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| #Post#: 586-------------------------------------------------- | |
| A Chosen Leader - Chapter 2 - By a Jury of Her Peers | |
| By: RampageSports Date: October 29, 2014, 10:39 pm | |
| --------------------------------------------------------- | |
| https://aade768506dacb303a01a361d3dc0d27209a5ec4.googledrive.com/host/0Bz8YsEjM… | |
| Name: Richelle Winterfeld | |
| Nickname(s): | |
| Background: Owner of the RSI stable, former underground fighter | |
| https://aade768506dacb303a01a361d3dc0d27209a5ec4.googledrive.com/host/0Bz8YsEjM… | |
| Name: Danneel Harris | |
| Nickname(s): Danni | |
| Background: RSI stable leader, reigning DEF welterweight | |
| champion | |
| https://aade768506dacb303a01a361d3dc0d27209a5ec4.googledrive.com/host/0Bz8YsEjM… | |
| Name: Stephanie McMahon | |
| Nickname(s): Steph | |
| Background: RSI's fighter development coordinator, former DEF | |
| super heavyweight champion, current SCQ super heavyweight | |
| contender | |
| https://aade768506dacb303a01a361d3dc0d27209a5ec4.googledrive.com/host/0Bz8YsEjM… | |
| Name: Britney Spears | |
| Nickname(s): Brit, Queen B | |
| Background: Team leader of Britney's Brutal Beauties, DEF | |
| middleweight contender, training partner and close friend of | |
| Elisha Cuthbert | |
| https://aade768506dacb303a01a361d3dc0d27209a5ec4.googledrive.com/host/0Bz8YsEjM… | |
| Name: Elisha Cuthbert | |
| Nickname(s): Leesh | |
| Background: Team leader of Leesh's Lethal Ladies, DEF | |
| middleweight contender, training partner and close friend of | |
| Britney Spears | |
| https://aade768506dacb303a01a361d3dc0d27209a5ec4.googledrive.com/host/0Bz8YsEjM… | |
| Name: Emma Watson | |
| Nickname(s): | |
| Background: Reigning FAC featherweight champion, training | |
| partner and lover of Tiffany Mulheron | |
| https://aade768506dacb303a01a361d3dc0d27209a5ec4.googledrive.com/host/0Bz8YsEjM… | |
| Name: Ashley Tisdale | |
| Nickname(s): Ash, Tiz, Blondie Girl, Sharpay | |
| Background: ESL bantamweight contender | |
| https://aade768506dacb303a01a361d3dc0d27209a5ec4.googledrive.com/host/0Bz8YsEjM… | |
| Name: Alyson Michalka | |
| Nickname(s): Aly | |
| Background: FAC light heavyweight contender | |
| https://aade768506dacb303a01a361d3dc0d27209a5ec4.googledrive.com/host/0Bz8YsEjM… | |
| Name: Kristen Bell | |
| Nickname(s): Princess Anna | |
| Background: DEF bantamweight contender | |
| https://aade768506dacb303a01a361d3dc0d27209a5ec4.googledrive.com/host/0Bz8YsEjM… | |
| Name: Petra Cubonova | |
| Nickname(s): | |
| Background: DEF heavyweight contender | |
| [hr] | |
| A Chosen Leader - Chapter 2 - By a Jury of Her Peers | |
| Later that afternoon, Ashley reappeared in my office with Emma | |
| in tow. They both looked like they had some big secret they | |
| couldn't wait to share, which left me wondering if I should make | |
| a run for it. It was already too late though, so I stayed where | |
| I was. | |
| "We got it," Ashley said, with an enormous smile on her face. | |
| I looked at her, then at Emma, who was nodding and smiling just | |
| as big. I didn't know who they'd come up with, but I knew this | |
| much... they were sure they'd made the right choice. I couldn't | |
| see how that was possible, given the list they had to choose | |
| from. But there was no denying the look on each of their faces. | |
| "You have a thought on who should lead the team?" I asked. | |
| "No," Emma said. "We have the answer." | |
| If that statement had come from Ashley, I would have taken it | |
| with a grain of salt. I love her to death and I trust her | |
| implicitly... but she's the type who gets massively excited | |
| about how well the color of her dress brings out her eyes. So, | |
| she's prone to a little overstatement. Emma, on the other hand, | |
| was as grounded a person as I'd ever met. Her excitement I | |
| could buy into... and now, I was excited, too. | |
| "We even have the team name all picked out," Ashley said. | |
| The two existing RSI teams are named for their leaders. I was | |
| quite certain that, whatever these two had come up with, they | |
| intended to continue the pattern. | |
| By this point, Ashley was so worked up, she looked about ready | |
| to burst. | |
| "Jesus, Ash," I said, "spit it out, would'ya?" | |
| "The Alley Cats," she blurted out. | |
| I looked at her like she'd lost her mind. "The Alley Cats?" I | |
| asked incredulously. | |
| "Not 'alley,'" she said as she flopped the latest issue of TKO | |
| magazine down on my desk. "Aly." | |
| On the cover was a photo of a casually posed Alyson Michalka, | |
| one of three RSI athletes to come away from the recent Lingerie | |
| Invitational tournament with a title win. For Aly, it was a | |
| successful defense of the crown she had won the previous year. | |
| As usual, I was still confused. | |
| "I don't understand," I said. "Aly's already on Britney's | |
| team." | |
| "Get her off," Emma said. Her certainty was almost scary. | |
| "Richelle," Ashley said, "you asked us to find you the right | |
| choice." She tapped her finger on the magazine cover for | |
| emphasis. "It's Aly. Think about it. There's no one better." | |
| So I sat back in my chair, steepled my fingers in front of me | |
| and did just that. | |
| Alyson Michalka is a world-class fighter in a weight class | |
| loaded with world-class fighters. There isn't anyone she can't | |
| beat, but there also isn't anyone who hasn't beaten her. | |
| Winning consistently against that sort of competition is almost | |
| impossible. So, if anyone had learned to persevere in the face | |
| of adversity, it was Aly. And, after some initial frustration | |
| issues that cost her dearly, she has somehow developed an almost | |
| Zen-like patience. She is confident that, no matter what kind | |
| of setback she suffers, she has the skills to get back where she | |
| needs to be. | |
| Patience. Perseverance. Confidence. Skill. That only left | |
| one question. Could she lead? | |
| I've seen first hand the effect Aly has on her peers. They've | |
| watched her struggle. They've seen her doubt herself. And, | |
| they've seen her battle back from it. When she won last year's | |
| Lingerie Invitational, the women of RSI lost their collective | |
| mind. And with her successful defense this year... let's just | |
| say that party's still going on. | |
| But the most important clue was right in front of my face. The | |
| two most senior members of the prospective team had been the | |
| ones to come up with Aly's name. They didn't just like Aly. | |
| They wanted her to lead them. In fact, they were so excited | |
| over the idea, they were practically vibrating. | |
| As for me, I've said many times in the past how much respect I | |
| have for Aly. In fact, Aly was someone I'd considered to lead | |
| one of the original RSI teams. But, after talking it over with | |
| Danni, we agreed she wasn't ready at that time. | |
| Hmmm. Danni. | |
| I was pretty convinced that Ashley and Emma had it right, but | |
| there was no harm in asking the person I trusted most to | |
| weigh-in. | |
| "Hey, Danni," I called out to the neighboring office. "You got | |
| a second?" | |
| A moment later, RSI stable leader Danneel Harris appeared in my | |
| doorway. | |
| "You think you just yell for me and I come running?" she asked | |
| with some annoyance. | |
| I looked at her, stunned. "All I did was ask if you have a | |
| second." | |
| "What am I, your dog?" she said. "Do I get a biscuit, now?" | |
| The thing about the biscuit was a step too far, and it made me | |
| realize she was screwing with me. I had recently noticed this | |
| was happening more and more, which, as you might imagine, simply | |
| made me giddy with joy. | |
| "Don't f*cking start, Danni," I said. "We're trying to do real | |
| work over here." | |
| "That happens in this office?" she said. | |
| I did my best to look p*ssed as I said, "Listen b*tch, this is | |
| the office where the magic happens. For starters, this is where | |
| I sat when I decided to hire you." | |
| "And then it all went downhill," she deadpanned. | |
| "All right," I said, "what the hell is going on with you? When | |
| did you decide on this new career in comedy?" | |
| "Just feeling funny today," she answered. | |
| "Today?" I said. "It's been like, all week. And it's time to | |
| give it a rest. We actually have something serious to discuss, | |
| for a change." | |
| I looked over at Ashley and Emma, who both looked bored at the | |
| nonsense going on between Danni and I. | |
| "Hey," I said in their direction, "nobody asked you for your | |
| opinion." | |
| They rolled their eyes in unison. | |
| "These ladies have a recommendation for the new team leader," I | |
| said to Danni. | |
| "Oh, really?" she said with a light-hearted smile. | |
| I picked up the magazine and showed her the cover. | |
| Her eyes went wide and the smile vanished as her mouth fell | |
| open. | |
| "Holy sh*t," she said, and that was all the confirmation I | |
| needed. | |
| I turned back to Emma and Tiz. | |
| "Holy sh*t, indeed," I echoed with a nod. "I think we have | |
| ourselves a winner." | |
| They both smiled broadly as I hit the speaker phone and dialed | |
| down to the training area. | |
| "What?" barked Stephanie McMahon as she answered. | |
| "Hello to you, too, Sunshine," I said. | |
| "Don't start with me," she said. "We're just a few days out | |
| from the next event. Bell and Patrick look like rookies. | |
| Spears and Cuthbert are trying to kill each other, which makes | |
| me really excited about the idea of them facing off for real. | |
| Cubonova has a title fight, and her game is falling apart. And | |
| Harris has to defend her title, and I can't even get her to come | |
| down here." | |
| Okay, so it was likely that none of those things were true. But | |
| Steph gets a little worked up as fight night draws near. | |
| Actually, now that I think about it, the part about Britney and | |
| Elisha was probably accurate. | |
| "I told you I'd be down in a little while," Danni protested. | |
| "That was hours ago," Steph said. | |
| "Buy a watch, Steph," Danni said. "It was about ten minutes | |
| ago." | |
| "Whatever," replied RSI's fighter development coordinator. "Just | |
| don't blame me when Loken puts you through the fence." | |
| Danni just rolled her eyes. | |
| "Hey, this is fun Steph," I interjected, "but I actually called | |
| for a reason. I need Aly up here." | |
| "Are Watson and Tisdale on their way back down?" she asked. | |
| Another point about Steph... when she gets like this, she | |
| apparently forgets everybody's first name. | |
| "No," I said. "They're still here." | |
| Stephanie was well aware of the reason Emma and Ashley were in | |
| my office. Even in the grip of her pre-event despair, it only | |
| took her a few seconds to put it all together. | |
| "Holy sh*t," she said. | |
| "I think that makes the verdict unanimous," I said. "Send her | |
| up, Steph." | |
| ***************************************************** |