OOC: Here we go, guys. Starting the different routes for stories!
DISCLAIMER: The following is a work of fiction and not to be confused as complete or accurate representation of any beliefs, religions, etc. Please refer to research/articles by experts for that.
Villain of the Year
”First Steps are Usually the Hardest”
The Eyrie Tower
New York City, New York
February 4th, 2024
1:11pm
She stood close to the large window, the tall and wide glass taking up the entire side wall that the inlet created. Behind her was the soft couch and chairs of the ‘sitting area’, almost identical to the sitting area on the far side of the room, with the dining section (a large table and chandelier hanging above) in-between. The difference was that the far side was the ‘lounge’, where this area was more for sitting and meditation and what she chose to do…
Look out the massive window.
Through the low clouds that were too small or wispy to reach the full heights of the skies and heavens above, Selena could see everything. The buildings that lined New York City, the gridlock that was their existence, the small lights and colors that were the colors, and then further out, the smaller houses and greens of the parks and neighbourhoods.
She released a sigh as she continued to look out among the expanse. It was a gray and dreary day and the rain had been falling on and off in sputters for the past few hours. If she closed her eyes, she could just hear the classical piano music she had played through the speakers that lined several areas in the abode. It matched perfectly with the rain when it fell and when it didn’t.
Still, the combination of sight and sound both calmed and saddened her. Rainfall meant that, outside of travel or tasks, most people would not be outside. Including her children.
At the thought, Selena cast her eyes, though her head did not move, towards the large telescope she had purchased. She had stared through it almost as much as she stared through the window, despite only ever moving it once and then locking it into position. Shaking her heard, she returned her gaze to the outside, taking in all the sights before her.
I wonder what they are doing now…
She had asked-thought tat question to herself over and over again, her imagination conjuring up so many possible answers. It was Sunday, so Deanna would be home and since it wasn’t Selena’s turn to spend the weekend with her children, that meant that the redhead was probably with them. A bit of rain, the promise of an oncoming storm, meant they would all be inside.
Elsianna would be reading.
Amiliah would be clinging to her side or to Deanna’s.
David was probably playing his video games.
Oberon would be napping or begging for treats. The dog only knew two tricks and those were it.
She was certain of her guesses this time based on the few facts (time, weather, day, etc.) she knew, causing a tired, sad smile to grace her lips.
It was sad because it was ironic. Was that the right word? It didn’t matter, Selena knew what she meant. Here she was, atop one of the highest towers in New York, one of the swankiest, prestigious, penthouses (now hers)… and yet… she would have given it all away in a heartbeat for the ‘Forever House’ she had saved so many months for back when she was a mere midcarder in SCW years ago.
“The house in the little neighbourhood…” she whispered, her hand reaching out to touch the glass, not caring that the cleaning staff would have to do her job later when she would be at Breakdown. “With the noisy neighbours, the other kids, and…gods…” she released a small laugh at the memory. “The neighbourhood-committee…”
None of that was here. Aside from the staff she greeted every time she entered the high tower of hotels and suites, Selena was usually alone here, her children’s visits the only exception.
But who could she blame? There was no one keeping her here. There was no one exiling her from her family.
It had been her choice. Her decision to believe, fully, that she was unable to be what she was now and Deanna’s wife at the same time.
And what she was… was the Blue-Eyed Devil.
Looking up, Selena focused her vision on the slight reflection the large window offered, seeing herself before her very eyes. She saw the way her hair just flowed from her head, untied, and the way the white nightgown seemed to match it with its shimmering material. Not that she needed clothes this high up. While she could see so much of New York, there was no one below that could see her. Hell, she had walked through here, even stood before this very window, naked countless times, reveling in her freedom – in-between part of her loathing it and the distance it created from the life she had walked away from.
She sighed at the thought, the familiar sensation of happy and sad whirling within her.
Everything had gone exactly as planned. From the moment she had decided to return to SCW, no longer able to ignore all the SCW Universe, CHBK, and, yes, even her wife, Deanna, had said and done, Selena had constructed a plan and executed it flawlessly.
Step one: Get away from Deanna and what ‘Selena Frost’ had been about. That was her family. The Eyrie tower had always been something Selena had her eyes on, like a castle in the sky – perfect for a queen. It hadn’t been difficult to get the funds needed for the purchase. She had been rather smart with so much of her finances as ‘The Face of SCW’. It had taken a few days of living in Air BnBs and such until the place was ready, but she had managed, moving in fully a mere few weeks after leaving her home.
Step two: CHBK and her return. It hadn’t been easy, at first, adopting the persona of ‘The Blue-Eyed Devil’. She had spent so many hours focusing on learning the look and tone and voice – focusing on the thoughts and emotions she had felt over the injustice and unfairness of the past near year, cultivating it into a mentality that she could slip into like a dress. It was all a matter of perspective. Even SCW’s commentary team, Sharper and Knots, couldn’t figure out why people hated her so much. For Selena, all she needed was to think like her stepmother, Anastasia, and her greatest enemy, Malcolm Scythe, and she had those answers. Words like ‘fickle’ and ‘immoral’ and ‘corrupt’ came so easily to her. But that was only half the battle. A good video to the SCW icon was not enough. No… Selena had aimed to make him pay for SCW’s mistake, which had worked well…
Step three: Jump the line. This had been the most important step of them all. Everything about her return – from the moment she had chosen to go back to orchestrating the steps for the plan… it all centered around her single goal: Getting back the SCW World Championship. That had been her one and only task in her return. Getting there as fast as she could and getting the title off of whoever had it – even if it had been Deanna that was champion.
Because a ‘quiet return’ was never good enough for her. No, she was leaving her family for this return. She had been pushed into exile and being despised when she had done nothing wrong. SCW had been the ones that had changed, not her. No… if she was coming back, she wasn’t going to do it kindly or quietly. She was going to make them all pay and take whatever she wanted, ripping it from the hands of the SCW Universe – roster and crew and fan alike. She would burn every bridge if she had to and step on anyone if that was necessary.
She would make them regret every action and slight they had done. All the while forcing her will on SCW in the process. Like Malcolm had run Nome, Alaska, bending the small town to his will, Selena would bend SCW to whatever she desired and whatever suited her.
All she had needed was the SCW World title.
The End of the Year Battle Royale had been the perfect means to that end, not only displaying her abilities (still sharp and on point, though she would be lying if she said that – needing more weeks of training before her match with Asher at Body, Heart and Soul in order to be fully ready) but also exposing the SCW Universe for all she had seen in them now.
From there, it was simple steps. Take the world title by beating Asher and watch as the SCW Universe threw a fit at her return and short route to where she belonged.
Yes… it had worked out perfectly – better than that. Better than she could have imagined. She had never felt so untouchable. So powerful in SCW. All the years, she had been the target. The beaten down girl fighting back, fighting against the tide of opposition.
Now? She was so close to proving that she WAS the tide. The mountain. The impossible. And no one was going to use her, her name, or her legacy like that again!
Another sigh escaped her. Yes, compared to the power she felt, the control she felt in SCW… she may not have been what she once was – the ‘hero’ and ‘role model’ Deanna had desired her to return back as – but it was worth it. So much of what she had given up and what she had done had been worth it.
Wrestling in a mask and costume – worth it.
Fooling all of SCW – worth it.
Pissing off so many superstars as she ‘jumped the line’ – worth it.
She didn’t even feel any guilt to what she had done to Religious Wright. The man had tried to use her name and legacy for his own ambitions. Just like Kandis and so many others. And she had NOT left her family-home and strained her marriage into a ‘quasi-separation’ just to come back to a hate-filled world and have people step on her again!
No! She had unleashed everything on the man, bloodying him and leaving him in need of assistance from the staff and officials. For a moment, her eyes drifted down to her hand, admiring the thin fingers and pale skin of her knuckles. She had long since washed the blood off the hand, but she could still see it in her mind’s eye and, with it, felt the thrill of power once more that she had felt in taking control and making another ‘fickle’, ‘immoral’ fool pay the price for using her name like that. She let the hand tighten into a fist. She would make them all pay. One by one, however long it took. Until her very legacy was untouchable… Until – hated or not – she was respected by all… Until she was satisfied, that was the best possible answer she could give.
She heard her landline phone ringing near the table by the chair. All the rooms in the tower had such landlines, each one with an extension to be reached. The shimmering notes of her selected ringtone filled the penthouse. There were only a few people that knew she lived here and fewer still that had her number: Deanna, her mother and father, her children (though it was probably written on a piece of paper and hanging on the fridge, assuming Deanna had followed that instruction Selena had given her), and the hotel staff.
Slowly, as the phone continued to ring, Selena turned away from the window, walking the few steps necessary to stand over the phone. Recognizing the number, she reached down and picked up the handle, slowly lifting it to hold against her ear.
“Hello, mother.” She answered quietly.
“Actually… it’s me, kid.”
The voice was deeper and fuller than her mother, not to mention a different gender. Selena’s eyes widened in instant recognition, but she quickly recovered, forcing herself to keep her voice calm.
“Hey, dad…” she answered, grateful the call was landline and not video chat. “How…what…” she sighed. “How’s things?”
She heard him laugh a little at her slight stammer, but she didn’t feel insulted by it. Perhaps because she knew him and knew the intention wasn’t so.
“Things are okay.” He answered. “I just wanted to call you and… catch-up a little, you know?”
“I guess…” she shook her head. “No, I really don’t.”
“Well…” he shrugged. “Last I saw you was last year, technically.”
“Really?” Selena’s eyes widened a little. “That can’t be right. I was…” she stopped herself. In a second of quick thinking, she recalled the times she had visited the VanHohenheim household… all of which had been in the early afternoon while Jonathan (her father) had been at work. “Wow…”
“Yeah.” Again, that amused chuckle, good-natured and kind. “Sort of like-“
“Two ships sailing in the night…” the father-daughter pair said at the same time, causing both of them to laugh.
“Like father…” the older man remarked, his voice filled with a warm emotion Selena wasn’t quite sure, though she felt it all the same.
“Like daughter.” She whispered back. “I’m sorry, father.” She sighed. “I guess I’ve been… rather self-centered lately. Thinking of just what was going on in my life. Not much of a social girl lately.” She felt her pale fingers, the same ones that had bloodied Wright weeks ago, nervously twirling the phone cord around themselves, tying and untying the rubber and plastic in a counter-clockwise fashion.
“I get it.” She heard him answer. “Your mother’s kept me up to date on everything.”
“Of course she did.” The platinum-blonde nodded. “So… how badly would you say I am fucking up? On a scale of one to ten?”
“Ha!” she heard him laugh. “That’s not a question I can answer on the phone. But… and call me crazy, but a father knows when his child needs some time with their parent.”
“And you think I need some parenting?” where was this playful voice of hers coming from? She wasn’t sure, but she didn’t stop it either. Her father wasn’t an enemy of hers like those in SCW or someone she needed to distance herself from like Deanna. He was… her father, lame as that answer sounded.
“I think we need some quality time together.” He answered simply. “Maybe lunch or dinner sometime if you’re up for it. I know you’re busy, ‘world champ’.”
She wasn’t sure why, but hearing her father call her that – with the pride in his voice… she felt the surge of shyness fill her. “Dad…” her voice trailed off. “Hold on… let me check my schedule. I’m gonna put you on hold, okay?”
“Okay.”
As soon as the answer was out of her father’s mouth, Selena pressed the hold button and hung up the receiver before briskly jogging out of the room, up the stairs to the second and then third floor where her office (one side) and her bedroom (on the other side) were located. Veering left, the woman opened the large door and stepped into the space. It was as large as the section she had just been standing in, complete with an electrical fireplace, shelves of books, television, desk and computer, similar to the one in her ‘Forever House’ but far more… extravagant – and with another large window (though the thick, red curtains were drawn for this one. Ignoring the décor, Selena reached for the top of her desk, pulling the identical phone to the other one and pressing the hold button again.
“Father?”
“I’m here.” Jonathan answered, allowing Selena to turn her gaze to a black binder on the desk. Quickly, she flipped it open, revealing the pages of a calendar, with tabs on each month. With a simple flick of her wrist, Selena had turned the page to the month of February, her eyes scanning the dates. Obviously, she skipped over the Breakdown dates and day before and after each one. She refused to just rush into an episode of the live-show without time spent planning her moves carefully! But there was a… she spied the clear slate of days almost immediately!
“Okay… so I have a free weekend on the 25th….” She felt a little giddy, even a little nervous, like asking someone out on a date, but it was time with her dad! Maybe it was the lack of such time she had had for so many years of her young life. It didn’t matter, she wanted this time with her father, even if he was going to chastise her for her choices like Alejandra had.
“This 25th? Like February?”
“Yeah.” Selena shrugged. “I’d offer the next one, but it’s pay-per-view weekend and I really need the days to focus on that-“
“Oh…” there was a pause on the other end for a moment, surprising the new world champion. “Does this mean you’re not going to the party?”
The question surprised Selena. “Which party?”
“The Alden-party. Graduation ceremony?” he sounded off, as if he expected Selena to know this. “Same place as their last party? Didn’t you get the invite?”
Like cold water being dunked on her head, Selena felt all positive emotions tidal-waved out of her, her brain already putting thoughts together. “No…” she answered. “I didn’t.”
An awkward silence filled the space that had once housed a lovely conversation between father and daughter. And with it came Selena’s thoughts. It didn’t matter that the Aldens didn’t have her new address. It didn’t matter if she was ‘hidden’ from most people.
What mattered was that Jonathan knew about it. Which meant Alejandra knew about it…. Which meant Deanna knew about it.
And no one had said anything to her. Not a soul…
“You did graduate, didn’t you?” she heard her father ask.
“I passed their exams if that is what you mean.” She answered, her tone adopting a familiar one that she had perfected since her return.
“Oh…well… I am sure there is some kind of explanation.” It was Jonathan’s turn to stammer a little, causing a cold smile to cross Selena’s features.
“I am sure there is.” She answered simply, hiding the bitterness she felt brewing inside of her. “No matter.” She shrugged. “What about the 27th? Dinner, you and me?”
“That sounds perfect, kid.” He quickly answered. “Want me to pick the place?”
“Let me.” Selena’s smile widened knowingly. “And before we argue, I’m paying.”
“But… I invited you…”
“Dad… I get the whole ‘man pays’ chivalry thing… but indulge me.”
A gruff sigh escaped him. “Alright.” He relented. “But I got the one after!”
“Deal.” Selena replied. “I’ll text you the details later, okay?”
“Okay. Love you.”
“Love you too.” Selena replied back, feeling a spark of those emotions she had felt at the start of this conversation.
“And don’t brew on the party-thing, okay? I’m sure it’s nothing.”
“I won’t.” Selena answered before quietly hanging up the phone. Slowly, the Blue-Eyed Devil took a deep breath, letting her mind slip into the mentality she had perfected.
“I won’t brew…” she whispered as she turned towards the curtained windows, stepping closer until she was within arm’s reach of them. With a flourish, she pulled them open, filling the room with the ‘gray’ of the day and her sight once more on the city – HER city – below her… where this ‘Alden party’ would be.
“Why brew…” she smiled devilishly. “When crashing is SO much more fun…”