Alistaire Allocco vs. Marie Jones

[The Matt]

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June 29th, 2026
Boston, Massachusetts
Off Camera
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Taking Hold of the Flame partially went as Marie Jones had planned. She certainly got one over on her identical twin sister, Kimberly Williams. The penguin outfit fooled everyone but, more importantly, it fooled Kimmy. She had no idea that The Phoenix was planning a grand return. And to return in that fashion, to let loose and just try to enjoy herself and entertain the fans, it felt good. It felt right. She proved to Kimmy that she can let loose and have fun. Also, by taking their mother’s advice and try to be more like Kim, Marie had a lot more fun. She enjoyed the event, despite the fact that she did not win the Flame as she was hoping for. Everything seemed to be going off perfectly for her return to Supreme Championship Wrestling, and just in time for Rise To Greatness season.

Unfortunately her smooth, seemingly perfect return came to an abrupt halt on the following Breakdown when she was instantly met by the CEO Frank Delatosso. Marie is no slouch when it comes to her wrestling; she always does her homework and she has kept up with SCW even during her absence. She knows about CEO Frank and his New Order. It is obvious that everyone within this New Order are selfishly out for themselves and it is clear that they do not care for the greater good of professional wrestling. Yet the CEO offered The Phoenix the same offer that the others received; an opportunity. Jones has been fooled with this same offer before involving Infamous. They tricked her into joining their ranks with the offer of an opportunity. Jones knows better than to take the bait again. Yet, at the same time, she has the same thought process as her twin sister Kimberly; The Phoenix has no desire of fighting this civil war between this New Order and those who are opposed to it. It gives Jones pause to consider; perhaps she and Kim should simply just strike a deal with the CEO: leave them alone and they won’t fight him and his New Order.

Plus, on top of that, Marie’s first match back in SCW will be against a returning Alistaire Allocco, who has clearly bought into what the CEO is selling. The Phoenix isn’t expecting fair play out of Allocco but she does hope that, at the very least, the New Order will stay out of her business as long as she stays out of theirs, which is precisely what she plans to do. She and Kim, Twin Magic, do not want to fight this battle.

Her upcoming battle with Alistaire Allocco isn’t the only thing on the mind of The Phoenix as she makes her return to professional wrestling. It wasn’t long before Taking Hold of the Flame that her missing boyfriend, Percy Matthews, resurfaced as a bloody mess outside in front of a bar in Boston, Massachusetts. Seeing him in that state, especially considering the fact that he had gone missing, dropped off the radar, for as long as he did, causes Marie to have great concern; has he fallen off the wagon so to speak? Has he gotten in trouble with the law again? This man, who had spent time in prison but swore to turn his life around, has he already failed?

The high ceilings of Marie’s luxurious Boston home usually lent the living room an air of grand, open tranquility, but tonight the space felt as suffocatingly cramped as a holding cell. Ambient light from the wrought iron streetlamps filtered through the towering sheer curtains, casting long, skeletal shadows across the pristine cream colored walls and the polished mahogany floors. The room was a showcase of Marie’s success, filled with plush velvet sofas, delicate glass coffee tables, and expensive art pieces, but the luxury did nothing to soften the thick, agonizing tension that hung in the air like a storm cloud. Marie sat on the edge of an ivory tufted armchair, her posture so rigid she looked as though she might snap. Even for a quiet, stressful evening indoors, she remained a portrait of deliberate, refined elegance. She wore a long, flowing silk lounge dress in a deep midnight blue that pooled gracefully around her ankles, the rich fabric draping over the athletic curves of her shoulders. Her vibrant red hair was swept up into a loose, sophisticated chignon, though a few stray coppery strands had escaped to frame her pale, tight face. Despite her immaculate appearance, the illusion of control was shattered by her hands, which were clenched so tightly in her lap that her knuckles were entirely white. Her sharp green eyes were fixed entirely on Percy, her gaze a volatile mix of profound heartache, lingering terror from the alleyway, and a simmering, protective anger that she was barely keeping under wraps.

Across the room, standing near the dark marble fireplace as if he didn't dare sit on the expensive furniture, Percy was a jarring, hostile blemish against the room's upper class aesthetic. He looked like a ghost from a past life that had forcefully broken through the floorboards. He was dressed precisely like the street biker thug he had spent years trying to convince the world he no longer was. His heavy, scuffed black leather motorcycle jacket sat thick on his shoulders, the silver zippers clinking faintly every time his chest hitched with a ragged breath. Beneath it, a faded, grease stained grease monkey t shirt clung to his frame, and his legs were encased in stiff, dark denim jeans that were threadbare at the knees and caked with dried road grit at the cuffs. Heavy, steel toed riding boots anchored him to the expensive Persian rug, leaving faint, dusty tracks on the fabric. The physical aftermath of the beating from a few weeks ago was still painfully visible on his skin, a grim map of violence. The swelling around his left eye had gone down, but it was replaced by a fading, sickly yellow and green bruise that stretched down his cheekbone. The butterfly bandages holding his eyebrow together were peeling at the edges, and a dark, jagged scab still marred the corner of his mouth.

But it wasn't the physical trauma that made him look so entirely unraveled; it was his demeanor. Percy refused to meet Marie’s eyes, keeping his head angled toward the empty hearth. His jaw was clenched so hard the muscles in his cheek ticked rhythmically, and his right hand kept nervously drifting toward the heavy silver ring on his finger, twisting it around and around in a manic, repetitive motion. He carried the heavy, suffocating weight of a man drowning in a secret, looking less like a victim recovering from an ambush and more like a fugitive waiting for the sirens to close in.

“You know, Percy, I love you…” Jones sighs “...well, I thought I loved you at least…”

“And I love you.” Percy says quietly.

“You say that but your actions are making it difficult for me to know what I should believe.” She sighs. “You disappeared, Percy. I tried contacting you, I called and I sent text messages, I tried everything except sending damn smoke signals and yet you never once answered me.”

“I’m sorry.” Percy responds meekly.

“Sorry?!” She exclaims. “Percy, you are my boyfriend. I love you. But I didn’t see you again until my sister and I stumbled upon your beaten body in front of the bar. That isn’t how normal girlfriends find their boyfriends. Normal boyfriends just simply answer the phone and talk when their girlfriends call. Is that so much to ask?”

“Again, I’m sorry, but it wasn’t my fault…”

“You need to take responsibility for your actions.” Marie states. “I had to learn that the hard way. I went into Taking Hold of the Flame promising victory. But I couldn’t get the job done. Deanna Frost won. But do you see me complaining? Do you see me blaming someone else for my defeat? No, because that defeat was on me. Now I have my first real match back, I’m going against Alistaire Allocco, but if he beats me am I going to blame everyone else? No, I’m not, because that’s not who I am.”

“I’m telling you, it wasn’t my fault, babe.”

“Don’t!” Marie exclaims. “Kimmy and I found you nearly beaten to death outside of a bar, this was after you had gone missing. After you started ignoring my calls and texts. I am not dumb, Percy. I knew who I was getting involved with when I started dating you. I know your background. You are an ex-con. You spent time in prison. You were involved in motorcycle gangs. So tell me, Percy, and be honest with me; what the hell happened back there? How did you end up beaten to death at that bar?”

“You…” he sighs and shakes his head “...you really don’t want to know…”

“Yes, I do.” Marie insists. “If you want to be in my life then you need to become a part of this family and in this family we help each other. We never turn our backs on each other. So if you are in any trouble, tell me.”

The Phoenix stares deeply into her boyfriend’s eyes. She can tell that he is hiding something, some dark secret, something he is afraid of telling her. Marie almost believes that Percy is right, that maybe she doesn’t truly want to know. Jones is happy with Percy but she also realizes that if he has returned to a life of crime, which is what led to his beating, then she will have to abandon this relationship. It will be yet another failed relationship for Marie Jones. Finally, after a tense moment, Percy speaks.

“I was….I was mugged.”

“You were mugged?”

“Yes.” He nods his head.

“Fine, I can buy that, you were mugged. But do you know who mugged you?”

“No idea.” He shakes his head. Marie sighs out of frustration.

“You’re lying to me.”

“I swear I’m not lying!”

“Yes, you are!” She exclaims. “I can see it in your eyes, you are hiding something from me. There is something about that incident that you are afraid to tell me. You are just telling me the bare bones and leaving out important details. Be honest with me; did you get involved with some of your ‘old friends’ again?”

“Honestly, Marie, I’m telling the truth, I have not gotten involved with crime again!”

“I still don’t believe you.” Marie shakes her head. “But let’s say hypothetically that you are telling me the truth. Why were you mugged? It’s not like you fit the description of the perfect victim for a mugging. You are built, muscular, no one would dare take you on unless you owed them something. Alternatively maybe YOU were the one who provoked things?”

“I didn’t provoke anything!”

“Really?” Marie rolls her eyes. “I find that hard to believe. You were drunk that night.”

“I wasn’t!”

“Quit lying to me!” Marie shouts. “I smelled the alcohol on you!”

Another tense moment passes as Percy stares deep into his girlfriend’s eyes. Finally he admits defeat. He nods his head and slouches over in shame.

“Yes, fine, I admit it. I was drinking that night.”

“Oh my God!” Marie exclaims. Jones stands up and immediately starts pacing the floor. A fierce anger, the kind that the Jones women are known for, flares up within her. “Percy Matthews, you dumb son of a bitch. You were drinking.”

“I’m sorry…”

“I don’t want to hear it!” She shouts angrily. “You aren’t supposed to be anywhere near the stuff! You violated the terms of your parole!” She chuckles. “So that’s why you didn’t want me and Kim to call an ambulance for you. You knew that if we did the authorities would quickly figure out that you violated your parole and you would be going back to prison.”

“Marie, please…”

“You manipulated me.” She rolls her eyes. “And Kim. You manipulated her too. If Kim finds out you manipulated her she will kill you. And I am not entirely joking about that. My sister is psychotic.”

“Yes, that’s why I didn’t want you to notify authorities.” Percy admits, nodding his head. “But it was the one and only time, I swear!”

“Really?” Marie asks, skepticism dripping from her voice. “Tonight has been very enlightening. I am finding it difficult to believe you right now.”

“I’m being honest.” He remarks. “I haven’t violated my parole before or since then. That was the one and only time I violated any of the terms of my parole.”

“Still, by all rights you should be back in prison.” She states cooly. “That would be the right thing to do. Admit your guilt, turn yourself in, pay the price. That’s what responsible people do, Percy. They own up to their guilt and they pay the penalty.”

“I know and you’re right, I should be back in prison because I did violate parole. But I swear to you, Marie, I have not done anything else wrong. I just had a few beers.”

“And that’s what led to you getting mugged?” Marie asks.

“Yeah…” he sighs “...I guess. But I swear that’s it, I swear.”

Percy stands up. The Phoenix stares at him for a tense moment before approaching. She studies him carefully, trying to get a read on him. She still senses that there is something else there, something he is keeping hidden from her, something he is afraid to tell her. She knows that she should be more cautious, but she doesn’t want to give up on him. For a long time Percy Matthew had been the best thing to happen to her. And she does not want to risk losing another relationship if it perhaps could be salvaged.

“Do you swear that this was really the only time you fucked up?” She says coldly.

“Yes.”

“Do you swear to never again do anything stupid like this again?”

“I swear it.” Percy nods his head. “I swear that from now on I will stick to the straight and narrow. My life of crime is over. I really want to be a better person for you and for Sean.”

Sean. Marie’s son. Sean loved Percy. Percy even taught him some basic self defense moves before Sean began his professional wrestling training in London at the Braddock Wrestling School. For all of his faults, Percy has been good to Marie’s son. She still feels as if letting him off the hook may be a mistake, but at the same time she strongly believes in second chances.

“Fine.” She nods her head. “I won’t turn you in. I won’t tell the police, your probation officer, or anyone that you violated your parole.”

“Thank you!”

“But…you must promise to obey the rules from now on. Ok?”

“Ok, I promise.” Percy and Marie embrace. Then they kiss. “I would do anything for you. I love you.”

“I love you too, Percy.”

The embrace was warm, but as Marie rested her chin against the stiff leather of Percy’s shoulder, her eyes drifted back to the flickering shadows on the wall, wide and unblinking. The heavy scent of rain and stale pavement clung to his jacket, a stark contrast to the delicate lavender and silk that surrounded them. She tightened her arms around him, desperately wanting the familiar rhythm of his heartbeat to drown out the persistent, quiet alarm blaring in the back of her mind. He was here, he was safe, and he had given her the answers she had demanded. Yet, as she pulled back slightly to look at the fading yellow bruise beneath his eye, the lingering intuition of a fighter told her that the match wasn't truly over. Percy offered a faint, relieved smile, the tension in his jaw loosening just enough to mask the exhaustion etched deep into his features. He murmured another quiet promise against her hair, but his hand still drifted back to his silver ring, twisting it once more out of pure, subconscious habit. He had survived the interrogation, buying himself a fragile reprieve, but the heavy secret he carried remained buried just beneath the surface, a ticking clock in the quiet luxury of the townhouse.

Outside, a sudden gust of wind rattled the towering glass windows, breaking the brief stillness of the room. Marie forced herself to take a deep breath, smoothing down the midnight blue silk of her dress as she finally let the silence settle between them. She had chosen to believe him, to protect the fragile sanctuary of her family and the bond he shared with Sean. But as she looked toward the dark, empty hearth, she knew the upcoming battle in the SCW ring with Alistaire Allocco wouldn't be the only test of her resilience. The Phoenix had made her peace for tonight, but the shadows lingering in her home whispered that the past was far from finished with Percy Matthews.