Starboy vs Leah Shaw - The Hero's Challenge

Standard Match
Victory by pinfall or submission



As Jens Olsen had found out, life of the Lonely Superhero in AFW was turning out to be rather - lonely. Since joining AFW his bookings had turned out to be rather sparse, and the amount of Starboy's appearances in the ring had been limited. Maybe it was due to the fact that he had no manager, no group, no acquiantances to arrange him some matches, maybe because he hadn't been too active in trying to arrange them himself, or maybe due to the potential opponents' hesitance of being faced with a true hero. Who knew!

The quiescence had been both a good and a bad thing. The good part of it was the fact that he had had time to familiarize himself well with the matches and practices of AFW, watch multiple episodes of Tension and study the moves and ways other wrestlers worked in matches. All of that would inevitably make Starboy a tougher superhero in the ring.

The bad part was, obviously, the fact that no appearances meant no fame, no fans, no following, and no fun. But most gravely, no villains put in their place! That had to change. And Jens was eager to take on his role as Starboy in the ring as soon as possible, making sure that villains would be served justice by the Lonely Superhero!

That's why Starboy was now waiting backstage, as another night of Tension was soon to begin. And to kick things off tonight, he had decided to make his appearance ten minutes before the scheduled start of the show, and issue an open challenge to the Tension locker room.

Starboy - The Lonely Superhero:

The Weeknd's Starboy started suddenly blaring throughout the arena, and while some began paying attention to the ring, others regarded it just as some pre-show entertainment. But those observing the events in the ring could see a boy clearly clad as a superhero marching steadily towards the ring, jumping up into it and walking a round waving subtly at the crowds in the arena, before obtaining a microphone from an official.

The music died down, and the hero started addressing the arena. "Erhmm... Hello! Hello everyone... Sorry, I know, I'm a bit early... But I've got a good reason to!" By this time most had realized that the events of tonight's show had already started taking place, and were eagerly awaiting what the boy had to say. "I'm Starboy, the hero of Tension... And I can guess that most of you have probably not seen me yet. And I know there's a reason for it..." he continued, having the crowds at this point already silent. "I've seen the competition here, and I can tell that the girls of Tension are often up to no good. They don't want to face a hero that will out them in their place... But don't worry... That's why I'm here to serve justice tonight!" That already triggered some cheers out of the crowds. "So, I'm issuing an open challenge to the villains and bad girls of Tension... I'm giving you ten minutes to prepare before one of you has to face a superhero here in this ring tonight! I'll be right here waiting!"

After those words, the lights suddenly died out again, leaving Starboy in the ring waiting for the locker room's response to his challenge in excitement.

Another night of taping and she didn't have a match. "This sucks..." She sat at a table in the back, arms folded on the top wit her chin resting on the pile. Pouting, as she tended to do when she was acting a bit whiny. She had had quite a few matches recently, but more was better. She wanted to get out there and rub elbows with all the cool wrestlers in the roster. Heck, she would even take some of the Friction talent on too. "This suuuuuucks." She lifted her head only to bury it in her arms letting out an overly dramatic loud sigh.

"I get it. Just shut up." It wasn't as if this was something new. "This suuuuucks. Waaaah." He mimicked her own voice, trying and failing to reach her pitch, though he got the whiny nature down perfectly. Leah had a tendency to think about something, than verbalize it louder and louder until she got attention. Most people grew out of that behavior at some point in their youth, not his sister, apparently. "Nobody cares, curl up in a corner and cry some more... preferably out of earshot." Edgar was sitting beside his sister, leaning onto the two back legs of the cheap chairs they had backstage, boots kicked up on the table. For a change he was catching the taping on one of the monitors, well, when he wasn't checking his phone.

Leah groaned as if she was on her death bed into her arms. "Why are you so mean to me!"

"Because I'm your brother. It's in the hand book." He reached over, giving Leah a gentle bap on the back of the head, displacing her hair with a floof.

"The worst brother ever..." She remained quiet for a long while, as did Edgar. The broadcast playing some unfamiliar music. "I didn't mean that... sorry." She lifted her head, peeking out at Edgar who didn't seem to care even remotely.

"I know." Edgar tilted his head, brow raised as he eyed the screen. "What's with this nerd?"

"Huh?" Leah slowly leaned back in her chair, fixing her hair quietly as she eyed Starboy on the screen.

"Erhmm... Hello! Hello everyone... Sorry, I know, I'm a bit early... But I've got a good reason to! I'm Starboy, the hero of Tension... And I can guess that most of you have probably not seen me yet. And I know there's a reason for it..."

"Hero of Tension... That's some lame ass shi-"

"Shhshhshh! Hush! I wanna hear this!" Leah scooted her chair a bit closer to the table as she watched the monitor with vested interest.

"Whatever." Edgar glanced sidelong at his sister, shaking his head in mind disappointment before looking to his phone again.

"I've seen the competition here, and I can tell that the girls of Tension are often up to no good. They don't want to face a hero that will out them in their place... But don't worry... That's why I'm here to serve justice tonight!"

"He is calling someone out. That is so cool. I should call people out. Maybe I'll call you out." Lean leaned over, giving Edgar a small playful nudge with her elbow. As he slowly turned his head to look at her flatly she was already beaming with a wide innocent grin.

"You know I would grind you into a fine powder, right? You'd just be tiny pile in the ring they'd have to sweep away in a dustpan." He stared directly through her, delivering his words in a deadpan tone that seemed to worry the girl.

"I was joking anyhow! Eheheh..."  She held up her hands, waving them a bit before prompting turning back around to watch.

"So, I'm issuing an open challenge to the villains and bad girls of Tension... I'm giving you ten minutes to prepare before one of you has to face a superhero here in this ring tonight! I'll be right here waiting!"

"Wait... That means... I could be the villain, I totally have a costume for this! That could be me, I can wrestle tonight..." Leah kicked off the ground scooting her chair out from under the table, shooting to her feet. "That's me, I got this!" The blond took off running towards the locker room before she came to a screeching halt, dashing back to where she came from. "Uh... Hey Ed?"

Edgar glanced sidelong at Leah, sighing softly. "What?"

"I need you to get some theme music to the sound guys, I need to go get changed and stuff! Oh! and don't let anyone else challenge him first okay?"

"So... should I just..." He Drew a thumb slowly across his throat with an accompanied sound effect, gesturing slitting someone's neck.

Leah paused, a bit paler now. "W-what?! No I mean..."

"Joking... go. I'll find something." Edgar rolled his eyes as she stood up from the table, shooing Leah off.

"You're the best!" Leah scampered off to the locker rooms again, taking the corner hard and fast she almost knocked down a very confused passerby.

"I know." Edgar made his way to the production area, browsing for music on his phone on the way.

---

????:

Theme:

It had almost been the entire ten minutes. An awkward situation for the Lonely Superhero to be left all on his own, though it was true to his namesake. Finally however, music played, a theme nobody recalled hearing before. As the curtain parted, a semi familiar face emerged, though not many knew her at at glance, but her fans certainly knew and were slightly confused. Tonight, she wasn't Leah Shaw, she was something more, something dastardly... and she had a microphone.

She carried herself as if she was bigger, stranger than she was. Between the bulked up boots and gauntlets she wore however, she looked far more intimidating that her usual attire or the swimwear they had seen elsewhere. Head held high, she narrowed her now red eyes, thanks to contacts, over the crowd before settling them back onto Starboy. Raising the microphone close to her lips, she spoke  incredibly close to the mic, making her voice loudly pop. "Boo." With a small smirk she leaned back, a bit more casual, though in an arrogant way. She learned that from dealing with her brother all the time.

"Saying we don't want to face you... that's assuming a lot, Mr. Hero." She tilted her head, giving the boy in the ring a flat look. "So I came out here to shut your mouth hole." She flared her nostrils, drawing it a deep breath. "Assuming you're not going to just worm away now that you actually have someone like me staring your down." She slowly began her way down the ramp, trying her best to hold back her excitement and stay in character.

There had to be at least thirty minutes gone by now. At least, that's how it felt for Starboy waiting in the ring to see how his challenge would turn out to be received. Well, looking at the arena screen told him that the amount of time had actually been barely close to ten, but time just wasn't running by as it usually was. Granted, the hero was used to some lonely times, but being alone waiting in a ring in front of a huge audience wasn't exactly comparable to your average lonely times.

The ten minutes had been a mistake. He should have gone for five.

He had managed to deliver his challenge well though. That was one thing to be content of. He had said exactly what he had wanted and planned to, been convincing saying it, and probably provoked some of the contenders backstage. There was no reason for his plan to fail.

Still, it wasn't a comfortable feeling waiting there alone in the ring. He had no idea what was happening backstage now. What if nobody showed up? That could make him look good in some way, but then again prevent him from leaving a lasting imprint in the minds of the crowds. No match would have meant no fans, no fame, no admiration for the hero. And no justice served.

But no, the Tension locker room didn't fail the challenger this time either. Finally, music started playing.

The moment was a huge relief for Star. He could finally forget his worries of whether his challenge would be accepted or not. But the worries were replaced with anxious excitement. Who was the one to accept his challenge? Who was going to come facing him? Veteran or a rookie? Agile high-flyer or a brutal powerhouse? And how much of a villain would she be after all?

The curtains finally revealed a figure. One that Star couldn't immediately recognize or see well enough to evaluate properly, but one that he certainly found very peculiar and interesting.

And once she opened her mouth, it was obvious that she had attitude. Attitude of a villain. Perfect!

Star raised the mic on his lips, and was just about to respond to the mysterious opponent's accusations, before she started confidently walking down the ramp. The crowds went wild from the appearance of the mysterious villain, causing that his words would have only been buried under the uproar. Thus, deciding to spare them for a moment, the hero took instead the opportunity to evaluate the villain approaching the ring.

First thing he noticed was her outfit. Star was passionate about cosplay, and he got the distinct feeling that the girl could be too. He couldn't immediately recognize what exactly did her outfit represent, but that didn't matter. It was fabulous, imaginative, and smoking hot. He had to grade it ten out of ten.

Not only was her outfit excellent, her body was also good news. Not only because she was sexy and cute despite the villainess image, but also because she appeared to be about the same size as him. That fact was promising Star good prospects for the match. At least he wouldn't be having a huge size disadvactage or anything such...

As the girl was getting close enough to getting into the ring, the crowds had settled enough for him to speak.

"Well, looks like there was one soul brave enough to face me tonight... Good!" the hero began in a confident tone. "And rest assured, I'm not going to worm my way anywhere.....unlike how you will undoubtedly attempt to do when I'll get my holds applied on you!" Clearly, the crowds were loving the tension building up between them.

"But please, first, tell me... To who do I have the pleasure to be serving justice tonight? I can tell by the way you look and talk that you aren't a good girl at all, but what excuse do you exactly have not to obey a hero's orders?"

Leah had put together several costumes, cramming most of them into her locker while some of the others she had made Edgar put in his since he never really used his own. Most of them served a purpose or had a backstory she worked up for them. This one in particular was of interest to her and she had planned on using the the future if the need ever arose to experiment with being a heel. It hadn't come to that, her babyface reaction form the crowd normally was rather impressive, which only grew with every match she featured in. Today however, she dawned a costume of a Japanese ogre, or oni as they were mostly known as. Between the horns and the animal print attire, quite a few people had already assumed as much.

She came to a stop at the base of the ramp, flashing a grin up at Starboy, it looked at though she might have also had some manner of face teeth in, it almost looked like she had fangs. "Big words, from such a tiny mortal." She let out a bellowing laugh that... wasn't the most intimidating thing ever... Leah was still new to this whole being a bad guy thing. "Gwahahaha! It is only right you know the name of your destroyer, boy. I am the Oni Queen of Uji and I've come to put you down." She gestured with her fingers for the one, two, and finally three before holding them high to a shower of boos from the crowd. "The only thing that will be served tonight is your dinner, through a straw when I'm done with you!" She puffed out her chest a bit, trying to look a bit bigger as she took long confident strides to the steps at the corner of the ring.

"I hope you've made your peace, hero." She moved up the step to travel up along the apron. One of her long legs slipped between the ropes before she ducked under, following suit. Not in the ring, she circled Starboy, keeping her distance as she sized him up.

If Jens felt like he could play his role as Starboy well enough, so he had to judge his newfound opponent tonight to be capable of regarding her own role as well. The girl was acting up very confident, her words were very cunning, and it was apparent that she had a clear idea how to contrast and deal with a hero like him.

But still, Jens had the distinct feeling that deep down it was all still just an act, just a play. Maybe it was the way she laughed, maybe it was the way she talked, but the blonde girl probably wasn't a genuinely evil person. She just liked to be one in the ring. And that reminded Jens of Lena back in Norway...

But would it mean that she would be an easy opponent? Definitely not. He had absolutely no reason to think that the girl had not come up into the ring with the firm intention of demolishing Starboy, the brave hero tonight.

Star listened carefully to the girl's each word, wanting to get some idea on how she would be fighting, and what kind of an opponent she would turn out to be. Clearly, she wanted to play some mind-games. That was apparent by her words, and the way she started circling him as if the boy was her poor prey... It actually did get Star a bit nervous, but mostly only in a good way. It was getting his adrenaline going, and his mind and body getting ready for a tough fight. Besides, everything the girl was saying and doing was making it only easier for him to play his role as the hero...

"So, you're the Oni Queen of Uji... I have to admit, that's a great outfit!" the boy had to signal his appreciation for Leah's costume. While it was sexy and scanty, it still managed to be imaginative, devilish and even intimidating at the same time. The hero had to spend a thought on how those gauntlets could be feeling striking his skin... "However, it won't be saving you from the hand of justice! And if you consider me just a tiny mortal, tell me, what's your superpower then?" Star decided to tease the girl a bit. "I'm pretty sure that even Oni Queens become powerless against a hero like me..."

Leah was still circling around him, so Star started trying to get into that circling motion himself, not wanting to have his opponent behind his back even for a second. "Say what you say, but you'll be defeated tonight, fair and square! And that's when a hero can make his peace..."

When it came to heroics, she had his number pretty good. As a child she had a boundless imagination, one that had never really left here as she grew up. It was a necessity with how often they moved. It could be as something as her toys being involved in epic battles or just her playing dress up to fight evil in whatever form Edgar took that day... Her brother often times hot stuck playing the bad guy, since she was of course the best good girl there was. It didn't matter if she was a knight, detective, or a superheroine, she was always on the good side, it just suited her.

Granted, more often than not the good side lost in her life. Edgar wasn't much for theatrics and often times just handed her a butt kicking... So many be she wasn't the best when it came to heroics after all, but by the same merits she was good at evil becoming triumphant... Which made her perfect for playing a villain. Besides, she was older now and way better than she was as a kid at throwing down. She could totally do this.

It was hard for her to keep from smiling, it almost came out naturally to the compliment. She was a big fan of her costumes, and while it may have looked simple to put together, a lot of time and research went into it. She hadn't even been sure if she could have ever used it live for Tension, so this had been a happy surprise. In typical heel fashion she was dismissive about the compliment, snorting and brushing at her nose with a thumb. "Is that so, hero? Tempted to join my army by the mere sight of me? You would make for a good underling." She flashed Starboy a fanged grin.

She snickered softly as her circling came to a halt, standing before him to glare. "They say Justice is blind you know. You must be too..." She clenched her fists, slamming them together. The microphone in her hand only amplified the sound giving it the illusion of being impressively loud. "... If you see yourself beating me." With that she tossed the microphone aside letting it bounce off the canvas. With a snarl she lowered herself down to her familiar grappling stance.

"Enough talk, hero. Unless your super power is boring me to death." She squared her shoulders, trying to look a bit bigger and bulkier than she actually was. While she wasn't the tallest or most muscled girl on the roster, in this moment she carried herself like a far bigger threat than she tended to be normally. She could feel her heart pounding, blood pumping, she was ready to get this started.

Giving the compliment of the girl's outfit actually served a couple of purposes for Starboy. First was the obvious one. He actually appreciated it, and a genuine hero wasn't one to spare compliments when they were deserved. The second one was trickier though. Star had the sense that the girl wasn't possibly all that fiendish after all. Maybe he could disrupt her with playing her role, and see some genuine friendliness when receiving some compliments...

He could see none. She was acting like a true villain, turning his comments against him.

Star just snarled. "No thanks, a hero like me is just fine as an army on his own."

The hero still managed to sound all determined and confident, but the combination of all of the Oni Queen's deeds was slowly starting to get under his skin. Her confidence, her vicious words, her devilish outfit, her fanged grin, her clenched fists, the clashing of her gauntlets...

By now Star was convinced that he was facing a strong and vicious villainess, who wasn't going to let the hero's life to be easy at all.

A careful eye could have noticed the subtlest of gulps on Starboy's throat. But had they assumed that it signalled fear, they would have been dead wrong. The hero was just getting pumped up with adrenaline, preparing for a tough fight. One that he would be fighting adamantly until the end, whether it would be spelling victory or peril for him.

Seeing the girl taking a grappling stance, Star instictively did the same. The boy also started slowly approaching her. The Oni Queen was suddenly looking bigger and stronger than she had just moments ago, but the hero knew that he shouldn't be afraid of that. He had to face her, no matter what.

"Fair enough, show me your powers then!" the boy stated raising his hands, obviously challenging her for a lock-up. There were a couple of things Star was hoping for a good test of strength to reveal to him. He wasn't really very strong or muscular guy himself, especially for a hero, but it was important to find out whether the villainess was as strong as she appeared. Also, a good lock-up could give him a sense of those gauntlets, namely how obediently he should be avoiding them.

A referee had been sent to wait ringside when Starboy had issued his challenge. It had been a long tiring wait, but none of this had been a played event so it was unclear if a match was going to actually take place or simply an issuing of challenges. When the two finally started talking it seemed clear it would be an actual match. They remained on the outside until the two seemed ready to go. As they moved to lock up, the referee slipped into the ring and called for the bell, making it official.

Leah was a bit nervous, she couldn't lie. While Starboy didn't have the build of someone intimidating, it was hard to tell how good he might be from glance. He was about her height, a bit on the scrawny side... A lot like Levi. Her first normal wrestling match opponent had been far weaker than she had thought he would be, but still packed a punch. She had also underestimated another earlier opponent who had looked almost twig like compared to her, but their submissions had been incredible. By appearance and gimmick alone, she pegged him as an aerial acrobat, but it was just a guess. She wouldn't know until they got rolling.

As soon as his hands were raised, she charged him, slamming her palms into his own, clenching down her fingers to lace theirs together. Thee gaunlets we're solid, that much was sure. They didn't feel like metal, but they didn't have any real give. Some form of hard plastic perhaps. Getting hit by them would no doubt suck, of that he could be certain.

She had thrown her weight into the initial push, trying to gave early footing and drive him back until he managed to halt her advance. She wasn't holding back, even a little. It would be pretty clear that while she wasn't a hulking powerhouse like some of AFW, in terms of raw strength locking up with her like this would put him on the losing end of the battle.

She seemed to see this as well, not sure if she was actually stronger or he was going easy. Either way she was going to capitalize on it if she could. She bore down on him, trying to make use of some leverage to out Starboy in an even less advantageous position, trying to drive him down to his knees. "Let's see how far you get now, hero." She flashed a fanged grin as she stared him in the eyes with wide red pupils.

Star thought he knew quite well how lock-ups usually played out like. First there was the challenge, then getting the initial feel of the opponent, then the phase where the struggle developed gradually into a true test-of-strength, one that would usually reveal the eventual winner of the contest.

Turned out, he didn't. Or then this was just a very unusual one. While he thought he was prepared to lock-up with the villainess, she was much more eager to bring him down than he had expected. The girl charged immediately at him with full power, catching the boy by surprise and forcing him to back up several steps.

The hero's face was turning into a grimace as the boy began applying full resistance. He managed to halt her advance somewhat - but not completely. From time to time the hero had to take a step back, all while looking sternly into the villainess'es eyes and enduring the pressure from the gauntlets on his fingers. For a moment it looked like a true contest, but then the girl decided to enhance her strategy. Star noticed her suddenly starting to push him down, and soon enough the boy fell on his knees in front of his opponent.

Looking up at her fanged grin, by now it was obvious for everyone that in terms of raw strength The Oni Queen was overpowering The Lonely Superhero.

Starboy felt humiliated. He had been the one to issue the challenge, he had been the one to initiate the lock-up. But despite their rather similar size, the villainess had been the one to gain the upper hand.

That had to change. He had to turn the tide immediately, and show the crowds a sample of his own skills as well.

Instead of replying Leah's taunting, Star just pitched his head down and released the lock-up, as if accepting his defeat in the test-of-strength. But his sight was actually set right on his next target - the girl's ankles. The boy tried then to quickly grab hold of them, and yank them hard towards him, hoping to trip the girl and make her fall on her back right in front of him!

Provided that was successful, the boy also had further plans. He wanted to get quickly a bit higher for a second, only to then fall back down while putting the Oni Queen into a figure-four leglock! Getting the villainess into a tough submission hold could show everyone that it would take a lot more than one lock-up to make the hero fall!

As She pushed him further and further down he was finally forced to a knee. Her grinned down at him, rolling her tongue over her fangs... while it was menacing, she hadn't actually intended to come across that creepy. The fake fangs just felt weird, especially whens he talked. She almost had him down to the mat. That was both good and bad. She knew she wanted to get him there, but wasn't sure what to do once she got him down.

Ordinarily she wasn't much for groundwork, but given her new persona, submissions and ground and pounds seemed like a good choice. When Starboy finally made his move, it caught her off guard. She was so wrapped up in pushing him down and deciding on what move would come next that he was able to yank his hands back from hers. Her gauntlets, while providing her with arguably more punching power which bordered in the verge of being an illegal weapon, didn't give her as much grip as she was use to.

"Hrk!" As her legs were scooped out from under her she hit the mat with a thud, her chest bouncing from the impact. She blinked in surprise, momentarily dropping character as she lifted her head in mild confusion. As Starboy stepped a leg down between hers and started to turn, one of the signature parts of his figure four, she pulled back on the leg that wasn't being bent around his legs, thrusting it out to kick at the boy's backside to try and get him off of her before he could manage to finish the hold. "Not so fast!"

if she had managed to shove him away, she would pull herself up into a sitting position before trying to lumber to her feet. The bulky boots and gauntlets were taking getting use to, making her slightly more sluggish than she normally would be. As she rose to her feet she let forth a low throaty growl, eyes narrowing at Starboy.