance.

"Finally! Mercer Is in This Fight, Getting in Some Kicks and Hits!" the Ringmaster shouted just as I lifted my foot up and kicked Cupcake straight in the face. The heel of my foot slamming into it with a crunching sound.

As I landed on my feet, Cupcake howled in pain. Grabbing at her nose as blood spurted out of it. I watched wide eyed as blood dropped down onto the matted floor beneath us while she continued to howl, even as blood filled her mouth.

A minute later Cupcake's head snapped up to mine, as she cradled her nose. Wiping the blood from it, she spat out what had gotten into her mouth before grimacing at me. Her teeth a scary shade of red.

"You're going to pay!" she screamed, her voice nasally now that her nose was broken.

Cupcake rampaged towards me as I bounced on the balls of my feet. Waiting for her to get close, I brought my leg up again to kick her. Only this time, instead of the usual impact, I felt hands grip around my foot.

Uh-Oh!

Tightening her grip on my foot, she twisted it. Her hands going one way with my leg following behind. My eyes widened at the sight as I bit my lip from the pain. A smirk formed on Cupcake's face as she watched me squirm, before she pulled me towards her and soon found myself flying through the air.

Landing with a loud thud on the other side of the cage, I groaned in pain as my leg and side throbbed. I laid there for a few seconds before slowly getting to my feet, turning to find Cupcake staring back at me with a menacing look on her face. Blood dripping from her nose.

"Nice nose job!" I shouted.

Cupcake narrowed her eyes before coming at me again, ready to pummel the shit out of me.

Waiting for the right moment when she was right in front of me, I ducked under her arm. Lifting my elbow in the process, I slammed it into her armpit.

"Pressure point, bitch!" I growled out, stumbled away from her as my leg gave in.

She howled in pain as she came at me again. Grabbing her arm, I twisted it up before slamming my elbow into her armpit repeatedly. Her cries of pain drowned out the shouts from the crowd as she howled near me like a crazed animal.

I assaulted her armpit repeatedly, before switching up my attack and moving on to drive my knee into her ribs. Attacking only one side of her body, as I made sure that I had something to exploit.

Stopping suddenly, I breathed in as I thought of my next attack and that's when everything went wrong.

Cupcake took my moment of thought as her opportunity, and the next moment I found myself breathless with her knee driven deep into my stomach. The breath knocked clean out of me as my eyes widened in surprise. Pain resonated throughout my body as well as in my lungs, as I battled to breathe.

"Oh! And Cupcake Makes a Clean Comeback!"

Her grip on my shoulders loosened and I dropped to the floor like a sack of potatoes. Trying to suck in some air while my lungs burned.

"Take her down quickly!" Shay shouted from the side-lines closest to me.

Yeah, I think that plan is moot now.

I slowly got to my feet and barely had any time to dodge out of the way of Cupcakes next attack, before she came at me again. Dropping to the floor, I rolled away from her next attack before jumping to my feet to find her grinning at me.

Shit, shit, shit fuck shit!

The smile faded from her lips as she turned towards the crowd and started egging them on with her hands. Standing there, I watched her while trying to catch my breath before I attacked. Pushing the thought of my burning lungs to the back of my mind.

Running at her, I pivoted on my left foot and brought up my right. Slamming it into the side of her face. Landing back on my feet, I widened my stance and slammed my elbow into her side. Cries of pain leaving her as she dropped to the ground holding her side.

"Shit just got real, Cupcake," I sneered.

Stepping back, I held my arms up in front of my face in a defensive position before motioning for her to come at me.

"It Seems Like Mercer is Back in The Game!" The Ringmaster screamed with delight.

Cupcake glared at me from where she knelt, her eyes burning with rage. With an angry cry, she came at me. Exchanging punches and kicks, I dodged as many of her attacks as I could while taking those that I deemed fairly harmless.

Allowing her to get some hits in while not allowing her to get the best of me.

This had the crowd going wild as the Ringmaster screamed into the mic. Tuning out the noise, I focused on my fight against Cupcake, keeping up with my brutal attacks on her weak spots.

My stomach felt tender and I made sure to block and dodge any attacks made for it. For if Cupcake got through to that, then I was done for.

"Take her down, take that bitch down!" I heard someone shouting. Unsure of who they were shouting at, I shrugged off their remark for I was sure as hell going to take Cupcake down.

I bobbed and weaved between her attacks, moving in and out of her arms range as I did so. On my next attack though, I closed the distance between us and slammed my elbow into her face, before bringing my fist up from the other side and slamming it into her face again before she could fall.

A dazed look crossed her face as she dropped her guard for a second which was all I needed. Moving in, I continued my assault with a mix of fists, elbows and knees. Breaking through her rock-hard defense of muscle.

To take down a stronger opponent, you had to use everything and that's exactly what I was doing. Since I was much smaller in size and muscle than her, I was fairly faster which meant I could get in and out of attacks quickly but this also meant that my punches and kicks were weaker. Hence the use of my elbows and knees, as they were sharper and harder and had much more force behind them.

My only problem was that it was a short distance attack but right now, it was worth it.

I slammed my knee into her stomach and watched as she dropped to the floor. Screams came from all around us as I stood there breathing heavily, watching and waiting for her to get up. But she just laid there breathing heavily and unwilling to move.

The Ringmaster started the count down, shouts from the crowd filling my ears as I paced up and down beside her. My anger still simmering. I was still pumped; my blood still boiled. I wanted this fight to continue, I needed it to continued but it was clear that she was done.

Cupcake laid there trying to catch her breath, with blood leaking from her nose which had started bleeding again.

I hadn't noticed the Ringmaster entering the cage until he appeared next to me. He lifted my arm up and announced that I was the winner of the fight. As a few more cheers raised up while others groaned at the money they had lost.

Pulling my arm from the Ringmasters grip, I walked over to the exit. Climbing down from the cage, I stopped on the last step as Shay came to a stop in front of me, a frown on his face.

"Nice fight," he said with a hard look at me, "Next time, listen to me when I give you a warning," he smirked.

With a smirk of my own, I jumped down from the last step. "Will do, Master," I said with a slight bow.

Shaking his head with a chuckle, Shay placed his arm around my shoulders once more and led me to the back room again to await my final fight. A fight I was sorely regretting right now, because only God knows how I will fare in another fight after the beating I just took.

* * *     * * *

Now that's a wrap... Chapter 11 - such an amazingly action packed fight...

What did you think of Leah's fight - and a major insight into the Warehouse and the dealings that go on within it...

Does it intrigue you? Are you curious how she ended up here? Tell me your thoughts...?

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- Orlaith