Untitled Document

Raging Storm
Chapter 20: Some Measure of Revenge
By: Jay Winger

Note: this is set a week after "Chapter 19: Personal Affairs."

To recap: Rain insisted on staying with the Storm as he continued his recuperation in the hospital, confident that Zed and Zeta could handle themselves at Smackdown. Billy Rose, meanwhile, silently fumed in his own hospital room. At the arena, the Z-Men approached X-Factor with an offer: if Albert could defeat Zed in a one-on-one match, then they would grant X-Pac and Justin Credible a tag title shot later in the show. X-Factor agreed. During the first match, Albert dominated early on, but Zed rallied and was set to hit the Jawbuster on Albert when Rhino ran in and Gored him, disqualifying Albert. Albert and Rhino double-teamed Zed, who managed to stun Rhino with a punch combo, only to take a Baldo Bomb from Albert. Rhino, a bit blinded by the punches, Gored him by mistake, then took a Z-Slam from Zed. In the Faction's VIP room, Shane berated Rhino for his screw-up, and Rhino then made a disparaging remark about Brick, who happened to be standing behind him. Back at the hospital, the Storm tried to avoid a WWF camera crew that had come to follow up on his match at Fully Loaded, but then spotted Rose in the hallway. His hatred overcame his sensibility and he attacked Rose, promising to see him at Summerslam. In singles' action, Zeta took on X-Pac, and had the match won after a Snoogans Senton, but Justin Credible distracted the referee, enabling Rhino to run in with Brick and Gore Zeta. Brick then prepared to give Zeta a Breaker Chokeslam through the announce table, but Zeta got free and ducked a swing from Brick, which hit Rhino instead. Zeta fled backstage, while Edge & Christian prepared to go give Brick what-for for his latest mistake. En route, however, Zed attacked them both with a steel chair and fled with Zeta from the arena.

Teaser: 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 his own form of payback.

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!, 3 August

The mood in the Faction's VIP room was tense. Kurt Angle wore a bandage on his forehead, a memory of the injury he'd suffered on Monday when Brick had accidentally hit him with a 2x4 instead of Triple H. Rhino sat in a chair, still looking a bit sore (in an emotional sense) from the mistakes Brick had made against him as well -- first a Breaker Chokeslam, then a forearm to the head. Edge and Christian were in a foul mood as well, but because they were thirsting after their lost Tag Team Championships, which were now around the waists of Zed and Zeta, the former of whom had hit them in the head with a steel chair a week earlier. Shane McMahon, the leader of the group, was upset at Brick for being the cause of some of these problems.

"Dude, when's he going to get here?" Edge asked the young McMahon.

"I don't know!" Shane snapped at him. "I thought he would be back from the hotel by now."

"You are going to punish him for what he did to the Rhino, aren't you?" Christian said.

"Of course I am!" Shane said. "We're a team, guys. But a team is only as strong as its weakest member. And judging from what he's done, Brick's the one."

Edge grinned and slapped Christian's arm. "I can just picture it now." He affected a falsetto, with a harsh British accent, "Brick, you are... the weakest link!"

Christian snickered. "Goodbye!" he chirped.

This got a grin from Rhino and Kurt as well. Shane, however, looked pensive. "Careful, guys. You remember what Billy's told us about Brick. He doesn't take criticism well. That's why I think asking Commissioner Foley to book him in a punishment match is more suitable."

Judging from the looks on the faces of Team ECK and Rhino, however, they didn't agree with him. They were all distracted, however, when the monitor in their room brightened and showed the ring.

* * *

The opening drums of Blur's "Song 2" filled the arena, guitars not far behind, and then the opening words: "Whoo-hoo!" The lights flared up and the two grinning forms of the Tag Team Champions walked down the ramp. Zeta wore his What's the Word? - Snoogans! T-shirt under his jacket, while Zed wore his usual sleeveless shirt. "Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome the World Wrestling Federation Tag Team Champions, ZED & ZETA!" Zeta slid into the ring, ran to the corner and climbed up on it, flashing a metalhead hand-sign and wagging his tongue at the crowd. Zed tossed his belt into the ring and ducked under the ropes, reclaiming his belt and putting it on his shoulder as he went to get the microphone.

Zed raised the mike to his lips, then had to pause as the fans started a chant, a chant of "Snoo-gans! Snoo-gans!" of all things. Zeta laughed and flashed a sign to the crowd again before Zed spoke. "Well, I guess I don't need to ask it, but I'll do it anyway. Yo, Phoenix, what's the word?" The fans shouted it back, "Snoogans!" Zed grinned. "Yeah, that's it. Well, me and my main man, my psycho buddy Zeta, we got us a little beef with a couple of blond-headed morons." He smirked. "Matter of fact, we got us a beef with a certain Rookie Monster too. Hell, I'll even go so far as to say we got a beef with the whole damn Faction!" He paused, while the fans cheered him on. "Now, me and Zait, we'd love to take you all on, `cuz we wanna brawl, but some people would say we're outnumbered. That's fine. We were outnumbered all the time back in CIW, and we like it that way. We're underdogs, dammit. We're a couple of renegades -- we're always the underdogs!"

Zeta leaned against the ropes and laughed. Zed went on, "But since our venerable Commish wouldn't let us just take on five guys all at once, we decided to even the odds a bit. We got us some back-up. I think he's here right now." Zed lowered the mike and gestured to the OvalTron, which darkened.

The screen flickered with lightning-lit clouds and rumbled with low thunder. Gradually the form of a man was silhouetted in a downpour, raising his head and his arms upward as the thunder built to a crescendo, whereupon there was a flash of lightning, and the lights in the arena went out. A voice spoke: "This is your Storm Warning."

The fans went ballistic as the Storm's face was illuminated by a red siren light on the screen as the Storm Warning siren blared. Lightning pyros went off on the stage, and rap metal music kicked in. The shadowed shape of the Storm appeared on the ramp, with Rain next to him. His head was lowered, his arms at his sides as his music played. "I'm a Force of Nature, I'm outta control. I live in the lightning, let the thunder roll. I kill the sunshine, bring on the rain. I am the Storm, and I'll bring you the pain." At the words "I am the Storm," the Force of Nature raised his head and his arms to the sides, much as the silhouetted man in the video had done. The music continued as the Storm walked down the ramp to a huge ovation. He wore one of his old I am a Force of Nature T-shirts, and looked like he was all set to fight in the ring right then and there, which probably would've been fine with the fans. Rain followed him and slid into the ring and joined Zed and Zeta as the Storm went to the corner and climbed to the second rope, raising a fist in the air, then pointing out at the crowd before making a cutting motion at his throat and thrusting his fist downward. Lightning pyros went off over the ring.

The Storm dropped off the ropes and went over to Zed, who handed him the microphone. The Storm paced a bit, then paused a bit, getting a loud round of cheers from the crowd. "This goes out," he said slowly, the fans cheering in anticipation, "to every medal-wearing Olympic dork..." He paused, the fans cheering and waving any and all anti-Angle signs they had. "...to every lackwit Canucklehead..." And now the Edge & Christian signs waved. "...to every sweating, monosyllabic man-beast... to every silver-spoon pussy-boy... to every snarling, seven-foot-one, one-man-goon-squad..." He paused again, and his voice rose as he spoke his next words, "...and to every single pansy-ass, yellow-bellied, bottle-blond, West Coast Prick Bastard--" He paused again as the fans cheered again. "--seek shelter..." And the fans finished the phrase with him: "...because the Storm... has... ARRIVED!"

The Storm adjusted his sunglasses a bit, then turned to point at the entrance ramp. "Billy Rose, this just goes to show you that no matter what you decide to throw at me, no matter what high-impact move you try to take me out with, I will keep coming back for more. Why? Because I like it. Because I am a Force of Nature. Because I'm a survivor." That earned him another round of cheers. "You and I saw each other in the hospital, Billy, and I promised you I'd see you at Summerslam. And I will. I just have to figure out what sorta match to put you in so I can beat the living Hell out of you!" The Storm smirked and stepped back. "Now, you peeps in the Faction, as for tonight, I've gone to Commissioner Foley, and he's agreed to book us a match. So, in this very ring, we'll have ourselves a little five-on-four Handicap Match. It'll be those two Canuckleheads, our Olympic Dork, the man-beast, and Brick against me, Rain, and my good buddies Zed and Zeta." Loud cheers. "I guaran-damn-tee you, you'll find out why we were a force to be reckoned with back in CIW -- and that is your Storm Warning."

The Storm tossed the mike aside and slapped a high-five with the Z-Men before holding the ropes open for Rain and departing up the ramp with them.

* * *

In the Faction VIP room, there was some understandable disbelief at what they'd just witnessed. Shane stared at the monitor. "That guy's even more resilient than me. When I fell off the TitanTron, it took me more than a month to feel up to ring action -- and even then, I wound up getting three Stunners from Austin before I could fully heal."

Kurt spoke up, "Well, it was your fault for trying to lie to him about Blackman being the guy who ran him down." Shane shot him a look that told him to shut up, but Kurt didn't notice.

Edge and Christian, meanwhile, were just laughing. "Oh, man, does he think they even stand a chance against all five of us? We're so totally gonna dish out some pain-osity!" Christian laughed.

Rhino grinned and squeezed his wrist. "Yeah, and I'll finally get a chance to Gore that girl."

The door crashed open at that moment, and Brick appeared. He looked around the room, saw them all there, then grunted and ducked under the door frame. He started for his usual seat in the corner, passing Kurt as he did so. He stopped for a moment and gazed down at him, then dropped his bag next to his chair and seated himself. The chair creaked under his size.

"Brick," Shane said, "get ready." Brick grunted a question. "`Cuz the Storm's back." Brick's eyes lit up. "Yeah. He's challenged all five of you guys to a handicap match against himself, Rain, and Zed and Zeta. Think you can handle it?" Brick grunted an affirmative.

"Yeah," Kurt muttered to Rhino, "but can he handle it without screwing up again?"

Brick glowered at Kurt then, but the Olympian, once again, failed to notice.

* * *

"The following contest is a 5-on-4 Handicap Match and is scheduled for one fall," Tony Chimel announced.

"Song 2" started up, and Zed & Zeta ran out, sliding into the ring and posing for the crowd with their Tag Title belts. "First, from Baltimore, Maryland, at a combined weight of 475 pounds, they are the World Wrestling Federation Tag Team Champions... ZED & ZETA!" They passed their titles out to the timekeeper as Zeta removed his jacket and adjusted his cap, brushing his blue-streaked hair out of his eyes.

The thunder rumbled up as lightning flickered on the OvalTron, and then the lights went out. "This is your Storm Warning." The rap metal music of "Force of Nature" blared to life as the lightning pyros went off, and the Storm appeared on the ramp, along with Rain. They started for the ring. "And their tag team partners, from Dallas, Texas, the team of Rain and the 2002 King of the Ring... THE STORM!"

The Storm simply went to the corner as he entered the ring, standing on the second rope and staring out at the audience, then raised his arms to the sides and screamed a war-cry as he juiced himself up. He hopped down and removed his sunglasses, facing the ramp. Rain did the same.

The patriotic horns of "Medal" played, and Kurt Angle came out, not bothering to wave to the crowd as he stared at his opponents. He stopped halfway down the ramp and raised his hands to the sides as his fourth-of-July pyros went off behind him. He stopped at the bottom of ramp and stared up at Zed and Zeta, who were at the ropes, beckoning him forward. "And their opponents, first, from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, weighing in at 220 pounds... KURT ANGLE!"

Next a tone played, and a female voice whispered, "You think you know me..." Edge and Christian appeared next, both wearing "crazy-ass" sunglasses. They stopped next to Angle and looked up at the assembled wrestlers in the ring. "And his tag team partners, from Toronto, Ontario, at a combined weight of 455 pounds... CHRISTIAN & EDGE!" Low, aggressive-sounding music played next, and clips of Rhino Goring various people played on the screen. Moments later, the man-beast himself came out, wearing his black singlet with red lettering. "And from Detroit, Michigan, weighing in at 280 pounds... RHINO!" Rhino joined the others at the bottom of the ramp.

There was a pause before the next video flared to life. "Break it! (Break it!) Break it! (Break it!)" Hard, metal music played over clips of Brick decimating his opponents. "I come from a broken home - `cuz I broke it! I've seen some broken bones - `cuz I broke `em! Don't you get in my face - `cuz I'll break it! Don't you get in my way - `cuz I'll break you!" Brick appeared in the entryway, wearing his Do Not Taunt shirt. "And from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, weighing in at 350 pounds... BRICK!" He plodded down the ramp, muscled his way through the assembled Faction members at the bottom, climbing up on the apron. Zed and Zeta immediately lunged at him with right hands, which served to only annoy the monstrous Brick, who piefaced both away before stepping over the top rope and into the ring. Angle, Edge, Christian, and Rhino quickly followed.

Referee Mike Chioda soon had to give up all pretense of trying to keep order as the Faction and the four "renegades" tore into each other. Brick and Kurt Angle both went after the Storm, who managed to evade Brick's inital attack and slugged Kurt in the face. Edge and Christian descended on the Z-Men, who went toe-to-toe with them and fought all over the ring. Rhino, meanwhile, had his sights set squarely on Rain, who kept dodging his attacks.

Zed uppercut Christian, sending him toppling over the top rope, then helped Zeta dump Edge through the ropes as well. They quickly turned and double-punched Angle in the face, knocking him down. Rhino charged at Rain, who sidestepped him and sent him running shoulder-first into the corner. The man-beast groaned and rolled out of the ring as Rain joined the Z-Men and the Storm in quadruple-teaming Brick. The big man roared ferociously and threw them off of him, grabbing Zeta and hauling him in for a monstrous short-arm clothesline. The rest retreated to their corner as Brick deposited Zeta in a neutral corner, where he methodically started beating on him. He whipped Zeta across the ring, charging in behind him for an avalanche, but Zeta managed to throw his feet up, kicking Brick in the jaw. Zeta hitched himself up to the top rope as Brick staggered away, checking his mouth for cuts. The behemoth turned around as Zeta launched himself in a top-rope Zetasault, but Brick just caught him in midair and slammed him down to the mat.

Brick grunted and started to pick Zeta back up to continue the assault, but he was too close to the Faction's corner. Christian blind-tagged himself in, and started hammering on Zeta with right hands. Brick glared at him for a moment, then got on the apron. Christian hooked the small Z-Man in the inverted DDT position and dropped him down onto his knee in a backbreaker. Zeta convulsed and clutched at his back as the Canadian stomped on him. Christian pulled Zeta to his feet, tagged Edge, and exposed his ribs for a shot from his brother. Edge continued the beating, sending Zeta into the neutral corner and following for a clothesline, but he again managed to counter with an elbow, then hitched himself to the second rope, diving out as soon as Edge turned around, catching him on the hip, and swinging around in a school boy roll-up. The ref got to two before Edge kicked out. Zeta, feeling the effects of the beating, started to go for his corner, but Edge grabbed his ankle. Zeta hopped and turned around, then hit an enzuigiri to the back of Edge's head, lunged, and tagged in Zed.

The ex-boxer charged in a clothesline, taking down Edge, then Christian, who ran in as well. Zed continued his momentum and slugged Rhino, then Angle. As he turned to Brick, however, the giant grabbed him by the head and swung his cranium down into Zed's, knocking him over. Edge groggily made the tag to Angle, who gleefully went to work on Zed, eventually slamming him by the neutral corner. The Olympian stood up and went "Whoo!" before climbing in the corner. He seemed poised for a moonsault, but Zed got up and yanked Angle's feet to the sides, crotching him, then pulling them back together and pulling Angle down into the so-called "Tree of Woe" position. Zed kicked him a few times, then tagged in Rain.

Rain kicked at Angle some more, then re-secured his legs into the Tree of Woe before kicking again. She contemplated him for a moment, then climbed onto the apron, up to the top of the post and looked down at Angle, who wearily looked back up at her. She smirked, then jumped down in a double-stomp, right onto his exposed gonads. Angle's feet came free and he fell to the mat, doubled over in pain. She taunted him and beckoned for him to stand back up, then turned to the hostile corner to see Rhino stepping through the ropes. She quickly turned and tagged in the Storm.

The fans went crazy as the Storm ran in, clotheslining Rhino before he could lower his head for the Gore, then hitting an armdrag on Angle as he got to his feet. The gold-medalist was close to his corner and tagged Brick, who stepped into the ring. Abruptly, the other three "renegades" charged the ring and an all-out brawl began. The referee again washed his hands of everything.

Edge and Christian slipped off the apron and got two steel chairs from ringside, bringing them in and depositing them in the corner as they worked over Zed and Zeta. Angle and Brick double-teamed the Storm again, as Rhino finally managed to land some blows on Rain. The man-beast backed up for his big move as Angle hooked the Storm on the leg and under the arm.

Kurt swung the Storm up for an Angle Slam, but the Force of Nature rolled out of it, landing on his feet. Brick quickly aimed a big boot at him, but the Storm ducked, and the blow smashed into Angle, who staggered backwards from the hit. He blundered in front of Rain, and as a result, it was he who got Gored instead of her. Rhino blinked in surprise as he stood back up, and Zed abruptly grabbed him and shoved him into Zeta, who fell to the mat. The man-beast hardly had time to blink as the vile con-chair-to that Edge & Christian were aiming at Zeta connected with him instead. Christian turned and got a Jawbuster for his trouble, and Zeta quickly hopped up and hit a spinning heel kick to Edge's face even as Zed swept his legs out.

Brick, meanwhile, had managed to grab the Storm by the throat. He hoisted him overhead, poised for the Breaker Chokeslam, and as he turned in place, he faced one of the corners, and Rain launched out with a missile dropkick. It connected with Brick's face, and he fell down, the Storm landing on top of him. Mike Chioda dropped to the mat and counted. 1... 2... 3!

The fans were a bit surprised at the entire sequence of events, but they popped as the Storm rolled off of Brick and out of the ring with Rain. The Z-Men quickly joined them as they retreated up the ramp. Brick sat up and glared after them, while Angle, Christian, and Rhino lay on the mat in various states of consciousness. Edge, the only one who hadn't taken a big move, stared at them, then at Brick, then at the departing "renegades" before clapping a hand to his forehead in frustration.

* * *

Shane McMahon had his face in his hands in the VIP room, shaking his head in disbelief. He moaned. How embarassing for the whole Faction to lose to four people. And how embarassing still to see that Brick had screwed up again.

His cell phone rang. Sighing, Shane picked it up. "Shane-O Mac," he answered.

"What the hell did I just see?" came an eerily calm voice on the other end.

Shane blinked and lowered his other hand from his face. "Billy?"

"What the hell did I just see?!" Billy Rose shouted on the other end of the line.

"Now, calm down, Billy, I know it looks bad--"

"Looks bad? It is bad, Shane! You let Skinner lure you right into a trap! He had to have planned this. I know it. And now I have you to thank for royally screwing things up."

"I can talk to Foley, have him book a punishment match for Brick--"

"No. Let me handle that. You just worry about damage control. Keep things from falling apart till I get back. The doctors say I should be fit for ring action by Monday."

"You'll be at Raw, then?"

"Count on it. And tell Kurt to keep his card free. I've got a plan to put Skinner in his place for sure. Restrict his options, that sort of thing."

"Sounds good. Talk to you on Monday, then."

Shane and Rose both hung up, and the McMahon heir sighed as he heard loud, bickering voices approaching the door. He had his work cut out for him.

-more to come-

Next: Billy Rose returns to Raw to seek his revenge on the Storm, who has to resort to "Brutal Measures."

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.