"Well, Brock did play one of the important parts in their little scheme. I think he needs something a little more…severe."
"Stephanie, what are you thinking?"
"Brock's past sins are about to catch up to him."
Stephanie sat demurely in Hunter's dressing room, not drawing any attention to herself. She was practically invisible nowadays and that was how she liked it. Before, she had been resigned to spending the rest of her life simply as Mrs. Helmsley. Now, well, now she had a mission to do, and that was to bring down everyone who had ever hurt her and Chris. They would pay.
They would pay dearly.
If Dawn, Edge, and Trish thought they had it bad, the worst was yet to come. Nobody trampled on her feelings like that. Once this whole thing was finished, Stephanie would make sure they would suffer over and over again, for the rest of their lives, until they were begging her and Chris for mercy. She smirked a little at the thought of those ingrates on their knees begging.
"Stephanie, can you get me my knee pads please?" Hunter asked.
She smiled coyly and nodded, "Of course Hunter, it's no problem at all."
She was so sweet to his face, but most of the time she wanted rip his heart out and crush it into a pulp. But no, the time for that would come and she'd just laugh and laugh. Chris would laugh too, and that would be sweet justice. They'd figure something out for Hunter, and it would be good, they knew that much.
She got the kneepads, and resisting the impulse to throw them at her fiancé, she handed them to him. He was getting ready for his match later on. He was going to be facing Brock Lesnar. She had innocently suggested to her father that Brock versus Hunter would be a great match, and could even lead into a feud.
Little did anyone know, Brock wouldn't be here to have a feud with Hunter.
"I can't believe you have to face Brock," Stephanie said, her lip quivering dramatically.
"Why?" Hunter asked, looking up as he adjusted a kneepad.
"After what he did to me a few months ago, grabbing me and almost assaulting me," she said, fake tears welling in her eyes, "It was such a traumatic experience."
Actually, it wasn't a pleasant experience for her by any means. Brock had reminded her too much of Shane. She didn't think much of Shane nowadays, she had bigger things to take care of. Shane was actually backing off on her now, since he had actually found a girlfriend. She would've gotten revenge on him too, but he seriously wasn't worth it. She wasn't going to waste her time on him. What he had done was in the past anyways.
"Steph, it was such a long time ago, you should let it go," Hunter said gently, coming to sit next to her and put a comforting hand on her shoulder.
Stephanie wanted to shove his hand off of her. He was the one that had sent Brock to do the dirty work in the first place, how dare he tell her now that it was no big deal. It was no big deal to him because he had orchestrated it. No wonder he hadn't cared for her that night. It was all part of his stupid plan.
"How can you just sit there and not care!" Stephanie said, crying now. She was so glad she had learned to fake tears lo those many years ago. They had come in handy then, and they came in handy now.
"I do care," he said, taking her in his arms, "I love you, and I care about you, but it was in the past and that's where it should stay."
"You didn't even care then, I had to run into the vile arms of Chris Jericho," she sobbed. Truth was, Chris's arms were anything but vile. In fact, she'd love to be in them right now if she wasn't in this overgrown ape's arms. How she hated this man.
"I know, and I apologized," he said, "But let's forget it, ok, you can come out to my match with me tonight and watch me pulverize Brock ok?"
"Ok," she nodded, wiping her eyes, "Only if you promise to win."
"Of course I'm going to win, I'm The Game."
She smiled, "That you are Hunter, and you play the game so well."
"Yes, I win…always," he said, a small smirk coming to his face. Stephanie imagined that was because he thought he had won against her and Chris. Little did he know that the wheels were in motion and his downfall would come soon enough.
"You do Hunter, you do," she conceded and as he turned, her smile turned evil as she regarded him.
He laced up his boots and got up, holding out his hand to her. Taking it, she got up and followed him out to the gorilla. She stood there waiting for his cue and saw Brock waiting as well. She knew that Hunter would put on a short little show for her in the ring, stiffing Brock a couple of times to make it look like he was actually getting back at him. She had Hunter pegged.
She looked over Brock's shoulder and Chris was leaning casually against the wall. Much like he had done with Trish, she was keeping her revenge for Brock a secret. At least until she needed Chris's help, which she was going to need eventually. He snuck glances at her as he stood there and she tried her best not to stare at him. They had a conversation with their eyes and he smirked and left.
"Stephanie, are you ready?" Hunter was asking.
"Yeah," Stephanie said, "Let's get out there."
She followed him out to his music and climbed in the ring to give him a little pep talk. She just told him to win, and he gave her a peck on the lips as she climbed out of the ring. She stood by the announcer's table as Brock came out. She wasn't planning on doing much in this match, she would've gladly done nothing and see Hunter suffer, but she had better things in mind for him.
The match began and it was slow and plodding, just like the men in the match. Brock started going after Hunter's knee, trying to work on it and make it weak so he'd have an advantage. Stephanie stifled a yawn. Hunter whipped Brock into a corner and charged after him, only to have Brock move at the last moment and Hunter got the turnbuckle right into his chest.
Seeing that Hunter was in trouble and hoping this would work, she climbed up on the apron to distract the referee. He came over to her and told her to get down or else. Hunter was getting in some moves on Brock, sending looks of thanks to Stephanie. She simply smiled back, until Brock hit Hunter with a low blow and came over to her, shoving the referee out of the way.
"Stay out of the damn match!" he barked.
She slapped him, hoping it would provoke him. It didn't disappoint as he grabbed her by the hair and flipped her into the ring. This wasn't part of the script and she knew it. Of course, they didn't plan matches to a tee, but this was pure hatred from him to her and she reveled in it. This was exactly what she wanted. Brock put her into an F5 and she took the brunt of it. The pain was welcome, however, because she knew what was to come.
Chris wasn't liking this match so far, Stephanie was being put in danger, and he didn't want her to have to go through that much for this plan. He was watching with some of the guys, appearing nonchalant, but as soon Stephanie was lifted into the F5, he got worried. He had to work hard not to show his emotions though, but he winced when she hit the mat.
"Yeah, she did get what she deserved right there," Christian said, laughing.
"Definitely," Torrie said, "Hey, have you seen Trish today?"
"No, I heard she asked for a week off," Torrie answered, "Poor thing, she's so embarrassed."
Chris looked at them, inwardly laughing, but then drawing his attention back to Stephanie. She appeared to be ok, or at least conscious, which was a good thing, considering the circumstances. Stephanie getting hurt renewed a vigor in Hunter, and he quickly won the match thereafter, applying the Pedigree on Brock for the win. He helped Stephanie out of the ring and up the ramp.
"Stephanie, I'm so sorry!"
"See!" she screamed, "This is what happens when he touches me, he does nothing but hurt me! Like a few months ago, did you know I had bruises for weeks after he hit me!"
"Stephanie, I'll get him back, I swear," Hunter said.
"I need to be alone," she said, limping away. As soon as she turned the corner, she dropped the act and walked down the hallway, as if nothing had happened to her. She walked past Chris's door and gave their secret knock as she passed, telling him to meet him in the pre-designated spot.
Chris heard the knock, it was very quiet and he sighed a little in relief. Obviously she wasn't hurt enough not to meet with him. He excused himself from the others and walked out of the room, going to the other side of the arena. He walked into one of the room and saw Stephanie sitting against one of the tables.
"You're ok I see."
"Yeah, I'm fine," she said, "Don't worry about it."
"I do worry though," he said, then smirked, "Who else would I plan stuff with, I can't finish this plan without you."
"Don't worry, now look, I've got Brock right where I want him. With tonight, and then that incident a few months ago, we've got him Chris."
"What about that night?" he asks, a bit confused.
"Well, let's see, he assaulted me," she said, "Gave me bruises, I'm sure that's enough to put him away for a while."
"But you don't have any bruises anymore Steph, they healed, and even if you gave yourself bruises, it wouldn't be plausible that they were still there after so long."
"Of course I know that Chris," she said, acting as if his words were silly, "You don't think I prepared. I had a doctor take pictures of the bruises and document exactly what they looked like, in case I should ever need some sort of witness."
"Stephanie…you're going to do what I think you're going to do aren't you?"
"That's right," Stephanie said, "Now, I just need to go find Daddy and Hunter and convince them that Brock is a very bad man, who's out to get me."
Chris scoffed and walked over to her, running his finger underneath the fabric of her shirt at her neckline. He ran it over the soft skin of her shoulder and unbuttoned the top few buttons with his left hand, making her top go off her shoulder a bit. Stephanie just stood there and let him touch her.
"Have I ever told you how much fun I have with you?" he said, his voice lowering.
"Yes, time and time again," she tells him, "But I'm still a little unsure as to what kind of fun you're referring to."
"You know exactly what kind of fun I mean."
"Yes, and I would let you have that kind of fun if I didn't really have to find my dad and Hunter…but there is one favor I need to ask you…well, two depending on the how the first one goes."
"What is it?"
She turned around and pulled up her shirt, "Are there bruises?"
He looked at the normally pristine skin of Stephanie McMahon. The jeans she was wearing were low-cut and rested us above the swell of her ass, and he wanted nothing more than to take her right then and there, but he knew he couldn't. And traveling his eyes upward, he knew why he couldn't. Marring her beautiful alabaster skin were the beginnings of some bruises running across her lower back. They were barely there now, but they were developing.
"Yeah, there is," he said, his teeth gritted, "Those from Brock."
"Yup," she said, lowering her shirt, "I had to do that Chris, I wanted him to do that, don't be mad at that asshole."
"Fine, whatever you say," he said testily.
She came over to him and kissed his cheek softly, than licking his lips, "Don't worry about me, I know what I'm doing."
"You better."
"I always do, see you in a while, I may need your testimony."
She started crying, and Chris wanted to give her an Oscar right then and there. She blew him a kiss and pretended to catch it and put it in his pocket. She walked out the room and down the hallway, back to where her and Hunter's room was. She walked in crying her eyes out.
"Stephanie, there you are," Hunter said, "Are you alright?"
"No, Brock he--he I don't even know how to put it," she sobbed, so in turn she spun around and lifted her shirt.
Hunter gasped as he saw the bruises forming on her back. She ran to him and cried against his chest, her sobs coming louder now. He was beyond pissed, how could Brock hurt her like this? This wasn't even funny anymore. He was going to have to do something about this.
"I think we should tell Daddy," Stephanie said, "I want Daddy to know."
"Ok, if that's what you want," Hunter said, not wanting to argue with her right now.
"Thank you," she said through teary eyes, "And after he hurt me last time too. You know, I had to go to the doctor to get checked up on!"
"You did?" Hunter asked, biting his cheek.
"Yes, and the doctor had to take photos, and everything because they were so bad!"
"I'm sorry Steph, let's go see your dad alright, he'll know what to do."
Stephanie looked at her father as he saw the bruises on her back. He was fuming, just like she knew he would be. It paid to be a Daddy's girl sometimes. He got off his desk to inspect the bruises closer, and she could tell he was thisclose to bursting.
"HOW DARE HE!?!" Vince shouted, "We'll call the police, they'll take him away, I won't stand for this, do you hear me!?! I won't stand for my little girl getting brutalized."
"I'm sorry Daddy, I must've done something to provoke him, it's my fault."
"No! No, Princess, this was not your fault. We're just lucky we caught him before he did something truly horrendous," he said, walking over to Stephanie and hugging her, "Hunter, call the police for me, I want Brock escorted out of here in handcuffs."
"Thank you Daddy, I don't know what I'd do if he hurt me again," Stephanie sobbed, "But I don't think I could take it if he knew it was me."
"Don't worry Princess, this is all me and my business alright, you did nothing wrong, and I'll make sure that Brock knows who he's dealing with now, and it's not a helpless woman."
Stephanie sniffled as she saw Hunter calling the police out of the corner of her eye. She knew just how to use her father's over-protective nature to her advantage, and more importantly, to other's disadvantage. She simply let her father and Hunter comfort her as they waited for the police to arrive. It didn't take long, the McMahons had money and when they had that, they had quick service.
"What can we do for you?" one of the officers said.
"My daughter has been assaulted, and this isn't the first time this has happened to her by the same man."
"When was the last time this happened?" another officer asked.
"It was a few months ago. He grabbed me and threw me up against a wall," she answered, "I had to go to the doctor, he took pictures of all the bruises I received."
"We're going to need those," the officer said and Stephanie nodded in acquiescence, "And was there any witnesses."
"Um…one," she said, "I think he would tell you what happened."
"Good, we're going to need his testimony too."
"I think we can get it."
Vince sent for Brock and one of the assistants went to go look for him. Stephanie talked to the officers a little more, putting on her best act. Brock walked in moments later, a confused look on his face, and then a tepid one as he saw the officers. One of them came to stand beside him.
"Is this him?"
Vince answered, "Yes, that's him."
"Brock Lesnar, you're under arrest for assault and battery. You have the right to remain silent,
anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law. You have the right to talk to a lawyer and
have them present with you during questioning.
If you cannot afford a lawyer, one will be appointed to you. Do you understand?"
"Yes," Brock croaked, "But what's going on?"
"You hurt my daughter," Vince said, "I'm having you arrested for it. Nobody touches Stephanie McMahon and gets away with it. Take him away officers. Hope you enjoy prison Brock"
Brock didn't struggle, knowing that he was in trouble. Hunter wrapped an arm around her shoulder and she sniffled. He was to blame for this, but the smug bastard was acting like he was an actual comfort to her. Yeah, just wait until he got what was coming to him. He walked her out of the hallway, where curious bystanders were looking in shock as Brock was led out of the building in handcuffs.
Well, only one person wasn't in shock. Chris was standing in his doorway, proud of what Stephanie had done. He had to hand it to her; she knew what she was doing. He knew that she had made her father call the police not her, making Brock think the fault lie with Vince's anger, and not Stephanie's. She was the innocent victim and not the mastermind.
Stephanie glanced to Chris and he gave a small bow in her direction, conceding that her performance had been brilliant. Stephanie tried to hide her smirk, but found it too difficult and gave him one before turning back to Hunter with sad eyes as he led her away.
Let the games continue.