Whenever Bengal's manager announced a new booking, she offered some kind of advice or warning about her client's upcoming matchup. The Tiger usually ignored her opinions. She ignored most of what LAW management had to say, unless there were enough zeroes at the end. This time, however, the other woman's words made her sit up and actually pay some attention. According to her, Bengal's next opponent would be a "real alien".
The Indian woman couldn't decide what to do with that news: laugh, cry, or cry laughing. In the end, she was so stunned that all she could manage was a disbelieved shake of her head. "Ah, that makes total sense," she replied, sarcastically. "A fake alien would have to tell you she was fake, after all." Her manager was still talking, something about a limb submission specialty, but Bengal had stopped listening. "Let's just hope she's not one of those probing aliens," she fired over her shoulder as she swept from the office. "I'm not really into those kinds of matches..."
A week later, Bengal was backstage at the LAW arena, waiting for her cue. As soon as her entrance music started, she dashed out - only to freeze for a moment when she noticed the way the building had been redecorated. The vaulted ceiling had been hung with a vast curtain, as inky black as the night sky. This surface was dotted with tiny LED lights, arranged in the shape of constellations. These grew densest in the middle of the arena, just above the ring, forming a bright band like the Milky Way. Somehow, the many, smaller lights illuminated the floor below in much the same way that larger floodlights would, but with a dimmer, softer glow. Even though she was inside, Bengal felt almost as if she was standing out under the stars.
That wasn't the most impressive feature of the room, however. High above the ring, a titanic mobile of the solar system hung suspended, with vibrantly painted planets circling a fiery sun. Even the smallest planet was almost as large as her, and they were all orbiting around the center as she watched! Bengal had never had much interest in astronomy; as far as she was concerned, the universe revolved around her, first and foremost. Still, she had to admit that the transformation was incredible. She supposed it had been done to match with her opponent's theme. The Tiger smirked at that. The chances of her opponent being an alien were about as high as the plastic sphere above the ring combusting into an actual sun.
Suddenly, that smile turned into a frown of annoyance, as Bengal began to wonder: why only her opponent's theme? Surely, the arena could have been decorated with half outer space, and half jungle. The constellations could have been shaped like tigers. There were options here! She promised to give her agent an earful about it, the next time she saw the other woman. Right now, she needed to focus on the match. She was going to expose her opponent's corny gimmick for the hoax it was, and get some revenge for the way she'd stolen the spotlight!
With that resolved, she climbed up onto the apron, taking a little time to flex and pose. She was hoping to provoke some reactions to her new outfit, a sleeker, stripped-down version of her normal wrestling garb. This MMA-inspired ensemble was one of two pieces Bengal had designed for a recent match. She'd already tested out the white tiger variant. Now it was time for the classic black and orange.
Spoiler
"Ladies and gentlemen, the following contest is scheduled for one fall! Introducing first...from Kolkata, India...standing five feet seven inches, and weighing 140 pounds...THE BLAZE TIGER! BENGAL!"
As Bengal leaned back against the ropes, waiting for her opponent, she wondered if there was anything she could do to speed up the process. Hmm, let's see. For most people, it seems like aliens show up when they get really drunk... But the Tiger hadn't brought any alcohol with her, so she'd just have to wait. Hopefully, her alien adversary wasn't traveling here from a galaxy far, far away.
