~
The five of them stood in the adjoining office, the door closed for privacy. Stephanie sat down next to Lita, Edge next to Steph. Opposite them, Paul and Kurt Angle took a seat each.
"It's good to see you both," Kurt smiled slightly. He didn't look much different...his eyes held a sense of emptiness, but he was still physically in good shape.
"It's good to see you Kurt," Stephanie smiled back. Kurt had always been a good friend to her in the past, and she knew that he always would be.
"So you're the sole owner of the WWE?" Paul Heyman asked, he wanted to make sure he got the facts right, before he celebrated.
"Yes," the blonde woman stated, "but I didn't know you still worked here Paul. My lawyer said that Eric Bischoff was in charge,"
A few uncomfortable glances were exchanged between the three men in the room, and then Heyman took a deep breath and began to explain...
"When Vince and Linda died, I was still the General Manager of SmackDown and Eric Bischoff was the General Manager of RAW. Your brother Shane took over and he decided to end the roster split, making myself and Bischoff Co-GM's of both shows. That's when things started getting bad. Bischoff wasn't happy sharing the power and he allied himself with Evolution. Soon, other wrestlers were joining this powerful group, led by Bischoff and Triple H, and they began to take over. Shane tried to do something, but they threatened him and his family...so he fled to somewhere in Australia...leaving Bischoff to do as he pleased. There were few he hadn't corrupted though...the guys sitting in the other room...with me leading them, we've been trying to fight Bischoff's men ever since, but there's just too many of them."
Stephanie and Lita exchanged an appalled look, and Lita spoke, "But what about that thing you did with my arm...?"
"...And what about the alarm?" Stephanie asked, and Paul nodded towards Edge. The tall blonde lifted his sleeve, his palm facing up-wards. There was a small square piece of silver metal just below his elbow, which seemed to be embedded into his skin. Stephanie ran her fingers delicately along it and frowned slightly, "what is it?"
"It's a tracking device," Kurt spoke up, and Lita looked horrified, "A what?" she said, surely she couldn't have heard him correctly...but she had...
"A tracking device," Paul sighed and continued, "we all have them, so Bischoff knows where we are at all times. His men have them too, but theirs are black, a different device so he can tell us apart."
"That's sick, he can't get away with this!" Stephanie said, her anger rising tremendously. She didn't realise how demented Bischoff really was.
"He already has." Kurt spoke quietly, "We're not allowed in the hallways during a show...when the alarm goes off, it's a warning to get inside a locker—room. We have to be escorted to a match, by an official, and we can't leave the place...we can't leave our hotels when we travel between shows...we're prisoners."
Lita shook her head sadly. She couldn't believe what she was hearing...she couldn't believe what her former boss had done to her friends...
"Y-you can't leave? What would happen if you did?" the blonde woman asked, wondering if she was about to hear something else that she wouldn't like.
"People have tried before," Paul said, looking down at his hands, "But then they turn up the next day on Bischoff's side. It's like he brainwashes them or something,"
Stephanie frowned...so this was the WWE she had returned to...a prison...run by a maniac.
"W-what's happened to the diva's?" Lita was almost afraid to ask, she remembered Heyman mentioning something earlier about them.
"They're with Bischoff," Paul said, the sound of remorse in his voice.
"...the only time we see any of them, is when they have a match or they're accompanying one of the men to the ring," Kurt sighed, "but they do seem happy,"
"They're not happy," Edge almost snapped, then sent an apologetic look to his friend, "they're pretending to be, to stay on Bischoff's good side...god knows what those women are going through,"
Lita instantly thought of Trish...she should have stayed, instead of leaving all those years ago...Trish had been her best friend, and she should have stuck by her.
Stephanie was beginning to regret going back...she'd never expected any of this...she'd thought things would just be normal and as they were before...but they weren't...and she had to be strong...unlike her brother, she had nothing to lose.
"We have to do something," she said, and all three men looked at her. "We need help from outside...from people who don't have any of those tracking devices...we need more wrestlers."
"We don't have time to train anyone. Bischoff's guys are powerful." Kurt reasoned, but Stephanie shook her head.
"That's not what I meant," she glanced at Lita quickly, "us two don't have any tracking devices...so what I'm trying to say is, are there any wrestlers that left before Bischoff took over...people with experience that could help us out?"
Paul rubbed his head, trying to think, Kurt and Edge both frowned for a moment.
"Look, Heyman, I need you to get me a list of everyone who worked in the company six years ago, around the time when me and Lita left, and also get me a list of everyone who works for the company now, could you do that?" Stephanie asked, and after a brief pause, Heyman nodded.
"You two better keep your heads down. If Bischoff finds out that either of you are here then..." Edge broke off, but Kurt jumped in...
"Just make sure he doesn't see you at all. You can phone us anytime, he can't trace calls, and you can visit us, but we can't visit you okay?"
"Yeah," Lita said...she was still a bit overwhelmed by the whole thing, but she wouldn't let them down.
A knock on the door broke the silence in the room and Christian popped his head round the door, his eyes settling on his brother.
"Edge our tag match is up next," he said, and Edge looked round to Stephanie.
"See you later then," he smiled. Stephanie smiled too, meeting his green eyes...maybe coming back would be worth it after all...
"Good Luck Edge," She said softly...she had a lot of planning to do...but she was a McMahon...she could handle anything...*especially* Eric Bischoff.
~
The five of them stood in the adjoining office, the door closed for privacy. Stephanie sat down next to Lita, Edge next to Steph. Opposite them, Paul and Kurt Angle took a seat each.
"It's good to see you both," Kurt smiled slightly. He didn't look much different...his eyes held a sense of emptiness, but he was still physically in good shape.
"It's good to see you Kurt," Stephanie smiled back. Kurt had always been a good friend to her in the past, and she knew that he always would be.
"So you're the sole owner of the WWE?" Paul Heyman asked, he wanted to make sure he got the facts right, before he celebrated.
"Yes," the blonde woman stated, "but I didn't know you still worked here Paul. My lawyer said that Eric Bischoff was in charge,"
A few uncomfortable glances were exchanged between the three men in the room, and then Heyman took a deep breath and began to explain...
"When Vince and Linda died, I was still the General Manager of SmackDown and Eric Bischoff was the General Manager of RAW. Your brother Shane took over and he decided to end the roster split, making myself and Bischoff Co-GM's of both shows. That's when things started getting bad. Bischoff wasn't happy sharing the power and he allied himself with Evolution. Soon, other wrestlers were joining this powerful group, led by Bischoff and Triple H, and they began to take over. Shane tried to do something, but they threatened him and his family...so he fled to somewhere in Australia...leaving Bischoff to do as he pleased. There were few he hadn't corrupted though...the guys sitting in the other room...with me leading them, we've been trying to fight Bischoff's men ever since, but there's just too many of them."
Stephanie and Lita exchanged an appalled look, and Lita spoke, "But what about that thing you did with my arm...?"
"...And what about the alarm?" Stephanie asked, and Paul nodded towards Edge. The tall blonde lifted his sleeve, his palm facing up-wards. There was a small square piece of silver metal just below his elbow, which seemed to be embedded into his skin. Stephanie ran her fingers delicately along it and frowned slightly, "what is it?"
"It's a tracking device," Kurt spoke up, and Lita looked horrified, "A what?" she said, surely she couldn't have heard him correctly...but she had...
"A tracking device," Paul sighed and continued, "we all have them, so Bischoff knows where we are at all times. His men have them too, but theirs are black, a different device so he can tell us apart."
"That's sick, he can't get away with this!" Stephanie said, her anger rising tremendously. She didn't realise how demented Bischoff really was.
"He already has." Kurt spoke quietly, "We're not allowed in the hallways during a show...when the alarm goes off, it's a warning to get inside a locker—room. We have to be escorted to a match, by an official, and we can't leave the place...we can't leave our hotels when we travel between shows...we're prisoners."
Lita shook her head sadly. She couldn't believe what she was hearing...she couldn't believe what her former boss had done to her friends...
"Y-you can't leave? What would happen if you did?" the blonde woman asked, wondering if she was about to hear something else that she wouldn't like.
"People have tried before," Paul said, looking down at his hands, "But then they turn up the next day on Bischoff's side. It's like he brainwashes them or something,"
Stephanie frowned...so this was the WWE she had returned to...a prison...run by a maniac.
"W-what's happened to the diva's?" Lita was almost afraid to ask, she remembered Heyman mentioning something earlier about them.
"They're with Bischoff," Paul said, the sound of remorse in his voice.
"...the only time we see any of them, is when they have a match or they're accompanying one of the men to the ring," Kurt sighed, "but they do seem happy,"
"They're not happy," Edge almost snapped, then sent an apologetic look to his friend, "they're pretending to be, to stay on Bischoff's good side...god knows what those women are going through,"
Lita instantly thought of Trish...she should have stayed, instead of leaving all those years ago...Trish had been her best friend, and she should have stuck by her.
Stephanie was beginning to regret going back...she'd never expected any of this...she'd thought things would just be normal and as they were before...but they weren't...and she had to be strong...unlike her brother, she had nothing to lose.
"We have to do something," she said, and all three men looked at her. "We need help from outside...from people who don't have any of those tracking devices...we need more wrestlers."
"We don't have time to train anyone. Bischoff's guys are powerful." Kurt reasoned, but Stephanie shook her head.
"That's not what I meant," she glanced at Lita quickly, "us two don't have any tracking devices...so what I'm trying to say is, are there any wrestlers that left before Bischoff took over...people with experience that could help us out?"
Paul rubbed his head, trying to think, Kurt and Edge both frowned for a moment.
"Look, Heyman, I need you to get me a list of everyone who worked in the company six years ago, around the time when me and Lita left, and also get me a list of everyone who works for the company now, could you do that?" Stephanie asked, and after a brief pause, Heyman nodded.
"You two better keep your heads down. If Bischoff finds out that either of you are here then..." Edge broke off, but Kurt jumped in...
"Just make sure he doesn't see you at all. You can phone us anytime, he can't trace calls, and you can visit us, but we can't visit you okay?"
"Yeah," Lita said...she was still a bit overwhelmed by the whole thing, but she wouldn't let them down.
A knock on the door broke the silence in the room and Christian popped his head round the door, his eyes settling on his brother.
"Edge our tag match is up next," he said, and Edge looked round to Stephanie.
"See you later then," he smiled. Stephanie smiled too, meeting his green eyes...maybe coming back would be worth it after all...
"Good Luck Edge," She said softly...she had a lot of planning to do...but she was a McMahon...she could handle anything...*especially* Eric Bischoff.
~