The Right to Rule

Carly was announced first. She'd been in a few matches since that first 3-on-1 handicap match, and Dean wasn't wrong in saying that she'd never won. But those were against Divas at the top of their games. Stephanie had no such advantages, assuming she fought fair. There was no chance of that, of course. But Carly could dream, right? As Carly stepped out onto the stage, adrenaline shot through her body. She never failed to appreciate the crowd's positive reception of her.

Carly still pulled her hair securely back for matches. The result was that she didn't look nearly as stunning and put-together as the Divas she faced, but Carly was more than willing to sacrifice that for practicality. She still kept the simple gear she'd worn at the first match, with the notable addition of a t-shirt. Her anti-Authority stance was popular, and therefore it was also marketable. Mr. McMahon had insisted that she be given her own merchandise. She'd been able to help design it, too.

The logo on her shirt also blazed on the TitanTron behind her. It borrowed imagery both from the Shield and from the Authority, which Carly thought was a nice touch. It was a large silver shield on a black background, like a coat of arms. In the top left quadrant was a silver crown, and in the bottom right was a silver wolf's head. The remaining two quadrants were diagonally slashed with blue. Beneath the shield were sprays of red and white roses, and a scroll bearing the motto Believe, Defy, Rebel.

xXx

"And that is the three-point creed Carly Caden has been living by: believe in justice, defy authority, and rebel against tyranny."

"Don't sugarcoat it like that, Michael. Carly Caden has been causing chaos in this company ever since she got here."

"Some might say that what Carly and her allies, the Shield, stand for is truth and honor in a company that is run by greed and betrayal."

"You think the Authority is greedy, and treacherous? Come on, now."

"I didn't say I thought that. All I said is that's some people's opinion."

xXx

Stephanie's theme began to blare over the speakers. When she walked out to the top of the ramp, she was dressed in the same practical, un-flashy style that Carly was. Carly elected to ignore her entrance, instead turning away to let the referee (John Cone again) attach one end of the strap to her wrist. Seth's logic behind making it a strap match was mostly to keep Stephanie from running off and postponing this final showdown.

For the first time, Carly started to feel nervous about this match. Much as she'd hate to admit it to the Shield, or to anyone, the constant attacks had been taking their toll on her. She wasn't at one-hundred percent. But she was confident she could stand up to Stephanie in a fight. More than that, she was confident that she'd be able to double-cross the double-crosser as soon as Stephanie let her true colors show.

Stephanie entered the ring, and the referee fixed the other end of the strap to her wrist. There would be no count-outs and no disqualifications. This was the perfect opportunity for fighting dirty, and Carly expected Stephanie to take full advantage of it. Carly looked over at Stephanie. They locked eyes for a moment. Stephanie smiled, and that only made Carly more nervous. But she smiled back, with a slight, mocking bow. This was it - the big finish. Time to do or die. The bell rang.

xXx

"Both of these women taking a moment to size each other up as what Carly called a 'right to rule' match gets underway."

"There's a lot at stake here. If Carly wins, she and the Shield'll be able to run rampant through this company with immunity from any consequences."

"And if Stephanie wins, Carly becomes a slave to the Authority for the next three months. You can only imagine how much Stephanie would love to get a little revenge on Carly and the Shield. And Stephanie making a move now, grabbing Carly's arm and whipping her right into a clothesline!"

xXx

Carly acted quickly while Stephanie was still close, shifting to her knees and sweeping Stephanie's legs out from under her. Stephanie hadn't been expecting that takedown, but she was quick to recover. Before Carly could capitalize and land any hits, Stephanie kicked out, catching Carly square in the chest and sending her slamming back into the turnbuckle. Pain shot through Carly's back. This fight wasn't going nearly as well as she'd hoped so far. She cursed her own inexperience and hesitation as she saw Stephanie leap to her feet.

xXx

"It looks like Stephanie's taking control of this match, charging shoulder-first into Carly's midsection, ramming her into the corner."

"Well, Stephanie McMahon held the WWF Women's Championship title, and Carly's never even won a match. It's pretty easy to guess how this match'll end."

"Stephanie unloading kicks onto Carly, not even giving her a chance to breathe before going for a monkey flip!"

xXx

Stunned, Carly wasn't able to react before Stephanie was on top of her, punching her in the head. Carly threw up her arms to fend off the blows. No, it wasn't going to go down like this. Carly had too much riding on this match to let Stephanie get the better of her now. She had to focus. She had to remember what the Shield had been teaching her.

Carly's hands shot out, grabbing hold of the front of Stephanie's shirt and pulling her in close so she didn't have any space to throw any more punches. Carly shifted her weight, rolling over so she was on top of Stephanie. She grabbed Stephanie by the hair and slammed the back of her head down into the mat repeatedly. Alright. This was good. This was progress. Carly almost wished she had the presence of mind and enough breath to start trash-talking.

Stephanie managed to bring her knee up to her chest and caught Carly with another kick, sending her staggering backwards. This wasn't so good. Still time to get the momentum back, though. Stephanie got to her feet. Carly charged at her, but Stephanie sidestepped, wrapping her arms around Carly's head and –

xXx

"DDT! Stephanie McMahon planting Carly Caden."

"Wait a minute, who's that? Uh-oh, looks like more trouble is on its way."

xXx

Carly dazedly struggled to get up. The crowd was suddenly making a racket and she couldn't figure out what for. Stephanie was standing over her with a triumphant smile, but she wasn't looking at Carly. She was looking towards the ramp. Carly turned to see Randy Orton making his way to the ring. So that was the plan. Stephanie was going to get Randy to do her dirty work and end this fight before it even really began. It wasn't going to be so easy for her, though. Carly wasn't about to just sit and wait for the ax to fall.

Carly tugged on the strap that bound their wrists together, pulling Stephanie off balance. She grabbed a handful of Stephanie's hair and yanking it down and forward. Before Stephanie could react, Carly brought her arm down hard onto her back. Stephanie was knocked face-first onto the mat. Carly gathered a length of the strap in her hands.

xXx

"Carly laying into Stephanie's unprotected back with that leather strap, apparently determined to do as much damage as possible before the cavalry arrives. But Randy Orton is getting into the ring now and – whoa! Carly whips Orton across the face with the strap!"

xXx

Randy Orton caught Carly's arm before she could strike again. He twisted it into a hammerlock, grabbing her by the hair and pulling down, forcing her to her knees. Carly was slowly starting to realize just how much she hated Randy Orton. Stephanie motioned for the referee to hand her the microphone. He complied, with a worried glance in Carly's direction. There was nothing he could do to stop this. There were no disqualifications, after all. Stephanie leaned over Carly, who thought she had never seen a more arrogant gloating expression.

"Well, Carly?" said Stephanie, "Do you have something to say?"

"You can't be serious," Carly laughed through gritted teeth.

Stephanie slapped her across the face. Typical McMahon move. At least her slap didn't hurt as much as her backhand. Randy forced Carly to look back up at Stephanie.

"I'll ask you again," said Stephanie. Her confidence and composure seemed undaunted by Carly's defiance, "I have all the time in the world. Do you yield?"

"You can twist my arm all you like, Randy," Carly managed, fiercely, "It won't make any difference. I'll never-"

Carly cried out in pain as Randy Orton wrenched her arm harshly. Carly breathed in gasps, trying not to lose bravado, trying not to cringe or whimper. She only had to hold out a little while longer. But, god, she hoped they'd get there soon. The audience was mightily displeased on Carly's behalf, and Stephanie's smile only widened.

"You'd better get used to wearing that leash, Carly," she said, "Or it's going to be a long three months for you."

"Do me a favor and spare me the monologuing," said Carly.

She bit her tongue to keep from crying out again as Randy twisted her arm further. This was bad. Strong as her resolve was, and much as the thought of being at Stephanie's mercy for a whole three months horrified her, Carly didn't know how much more she could take.

Suddenly, wild screams and cheers erupted from the audience. Carly turned her eyes to see the most beautiful sight: the Shield running towards the ring. Stephanie threw down the microphone.

"You lied!" she shouted at Carly.

"I said the Shield wouldn't touch you," said Carly, "I made no such promises to anyone else."

One Superman punch later, Carly's arm was released. She didn't even turn to look as the Shield tore into Randy. She knew they could handle him, no problem. All she had to worry about was finishing the match. On seeing her plan backfire, Stephanie edged away, fumbling desperately to undo the strap from her wrist.

"Oh no you don't," Carly growled.

Carly threw the strap around one of the posts for leverage, pulling on it with all her strength. This tightened the buckles around Stephanie's wrist, preventing her from releasing herself, and also hauled Stephanie closer, inch by inch. As she watched Stephanie's growing panic as she struggled to get away, Carly was proud of herself. This particular strategy had been her own idea.

Carly lunged forward, locking her arms around the back of Stephanie's head, slamming her forehead into Stephanie's once, twice, three times. Stephanie dropped to her knees. Carly resisted the urge to start monologuing herself. This wasn't the moment to be melodramatic. She wasted no time and aimed a roundhouse kick at the side of Stephanie's head.

Stephanie lay motionless where she fell. Carly held out a hand, gesturing for the microphone. She pushed against Stephanie's shoulder with her foot, rolling her opponent onto her back. No reaction. Apparently, Stephanie was out cold.

This was it. She'd done it. Carly planted a foot carefully over Stephanie's heart. She raised the microphone to her lips. Carly was still panting a bit from the fight. She glanced around the arena at all the shocked, excited faces, and said, "She yields."

Carly tossed the microphone aside amid cheering and the sound of her music pouring through the speakers. A disbelieving grin persisted in pulling at her mouth. She'd actually done it. She'd won. Carly tried to undo the strap with fingers still trembling too much to be of any use.

"Allow me," the referee said kindly, "Congratulations, Miss Caden."

He quickly released her wrist and then held it up in victory. Carly couldn't stop laughing, for some reason. Maybe it was the relief that washed over her. For this moment, she'd won. Then the Shield was in the ring, swarming around her like enthusiastic puppies. Roman was ruffling her hair, beaming proudly at her. Dean and Seth were saying something. She didn't understand what, but it didn't matter.

They pulled her out of the ring, past the medics tending to Stephanie and the crumpled remains of Randy Orton, up to the top of the ramp. Suddenly, Dean and Seth took hold of Carly and hoisted her onto their shoulders. She raised an arm triumphantly once more. She was still laughing, but she felt a little like crying. Dean and Seth lowered her to the ground and, with their arms around her shoulders, led Carly backstage.

xXx

"I don't know why I'm so tired all of a sudden," said Carly.

After the show, they'd gone back to the hotel and ordered pizza to celebrate the victory. And considering how much pizza it took to fill up the Shield, Carly was glad it wasn't her turn to pay tonight. Now Carly was curled up on her side, her head resting on Roman's lap, while he held an ice-pack against her shoulder.

"Adrenaline," said Seth, finishing off the last piece of pizza, "Explains why you got a little laughing mad after the match. It's finally starting to wear off."

That would make sense. Backstage, Carly hadn't been able to do much more than laugh and smile gratefully in response to the enthusiastic (if somewhat furtive) congratulations of her friends and allies. They couldn't afford to be seen being too happy for her and the Shield, of course. That would be inviting the Authority's ire.

"She didn't crack, though. Not even under torture," Dean said proudly.

"Only because I knew you three were coming for me, if you'll pardon the sentimentality," said Carly.

"You did good, Carly," said Roman, running a hand over her hair.

"I've said it before and I'll say it again, the princess is tougher than she looks," Dean grinned, "Smarter too, sometimes."

"Dean, remind me to smack you for that later," said Carly, taking the ice-pack from Roman and repositioning it on her elbow. Dean continued to grin unconcernedly.

"So, Carly," said Seth, "How does it feel to know you took down Stephanie McMahon?"

"I just wish I could've seen the look on her face when she woke up and realized what happened," Carly giggled. Then she sighed, frowning slightly, "But when I think about it, it's only a small victory. I mean, we won the battle, but the war goes on, you know? Sure, Stephanie can't touch us. But there's still Triple H to worry about."

"We can handle whatever he throws at us," Seth said confidently, "We're the Shield. We don't back down, and we can take down anyone who tries to stop us. This is the new symbol of excellence right here."

Seth held out his fist with an air of self-assured defiance. Roman reached out his powerful arm to hold his fist next to Seth's.

"Believe that," he said.

"And believe in the Shield," Dean added, completing the pose.

"You're preaching to the choir, guys," Carly smiled teasingly, "Sometimes I get the feeling you only do that because you know how cool it makes you look."