Saturday 10th August

''I can't believe how many people showed up!''

''I know!''

Along with Phil, April and Nick; Alexa, Jon, Colby and Joe had been added to the line-up of WWE Superstars attending Wizard World Chicago Comic Con that weekend. They had just finished doing their photo ops and signings and had retreated to a backstage lounge area of the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center. The guys were going to hang around there to wait for Alexa while she did her Q&A Panel.

''I seriously don't think my hand has ever ached so much.''

Alexa snorted, raising her eyebrow at the Samoan beside her. ''I find that extremely hard to believe.''

''Lex!'' He cried, shooting her a scandalized look while the other two men laughed beside him.

''What?'' She shrugged. ''Don't be embarrassed Fabio, it's a perfectly natural thing.''

Joe shook his head. ''I'm not having this conversation with you?''

''Why? Because I'm a girl?''

''No, because it's weird.''

''Masturbation isn't weird, it's a perfectly natural thing and anybody who says they don't do it is a dirty liar.''

''It definitely comes in handy.'' Jon quipped, earning himself a smirk from Colby and a high-five from his girlfriend.

''You two are beyond perfect for each other.'' Joe mumbled, shaking his head again.

''Speaking of...'' She turned to Jon, biting her lip unsurely. ''If I get asked about... my relationship status, what do you want me to say?''

''What do you mean?'' He asked, eyebrows knitting together in confusion.

Colby stepped in before she could explain. ''What she means is that ever since that photo of her and Punk got out, everyone thinks they're dating.''

''Why do you think I'm never on Twitter anymore?'' Alexa asked rhetorically. ''All I get is shit about Phil from all his fangirls... it drives me crazy.''

Jon nodded, he had noticed that his girlfriend was spending a lot less time on her phone, usually he couldn't tear her away from it.

''Yeah, dude, you should see some of the things people have been saying to her.'' Colby told him, his tone giving away the disdain he felt.

''Why didn't you tell me?'' Jon asked his girlfriend softly.

''It's not a big deal, I've heard worse.'' She replied. ''It's only because they think I'm the reason he broke up with Amy... maybe if I tell the truth, it'll stop.''

''Besides, do you really want everyone to think that your girl's with Punk?'' Joe goaded, knowing that was the last thing his friend would want.

''Look, you know that I don't really put my private life out there for everyone to see... but, I guess if you want to tell people we're together... then I'm okay with it.''

''So, our next guest is a four-time WWE Women's Champion and two-time Diva's Champion... please join me in giving a warm welcome to Sierra!''

Rock 'N Roll Queen, her old entrance theme, blasted through the speakers that were set up and Alexa stepped through the doors at the side of the room. Her eyes widened as she made her way onto the small stage, the crowd was a lot bigger than she was expecting.

Giving the cheering fans an enthusiastic wave, she pulled out a chair and dropped into the seat, reaching out to grab the nameplate set up in front of her with a grin. ''This is awesome!''

Mo Lightning, the moderator for her Q&A switched off the music and stepped up to the podium with a chuckle. ''You like that?''

''I love this... can I keep it?''

''Sure thing... so, how are you today?''

''I'm doing good. How's everybody here doing?'' She asked, laughing when a loud 'whoo' echoed through the room. ''I'm actually pretty surprised that there are so many of you here!''

''You definitely had some diehards sitting outside for a while, waiting to see you... how does that make you feel? Is it flattering or kind of creepy?''

''It's not creepy at all... it's just really weird that people would want to spend their time waiting for me, you know? It's just me, no big deal.''

''So, are you enjoying Comic Con so far? It's your first time here, right?''

''It is.'' Alexa nodded. ''It's awesome, I'm having a great time. Me and the guys did the signing earlier and we got to meet DMC and the, uh, green dude from the Power Rangers, so that was cool. And I got to meet John Barrowman earlier! That pretty much made my life, right there.''

''Doctor Who fan?''

''The biggest.''

''Favourite Doctor?''

''Matt Smith.'' She replied instantly. ''I was a huge Tennant fan and was adamant that nobody else could be The Doctor... but then I fell in love with Matt Smith, I think he's amazing.''

''Looking forward to the fiftieth special?''

''Totally. We've got Survivor Series the night after, so I'll have to make sure I book into a hotel that's going to be broadcasting it.''

''Sounds like you've got it all figured out.''

''I have. I'm not missing it for anything.''

''That's dedication, right there.'' Mo laughed, looking around at the audience. ''Excellent. So, if you have a question for Sierra, go ahead and feel free to line up... ah, she was one of the die-hard's lining up, so we won't make her wait any longer.''

''Hi.'' Alexa waved, sending a warm smile to the first girl to step up to the microphone. ''I like your outfit, it looks great.''

''Thanks.'' The girl gushed, looking down at her imitation riot gear. ''Uh, so I just wanted to ask what advice you would give to an aspiring wrestler?''

''Sure, uh... Obviously, this is going to sound super hypocritical coming from me but, obviously you should get school finished with first, so you have something to fall back on. After, if it's something you're really serious about then you'll need to enroll in a local wrestling school or something, you know, kind of take it from there. It's a lot different now from when I was first starting out... But, I think my biggest piece of advice would be to never let anyone tell you that you can't be something. Don't let them tell you that you're too tall, too short, too fat, too black, too white, too many tattoos... too female... Don't let anybody mess with your dreams, because they're yours. At the end of the day, that's all you're going to have.''

''Thank you so much... I love you, by the way, you're awesome.''

''Aww, thank you!'' She chuckled, watching patiently as the next person went up to speak. ''Hi!'''

''Hi... if you could work with anybody, in the WWE or otherwise, who would it be?''

''Oh man, you're going to regret asking me that, there's so many people I'd love to work with...'' She chewed her lip for a moment, a thoughtful look crossing her face. ''I came back to the WWE just after she left, but I would have loved to work with Kharma. She's absolutely riveting to watch in the ring and her matches with Gail Kim a few years ago were brilliant. And there's a lot of talented women in the indies; Candice LaRae. Jessicka Havok, Mia Yim... just to name a few. They're all awesome, I'd love to have the opportunity to work with them in future... Bull Nakano has to be up there at the top of the list, it's well documented that she's my all time favourite. I'm a big fan of the Japanese style of wrestling. Japan has seen some of the greatest female wrestlers, who will be remembered as the best of either gender. Manami Toyota, Aja Kong, Jaguar Yokota... I know this is impossible because she's retired, but the one woman I most want to wrestle would be Akira Hokuto. She's... she's mesmerizing and I just love the passion she has for what she does. In one of her matches she broke her neck when doing a moonsault, but she carried on and completed the match anyway. Then, when she was due to win the title against Aja Kong, she got injured again, but completed the match. Even though she was booked to win, she herself asked the AJW bosses that they make the match a non-title bout. She thought that a woman with an injury winning such a prestigious title would be an insult to the belt and all its previous holders. I just think that's... it's just amazing. It shows such respect for the art... sorry, I'm rambling, aren't I?''

Mo shook his head from the podium, chuckling. ''Just a little, but it's okay. You really know your stuff, huh?''

Alexa shrugged, blushing. ''I watched a lot of old tapes when I was a kid.''

''Okay... next question?''

''How does it feel to be the only member of The Shield without a title?'' A teenage boy asked, earning a loud oooh from the crowd.

''How dare you?'' Alexa shot the teenage boy a mock-glare before laughing. ''No, it's cool. I don't think I really need the title anyway, my awesomeness speaks for itself... besides, I think AJ deserves it, she's a worthy champion.''

''Um, you don't have to answer this if you don't want to but, everyone knows your history with the Guerreros, would you be able to tell us a little about Eddie and your relationship with him?''

''Sure... uh, well... obviously, he and my Dad were best friends so I grew up around Eddie. I went to a lot of the shows that he and my Dad were booked on, so when it was my Dad's turn to go out for his match, I would stay with Eddie in the locker room. He was like a second father to me when I was a kid. After my Dad passed away I ended up going to live with Mando, and I really only saw Eddie a handful of times. It wasn't until I got signed by the WWE in 2004 that I really started to re-connect with him again... He's regarded as one of the pioneers of modern wrestling, and for good reason. But, for me, his legacy goes beyond the fact that he was a technical genius or that he oozed charisma. He was someone I looked up to a lot; he overcame a lot of personal demons in his life. Whether it be drugs or alcohol, you know, he found a way to power through. He was... he was just a beautiful person and he'll always be missed.''

''What was your favourite moment of his career?''

''That's a tought one but I think there's two moments that will stay with me; the first was watching him win the WWE Championship from Brock Lesnar at No Way Out. I was in the process of signing my contract so I was able to watch it backstage and it was just... it was amazing to be a part of that... The second was, and I'll probably get my butt kicked for saying this... but the second was at Wrestlemania twenty, and Eddie joined Chris Benoit in the ring right after he won the World Heavyweight Championship... Two men, two friends, who traveled the world together, who were told they'll never make it… finally made it. It was just a really emotional moment, you know?''

Alexa grabbed the water bottle that had been left on the table for her and unscrewing it; she took a long swig as the next person stepped up to the microphone.

''I follow you on Twitter and you're always sharing what music you're listening to and recommending stuff, how important is music to you?''

''Very. I think I'd be lost without my iPod, I'm always listening to it.''

''When you're on the road, who gets to choose the music?''

''At the moment, I'm riding with the guys from The Shield and there's an agreement that whoever's driving gets to pick the music. With each guy, you'll hear different music. Seth's mostly into his heavy-metal, Dean likes the old rock 'n roll stuff and Roman's like me, he'll listen to anything and everything. I think you can learn a lot about people by what music they listen to. If someone ever tells you there's a certain song that's important to them, you should close your eyes and really listen to it, even if its ten minutes long. Because at the end of it, you'll know that person much better.''

''Now that you're using The Shield's entrance music, do you miss your old theme?''

''I do, I really miss it. I mean, Special Ops is awesome, but it's not mine, you know?''

''Who do you think has the best entrance music, past or present?''

''Ooooh... I've always loved The Hardy Boyz theme, back when they were still a team.'' She replied, making everyone laugh when she did the patented 'gunz' and the Jeff Hardy dance behind the table.

''Hey! I've got a couple of questions... So, I was a huge Jericho fan back in the day and I really loved when they brought in Sierra as a foil to Trish's character while he was feuding with Christian. The two of you just had this awesome dynamic and you worked so well together, some of the promos you did were hilarious.''

Alexa grinned over at the man. ''Thank you.''

''And I know you two are still really good friends so I just wanted to know how much of an impact he's had on your life.''

''Chris has had a huge impact on my life... I was only eighteen when we first met and he'd already been in the business fourteen years so, professionally, I learned a lot from him. Personally... he's like a brother to me. He's supported me through some really tough times and I owe him a lot.''

''Speaking of your injury, do you mind if I ask about that?''

''Not at all.''

''We all know that you broke your neck and that you were out of action for a long time... what I want to know is, how hard was it for you to get back in the ring?''

''It was really hard... um... obviously, I had to have surgery and after that I had to rehab my neck for a long time, you know, make sure it was strong enough for me to get back out there. It took about two years for me to feel comfortable enough to even step foot inside a ring... but even then, all I could really do was a few simple bumps. Every time I tried to climb to the top rope, I completely froze... mentally, I just couldn't get over that fear. It was tough and there were so many times I thought about just giving up.''

''Why didn't you?''

''I had a lot of amazing people around me.'' A smile slowly crept on her face. ''Darren- sorry, William Regal... he helped me a lot. I wouldn't be here right now if it wasn't for him. Then somebody else gave me the kick in the ass I needed and, you know... here I am.''

''Well, it's a good job they did, it's been great to have you back on our TV screens again.''

''Thank you, so much.''

Mo turned to her as the man made his way back to his seat. ''So, a couple of months ago you went off to LA to film a movie... can you tell us anything about that?''

''I, uh, I don't think I can...'' She glanced over to the WWE handlers over in the corner, the woman shaking her head. ''Nope... I can't... What I can say is that it's going to be awesome and it'll be out sometime next year, I think they're looking at around May/June time.''

''Is that going to be a regular thing now? You disappearing off to Hollywood?''

''No.'' She snorted, quickly shaking her head. ''I'm not The Rock.''

''Ooh, burn!'' Mo commented as the crowd laughed.

''No, no, I didn't mean it like that.'' She hastily added. ''I just meant that he's amazing at what he does and I don't think I'll ever be on that level.''

''Nice save... okay, we've got time for a few more questions if we're quick...''

''Hi there, so, we all know that a lot of people consider wrestling 'fake' so I just wanted to know, exactly how much of it is scripted?''

''We just know the beginning and the end of the match but whatever happens in between is called on the fly and improvised based on the crowd reactions. It is scripted, but the performances are real with real athletes and... you know, people just don't understand the art form of what we do out there. I hate the work fake... All the movies and TV shows out there are fake, yet people can still watch and be entertained by them. The only difference between them and what we do in the ring, is that we are live and we don't have a stunt double out there to take all the bumps and bruises for us.''

''What's your stance on gay marriage?''

''Woah, going for a hard-hitting question, huh?'' Alexa's eyes widened and she let out a chuckle. ''I know this is a pretty... controversial subject, but my opinion on it is that same-sex couples should be allowed to get married just like everyone else. Even if being gay was a choice, so what? People choose to be assholes and they can get married. It's not gay privilege, it's equal rights. Privilege would be something like... gay people not paying taxes, like churches don't.''

''Do you believe in God?''

''No.'' She replied. ''But, as an atheist, I see nothing wrong with believing in a God. It's when that belief starts infringing on other people's rights when it worries me. I would never deny your right to believe in a God. I would just rather you didn't kill people who believe in a different God, say. Or stone someone to death because your rulebook says their sexuality is immoral. I think it's strange that anyone who believes that an all-powerful all-knowing, omniscient power responsible for everything that happens, would also want to judge and punish people for what they are.''

''The bible says-''

''I know what it says... you know, I think there's something seriously wrong with the world, when you have to teach your children what to do during a school shooting, yet everybody is freaking out about gay marriage... be an Atheist, be a Christian, be Buddhist, be straight, be gay, be cisgender, be transgender, be non-binary, be carnivore, be vegan, be whatever the hell you want to be but don't be an asshole... why is this so hard to understand?''

Mo cleared his throat awkwardly. ''Okay, next question please?''

A young girl stepped up to the microphone. ''Uh, hi...''

''Hey.'' Alexa smiled across at her. ''How are you?''

''Nervous.'' She blurted out, making the room laugh.

''Don't be, I'm not scary.'' She assured softly. ''What did you want to ask?''

''I... I just wanted to know what it's like working with The Shield?''

''It's awful. I hate every second of it.'' She deadpanned, pausing before her face broke out into a smile. ''No, I love it. They're all super-talented guys and I'm pretty lucky to get to work with them.''

''My Mom says that you make googly eyes at Dean.''

Alexa snorted out a laugh and quickly placed her hand over her mouth. ''I do, huh?''

The girl nodded. ''And I told her that's stupid because Punk is your boyfriend.''

''Well...'' Leaning her elbows on the table, she moved closer to her microphone. ''Just for the record, I'm definitely not dating CM Punk... and I think your Mom might be on to something.''

A few excited whispers fell over the audience as the little girl narrowed her eyes at the Diva. ''So... you're dating Dean Ambrose and not Punk?''

''Yep.''

The whispers quickly turned into loud chatter among everyone and Alexa laughed as the girl scrunched up her nose in obvious distaste at her choice in paramour.

''Alright, time for one last question...''

''Hi, I just wanted your thoughts on the promo you did back in January where we learned it was you who put together The Shield. Was everything you said scripted? Or did you ad-lib some of it like Punk did with his pipebomb?''

''Most of what I said was scripted, but there were one or two things I threw in there off my own back.''

''I've listened to a few of your interviews and you've always been pretty vocal in your opinions on women's wrestling, opinions which many fans share. Do you think there's still sexism in the industry?''

''Yes.''

''In the WWE specifically or-''

''Everywhere.'' Alexa cut in. ''It's everywhere, there's no denying it. In modern-day society, women have been able to break through in male dominated professions and accomplish amazing things. But, on the same hand, the more things change, the more they stay the same. There are still a lot of places that, no matter how hard a woman works or how they strive for equality, they still remain unable to achieve it. It really pains me to say this but I think professional wrestling is one of those places.''

''In my opinion, women's wrestling has grown remarkably from five years ago. The amount of women's wrestlers and promotions on the indy scene today is nearly as many as the mens.''

''I completely agree with you. It's definitely come a long way since I started out.'' Alexa nodded. ''And, don't get me wrong, it's nowhere near as bad as it used to be... some of the stuff I've had to endure in the locker room and the attitude I've had from some of my coworkers, it's... some of the remarks we get from fans and coworkers would never fly in your typical office environment. But, the fact is that the perception of women's wrestling is extremely outdated. Both, by the fans and by some people in the business.''

''Do you sometimes feel that the WWE helps this perception more often than not, with the women they hire?'' The woman questioned. ''I mean, you've fought for over ten years to change that stigma...''

''I think, it is what it is.'' She chewed her lip, carefully mulling over her reply. ''At the end of the day, WWE is sports entertainment. We're there to not just wrestle, but entertain as well so it makes sense to hire people who can do that. I think in order to move past sexism, then it has a lot to do with the fans.''

''How so?''

''You know... people actually getting invested in our matches and not just using them for a bathroom break, cheering for the women in the ring and not starting up random chants... buy our merchandise, send supportive Tweets... it all has an effect and that's the only way they'll start listening. If they listen and give us longer matches, we can show that we're just as good, if not better, than the men.''

''Okay, I'm afraid that's all we have time for folks.'' Mo announced into the microphone. ''Let's give it up, for Sierra!''

''Lex, will you please stop fussing and sit down?'' Colby asked, letting out an exasperated sigh.

Alexa was trying, and failing miserably, to put her bag on the shelf above her seat. ''I'm too fucking short.'' She huffed as she carried on shoving the bag. ''Wait, wait... I think it's there.'' She told him as she slowly took her hands away. ''There.'' She said triumphantly.

The Iowan could see it starting to fall back down again, and to save her, pushed her out-of-the-way, right before it landed. As her bag landed on the air hostess, Alexa landed on top of another passenger.

''Colby!'' She cried as she quickly rose to her feet, apologizing profusely to the man whose lap she had landed in.

''Excuse me miss, would you like me to help you with that bag?'' Asked the very annoyed air hostess.

''Yes. Yes she would.'' Colby answered for her, knowing that she would never admit defeat.

She scowled, dropping into the seat next to him and Jon as the safety announcements began. The group had headed straight to the airport following her panel, not wanting to miss their late night flight to California, where they would be doing Raw and Smackdown that week.

Once they had taken off and the 'Remove Seat Belts' light had come on, Jon's head suddenly popped over the seat in front of Alexa, making her jump.

''Jesus, Jon.''

He laughed. ''Sorry.''

Joe's head appeared next to his. ''Hey, so, I hear you're going house hunting in Vegas?''

''Yeah.'' Alexa nodded, eyeing her boyfriend with a small smile. ''He managed to talk me into it.''

''Well, when you eventually decide on a place, you know where I am if you need help moving.''

''Yeah, me too.'' Colby offered.

''Thanks, guys.'' She grinned. ''I think we'll probably take you up on that.''

A/N - I'm not sure if you guys like when I do interviews and stuff with Alexa, I just like doing them because I think it's gives a little more insight into her as a person.

Thanks for all the reviews on the last chapter, please let me know what you think of this one :)