04-29-2022, 09:28 AM
(This post was last modified: 04-29-2022, 09:39 AM by SnowQueenSCW.
Edit Reason: OOC tag fixed
)
OOC: The following contains scene(s) that may be disturbing for some readers. The events do not reflect the handler’s opinion/beliefs. CD occurs on dates indicated, promo airs on the 25th. Posted in two parts due to length. Enjoy!
The Wrestling Universe Store – Queens Store
Flushing, New York
April 18, 2022
1:14pm
Selena smiled as she signed her twentieth poster so far. Or was it the thirtieth poster? She thought, reaching down under the table to hide her stretching out the growing cramp in her hand. She refused to complain or show any sign of discomfort.
It was her decision to be here. Scratch that – this whole event was her idea – so she really had no one to blame but herself for it.
As she pushed herself out of her hard-plastic chair, adjusted the maroon, long-sleeved shirt she wore, and fixed her hair into its shorter version of her ‘iconic braid’, the tall woman then moved around the small table she sat in at the request of the current fan she was speaking with – a young girl in a very pink shirt and green shorts – in order to pose for a requested photo. As she did, the Snow Queen’s eyes (immediately after the shot was taken) flew to the clock to inspect the time.
She only had 45 minutes left.
What is taking him so long? she thought bitterly, though hid it behind a bright smile as she spoke with the ever-grateful fan. She had, so far, met a myriad of fans from the SCW Universe – True Believers, to be sure, ranging in age from children to adults – from new fans to old – from fellow New Yorkers to tourists that were just in the city by coincidence. She had spoken to people of various backgrounds and groups, of which she was beyond delighted to see several people of the LGBTQA+ community – hearing their stories of how she ‘inspired them’ always warmed her heart, as did sharing her own struggles in ‘coming out’ throughout her career. Of course, her interaction with the children-fans would remain her favourite – she smiled to herself at the memory of some of the kids that had visited her, some even wanting big hugs – the kind you put some sound into while you hug. Like a hum! - like she was one of those meet-and-greet costumed characters in Times Square!
Of course, it was not all sunshine and roses. Several fans, more than she could count, had asked her about “Hollywood of the South”, specifically if she was going to have a match or not – and more specifically, who she was going to face in a world title defence. Sadly, said world champion had had to face every fan that asked with a somber look and earnestly apologize to them, telling them that she honestly didn’t know and that she hoped with all of her being that SCW would find her an opponent worthy, not of ‘facing Selena Frost’, but worthy of fighting for the world championship.
Not that that could possibly be enough to quell their desire to know – or anyone’s for that matter. The rumor mill had run wild, exploding the second Kandis’ injury had been announced on last week’s episode of Breakdown – the former number one contender no longer able to compete in her match with Selena at Hollywood in the South due to an unforeseen training accident… though Selena partially believed the ‘training’ in question was perhaps more of an ‘intimate nature’, which wasn’t that hard to believe considering all the bragging Kandis and Tommy did about their sex-life. Regardless, the fans were abuzz, sharing theories across social media over who would be the ‘next contender’. A number of ideas had been thrown around, from her being thrown into the Syren/Ace Marshall match and making it a triple threat, to her being the fourth member on Asher’s team in the Tactial Warfare match instead, to individual names challenging her like Giovanni Aries (because of that one win he never shut up about) to Kandis’ fiancée Tommy Valentine (the connection there was pretty obvious) to even people speculating someone ‘cashing in’ their Trios contract like Gavin Taylor or a suddenly returning Xander Valentine!
Oh gods… THAT would be a ‘fun-filled’ night. Selena huffed a little, good-naturedly, at the very thought of SCW’s Executioner making a surprise return, fully recovered, just to fight her. I would be SO beyond sore the morning after if that happened…
None of the theories bothered her too much – they WERE rumors after all – save for one. A few times, more than she cared to admit, she had heard the rumor of SCW simply sending a ‘jobber’ or ‘low-card talent’ to face her, an echo to Ace Marshall’s recent tweets about Selena being ‘protected by management’ or something. Out of all the rumors she had heard, that particular one was the LAST one she wanted to happen. She didn’t want some pushover competitor that wouldn’t last in the ring with her. What would that do for the integrity of the title? What would that prove in all she was trying to do for SCW and the world title? She was TRYING to bring competition – fair and talented competition – back to SCW! She was trying to NOT make it about ‘easy wins’ and ‘tainted victories’! Facing someone that couldn’t compete with her or on her level was a slap in the face of all of that, and she refused to believe that Shaun or anyone in SCW management would even contemplate such a thing for her!
Still, for all the theories she had heard across social media, Selena was as much in the dark as anyone else. Did it bother her that she didn’t know who she was going to face? Yes and no. Yes because… well, she had WANTED to face Kandis. The woman had fought many battles against Selena and yet… they had never fought one on one. Never truly brawled over who was the better woman. They had come close at Retribution but due to Holly Adams, that was not meant to be. So, when the powerhouse of a woman had made her claim for the world title again following Selena’s retaining in Double Jeopardy, the Snow Queen had all but jumped at the chance, hoping that Shaun Cruze and management would give Kandis the shot (even quietly voicing her endorsement to Shaun, though refusing to ‘force anything’).
But again, as with Retribution, fate had intervened. So, yes, she was bothered a little that she didn’t know yet who she was going to face. How the hell could she possibly know that the person would be as good a choice as Kandis? Granted, many of the names she had heard were deserving of a world title shot, but she was sick of having to deal with The Brand and their refusal to just give her a fair, clean match. She was sick of dealing with controversy and tainted wins and someone ALWAYS getting involved in her matches or trying to use a weapon or anything BUT actually try to be better than her. Her matches with Cid Turner (oddly enough) and Glory Braddock, THOSE had been worthwhile matches – matches she was beyond proud of. And she had done all she could to make sure her last match with Holly Adams had followed a similar suit.
But she had been certain Kandis, for all the woman’s bad-mouthing and whatever, wanted to give a clean match to Selena. The woman had all but said so in her Retribution promo. She WANTED to beat Selena one-on-one. She WANTED to prove she was better than the Snow Queen on her own skill and that exhilarated Selena. Excited her even! But that had been taken away and now…
What if she got a member of the Brand again… like Holly? There was no way in hell she would get a fair match from any of them! The same could be said of Ace Marshall! When had that bastard EVER opted for a fair, decent match over having Lexy or Hodges or Cassidy Carter or whoever else was on his side interfere?! Syren? Absolutely, but that was one person! SCW wasn’t going to pick her and leave Ace out to dry, not without getting an earful and a headache from that loudmouth or Lexy.
She had lost track of how many hours she had spent racking her brain over such possible substitutes – both hopeful and ‘probablys’. She had even called Shaun’s office in a moment of weakness, but hung up before leaving a message, not wanting to sound like a whiny, prying, insecure champion. She needed to be patient, even if she disappointed her fans today by not knowing the answer. Eventually, she would know who she was facing and…soon as she did, she was going to do all she could to make sure the match was as big as hers with Kandis could have been.
Bigger! she thought bluntly, though she really had no idea how.
Being in the store had helped distract her mind as she awaited the announcement from management. She had been here since eleven that morning, meeting fans, posing for pictures, signing posters, DVDs, action figures – someone had even come in with a DVD of her film ‘Polaris’, asking for it to be signed, which had surprised the hell out of her and Deanna.
Speaking of which… Selena mused as she turned her head a bit down the halls as far as she could, but saw no sign of the redhead right away, only comics on the shelves as far as the eye could see. The store – called appropriately ‘The Wrestling Universe Store’ – was a small-sized one, crammed between a barber shop and a diner of some kind on the busy street in Flushing – a mere 50 or so minutes away from her Manhattan home. If it could be further defined, Selena would have to say it was a wrestling fan’s and/or a comic book fan’s dream come true – like something out of the World Hazard Fair but much smaller. Everywhere her head turned, there were comic books and action figures – some she recognized like Batgirl and The Flash – and others she didn’t. Part of her wished she had brought her son, David, with her.
He would have lost his mind seeing this… she thought with a smile, promising to return at some point just so he could visit.
Just as abundant was the SCW wrestling merchandise that filled several of the shelves. Recent and vintage items came across her vision – some that were clearly made while CHBK and Jason Wheeler were in their prime, if the outfits and logos of SCW on the boxes were anything to go by. She wasn’t entirely sure what an ‘XIC title’ was or had been in SCW, but it looked rather interesting. Maybe she would research it later if she had the time…
For a moment, having a bit of a break from the lineup of fans that had come and gone, Selena reached over to pluck up one of the SCW DVDs from the lineup that stood before her. It was, of course, last year’s Rise to Greatness and it had her face on it, prominently displayed as the SCW World Champion. Turning it over, the Snow Queen spied another image of herself (one of many crammed onto the back art) as she was holding up the World title with Deanna standing beside her, the Snow Queen’s arm wrapped lovingly around her wife’s waist. Unable to help herself as she gazed at the memory, a smile grew across her features, the platinum-blonde even biting on her lower lip a little as she felt a tear or two prick the back of her eyes.
“That was a good day.” The voice came from behind her, almost startling her. She barely had enough time to turn her head as a headful of red hair rested on her shoulder, emerald eyes also gazing at the DVD back cover. “A super good day!” Deanna added with a smile, a finger of hers reaching out to trace along the image of the two of them.
“Hard to believe it’s almost been a year.” Selena remarked with a half-sigh, her own finger reaching out to trail up and down Deanna’s. “It’s all gone by so fast. And…” Curling her finger around Deanna’s, the older Frost crept her hand further along until she was holding Deanna’s entire hand, bringing it up to her lips to kiss the top of it gently, hearing a quiet hum of content from her beloved. Placing the DVD back on the shelf with her free hand, Selena turned to her wife, her eyes taking in the red-hair, dark green sweater and blue jeans (like her own). Her beloved looked both adorable and sexy at the same time to the older Frost, causing Selena to smile at her. “It’s been almost a year since you came back to me…. Fully, I mean…” she stammered a little at the last part. “I mean…”
The redhead smiled at her wife’s fumbling. “I know what you mean, minx.” She whispered with a tilt of her head, using her pet-name for Selena. It had been almost a year since Deanna had been free of all charges that had cost her nearly two years in Frankfurt Prison III. In what was one of the happiest moments of their lives, the Frost wives had both felt their hearts nearly stop as the magistrate had proclaimed Deanna free to go and return to her life with Selena – no longer guilty of any crime.
“Still…” Deanna sighed, moving away from Selena and around the small corner of the store that had been reserved for their ‘meet-and-greet’ to plop herself on the somewhat sturdy table. “It also was the time Killjoy made his presence known.”
And just like that, like a bucket of cold water being splashed down on everything, the reality of their situation hit, causing Selena’s sapphire eyes to shift up towards the large, makeshift banner she, Deanna and their children had made that hung above them. It had her and Deanna’s picture on it, with the words “Meet SCW’s House of Frost: SCW World Champion Selena Frost and ‘The Queen’s Guard’ Deanna Frost. All proceeds go to the ‘Buzzkill: Help for Alcoholics Charity’.” With the word ‘Buzzkill’ in a rather cute design of ‘electricity-charged’ – David’s idea and Elsianna’s steady hand.
“Does that charity even exist?” Deanna asked, having read the banner, pointing up to it, and then casting her gaze back to the platinum-blonde. Quickly checking to see if any new fans had approached (thankfully, none had yet), Selena quietly moved around to the table to sit back in her chair, giving a quick shake of her head.
“I plan on donating the proceeds to an actual charity when this is over.” She whispered. “But I needed something to get his attention. Something a little less subtle than ‘Hey! I wanna talk!’.”
“He IS hard to find on Facebook.” Deanna shook her head with a shrug of her shoulders, trying at some form of humor before turning her gaze back to Selena. “You sure he’s gonna get it? I mean… yeah, it’s another word for it – Buzzkill. But it’s a bit of a stretch.”
“I only had a week to put this together.” Selena shrugged, slightly annoyed. “I did what I could.”
The redhead gave a nod, keeping silent for a few seconds before turning her attention back to Selena. “I know but… Are you sure you want to deal with him?” she asked, her eyes filled with concern. “I can’t…” she sighed, her eyes spying a few fans entering the store and pointing to the couple as they sat in the far corner. “I can’t imagine any part of this going well… and I’m…” she added with a whisper, her voice trailing off.
Before she could finish, a pale hand reached out to take one of hers again, Selena squeezing it affectionately. “I am too, Deanna. But we don’t have a choice.” She whispered before smiling at the fans as they began to approach the couple.
We’re almost out of time…
****************************************
One week ago
Frost Forever Home
Manhattan, New York
April 11th, 2022
8:33pm
“Selena?!”
Hearing her name, Selena’s head jerked up just in time to see Deanna rushing into the room of her office inside their Manhattan ‘Forever Home’. Quickly, the shorter Frost closed the large door to the office, effectively ‘sealing’ them both inside before turning around to face her wife with a huff. “Am I late?”
“No.” smiled Selena amusingly, even giving a tilt of her head. “Talia hasn’t sent the invite yet. You sure you want to be here for this?” her voice altered slightly, the concern evident in her new tone.
“Of course, I want to be here!” Deanna declared as she half-skipped her away across the room filled with books, going around the large, dark wooden desk to where Selena sat in the large ‘throne chair’ of sorts. “They’re all my family too, you know.” She added as she made herself at home in Selena’s lap. Like Selena, the redhead was dressed in her sleeping gown, though Selena’s was her usual dark-magenta while Deanna’s was a dark green with brown and red accents.
The casualness of their attires was simple. They were going to receive a video call from Jean, Gavin, Zoe and Talia in Nome, Alaska. While any professional calls warranted professional attire, the Frost wives felt comfortable being in their gowns when it came to the odd group of people that had become their ‘family’, of sorts. Plus, the two women had every intention, soon as this video call was over, on going to bed to get some early rest. They had another long day of training ahead of them. Their match against The Brand – being Cid Turner and Giovanni Aries this time – was in a few days and with The Connection using their own tag-match last week to send a message to Selena, specifically showcasing the brutality of not only Kandis but Tommy Valentine and the lengths the Connection would go to ‘prove their point’, Deanna and Selena earnestly wanted to return the gesture in kind with a message of their own.
Tommy and Kandis had chosen to forsake their match against the tag-team champions in favour of simply hurting them… because they could? Was that the reason? Deanna wasn’t sure and Selena had merely shook her head at the sight. What were they proving? That they cared more about hurting people rather than proving themselves? That beating your opponent into the ground was better than winning a match or suffering a loss fair and square?
Yeah, both Deanna and Selena definitely wanted to respond this coming Breakdown in their own way. If The Connection wanted to show that ‘dominance’ was all that mattered, then The House of Frost – what they had affectionately named their team – would be about passion and integrity. If Kandis wanted to showcase brutality, Selena and Deanna would showcase their hearts, their desire to keep fighting for the good of SCW. If Tommy wanted to show how ruthless he was or how brutal he could be in support of Kandis, well Selena would show how driven she could be – how she could be knocked down and keep fighting. How she refused to quit.
It was a tall order, being good enough to beat The Brand with their own inexperience as a tag-team, but if it meant furthering their goal in restoring integrity as the norm for SCW and throwing it back in The Connection’s face? Selena and Deanna were willing to try it!
“Are the children in bed?” Selena asked, her hand reaching up to twirl a lock of Deanna’s dark-red hair in-between her fingers.
“Mhmmm. Amiliah is and David was heading up there with Gerda.” Deanna answered. “I said goodnight to them both.”
“What about Elsianna?” Selena asked, referring to their eldest daughter.
“She’s finishing watching a documentary on Animal Planet.” The redhead replied. “She promised that as soon as it was done, she’d head right to bed.”
The Snow Queen gave a nod, absentmindedly continuing to twirl her wife’s hair with her fingers.
“You think they’ll have good news?” Deanna asked, watching her wife’s ministrations.
“Honestly?” Selena asked, releasing her wife’s hair to gaze up at her. “I doubt it.”
“Oh come on!” Deanna tried. “Gavin’s back in the race! I’m sure he’s turned things around.”
“If this were some high-school debate or an argument with a single person, then I would agree.” Selena remarked, releasing a sigh. “But he’s only been back for a week and he’s lost a lot of headway in the time he was here.”
“That isn’t his fault-“
“I know it isn’t, Deanna.” Selena interjected gently but sternly. “He needed to be here. To be safe after what happened. But that doesn’t erase the fact that his absence was exactly what Killjoy wanted and what Ryan needed. So, we…” she paused to choose her next words carefully. “So, we shouldn’t hold our breath on good news right away.”
“But the elections is- what? A month and some away?”
“I know.” Another sigh came from the platinum-blonde. “Let’s just hope this session gets us some-“
The chime on Selena’s computer went off, indicating that she had received an email. Clicking on it, the screen, which had a lovely picture of the Snow Queen, Deanna, their children and their dog, Oberon, in the park last year as wallpaper changed to the Gmail account she had, indicating the email invite onto zoom. Her mouse icon hovered over the link, but she hesitated in pressing it, sapphire eyes turning a little to scan the lithe body sitting comfortably in her lap.
“Deanna.” She slowly spoke.
“Hmmm?” The redhead turned her gaze back onto Selena, shaking her head a little to clear some of the locks of red from her vision.
“As much as I love you being in my lap…” Selena tried. “I think…”
“Oh come on!” Deanna pouted. “They’re not going to care.”
“Even so, I rather we try and make this as focused as possible.”
“Oh, so I distract you?”
Selena rolled her eyes. “Yes, but not in this case. I mean that I think it would help things if you weren’t sitting in my lap like this.”
With a huff, Deanna hopped off her wife’s lap, walking the short distance to the nearest side of the room to pull out a smaller chair, bringing it to Selena’s side to allow the younger woman to sit beside her wife. “Better?” She asked with a somewhat playful glare.
“I’m sure they’ll appreciate it.” Selena smiled as she clicked the link. A few moments passed as the Zoom call loaded, connecting the various participants once Selena had confirmed the webcam and microphone settings. A few moments later and the Frost wives were staring at the patient faces of Jean Black and Zelda Evers-Black on one screen, Gavin Scythe on another, and Talia Scythe on a third (with their own faces taking up a fourth screen).
“Hey guys!” Deanna smiled brightly with a wave, immediately trying to set the mood. It was enough to earn a little laugh from Gavin and a smile from both Talia and Zelda.
“Someone’s had their morning coffee.” Jean remarked in his dry, accented humor.
“I remind you that it’s nearly nine pm here, Jean.” Selena remarked. “And Deanna and I have every intention on getting some much needed sleep when this is over.”
“So please don’t keep us up all night.” Deanna begged.
Without anyone noticing, Selena muted her microphone. “That’s my job…” she said under her breath, unmuting the microphone before Deanna could reply, though her expression clearly showed that she heard her wife – her mouth agape.
“What?” Zelda asked. “Deanna is making a face.”
“Selena just said something dirty.” Deanna teased.
“No idea what you’re talking about.” Selena remarked offhandedly. “Anyone else hear me say something?”
“No, but we all saw your microphone go mute for about three seconds.” Talia shot back, a smirk on her face.
“Great. Your word against mine. See you all in court if you don’t believe me.” Selena shrugged.
“Back to the matter at hand.” Pressed Jean, ever the serious buzzkill.
“Right!” Deanna tried. “Gavin! How’s it looking? You winning the hearts of the millions?”
“Nome doesn’t have millions.” Selena stated, her voice softer but still able to be heard.
“Hundreds of Thou-“ Selena shook her head at Deanna’s words, silencing the redhead. “Tens of?” Another shake of Selena’s head. “No?” A third shake came from Selena’s head. “How many?”
“Just shy of 4000.”
“THAT’S IT?!” Deanna’s jaw dropped, her eyes scanning the serious faces of all five Nome inhabitants (present and former). “Holy cats… Mechanicville has a higher population than that…”
“What’s Mechanicville?” Zelda asked.
“Smallest city in New York.” Selena remarked. “We’ve passed through it several times on the bus. It’s one of those ‘you could pass it on the highway in minutes’ kind of thing.”
“And they have a population of 5000!” Deanna huffed. “Wow… all this hassle and crap for a town with less people than Mechanicville….”
The way the redhead spoke, it sort of put so much into perspective, and made it much more depressing. The reality that everything they were working towards, all that their group had suffered and would have to suffer through if they failed… all for a mayorship of a town with less than 4000 people – an amount that you could fit in a CORNER of any SCW arena…
“Anyone else just get really depressed?” Deanna asked, causing everyone else, including Selena to raise their hands unanimously.
“So…what’s the news, Gavin?” Selena asked directly, trying move on from the current discussion. She watched the youngest son of Malcolm Scythe sigh a little loudly before reaching up and pinching the space between his eyes with his fingers – a gesture she had often seen in Malcolm.
“In short? Not good.” The young man shook his head, adjusting the brown-rimmed glasses he wore. “Ryan used the whole shooting at the community center to turn his campaign into some crusade. He’s told everyone that he believes the shooter is the same person who murdered father.”
“He is.” Deanna remarked without thinking, shrugging her shoulders.
“Right. We know that.” Gavin sighed. “But he’s using it to push more people to his side. Now, people are talking about a ‘madman killer’ being in Nome. They’re terrified and Ryan has them believing that he is the only person that can save them. The poll numbers… they’re so one-sided.” The poor man sounded so… defeated.
“With most people saying as much as to their reasoning.” Jean finished Gavin’s report. “It’s fear-mongering.” He added with disgust.
“Well…can’t we convince them that he can’t?” Deanna tried.
“Under what pretenses?” Talia laughed bitterly. “He’s got every person of power wrapped around his finger. They all think that if someone like Malcolm could get killed, then so could any one of them. They don’t even see that he’s as powerless against Killjoy as they are.”
“That’s because Killjoy hasn’t gone up against him.” Selena remarked, deep in thought. “And long as Ryan keeps doing whatever Killjoy tells him to, he won’t.”
“So, it will appear as if he has the answer.” Zelda finished off the train of thought, earning nods from all but Deanna.
“So…” Deanna’s eyes scanned the multiple videos of people, seeing all their somber expressions. “We’re screwed.”
There was a long silence coming from the group, no one wanting to confirm Deanna’s assessment but neither wishing to give any kind of false hope. The only person that seemed to act was Selena, the Snow Queen reaching out her hand to offer the familiar comfort Deanna always seemed to crave. She felt the redhead grip her hand tightly in response.
“There is…one possibility…” The voice came from Jean Black. “But it is something I do not recommend we follow unless we truly have no choice.”
“What is it?” Gavin asked, though the elder detective did not answer right away, his dark eyes straying from the camera in front of him.
“Jean?” Zelda tried, taking his hands into hers, the brunette offering her own comfort to her husband. “What is it?
“I’m not going to suggest this lightly, alright?” he tried briskly, releasing Zelda’s hands to rub his hands aggressively. “But if Killjoy is the X factor in all this – if Killjoy is the sole reason that Ryan Scythe has any argumentative power… then why don’t we remove him from the equation? Or better yet… shift him to the other side.”
“What do you mean?” Gavin asked.
“Well, it’s quite simple.” Jean explained, the apparently detachment in his voice indicating the seriousness he was taking. “Ryan currently has an advantage because Killjoy won’t act out against him. But if we give Killjoy a good enough reason to do so, then suddenly, Ryan loses all power and all confidence of the people. Suddenly, he’s not the protector. He’s just someone that lied to all of Nome.”
There was a moment of silence as Jean’s words were processed. Only a moment, though.
“You want us to make a deal with that murderer?!” Gavin asked in disbelief.
“No. Not us.” Jean shook his head as slowly as he spoke. “There’s nothing we have that he wants. He won’t even talk to any of us. No, not us…” his eyes locked on the camera and despite him ‘looking’ at all other participants in the video, it was beyond clear who he truly was ‘seeing’.
“Me.” Selena answered, feeling her heart fall down to her feet and through the carpeted floor. “You want me to make a deal with him.”
“Killjoy has only appeared before you and Deanna, dearie.” Jean shrugged. “Odds are he will only show himself if you ask for him. His obsession for you is no secret to any of us - it will be our asset.”
“His obsession to destroy me and everything I love!” Selena countered. “I’m not going to risk pissing him off!”
“I told you this was not a decision that I considered lightly, Selena.” Jean challenged. “But it’s the best option we have. Killjoy has been a step ahead of us the whole time. We have tried to counter him and beat him, but he seems to always anticipate our moves. And I hate the idea of making a deal with him just like the rest of you, but in this case, he is not the immediate threat. Ryan is.” He pressed. “Ryan needs to be removed from the board.”
Turning her head, Selena’s eyes caught the near-panicked look of her wife, Deanna shaking her head quickly. “Don’t do it.” The redhead whispered to her. “Don’t make a deal with him.”
“There has to be another way.” Came Talia’s voice.
“Well, if you have one, I’d be glad to hear it.” Jean threw back at the black-haired woman’s attempt. “Cause unless one of us wants to kill the bastard, and I do mean your husband when I say that, then we either entice Killjoy to work with us rather than with Ryan… or we start preparing our passports while Deanna and Selena prepare the guest rooms. Because once Ryan is mayor, save for Talia, there won’t be a safe spot in Nome for any of us.”
Again, the room was met with silence.
“Maybe that is for the best…”
The statement came from the most unlikely of people as Selena turned her head to face Deanna. “I mean… Maybe this is one battle in the war that we just don’t win…” Her emerald eyes shifted from everyone before landing on Selena. “I mean, why do we have to win every battle if it costs us so much? Maybe losing this one is just how it is. We get Jean and Zelda and Gavin out of Nome – we buckle down and get the best lawyers we have here and when he inevitably comes for us… we be ready.”
“You make it sound so simple.” Selena smiled sadly at her, a wishfulness in her own sapphire eyes.
“It is simple!” Deanna huffed. “You all said it yourself. It’s a small down of 4000! It’s a speck in the grand scheme of things! What’s he going to do?! Come to New York and try and take our children from us?”
“I’ll remind you, dearie.” Jean replied coldly. “That Malcolm managed to do just that for a time.”
“Yeah, because we didn’t know better.” Deanna retorted. “We’d be ready this time! Restraining orders! Bylaws, rights…stuff!”
Watching her, Selena felt a sad smile come to her face. How she wished it was that easy. That they could use their ‘New York lawyers’ to deal with the pesky Nome people. How they could use their resources to combat whatever little-fortune Ryan had.
But it wasn’t that simple – just like things in SCW were no longer that simple. That was a cruel reality Selena had come to terms with long ago. It wasn’t enough to simple win her matches and do her best. It wasn’t enough to simply ask for integrity. Having integrity meant weakness in the eyes of those that ‘had no limits’ like Kandis and Tommy had bragged. Having morals meant you wouldn’t ‘do anything to win’ like so many people besides The Connection. And the reason it had become such a standard in SCW was because it had worked for so many years. A few wins, however honest, were not enough to change that. No, it would take something that shook the very foundation of SCW to the core. Shook up all the preconceived notions that had rooted themselves in SCW.
It wasn’t beating one person. It was overcoming every challenge. Every opposition until her version of the “Standard of SCW” became the accepted one. Until someone rose up to reach her standard and beat her clean. It was a long, fought war she was fighting in SCW. But on the flip side, the more she won, the more her mission grew, the more she had to KEEP winning to keep that mission alive. One loss, one person beating her through nefarious means, like Kandis and Tommy were famous for (same with the Brand and most of Lexy’s group), and who knew what damage that mission would take!
The same was true with Ryan. That uncertainty. He couldn’t just be bought out or made to heel simply because he wasn’t as rich as the Frosts anymore or because they lived in a bigger city with more resources. In a normal world with normal rules? Yes, that would be the case, but-
“Ryan doesn’t play by those rules.” Selena spoke quietly, a dismal, quiet laugh escaping her. “He is truly his father’s son.”
“I have to agree with Selena.” Talia sighed slowly. “Even if you were to flee to New York, he would find some way to bring you back – and he would…” as she spoke, however, Talia did not hear the door to the room opening behind her. She did not see the face peering in. Or the figure entering the room behind her.
But the others did.
“Talia!” Selena screamed out. “Behind you!”
“Look out!” Zelda shouted at the same time.
“Watch-“ Deanna managed to choke out but all three of them were too late as the figure grabbed Talia, the black-haired woman screaming in alarm. Thinking fast, Selena’s hand rushed to mouse, clicking the record button- only to be denied because she was not the host computer… Talia’s was.
“So THIS is what you do in your spare time?!” the voice roared from Talia’s audio. Like a death knell to their ears, they heard the sound of a hand meeting flesh and Talia’s scream filling the air. “Who the FUCK do you think you are?!” the enraged voice spoke, causing Selena’s whole body to go rigid.
“Ryan!” roared Gavin. “LEAVE HER ALONE!”
“I’m going!” Zelda was suddenly on the move, leaving the room she was in and the sound of her rushing away could be heard.
“Pick up Gavin!” Jean shouted towards her.
“I’ll wait at the-“ Gavin started but stopped as a rather calm face took the space in Talia’s video.
“I’m very sorry.” Ryan Scythe sighed, running a hand through his slightly mussed hair. “My WIFE is currently indisposed right now. And I’m afraid she and I are going to have to have a long talk and-“ his eyes seemed to fly to something on his screen, a cruel grin breaking across his features. “Did one of you just try and record this video? Because I’m seeing a request notification…” He chuckled mockingly at the remaining participants.
“You sick bastard.” Selena replied coldly. “She’s your wife!”
“And her duty as my wife is loyalty to her husband, wouldn’t you agree?” Ryan asked with a mocking tilt of his head. “And seeing as how you were all happy to talk to her – why don’t you talk to me for a bit.”
“And what the hell would we have to discuss with you?” Jean asked slowly and darkly, his eyes narrowing.
“Why… you’re complete and unconditional surrender to my campaign, of course. Dropping out of the mayoral race and supporting me as the new mayor of Nome.” Ryan replied as if it was the most obvious thing.
“I’d rather be eviscerated by rabid dogs.” Jean replied before anyone else.
“Oh, someone wants off easy.” Selena angrily laughed, her eyes burning. “I was going to say ripped apart by plague-infested vermin.”
“While crows peck out our eyes!” Deanna added, trying to sound as tough as the others. “And not just any rats and crows – NEW YORK rats and crows! They’re huge!” she spat.
“Charming.” Ryan smiled. “But a bluff and nothing more. Now that I know my wife was your informant, so many things makes sense to me. But even as that is the case, it no longer matters. The election happens in a little over a month and all of Nome wants me for mayor. Or were you just meeting to discuss recipes, Selena? Deanna?”
“You don’t deserve to win.” Gavin stated, a sureness in his accented voice that surprised Selena. “You sure as hell don’t deserve Talia.”
“Well, your opinion aside, Gavin.” Ryan dismissed with a wave of his hand. “For the few people that may still vote for you, I believe we should endear them to us. Which is why I am not going to leave you out in the cold when I become mayor.”
“Leave me out in the cold?” asked the confused younger brother.
“Of course.” Ryan shrugged. “Afterall, we are family, aren’t we? I’m willing to offer you a job in my office. Since, once I am mayor, I will be reviewing some important laws and bylaws that Nome has. Property law, government spending, guardianship and parental controlling laws-“ the last one seemed to cause his grin to widen, the implication beyond clear as he spoke slower. “I will need my little brother to be hounding those books and finding me the best course of what ones need to be changed for… the good of Nome.”
“You mean the good for you.” Gavin shot back. “What is the matter with you, Ryan?! They’re-“
“Don’t say it, Gavin!” Selena warned. “Don’t you dare fucking say it!”
“But…” Gavin tried but realized quickly why, clenching his jaw shut to silence himself.
“Whether he says it or not, Selena.” Ryan smiled smugly. “It doesn’t change the truth. And when I am mayor, Elsianna and David-”
“The truth is that Elsianna and David have no father.” Selena replied darkly. “They have two mothers that love them with all their hearts.”
“And we will be dead before we let you come anywhere near them.” Deanna added, squeezing Selena’s hands with her own.
“Your wishes. Not mine.” Ryan shrugged, unfazed. “But all in good time. Right now, I’ve got a wife to discipline, and a mayoral race to win, so, I’m afraid we’ll have to cut this conversation short.”
With a wide grin, Ryan pressed a few buttons before the video went dead. Immediately, Selena’s hands were flying across the mouse and keys, establishing a new video that she would host and sending the link to Gavin and Jean. Within seconds, the remaining people were back in a video conference.
“That bastard.” Jean hissed through his teeth. “What I wouldn’t give to have a loaded gun and a clean shot…”
“What about Talia?” Gavin asked, almost in a panic. “What is he-“
“Zelda is on her way.” Selena replied. “Right, Jean?”
It took a second for the detective to refocus and reply. “Yes.” he replied, still beyond irritated. “I told her to get you. Do you have a gun?”
“Yes…but-“
“Grab it and break the door open if you have to.” Jean replied.
“Then what?” Gavin asked, this sort of action beyond him.
“Take her to my cave and treat her injuries.” Selena replied. “It’s not much, but it should be the last place Ryan will think you’ll go. When she’s well enough, get her on a plane and bring her here, understand?”
“Yes, of course, I-“ the sound of pounding on a door filled the audio, getting Gavin’s attention. “That has to be Zelda. I’ll send Talia to you, Selena, as soon as I can!”
“Call me if you need money to set up the tickets! Fastest way you can!” Selena called out before Gavin’s video turned off.
Alone with Jean Black, Selena and Deanna were silent, with only the Snow Queen’s exhale being heard.
“I believe if either of you had any doubts over our next move…” Jean spoke coldly. “That just removed them all.”
“Jean…” Deanna tried, but a pale hand gripped her shoulder, effectively silencing her.
“I’ll contact Killjoy.” Selena replied. “I don’t know how, but I will.”
Seeming to suck his lower lip a little into his mouth, the detective gave a nod. “I’m sorry, Selena.” He sincerely said. “I wish there was another way.”
“Me too.” Selena replied before turning off the video. Soon as it was turned off, the Snow Queen was out of her chair, pulling her cellphone to herself and punching in some emails to Gavin.
“So, that’s it?” came Deanna’s voice as the redhead still sat in her chair. “We just pull up Killjoy and make a deal? What if he wants you dead?!”
“Deanna-“
“Or your fingers? Or your firstborn? Ever think of that?!”
“What choice do we have?!” Selena countered, dropping her hands to her sides and staring at her frightened wife. “This isn’t Giovanni or Cid or the rest of the Brand! This isn’t Kandis or Tommy or Ace who will just attack us in a hallway! This isn’t even Xander Valentine or Vixen Cain who could injure us or maybe end our wrestling careers like Xander did with Regan! Ryan will kill us and Odin knows what he’s doing to Talia right now! What will happen if he takes power?!”
“Leave Nome to him then!” Deanna tried again, her voice pleading. “Take Talia and the others and let them stay here! He has no power here!”
“I can’t take that risk!” Selena replied. “Malcolm did it with ease. Ryan will too.”
“So you’re willing to risk whatever Killjoy asks of you?!” Deanna cried. “He wants to kill you too!”
“I know that!” Selena shook her head after her voice rang through the soundproof room. “I…” she shook her head again as she closed her eyes, releasing a shuddering breath. “I know that. But I can’t worry about that now. I have to hope he doesn’t want me dead till this whole thing with Project: Black Ice comes to light.”
“So, you’re going to give him more power…” Selena could see tears streaming out of her wife’s eyes.
“No. I won’t let him control everything. Not this time.”
“Selena, please…” faster than Selena thought possible, the redhead was out of her chair and standing before her, her hands holding Selena’s. “Don’t do this! This isn’t you. Making deals with monsters. This isn’t who you are. Don’t make this deal. Don’t give him that power over you. He’s already taken so much from you… what if… what if our children are next… or me… or…” her eyes met Selena’s. “Or you…”
Despite herself, Selena reached out a hand to caress her wife’s face. “Deanna…” she tried. “I can’t just leave them in Nome. If Ryan hurts them again or worse…it will be because of us. It’s us he’s after. How…how can I just stand here and do nothing? How can I endanger our children by giving up and letting him become mayor… Maybe letting him win is the easy way now, but…” she shook her head sadly. “You know Killjoy is the only way.”
Deanna opened her mouth to protest but no voice came out. She tried again, but again, she could not form any words with her voice.
As they had many times before, reality and fate had reared their ugly heads upon them… and all Selena could do was curse them and pray to Odin that they’d stay out of her way from here on out.
****************************************
The Wrestling Universe Store – Queens Store
Flushing, New York
April 18, 2022
1:53pm
Selena’s eyes nervously scanned the clock as the seconds ticked away. Was she nervous because she was almost out of time – or was she nervous at the idea that he would show up?
She had made so many calls putting this small meet-and-greet together, hoping to get Killjoy’s attention. She had been so busy putting the advertisement on websites and newspapers and even on fliers on telephone polls, that she had forgotten to Tweet about it! Dumbass. she growled at her own stupidity. Still, the crowd had been a decent size for such a sudden event put-together and the venue owners had been more than accommodating. Even so, there was no sign of Killjoy.
“Heads up, wifey!” Deanna called out, Selena reacting just in time for her wife to grab her and pull her towards another pair of fans, the Snow Queen adopting a smile to pose with Deanna and the other boy/girl couple for a selfie. “Thank you!” Deanna called out as the fans made their exit, the last of the fans seemingly in the store.
Turning back around, Deanna spied her wife gazing up at the banner. “Guess he’s not coming.” Selena sighed.
“You say that like it’s a bad thing.” Deanna tried, wrapping her arms around Selena’s waist gently. “Hunny, the guy’s coo-coo for coco-puffs.”
“I know.” Sighed Selena. “It was beyond stupid to think that I could contact him. I could have used the week for something important! Like promoting the Pay-Per-View or something!”
“You don’t even know who or even if you’re facing someone.”
“Yeah, but…” Selena shrugged. “Is it wrong that I believe that I will face someone? I mean… world champ… and Shaun promised and…”
“Selena.” Deanna tried, leaning her head forward to press her forehead against Selena’s. “You have done some good this week. You got Talia here. She’s safe now.”
That part still made Selena’s skin crawl. Not because Talia was staying with them – she was actually really good with the kids – but rather the condition she was in when they had picked her up at the airport. She still had some lingering bruises on her ribs and a slight discoloration on her cheek. Now, compared to what Selena went through on a regular basis, like being shoved into a steel step by the Connection, or smashed with a chair by Ace Marshall, or the countless other times she’d been cut open, concussed, or scarred by barbed wire… Talia’s beating was not so severe. Even so, seeing such marks on Talia made Selena’s blood boil far more than seeing any bruise or cut on her own body.
But Deanna was right – Talia was safe for now, and for that, Selena could breath a sigh of relief.
“Selena…” Deanna’s voice returned, regaining the Snow Queen’s attention.
“Hmmm?”
“It’s just…seeing Talia… and…” Deanna gestured to her own face with a pointed finger, indicated the cheekbone.
“The bruises?” Selena asked, keeping her arms wrapped around her wife.
“Yeah, well… you don’t have to answer this, but…” the redhead’s voice trailed off.
“What is it, Deanna?”
“Did Ryan… gods I feel so horrible for asking this.” Deanna tried, shaking her head. “Did he ever hit you?”
The question took a second to settle in Selena’s mind – the platinum-blonde needing that long to realize what her wife was asking. “Do you really want to know the answer to that?”
Biting her lower lip, hard by the looks of it, Deanna slowly nodded her head.
“Yes.” Selena replied. “A few times.”
Slowly, Deanna nodded her head. “When…it was happening… on the video… I saw you stiffen and… it looked like when you first wake up from your nightmares in the morning.”
“I…” Selena tried, unable to find the words. “I’m sorry.”
“Can you…” Deanna tried. “Can you tell me what happened?”
A sigh came from Selena as she looked away. “Honestly? It happened only a few times. I don’t remember them all… but one I’ll never forget… It was the day I went to him after ‘delivering’ Elsianna.”
“When you believed…”
“That my child was made of snow, yes. I…” the world champion shook her head. “I believed so much that the gods – fate, reality, whatever – had finally shown me a modicum of peace and happiness and all I wanted was to share it with the man that I thought loved me. I ran to his office, past Talia, and tried to share the good news with him. That he was a father. He refused to believe me – and I can understand why now. But at the time, he didn’t care about helping me or getting me help… he just wanted to discard me.”
“He beat you.” Deanna concluded, earning a nod from Selena.
“Compared to Xander, Kandis and Tommy, the Brand, even Regan… it was nothing. Hell, I wouldn’t even put him in my top 10 – even Ace Marshall has a spot there after that chair attack. But back then? Him kicking and stomping me… throwing me to the ground outside his office…” she ran a hand through her platinum-blonde locks. “I realized that no love should ever be like that, ever! I realized that he never loved me… and that I never wanted to be so in love with someone that I would let them do that to me again.”
Turning back to her wife, Selena saw the guilt in her wife’s emerald eyes, the redhead biting her lower lip.
“Deanna?”
“I…” Deanna shook her head, her hands fidgeting with each other. “What about the times I slapped you?”
“Deanna…” Selena reached out, cupping her wife’s face with her hands. “You never meant to hurt me – and I’d be lying if I didn’t deserve a slap in the face sometimes. Trust me.”
“But…”
“No buts. You’re not the same as him. Our fights aren’t the same as what he and I went through. So don’t compare yourself!”
“Uh… excuse me?”
The sound of a new voice stole both women’s attention from one another, the Frost wives turning their heads at almost the same time to see the rather scraggly looking man dressed in gray track pants and a gray hoodie under a large flannel coat. His beard was pointed in all directions and he reeked of – well, Selena wasn’t sure but whatever it was, it had died long ago.
“Hello…” the platinum-blonde said, trying her best to breath short breaths.
“Hi.” The man replied, showing his yellow teeth. Everything about the man screamed ‘homeless’ to Deanna and Selena and yet he held up a poster of Selena Frost – one taken while she still had her full, iconic braid. “Can you sign?”
“Sure.” Selena replied, grateful for the direction this exchange had finally taken. Taking the poster, she managed to place it on the table before her. “Deanna, why don’t you sign it too!”
“Okay.” She heard her wife reply.
“Okay. Who should we make this out to?”
No answer came, which surprised the Snow Queen. Turning her head to regard the ‘gentleman’, she was stunned to see that he was gone, having run out of the store in a flash.
“What the-“ Selena asked looking around the store at the few people that saw the whole thing happen – people who were equally confused. “Was it something I said?”
“He left his poster behind.” Deanna stated.
“Well, at least they can have it.” Selena replied, pointing to the sticker in the corner that read ‘The Wrestling Universe Store’. “See? He must have bought this here before coming to us.”
“But why would he have bought it here, brought it to us, only to run off before we signed it?” Deanna asked, causing Selena to only shrug her shoulders.
“Maybe he’s a little messed in the head. He did seem a little odd.”
“You’re a little odd.” Deanna remarked. “I’m a little odd. That guy was-“
“Coo coo for coca puffs?” Selena interjected, raising an eyebrow at her wife, who merely shrugged her shoulders. However, as the Snow Queen lifted the poster, turning it towards her wife - “Good likeness?” she asked – her eyes trailed down the blank side of the poster, to the dark lettering of the message written in marker at the corner.
“Selena?” Deanna asked but jumped out of the way as Selena all but threw the poster back onto the table, the corner on full display on. In the corner was the black-marker message.
“You have until 2pm.” Selena read aloud, along with a number whose area code she didn’t recognize - Probably some kind of burner phone…. But it was the black skull drawn beside the number that made her heart both race and then stop in sudden realization. “Deanna…” her voice trailed off as her sapphire eyes flew to the clock. She had two minutes left.
Fast as she could, Selena thrust out her phone from her pocket and dialed the number that was on the poster. She heard it ring once…twice… but no more times as a voice took over. One that sent chills down her spine.
“You’ve got ten words.” Came the gravelled, altered voice she recognized. “Use them well.”
Selena’s eyes found Deanna’s, the near-panic in her wife’s emerald orbs. Taking a deep breath, Selena stepped into a nearby corner of the store, away from prying eyes.
“I want to make a deal with you.” She whispered.
There was a pause, one that lasted far longer than she liked and one that nearly gave her a heart attack.
“You have another ten words.” Came Killjoy’s voice.
“I want you to stop Ryan from becoming mayor.”
Another long pause – again, too long.
“Hello?” Selena asked after a minute of waiting. Immediately, she heard Killjoy’s voice again, but it was only eight words. Eight words that made Selena shudder but six words she could not refuse. “I understand.” She replied before hearing the line go dead.
Gazing down the aisle, she saw Deanna standing there, her hands clenched together and placed over her own heart. “What…what did he say?” she asked, almost afraid to do so.
Taking a deep breath, Selena rejoined her wife, her eyes gazing at the phone in her hand before staring back at Deanna.
“He said he’ll meet us to discuss the deal.” Selena sighed.
“Okay…” Deanna breathed nervously. “Where and when?”
Biting her lower lip, Selena released one last exhale from her nose before she said those same eight words: “8pm…June 23rd… Santa Barbara… The Starmaker.”
_______________________________________________________________
Project: Black Ice
”The Lesser of Two Evils”
The Wrestling Universe Store – Queens Store
Flushing, New York
April 18, 2022
1:14pm
Selena smiled as she signed her twentieth poster so far. Or was it the thirtieth poster? She thought, reaching down under the table to hide her stretching out the growing cramp in her hand. She refused to complain or show any sign of discomfort.
It was her decision to be here. Scratch that – this whole event was her idea – so she really had no one to blame but herself for it.
As she pushed herself out of her hard-plastic chair, adjusted the maroon, long-sleeved shirt she wore, and fixed her hair into its shorter version of her ‘iconic braid’, the tall woman then moved around the small table she sat in at the request of the current fan she was speaking with – a young girl in a very pink shirt and green shorts – in order to pose for a requested photo. As she did, the Snow Queen’s eyes (immediately after the shot was taken) flew to the clock to inspect the time.
She only had 45 minutes left.
What is taking him so long? she thought bitterly, though hid it behind a bright smile as she spoke with the ever-grateful fan. She had, so far, met a myriad of fans from the SCW Universe – True Believers, to be sure, ranging in age from children to adults – from new fans to old – from fellow New Yorkers to tourists that were just in the city by coincidence. She had spoken to people of various backgrounds and groups, of which she was beyond delighted to see several people of the LGBTQA+ community – hearing their stories of how she ‘inspired them’ always warmed her heart, as did sharing her own struggles in ‘coming out’ throughout her career. Of course, her interaction with the children-fans would remain her favourite – she smiled to herself at the memory of some of the kids that had visited her, some even wanting big hugs – the kind you put some sound into while you hug. Like a hum! - like she was one of those meet-and-greet costumed characters in Times Square!
Of course, it was not all sunshine and roses. Several fans, more than she could count, had asked her about “Hollywood of the South”, specifically if she was going to have a match or not – and more specifically, who she was going to face in a world title defence. Sadly, said world champion had had to face every fan that asked with a somber look and earnestly apologize to them, telling them that she honestly didn’t know and that she hoped with all of her being that SCW would find her an opponent worthy, not of ‘facing Selena Frost’, but worthy of fighting for the world championship.
Not that that could possibly be enough to quell their desire to know – or anyone’s for that matter. The rumor mill had run wild, exploding the second Kandis’ injury had been announced on last week’s episode of Breakdown – the former number one contender no longer able to compete in her match with Selena at Hollywood in the South due to an unforeseen training accident… though Selena partially believed the ‘training’ in question was perhaps more of an ‘intimate nature’, which wasn’t that hard to believe considering all the bragging Kandis and Tommy did about their sex-life. Regardless, the fans were abuzz, sharing theories across social media over who would be the ‘next contender’. A number of ideas had been thrown around, from her being thrown into the Syren/Ace Marshall match and making it a triple threat, to her being the fourth member on Asher’s team in the Tactial Warfare match instead, to individual names challenging her like Giovanni Aries (because of that one win he never shut up about) to Kandis’ fiancée Tommy Valentine (the connection there was pretty obvious) to even people speculating someone ‘cashing in’ their Trios contract like Gavin Taylor or a suddenly returning Xander Valentine!
Oh gods… THAT would be a ‘fun-filled’ night. Selena huffed a little, good-naturedly, at the very thought of SCW’s Executioner making a surprise return, fully recovered, just to fight her. I would be SO beyond sore the morning after if that happened…
None of the theories bothered her too much – they WERE rumors after all – save for one. A few times, more than she cared to admit, she had heard the rumor of SCW simply sending a ‘jobber’ or ‘low-card talent’ to face her, an echo to Ace Marshall’s recent tweets about Selena being ‘protected by management’ or something. Out of all the rumors she had heard, that particular one was the LAST one she wanted to happen. She didn’t want some pushover competitor that wouldn’t last in the ring with her. What would that do for the integrity of the title? What would that prove in all she was trying to do for SCW and the world title? She was TRYING to bring competition – fair and talented competition – back to SCW! She was trying to NOT make it about ‘easy wins’ and ‘tainted victories’! Facing someone that couldn’t compete with her or on her level was a slap in the face of all of that, and she refused to believe that Shaun or anyone in SCW management would even contemplate such a thing for her!
Still, for all the theories she had heard across social media, Selena was as much in the dark as anyone else. Did it bother her that she didn’t know who she was going to face? Yes and no. Yes because… well, she had WANTED to face Kandis. The woman had fought many battles against Selena and yet… they had never fought one on one. Never truly brawled over who was the better woman. They had come close at Retribution but due to Holly Adams, that was not meant to be. So, when the powerhouse of a woman had made her claim for the world title again following Selena’s retaining in Double Jeopardy, the Snow Queen had all but jumped at the chance, hoping that Shaun Cruze and management would give Kandis the shot (even quietly voicing her endorsement to Shaun, though refusing to ‘force anything’).
But again, as with Retribution, fate had intervened. So, yes, she was bothered a little that she didn’t know yet who she was going to face. How the hell could she possibly know that the person would be as good a choice as Kandis? Granted, many of the names she had heard were deserving of a world title shot, but she was sick of having to deal with The Brand and their refusal to just give her a fair, clean match. She was sick of dealing with controversy and tainted wins and someone ALWAYS getting involved in her matches or trying to use a weapon or anything BUT actually try to be better than her. Her matches with Cid Turner (oddly enough) and Glory Braddock, THOSE had been worthwhile matches – matches she was beyond proud of. And she had done all she could to make sure her last match with Holly Adams had followed a similar suit.
But she had been certain Kandis, for all the woman’s bad-mouthing and whatever, wanted to give a clean match to Selena. The woman had all but said so in her Retribution promo. She WANTED to beat Selena one-on-one. She WANTED to prove she was better than the Snow Queen on her own skill and that exhilarated Selena. Excited her even! But that had been taken away and now…
What if she got a member of the Brand again… like Holly? There was no way in hell she would get a fair match from any of them! The same could be said of Ace Marshall! When had that bastard EVER opted for a fair, decent match over having Lexy or Hodges or Cassidy Carter or whoever else was on his side interfere?! Syren? Absolutely, but that was one person! SCW wasn’t going to pick her and leave Ace out to dry, not without getting an earful and a headache from that loudmouth or Lexy.
She had lost track of how many hours she had spent racking her brain over such possible substitutes – both hopeful and ‘probablys’. She had even called Shaun’s office in a moment of weakness, but hung up before leaving a message, not wanting to sound like a whiny, prying, insecure champion. She needed to be patient, even if she disappointed her fans today by not knowing the answer. Eventually, she would know who she was facing and…soon as she did, she was going to do all she could to make sure the match was as big as hers with Kandis could have been.
Bigger! she thought bluntly, though she really had no idea how.
Being in the store had helped distract her mind as she awaited the announcement from management. She had been here since eleven that morning, meeting fans, posing for pictures, signing posters, DVDs, action figures – someone had even come in with a DVD of her film ‘Polaris’, asking for it to be signed, which had surprised the hell out of her and Deanna.
Speaking of which… Selena mused as she turned her head a bit down the halls as far as she could, but saw no sign of the redhead right away, only comics on the shelves as far as the eye could see. The store – called appropriately ‘The Wrestling Universe Store’ – was a small-sized one, crammed between a barber shop and a diner of some kind on the busy street in Flushing – a mere 50 or so minutes away from her Manhattan home. If it could be further defined, Selena would have to say it was a wrestling fan’s and/or a comic book fan’s dream come true – like something out of the World Hazard Fair but much smaller. Everywhere her head turned, there were comic books and action figures – some she recognized like Batgirl and The Flash – and others she didn’t. Part of her wished she had brought her son, David, with her.
He would have lost his mind seeing this… she thought with a smile, promising to return at some point just so he could visit.
Just as abundant was the SCW wrestling merchandise that filled several of the shelves. Recent and vintage items came across her vision – some that were clearly made while CHBK and Jason Wheeler were in their prime, if the outfits and logos of SCW on the boxes were anything to go by. She wasn’t entirely sure what an ‘XIC title’ was or had been in SCW, but it looked rather interesting. Maybe she would research it later if she had the time…
For a moment, having a bit of a break from the lineup of fans that had come and gone, Selena reached over to pluck up one of the SCW DVDs from the lineup that stood before her. It was, of course, last year’s Rise to Greatness and it had her face on it, prominently displayed as the SCW World Champion. Turning it over, the Snow Queen spied another image of herself (one of many crammed onto the back art) as she was holding up the World title with Deanna standing beside her, the Snow Queen’s arm wrapped lovingly around her wife’s waist. Unable to help herself as she gazed at the memory, a smile grew across her features, the platinum-blonde even biting on her lower lip a little as she felt a tear or two prick the back of her eyes.
“That was a good day.” The voice came from behind her, almost startling her. She barely had enough time to turn her head as a headful of red hair rested on her shoulder, emerald eyes also gazing at the DVD back cover. “A super good day!” Deanna added with a smile, a finger of hers reaching out to trace along the image of the two of them.
“Hard to believe it’s almost been a year.” Selena remarked with a half-sigh, her own finger reaching out to trail up and down Deanna’s. “It’s all gone by so fast. And…” Curling her finger around Deanna’s, the older Frost crept her hand further along until she was holding Deanna’s entire hand, bringing it up to her lips to kiss the top of it gently, hearing a quiet hum of content from her beloved. Placing the DVD back on the shelf with her free hand, Selena turned to her wife, her eyes taking in the red-hair, dark green sweater and blue jeans (like her own). Her beloved looked both adorable and sexy at the same time to the older Frost, causing Selena to smile at her. “It’s been almost a year since you came back to me…. Fully, I mean…” she stammered a little at the last part. “I mean…”
The redhead smiled at her wife’s fumbling. “I know what you mean, minx.” She whispered with a tilt of her head, using her pet-name for Selena. It had been almost a year since Deanna had been free of all charges that had cost her nearly two years in Frankfurt Prison III. In what was one of the happiest moments of their lives, the Frost wives had both felt their hearts nearly stop as the magistrate had proclaimed Deanna free to go and return to her life with Selena – no longer guilty of any crime.
“Still…” Deanna sighed, moving away from Selena and around the small corner of the store that had been reserved for their ‘meet-and-greet’ to plop herself on the somewhat sturdy table. “It also was the time Killjoy made his presence known.”
And just like that, like a bucket of cold water being splashed down on everything, the reality of their situation hit, causing Selena’s sapphire eyes to shift up towards the large, makeshift banner she, Deanna and their children had made that hung above them. It had her and Deanna’s picture on it, with the words “Meet SCW’s House of Frost: SCW World Champion Selena Frost and ‘The Queen’s Guard’ Deanna Frost. All proceeds go to the ‘Buzzkill: Help for Alcoholics Charity’.” With the word ‘Buzzkill’ in a rather cute design of ‘electricity-charged’ – David’s idea and Elsianna’s steady hand.
“Does that charity even exist?” Deanna asked, having read the banner, pointing up to it, and then casting her gaze back to the platinum-blonde. Quickly checking to see if any new fans had approached (thankfully, none had yet), Selena quietly moved around to the table to sit back in her chair, giving a quick shake of her head.
“I plan on donating the proceeds to an actual charity when this is over.” She whispered. “But I needed something to get his attention. Something a little less subtle than ‘Hey! I wanna talk!’.”
“He IS hard to find on Facebook.” Deanna shook her head with a shrug of her shoulders, trying at some form of humor before turning her gaze back to Selena. “You sure he’s gonna get it? I mean… yeah, it’s another word for it – Buzzkill. But it’s a bit of a stretch.”
“I only had a week to put this together.” Selena shrugged, slightly annoyed. “I did what I could.”
The redhead gave a nod, keeping silent for a few seconds before turning her attention back to Selena. “I know but… Are you sure you want to deal with him?” she asked, her eyes filled with concern. “I can’t…” she sighed, her eyes spying a few fans entering the store and pointing to the couple as they sat in the far corner. “I can’t imagine any part of this going well… and I’m…” she added with a whisper, her voice trailing off.
Before she could finish, a pale hand reached out to take one of hers again, Selena squeezing it affectionately. “I am too, Deanna. But we don’t have a choice.” She whispered before smiling at the fans as they began to approach the couple.
We’re almost out of time…
****************************************
One week ago
Frost Forever Home
Manhattan, New York
April 11th, 2022
8:33pm
“Selena?!”
Hearing her name, Selena’s head jerked up just in time to see Deanna rushing into the room of her office inside their Manhattan ‘Forever Home’. Quickly, the shorter Frost closed the large door to the office, effectively ‘sealing’ them both inside before turning around to face her wife with a huff. “Am I late?”
“No.” smiled Selena amusingly, even giving a tilt of her head. “Talia hasn’t sent the invite yet. You sure you want to be here for this?” her voice altered slightly, the concern evident in her new tone.
“Of course, I want to be here!” Deanna declared as she half-skipped her away across the room filled with books, going around the large, dark wooden desk to where Selena sat in the large ‘throne chair’ of sorts. “They’re all my family too, you know.” She added as she made herself at home in Selena’s lap. Like Selena, the redhead was dressed in her sleeping gown, though Selena’s was her usual dark-magenta while Deanna’s was a dark green with brown and red accents.
The casualness of their attires was simple. They were going to receive a video call from Jean, Gavin, Zoe and Talia in Nome, Alaska. While any professional calls warranted professional attire, the Frost wives felt comfortable being in their gowns when it came to the odd group of people that had become their ‘family’, of sorts. Plus, the two women had every intention, soon as this video call was over, on going to bed to get some early rest. They had another long day of training ahead of them. Their match against The Brand – being Cid Turner and Giovanni Aries this time – was in a few days and with The Connection using their own tag-match last week to send a message to Selena, specifically showcasing the brutality of not only Kandis but Tommy Valentine and the lengths the Connection would go to ‘prove their point’, Deanna and Selena earnestly wanted to return the gesture in kind with a message of their own.
Tommy and Kandis had chosen to forsake their match against the tag-team champions in favour of simply hurting them… because they could? Was that the reason? Deanna wasn’t sure and Selena had merely shook her head at the sight. What were they proving? That they cared more about hurting people rather than proving themselves? That beating your opponent into the ground was better than winning a match or suffering a loss fair and square?
Yeah, both Deanna and Selena definitely wanted to respond this coming Breakdown in their own way. If The Connection wanted to show that ‘dominance’ was all that mattered, then The House of Frost – what they had affectionately named their team – would be about passion and integrity. If Kandis wanted to showcase brutality, Selena and Deanna would showcase their hearts, their desire to keep fighting for the good of SCW. If Tommy wanted to show how ruthless he was or how brutal he could be in support of Kandis, well Selena would show how driven she could be – how she could be knocked down and keep fighting. How she refused to quit.
It was a tall order, being good enough to beat The Brand with their own inexperience as a tag-team, but if it meant furthering their goal in restoring integrity as the norm for SCW and throwing it back in The Connection’s face? Selena and Deanna were willing to try it!
“Are the children in bed?” Selena asked, her hand reaching up to twirl a lock of Deanna’s dark-red hair in-between her fingers.
“Mhmmm. Amiliah is and David was heading up there with Gerda.” Deanna answered. “I said goodnight to them both.”
“What about Elsianna?” Selena asked, referring to their eldest daughter.
“She’s finishing watching a documentary on Animal Planet.” The redhead replied. “She promised that as soon as it was done, she’d head right to bed.”
The Snow Queen gave a nod, absentmindedly continuing to twirl her wife’s hair with her fingers.
“You think they’ll have good news?” Deanna asked, watching her wife’s ministrations.
“Honestly?” Selena asked, releasing her wife’s hair to gaze up at her. “I doubt it.”
“Oh come on!” Deanna tried. “Gavin’s back in the race! I’m sure he’s turned things around.”
“If this were some high-school debate or an argument with a single person, then I would agree.” Selena remarked, releasing a sigh. “But he’s only been back for a week and he’s lost a lot of headway in the time he was here.”
“That isn’t his fault-“
“I know it isn’t, Deanna.” Selena interjected gently but sternly. “He needed to be here. To be safe after what happened. But that doesn’t erase the fact that his absence was exactly what Killjoy wanted and what Ryan needed. So, we…” she paused to choose her next words carefully. “So, we shouldn’t hold our breath on good news right away.”
“But the elections is- what? A month and some away?”
“I know.” Another sigh came from the platinum-blonde. “Let’s just hope this session gets us some-“
The chime on Selena’s computer went off, indicating that she had received an email. Clicking on it, the screen, which had a lovely picture of the Snow Queen, Deanna, their children and their dog, Oberon, in the park last year as wallpaper changed to the Gmail account she had, indicating the email invite onto zoom. Her mouse icon hovered over the link, but she hesitated in pressing it, sapphire eyes turning a little to scan the lithe body sitting comfortably in her lap.
“Deanna.” She slowly spoke.
“Hmmm?” The redhead turned her gaze back onto Selena, shaking her head a little to clear some of the locks of red from her vision.
“As much as I love you being in my lap…” Selena tried. “I think…”
“Oh come on!” Deanna pouted. “They’re not going to care.”
“Even so, I rather we try and make this as focused as possible.”
“Oh, so I distract you?”
Selena rolled her eyes. “Yes, but not in this case. I mean that I think it would help things if you weren’t sitting in my lap like this.”
With a huff, Deanna hopped off her wife’s lap, walking the short distance to the nearest side of the room to pull out a smaller chair, bringing it to Selena’s side to allow the younger woman to sit beside her wife. “Better?” She asked with a somewhat playful glare.
“I’m sure they’ll appreciate it.” Selena smiled as she clicked the link. A few moments passed as the Zoom call loaded, connecting the various participants once Selena had confirmed the webcam and microphone settings. A few moments later and the Frost wives were staring at the patient faces of Jean Black and Zelda Evers-Black on one screen, Gavin Scythe on another, and Talia Scythe on a third (with their own faces taking up a fourth screen).
“Hey guys!” Deanna smiled brightly with a wave, immediately trying to set the mood. It was enough to earn a little laugh from Gavin and a smile from both Talia and Zelda.
“Someone’s had their morning coffee.” Jean remarked in his dry, accented humor.
“I remind you that it’s nearly nine pm here, Jean.” Selena remarked. “And Deanna and I have every intention on getting some much needed sleep when this is over.”
“So please don’t keep us up all night.” Deanna begged.
Without anyone noticing, Selena muted her microphone. “That’s my job…” she said under her breath, unmuting the microphone before Deanna could reply, though her expression clearly showed that she heard her wife – her mouth agape.
“What?” Zelda asked. “Deanna is making a face.”
“Selena just said something dirty.” Deanna teased.
“No idea what you’re talking about.” Selena remarked offhandedly. “Anyone else hear me say something?”
“No, but we all saw your microphone go mute for about three seconds.” Talia shot back, a smirk on her face.
“Great. Your word against mine. See you all in court if you don’t believe me.” Selena shrugged.
“Back to the matter at hand.” Pressed Jean, ever the serious buzzkill.
“Right!” Deanna tried. “Gavin! How’s it looking? You winning the hearts of the millions?”
“Nome doesn’t have millions.” Selena stated, her voice softer but still able to be heard.
“Hundreds of Thou-“ Selena shook her head at Deanna’s words, silencing the redhead. “Tens of?” Another shake of Selena’s head. “No?” A third shake came from Selena’s head. “How many?”
“Just shy of 4000.”
“THAT’S IT?!” Deanna’s jaw dropped, her eyes scanning the serious faces of all five Nome inhabitants (present and former). “Holy cats… Mechanicville has a higher population than that…”
“What’s Mechanicville?” Zelda asked.
“Smallest city in New York.” Selena remarked. “We’ve passed through it several times on the bus. It’s one of those ‘you could pass it on the highway in minutes’ kind of thing.”
“And they have a population of 5000!” Deanna huffed. “Wow… all this hassle and crap for a town with less people than Mechanicville….”
The way the redhead spoke, it sort of put so much into perspective, and made it much more depressing. The reality that everything they were working towards, all that their group had suffered and would have to suffer through if they failed… all for a mayorship of a town with less than 4000 people – an amount that you could fit in a CORNER of any SCW arena…
“Anyone else just get really depressed?” Deanna asked, causing everyone else, including Selena to raise their hands unanimously.
“So…what’s the news, Gavin?” Selena asked directly, trying move on from the current discussion. She watched the youngest son of Malcolm Scythe sigh a little loudly before reaching up and pinching the space between his eyes with his fingers – a gesture she had often seen in Malcolm.
“In short? Not good.” The young man shook his head, adjusting the brown-rimmed glasses he wore. “Ryan used the whole shooting at the community center to turn his campaign into some crusade. He’s told everyone that he believes the shooter is the same person who murdered father.”
“He is.” Deanna remarked without thinking, shrugging her shoulders.
“Right. We know that.” Gavin sighed. “But he’s using it to push more people to his side. Now, people are talking about a ‘madman killer’ being in Nome. They’re terrified and Ryan has them believing that he is the only person that can save them. The poll numbers… they’re so one-sided.” The poor man sounded so… defeated.
“With most people saying as much as to their reasoning.” Jean finished Gavin’s report. “It’s fear-mongering.” He added with disgust.
“Well…can’t we convince them that he can’t?” Deanna tried.
“Under what pretenses?” Talia laughed bitterly. “He’s got every person of power wrapped around his finger. They all think that if someone like Malcolm could get killed, then so could any one of them. They don’t even see that he’s as powerless against Killjoy as they are.”
“That’s because Killjoy hasn’t gone up against him.” Selena remarked, deep in thought. “And long as Ryan keeps doing whatever Killjoy tells him to, he won’t.”
“So, it will appear as if he has the answer.” Zelda finished off the train of thought, earning nods from all but Deanna.
“So…” Deanna’s eyes scanned the multiple videos of people, seeing all their somber expressions. “We’re screwed.”
There was a long silence coming from the group, no one wanting to confirm Deanna’s assessment but neither wishing to give any kind of false hope. The only person that seemed to act was Selena, the Snow Queen reaching out her hand to offer the familiar comfort Deanna always seemed to crave. She felt the redhead grip her hand tightly in response.
“There is…one possibility…” The voice came from Jean Black. “But it is something I do not recommend we follow unless we truly have no choice.”
“What is it?” Gavin asked, though the elder detective did not answer right away, his dark eyes straying from the camera in front of him.
“Jean?” Zelda tried, taking his hands into hers, the brunette offering her own comfort to her husband. “What is it?
“I’m not going to suggest this lightly, alright?” he tried briskly, releasing Zelda’s hands to rub his hands aggressively. “But if Killjoy is the X factor in all this – if Killjoy is the sole reason that Ryan Scythe has any argumentative power… then why don’t we remove him from the equation? Or better yet… shift him to the other side.”
“What do you mean?” Gavin asked.
“Well, it’s quite simple.” Jean explained, the apparently detachment in his voice indicating the seriousness he was taking. “Ryan currently has an advantage because Killjoy won’t act out against him. But if we give Killjoy a good enough reason to do so, then suddenly, Ryan loses all power and all confidence of the people. Suddenly, he’s not the protector. He’s just someone that lied to all of Nome.”
There was a moment of silence as Jean’s words were processed. Only a moment, though.
“You want us to make a deal with that murderer?!” Gavin asked in disbelief.
“No. Not us.” Jean shook his head as slowly as he spoke. “There’s nothing we have that he wants. He won’t even talk to any of us. No, not us…” his eyes locked on the camera and despite him ‘looking’ at all other participants in the video, it was beyond clear who he truly was ‘seeing’.
“Me.” Selena answered, feeling her heart fall down to her feet and through the carpeted floor. “You want me to make a deal with him.”
“Killjoy has only appeared before you and Deanna, dearie.” Jean shrugged. “Odds are he will only show himself if you ask for him. His obsession for you is no secret to any of us - it will be our asset.”
“His obsession to destroy me and everything I love!” Selena countered. “I’m not going to risk pissing him off!”
“I told you this was not a decision that I considered lightly, Selena.” Jean challenged. “But it’s the best option we have. Killjoy has been a step ahead of us the whole time. We have tried to counter him and beat him, but he seems to always anticipate our moves. And I hate the idea of making a deal with him just like the rest of you, but in this case, he is not the immediate threat. Ryan is.” He pressed. “Ryan needs to be removed from the board.”
Turning her head, Selena’s eyes caught the near-panicked look of her wife, Deanna shaking her head quickly. “Don’t do it.” The redhead whispered to her. “Don’t make a deal with him.”
“There has to be another way.” Came Talia’s voice.
“Well, if you have one, I’d be glad to hear it.” Jean threw back at the black-haired woman’s attempt. “Cause unless one of us wants to kill the bastard, and I do mean your husband when I say that, then we either entice Killjoy to work with us rather than with Ryan… or we start preparing our passports while Deanna and Selena prepare the guest rooms. Because once Ryan is mayor, save for Talia, there won’t be a safe spot in Nome for any of us.”
Again, the room was met with silence.
“Maybe that is for the best…”
The statement came from the most unlikely of people as Selena turned her head to face Deanna. “I mean… Maybe this is one battle in the war that we just don’t win…” Her emerald eyes shifted from everyone before landing on Selena. “I mean, why do we have to win every battle if it costs us so much? Maybe losing this one is just how it is. We get Jean and Zelda and Gavin out of Nome – we buckle down and get the best lawyers we have here and when he inevitably comes for us… we be ready.”
“You make it sound so simple.” Selena smiled sadly at her, a wishfulness in her own sapphire eyes.
“It is simple!” Deanna huffed. “You all said it yourself. It’s a small down of 4000! It’s a speck in the grand scheme of things! What’s he going to do?! Come to New York and try and take our children from us?”
“I’ll remind you, dearie.” Jean replied coldly. “That Malcolm managed to do just that for a time.”
“Yeah, because we didn’t know better.” Deanna retorted. “We’d be ready this time! Restraining orders! Bylaws, rights…stuff!”
Watching her, Selena felt a sad smile come to her face. How she wished it was that easy. That they could use their ‘New York lawyers’ to deal with the pesky Nome people. How they could use their resources to combat whatever little-fortune Ryan had.
But it wasn’t that simple – just like things in SCW were no longer that simple. That was a cruel reality Selena had come to terms with long ago. It wasn’t enough to simple win her matches and do her best. It wasn’t enough to simply ask for integrity. Having integrity meant weakness in the eyes of those that ‘had no limits’ like Kandis and Tommy had bragged. Having morals meant you wouldn’t ‘do anything to win’ like so many people besides The Connection. And the reason it had become such a standard in SCW was because it had worked for so many years. A few wins, however honest, were not enough to change that. No, it would take something that shook the very foundation of SCW to the core. Shook up all the preconceived notions that had rooted themselves in SCW.
It wasn’t beating one person. It was overcoming every challenge. Every opposition until her version of the “Standard of SCW” became the accepted one. Until someone rose up to reach her standard and beat her clean. It was a long, fought war she was fighting in SCW. But on the flip side, the more she won, the more her mission grew, the more she had to KEEP winning to keep that mission alive. One loss, one person beating her through nefarious means, like Kandis and Tommy were famous for (same with the Brand and most of Lexy’s group), and who knew what damage that mission would take!
The same was true with Ryan. That uncertainty. He couldn’t just be bought out or made to heel simply because he wasn’t as rich as the Frosts anymore or because they lived in a bigger city with more resources. In a normal world with normal rules? Yes, that would be the case, but-
“Ryan doesn’t play by those rules.” Selena spoke quietly, a dismal, quiet laugh escaping her. “He is truly his father’s son.”
“I have to agree with Selena.” Talia sighed slowly. “Even if you were to flee to New York, he would find some way to bring you back – and he would…” as she spoke, however, Talia did not hear the door to the room opening behind her. She did not see the face peering in. Or the figure entering the room behind her.
But the others did.
“Talia!” Selena screamed out. “Behind you!”
“Look out!” Zelda shouted at the same time.
“Watch-“ Deanna managed to choke out but all three of them were too late as the figure grabbed Talia, the black-haired woman screaming in alarm. Thinking fast, Selena’s hand rushed to mouse, clicking the record button- only to be denied because she was not the host computer… Talia’s was.
“So THIS is what you do in your spare time?!” the voice roared from Talia’s audio. Like a death knell to their ears, they heard the sound of a hand meeting flesh and Talia’s scream filling the air. “Who the FUCK do you think you are?!” the enraged voice spoke, causing Selena’s whole body to go rigid.
“Ryan!” roared Gavin. “LEAVE HER ALONE!”
“I’m going!” Zelda was suddenly on the move, leaving the room she was in and the sound of her rushing away could be heard.
“Pick up Gavin!” Jean shouted towards her.
“I’ll wait at the-“ Gavin started but stopped as a rather calm face took the space in Talia’s video.
“I’m very sorry.” Ryan Scythe sighed, running a hand through his slightly mussed hair. “My WIFE is currently indisposed right now. And I’m afraid she and I are going to have to have a long talk and-“ his eyes seemed to fly to something on his screen, a cruel grin breaking across his features. “Did one of you just try and record this video? Because I’m seeing a request notification…” He chuckled mockingly at the remaining participants.
“You sick bastard.” Selena replied coldly. “She’s your wife!”
“And her duty as my wife is loyalty to her husband, wouldn’t you agree?” Ryan asked with a mocking tilt of his head. “And seeing as how you were all happy to talk to her – why don’t you talk to me for a bit.”
“And what the hell would we have to discuss with you?” Jean asked slowly and darkly, his eyes narrowing.
“Why… you’re complete and unconditional surrender to my campaign, of course. Dropping out of the mayoral race and supporting me as the new mayor of Nome.” Ryan replied as if it was the most obvious thing.
“I’d rather be eviscerated by rabid dogs.” Jean replied before anyone else.
“Oh, someone wants off easy.” Selena angrily laughed, her eyes burning. “I was going to say ripped apart by plague-infested vermin.”
“While crows peck out our eyes!” Deanna added, trying to sound as tough as the others. “And not just any rats and crows – NEW YORK rats and crows! They’re huge!” she spat.
“Charming.” Ryan smiled. “But a bluff and nothing more. Now that I know my wife was your informant, so many things makes sense to me. But even as that is the case, it no longer matters. The election happens in a little over a month and all of Nome wants me for mayor. Or were you just meeting to discuss recipes, Selena? Deanna?”
“You don’t deserve to win.” Gavin stated, a sureness in his accented voice that surprised Selena. “You sure as hell don’t deserve Talia.”
“Well, your opinion aside, Gavin.” Ryan dismissed with a wave of his hand. “For the few people that may still vote for you, I believe we should endear them to us. Which is why I am not going to leave you out in the cold when I become mayor.”
“Leave me out in the cold?” asked the confused younger brother.
“Of course.” Ryan shrugged. “Afterall, we are family, aren’t we? I’m willing to offer you a job in my office. Since, once I am mayor, I will be reviewing some important laws and bylaws that Nome has. Property law, government spending, guardianship and parental controlling laws-“ the last one seemed to cause his grin to widen, the implication beyond clear as he spoke slower. “I will need my little brother to be hounding those books and finding me the best course of what ones need to be changed for… the good of Nome.”
“You mean the good for you.” Gavin shot back. “What is the matter with you, Ryan?! They’re-“
“Don’t say it, Gavin!” Selena warned. “Don’t you dare fucking say it!”
“But…” Gavin tried but realized quickly why, clenching his jaw shut to silence himself.
“Whether he says it or not, Selena.” Ryan smiled smugly. “It doesn’t change the truth. And when I am mayor, Elsianna and David-”
“The truth is that Elsianna and David have no father.” Selena replied darkly. “They have two mothers that love them with all their hearts.”
“And we will be dead before we let you come anywhere near them.” Deanna added, squeezing Selena’s hands with her own.
“Your wishes. Not mine.” Ryan shrugged, unfazed. “But all in good time. Right now, I’ve got a wife to discipline, and a mayoral race to win, so, I’m afraid we’ll have to cut this conversation short.”
With a wide grin, Ryan pressed a few buttons before the video went dead. Immediately, Selena’s hands were flying across the mouse and keys, establishing a new video that she would host and sending the link to Gavin and Jean. Within seconds, the remaining people were back in a video conference.
“That bastard.” Jean hissed through his teeth. “What I wouldn’t give to have a loaded gun and a clean shot…”
“What about Talia?” Gavin asked, almost in a panic. “What is he-“
“Zelda is on her way.” Selena replied. “Right, Jean?”
It took a second for the detective to refocus and reply. “Yes.” he replied, still beyond irritated. “I told her to get you. Do you have a gun?”
“Yes…but-“
“Grab it and break the door open if you have to.” Jean replied.
“Then what?” Gavin asked, this sort of action beyond him.
“Take her to my cave and treat her injuries.” Selena replied. “It’s not much, but it should be the last place Ryan will think you’ll go. When she’s well enough, get her on a plane and bring her here, understand?”
“Yes, of course, I-“ the sound of pounding on a door filled the audio, getting Gavin’s attention. “That has to be Zelda. I’ll send Talia to you, Selena, as soon as I can!”
“Call me if you need money to set up the tickets! Fastest way you can!” Selena called out before Gavin’s video turned off.
Alone with Jean Black, Selena and Deanna were silent, with only the Snow Queen’s exhale being heard.
“I believe if either of you had any doubts over our next move…” Jean spoke coldly. “That just removed them all.”
“Jean…” Deanna tried, but a pale hand gripped her shoulder, effectively silencing her.
“I’ll contact Killjoy.” Selena replied. “I don’t know how, but I will.”
Seeming to suck his lower lip a little into his mouth, the detective gave a nod. “I’m sorry, Selena.” He sincerely said. “I wish there was another way.”
“Me too.” Selena replied before turning off the video. Soon as it was turned off, the Snow Queen was out of her chair, pulling her cellphone to herself and punching in some emails to Gavin.
“So, that’s it?” came Deanna’s voice as the redhead still sat in her chair. “We just pull up Killjoy and make a deal? What if he wants you dead?!”
“Deanna-“
“Or your fingers? Or your firstborn? Ever think of that?!”
“What choice do we have?!” Selena countered, dropping her hands to her sides and staring at her frightened wife. “This isn’t Giovanni or Cid or the rest of the Brand! This isn’t Kandis or Tommy or Ace who will just attack us in a hallway! This isn’t even Xander Valentine or Vixen Cain who could injure us or maybe end our wrestling careers like Xander did with Regan! Ryan will kill us and Odin knows what he’s doing to Talia right now! What will happen if he takes power?!”
“Leave Nome to him then!” Deanna tried again, her voice pleading. “Take Talia and the others and let them stay here! He has no power here!”
“I can’t take that risk!” Selena replied. “Malcolm did it with ease. Ryan will too.”
“So you’re willing to risk whatever Killjoy asks of you?!” Deanna cried. “He wants to kill you too!”
“I know that!” Selena shook her head after her voice rang through the soundproof room. “I…” she shook her head again as she closed her eyes, releasing a shuddering breath. “I know that. But I can’t worry about that now. I have to hope he doesn’t want me dead till this whole thing with Project: Black Ice comes to light.”
“So, you’re going to give him more power…” Selena could see tears streaming out of her wife’s eyes.
“No. I won’t let him control everything. Not this time.”
“Selena, please…” faster than Selena thought possible, the redhead was out of her chair and standing before her, her hands holding Selena’s. “Don’t do this! This isn’t you. Making deals with monsters. This isn’t who you are. Don’t make this deal. Don’t give him that power over you. He’s already taken so much from you… what if… what if our children are next… or me… or…” her eyes met Selena’s. “Or you…”
Despite herself, Selena reached out a hand to caress her wife’s face. “Deanna…” she tried. “I can’t just leave them in Nome. If Ryan hurts them again or worse…it will be because of us. It’s us he’s after. How…how can I just stand here and do nothing? How can I endanger our children by giving up and letting him become mayor… Maybe letting him win is the easy way now, but…” she shook her head sadly. “You know Killjoy is the only way.”
Deanna opened her mouth to protest but no voice came out. She tried again, but again, she could not form any words with her voice.
As they had many times before, reality and fate had reared their ugly heads upon them… and all Selena could do was curse them and pray to Odin that they’d stay out of her way from here on out.
****************************************
The Wrestling Universe Store – Queens Store
Flushing, New York
April 18, 2022
1:53pm
Selena’s eyes nervously scanned the clock as the seconds ticked away. Was she nervous because she was almost out of time – or was she nervous at the idea that he would show up?
She had made so many calls putting this small meet-and-greet together, hoping to get Killjoy’s attention. She had been so busy putting the advertisement on websites and newspapers and even on fliers on telephone polls, that she had forgotten to Tweet about it! Dumbass. she growled at her own stupidity. Still, the crowd had been a decent size for such a sudden event put-together and the venue owners had been more than accommodating. Even so, there was no sign of Killjoy.
“Heads up, wifey!” Deanna called out, Selena reacting just in time for her wife to grab her and pull her towards another pair of fans, the Snow Queen adopting a smile to pose with Deanna and the other boy/girl couple for a selfie. “Thank you!” Deanna called out as the fans made their exit, the last of the fans seemingly in the store.
Turning back around, Deanna spied her wife gazing up at the banner. “Guess he’s not coming.” Selena sighed.
“You say that like it’s a bad thing.” Deanna tried, wrapping her arms around Selena’s waist gently. “Hunny, the guy’s coo-coo for coco-puffs.”
“I know.” Sighed Selena. “It was beyond stupid to think that I could contact him. I could have used the week for something important! Like promoting the Pay-Per-View or something!”
“You don’t even know who or even if you’re facing someone.”
“Yeah, but…” Selena shrugged. “Is it wrong that I believe that I will face someone? I mean… world champ… and Shaun promised and…”
“Selena.” Deanna tried, leaning her head forward to press her forehead against Selena’s. “You have done some good this week. You got Talia here. She’s safe now.”
That part still made Selena’s skin crawl. Not because Talia was staying with them – she was actually really good with the kids – but rather the condition she was in when they had picked her up at the airport. She still had some lingering bruises on her ribs and a slight discoloration on her cheek. Now, compared to what Selena went through on a regular basis, like being shoved into a steel step by the Connection, or smashed with a chair by Ace Marshall, or the countless other times she’d been cut open, concussed, or scarred by barbed wire… Talia’s beating was not so severe. Even so, seeing such marks on Talia made Selena’s blood boil far more than seeing any bruise or cut on her own body.
But Deanna was right – Talia was safe for now, and for that, Selena could breath a sigh of relief.
“Selena…” Deanna’s voice returned, regaining the Snow Queen’s attention.
“Hmmm?”
“It’s just…seeing Talia… and…” Deanna gestured to her own face with a pointed finger, indicated the cheekbone.
“The bruises?” Selena asked, keeping her arms wrapped around her wife.
“Yeah, well… you don’t have to answer this, but…” the redhead’s voice trailed off.
“What is it, Deanna?”
“Did Ryan… gods I feel so horrible for asking this.” Deanna tried, shaking her head. “Did he ever hit you?”
The question took a second to settle in Selena’s mind – the platinum-blonde needing that long to realize what her wife was asking. “Do you really want to know the answer to that?”
Biting her lower lip, hard by the looks of it, Deanna slowly nodded her head.
“Yes.” Selena replied. “A few times.”
Slowly, Deanna nodded her head. “When…it was happening… on the video… I saw you stiffen and… it looked like when you first wake up from your nightmares in the morning.”
“I…” Selena tried, unable to find the words. “I’m sorry.”
“Can you…” Deanna tried. “Can you tell me what happened?”
A sigh came from Selena as she looked away. “Honestly? It happened only a few times. I don’t remember them all… but one I’ll never forget… It was the day I went to him after ‘delivering’ Elsianna.”
“When you believed…”
“That my child was made of snow, yes. I…” the world champion shook her head. “I believed so much that the gods – fate, reality, whatever – had finally shown me a modicum of peace and happiness and all I wanted was to share it with the man that I thought loved me. I ran to his office, past Talia, and tried to share the good news with him. That he was a father. He refused to believe me – and I can understand why now. But at the time, he didn’t care about helping me or getting me help… he just wanted to discard me.”
“He beat you.” Deanna concluded, earning a nod from Selena.
“Compared to Xander, Kandis and Tommy, the Brand, even Regan… it was nothing. Hell, I wouldn’t even put him in my top 10 – even Ace Marshall has a spot there after that chair attack. But back then? Him kicking and stomping me… throwing me to the ground outside his office…” she ran a hand through her platinum-blonde locks. “I realized that no love should ever be like that, ever! I realized that he never loved me… and that I never wanted to be so in love with someone that I would let them do that to me again.”
Turning back to her wife, Selena saw the guilt in her wife’s emerald eyes, the redhead biting her lower lip.
“Deanna?”
“I…” Deanna shook her head, her hands fidgeting with each other. “What about the times I slapped you?”
“Deanna…” Selena reached out, cupping her wife’s face with her hands. “You never meant to hurt me – and I’d be lying if I didn’t deserve a slap in the face sometimes. Trust me.”
“But…”
“No buts. You’re not the same as him. Our fights aren’t the same as what he and I went through. So don’t compare yourself!”
“Uh… excuse me?”
The sound of a new voice stole both women’s attention from one another, the Frost wives turning their heads at almost the same time to see the rather scraggly looking man dressed in gray track pants and a gray hoodie under a large flannel coat. His beard was pointed in all directions and he reeked of – well, Selena wasn’t sure but whatever it was, it had died long ago.
“Hello…” the platinum-blonde said, trying her best to breath short breaths.
“Hi.” The man replied, showing his yellow teeth. Everything about the man screamed ‘homeless’ to Deanna and Selena and yet he held up a poster of Selena Frost – one taken while she still had her full, iconic braid. “Can you sign?”
“Sure.” Selena replied, grateful for the direction this exchange had finally taken. Taking the poster, she managed to place it on the table before her. “Deanna, why don’t you sign it too!”
“Okay.” She heard her wife reply.
“Okay. Who should we make this out to?”
No answer came, which surprised the Snow Queen. Turning her head to regard the ‘gentleman’, she was stunned to see that he was gone, having run out of the store in a flash.
“What the-“ Selena asked looking around the store at the few people that saw the whole thing happen – people who were equally confused. “Was it something I said?”
“He left his poster behind.” Deanna stated.
“Well, at least they can have it.” Selena replied, pointing to the sticker in the corner that read ‘The Wrestling Universe Store’. “See? He must have bought this here before coming to us.”
“But why would he have bought it here, brought it to us, only to run off before we signed it?” Deanna asked, causing Selena to only shrug her shoulders.
“Maybe he’s a little messed in the head. He did seem a little odd.”
“You’re a little odd.” Deanna remarked. “I’m a little odd. That guy was-“
“Coo coo for coca puffs?” Selena interjected, raising an eyebrow at her wife, who merely shrugged her shoulders. However, as the Snow Queen lifted the poster, turning it towards her wife - “Good likeness?” she asked – her eyes trailed down the blank side of the poster, to the dark lettering of the message written in marker at the corner.
“Selena?” Deanna asked but jumped out of the way as Selena all but threw the poster back onto the table, the corner on full display on. In the corner was the black-marker message.
“You have until 2pm.” Selena read aloud, along with a number whose area code she didn’t recognize - Probably some kind of burner phone…. But it was the black skull drawn beside the number that made her heart both race and then stop in sudden realization. “Deanna…” her voice trailed off as her sapphire eyes flew to the clock. She had two minutes left.
Fast as she could, Selena thrust out her phone from her pocket and dialed the number that was on the poster. She heard it ring once…twice… but no more times as a voice took over. One that sent chills down her spine.
“You’ve got ten words.” Came the gravelled, altered voice she recognized. “Use them well.”
Selena’s eyes found Deanna’s, the near-panic in her wife’s emerald orbs. Taking a deep breath, Selena stepped into a nearby corner of the store, away from prying eyes.
“I want to make a deal with you.” She whispered.
There was a pause, one that lasted far longer than she liked and one that nearly gave her a heart attack.
“You have another ten words.” Came Killjoy’s voice.
“I want you to stop Ryan from becoming mayor.”
Another long pause – again, too long.
“Hello?” Selena asked after a minute of waiting. Immediately, she heard Killjoy’s voice again, but it was only eight words. Eight words that made Selena shudder but six words she could not refuse. “I understand.” She replied before hearing the line go dead.
Gazing down the aisle, she saw Deanna standing there, her hands clenched together and placed over her own heart. “What…what did he say?” she asked, almost afraid to do so.
Taking a deep breath, Selena rejoined her wife, her eyes gazing at the phone in her hand before staring back at Deanna.
“He said he’ll meet us to discuss the deal.” Selena sighed.
“Okay…” Deanna breathed nervously. “Where and when?”
Biting her lower lip, Selena released one last exhale from her nose before she said those same eight words: “8pm…June 23rd… Santa Barbara… The Starmaker.”
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![[Image: hffOaUZ.png]](https://i.imgur.com/hffOaUZ.png)
SCW Supreme Champion
6x SCW World Champion
4x SCW World Tag-Team Champion
2x SCW United States Champion
3x SCW Adrenaline Champion
SCW Television Champion
Longest Reigning SCW World Champion (234 days)
Winner of Shot of Adrenaline Tournament (2016)
Winner of Best of the Best Tournament (2016)
Winner of Trios Tournament (2018)
Winner of U.S. Championship Tournament (2020)
Winner of World Championship Tournament (2023)
Winner of Tactical Warfare (2014, 2019)
Winner of Elimination Chamber (2015)
Winner of Roofed Cage Match (2019)
Winner of Last Person Standing Match (2019)
The Unbelievable Main Event (2021-2023)
Winner of Double Jeopardy Match (2022)
Winner of EOTY Invitational (2023)
Winner of EOTY Invitational (2023)
Female Wrestler of the Year (2016, 2021, 2022)
Tag-Team of the Year (2020 - w/ Regan Street)
Match of the Year (2018, 2019, 2021, 2023)
Feud of the Year (2014, 2019)
![[Image: 34zetxl.png]](https://i.ibb.co/SnpvD5T/34zetxl.png)