Chapter Eleven
The tension in the arena was so thick, you could slice it.
Matt glared hotly at his nemesis. All that bluster and rage and insanity, and he hasn't got the nerve to face me in the ring, he thought angrily. He took a breath and carefully chose his words. "Kane," he began calmly. "I just wanna ask you one thing. Why? Why Lita, of all people? There are so many other women that you could have chosen, but you chose Lita. What was so special about Lita? Why were you so willing to destroy someone else's relationship just so you could bring your offspring into the world?"
Kane tilted his head and regarded Matt smugly. "You wanna know why I chose her to carry my offspring, Hardy?" he asked. "You wanna know why I wanted her as my property? You really wanna know why I was so obsessed with her, and not some other woman on the roster? Fine. I might as well explain myself, since it's obvious now that I'm not gonna get what I want.
"I wanted to create my offspring with a woman who wouldn't immediately fall to pieces if I showed her the smallest bit of interest. A woman like that would already be broken, and broken things aren't so much fun to play with. A broken woman like that would soon bore and disgust me," Kane explained, amid a chorus of disgusted shouts and boos. JR and King sat at the broadcast table transfixed and rendered silent by Kane's cruel words, and they couldn't bring themselves to interrupt.
"But Lita..." Kane sighed. "I saw Lita as a challenge. She was so beautiful and so fierce and so brave. I knew she'd fight me every step of the way. I thought I would gain more pleasure making her my property and breaking her spirit than I would if I'd claimed her and she was broken from the very beginning.
"Well, even after everything that's happened between us...even after I won the right to marry her at after she walked down the aisle last week...Lita still chose the little Hardy bitch over me. As far as I'm concerned...you two deserve each other."
"You sick, evil sonofabitch-" Matt began before the Big Red Machine cut him off viciously.
"I've had about enough of your bitching and complaining, Hardy!" snarled Kane, surprising everyone by the loudness of his voice. "You want her? You want Lita? Fine! Take can have her! Because I don't want her anymore!"
Kane narrowed his eyes. His voice was low and deadly. "Lita, I hope you're listening. You want your Hardy bitch? Fine. Go back to him. Spend the rest of your life with him, for all I care. Because I don't wanna marry you anymore. I don't want you to carry my offspring. I don't even want you as my property. The only thing I want now…is to destroy you."
"Oh, my God!" JR snarled in disgust.
"I don't like the sound of that, JR!" Lawler chimed in, shuddering.
Kane continued. "If you think what I did to you and Matt before was bad...oh, Lita. That's nothing compared to the hell I'll be all too happy to unleash upon both of you. I'll crush your precious little Hardy bitch under my boots and laugh as you fall on your knees and beg and plead for mercy. And then, when I'm finished with him, and he's nothing more than a pile of dust under my boots, I'll crush you. And when I'm done with you, Lita, you'll wish that you'd have said I do and married me. Because it's gonna be my life's work now to make your life and the lives of your friends and family here on Earth a complete living hell."
Matt looked ready to leap from the ring and hunt Kane down himself, but the interim GM held a hand out to stop him.
"ALRIGHT! THAT'S ENOUGH!" Stephanie shouted at Matt's nemesis angrily.
Finally, Lawler broke his silence. "Oh, wow!"
"Stephanie putting her foot down!" exclaimed JR. "I'm surprised she didn't do that sooner!"
"There's a new sheriff in town, Kane, and what I say goes," Stephanie announced, narrowing her eyes. "And if you don't like it, well...I'd tell you not to let the door hit you on the way out, but that's a moot point since you're not here.
"Y'know, maybe it was for the best that you and Lita didn't get married last week. Because I just know that if you did get your way and marry her, she would have done everything in her power to make your life absolutely dejectedle. I know I would have." Stephanie paused, and then a smirk creased her lips.
"See, Kane, women are a unique breed. We can't always cause men physical pain, but if we have the slightest opportunity to make them suffer emotional or mental pain...oh, we're gonna be on that opportunity faster than fleas on a mutt, I kid you not. It's 'cause we're just really vindictive like that."
Lawler couldn't stop smiling. "Kane's getting put in his place real quick, JR!"
"And it's about time!" JR exclaimed in agreement.
"Lita probably couldn't inflict any kind of physical pain on you, but she would have made sure you lost every single match you wrestled in. She'd have done everything in her power to completely destroy your self confidence and make you feel small and worthless, like some cheap ham and egger who couldn't wrestle his way out of a paper bag." Stephanie nodded "Yeah, Kane. You're lucky that you and Lita didn't get married. Because if the two of you did, she probably would have written down everything you did to her—every time you laid a hand her, every time you threatened her, or was violent towards her or her friends—she'd record all times and places and witness, and take your ass to court and sue you for everything you're worth. And she'd probably win."
"You don't know what you're talking about-"
Stephanie looked indignant. "I don't? Okay. Maybe I don't know exactly what she went through, but I know what it feels like to be a victim. You can ask my father all about trying to victimize someone. He tried to use me to get back at someone he despised. I broke his heart in a million pieces on national TV in return, and deservedly so. It took almost two years for him to get back into my good graces. And what you've did to Lita may not have been the same thing my dad did to me, but it 's still unacceptable!
"For someone to threaten an innocent woman, to stalk her, to harass her, to kidnap her, to take out her boyfriend's opponents, and to threaten to kill her boyfriend unless she slept with him—it takes a really big man to do that, doesn't it? And for him to make sure she got pregnant with his baby so he could rope her into making her his property—that's a really classy move, isn't it?
"How dare you-"
"Kane, do me a favor and shut up! " The fans roared, as Stephanie continued her tirade. "You have some nerve trying to force Lita into marriage when you knew she would NEVER love you. And to make matters worse, you knew she lost her baby, but you didn't care. You wanted your big fat Wedding From Hell so you could show everyone just how big and scary and powerful you were. Yeah, it takes a real quality guy to drag a poor woman who lost a baby into a wedding without giving her a chance to recover and grieve for the child she lost. And you even had the grapefruits to call Lita your property."
"Kane can't catch a break, can he?" Lawler remarked.
"First it was Lita, now it's the interim GM!" JR laughed. "The Big Red Machine is getting read the riot act!"
"Kane, if you referred to me as your property, the first thing I'd do is take a shotgun and blast you in those grapefruits!" Stephanie continued, to a huge pop. "And if you think for a second that I'm gonna be a pushover like the last guy, whose name I'll no longer mention on this or any other WWE broadcasts, you are dead wrong.
"If had my way, I would have tossed you out of the WWE on your ass for what you did to Lita and Matt. But I can't. So, I'll do the next best thing. One of the last things the previous GM did was give you an undeserved wedding present. It was an open contract at Unforgiven, to face anyone you wanted. It was a nice gift, and I'll give the previous GM credit where credit's due, because you could pick anyone you wanted as your opponent. Well, since you seem to be too much of a coward to come out here and face me-"
"I am not a coward, you-"
"Then why are you hiding behind that video wall spouting threats? Come on out here and face me. Better yet, come on out here and face Matt. I'm sure he'd love to have a few words with you." A pause, as Stephanie glanced over at Matt. He remained silent, but his posture spoke volumes. She shook her head at Kane in disgust. "I knew it. Guess behind that big scary exterior beats the heart of a gutless coward. Anyway, since you'd rather stay behind that video wall and spout off, I took the liberty of choosing your opponent for Unforgiven. Your match will be no DQ and no count-out. It will be one more match, between you...and Matt Hardy."
"Payback's gonna be hell!" announced JR, as the fans shouted in approval.
"And I decided to include a provision in that match," continued Stephanie. "The loser of that match...will be forced to leave RAW." At the mention of that stipulation, the fans erupted. "You don't like it, well...there's the door. Try not to let it hit you in the ass on the way out."
Kane tilted his head almost quizzically at his nemesis. When he spoke, it almost sounded like he was laughing.
"Hardy, I'm gonna bide my time and wait for Unforgiven. So you can go home now, hold Lita tight, give her my regards…and look over your shoulder. Then, we'll meet at Unforgiven.I will step in the ring, and destroy you. The way I should have destroyed you in the beginning. You really think you can beat a demon from Hell? That match at Vengeance was a fluke. The only reason why you beat me at Vengeance was because you hit me in the head with a steel chair. That's the only reason. At Unforgiven, I will send you straight into the depths of Hell. And that's no threat, Hardy bitch. That is a promise."
Kane's image disappeared from the Titantron, replaced the RAW logo.
Matt clenched his fists; in his mind, Kane was too much of a coward to face his opponent, now that the match had been made. "You remember what I've done to you in the past?" he snarled, hoping there was an off-chance that the Big Red Machine could still hear him. "Remember what I did to you at Vengeance? I bashed your skull in! Well, what I did to you at Vengeance is NOTHING compared to what I'll do to you at Unforgiven! And it won't be a Wedding From Hell, but everyone will be cordially invited to watch me kick your ass!"
The video wall went dark, and Matt's entrance music started back up. Matt threw a glance full of darts in Stephanie's direction. Stephanie put a hand up in front of her, the gesture saying, Matt, stop. The new GM mouthed, "Come into my office," before stepping out of the ring.
"It's on!" Lawler exclaimed. "It's gonna be one more match in Portland on September 12th!"
"Kane vs Hardy, and the loser leaves RAW!" JR announced. "And there'll be only one winner! Finally, this situation will be settled once and for all!"
~~~LITA~~~
"I thought you had our backs, Stephanie!" Matt exclaimed, as he followed the interim GM down the hall backstage after the in-ring confrontation. "Kane damn near killed Lita! You can't just fire him?"
Stephanie ushered the stunned and angry Hardy into her office and closed the door behind her. "Matt, he's under contract, and he's a moneymaker. I can't just fire him. If I did that, who's to say that I won't get slapped with some kind of lawsuit? In this day and age, Matt, I can't take that risk."
Matt sighed. "What am I gonna tell Lita?" he asked, the distress clear in his voice.
"Tell her that this situation's being handled properly now." Stephanie sat down at her desk and ushered gestured for Matt to sit in the chair across from her. Her voice was soft, but firm. "Look, I may not know exactly what Lita's been through, but like I said out there, I know what it feels like to be victimized. Hell, the Ministry of Darkness storyline from five years back was a prime example. My dad endangered me so he could get revenge on Steve Austin for reasons I don't wanna begin to discuss right now. Thank God Mark and I were able to put Dad in his place. He knows now never to exploit me like that again."
Stephanie caught the contemplative expression on Matt's face and continued. "Matt. I have this situation under control on this end. So what I want you to do is take care of yourself, and take care of Lita. Neither of you will have to worry about Kane when it's all over, but you have to trust me. Okay?"
Matt nodded, but he didn't look entirely convinced.
"Matt, you and Lita are two of my biggest names on the roster," Stephanie tried to reassure him. "I wouldn't be telling you to trust me if I didn't think I was doing right by you guys."
A full minute of silence passed as Stephanie filled out some papers and Matt stared down at his shoes. Finally, Matt glanced up and nodded. "Okay. I trust you."
"Excellent. Now get back to the woman you love. I'm giving you a couple of weeks off to rest up and get ready for the big match. After everything you've all been through, you deserve it."
~~~~LITA~~~
Anna paced the kitchen floor angrily, a tiny blonde wraith in a purple bathrobe, with the cordless phone practically glued to her ear. "Matty, Lita and I were freaking out earlier listening to Kane spout off on TV! Why would Stephanie make a match between you and Kane at Unforgiven? After all Kane's done, you'd think she'd fire him on the spot!"
Matt sighed and shifted his weight from one foot to the other. "I would have loved to see that, but if she did that, Kane would have free reign to hunt us down and do God-knows-what. I guess this way, Stephanie can keep Kane on a leash."
"I can see her point of view," sighed Anna. The interim GM was caught between a rock and a hard place, thanks to Bischoff.
"I need to explain this all to Lita so she's not so freaked out. Is she awake?"
"She is, Matt. But be prepared. She's more than a little hacked off at you. She may be convalescing, but she's waiting to give you seven shades of hell right now."
Matt chuckled. "She wouldn't be my Lita if she didn't."
"You sure you wanna talk to her?"
"Absolutely."
"Okay. Hang on." Anna took the phone into the living room, where Lita was dozing off. Gently, Anna nudged her. "Lita. Matty wants to talk to you."
Lita sighed and sat up. "I won't be held responsible for what I say to him right now," she warned Anna gently as she took the phone. "Matt!"
"Hey, Lita. How are you feeling?"
"I'm better. Still sore, but it's not as bad as it was yesterday."
"That's good." A pause. "You're not giving Anna any trouble, are you?"
"Now why would I go and do that?"
"I know you, Babe," Matt chuckled. "You've got an ornery streak in you. I guess you saw the confrontation on TV."
"I did. We both watched it."
Anna, who had returned to the kitchen, said to herself. "Okay. Riot act in three...two..."
"Matt, why the hell didn't you fight harder for me tonight? You heard what Kane wanted to do to both of us! Stephanie should have had Kane fired! He doesn't deserve to be on ANY roster! He's a sick, evil bastard! How could you allow Stephanie to make that match?"
Lita winced; the yelling had hurt her ribs, and she had to bite her lip so she wouldn't cry out in pain.
"Lita, believe me. I'd have loved to see Kane booted out of the WWE. But Stephanie can't do that. He's a big draw, he makes the company lots of money, and he has a contract. If Stephanie up and fired him, he could easily sue the WWE. The way she's doing it now keeps him from going after us, and at the same time, she can avoid any potential lawsuits."
"But Loser Leaves RAW? Matt, I'm on that roster! Who's to say that you'll win that match? If Kane beats you, and he plans to do what he says he'll do to us, we're all screwed!"
"You have that little faith in me, Lita?" Matt sounded taken aback.
"No! No!" Lita tried to explain. "It's just that...that I...oh, God!" She paused, and her voice wobbled. "It's all been a trainwreck for the past several months. I just don't know what to do or think anymore."
"I shouldn't have said that, Lita. I'm really sorry. But you just have to trust Stephanie. She says she knows what she's doing."
"Do you trust her, Matt?"
"If it's the only way we can stop Kane from destroying us, then I have to, Lita. I don't have much of a choice. We don't have much of a choice."
Lita fell silent as she contemplated her boyfriend's words. She and Matt had been through such hell, that she was willing to believe almost anything to save their future. And if JR had been right about Stephanie being able to right the ship, who was she to doubt the GM? Finally, she said, "Okay. I trust her too, Matty."
"Babe, I have to go. I have an early flight tomorrow, and then I'll be home for a couple of weeks. Stephanie gave me some time off to train for Unforgiven. Take care of yourself, and don't give Anna any trouble, okay?"
"I won't. I love you, Matty."
"Good night. I love you too."
~~~LITA~~~
"...I really appreciate you being willing to do this for me," Stephanie said gratefully into her cell phone on the way to her rental car later that evening. "Either way, it's all covered. Yeah. I know they'll appreciate it. Bitchoff caused all sorts of headaches, I'm just trying to make everything right. We'll be in touch. 'Bye."
Stephanie snapped off her cell phone, put it in her purse, and got out her keys, making a mental note to call Mark as soon as she got back to her hotel. Just as she leaned over to unlock her door, a pair of hands covered her mouth and tried to yank her backwards.
The interim GM reacted instantly. Stephanie stomped down on the top of her would-be attacker's foot, while driving an elbow into his solar plexus. The attacker let go of Stephanie and doubled over, giving her a chance to turn, grab him by the front of his shirt, and pivot so that he was shoved up against the side of her rental car.
Snarling, Stephanie whipped something out of her pocket and shoved it in front of her attacker's face. "Do it, Kane! Come after me. This thing's loaded with pepper spray, and I won't hesitate to use it!"
"You really think you can push me around like that?"
"Yes, because I'm your new boss, Kane. And you should be thanking me for keeping you on the roster. I could have tossed you out just for what you did to Shawn Michaels, but I didn't." Actually, that wasn't entirely true. As she'd stated to Matt earlier, firing Kane could result in potential lawsuits, and she wanted to avoid those. "And by the way, I meant everything I said out there in the ring tonight."
She paused. "Let me remind you that the show's over, and I could file a police report for assault right now. But I won't. So go back to your hotel room, take your frustrations out on something else, and wait for Unforgiven. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a flight to catch in the morning like everyone else, and I need my beauty sleep. Good night."
With that, she got into her car and drove off, leaving Kane seething in the middle of the parking lot. In the course of a week, he'd been cut down on national TV not just once, but twice! And both times by a woman! He bellowed in fury and kicked a metal trash can hard enough to dent it before storming off.
NOTE FROM THE AUTHOR: Hope that in-ring promo didn't sound too over the top or out of character. If it did, I'm really sorry! And BTW, Kane's not the monster I'm making him out to be in this story. There's a reason behind his bluster and rage, and I'll make sure it's fleshed out properly.
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