Untitled Document

Raging Storm
Chapter 19: Personal Affairs
By: Jay Winger

Note: this is set the Thursday after "Chapter 18: Quiet Contemplation."

To recap: Recuperating in the hospital after Fully Loaded, the Storm learns from Rain that his climactic Deathride from the top of the TitanTron, coupled with Billy Rose's counter with Brain Damage, may very well have given him brain damage. Tests have yet to be concluded. Elsewhere in the hospital, Rose is likewise recuperating and recalls how he -- while in control of CIW as the leader of the "Triumvirate" (with Brick and CIW Champion Victor E. Simpson) -- first tangled with "The Survivor" Matthew Skinner. The Storm sends Rain to Raw to accompany Zed & Zeta to ringside for their rematch against Edge & Christian. Rhino accompanies the Canadians out, and both get involved, though Rain distracted Rhino enough by tricking him into Goring the steel stairs. Christian suffered a Windfall from Rain as she interfered, and then Brick came out to attack the Z-Men. Rain intercepted him, allowing Zed enough time to hit his Jawbuster punch to Edge and a Z-Slam on Christian, and giving Zeta the chance to hit the Snoogans Senton on Edge for the win. Rhino recovered and tried to Gore Rain again, but she sidestepped and Brick got the blow instead. Angry, Brick gave Rhino a Breaker Chokeslam, then scared off Edge & Christian when they got upset. Back in the Faction's VIP room, Brick shrugged off Shane McMahon's tirade, almost crushed his hand when he stepped inside Brick's "bubble," and Shane asked Kurt to remind him never to violate Brick's personal space again.

Teaser: The Faction continues to have problems as Billy Rose and the Storm both prepare to make their returns as they take care of personal matters.

Rating: R - for violence and profanity

Disclaimer: All things WWF are property of Titan Sports. The characters of Matthew "the Storm" Skinner, Claire "Rain" Whittaker, Billy Rose, Brad "Brick" Dickerson, Roger "Zed" Ziger, and Mike "Zeta" Zahn are completely fictional. I do incorporate a few traits from existing WWF wrestlers, but for the most part, they're my creations. The lyrics to Brick's entrance theme and the Storm's were written by myself as well. (For those who are curious, I title Brick's theme "Breaker" and the Storm's "Force of Nature.")

THURSDAY: Smackdown!, 27 July

"Are you sure you wanna be here tonight?" Matthew Skinner asked Claire Whittaker as she seated herself in a chair beside his hospital bed. "I mean, I'm almost certain that Shane and the Faction are going to try and attack Zed and Zait tonight after Monday."

Claire nodded. "Yeah. The doctors say they'll do one or two more tests tonight, and then you might be able to go back to work. I thought I should be here." She smirked. "Besides, you said Rog and Mike don't need our help."

"Well, they don't," Skinner said reasonably. "Hell, back in CIW, they stood up to the Ogre and Orca." Seeing the blank look on her face, he clarified, "The Ogre was kinda like a combination between Brick and Albert. Big, brawny, loud as a metalhead concert and dumb as a box of rocks. Orca was... well, picture someone like Viscera and you've got the right idea."

"Fat?"

"Orca fat. Hence the name. `Cept it was all muscle." Skinner winced a bit. "Just thinking about some of the matches I had with him is painful."

Claire nodded. "I spoke to them before I came to the hospital. Roger says they plan to make an offer to X-Factor tonight."

"An offer?" Skinner's eyes narrowed. "What kinda offer?"

"An offer for a match," she explained. "Don't worry, they're making sure it's gonna stay part of this 'system' you keep talking about."

Skinner nodded. "Right. So far, everything's going as planned. What's their offer?" Claire told him. He mulled that over, then nodded. "Yeah, that sounds good. I doubt the Faction'll be able to resist."

"Let's hope."

* * *

On the other side of the hospital, Billy Rose tried to stand up off of his bed, but his ankle buckled and he fell back on the bed. He stifled a curse, then swiveled back into a prone position, staring at the ceiling angrily. Damn Skinner! The fucking bastard was screwing everything up. Those damn friends of his were causing the Faction he'd worked so hard to assemble to fall apart. And Brick... oh, was he going to have words with him when he got back.

He frowned for a few minutes as he lay there, then spun his legs over the side again and tried to stand again. This time, he was more careful not to put too much pressure on his foot. He grabbed his IV stand for balance and experimentally limped around the room. Satisfied that he wasn't confined to his room any longer, he sat back in his bed and switched on the TV, turning it to UPN to watch what was going to happen on Smackdown!

* * *

Zed and Zeta were at the arena, carrying their Tag Team Championship belts on their shoulders, laughing over some private joke. They found a Men's restroom and went inside, throwing out Just Joe, who had been washing his face inside. Joe glared sullenly back at them as he went off to find some conversation to eavesdrop on. Once Joe was gone, Zeta pulled a small sign out of his bag and attached it to the door. He covered the man symbol with a stylized "Z." With the positioning of the "Z" and the "Men" placard, the door now read "Z Men."

Stashing their stuff inside, Zed and Zeta came back out, and Zed grabbed a nearby stagehand and placed him next to the door. "Hey, make sure no one uses our dressing room, okay?" Zed asked him. The stagehand nodded, and the Z-Men headed off.

Two hallways over, they found a locker room that had a black-and-purple "X-Factor" sign on it. They ventured within, and the three assembled wrestlers within stood up as they walked in. None of them looked happy.

"What d'you want?" X-Pac asked grumpily.

"Hey, we come in peace, okay?" Zeta said. "Look, we realize you three have had trouble getting gold and holding onto it, so we were thinkin' about givin' you all a shot, yeah?"

Justin Credible glanced at X-Pac, then back at Zeta. "What d'you mean?"

"Simple enough. We'll give you two," Zeta pointed at X-Pac and Justin, "a chance to get a shot at our Tag titles. All you gotta do to get the shot is have tall, bald, and gruesome over there," he pointed at Albert, who scowled, "beat Zed in a singles' match. If he does that, we'll give you a title shot later tonight. If he loses, though, all you get is a singles' match with me against either one of you."

Now X-Pac and Justin looked back at Albert, who looked at them, then all three looked at Zed, who grinned and switched his Tag Title belt to the other shoulder. Albert grinned a bit in anticipation and cracked his knuckles. X-Pac and Justin grinned as well, and turned back to Zeta. "Okay," X-Pac said. "We agree."

"Great," Zeta said. "Just one thing though. This is a singles' match. Let's add the stip that if me or either of you two interferes, you don't get the title shot, not even the singles' match. That way we can make sure things stay fair, yeah?"

X-Pac and Justin both scowled a bit at that, but they grumbled and agreed. Zeta grinned, tapped fists with Zed, and then the ex-boxer pointed at Albert. "See you in the ring."

"I'll be waiting," Albert growled after him.

* * *

"The following contest is scheduled for one fall," Tony Chimel announced. The lighting turned purple, and the OvalTron lit up with a familiar sigil. "Yo, you're dealin' with the X-Factor!" Music cued up and the voice of Uncle Kracker sang: "I got everything I ever wanted, and I'll never get that back. Oh, I know you hate X-Factor, but you ain't gotta look at me like that, I said you ain't gotta look at me like that..." The music continued as Albert's massive form appeared on the ramp. He thumped his chest once with each fist, then raised his arms in the air, baring his teeth in a fierce grimace. "Making his way to the ring, from Boston, Mass., weighing in at 380 pounds, he is X-Factor member... ALBERT!"

Albert entered the ring, wiped his thumb across his nose, then faced the ramp and crouched in wait as X-Factor's music trailed off. The opening drums of Blur's "Song 2" started as spotlights swept the cheering crowd. Guitars joined in, and then the fans screamed the opening lyrics: "Whoo-hoo!" The lights flared up as the legend ZED & ZETA appeared on the `Tron, and lights shone on the burly man who appeared on the sttage. He wore a sleeveless jungle green shirt and black-and-green pants. Tape covered his wrists and knuckles, and he carried his Tag Team Championship belt in his hand. He whooped to the crowd, raised his hands up, then shadowboxed before raising his belt in the air with both hands like a prizefighter. "And his opponent, from Baltimore, Maryland, weighing in at 260 pounds, he is one half of the World Wrestling Federation Tag Team Champions... ZED!"

Zed ran down the ramp, tossed his belt to a stagehand, and slid into the ring, coming up into big forearms across the back from Albert. As Zed stood up, Albert switched to right hands to the face, which rocked the ex-boxer for a bit before Zed managed to block and smack his fist into one of Albert's multiple-pierced ears. The bald man shouted in pain as Zed then started wading into him with punches to the head and midsection before grabbing his arm and attempting to whip him into the corner. Albert planted his feet, however, and reversed the whip, sending Zed into the corner. Albert backed up a bit, then charged. "Yaaaaagh!" Albert's huge form all but engulfed Zed with a big avalanche, driving the wind out of Zed fast.

Albert started pounding on Zed with more right hands, then kicked away at his chest. He pulled Zed to his feet, grabbed his arm and tried to whip him across to the other corner. Zed reversed it, however, and charged in behind Albert, creaming him with a big clothesline before the bald grappler could manage to block. Zed jumped back a step, holding his fists up in classic pugilist style as Albert groggily stood up, and then Zed unleashed a furious combo of punches to the head, which only served to stun the big man further. Zed stepped back and cocked his right fist back. He turned, kissed his knuckles, then snapped it forward for the Jawbuster, but Albert sidestepped and locked his own meaty hands around Zed's throat.

With a mighty roar, Albert lifted Zed off his feet, but the burly Z-Man had this move scouted. He swung both fists into the sides of Albert's head, boxing his ears. This move would probably only anger big men like Albert, but in the bald one's case, his piercings only served to make the move that much more painful. Albert shouted in pain and dropped Zed, who backed up to the ropes, shot off them and attempted to land the Jawbuster again, but Albert recovered quickly and hit a fearsome scissors kick. His boot smacked into Zed's face, knocking him down.

"Come on, ya bastard!" Albert shouted as he reached down to pull Zed to his feet. He pummeled him with a few more right hands, then locked his hands around his throat again. This time, Zed snapped his fists into Albert's kidneys. Albert howled with pain and doubled over with pain. Zed ran off the ropes again and caught Albert with a swinging neckbreaker. The fans started to cheer as Zed put Albert back down with one right hand, then a second, a third, a fourth, a fifth, and finally Zed knocked Albert against the ropes with an uppercut. Albert lay on the ropes, stunned, and then Zed raised one hand in the air and brought it down on Albert's thick chest in an open-handed slap. The fans whooped with the impact, and then Zed did it a second time. The ex-boxer grabbed Albert's arm and whipped him across the ring, aiming a clothesline, which Albert ducked. Zed simply ran off the other ropes as Albert came back, catching him with a high lariat. Zed rolled to his feet and raised his hands in the air. "Who's da man?!" he shouted to the fans, who cheered.

Zed turned back to Albert, who had crawled back to his feet in the corner. He worked him over with a few more right hands, then whipped him across the ring. Zed positioned himself to hit a charging Jawbuster punch, but the fans booed as a black-clad and hairy man came running out of the audience near Albert's corner. Zed didn't have a chance to react as he started running out of the corner. Rhino crashed into Zed halfway across the ring, hitting the Gore and driving Zed to the mat. The referee called for the bell while Albert joined Rhino in beating on Zed. Zed managed to get to his feet despite the beatdown, and managed to fight them off. He hit Rhino across the face with a right hook and a left jab, then knocked him down with an uppercut. "And your winner as the result of a disqualification... ZED!"

Albert, however, locked his hands around Zed's throat once more, lifted him up, and then crashed him down to the mat with a ferocious Baldo Bomb. Albert stood up, shouting and trashtalking down at Zed, then turned around. Rhino charged blindly, eyes still disfocused from Zed's punches, and Gored Albert. Rhino got back up, brushed his long hair out of his face, and blinked as he realized he'd Gored the wrong person. Zed got back to his feet, swayed a bit, then slugged Rhino in the face and hooked him for a Z-Slam. "Song 2" played as he reclaimed his title belt and headed back up the ramp.

* * *

When Rhino returned to the Faction's VIP room, Shane McMahon was waiting for him. "What the hell did you just do?" he shouted. "You Gored the wrong person!"

"I got him the first time," Rhino retorted in his gravelly voice.

"But you were supposed to Gore Zed, not Albert!" Shane snapped. "As if we don't have enough problems as it is, what with the Alliance breathing down our necks and The Storm's friends coming after us. Now we have to worry about X-Factor getting involved!"

Rhino grunted and nodded as he stepped farther into the room. "Yeah, and we've got that big dumb Brick messing up, too." He grinned a bit, but it quickly faded as he saw that no one was sharing it. He looked over at Edge and Christian, who normally laughed along with any of his few jokes, but they were staring at him, looking like deer caught in headlights. "What?" the man-beast asked.

There was a deep growl behind him, and a large hand clapped on his shoulder. Rhino jumped, then turned his head and looked back, then up to see Brick towering over him. Rhino turned completely around, and started to open his mouth to explain, but Brick just clamped his hand around his throat. The Detroit native tried to choke a word or two past the vise-like grip on his neck, but to no avail. Brick leaned down slightly and growled at him again, then thrust Rhino aside as he lumbered into the room, depositing himself on a two-seat couch, which he took up nearly all of by himself.

Rhino rubbed his throat as he stumbled over to the Canadian brothers, who looked at him. "Dude, he totally has no sense of humor," Christian whispered.

"Well, you have to have more than one brain cell to pick up on those things," Edge remarked, then quickly smiled nervously as Brick turned his beady glare over toward them.

* * *

"Easy does it," Claire said as she helped Skinner shuffle down the hall back to his room. They had just finished another round of testing with the doctors, who wanted to make sure everything was all right before they cleared him for ring action again.

"I am taking it easy," Skinner retorted. He was fortunate enough to be wearing a pair of loose, hospital-issued pants and a shirt that tied up the back, instead of the usual hospital gown. He looked further down the hall, and stifled a sigh. "Ah, man, why'd they send them here?"

Claire followed his gaze and saw a WWF camera crew. She shrugged. "They're probably here to tape some stuff for a quick segment on you and Rose after Sunday."

Skinner grunted and took her arm, turning away. "Come on. I don't want to deal with them right now. Let's go a different way." She nodded in agreement, looking farther up the hall as he glanced back over his shoulder at the camera crew.

He blinked as she suddenly stopped, and then looked at her. "What is it?" He followed her gaze, and stiffened as he saw who she was looking at.

"Billy Fuckin' Rose..."

Sure enough, down the hall, Rose was yanking his arm out of the grip of a nurse, saying something angrily to her, but the nurse just calmly tried to ease his anger. Rose yelled at her again, then ripped the IV out of his arm. Unlike Skinner, Rose was clad in a hospital gown, and wore paper shoes. He hadn't noticed his nemesis yet.

Skinner's eyes narrowed and he left Claire as he stalked down the hall, gaze never leaving the Californian. As he got closer, he could hear him berating the nurse, "Look, I don't need your goddamn help, okay? I can take care of myself, dammit." He started to turn toward Skinner, but hardly had time to react.

"Hello, Billy," Skinner said simply before snapping a fist out to hit him in the head. Rose staggered back, and Skinner lunged at him, tackling him to the floor and working him over with his fists. Rose managed to get his hands up and raked his fingers across Skinner's face, pushing him back a bit. Nurses and orderlies swarmed over to them, trying to pull them apart, but without much success. Rose started retaliating, hitting him mostly in the back, since he couldn't get at his face from their positioning.

Finally, the hospital staff managed to pull them apart, and stepped in between them, pushing them away from each other, while Skinner and Rose just kept swearing at each other and generally making a lot of noise. The WWF camera crew dutifully taped all of this. Skinner pointed a finger at Rose, "You and me, Rose! Summerslam! I'll see you there!"

"Bring it on, you raving psychopath!" Rose shouted back. "You tell me when and where, I'll be there to kick your crazy ass back to Texas!"

The orderlies dragged them apart, bustling them back to their respective rooms, where Skinner promptly kicked over a chair and threw a vase of flowers that one fan had sent him against the wall. Claire stepped back in shock. "Matthew, for God's sake, calm down! The hospital could have you arrested for breaking the peace."

Skinner rounded on her. "You think I give a damn about being arrested? Right now, the only thing I care about is breaking Billy Fucking Rose in two. He and I are gonna fight each other again, and this time, I'll send him straight to Hell where he belongs."

Claire stepped back in surprise at the unnatural gleam in his eyes. She'd never seen him like this, not even during the time she spent caring for him while he recuperated from the injuries he'd suffered after the TLC match at Wrestlemania two years earlier. This wasn't just hatred that Skinner felt for Rose -- it was outright, cold-blooded loathing. She shuddered to think of what he was capable of doing in this state.

* * *

Back at the arena, the fans quieted down as they waited for the next match. The familiar drums started up as the spotlights swept the crowd, and the cheers grew in intensity as the guitars joined in. Finally, the fans screamed, "Whoo-hoo!" along with the lyricist, and the lights flared up as the legend ZED & ZETA filled the screen again. The diminutive form of Zeta appeared on the stage, wearing the attire he seemed to have lifted from View Askew's Jay (of Jay & Silent Bob fame). He even had the knit cap with the word Snoogans embroidered on the front. His hair was streaked blue, and under his jacket, he could be seen to be wearing a new T-shirt. He wore his Tag Team title belt under his jacket as well. "The following contest is scheduled for one fall. Introducing first, from Baltimore, Maryland, weighing in at 215 pounds, he is one half of the World Wrestling Federation Tag Team Champions... ZETA!"

Zeta ran down to the ring and slid under the bottom rope, bounded to his feet and flashed a metalhead hand-sign to the crowd. He removed his jacket and tossed it aside, revealing his T-shirt, which featured the stylized "Z" that was the Z-Men's trademark. Lettering underneath it read What's the word?, and on the back was simply the word SNOOGANS! Zeta grinned and turned in a circle for the crowd, then removed his title belt and placed it in the corner. He adjusted his cap and faced the ramp.

The lighting turned purple, and the OvalTron lit up. "Yo, you're dealin' with the X-Factor!" A picture of the three members of the group appeared next. "I got everything I ever wanted, and I'll never get that back," Uncle Kracker sang. "Oh, I know you hate X-Factor, but you ain't gotta look at me like that, I said you ain't gotta look at me like that..." Then there appeared on the ramp not only the blue-and-black-clad X-Pac, but also his teammate Justin Credible, who was shirtless and wore cut-off jeans. "And his opponent," Tony Chimel announced, "being accompanied by Justin Credible, from Minneapolis, Minnesota, weighing in at 215 pounds, he is X-Factor member... X-PAC!"

Zeta smacked referee Jack Doan on the shoulder and started arguing with him, pointing at Justin, obviously having a problem with him being present. X-Pac smirked as he strutted down the ramp, holding his hands in the air, then jumping on the apron before entering the ring. Zeta scowled and attacked him as soon as his head ducked under the ropes. He laid down a few forearms to the back, then a chop across the chest before going to whip X-Pac across the ring. The former D-Generate reversed the move and on the rebound hit an armdrag on Zeta, who rolled to his feet from the move. X-Pac smirked at him and posed, raising his hands in the air, prompting a big chorus of "X-Pac Sucks!" from the crowd.

The two light-heavyweights circled each other, then locked up together. X-Pac quickly snapped on a headlock and stomped his foot as he ground it in. Zeta shoved him off into the ropes, then oofed as X-Pac shoulder blocked him to the mat. The black-haired man shot off the ropes and hurdled Zeta's body, then ducked under a leapfrog from Zeta. He turned around to try a spinning heel kick, but Zeta just caught his foot, dropped to the mat and hooked his arm into X-Pac's knee to hit a dragon screw legwhip. X-Pac shouted in pain as he landed on his back, holding his leg. He got to his feet, then grunted as Zeta began to lay into him with right hands.

The small Z-Man grabbed his arm and whipped him into the ropes, then aimed a dropkick, but X-Pac grabbed the ropes with his arms, causing Zeta to fall to the mat. X-Pac quickly moved in and started stomping on Zeta, then pulled him up and whipped him into the corner. He pummeled him there with a few right hands, but Zeta recovered himself and quickly retaliated with a knife-edge chop to the chest. X-Pac staggered back as the crowd whooped at the move, and the X-Factor founder returned the chop with one of his own. Another whoop from the crowd, and Zeta chopped back. They traded chops twice more, and then X-Pac raked Zeta's eyes. Quickly, he kicked Zeta twice in the chest, then jumped and planted his boot squarely in his jaw, knocking Zeta to a prone position in the corner. X-Pac looked up and pointed down at him, prompting boos from the crowd and a chant of "X-Pac Sucks!" X-Pac skipped in a circle, then charged at the corner, leaping and straddling Zeta's chest, bouncing on the ropes in the Bronco Buster. Zeta lay apparently stunned as X-Pac climbed to the second rope and posed, earning more boos from the audience.

X-Pac bounced down, aiming a stomp, but Zeta's hands caught his foot and flipped him onto his face in the middle of the ring. The Z-Man hitched himself up to the second rope, then sprang out in a Zetasault, his shins colliding with X-Pac's head, knocking him down. Zeta went for the cover, but only got to two before Justin Credible pulled his ankle and dragged him off of his former Clique buddy. Justin sneered at the audience, then turned back to the ring in time to see Zeta grab the ropes and use them to swing his boots into his face. Justin staggered back into the barricade and slumped to the floor.

Zeta turned back to X-Pac and got flattened by a spinning heel kick, and the former D-Generate went for the cover, but Zeta kicked out. X-Pac let him get to his feet and rolled him up, holding the ropes for leverage, but Zeta again kicked out. X-Pac swore at the ref, then pulled Zeta to his feet. He aimed a fist at him, but Zeta brought his arm to block and grabbed his shoulders, jumping up to lock his feet around his head. Zeta swung back down in a hurricanrana, dropping X-Pac on the backs of his shoulders. Zeta leapt to his feet and beckoned for him to get back up, hitting X-Pac with a spinning wheel kick as he did so. Zeta dropped an elbow on his sternum, then ran to the corner, quickly climbing to the top. He stood high, flashing his metalhead hand-sign, the fans screaming it with him: "Snoogans!" He sailed off in a senton, landing on X-Pac, but the referee was busy arguing with Justin Credible, who had jumped on the apron. Zeta stood up and shouted at Justin, his back to the announcer's side of the ring.

This was a mistake, as two large forms emerged from the crowd. The Detroit man-beast slid into the ring behind Zeta, beckoning for him to turn around. As soon as the Z-Man did so, Rhino charged, slamming into Zeta's midsection and folding him in half. The ref turned around and saw Rhino putting the boots to Zeta and called for the bell. "The winner of this match as the result of a disqualification... ZETA!" Rhino sent Zeta through the ropes to the outside, near the announce table. There, Brick grabbed him by the throat and hoisted him overhead, preparing to give him a Breaker Chokeslam through the announce table. Zeta, however, writhed and squirmed, causing Brick to lose his grip. Zeta dropped down beside Brick and started hitting him in the kidneys, which only seemed to enrage the 7'1" behemoth. Brick turned and swung a massive forearm at Zeta, but the Z-Man nimbly ducked, and the blow landed on Rhino, who had slid out of the ring to come after Zeta. Rhino staggered back into the ring apron, stunned, while Zeta snatched his Tag Title belt and hightailed it through the crowd. Brick looked after him, then scowled at Rhino before pursuing.

* * *

Edge and Christian had watched this on the monitor in the Faction's VIP with Kurt and Shane. The Canadian brothers were quite reasonably not pleased with what had just happened. "I don't believe it!" Christian shouted. "That two-ton moron just totally hit the wrong guy!"

"That does it," Edge snapped. "We're gonna go show him what the rami-percussions of his actions are!"

"Careful," Shane called after them, unconsciously rubbing his hand, which was still a bit sore from the grip Brick had put on it on Raw. "Don't make him mad!" But the two were already gone.

"Don't worry, Shane," Kurt told him. "I'm sure it's nothing. Brick probably just made a mistake. I mean, sure, the guy has intensity, but he's completely lacking in intelligence and integrity. It's no surprise he made a mistake!" He did not notice Shane roll his eyes at the mention of the three I's.

As Edge and Christian rounded the corner, they spotted Zeta sprinting down the hall. They started running at him, but he ducked down a side corridor. They gave chase, but as they turned that corner, a steel chair crashed into Edge's face, knocking him senseless. Christian had barely a second to acknowledge this before the chair swung around again and brained him. Zed tossed the chair aside, threw Zeta his bag, and ran out of the building with him, just as Brick came around the corner with Rhino in tow to find E&C unconscious on the floor.

Brick growled a bit as he stared at the door outside, not paying Edge or Christian the scarcest notice as Rhino bent down to check on them. There was definitely going to be some hell to pay come next time.

-more to come-

Next: A week after the X-Factor debacle, the Faction gets a major chance for payback at the Z-Men, Rain, and a returning Storm, while Billy Rose is forced to look on, plotting "Some Measure of Revenge."

Afterword: If you have any ideas for who you think the Storm, Rain, Zed & Zeta, Brick or Billy Rose should team up with or go up against, drop me a line at jay_winger_2k@hotmail.com. No need for suggestions for a cap to the Storm/Rose feud, however, as I have something very special planned. Also, if you'd like to send me speculations on where you think I'm going with this story, go right ahead and do so.