Queen's Bounty

[winner3]

The cameras faded in on the ring in the LAW arena. This segment saw two individuals that were already in the ring. It was a rather curious scene. On one side of the ring stood Head Honcho, the man in charge of all things LAW, and on the other side stood ever-popular and beloved LAW show host and interviewer, Lexy Alan.

Dan "The Man" DeFranco, CEO/GM of LAW

Lexy Alan

Lexy was visibly peeved. Her body language said it all. Her cheeks were puffed. Her brow was furrowed. She crossed her arms and tapped her foot against the canvas over and over to express her discontent.

DeFranco stood with his eyes closed for a moment. He wore a neutral expression on his face. Each of them held a microphone in hand.

"Ladies and Gentlemen... tonight-" In a slow tone, DeFranco opened his eyes and attempted to engage the audience. He was soon interrupted by an irate Lexy Alan.

"Oh, I don't believe that an abuse of power requires a proper salutation!" She snapped!

The feelings of curiosity welling up around the arena only grew further and further! It was nearly palpable!

"Then perhaps we'll skip the..."pleasantries" and get right to it, shall we? The General Manager of LAW, at this time, requests the presence of current reigning and defending LAW Lightweight Champion Rose Gold."

Lexy's frown deepened. She held her mic up once more.

"I asked you on many occasions not to waste my Queen's precious time! We don't care what company you run or what your job title says! She will decide when and where her presence is needed!" Lexy went on a tirade as the arena awaited Rose Gold's arrival, much to Dan's dismay. The man tried to hide the annoyance on his face. But the finger wags and the remarks kept coming. He'd exhale and attempt to keep his composure as he and all the fans watching in the arena and around the world waited for the champ he beckoned to make her appearance.

[SuckerPunch]

Theme

(Start at 1:21 for replays)

The sudden pounding of music brought with it lights that flared in time with the beat. The song was instantly recognizable. Music that had become synonymous with the League's Self-proclaimed Ace! Every pump of bass brought on another flicker of gold stage lighting. And with it another brief vision of the Venomous Vixen herself!

And when the beat dropped, the gold-toned lights flared fully to life! Gold confetti rained ceremoniously down from the ceiling. It refracted the light in a dazzling display of gaudy gold. And at the top of the stage stood the Lightweight Champion!

Spoiler

The woman who stood at the top of the ramp was undeniably Rose Gold. But everything about her seemed impossibly more... Radiant. Her trademark golden hair was tipped with brilliant pink. Her lips were painted as black as her intentions and highlighted her alabaster skin and the soft blush upon her cheeks. Her eyes were swept with black liner, angular and sharp. It made her honey-gold eyes glow, 24kt.

Her attire was more complex. Sleeves and Leggings were both speckled with shiny rose gold highlights. A collared top with a window cut in the shape of an inverted spade exposed the valley between her firm, perky breasts. Equal parts symbolic and mocking of her status as Ace!

Her bottoms were practically lingerie. Barely there at all. So high-cut that the muscles of her kissable inner thigh were bare for the world to see. A centimeter or two from indecency. The back was cut like a thong, allowing eyes to follow her round, athletic backside with every step she took. Every aspect of her femininity was accentuated. One look at her was enough to make even the most vigilant of opponent feel their heart beat hasten.

And lastly, she carried the symbol of her reign. The crown that made her Queen. The Lightweight Title. It hung over her shoulder, clutched by one hand. It's face was showing, her name embroidered prominently upon it.

She paused at the top of the ramp with a microphone in her other hand. It was brought to her painted lips as she looked upon the League's owner with a wry smirk.

She brought the microphone to her lips. "LAW!" She demanded attention! "Welcome your ACE!" She threw the hand that held the title skyward and allowed the lights to shine upon it! To bask in the adoration of the audience and draw all attention away from Dan DeFranco.

As always, the reaction was -deafening-. There was no denying that Rose Gold was among the most popular members of the LAW roster. And as far as she was concerned, there was no difference between fame and infamy. She put her hand to her ear and grinned, soaking in the adoration.

She smiled darkly upon the man in the ring. She took no steps to silence the crowd. She allowed them to cheer overly long. To hedonistically indulge in their praise while simultaneously and sadistically wasting the man's time.

Eventually the raucous cheering of her simps and the competing boos of the more right minded fans subsided enough to not overwhelm the arena's PA system.

"I cannot -possibly- imagine what has possessed you to so candidly and publicly waste the time of your company's biggest star." She finally spoke once more. "I can only assume that you've come to worship at my feet. To pay grand tribute for the inconceivable amount of money I've made you." She smirked as she took a step off the stage and onto the ramp.

She talked as she strode towards the ring. Her hips swaying as she put her lovely body on display for the world to salivate over. "From merchandise to ticket sales. Hell. I've even made us Big in America!" She hopped onto the apron, sitting upon it and kicking her feet with a grin as she took credit for their most recent Pay-Per-View going international.

She climbed through the ropes and stood face to face with the company's leadership. She was smaller than him. But she acted as she were a titan. In her mind, she surely was.

"I've headlined LAW's last two Pay-Per-Views!"

"I'm your draw! Your Ace!" She let the crowd pop once more. "So if you've come to woo me with gifts and thanks for revitalizing the Lightweight Division- No, your whole company!" She gave Lexy Alan a look. A silent demand for a show of public submission.

"Then save it! I've stolen more than a man can ever hope to give me!"

[winner3]

Cheers, boos, and reactions conveying a range of emotions echoed out from the crowd when that familiar theme played on the stadium speakers. The GM's eyes slowly drifted towards the entrance ramp. If nothing else, this moment at least provided a brief break from Lexy's endless tirade. Though there was no doubt that the tongue lashings would only grow more intense and more condescending once the Lightweight Champion finally made her way into the ring.

The best dropped and the confetti rained down. Lexy clapped rapidly and hopped with glee. Even if this was a waste of her Mistress' time in her mind, the mascot of LAW's backstage work was always overjoyed to see Rose. The new look certainly inspired everyone's reaction to her, especially Lexy. As Rose Gold raised that title up high, all eyes and ears in the arena focused in on her.


As Rose soaked in the reactions and played to the crowd, DeFranco remained stoic and stone-faced on the squared circle. As the champ approached and as she spoke, Lexy stared daggers at the man for failing to give Rose the same level of acknowledgment that the crowd had! The loyal hostess sauntered over to the ropes and made space between the middle and top ropes by resting her plump, tanned backside on the middle rope whilst pushing the top rope up with her hands. Lexy would make way for Rose Gold like a good valet. She'd stand still obediently near the action. Lexy's gaze would be full of adoration and wonder as her eyes remained fixed on Rose.

When her Goddess looked her in the eye, she knew exactly what the champ wanted. Lexy would take a knee next to Rose and bow. She'd position her green-haired head beneath Rose's palm to beg for pets. A similar gesture to the pets and careers she gave Kelsea, the alter ego, once upon a time!

All the while, DeFranco tried to remain neutral, stoic, impartial...he raised his mic up, only to have the audience cut in with more deafening noise. Whether it was positive or negative, it was undeniable that opinions and attitudes towards Rose Gold were quite strong. The man would look around the arena. He turned his head with a slightly stern look. Slowly but surely, it quieted down just enough for him to speak, for his voice to be heard.

"Let me start by saying this, Miss Gold..." The GM did his best to speak cordially, but of course, there was an underlying tone of apprehension. Rose commanded a presence her presence in a way that exuded the fact that she believed herself to be God's gift to mankind. Comparatively, DeFranco was just a man. But that man ran things at LAW, quite literally.

"I'm sure it's no secret to you, or to anyone that management makes a conscious effort to stay behind the cameras. That the focus of our professional wrestling product is the wrestlers. I don't make my presence known often around here. And that's quite intentional, I assure you. But please make no mistake." The man would gesture broadly to various parts of the arena.

"This is my ring, my ropes, my lights, my cameras, my announce team, for heaven's sake, we are having this conversation on my microphones! And on international television, the contracts and permits for which were taken care of by myself and my employees....so when you allege that I would come out here to waste your time?" DeFeanco would shrug.


"I can't even begin to imagine what you mean. The only person whose time I stand to waste here is my own, don't you agree?"

"You're still getting paid whether or not you feel your time is wasted. You're still the LAW Lightweight Champion. Yes, you moved the needle. You headlined two consecutive pay-per-views in a row. I saw to it that you did because I felt that was best for yourself and for business. And I stand by the fact that I was right about that. This might not be the "grand tribute" or "worship at your feet" that you seem to think you deserve from me, but I am not going to downplay your accomplishments in this company and in professional wrestling. You've made your mark. There can be no doubt about that. If you want that praise, you've earned it." The reaction from Roses supporters would grow quite loud. DeFranco would need to pause here before his voice could be heard around the arena again.

"My reasons for summoning you here today, lie elsewhere. All in all, you've been a credit to LAW. You've been given the freedom to throw your weight around and do and say as you please. You've picked up, for lack of a better phrase, a...new best friend." DeFranco said whilst pointing to Lexy.

"You've defended your title against...carefully selected opponents, selected by yourself in your "Midas Touch" segments on the show."

"You've gone around proclaiming yourself to be "The Ace" of the company. You..."made us big in America", as you put it. You...revitalized this whole company?" The skepticism in the general manager's voice was more than palpable. Lexy began to stare daggers at the suited man again. She began to growl audibly.

"Now, I don't owe it to you or to anyone to expound on where my disagreements lie. But I do owe it to this company to see to it than it adheres to standards."

"LAW is home to many great champions both past and present. It is home to capable and charismatic women like yourself, Rose Gold. But there are certainly many, many women that rival your work in the ring and your presence outside of it."

"The point here is this: if you're going to paint yourself as the single best thing going on in this company, as The Ace, then you're going to defend that title like you are."

"Just as I said last time we met in this ring, you will defend The Lightweight Championship against challengers of my choosing. Credible, capable challengers. Challengers that will be remembered by the fans and viewers after competing with you. Challengers that elevate themselves, that title, and your title reign simply by competing against you in competitive and memorable contests with that belt on the line."

"Your new number one contender for the LAW Lightweight Championship is undefeated, reigning and defending LAW Tag Team Champion, Galaxy Cat- Aurora Estrella of The SWAT Cats."

[SuckerPunch]

"It's not -Miss- anything-" She took his pause to insert herself. "Its Lightweight Champion, Rose Gold. Say the whole thing. And if you must use an honorific than I will accept no less than Queen." She swept a hand in front of herself, open palm up, as if presenting him the prestige of being able to call her at all.

Dan continued. And in that moment Rose Gold rested her hand upon the top of Lexy's head. Her fingers arbitrarily massaging her scalp as she pressed her valet's cheek to her soft, bare thigh. She looked down upon her dutiful submissive, catching her eyes as if to say 'good girl'. All while paying Dan's words as little mind as she could.

The GM continued. And Rose was content to placidly stroke her pet. Until his words took on a challenging tone. Her honey-colored eyes turned upon him. Each passing sentence coal-fed her anger. Heating her rage until those smoldering golden eyes turned molten.

"YOUR ring!?" She sneered. Her fist closing in Lexy's hair by reflex. "Listen here, you glorified checkbook!" She threw her index finger at the GM. She despite her bravado, she didn't dare touch him. Not without reason. "This ring belongs to the women you make your money off of, you over-inflated, talentless leech!" She flexed the hand in Lexy's hair, jerking her head back as she thrust her forward roughly, as if presenting the beautiful interviewer as evidence.

Despite her argument, he didn't stop. He continued. And Rose continued to seethe. Though she did relax her grip on Lexy's hair as Dan began to list her accomplishments. She allowed her to slump. And then proceeded to pet her once more. She didn't seem sorry in the least for hurting her.

The crowd roared as he called her the single best thing in the company. The Ace. And they booed as he demanded she defend the title against challengers of his choosing. She put a hand up to silence the crowd. It was performative and only served to incite them more, her true intention.

"I don't care you put in front of me!" She shook her head and rolled her eyes. Who could he even conjure. She'd laid the Lightweight Division bare. Either post reign, or prior. "I hope you're ready to apologize to this challenger for what I'm going to do to them! Or is that the whole point? What's the name of your thinly veiled fetish, hm?"

She let out an exasperated sigh. This whole thing had been a waste of time. There was no woman in the world who posed a threat to her. She'd tackled her division. She'd crushed Alaina Sanders. She'd fucked former Hentai Champions. What could he possibly-

A maelstrom of emotions went across her face like an old rotoscope cartoon. "...What?" Disbelief. Her name struck her in the heart like an arrow. She froze, turned to stone. Her hand went slack in Lexy's hair. "No." Fear. She staggered back, towards the ropes. As if they could provide an escape. "No!"

And finally rage!

She emphatically threw Lexy to the canvas. "THIS IS BULLSHIT!" No pretenses. No pompous arrogant bravado.

She was a petulant tantrum! A roaring torrent of pointless protest. Her bars were gilded, but she was in a cage no less.

[winner3]

Rose's interjections made the ordeal all the more taxing on the CEO. The roaring crowd certainly didn't help, neither did the daggers Lexy was staring at her. The ever so obedient, green-haired advocate could be heard practically growling as DeFranco

Each insult stung, but still, he persisted in as cordial and as composed a tone as he could. Rose Gold wasn't the first wrestler under his employ to engage him with such disrespect but she certainly was the first to do it in front of a live crowd. Of course, there were many that took offense seeing "The Man" insulted and having his name dragged through the mud publicly and baselessly, like this. With each quip and each insult that Rose hurled, the tension in the arena and her imposing presence only seemed to escalate! Would this be the first instance of talent putting their hands on the man in charge? What would the fallout from this incident be? Was there truly any credence to the notion that Rose Gold had become so big and so capable that there was no true competition left for her in the largest and most successful wrestling promotion in the world today?!

"Heh..." Upon making the announcement about the champion's new contender, upon taking in Rose's reaction, a very satisfied smirk formed on the face of the GM. Keeping a cool head and powering through the delivery or the news seemed to have paid off. Rose's lashing out was the closest a sold-out LAW crowd had seen to a very pronounced chink her otherwise impregnable armor of confidence! A wild look in Lexy's eyes manifested as Rose Gold's grip on her hair grew cold and limp. The sheer vulnerability her mistress was thrust into at this moment struck a chord within her. Similarly to Rose, everything about Lexy's body language and expression conveyed that she felt a disturbance in the force!

"YOU CAN'T DO THAT! WIPE THAT SMUG GRIN OFF YOUR FACE THIS INSTANT!" The show host flared up in anger following Rose's outburst! The green-haired gal stepped forward! She poked and prodded at Dan's sternum with her index finger. The Man brushed the affected area of his suit with his hand as she continued.

Lexy had raced to Rose's defense, suddenly the mood across the entire arena shifted from high tension to shock, awe, and hype!

"LOOK AT THIS GODDESS!? MY GODDESS! YOU DARE SUBJECT HER TO THIS?! THIS IS A FARCE! AN OUTRAGE!"

Immediately, DeFranco would lift his mic up and answer, as if to abruptly cut Alan off.

"Is it...?" He started before looking past Lexy and leaning in towards Rose, looking down at her to make eye contact, likely much to Rose's ire and dismay.

"Is it....really?" DeFranco raised his eyebrow as if to goad The Siren. The fans clamored as he took this tone. It was remarkable how quickly the power dynamic seemed to be reversed!

"I believe it was you, Lightweight Champion Rose Gold, who said that it didn't matter who I put in front of you!"

"I believe it was you who said that I would have to apologize to whomever the challenger was. You strongly implied that you'd thoroughly mangle them in the ring, no matter who they were. That is what you meant, right? I don't really see where your apprehension and Lexy's apprehension are coming from. I'd imagine Lexy would stand by everything you said, right?"

"But hey, I get it. I'm not supposed to get it. I'm the glorified checkbook. The talentless leech." He said with a slow air quotes gesture.

"It's a crying shame that I ALSO happen to be your boss and that my word is final." DeFranco shrugged as he made his way for the ropes, seemingly with the intention of exiting the ring. For just a moment, he'd give pause.

"Ah. There is one thing that I can agree with you on though...."

"I do owe Aurora an apology. Please understand. This was no premeditated ploy or plot or trap or anything like that."

"I'm sure she's watching from somewhere in the back. "Galaxy Cat", Aurora Estrella found out about all this at the very same moment you and your cohort did. The very same moment that all of these great fans did."

"But UNLIKE you, Rose Gold, I don't think she'll react as negatively or with as much surprise. You see, she has a quality that a champion like yourself ought to have more of- professionalism." The pretenses were certainly dead and buried now. The agendas of each person in the ring were laid bare for all to see!

With that, he'd try to take his leave, awkwardly tucking through the ropes before making his way to the steel steps to dismount and leave the ring, mic still in hand. As he departed, Lexy went ballistic, kicking the ropes of the ring repeatedly, swearing, and throwing a tantrum that could be heard from Rose's microphone!

"You'll defend at your earliest convenience. If you've got a problem with it, take it up with your challenger. I wish you luck with calling Aurora out here and trying to talk her out of taking the match. Oh, and good luck talking the crowd out of not wanting 'Rora-Two-Belts to happen. Because it just might."

As soon as it came to light that the current tag-team champion was within striking distance of capturing a second championship, the audience roared with the same fervor and energy that they had in the beginning! It didn't take much time at all for chants to break out!

"♪ 'Rora-Two-Belts!!!♪" clap-clap-clapclapclap

"♪ 'Rora-Two-Belts!!!♪" clap-clap-clapclapclap

The chants echoed and permeated the very walls and foundation of the arena!

In the midst of the chaos, DeFranco would try and take his leave.

[SuckerPunch]

Rose Gold's fists balled so tightly that her 'boss' could hear them. Her eyes narrowed and her teeth grit as she watched him address her through Lexy. Smug and confident in his tower. Some might say it was ironic.

Lexy's outburst was almost enough to warm her heart. She let the woman scream and vent her grievances. She allowed Lexy to speak her mistress's mind for her. It was no privilege. She was a scapegoat. Lexy said all of these things so she didn't have to. It allowed her instead to simmer and attempt to murder Dan DeFranco with her eyes. He kept talking. A girl could dream.

She finally brought the microphone to her lips and moved to open her mouth. She was clever and capable. There was no mouth more agile in this league than her own, in many ways. She'd simply- 'I wish you luck with calling Aurora out here and trying to talk her out of taking the match.' She resisted the urge to throw the microphone into orbit. Barely.

She could feel the bruises beginning to form on her palm from squeezing the metal base of the microphone. The pain brought clarity, but no relief from her anger. The fans began to chant, provoked by the talking money clip. She was trapped. In the ring, she was an unassailable Queen. A vicious lioness and a clever viper. But in the boardroom... She was an employee. For all of her pomp, she'd sat in HR and signed the forms. And agreed to benefits. She'd gone through the monotony of mandatory physicals and drug testing and interviews. All of this reminded her that she was very much... Human.

"Enough! You're embarrassing me!" She lashed out and took Lexy by the hair, dragging the hostess to be beside her, upon her knees. "This isn't the end, DeFranco!" She spat through her teeth. "I'll see your challenger splayed out beneath me. Like all the others." The bravado returned. Her paradigm stabilized.

"When I've broken and humiliated her, Aurora is going to regret what you've done today... But I'm going to find a way to make you regret it even more!" She didn't drop the mic. Instead, she gave in to her urges. She could only ever ignore them for so long. A loud boom and the screech of feedback penetrated everyone in the arena's ears as the microphone bounced off of the canvas.

She turned away from DeFranco, refusing to watch him leave. Instead, she paid her attention to Lexy. She didn't say anything. She didn't need to. Lexy knew what was needed. Her mistress would seek comfort in her body as soon as they got to the back.