The Scarlet Queen (Part 1)

In front of a huge crowd, a surreal scene took place inside the squared circle. In an event hosted by a promotion known as the Diamond Wrestling Association, one of their top young stars, Roxie Hart, was celebrating in the ring with another competitor, Empress Nikita. The two women just fought each other in a 25-minute match that served as the main event, and after the final bell sounded, both women--popular babyfaces--joined hands and showed their appreciation to the crowd in a very beautiful scene.

Roxie had a lot of fans cheering her on in the four years she had been competing. However, there was one fan who Roxie knew was her biggest by far.

"Gabi?!"

Roxie was approached by someone who was very personal to her: her stepsister, Gabi Prentiss, who ran towards Roxie and gave her a big hug.

"You were so awesome out there, sis!" Gabi exclaimed.

"Thanks so much!" replied Roxie. "But what are you doing here?"

"You know I just had to see you perform!" said Gabi.

"Yeah, but...," Roxie said, "does your mom know you're here?" Gabi didn't respond, only giving Roxie a somewhat mischievous smile.

"Yeah, that answers my question," said Roxie, who gave a slight chuckle as she and Gabi left the arena together. On the drive home, all they could talk about was Roxie's match, with Gabi continuing to express her fandom of her older stepsister, as well as wrestling in general. Upon arriving home, Roxie looked around the house thoroughly.

"Relax, girl," Gabi said as she entered the house. "Mom's at work, she won't know a thing."

"Actually," Gabi heard a familiar and stern voice say. "The meeting ended early." A shocked and nervous Gabi turned around and suddenly saw her mother, Lori Prentiss, standing in front of her with a very stern expression on her face.

"Hi, Mom," Gabi said nerviously. "So, how did the meeting go? Looking fabulous as usual."

"Nice try, Gabrielle," said Lori. "Upstairs, to your room." Gabi headed to her bedroom; all the while, Lori turned her attention to Roxie. "Did you know Gabi was at one of your shows?"

"I didn't know until after it was over," replied Roxie, as Lori walked closer to her stepdaughter.

"Look, Roxie," said Lori, "I know you have to follow in your father's footsteps and actually wrestle; I will never understand it, but I know it. But could you at least not influence Gabi so much?"

"I'm not influencing anyone, Lori," said Roxie.

"Really?" asked Lori. "Gabi idolizes you. She's going to do everything her big sister does, and I don't want her doing something so... unladylike." As soon as she uttered that last word, Roxie rolled her eyes. It wasn't the first time that Lori referred to Roxie's profession as being "unladylike." "I mean, there are so many other professions, like, say..."

"Fashion?" Roxie asked sarcastically. "Like, say... you?" Lori was quite a name in the fashion industry, not only living it and dressing the part, she practically ran it. "I hate to break it to you, Lori, but not all women are into fashion like you are."

"I'm just saying," said Lori. "Watch what you do around my daughter."

Roxie never let Lori's words about her career get to her. Her only focus was on the next show and the next match, and that took place just four days later against "Sassy" Stella Green; a match that Roxie ended up winning by countout, because Stella was no longer in a mood to fight. The crowd cheered Roxie, but suddenly, the lights went out in the arena, much to the bewilderment of the crowd in attendance. When the lights were back on, Roxie was shown paying attention to the entrance ramp, but right behind her was a mysterious woman in a reddish bodysuit and a full mask covering her face, while wearing a crown and a cape. Once Roxie turned around, she was attacked by the masked culprit, with the fans in attendance gasping in shock, and later booing the mysterious villainess afterwards.

With one swoop of her cape, the lights went out again, but even in the darkness, Roxie and the fans heard a sultry voice from afar:

"Hello, Roxie. Allow me to introduce myself. I am the Scarlet Queen, and I am your worst nightmare!"

Roxie was stunned by this development. Who was this Scarlet Queen? What was her purpose? And why Roxie? Those were the questions that had been on Roxie's mind for several days, but she wasn't the only one asking, as Gabi's curiosity was also piqued.

"The Scarlet Queen," Gabi said as she watched Roxie train. "Sounds a bit... medieval."

"Yeah, but from what I experienced," Roxie responded to Gabi's laughter, "she's no joke. I still feel the impact from her attack that night."

"You'll defeat her, sis," said Gabi. "You always come through."

"I don't know, Gabi," said Roxie. "Anyway, that's not important. Let's talk about you; so what's new lately?"

"My mom is really pushing her pitch for me to follow in her footsteps," Gabi said with a sigh. "She wants me to become the next Miss Fashion Queen CEO."

"Haven't you told your mom that you hate fashion?" asked Roxie.

"Repeatedly," answered Gabi. "It goes in one ear and out the other. She is determined to get me in to her world. I think it got turned up after she caught us coming home from your show. She wants me to be a 'true lady,' whatever that is."

"Look," Roxie said with a slight laugh. "Lori is a bit much, yes, but she does love you. At the same time, she needs to let you do what you want. You're going to be 18 in a couple of weeks."

"Yeah, and I can't wait," said Gabi. "I can do what I want without my mom telling me what to do.

A day before her next show, Roxie noticed an email in her inbox, with no subject. Upon opening the email, Roxie saw a video link with the words, "From the Scarlet Queen," as the main screenshot. Out of curiosity, Roxie played the video message, with began with the Scarlet Queen walking towards the camera.

"Hello, Roxie," the Scarlet Queen greeted. "Still thinking about me? Good. I want you to think about me. I want you to obsess over me, and I want you to remember that I will always plague you unless you give in to what I desire!" As the Scarlet Queen laughed maniacally, all Roxie could do was stare intensely at what she was watching, not showing one ounce of intimidation for her new foe.

"Until next time, Roxie," the Queen stated at the end of the video. Roxie slammed down her laptop, now fully determined to get her hands on her villainous pursuer.

The following night was Diamond Wrestling's next event, but Roxie wanted to get something off her chest.

"Scarlet Queen," Roxie said, "you want to come after me so badly? I'm right here! If you truly call yourself a Queen, you'll face me, 'cause I'm not going anywhere!" As Roxie stood strong to massive cheers, the music she heard was not that of the Scarlet Queen, but that of Roxie's opponent, Inferno, a heel with a punk rock gimmick. A fired up Roxie made quick work of Inferno, needing just two minutes to deliver her finishing move known as "Hart-break Hotel," which is a powerbomb move. After getting the three count, Roxie's celebrated, but she was still frustrated over not getting her hands on the Queen.

Even more frustration came in the form of Roxie discovering that she had a flat tire, leaving her with no means of transportation. "Dammit," Roxie grumbled. "First, the Queen gets away, now this. What the hell else could happen?"

"Need a lift?"

Roxie turned around and saw someone she didn't expect to see: Lori, pulling up on her car, but giving a bit of a genial smile on her face. Not one to be choosy, Roxie took the ride with her stepmother, who she was still surprised to see. "What brings you here, Lori?" asked Roxie.

"Can't a woman want to pick up her stepdaughter?" Lori asked sweetly. "Actually, I just wanted to clear my head a bit."

"I didn't know being a fashion maven was so tough," Roxie said in a semi-sarcastic tone. As the drive continued, Roxie quickly noticed that they weren't taking their usual route to her apartment, or even to Lori and Gabi's house. "Ummm, Lori," Roxie said, "where are we going?"

"As I said, I did want to clear my head," answered Lori, "and I think you need this, too. From what Gabi tells me, you've been through quite a bit with this 'Scarlet Queen' business."

"Gabi told you about that?" asked Roxie.

"Gabi talks about you a lot, Roxie," Lori said as she stopped the car in front of a large warehouse. "Here we are!" Roxie saw the building and clearly showed wariness regarding the surroundings and its somewhat secretive location, but despite this, Roxie made her way into the warehouse, but was stunned to that see that she had entered alone. The warehouse was dark, but Roxie's search for light ended with a bright reddish glow filled the building, and at that moment Roxie saw two things. One was a wrestling ring. The other:

"You!"

"Hello, Roxie," the Scarlet Queen greeted as she stood in the ring, doing so before performing a flip over the ropes and walking slowly towards her foe. "I warned you what would happen if you didn't give in to what I desired." The masked villainess delivered a kick right to Roxie's face, but that wasn't the biggest blow that she received. As Roxie winced, the Scarlet Queen suddenly placed her gloved hand over her mask and removed it for the first time to Roxie, who was stunned to see who the Scarlet Queen truly was.

"Lori?!"

"Surprised, dear stepdaughter?" Lori said with a sinister smirk as she looked down at Roxie.

"Why?" asked Roxie. "Why do all of this?"

"As I said before," said Lori, "all my daughter does is talk about her cool, wrestler stepsister. I want her to follow in my footsteps, and I can't have that if you keep influencing her! I warned you, Roxie! I warned you what would happen if you didn't give in!"

"You won't break me, Lori," a determined Roxie vowed. "I won't let you."

"Not yet," the sinister Lori chuckled. "But trust me, I will break you, Roxie. I will be victorious in this saga between us. And if it means I have to stoop to entering your environment, then so be it!" At that moment, the lights went out again, and once they came back on, only Roxie stood alone, hearing the chilling sound of Lori's maniacal cackling filling the warehouse. Roxie now had the knowledge that her stepmother was the evil Scarlet Queen. What she didn't know, at that moment, was what Lori had planned for Roxie.

Check out Part 2 below!