A Foiled Crime! Mighty Star Appears!

Sista A only had one question on her mind right now. One, pivotal question, before she did anything else. ”Why the fuck are you dressed like that?”

The person she’d directed this towards was Makoto Aihara, her fellow Rumble Rose and a newly minted addition to the little army Anesthesia was cooking up. The two of them stood near the service entrance of the Friction arena, in a secluded little corner that few frequented, even in the middle of the day, a place where they had little chance of them being seen. Aisha had choen to wear something simple - tight jeans, sneakers, her favorite Jay-Z concert t-shirt. Casual clothes, comfortable ones, a getup that would make what they were here for today nice and easy.

Makoto, in contrast, was wearing black trackpants, a black turtleneck sweater, black boots, and a pair of big, black sunglasses. With her hair down for once instead of the usual ponytail she rocked, there only part of her that wasn’t black was her face, and even that had some black lipstick on. In short, she didn’t look inconspicuous - she looked like a person trying to be inconspicuous and failing hard at it. ”What?” Makoto sneered and held out her arms, looking herself over. ”We’re breaking and entering, what the heck else am I supposed to wear?”

That made a palm immediately come to Aisha’s face, and a groan to go along with it. ”That doesn’t mean you  have to dress like a ghost.” Shaking her head, she turned towards the emergency door, tested it, and gave it a quick pull open - no alarm, just like Anesthesia had said there would be. Everything was going according to plan, so far. ”Let’s do this, come on.”

The ‘plan’ was a simple one, really. She’d tasked her and Makoto with sneaking into Maximillian Kingsley’s office, hoping to get some dirt on the new Friction GM to use for leverage...and maybe a little more than that. The ‘World’s Naughtiest Nurse’ hadn’t been chomping at the bit the past few weeks, convinced that Maximillian would be a thorn in the side for whatever plans she had brewing, and she’d finally made up her mind to do something about it - which meant, of course, that she needed Sista A to do her legwork, as usual. That was her typical MO with things, though Aisha found herself wondering why she was making this sort of move now, why she’d never tried to move on the last GM like this.

In the end, she didn’t care that much. She was a button woman, Anesthesia pressed the button, and she was getting to it. That part, she could handle. What she was less keen on, though, was bringing Makoto Aihara along.

The two of them made their way down the service corridor, a long space littered with crates and boxes and devoid of any prying eyes. When a show was on, this area would be filled with crew members shuffling set pieces around and making the equipment. But on a Saturday, around noon, it was as quiet and quaint as a tomb, and with the weak security out on a lunch break, they had a good, fifteen minute window to do what they came for. Assuming, of course, Makoto kept up. ”You don’t have to do that, you know.”

Sista A just gave her the briefest look over her shoulder, before they navigated around a stack of pallets. ”Do what?”

”Treat me like that. Like I’m the same little kid from Rumble Roses.” Aisha wasn’t looking behind her anymore, but she could tell the woman had hands on her hips. It was in her tone. ”We’re partners now. Anesthesia has us both on the same level. So act like it.”

”You want to keep telling yourself that, go ahead.” Aisha waved it off. ”Anesthesia’s buy this whole new bad girl look, doesn’t mean I have to.”

Makoto hissed at that. A literal hiss. ”It’s not just a ‘new look’.” Makoto skipped a few steps to keep pace at Sista A’s side. ”You think you’re the only one who can change and see how things really are? I’ve been there, too.”

Sista A opened her mouth to give that the appropriate response, when she heard someone approaching from down the hall, just around the corner. Grabbing Makoto by the turtleneck, she moved back and yanked the younger woman along with her, ducking behind a stack of palettes nearby. From the shadows, they could hear someone rolling equipment on a cart. Heavy stuff. Whoever it was, they took their sweet time unloading the cargo off to the side, about three minutes, before they finally departed and took the cart with them, leaving the hallway in silence once again.

Aisha peered around the corner, made sure the coast was clear, then resumed the walk, moving slower now that they knew there was at least one other person in the vicinity. The sooner this was done, the better. ”Look,” She started up again, clearing her throat as she spoke. ”You want in on this gig, fine. But there’s more to this than just sounding tough. You got to act it, too. And so far, talking is all you’ve done.”

”Because I haven’t had the chance to do anything yet. I can handle things when the time comes.”

That only brought a snort from Sista A, with a toss of the hair to go along with it. ”Yeah, we’ll see.”

It wasn’t much longer before they arrived at their destination, standing just outside of Kingsley’s office. Simple lock and key, nothing too fancy, and she’d come prepared.

”Give me a minute with this lock.” She reached into her pocket and pulled out a compact lockpicking kit, a special little something she’d fished off Ebay for the occasion. ”Just keep an eye out, watch for walk-bys. Think you can handle that?”

Makoto replied with a rolling of the eyes and a shaking off the head, before backing away and putting her focus on the area. Even if the place was sparse today, there were still plenty of places were unwanted attention could come their way. Once they were inside, they’d be in the clear, but Aisha wanted her back clear while she went to work on the lock. Makoto could handle that much, at least.

Jennifer Murphy hadn’t been with AFW magazine for long. That was one of the main reasons her newly minted status of a field photographer also made her the office gopher. She didn’t mind fetching coffee orders in the morning or restocking printing supplies though most days. Today had been especially grueling though. The in staff mailman had called out so she had been tasked with handing things out around the office. A co-worker blew out a surge protector with some spilled soda… despite them not supposed to be eating or drinking at their desks, and Jenny had been made to go to the store to fetch a replacement, and now this.

While most people had clocked out for the night, she was tasked with delivering a few new promotional shoot photos to Maximilian Kingsley, the acting GM of Friction. Sort of. He wasn’t supposed to be there this late, but he had wanted the photos for when he did arrive in the morning so she had to make the trip just to slide a manila envelope under his office door. So when she heard voices in the otherwise out of the way hall leading to the GM’s room, piqued her investigative senses.

While eavesdropping wasn’t the most heroic of pastimes, there was something about the hushed tones and argumentative voices that made her feel something was a miss. Rarely was her gut off when it came to reading a situation… It also helped she caught a brief glance of one of them, a dark haired girl who looked like a wouldbe mafioso, even wearing sunglasses indoors. She didn’t know who she was… but the other voice sounded oddly familiar.

When she heard them mention a lock, her no-goodnick sense went into full overdrive. Where were they? Eyeing the surroundings, she saw the familiar promotional posters on the walls. The cleaner walls and floors… Was this where she was heading to? The GM’s office? She was almost certain. Drawing in a deep breath, she slipped away from the corner, hurrying off with her “work” bag in tow to find claim a darkened corner to strip herself down. Beneath her blouse and skirt was part of her alter ego’s super suit, while the rest took a quick exchange of items from her bag. She stowed everything else behind a box of sound equipment and hurried back to the scene of a crime in progress.

She hurried back to the corner, half out of breath from the quick change. It was no easy feat to dash around and go through a complete wardrobe switch, but it was something she was use to from her USO show days. It seemed she had been just in time though, arriving just as one of the unscrupulous characters managed to pick the lock open with a small click. She waited for the opportune moment, the creaking of the opening door to leap out and pose dramatically at the far end of the hall. She stood tall and proud, fists on her hips, chest puffed out as she tried to hide her heavy breathing through a wide smile of showmanship.

“Halt right there, hoodlums. I am here to dismantle your dastardly deeds! Surrender from this skullduggery and I will see you treated fairly by the appropriate authorities.” She carried herself with the air and seriousness of a member of security, cutting an imposing figure with how much of the hall she managed to take up… but when it came to a badge or a gun, she was visibly not any real official. In fact, she looked like someone who had hopped straight out of a comic book with no real grasp of how real crime and punishment worked.

“I warn you though… should you resist, I will have no choice but to take you down.” The heroine threw forward an arm, pointing a finger of absolution at the devious duo, wagging it threateningly. “So come quietly or… Aisha?” The blond bombshell blinked. She was almost certain of it now, the other voice she had heard. That bleached blond hair, that smooth dark complexion… Even dressed casually she was unmistakable. She had this woman’s CDs in her truck back home. What was she doing here?

It had been a couple of decades since Aisha had to bust out her lockpicking skills, and truth be told, she wasn’t 100% sure she could even do it. She hadn’t been all that good at it as a kid, and this lock was a little more complicated than she’d been expecting. Thankfully, she’d taken a Youtube tutorial to help brush her up, one that was enough to get her up to speed, and she put it to good use, here. It took a little finagling, and she nearly broke the tumbler a couple of times, but…

Click. Done. ”Still got it. We’re in, now let’s-”

Sista A and Black Belt Demon had two very different reactions to what came next.

Makoto, for her part, jumped back at the appearance of the costumed crusader, looking about with genuine panic. She’d thought they would be making a nice, clean getaway with this, but now they had this tall, mysterious super heroine to deal with. Where had she come from?

Sista A, for her part, had a somewhat more incredulous response. ”Who the fuck are you?” As near as she could tell, this woman was a wrestler but she certainly wasn’t one Aisha was familiar with. The long boots, the tights, the theatrics - she looked like Noble Rose crossed with an American flag. Just some dumb Friction newbie who was making some poor life decisions.

But she did recognize her, that was a plus. So few people seemed to these days, ever since her career went down the drain.

”Tch.” Aisha pushed up to her feet and stood, looking over at the unwanted guest. ”It’s Sista A, now. And I don’t know who you are or who you think you, but you’ve got straight up three seconds to back up, walk away, and act like you didn’t see shit.”

Makoto had the exact reaction she had been hoping for. Caught in the act, she would have no choice but surrender now that her misdeeds were brought to light. As a heroine, duty bound to uphold the laws of the land, it made perfect sense that when faced with her judgement, even the most hardened criminals would have second thoughts. Aisha however, seemed less than impressed. Mighty Star wasn't deterred. It was a well known fact that celebrities were used to skirting the laws for their own benefit, taking short cuts and being given breaks due to their money and status. Unfortunately for the songstress, there was no bribing this bastion of morality. She did however shift her wagging finger more to girl in black, intent on furthering her intimidation of the smaller of the pair.

"Me? I am The Indomitable Mighty Star, vexer of villains, bane to the baddies, and all around upstanding heroine! The two of you are trespassing." She stated rather matter of factly, gesturing to the partially open doorway. While she acknowledged Aisha's new name with a small nod, committing it to memory. It was something worth looking into later, once these two rapscallions were dealt with. The amazonian American swept an arm dramatically through the air, taking a heavy step forward to pose once again before them. "Hmph. I refuse to call you by some sort of gangland moniker, Aisha. You will find that while you may be able to sway backstage staff or in ring officials to stand down with your crass tone and imposing tone, I am quite immovable. Count to three, it will avail you not."

"You there. Other one." Even with a closer look, she still had no earthly idea who Makoto was. For all she knew, the other girl was some young impressionable fan that Aisha had coerced into this life of crime. Perhaps she could be saved. "What is your name? It is not too late to turn yourself in and cut your ties with this darkhearted diva." Mighty star was aware of the likelihood of physical conflict. Aisha didn't seem like the go down quietly but that wasn't anything she couldn't work out of her with a prolonged stay in a headlock to reconsider her life choices. Her entire focus was on the larger of the two women, seeing her as the primary threat needing to be subdued.

Sista A hated Mighty Rose almost immediately. In less than twenty seconds, she’d gone from surprise at this woman, to confusion, to annoyance, and she was now firmly settled into ‘seething hatred’. There were a few reasons for this, and only one of them was the fact that she was standing in their way. She hated the outfit this woman had on. She had the way she talked to them like something out of the worst kind of comic book. She really hated how this woman reminded her of Dixie Clemets and Noble Rose at the same damn time, as if she were tailor made to be a combination of two people she already hated. Oh, and not calling her by the name she wanted to be called by was pushing it, too.

Start the count. ”1.”

”I’m-” For a moment, Makoto squeaked and sounded like the old her, the weak and vulnerable one. She snapped out of it soon enough, though and straightened up to sneer at the Star Spangled Starlet before them. ”i’m the Black Belt Demon.” She leaned forward as she spoke and planted her hands on her hips. ”And I’m not cutting ties with anyone, you do-gooder. You think Sista A’s dark? I’m the darkest one here. So you’d better watch out!”

”’Do-gooder’? Where did you even…” Sista A rubbed the bridge of her nose, trying to cope with the mounting frustration and failing miserably. After a moment she simply threw up her hands. ”Screw it. 2, 3!”

And that was the only warning she gave before she charged in on Mighty Star, committing herself to a frontal assault. Bringing her arm up, she swung out with a wild punch, attempting to clock her right in the face and bring all this stupidity to a sudden end. Before her brain melted, hopefully.

Black Belt Demon. Now that was a great name for a villainous foe! Though the delivery could certainly use some work. Aisha's partner in crime didn't really fit her namesake. She was like a cute little puppy dog barking up a storm to look more intimidating. It took all her effort not to comment on how adorable it had been when she started claiming up how evil she was. She wanted to inexplicably hug this woman after such a sorry display of bravado and tell her she had tried well. But criminals didn't get compliments, they got cuffs.

"Not even a "go"? You truly are a fiend." Might Star beamed at the charging Aisha, shifting her boots as the woman neared. Taking a calculated step forward and the last minute, she ripped below the other woman's blow, throwing her body forward to slam her shoulder into Sister A's midsection. Boring her like a rhino, she threw her head a d shoulder back up in a powerful surge, looking to transfer the devious diva's momentum into a flip to send her up and over the heroine's head. Perhaps a bit too strong for such an enclosed hallway, potentially sending Aishia into the pop away ceiling tiles before she could land behind her.

"I burn bright, casting out darkness wherever I go. You and your Sinister Sister are finished." Without missing a beat, Mighty Star stalked forward towards Black Belt Demon with unflappable confidence radiating off of her. Once half the distance between them had been walked, she broke into a full spring intent on running the smaller woman down. Her large hands shooting out to grasp between Mikoto's legs and her shoulders to scoop her up and bring her back down in one quick motion to bodyslam her on the hardened hall tile flooring. "You chose this path, Black Belt Demon, now I make sure you learn the error of your ways!"

”Oh, fuck!”

Those were the two words that Sista A had the time to shriek out as she was sent ass-over-teakettle into the air after her charge failed. She’d suspected that this crazy woman was a wrestler - it was a weird getup, but she’d be lying if she said she hadn’t seen weirder in the squared circle. She didn’t think the bitch would be that fast on the uptake, though, and that little miscalculation was the reason she was sailing through the air. A move like this would’ve sucked in a match where she had the canvas to come down on, but on the hard, tiled floor…

Sista A hit and immediately went flopping away, kicking her legs in a frenzy as her spine lit on fire and letting out a stream of barely sensical curses. From what she could tell as she rolled about, ‘Black Belt Demon’ wasn’t having much better of a time.

Makoto had been honestly taken aback by all of this, and despite her efforts to right things, she was still stunned as Mighty Star strode forward. That confidence. That poise. That presence. She was the sort of woman that she would’ve worshipped before she’d started teaming with Anesthesia, and she was coming towards her like a freight train. There was a long list of things she could’ve done to counter this charge, but she was too flabbergasted to think of them at the moment, and that inaction cost her.

Makoto didn’t weigh all that much, but given the ease with which she was hefted, she doubted it would’ve made a big difference if she did. Mighty Star was strong, lifted her up with ease and bringing her down for a hard crash on the floor, one that had her rolling away in pain to rival her partners.

Unlike Black Belt Demon, though, Sista A had the time to push her way back up, using her growing rage as an anesthetic. She pushed her way up as she scrambled forward and charged at Mighty Star from behind, attempting to tackle her and send them both crashing into the door she’d just spent minutes unlocking.

"Mind your language Aisha, no one here is impressed with your crass words. They serve only to belittle your intelligence." The heroine lectured, soaring the woman laid out behind her a momentary glance. She was a firm believer that anything worth saving could be presented in a PG manner. No real need for swears, it just took some thought and consideration to speak appropriately. Her bright blue eyes snapped back to Makoto, a confident smirk on her face. One down, another to go.

The super heroine, while not the fastest women found in AFW, was still quite nimble for her size and put that on full display, catching another vile villain by surprise. Scooping the Black Belt Demon up was effortless, her opponent weighing less than the massive tires she manhandled in her workout sessions. A smooth lift into a downward motion planted the small girl with a floor shaking force that let her off far worse than her dastardly diva counterpart. "Stay down demon. I've no desire to batter you further."

The blond's ear twitched at the sweeping high pitched stuff of sneakers on the hall tile as Aisha charged for her. Half turning, she caught the woman in her peripheral vision first. Too close to dodge. With a sudden spin, Mighty Star turned to face Aisha down, lowering her frame and bracing her stance moments before the disgraced diva launched herself forward.

Powerful arms snapped around Aisha, an arm looping over the back of her neck while the other underhanded cracked one of her outstretched arms that had tried to get around her. The force of the tackle sent both women crashing into the ajar door, causing it to fly open hard enough to break the stopper on the inside. The impact had been harder than expected, driving the air out of her lungs and nearly loosing her footing when she hit the heavy door. Her heels dug into the rug, bracing her body as she managed to regain balance and deadlock the two of them on their feet, not being taken to the ground.

"Attacking from behind like a coward… shame on you." Mighty Star grit her teeth, drawing in a sharp breath as she tried to maintain an air of stoicism and not wheeze through her struggles to fill her lungs. Her bicep flexed around Aisha's head, using her other hand to grasp at the woman's forearm. With a dip of her head, she attempted to quickly hook Aisha's arm behind her neck and grab a handful of the waist of her pants. With a hard tug, she threw her busy backwards, attempting to hoist Aisha off the ground into a vertical suplex that would have the woman's legs hitting a hanging light structure in the office entryway. Mighty Star snapped the two of them backwards, dropping to the floor on her back while the fallen starlet had a far less welcoming landing across the back of a mundane wooden chair meant for visitors that stood before Maximilian's needlessly lavish desk.

Mighty Star - god, Aisha even hated her name - turned around in time to take the tackle head on, but that didn’t mean too much to Sista A in the long run of things. It wasn’t enough time to prepare for the impact, and she still had enough room and momentum to make a good impact, sending them crashing into the office. So, mission accomplished, she was where she’d wanted to be in the first place. Now she just had to do something about the annoying vigilante sticking her nose where it didn't belong.

”Like that, bitch?” She growled, putting more emphasis on the swear just out of spite. She had Mighty Star dead to rights now, had her on the backfoot, and in the next moment she’d be pulling back to-

And her head was snagged. And her arm was being draped over Mighty Star’s shoulder, while the woman reached back and grasped her jeans. A familiar position. The vertical suplex position.

Aisha’s eye widened as she was hoisted up and over, legs kicking all the way. She was brought down hard into the nearest chair, demolishing it and leaving her not too much better off, as she asked herself a poignant question: Where the hell was Makoto?

The answer: Nearby. The Black Belt Demon was still aching from the impact, but she had managed to recover enough to crawl after them on her fours, scrambling into the office. She pounced after Mighty Star landed the suplex, trying to get on her back as she rose, wrap her legs around the waist and her arms around the neck, hoping a strong choke would be enough to take the titan of a woman down.

"Sticks and stones, Aisha." Mighty Star grit her teeth, in keeping both women deadlocked in the darkened office, going to work the moment to the diva's name left her lips. Strength on full display, the twisted sista was hiked up into the air as if she were no heavier than and child before being slammed backwards into an unfortunate chair. The super heroine was quick to roll onto her stomach and pop up to a crouch, observing her handiwork with the line of light pouring in from the hall. She winced at the demolished chair, not having intended to to have collateral damage be part of her foiling of these fiends. She would have to apologise for that later. She also was kicking herself for missing a great one liner opportunity. "Take a seat" being the first to come to mind.

Getting to her feet she took a single step towards Aisha, intentions to make sure she stayed down when a mischievous monkey leaped onto her back. She staggered forward, managing to avoid tripping over the fallen Aisha until she reached the desk, planting her palms to keep from falling. She winced as those slender arms managed to tuck under her chin that tightly, reaching up to claw at her track suit sleeve. For a small girl, those legs around her waist were also incredibly strong, squeezing her sides with a hard jolt of pain. It didn't help that the super heroine struggled with submissions to begin with, but it was clear this other girl knew what she was doing. It had been a mistake to underestimate the Black Belt Demon.

The blond let out a gasping choke as she pushed away from the desk, thrashing hard from side to side, attempting to shake the smaller woman off her. Her armed reached back, fingers desperately grasping to try and grab hold of some of Makoto's hair or slack from her jacket, anything she could get, trying her damnedest to make some sort of headway. The giantess swung her weight from side to side, having to take a heavy step with each one to keep from falling. It wasn't working though. She could hear a buzz in her ears and her vision was already starting to blur. With that, Makoto was reigning in her thrashing as she grew weaker by the moment.

She blinked her eyes, trying to banish the sudden tiredness that was gripping her body. It was all she could do to stumble backwards step by step until she reached the wall. Mighty Star pushed herself up against it, squeezing Makoto up against it, though not nearly enough to dislodge her but it gave her an idea. She leaned forward, then threw herself back, trying to slam the smaller woman against the wall, hoping to at least loosen her grip.